Effects of Video Self-Modeling and Feedback on Task ...

:DUCATI()N ANO -( HEAlrv1ENT OF CHILDREN Vol. 18, No.4. November 1995"

Effects of Video Self-Modeling

and Feedback on Task Fluency: A HOtTIe-Based Intervention I~.

Mary W. Lasater

R. COl1sulting, Houston, Texas

Micl1ael P. Brady

Florida International University

Abstract 'his study exaillillcd the utility of an instructional package that includes self-assessment, 'ehaviof r~hearsal and self-Illodeling via videotape feedback as an approach for improving ask fluency of self-help skills of two adolescent boys with developmental disabilities and lehavioral disorders receiving in-home training. A multiple-baseline design across tasks ~xamincd the effects of the instructional package on two tasks and two other tasks not ~xposcd to the intervention (fOf generalization effects). Data were collected on the: (a) lunlbcr of skp~ of each self-help task analysis completed without assistance, (b) tilne to :omplete the task, Jnd (c) perccntage of lO-second intervals during which task-interfering )ehavior OCi.~lIrred" Results dClllonstrated that the video instructional package (a) increased ask fluency, (b) prolnoted generalized increases in task fluency to other tasks not exposed ;0 the tr.linin b , and (c) decreased c()varying, task interfering behavior. Moreover, the participants 111aintdineJ these effects in both the training and generalization settings after the video training \vas rClnoved.

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i In recent years there have been several studies using videotape : feedback with peers and self-modeling. Haring, Kennedy, Adams, and Pitts-Con\vayt s (19t)7) study of non-handicapped peer videotapes was effective in pronl0ting generalization of purchasing skills across settings , in students with autiso1. Additionally, the videotaped modeling resulted in increases in social responding and independent functioning. In : another stud y, boys 7 to 15 years old in a residential center for children : with behavioral disorders were shown videotapes of peers working through problen1 situations (Elias, 1983). Results showed improven1ent in emotional control, prosocial behavior, and self-reliant behavior. Generalized effects also \vere noted in the children's social adjustn1ent : (Le., reduced clnolional detachment, inability to delay, and so"ial isolation) . Charlop and Milstein (1 Y89) assessed the effects of video modeling on acquisition and generalization of conversational skills of three boys wilh autisnl. \lid(~olapes were created of different adults engaged in I

Addr~~~s:

l\.Llry \V. Lasater;

I{~gion

IV Education Service Center;

ton, TX 77{)(j2.

Pages 389-407

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appropriate conversation skills. The boys then practiced these skills. Their conversational skills improved after the videotape modeling, generalized across topics, and maintained over a IS"month period. In an employment training setting, Morgan and Salzberg (1992) conducted two studies with adults with severe mental retardation to evaluate the effects of video..assisted training on solving problems and reporting them to the supervisor. The first study used video models to find and solve a problem and the trainer described the moders actions while participants viewed the video. Each participant was asked to assess th~ situation and offer a problem-solving response. A second intervention (behavioral rehearsal with video-assisted training) was implemented if the participant did not respond correctly to similar problems encountered in the work setting. The results indicated that both participants learned to identify four work problems after the first intervention of video training alone, but did not perform responses in the work setting until after they received the combined video-assisted training and rehearsal for one or two work problems. ' A number of videotape studies included the target participants as the models of target behavior Uackson & Martin, 1983; Kern-Dunlap, Dunlap, Clarke, Childs, White, & Stewart, 1992; Lonnecker, Brady, McPherson, & Hawkins, 1994; Morgan & Salzberg, 1992; Osborne, Kiburz, & Miller, 1986; Pigott & Gonzales, 1987). For example, in the second study by Morgan and Salzberg (1992) the video training interventions included: unfamiliar workers acting out a problem-solving situation; the participants themselves (persons with severe developmental disabilities in a sheltered work environment) role-playing problem..solving; the participants themselves in role-play with a f~mi1iar supervisor; and role play by the participants with an added behavior rehearsal component. The results indicated that the participants could discriminate the components of requesting assistance after the first intervention (e.g., who to ask about found keys). However, training effects did not generalize to the work setting for two of the participants until implementation of the behavior rehearsal component. Self-modeling videotapes also were used to promote interactions in an adult woman with mental retardation and schizophrenia Oackson & Martin, 1983). The program increased her control of targeted behaviors (Le., eye contact, facial gestures, verbal content, voice volume, and overall conversation skill). The effects were maintained in follo\v..up probes and generalized from training to novel role-play scenes. In a 1992 study by Kern..Dunlap et al., students with severe emotional and behavior problems observed their own videotaped behavior during a peer activity. They evaluated their own interactions by responding yes " or "noll to a statement regarding whether desirable peer interactions had occurred each 30-second interval on the videotape, and were given delayed feedback and reinforcement for desirable peer interactions. The results indicated that desirable behavior increased and undesirabl€ behavior decreased following intervention. Pigott and Gonzales (1987) investigated the use of videotaped self-modeling to increase answering teacher questions by a child \'\The tl

