Improving Classroom Behavior in Mentally Retarded Children Through Correspondence Training

Abstract

Except for a few studies, most research investigating correspondence training procedures has been more analogue in nature. The purpose of the present set of studies was to examine whether a "say-do" correspondence training technique could be used with children in special education classes to improve classroom behavior. The specific behaviors targeted for change included: out-of-seat behavior (Experiment 1), sitting posture (Experiment 2), and on-task behavior (Experiment 3). The say-do procedure used in Experiment 1 resembled that of previous studies, whereas that in Experiment 2 was more elaborate in the specificity of verbal statements required from the children and the feedback given them. The training procedure in Experiment 3 used a format similar to the say-do approach, but stressed visual rather than verbal cuing because it was used with nonverbal children. All three studies used single-subject designs and examined maintenance and/or generalization questions. Experiments 2 and 3 also evaluated whether concomitant changes in performance on academic tasks occurred. The results of the three studies provide strong evidence that correspondence training can be effectively used with educationally handicapped children. Moreover, the successful modification of the "say-do" to a "show-do" procedure in Experiment 3 points out the flexibility of the correspondence training approach.DESCRIPTORS: correspondence training, retarded children, academic behavior, attending behavior, generalizationThere is a growing body of research concerned with the relationship between what people say and what they do. Much of this research is based on the assumption that a correspondence exists between verbal and nonverbal behavior. One implication of this research is that it may be possible in clinical situations to control nonverbal behavior by modifying verbal behavior. The appeal of this training procedure is related to the ready accessibility of an individual's verbal behavior to a trainer and to the fact that with this training, nonverbal behavior may be main-

Generalization of Say-Do Correspondence

“…Studies focused on maintenance indicate that it is possible to maintain correspondence by simply reinforcing the verbalization (Baer, Blount, Detrich, & Stokes, 1987;Baer, Williams, Osnes, & Stokes, 1984;Guevremont, Osnes, & Stokes, 1986b;Osnes, Grevremont, & Stokes, 1986;Paniagua & Black, 1990;Ward & Stare, 1990;Whitman, Scibak, Butler, Richter, & Johnson, 1982) or through intermittent reinforcement of the correspondence (Baer et aI., 1987) and indiscriminable or almost random contingencies (Guevremont et aI., 1986b). Research into the generalization of say-do correspondence has suggested that a number of variables may be involved in promoting successful generalization (Guevremont et aI., 1986a;Rogers-Warren & Baer, 1976;Whitman et aI., 1982).…”

The Use of Correspondence Training in Improving the In‐class Behaviour of Very Troublesome Secondary School Children

“…These findings concur with those of Craven (1991) and of Glynn, Merrett and Houghton (1991) and support Israel's (1978) claim that the training of correspondence between saying and doing can help to solve the problem of generalisation. Within the present study, in contrast with the Whitman et al (1982) paper, information about the contingencies of reinforcement in operation was provided for each pupil in the initial correspondence training session and was also included in the researcher's feedback. Pupils therefore experienced no difficulty in discriminating why reinforcement was given.…”

“…Three experiments by Whitman et al, (1982) investigated the effects of correspondence training on the classroom behaviour of eight 9-12 year-olds in a special education setting. In the first experiment, the procedure was found to be effective in reducing the out of seat behaviour of a 9 year-old girl during Maths lessons.…”

Clinical effects of correspondence training in the management of hyperactive children

“…Basic research in this area suggests that correspondence procedures can produce rapid changes in nonverbal (target) behavior by strengthening the appropriate verbal-nonverbal relationship (Baer, Williams, Osnes, & Stokes, 1984;Israel & O'Leary, 1973;Paniagua, Stella, Holt, Baer, & Etzel, 1982;Paniagua & Baer, 1982;Risley & Hart, 1968). Several researchers have emphasized the clinical effects of correspondence training in the management of various forms of behaviors in normal and abnormal qhildren (Baer, Osnes, & Stokes, 1983;Finney, Russo, & Cataldo, 1982;Paniagua, 1985;RogersWarren & Baer, 1976;Whitman, Scibak, Butler, Richter, & Johnson, 1982). However, the application of correspondence training in the management of ADD-H has received little attention.…”