Teacher–researcher partnership in the translation and implementing of PALS (Peer‐Assisted Learning Strategies): An international perspective

Funding Information: We would like to thank the schools, teachers and students who have alongside us developed PALS for each international context outlined. Publisher Copyright: © 2022 The Authors. Journal of Research in Reading published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of United Kingdom Literacy Association.Peer-Assisted Learning Strategies (PALS) is a class-wide structured supplementary paired reading programme to support learners with their reading (Fuchs et al., 1997). What remains at the core of implementing PALS in any given location is the co-creation with teachers to ensure PALS fits with that educational context. This paper discusses the involvement of teachers as co-creators in the process of adapting PALS in England, United Arab Emirates (UAE), Taiwan and Iceland. The aim is to demonstrate the importance of careful adaptation when implementing a programme adopted from another country. Each adaption used a different methodological approach to co-creation. For example, in England, field notes, informal conversations and interviews were utilised for co-creation. In Iceland, preschool and elementary teachers were instrumental in translating and adapting the PALS materials to the Icelandic context. From each adaption, the teachers supported the development of a literacy programme that was suitable for classroom use. In England, teachers' involvement resulted in the removal of the motivational point system. For the UAE context, PALS began in English to support second language learning, but the instructional routines were a good ‘fit’ for the school culture and were developed in Arabic. For the Taiwan context, PALS provided an empirical basis for a model of differentiated instruction to enhance the reading literacy of Chinese-speaking elementary students. In Iceland, teachers trained other teachers in PALS as a research-based and efficient approach to meeting diverse learning needs of students, especially those with Icelandic as an additional language. Careful adaptation, piloting and the involvement of key stakeholders is important for the successful implementation of a reading programme.Peer reviewe

Lotta og Emil læra að haga sér vel : áhrif virknimats og stuðningsáætlunar á hegðunar- og tilfinningalega erfiðleika

Ráðstefnurit NetluFjallað er um einstaklingsmiðaða stuðningsáætlun byggða á virknimati (e. functional behavior assessment) sem hefur skilað góðum árangri fyrir einstaklinga með alvarlega hegðunar- og tilfinningalega erfiðleika. Gefin eru dæmi um framkvæmd virknimats og stuðningsáætlunar fyrir fimm ára leikskólastúlku og nemanda í 6. bekk en bæði höfðu sýnt erfiða hegðun um nokkurra ára skeið þrátt fyrir ýmiss konar íhlutun. Virknimat er gagnreynd (e. evidence-based) leið til að kortleggja áhrifaþætti erfiðrar hegðunar og leggja grunn að einstaklingsmiðaðri stuðningsáætlun sem felur í sér fyrirbyggjandi aðgerðir, kennslu og styrkingu viðeigandi hegðunar. Líkt og í fyrri rannsóknum höfðu einstaklingsmiðaðar áætlanir jákvæð áhrif. Beinar athuganir á hegðun Lottu í leikskólanum sýndu að stórlega dró úr truflandi hegðun hennar og særandi athugasemdum í frjálsum leik og virk þátttaka í samverustundum jókst. Beinar athuganir á hegðun Emils í kennslutímum sýndu að það dró úr ljótu orðbragði hans og skráning á fjölda verkefna sem hann lauk fyrir og eftir íhlutun sýndi að námsástundun hans batnaði.This article provides an overview of the key concepts and features of Functional behavioral assessment (FBA) and describes how it serves as the basis for effective, individualized Behavior Support Plans. Two brief case studies are presented, describing how FBAs and behavior support plans were conducted for a five-year-old girl in preschool and a 12-year-old boy in 6th grade who both had a long history of behavior problems despite a number of interventions. Behavior measures before and after BSP implementation showed a clear reduction in disruptive and/or aggressive behaviors and an increase in active classroom participation of both participants

Ég get núna : upplifun nemenda af virknimati og einstaklingsmiðaðri stuðningsáætlun