392 VIDEO SELF-MODELING AND FEEDBACK

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was selectively mute for four years. The boy watched himself answering direct questions on videotapes and subsequent increases in direct question answering during the school day resulted. Osborne, Kiburz, and Miller (1986) and Lonnecker et al. (1994) employed self-assessment, behavior rehearsal, and self-modeling via videotaped feedback to reduce inappropriate behaviors. In the Osborne et al. study, self-control techniques in combination with self-modeling videotapes reduced self-injurious behavior in an adolescent boy with severe behavior disorders. Lonnecker et al. (1994) targeted in-class behavior of two boys with learning disabilities. Videotaped feedback of the boys' cooperative behavior (Le., sitting appropriately and quietly, cooperating with teacher and other students) and inappropriate behavior (i.e., non-academic involvement, talking out, tantrums, and protests), self-assessment of the behaviors using a hierarchy of questions delivered by a trainer, and self-modeling increased cooperative behavior and decreased inappropriate behavior. Results also indicated that the changes in behaviors generalized to two different academic settings for each student. \Vhile video modeling with students with disabilities has been encouraging, little attention has been paid to this technique in the home where instructional control over children's learning is often inconsistent. Further, there also has been little research on the use of video self-modeling as a tool to increase task fluency (i.e., the speed and accuracy of a skill). The purpose of this research was to examine the utility of a video instruction package, which included self-assessment and self-modeling, to improve task fluency of self-help skills of individ uals in their homes. Specifically, the video-mediated, horne-based instructional package included (a) self-viewing of behavior via videotape, (b) self-assessment of behavior, (c) modeling appropriate behavior on the fluency of self-help skills (e.g., table setting), and (d) trainer feedback. Additionally, generalization to other self-help tasks not included in the self-modeling training package was examined, as well as the occurrence of covarying, task interfering behavior in all tasks.

Method

Participants The participants in this study included two boys with disabilities who attended both-resource and mainstreamed classrooms in a neighborhood public high school and received additional in-home training. Criteria for participant selection included (a) ability to perform a given task when ,prompted but with slow or inaccurate performance (at least twice the \normative rate); (b) presence of a television and videotape player in the home; (c) ability to attend to a task for three to five minutes; (d) willingness to watch self on videotape; (e) presence of task interfering behavior; (f) parental willingness to allow researchers to video, practice, 3nd collect data in the home. Jud, a 15-year-old, was identified as having pervasive developmental

disorder, k\lrning disabilities, spc.:l'ch handicdp~, dIld Williams SyndroIllt: 4-1 disorder that includes !leJi-ljk~" physical chardclel-istics of pointed Cdrs Jnd zan elongated face. lIis parents noted that he \vas "very s!tnv" dnd proll~ to "drifting" durin!; s~lf-hl:lp ld~ks. Thi~ n~slJlted in continuous pronlpting for hiln to c0l11plete any self-help L.bks. J ud also engaged in stereolypic behavior of obsessi ve speech to indllin1dte objects (fans, snlf.lll Il1otor n1Zlchines, hl\VnnlO\VerS and air conditioners). Jud expressed that he wanted to learn to be Inore indepenJenl so he could live on his own. Jud typically \'Vas con1pliant and eager to talk to adults and he interacted well vvith his two younger siblings and parents. Iud took piano lessons and could play complex songs on the piano without reading the Inusic. Jud's vVechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Revised (WISC-R) scores (adnlinistered 2 years earlier) included a VerbalIQ of 66, a Performance IQ of 67, and a Full Scale IQ of 64. (Previous scores vvere 87,