Computer-Assisted and Web-Based Innovations in Psychology, Special Education, and Health

James K. Luiselli, Aaron J. Fischer

• Publisher: Academic Press
• Year: 2016
• Print ISBN:
  9780128020753
• eBook ISBN:
  9780128021095
• Topic: Education
• Subtopic: Inclusive Education

Computer-Assisted and Web-Based Innovations in Psychology, Special Education, and Health examines the rapid evolution of technology among educational, behavioral healthcare, and human services professionals from a multidisciplinary perspective.  Section I of the book focuses on Technology for Monitoring, Assessment, and Evaluation, featuring chapters about behavioral, affective, and physiological monitoring, actigraphy measurement of exercise and physical activity, technological applications for individuals with learning disabilities/ADHD, and data analysis and graphing.  In Section II, Technology for Intervention, the chapters address telehealth technologies for evidence-based psychotherapy, virtual reality therapy, substance use and addictions, and video modeling.  The emphasis of Section III is Technology for Special Education, with chapters on computer-based instruction, alternative and augmentative communication, and assistive technologies.  Finally, Section IV considers Technology for Training, Supervision, and Practice, specifically web-sourced training and supervision, legal, regulatory, and ethical issues with telehealth modalities, and emerging systems for clinical practice. Computer-Assisted and Web-Based Innovations is a primary resource for educating students, advising professionals about recommended practices, accelerating procedural innovations, and directing research. - Reviews thoroughly the extant literature - Categorizes the most salient areas of research and practice - Comments on future inquiry and application given current technological trends - Cites appropriate product information and related websites

Section III

Technology for Special Education

Outline

Chapter 8 Video Modeling

Chapter 9 Computer-Based Instruction (CBI) Within Special Education

Chapter 10 Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) in Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities

Chapter 11 Assistive Technologies for Persons with Severe-Profound Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities

Chapter 8

Video Modeling

Christos Nikopoulos¹, James K. Luiselli² and Aaron J. Fischer³, ¹Autism Consultancy Services Ltd, London, UK, ²Clinical Solutions, Inc. and North East Educational and Developmental Support Center, Tewksbury, MA, USA, ³Department of Educational Psychology, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, USA

Abstract

There has been a shift in emphasis from language-based instruction to more visual instructional supports as a catalyst for learning in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). This development reflects extensive reports that children with ASD demonstrate enhanced performance on visual discrimination tasks compared with matched controls. Therefore, it is not surprising that the majority of current educational programs for children with ASD frequently employ visual aids such as picture prompts, photographic activity schedules, and videos. This chapter focuses on the use of video modeling applications with this population.

Keywords

Visual instruction; autism spectrum disorder (ASD); visual aids; video modeling; children’s education

There has been a shift in emphasis from language-based instruction to more visual instructional supports as a catalyst for learning in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) (Bondy & Frost, 2001; Quill, 2000). This development reflects extensive reports that children with ASD demonstrate enhanced performance on visual discrimination tasks compared with matched controls (Dawson, Soulieres, Gernsbacher, & Mottron, 2007; Mottron, 2011; Shipley-Benamou, Lutzker, & Taubman, 2002; Simmons et al., 2009). Therefore, it is not surprising that the majority of current educational programs for children with ASD frequently employ visual aids such as picture prompts, photographic activity schedules, and videos (Dawson, Osterling, Meltzoff, & Kuhl, 2000; Kamio & Toichi, 2000; Rao & Gagie, 2006; Shane & Albert, 2008).

Advances in information and communication technology have led to several innovative applications with many visual supports integrated, forming the design of technology-based interventions for children who have ASD as well as other neurodevelopmental disorders (Doughty et al., 2007). Video modeling (VM), the topic of this chapter, has been extensively reported as an effective and technologically sophisticated method for developing many skills in children with ASD (Bellini & Akullian, 2007; Delano, 2007; Kagohara, 2010; Nikopoulos & Keenan, 2006; Tereshko, MacDonald, & Ahearn, 2010; Wang, Cui, & Parrila, 2011). We will describe several VM methodologies, review pertinent evidence support, and present practice recommendations. The chapter focuses on VM applications with children who have ASD because most research has targeted this clinical population. Notably, Wang and Koyama (2014) advised that since “many children with ASD enjoy watching videos, VM is a potential self-learning tool and a leisure activity that also encourages independent performance” (p. 747). However, in light of related research findings, we also consider VM to be an effective instructional strategy for children who have other neurodevelopmental disorders and intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD). Therefore, VM is not reserved exclusively for children with ASD.

