Generalization of student question asking from special class to regular class settings.

Area of Science:

• Special Education
• Educational Psychology
• Learning Disabilities

Background:

• Students with mild handicaps often exhibit limited question-asking behaviors in mainstream classrooms.
• Effective strategies are needed to promote generalization of academic and social skills for these students.
• Question asking is crucial for active learning and academic engagement.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the effectiveness of videotaped exemplars in teaching generalization of question asking skills.
• To improve the academic performance of mildly handicapped students in regular mathematics classes.
• To assess the impact of a structured intervention on question-asking frequency and assignment accuracy.

Main Methods:

• Employed a quasi-experimental design with three mildly handicapped fourth-grade students.
• Utilized videotaped exemplars from a regular mathematics class to model question asking.
• Implemented a multi-component intervention including video modeling, rehearsal opportunities, and feedback in a learning resource room setting.

Main Results:

• The intervention significantly increased the frequency of question asking among the participating students.
• Students demonstrated improved accuracy on their regular mathematics class assignments.
• The training procedures were effective in generalizing question-asking skills to the regular classroom environment.

Conclusions:

• Videotaped exemplars, combined with structured practice and feedback, are an effective method for teaching question asking to students with mild handicaps.
• This intervention approach can lead to improved academic outcomes in inclusive settings.
• The findings support the use of targeted skill-building strategies to enhance student engagement and performance.