Í þessari grein er sagt frá niðurstöðum eigindlegrar rannsóknar sem hafði það að markmiði að kanna skólareynslu nemenda með langvarandi hegðunarerfiðleika og athuga hvort breytingar yrðu við framkvæmd stuðningsáætlunar sem byggði á virknimati. Virknimat er aðferð til að meta áhrifaþætti á erfiða hegðun og stuðningsáætlun felur í sér margþætta íhlutun til að bæta hegðun, námsástundun og líðan. Þátttakendur voru sex drengir á aldrinum 7–16 ára sem allir höfðu sýnt hegðunarerfiðleika í 5 til 9 ár. Fjórir þeirra höfðu verið greindir með ADHD, tveir með mót-þróaþrjóskuröskun, einn með ódæmigerða einhverfu, tveir með mikla námsörðugleika auk fleiri erfiðleika. Opin viðtölin voru tekin upp, skráð og greind í þemu með aðstoð tölvuforritsins NVivo 2.0. Nemendurnir lýstu allir neikvæðri reynslu af skólagöngu áður en virknimat og stuðningsáætlanir komu til sögunnar. Þeir óskuðu eftir að fá hvetjandi leiðsögn og að komið væri fram við þá af virðingu. Öllum nema einum þóttu vinnubrögð við virknimat og stuðningsáætlanir uppfylla þær óskir og hafa góð áhrif á hegðun sína, líðan og námsástundun. Eldri nemendurnir óskuðu þess að hafa kynnst þessum vinnubrögðum fyrr og jafnframt að kennarar lærðu þau í ríkari mæli. Niðurstöðurnar benda til að virknimat og stuðningsáætlun gætu nýst við það lögbundna hlutverk kennara að leita orsaka og lausna á hegðunarerfiðleikum í samvinnu við nemendur, foreldra, skólastjórnendur og ráðgjafa.Students’ behavior problems not only present some of the biggest challenges to teachers but also adversely affect students’ academic and social outcomes (Bradley, Renee & Bartolotta, 2008). Many students with behavior problems feel that their needs are not being met at school and resent the use of punishment which they rate as “unhelpful” (Costenbader & Markson, 1998). Functional be-havioral assessment and behavior support plans have been shown to effectively decrease behavior problems (Anna-Lind Pétursdóttir, 2011; Lane, Umbreit og Beebe-Frankenberger, 1999; O’Neill og Stephenson, 2009). However, research is lacking on how students perceive these strategies. Exploring students’ perception is important, especially since negative school experiences can increase the risk of drop out (Vitaro, Larocque, Janosz og Tremblay, 2001). In this study, six students were interviewed to determine their perceptions of functional behavioral assessment and behavior support plans that had been implemented to decrease their persistent behavior problems in school. The four younger participants were 7 to 8 year old boys, three of whom had diagnoses of ADHD, two of oppositional defiant disorder, one of autism spectrum disorder, and two of learning disabilities in addition to other difficulties. The two older participants were 15 to 16 year old boys, one diagnosed with ADHD. All participants had been exhibiting behavior problems for 5 to 9 years. Semistructured interviews were conducted with younger participants before and after implementation of the function-based behavior support plan. Older participants were interviewed three years after the intervention and therefore could report on longterm effects. Interviews were recorded and analyzed into themes with Nvivo 2.0 software. All participants described negative school experiences prior to implementation of the function-based behavior support plan. A common theme was that they felt as if their difficulties and special needs had not been properly addressed in their respective schools. The participants all perceived loud scolding and suspensions as negative and useless and wished to be treated with more respect and understanding. Functional behavioral assessments were conducted through interviews with students, their parents and teachers, and direct observations to determine the environmental factors influencing participants’ problem behavior. Participants expressed that they liked being asked about their points of view and to influence the behavior support plan. Comprehensive behavior support plans were consequently constructed with strategies targeting the setting events, antecedents, and consequences determined to influence participants’ problem behavior. The plans were implemented by their teachers under the supervision of the authors. Participants all reported that procedures of the functional behavioral assessment and behavior support plan better met their needs. Through the function-based behavior support plans, participants’ persistent behavior problems substantially decreased, as described in previous research articles (Anna-Lind Pétursdóttir, 2010; Guðrún Björg Ragnarsdóttir & Anna-Lind Pétursdóttir, 2012, in press). All participants except one expressed positive effects of the intervention on their behavior, academic engagement and well-being at school. The older students wished that these procedures had been implemented sooner in their schooling and recommended that teachers should get more training in this area. Findings are in accordance with previous research describing negative school experiences of students with behavior problems, but add to the literature a detailed de-scription of student perceptions of functional behavioral assessment and behavior support plans