Overview

In simple terms, VM can be defined as the occurrence of a behavior by a child-observer that is the same or similar to the behavior shown by a model on a video (Grant & Evans, 1994). Furthermore, “VM provides an antecedent stimulus and primes learners to predict and become familiar with a future activity or task” (Wang & Koyama, 2014, p. 747). Others have posited that “VM is an instructional technique in which individuals view a short video of a model (e.g., adult, peer, self), performing a sequence of steps making up a target skill or behavior and then are directed to perform the steps viewed” (Gardner & Wolfe, 2013, p. 74). Different formats are used to present video models, including television monitors (Shipley-Benamou, Lutzker, & Taubman, 2002), computers (Ayres & Langone, 2007), video games (Blum-Dimaya, Reeve, Reeve, & Hoch, 2010), DVD players (Mechling, Gast, & Fields, 2008), and personalized digital assistants (PDAs) (Mechling & Ayres, 2012). The availability of diverse formats and devices is one reason why VM appeals to many care-providers and continues to grow as an instructional strategy.

With VM, the model can be a peer, a sibling, an adult, or even oneself (Bellini & Akullian, 2007). Video self-modeling (VSM), in particular, gives individuals the opportunity to view themselves performing a prompted behavior or task just beyond their present functioning level (Gelbar, Anderson, McCarthy, & Buggey, 2012). Indeed, the list of objectives addressed through VSM includes (i) language and communication skills (Buggey, 2005; Buggey, Toombs, Gardener, & Cervetti, 1999), (ii) social skills (Bellini, Akullian, & Hopf, 2007; Bernad-Ripol, 2007; Boudreau & Harvey, 2013; Buggey, Hoomes, Sherberger, & Williams, 2011; Litras, Moore, & Anderson, 2010; Tsui & Rutherford, 2014; Williamson, Casey, Robertson, & Buggey, 2013), (iii) classroom rules and academic behaviors (Bellini & McConnell, 2010; Burton, Anderson, Prater, & Dyches, 2013; Coyle & Cole, 2004; Hart & Whalon, 2012; Lang et al., 2009), (iv) task fluency (Cihak & Schrader, 2009; Lasater & Brady,1995), (v) daily living and vocational independence (Bereznak, Ayres, Mechling, & Alexander, 2012), and (vi) task avoidance behaviors (Ohtakea, Kawaib, Takeuchic, & Utsumid, 2013).

Four different types of VM have been examined when the model is either a familiar or unfamiliar peer or adult (McCoy & Hermansen, 2007). A third-person perspective is the most widely used type of VM, which involves making a video of someone completing a task from beginning to the end (i.e., whole task presentation). The child watches the entire video and is then given the opportunity to perform the task or behavior sequence. A care-provider such as a teacher, therapist, or parent may also remove irrelevant elements of the modeled behavior through video editing in order for the child to focus on essential aspects of critical behaviors (Tereshko et al., 2010).

Point-of-view (POV) VM involves a care-provider holding the video camera at eye level, from the child’s perspective, to show the environment as she/he would see it and would have to perform the targeted behaviors. Hence, models are not recorded (Dupere et al., 2013; Mason, Davis, Boles, & Goodwyn, 2013). This type of VM, depending of course on the relevant skills and behaviors, may further facilitate the child with ASD to better focus on essential aspects of the modeled behaviors, since the necessity of identifying optimal characteristics of the model have been eliminated. This is particularly important for children with ASD if they typically attend to irrelevant details of a given task (Travers, Klinger, & Klinger, 2011).

