The importance of effective instruction on student academic and social achievement has been well documented. Strong classroom management and the use of high rates of opportunities to respond (OTR) have been two advocated classroom practices to positively impact student performance. This article presents an analysis of data collected across 35 general education classrooms in four elementary schools, assessing instructional variables associated with OTR. The relationship among OTR, measures of classroom management, and student work products was analyzed across Title and non-Title schools. Results indicate that teachers in the present study used components of OTR at rates similar to past research, but there were clear differences among Title I and non-Title schools. In addition, as teacher use of key instructional variables increased or decreased, other key variables posited as necessary by the literature often suffered. Implications for future research are discussed for students in high- and low-risk general education classrooms.
Anderson, L., Evertson, C., & Brophy, J.H. (1979). An experimental study of effective teaching in first grade reading groups. Elementary School Journal, 79(4), 193-223.
2.
Brophy, J.E. (1980). Recent research on teaching. East Lansing: Institute for Research on Teaching, Michigan State University.
3.
Brophy, J.E. (1981). Teacher praise: A functional analysis. Review of Educational Research, 51(1), 5-32.
4.
Brophy, J.E., & Good, T. (1986) Teacher behavior and student achievement. In M.C. Wittrock (Ed.), Handbook of research in teaching. (3rd ed., pp. 328-375). New York: Macmillian.
5.
Bulgren, J.A., & Carta, J.J. (1993). Examining the instructional contexts of students with learning disabilities. Exceptional Children, 59, 182-191.
6.
Cameron, J., & Pierce, W.D. (1994). Reinforcement, reward, and intrinsic motivation: A meta-analysis. Review of Educational Research, 64(3), 363-423.
7.
Cooper, D.H., & Speece, D.L. (1990). Maintaining at-risk children in general education settings: Initial effects of individual differences and classroom environment . Exceptional Children, 54, 117-128.
8.
Cotton, K. (1999). Research you can use to improve results. Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development.
9.
DePaepe, P.A., Shores, R.E., Jack, S.L., & Denny, R.K. (1996). Effects of task difficulty on disruptive and on-task behavior of students with severe behavior disorders. Behavioral Disorders, 21, 216-225.
Fox, J.J., Gunter, P., Davis, C.A., & Brall, S. (2000). Observational methods in functional behavioral assessment: Practical techniques for practitioners. Preventing School Failure, 44, 152-157.
12.
Gersten, R.M., Carnine, D.W., & Williams, P.B. (1981). Measuring and implementation of a structured educational model in an urban school district. Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis, 4, 56-63.
13.
Good, T., & Grouws, D. (1977). Teaching effects: A process-product study in fourth grade mathematics classrooms. Journal of Teacher Education , 28, 49-54.
14.
Good, T., Grouws, D., & Ebmeier, H. (1983). Active mathematics teaching. New York: Longman.
15.
Greenwood, C.R. (1991). Longitudinal analysis of time, engagement and achievement in at-risk vs. nonrisk students. Exceptional Children , 57, 521-535.
16.
Greenwood, C.R., Carta, J.J., Kamps, D., & Arreaga-Mayer, C. (1990). Ecobehavioral analysis of classroom instruction. In S. Schroeder (Ed.), Ecobehavioral analysis and developmental disabilities (pp. 33-63). Baltimore: Brookes.
17.
Greenwood, C.R., Hart, B., Walker, D., & Risley, T. (1994). The opportunity to respond and academic performance revisited: A behavioral theory of developmental retardation and its prevention . In R. Gardner, D.M. Sainato, J.O. Cooper, T. E. Heron, & W.L. Heward (Eds), Behavior analysis in education: Focus on measurably superior instruction (pp. 213-223). Belmont, CA: Thomson Brooks/Cole Publishing Co.
18.
Greenwood, C.R., Delquadri, J.C., & Hall, R.V. (1984). Opportunity to respond and student academic performance . In W. L. Heward, T. E. Heron, D. S. Hill, & J. Trap-Porter (Eds.), Focus on behavior analysis in education (pp. 58-88). Columbus, OH : Merrill.
19.
