Development and Validation of Feedback Routines for Instructing Students with Learning Disabilities

Abstract

This investigation focused on validating two feedback routines for use by special education teachers to enhance the performance of students with learning disabilities. One routine (the Feedback Routine) involved teacher-delivered elaborated feedback, the other (the Feedback-Plus-Assistance Routine) consisted of elaborated feedback plus a student-acceptance routine, which included setting goals for the next practice trial. Two experimental designs were employed: one to determine whether teachers could learn the routines, the other to determine the effects on student learning. Dependent measures were (a) teacher and student performance of the routines, (b) student trials to mastery, and (c) student errors across trials. Measures of teacher and student satisfaction and teacher maintenance were also gathered. Results indicated that the special education teachers effectively integrated the routines into their teaching repertoires. Further, the routines significantly reduced the number of student trials to mastery and the number of student errors in practice attempts following feedback sessions. The two routines appeared equally powerful in terms of teacher and student learning; however, the teachers continued to maintain the routine requiring student involvement in goal setting for a longer period.