A third approach, instructional VM, usually adopts a third-person perspective by presenting a step-by-step walk-through of each target skill (Shipley-Benamou et al., 2002). The process of making the video is facilitated following a prior analysis of the target task. A task analysis is completed in order to break down rather complex task sequences into constituent elements in an effort to tailor the demands of the task to the individual needs of each child. In other words, a rather difficult scenario is made easier by allowing children to experience selected parts. Once the required behaviors in these parts are identified, they can be taught to the child individually and then reconstructed into a larger sequence (Stokes, Cameron, Dorsey, & Fleming, 2004). A narrator may also be featured in such videos.

Finally, priming VM involves the recording of future events so that they can become more predictable when a child previews them (Schreibman, Whalen, & Stahmer, 2000). These videos can be filmed from either a first- or third-person perspective.

Among several benefits, VM appears to be less time intensive to create and view when compared to in vivo modeling (Rayner, Denholm, & Sigafoos, 2009). It has also been noted that, in relation to other instructional strategies, VM requires less expertise to implement, is more cost-effective, and may expedite skill acquisition (Gena, Couloura, & Kymissis, 2005; Sigafoos, O’Reilly, & De La Cruz, 2007). Once a VM has been created, it can be presented multiple times, thereby increasing a child’s practice opportunities and possibly promoting greater independence while diminishing the need for continuous supervision from an instructor (Alcantara, 1994; Wang & Koyama, 2014). These advantages notwithstanding, and as described in a subsequent section of the chapter, we emphasize that further research is necessary to confirm the purported advantages of VM over other instructional methods.

VM should be distinguished from video prompting (VP) (Sigafoos et al., 2005). Whereas both VM and VP entail watching a video and imitating the visual depictions, VP does not include viewing an entire skill or task sequence. Instead, the child watches the video, one step at a time, until all of the steps have been mastered (Bennett, Gutierrez, & Honsberger, 2013). Interestingly, both Cannella-Malone et al. (2006) and (2011) found that VP was superior to VM in teaching skills to individuals with IDD. Thus, different types of video-based instruction are available to care-providers and should continue to be evaluated for comparative effectiveness.

The process of video viewing can be done independently or a child may receive assistance simultaneously from a care-provider (e.g., “Look at what the boy is doing.”). Prompting is also possible by altering the video medium with voiceover cues, visual highlights, close-up editing, and the like. After viewing a video several times, children are given the opportunity to demonstrate the behaviors that they observed. A child’s success during post-viewing sessions can be facilitated in several ways such as matching stimuli and situations to what was depicted in the video, further prompting of the video-modeled behaviors, and directly reinforcing imitative responses. Although some children acquire skills rapidly from VM, repeated viewing of videos or specific video segments is usually required. Once a child is reliably performing targeted skills and behaviors under natural conditions, VM should be systematically withdrawn.

Taylor and DeQuinzio (2011) presented several VM implementation guidelines. It is critically important to confirm that a child is able to imitate the actions of another person, first in the context of live (non-video) demonstration, and then as displayed in a video. If a child’s imitation skills are weak or inconsistent, a care-provider will need to initiate training, usually through verbal-physical prompting, prompt-fading, and positive reinforcement. The next step is to develop VM scripts by deciding what modeled actions should be filmed and represented in a video. Ideally, care-providers should select stimuli and activities that a child enjoys. Thought should be made to ensure that the modeled actions are developmentally age-appropriate to the child-observer. It is usually best to start with simple motor and verbal behaviors, which can become gradually more complex over time. To maintain a child’s motivation and avoid boredom, it is desirable to vary several video sequences during viewing sessions.

Upon completing one or more VM scripts, Taylor and DeQuinzio (2011) advised making a video of the selected skill and task sequences, initially with an adult model to more precisely control modeled actions, and then showing them slowly and clearly during first-time viewing. They further suggest having a child watch the video at least twice before evaluating the learning effects (as noted, multiple viewings are customary). Care-providers should monitor a child closely during video viewing, focusing attention as warranted. Progress monitoring is essential through regularly performed data recording that will confirm whether a child has or has not learned from VM. Some additional strategies...

Table of contents

• Cover image
• Title page
• Table of Contents
• Copyright
• Contributors
• Preface
• Section I: Technology for Monitoring, Assessment, and Evaluation
• Section II: Technology for Intervention
• Section III: Technology for Special Education
• Section IV: Technology for Training, Supervision and Practice
• Index