Pör að læra saman í leikskóla : reynsla starfsfólks af K-PALS

K-PALS (e. Kindergarten Peer-Assisted Learning Strategies) er kennslunálgun sem felur í sér samvinnunám og aðferðir til að efla hljóðkerfisvitund, hljóðaþekkingu og umskráningarfærni barna. Börnin vinna í pörum eftir kynningu kennara á verkefnum. Markmið með þessari rannsókn var að fá innsýn í reynslu starfsmanna í leikskólum af K-PALS, hvernig þeim hefði gengið að nota aðferðirnar, áhrif þeirra á börnin, helstu kosti og galla að þeirra mati og hvort þeim þætti bein kennsla af þessu tagi eiga heima í íslensku leikskólaumhverfi. Tekin voru hálfstöðluð viðtöl við þrettán starfsmenn fimm leikskóla á höfuðborgarsvæðinu. Allir starfsmenn sem unnu með K-PALS í þessum leikskólum buðu sig fram í viðtal. Tíu þeirra voru leikskólakennarar, tveir grunnskólakennarar og einn hafði aðra menntun. Viðtölin voru hljóðrituð, skrifuð upp og gögnin greind í efnisflokka. Almennt var reynsla viðmælenda af K-PALS jákvæð þótt sumir hefðu verið neikvæðir í byrjun og innleiðing aðferðanna hafi stundum reynt á. Viðmælendum þótti K-PALS hafa jákvæð áhrif á undirstöðu lestrarfærni, samvinnu og samskipti barnanna og lýstu greinilegum framförum hjá börnunum og ánægju þeirra með K-PALS. Fram komu hugmyndir um nýjar útfærslur á innleiddum aðferðum en á heildina litið töldu viðmælendur K-PALS henta vel sem viðbót við læsisumhverfi í íslenskum leikskólum.Reading is a fundamental skill of great importance for success in modern society. Difficulties in reading tend to become apparent early and more difficult to remediate over time (Juel, 1988; Scarborough, 1998; Snow, Burns, & Griffin, 1998). Thus, it is essential to start building a strong foundation for reading during the early years of schooling. Kindergarten Peer-Assisted Learning Strategies or K-PALS (Fuchs, Fuchs, Thompson et al, 2001) is a peer tutoring program designed to teach phonological awareness, beginning decoding, and word recognition to students aged 5–6 years. These skills have been demonstrated to be important for effective beginning reading programs (National Reading Panel, 2000). In K-PALS, phonological awareness is taught through teacher-directed activities called Sound Play where the focus is on rhyme, isolating first and ending sounds in words, blending and segmenting. Decoding and word recognition is taught through activities called Sounds and Words, where the focus is on letter sounds, sight words, segmenting and blending. Guided by a detailed K-PALS manual, teachers introduce the activities to the whole class, modeling the tasks of the „coach“ with the students being „readers“. Later, students work together in pairs, guided by K-PALS worksheets, alternating as coach and reader (Fuchs et al., 2013). Research has shown K-PALS to have beneficial effects on children´s beginning reading skills (e.g. Fuchs, Fuchs, Thompson et al., 2001; Fuchs et al., 2002), but teachers´ perception of the activities remains to be explored. In Icelandic preschools, play is considered the main learning method for children and little emphasis has been on explicit instruction in beginning reading skills. The aim of this study was to research how preschool staff in Iceland perceive the use of KPALS. Participants were twelve teachers and one paraprofessional at five preschools in the capital region of Iceland. The majority of participants had been teaching in preschool for 12 or more years and had two or more years of experience using K-PALS. The second author conducted semi-standardized interviews separately for each participant in their workplace. The interviews were recorded and transcribed verbatim, analyzed and categorized into themes. Interview responses revealed that participants had a generally positive perception of using K-PALS. A few participants described initial difficulties implementing K-PALS, such as fitting it into the schedule, learning to follow the manual and engaging students in the activities. Two participants reported that their view on K-PALS had been negative in the beginning because the program seemed complicated and too structured for use in preschools where they felt that the main emphasis should be on play. However, these teachers also described how their attitude towards KPALS became gradually more positive upon seeing that the children liked it and made progress in beginning reading skills. All participants were unanimous on the positive effects of K-PALS and described significant improvements, not only on the preschoolers´ beginning reading skills, but also their self-esteem, social skills and interactions with others. This was even reported to be the case with children identified at-risk for reading difficulties based on screening, although a few children seemed to need a more individualized teaching approach. Despite some participants´ predictions to the contrary, nearly all preschool children reportedly enjoyed K-PALS. All participants stated that they conducted K-PALS activities exactly as described in the manual, albeit changing wording slightly to maintain children´s attention. All planned to continue using K-PALS in some way, the majority in its original form. Some wanted to make adjustments to K-PALS, such as using more pictures or games, and a few wanted to use it less often per week. A few mentioned that they would like to use other activities along with K-PALS, seemingly unaware of the fact that K-PALS is not meant to be a stand-alone program but designed as a supplement to conventional teaching methods (McMaster, Fuchs, & Fuchs, 2007). Based on these findings it is concluded that K-PALS can be a beneficial addition to current preschool practices in Iceland and despite initial negative attitudes toward such structured teaching methods, preschool teachers might become more positive upon trying them