Gunter, P.L., Coutinho, M.J., & Cade, T. (2002). Classroom Factors Linked with Academic Gains among Students with Emotional and Behavioral Problems. Preventing School Failure, 46(3),126-32.
20.
Gunter, P.L., Hummel, J.H., & Conroy, M.A. (1998). Increasing correct academic responding: An effective intervention strategy to decrease behavior problems. Effective School Practices, 17(2), 55-62.
21.
Horner, R.H., Todd, A.W., Lewis-Palmer, T., Irvin, L.K., Sugai, G., & Boland, J.B. (2004). The School-Wide Evaluation Tool (SET): A research instrument for assessing school-wide positive behavior support. Journal of Positive Behavior Interventions, 6, 3-12.
22.
Horner, R.H., Sugai, G., Todd, A.W., Lewis-Palmer, T. (2005). School-wide positive behavior support: An alternative approach to discipline in schools. In L. Bambara & L. Kern (Eds.), Positive behavior support (pp. 359-390). New York: Guilford.
23.
Irvin, L.K., Tobin, T.J., Sprague, J.R., Sugai, G., & Vincent, C.G. (2004). Validity of office discipline referral measures as indices of school-wide behavioral status and effects of school-wide behavioral interventions. Journal of Positive Behavior Interventions , 6, 131-147.
24.
Jones, V.F., & Jones, L.S. (2001). Comprehensive classroom management: Creating communities of support and solving problems (6th ed.). Boston: Allyn & Bacon.
25.
Kamps, D.M., Leonard, B.R., Dugan, E.P., Boland, B. & Greenwood, C.R. (1991). The use of ecobehavioral assessment to identify naturally occurring effective procedures in classrooms serving children with autism and other developmental disabilities. Journal of Special Education, 1, 367-397.
26.
Kauffman, J.M., Landrum, T.J., Mock, D.R., Sayeski, B., & Sayeski, K.L. (2005). Diverse knowledge and skills require a diversity of instructional groups. Remedial and Special Education, 26, 2-6.
27.
Kazdin, A.E. (1982). Single-case research designs: Methods for clinical and applied settings. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press.
28.
Kern, L., & Clemens, N.H. (2007). Antecedent strategies to promote appropriate classroom behavior. Psychology in the Schools, 44, 65-75.
29.
Klinger, J.K., Ahwee, S., Piloneta, P., & Menendez, R. (2003). Barriers and facilitators in scaling up research-based practices. Exceptional Children, 69(4), 411-429.
30.
Kushner, S., & Steckner, J. (1987). Field testing of Informal Reading Inventory. In M. Richek, A. List, & J. Werner (Eds.), Reading problems: Assessment and teaching strategies (pp. 98-99). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.
31.
Lewis, T.J., & Sugai, G. (1999). Effective behavior support: A systems approach to proactive school-wide management. Focus on Exceptionalities , 31, 1-24.
32.
Logan, K.R., Bakeman, R., & Keefe, E.B. (1997). Effects of instructional variables on engaged behavior of students with disabilities in general education classrooms. Exceptional Children, 63, 481-497.
33.
Lyon, G.R., Fletcher, J.M., Shaywitz, S.E., Shaywitz, B.A., Torgesen, J.K., Wood, F.B., et al. (2001). Rethinking learning disabilities. In C. E. Finn Jr., A. J. Rotherham, & C. R. Hokanson Jr. (Eds.), Rethinking special education for a new century (pp. 259-287). Washington, DC: Thomas B. Fordham Foundation.
34.
Nakasato, J. (2000). Data-based decision making in Hawaii's behavior support effort. Journal of Positive Behavior Interventions , 2, 247-251.
35.
Pfeffner, L.J., Rosen, L.A., & O'Leary, S.G. (1985). The efficacy of an all-positive approach to classroom management. Journal of Applied Behavioral Analysis, 18, 257-261.
36.
Roberson, L., Woolsey, M.L., Seabrooks, J., & Williams, G. (2004). An ecobehaviroal assessment of the teaching behaviors of teacher candidates during their special education internship experiences . Teacher Education and Special Education, 27, 264-275.
37.
