Step 1: Clarification of Elements Under Teacher Control
During this step, the teacher determines what is under her control. These include:
- the physical and social environment (e.g. seating arrangement, temperature)
- lesson development, including structure and target objectives (e.g. presentation style, level of prompts)
- selection of activities and materials (e.g. choice of materials, use of support staff)
- management procedures (e.g. use of feedback, delivery of reinforcers)
- evaluation procedures (e.g. establishing criteria for mastery, determining test conditions)
The teacher must ask, "What can I change in my classroom; what am I willing to change in my classroom; and what is beyond my control?"
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In step 2, the teacher develops a menu. This menu may be addressed in conjunction with other teachers. It is simply a listing of instructional alterations that can be implemented easily. Modifications typically fall into one of nine major categories:
materials
- presentation
- cueing or feedback
- management
- instructional
- content
- task
- grouping
- physical and environmental
Cohen and Lynch (1991) provide a list of 105 instructional modifications in their modification menu:
- Create study carrels.
- Use room dividers.
- Use headsets to muffle noise.
- Seat child away from doors/windows.
- Seat child near model (student or teacher).
- Have a time-out area.
- Rearrange student groups (according to instructional needs, role models, etc.).
- Group for cooperative learning.
- Vary working surface (e.g. floor or vertical surface such as blackboards).
- Simplify/shorten directions.
- Give both oral and written directions.
- Have student repeat directions.
- Have student repeat lesson objective.
- Ask questions frequently.
- Change question level.
- Change response format (e.g. from verbal to physical; from saying to pointing).
- Provide sequential directions (label as first, second, etc.).
- Use manipulatives.
- Alter objective criterion level.
- Provide functional tasks (related to child's environment).
- Reduce number of items on a task.
- Highlight relevant words/features.
- Use rebus (picture) directions.
- Provide guided practice.
- Provide more practice trials.
- Increase allocated time.
- Use a strategy approach.
- Change reinforcers.
- Increase reinforcer frequency.
- Delay reinforcement.
- Provide error drill.
- Increase wait-time.
- Use firm-up activities.
- Use specific rather than general praise.
- Have a peer-tutoring program.
- Provide frequent review.
- Have student summarize at end of lesson.
- Use self-correcting materials.
- Adapt test items for differing response modes.
- Provide mnemonic devices.
- tangible reinforcers.
- Use behavioral contracts.
- Establish routines for handing work in, heading papers, etc.
- Use timers to show allocated time.
- Teach self-monitoring.
- Provide visual cues (posters, desktop number lines, etc.).
- Block out extraneous stimuli on written materials.
- Tape record directions.
- Tape record student responses.
- Use a study guide.
- Provide critical vocabulary list for content material.
- Provide essential fact list.
- Use clock faces to show classroom routine times.
- Use dotted lines to line up math problems or show margins.
- Use cloze procedure to test comprehension.
- Provide transition directions.
- Assign only one task at a time.
- Provide discussion questions before reading.
- Use work markers to guide reading.
- Alter sequence of presentation.
- Enlarge or highlight key words on test items.
- Provide daily and weekly assignment sheets.
- Post daily/weekly schedule.
- Use graph paper for place value or when adding/subtracting two-digit numbers.
- Provide anticipation cues.
- Establish rules and review them frequently.
- Teach key direction words.
- Use distributed practice.
- Supply pencil grips.
- Tape paper to desk.
- Shorten project assignments to be completed.
- Segment directions.
- Number (order) assignments to be completed.
- Change far point to near point material for copying or review.
- Put desk close to blackboard.
- Incorporate currently popular themes/characters into assignments for motivation.
- Repeat major points.
- Use physical cues while speaking ("One, two, three," etc.).
- Pause during speaking.
- Use verbal cues ("Don't write this down"; "This is important.").
- Change tone of voice (whisper, etc.).
- Use an honor system.
- Collect notebooks weekly (periodically) to review student notes.
- Reorganize tests to go from easy to hard.
- Color code place value tasks.
- Use self-teaching materials.
- Do only odd or even numbered items on a large task sheet.
- Use a primary typewriter or large print to create written material.
- Provide organizers (cartons/bins) for desk material.
- Teach varied reading rates (scanning, skimming, etc.).
- Provide content/lecture summaries.
- Use peer-mediated strategies.
- Call student's name before asking a question.
- Use extra spaces between lines of print.
- Use computer for writing tasks.
- Color code materials/directions.
- Use raised-line paper.
- Provide calculators.
- Circle math computation sign.
- Use hand signals to cue behavior (e.g. attention, responding).
- Establish a rationale for learning.
- Use advance organizers.
- Help students to develop their own learning strategies.
- Ask oral multiple-choice questions.
- Use peer checkers to review completed work.
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The teacher must decide whether or not there is a need for instructional modification and whether or not the problem exists in the teacher’s domain (under his or her control). The teacher may ask such questions as:
- Does the problem occur in one or more content areas?
- Which ones?
- How often and for how long does the problem behavior occur?
- What preceding event(s) trigger the problem?
- What consequences occur as a result of the problem behavior?
- What instructional alterations have been tried previously?
- With what results?
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In Step 4, the teacher develops a statement of the problem to direct the selection of modifications. The problem should be stated specifically and in observable terms (e.g., Jimmy needs to sit in his seat during independent seat work activities).
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Step 5: Selection & Grouping of Modifications
In this step, the teacher selects as many of the modifications from her menu as she can which might address the particular problem behavior.
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In this step the teacher ranks the modifications chosen using a modification rating scale developed by Cohen and Lynch (1991). This rating scale includes five statements with ratings of 1 to 5.
This rating scale narrows down the number of modifications to those that are more plausible for use. Those with the highest overall ratings (based upon the teacher's adding up the ratings across the five statements) are selected.
Step 7: Modification Implementation- The teacher makes a decision to implement a modification, provides this modification, and takes data on the success of the implemented modification. Cohen and Lynch have created a planning and evaluation form. If the modification proves to be unsuccessful, the teacher returns to Step 6. Sometimes the teacher may need to review the problem statement and proceed from there.