Examining the Effects of Numbered Heads Together upon On-Task Behavior and Quiz Scores on Employability Skills Content of Students Identified with Intellectual Disabilities in a Post-Secondary Education Program

Enrollment in post-secondary education (PSE) programs is vital for individuals with intellectual disabilities (ID) to decrease the unemployment and underemployment of this population. Traditional teaching methods (e.g., lecture and note-taking) are often used during instruction in PSE classrooms despite the challenges they present for students with ID. Researchers suggest that there are positive correalations between increased active student engagement and percentage of time on-task, as well as academic performance. To date, strategies like Numbered Heads Together (NHT), a peer-mediated instructional strategy (PMI), has shown to be a more effective strategy than the commonly used method of traditional instruction (i.e., lecture and note-taking). The currebt study compared the effects of NHT to lecture with Guided Notes (GN) during an employability skills content lesson in a segregated post-secondary education (PSE) classroom. Three students diagnosed with ID participated in the study. An alternating treatment design with a final best treatment phase was used to determine the effectiveness of NHT and/or lecture with GN upon on-task behavior and the scores of teacher-created quizzes on employability skills content. The current study extended the previous literature by investigating a new population (students with ID), a new setting (post-secondary education program), and a new content area (employability skills). Results of this study showed that all three of the participants had increased percentage of time on-task in the NHT phase as compared to the lecture with GN phase, which verifies and extends the findings of previous studies. Neither treatment (NHT or lecture with GN) showed a clear dominance of effectiveness as it relates to percentage correct on teacher-created quizzes on employability skills content, therefore further investigation is needed. Social validity survey results indicate that both the teacher and students rated NHT favorably. Treatment integrity was implemented with 100% adherence for the participating teacher and paraprofessionals. A discussion of the study limitations, implications, and future research is also included