Modified Student Success Skills for Students with Learning Disabilities: A Pilot Study

Abstract

A modified version of the Student Success Skills (SSS) curriculum, designed to help address the need for intervention in executive functioning skills, metacognition skills, and social skills, was offered to a small group of students in eighth grade who were identified with learning disabilities to positively impact their learning strategies and knowledge. The purpose of this pilot study was to measure the effects of this modified version of SSS on students’ (a) skills and behaviors associated with improved school performance; (b) generalization of those skills to scenarios; and (c) school-related outcomes, including a teacher report. The study design applied a single subject multiple probe across students. The primary dependent variable measured in this study was the number of school-success-related skills and strategies students identified. Findings suggest a functional relation between the modified version of SSS and participants’ ability to name skills and behaviors associated with school success. The findings of the current study, as a collaboration with school counselors and special educators, provide a first step towards illustrating the impact of a modified SSS intervention with students with IEPs. Students reported enjoying and learning from the lessons.