Rosenshine, B., & Stevens, R. (1986). Teaching functions. In M. C. Wittrock (Ed.), Handbook of research in teaching (3rd ed., pp. 376-391). New York: Macmillian.
38.
Rowe, K.S., Rowe, K.J., & Pollard, J. (2004, October). Literacy, behaviour, and auditory processing: "Building fences at the top of the cliff" in preference to "ambulance services" at the bottom. Presented at the Australian Council for Educational Research conference, Adelaide, Australia.
39.
Rowe, M. (1974a). Science, silence and sanctions. Science and Children, 6, 11-13.
40.
Rowe, M. (1974b). Wait time and rewards as instructional variables, their influence on language, logic and fate control: Part I-Wait time. Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 11, 81-94.
41.
Sanders, W.L., & Horn, S.P. (1998). Research findings from the Tennessee Value-Added Assessment System (TVAAS) database: Implications for educational evaluation and research. Journal of Personnel Evaluation in Education , 12, 247-256.
42.
Scheerens, J. (1993). Basic school effectiveness research: Items for a research agenda. School Effectiveness and School Improvement , 4(1), 17-36.
43.
Sindelar, P.T., Smith, M.A., Harriman, N.E., Hale, R.L., & Wilson, R.J. (1986). Teacher effectiveness in special education programs . Journal of Special Education, 20, 195-207.
44.
Slavin, R.E. (1994). Quality, appropriateness, incentive, and time: A model of instructional effectiveness. International Journal of Educational Research, 21, 141-157.
45.
Stichter, J.P., & Conroy, M. (2005). Using structural analysis in natural settings: A responsive functional assessment strategy. Journal of Behavioral Education, 14, 19-34.
46.
Stichter, J.P., Hudson, S., & Sasso, G.M. (2005). The use of structural analysis to identify setting events in applied settings for students with emotional/behavioral disorders . Behavioral Disorders, 30, 401-418.
47.
Stichter, J.P., Lewis, T.J., Johnson, N., & Trussell, R. (2004). Toward a structural assessment: Analyzing the merits of an assessment tool for a student with E/BD. Assessment for Effective Intervention, 30, 25-40.
48.
Sugai, G., Sprague, J.R., Horner, R.H., & Walker, H.M. (2000). Preventing school violence: Using office discipline referrals to assess and monitor school-wide discipline interventions. Journal of Emotional and Behavioral Disorders, 8, 94-101.
49.
Sutherland, K.S., Adler, N., & Gunter, P.L. (2003). The effects of varying rates of opportunities to respond to academic requests on the classroom behavior of students with EBD. Journal of Emotional and Behavioral Disorders, 11, 239-248.
50.
Sutherland, K.S., & Wehby, J.H. (2001). Exploring the relationship between increased opportunities to respond to academic requests and the academic and behavioral outcomes of students with EBD. Remedial and Special Education, 22, 113-121.
51.
Sutherland, K.S., Wehby, J.H., &Yoder, P.J. (2002). Examination of the relationship between teacher praise and opportunities for students with EBD to respond to academic requests . Journal of Emotional and Behavioral Disorders, 10, 5-13.
52.
Tapp, J.T., Wehby, J.H., & Ellis, D. (1995). A multiple option observation system for experimental studies: MOOSES. Behavior Research Methods, Instruments & Computers, 27, 25-31.
53.
Tobin, K. (1983). The influence of wait time on classroom learning . European Journal of Science Education, 5(1), 35-48.
54.
Van Acker, R., Grant, S.H., & Henry, D. (1996). Teacher and student behavior as a function of risk for aggression. Education and Treatment of Children, 19, 316-334.
55.
Wallace, T., Anderson, A.R., Bartholomay, T., & Hupp, S. (2002). An ecobehaviroal examination of high school classrooms that include students with disabilities. Exceptional Children , 68, 345-359.
56.
Wehby, J.H., Symons, F.J., Canale, J.A., & Go, F.J. (1998). Teaching practices in classrooms for students with emotional and behavioral disorders. Behavioral Disorders , 24, 51-56.
57.
White, M.A. (1975). Natural rates of teacher approval and disapproval in the classroom. Journal of Applied Behavioral Analysis, 8, 367-372.