Uss, ég er að vinna! : áhrif einstaklingsmiðaðra stuðningsáætlana á námsástundun grunnskólanemenda með hegðunarerfiðleika

Rannsökuð voru áhrif einstaklingsmiðaðra stuðningsáætlana með stighækkandi viðmiðum um frammistöðu á námsástundun grunnskólanemenda með hegðunarerfiðleika. Þátttakendur voru fjórir drengir á aldrinum sjö til átta ára sem höfðu sýnt hegðunarerfiðleika í fimm til sjö ár þrátt fyrir ýmis úrræði. Þrír þátttakenda voru greindir með ADHD, tveir með mótþróaþrjóskuröskun, einn með ódæmigerða einhverfu og einn með almenna kvíðaröskun og Tourette heilkenni. Virknimat fólst í viðtölum og beinum athugunum til að finna út hvað hefði áhrif á hegðunarerfiðleika þátttakendanna. Einstaklingsmiðaðar stuðningsáætlanir voru útbúnar með hliðsjón af niðurstöðum virknimats og fólu í sér úrræði sem beindust að bakgrunnsáhrifa- völdum, breytingum á aðdraganda, þjálfun í viðeigandi hegðun og hvatningarkerfi. Kennarar fylgdu áætlununum eftir undir handleiðslu sérkennara og sérfræðings í atferlisíhlutun. Fjórar til sjö útgáfur af hvatningarkerfi með stighækkandi við miðum um frammistöðu voru notaðar í sex til þrettán vikur til að auka sjálfstæða námsástundun þátttakenda samhliða því að dregið var úr umfangi íhlutunar. Námsástundun þátttakenda var metin með endurteknum áhorfsmælingum í námsaðstæðum sem höfðu reynst þeim erfiðar. Einliðasnið með margföldu grunnskeiðssniði milli þátttakenda sýndi að námsástundun jókst hjá öllum þátttakendum þegar stuðningsáætlun byggð á virknimati var notuð. Að meðaltali jókst námsástundun um 53,4%, eða úr 55,9% í 85,8%. Aðlagaðar áhrifsstærðir reyndust d=1,37 að meðaltali en það endurspeglar mikil áhrif stuðningsáætlananna á námsástundun þátttakendanna. Í mælingum tveimur til fjórum vikum eftir að notkun hvatningarkerfa lauk mældist námsástundun þátttakenda 50 til 89,4% eða 75% að meðaltali. Niðurstöður eru í samræmi við fyrri rannsóknir og benda til þess að hægt sé að auka sjálfstæða námsástundun nemenda með stuðningsáætlunum sem byggjast á virknimati og viðhalda bættri færni með því að draga smám saman úr umfangi íhlutunar.This article reports findings from a study on the effects of increasingly demanding versions of function-based behavior intervention plans (BIPs) on the academic engagement of students with a long history of behavior problems. Previously, findings from the same study on the effects of function-based BIPs on problem behaviors have been reported (Guðrún Björg Ragnarsdóttir and Anna-Lind Pétursdóttir, 2012). Participants were four male students from two schools in Iceland’s capital, where school-wide positive behavior support was being implemented. The participants were 7 to 8 years old and had reportedly exhibited behavior problems for 5 to 7 years. In addition, they all showed lack of academic engagement in their second or third grade general education classrooms. Three participants were diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, two with oppositional defiant disorder, one with autism spectrum disorder and one with generalized anxiety disorder and Tourette syndrome. Various kinds of support from their teachers, including assistance from a special education teacher, had proved unsuccessful. Thus, functional assessments were conducted through interviews and direct observations to detect variables influencing participants’ problem behaviors and lack of academic engagement. Based on the results of the functional assessments, BIPs were created for each participant through a team-based approach involving their general education teachers, a special education teacher and a behavioral consultant. Each BIP comprised four components: setting event modifications; antecedent interventions; training in alternative skills; and differential reinforcement of academic engagement. Differential reinforcement was conducted with an individualized token system involving frequent praise for appropriate behavior and withholding of reinforcement in the case of disruptive behaviors despite warnings. Four to seven versions of token systems were implemented for each participant to increase academic engagement through gradually more challenging demands over 6 to 13 weeks. Direct observations were used to assess participants’ academic engagement in those general education settings rated most challenging by their teachers. Single subject reversal designs with multiple baselines over participants showed that participants’ academic engagement increased when function-based BIPs were implemented. On average, the duration of academic engagement increased from 55.9% of 20-minute observation periods during baseline to 85.8% during intervention phases, which is an increase of 53.4%. Also, variability of academic engagement decreased. Adjusted effect sizes were calculated from means of the last three measures of baseline and intervention phases using Rosenthal´s (1994) formula, taking into account the autocorrelation between repeated measures, making it comparable to Cohen’s d (Riley-Tillman & Burns, 2009). Adjusted effect sizes of the functionbased BIPs on participants’ academic engagement ranged from d=0.89 to d=2.35, which are considered large effects (Cohen, 1988). Two to four weeks after the token systems had been faded out, participants’ academic engagement ranged from 50% to 89.4% and averaged 75% in previously challenging general education settings. Findings indicate that function-based BIPs can help students with persistent behavior problems increase their academic engagement in general education settings. The findings are in agreement with previous research showing positive effects of function-based BIPs but extend the current literature base to show positive effects of increasingly demanding versions of BIPs and that students continue to show high levels of academic engagement after token systems have been systematically faded. Despite encouraging results, this study is not without limitations. For example, the small number and limited age range of participants restricts the external generalizability of the findings. Thus, direct and systematic replication of the study is needed. Also, further research is needed to explore the long-term robustness of the observed improvements in academic engagement

