Topic Progress:

Increased Instruction or Practice

Using instructional strategies that are appropriate to the student’s stage of learning is essential. Studies have demonstrated an increase in behavior problems with various populations and ages when a mismatch is present (Kern & Clemens, 2007). Some students may not be at the same stage of learning as other students (e.g., acquisition level, fluency building, mastery, or generalization).

For example, using teaching, modeling, and demonstration at the acquisition stage is essential, and drill and practice when the learning stage is fluency building. For some students, they can learn and do the work if there is more teaching, guided practice, or fluency-building activities. The question to ask is, “Will the student be able to complete the tasks if (s)he has more instruction, guided, or individual practice?”

Ways to Increase Instruction/Practice

  • Use different instructional strategies than were presented during initial instruction–incorporate multiple representations (acquisition stage).
  • Arrange for additional brief instructional sessions using the modeling-guided practice-independent practice approach (acquisition stage).
  • Arrange for a peer tutor to assist with guided practice opportunities (fluency-building stage).
  • Use partner work to increase fluency with flash cards (fluency-building stage).
  • Use meaningful real-life examples for practice and application (mastery or generalization stage).

Ensuring that sufficient instruction has occurred at each stage of learning and modifying tasks to accommodate students that need more instruction or practice can increase student engagement and time on task.

The UDL Guidelines

These guidelines offer a set of concrete suggestions that can be applied to any discipline or domain to ensure that all learners can access and participate in meaningful, challenging learning opportunities.  When you are planning for adjusting task difficulty for the class, or for the individual, these guidelines can help you identify barriers to learning.

Click here for an interactive version of the UDL Guidelines.

This video explains Universal Design for Learning (UDL) in more detail.

Lesson References

CAST (2018). Universal Design for Learning Guidelines version 2.2. Retrieved from http://udlguidelines.cast.org

Dunlap, G., Kern-Dunlap, L., Clarke, S., & Robbins, G. R. (1991). Functional assessment, curricular revision, and severe behavior problems. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 24, 387-397.

Kern, L. and Clemens, N.H. (2007). Antecedent strategies to promote appropriate classroom behavior. Psychology in the Schools, 44(1), 65-75.

Scott, T. M. Anderson, C. M., & Alter, P. (2012). Managing classroom behavior using positive behavior supports. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education, Inc.

MO SW-PBS Tier 1 Team Workbook 2018-19