Peer modeling of response chains: observational learning by students with disabilities

Area of Science:

• Special Education
• Developmental Psychology
• Behavioral Analysis

Background:

• Students with disabilities often require specialized instructional strategies to acquire new skills.
• Peer modeling is a potential intervention to support skill acquisition in educational settings.
• The impact of peer modeling on social interaction and participation for students with disabilities needs further investigation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the effectiveness of peer modeling in teaching response chains to students with disabilities.
• To assess the effects of peer modeling on the participation and social interactions of students with disabilities in classroom activities.

Main Methods:

• A multiple probe design across response chains was employed, replicated across three students with disabilities.
• Peer models (classmates without disabilities) demonstrated task performance (response chains) daily.
• Student performance, participation, and social interactions were assessed before and after the intervention.

Main Results:

• Peer models accurately and efficiently performed the response chains.
• Students with disabilities acquired the targeted response chains following peer modeling.
• Participation in classroom activities remained high, and social interactions remained low, with no significant changes observed due to the intervention.

Conclusions:

• Peer modeling is an effective strategy for teaching specific skills (response chains) to students with disabilities.
• The peer modeling intervention did not significantly influence the level of social interaction or participation among students with disabilities.
• Further research may be needed to explore strategies that enhance social engagement alongside skill acquisition for students with disabilities.