Úr sérúrræði í almenna skólastofu : virknimat og stuðningsáætlun sem verkfæri í skóla án aðgreiningar

Skóli án aðgreiningar er yfirlýst menntastefna hérlendis en grunnskólakennarar lýsa yfir áhyggjum af því hvernig eigi að takast á við hegðunarvanda í almenna skólaumhverfinu. Hér verður lýst hvernig hægt var að mæta þörfum 8 ára nemanda með langvarandi hegðunarerfiðleika sem leitt höfðu til ákvörðunar um að hann myndi alfarið stunda nám í námsveri í stað almennu skólastofunnar hjá umsjónarkennara 1. Gert var virknimat til að kanna áhrifaþætti á hegðunarerfiðleikana í skólastofunni og framkvæmd einstaklingsmiðuð stuðningsáætlun með hvatningarkerfi sem fól í sér stighækkandi viðmið um frammistöðu til að ýta undir sjálfstæði nemandans. Endurteknar mælingar samkvæmt AB einstaklingsrannsóknarsniði sýndu að truflunum af hálfu nemandans fækkaði að meðaltali úr 43 í tvær í 20 mínútna athugunarlotum og námsástundun í kennslu hjá umsjónarkennara jókst úr 69% í 95% að meðaltali. Árangurinn náðist á nokkrum vikum og varð til þess að hætt var við áform um tilfærslu nemanda í námsver. Umsagnir kennara og nemanda 6 mánuðum eftir inngrip benda til langvarandi áhrifa