Article Summary #1: Technology delivered self-monitoring application to promote successful inclusion of an elementary student with autism.

Article Summary:Technology delivered self-monitoring application to promote successful

inclusion of an elementary student with autism.
Rosenbloom, R., Mason, R. A., Wills, H. P., & Mason, B. A. (2016). Technology delivered

self-monitoring application to promote successful inclusion of an elementary student with autism.

Assistive Technology, 28(1), 9-16.

As an art teacher, I have the privilege of teaching in a focused subject area that I love. 

The challenge in my field isn’t only how to effectively teach the power of

art, it’s often how to manage nearly 500 students who are different in their own wonderful way.

With a group this size utilizing successful methods for behavior management is crucial for the

learning environment for each class. Understanding that one approach isn’t “one size fits all” is

critical to your growth as a teacher and more importantly for the students’ experience as a whole.

I like to ask myself, “Is there a better process I can use for this particular student or class?”  

In my current position at the elementary level I have close to twenty students school wide on

behavior charts at varying degrees of needs (facilitated through the SPED and classroom teachers).

Although the goal is for the students to graduate from having to carry the chart around from class to

class with an improvement of scores over a period of time; but is the act of earning a green star over

a red star aiding them to change their tendencies of physically or verbally distracting the class

(whether it is intentional or not)?  I am finding that this method is not working with every child

that utilizes it.  Instead I was interested in this self monitoring program called  I-Connect featured

in the article Technology delivered self-monitoring application to promote successful inclusion

of an elementary student with autism. This program put the duty of managing behavior and

staying on task right at the the student’s finger tips.

The article focused on utilizing a self-monitoring tool particularly with a 3rd grade,

high functioning autistic student who was mainstreamed in a classroom with the support

of an aid. As with many classrooms it can be a wonderful experience for children at different

abilities and achievements  (such as special needs students) to work together and form

relationships, but teaching effectively is a challenge when the child has little control over their

self- control, resulting in the child being off task and distracting other students during the learning

process. As the article states, “the cueing components (e.g., timers, chimes and stopwatches) can

be intrusive and socially distracting in the general education classroom.” p 9. Not to mention the

challenge of constantly giving points on paper and collecting and analyzing the data is time

consuming,  inside and outside of classroom time. So why not try an approach that is more

concealed and data driven with technology. The program I-Connect (programmable to an Ipad

and Android) allows cues to be delivered silently and visually to the user while being more

inconspicuous and less distracting to others.  The study planned to define the relationship

between the I-Connect self-monitoring tool and the increase in on-task behavior and a decrease

in disruptive behavior for this third grade boy in his general ed class.

In this study the I-Connect program was used during the time math was taught. It wasn’t the only data collected,  there were observers also in the room. They were collecting the baseline data before the program was implemented. The two variables studied was: first “the percentage of time the child was on-task

in each 15 minute observation period.” p.11 and the second variable was the  frequency of

disruptive behavior. Whether the class was learning whole group, small group or independently,

the I- Connect program was calibrated to work in intervals of time and ask the student

“Are you on task?” the student would answer yes or no, depending on the answer the child gives

and the consistency in which they answer, the program divides the total number of responses

by the total number of response chances.

 After the study the results were examined; with a baseline of a regular day, the percentage of on-task behavior and disruptive behavior fluctuated 

 for this autistic third grade from 0% to 100% (as to be expected). While utilizing the I-Connect, on-

task behavior ranged from 70-100% during the sessions and the frequency of disruptive behavior

resulted in nearly  0% of the time.  Also recorded by the observers was a withdrawal period from

the I-Connect. Surprisingly the percentage of the on-task behavior now ranged from 0-55% and

disruptive behavior was from 20-60% of the time.

The student and the teacher’s thoughts on the program was the most significant part of article.

They both answered a questionnaire of a 1 to 5 rating scale ( 5 being “a lot better than before”)

Overall the student felt he got into a lot less trouble while using the program and he was able

to stay on task and give the right answers a little more when using the program. It seems to me

that the student was more conscious about his behavior than what he was accomplishing

academically. The student’s teacher gave the questionnaire very high scores, saying that the

student was more focused, completed tasks at the expected level and eliminated distractions

for the surrounding students. It was a great motivator and helped the student be in control of his

goals.

I think this would be very interesting to try in a variety of cases, whether the student is

autistic or not. First I’ll focus on this tool as a time saver, believe it or not filling out multiple charts

for each room takes time to record and to reflect  with the student so they know how they have

earned their points. This is time away from all the other students and away from instruction.

Second, the fact that this program collects data for the teacher and the student, allows me to

believe that there are opportunities for collaborative reflection aiding in the ability to problem

solve strategies for individual students. The third most significant part of this tool I love is the

involvement the student has with it. Although we have the online behavior tools such as Class

Dojo, which is quite helpful, this I-Connect program seems to include the student in the moment.

 I think that when the child reviews their progress with their teacher they will see that with a

personal reminder they can grow along with the other kids by completing daily tasks, utilizing

expected behavior and building self confidence.