NOTE TO USERS This reproduction is the best copy available. ____ ® UMI A Comparative Application of Developmental Psychoanalytic Theories of Moral Development to Recent Literature Regarding Morality and Ethical Behavior in Female Adolescents Katy Crone A Dissertation Submitted to the Faculty of The Chicago School of Professional Psychology In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements For the Degree of Doctor of Psychology June 22, 2010 UMI Number: 3448317 All rights reserved INFORMATION TO ALL USERS The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. In the unlikely event that the author did not send a complete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. UMT Dissertation Publishing UMI 3448317 Copyright 201 1 by ProQuest LLC. All rights reserved. This edition of the work is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code. ProQuest® ProQuest LLC 789 East Eisenhower Parkway P.O. Box 1346 Ann Arbor, Ml 48106-1346 Unpublished Work Copyright (2010) by Katy Crone All Rights Reserved ii A Comparative Application of Developmental Psychoanalytic Theories of Moral Development to Recent Literature Regarding Morality and Ethical Behavior in Female Adolescents A Dissertation Submitted to the Faculty of The Chicago School of Professional Psychology In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements For the Degree of Doctor of Psychology Katy Crone 2010 Approved By: MichaéfKomie, PhD, Chairperson Associate Professor, The Chicago School of Professional Psychology ¦L·^ f/Xoyfo- ¿?/û Ißfdan Jacpbo^itz, PhD, Merjiber (ssociateJPfofessor, The Chicago School of Professional Psychology in Acknowledgments I would first like to thank my dissertation chair Dr. Michael Komie, who has diligently worked with me and provided me with support and feedback regarding my dissertation and professional development. I would also like to thank Dr. Jordan Jacobowitz, my dissertation reader and academic adviser, who has offered me the respect and mentoring needed to complete my doctorate and this dissertation. It is through the modeling and confidence of these mentors that I have persevered and grown into my own professional identity. I would also like to thank my friends and family for their support throughout graduate school. I have been blessed with a wonderful set of classmates, colleagues, and friends at the Chicago School and Psychological Consultations for which I am very grateful. Finally, a special thanks is owed to Brian who has continued to show me patience and support, despite the mental exhaustion and emotional distress often caused by classes, practicum, and the construction of this dissertation. Thank you all. iv Abstract A Comparative Application of Developmental Psychoanalytic Theories of Moral Development to Recent Literature Regarding Morality and Ethical Behavior.

1. NOTE TO USERS
This reproduction is the best copy available.
____ ®
UMI
A Comparative Application of Developmental Psychoanalytic
Theories
of Moral Development to Recent Literature Regarding
Morality and Ethical Behavior in Female Adolescents
Katy Crone
A Dissertation Submitted to the Faculty of
The Chicago School of Professional Psychology
In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements
For the Degree of Doctor of Psychology
June 22, 2010
UMI Number: 3448317
All rights reserved

2. INFORMATION TO ALL USERS
The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality
of the copy submitted.
In the unlikely event that the author did not send a complete
manuscript
and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if
material had to be removed,
a note will indicate the deletion.
UMT
Dissertation Publishing
UMI 3448317
Copyright 201 1 by ProQuest LLC.
All rights reserved. This edition of the work is protected against
unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code.
ProQuest®
ProQuest LLC
789 East Eisenhower Parkway
P.O. Box 1346
Ann Arbor, Ml 48106-1346
Unpublished Work
Copyright (2010) by Katy Crone
All Rights Reserved

3. ii
A Comparative Application of Developmental Psychoanalytic
Theories
of Moral Development to Recent Literature Regarding
Morality and Ethical Behavior in Female Adolescents
A Dissertation Submitted to the Faculty of
The Chicago School of Professional Psychology
In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements
For the Degree of Doctor of Psychology
Katy Crone
2010
Approved By:
MichaéfKomie, PhD, Chairperson
Associate Professor, The Chicago School of Professional
Psychology
¦L·^ f/Xoyfo-
¿?/û
Ißfdan Jacpbo^itz, PhD, Merjiber
(ssociateJPfofessor, The Chicago School of Professional
Psychology
in

4. Acknowledgments
I would first like to thank my dissertation chair Dr. Michael
Komie, who has
diligently worked with me and provided me with support and
feedback regarding my
dissertation and professional development. I would also like to
thank Dr. Jordan
Jacobowitz, my dissertation reader and academic adviser, who
has offered me the respect
and mentoring needed to complete my doctorate and this
dissertation. It is through the
modeling and confidence of these mentors that I have
persevered and grown into my own
professional identity.
I would also like to thank my friends and family for their
support throughout
graduate school. I have been blessed with a wonderful set of
classmates, colleagues, and
friends at the Chicago School and Psychological Consultations
for which I am very
grateful. Finally, a special thanks is owed to Brian who has
continued to show me
patience and support, despite the mental exhaustion and

5. emotional distress often caused
by classes, practicum, and the construction of this dissertation.
Thank you all.
iv
Abstract
A Comparative Application of Developmental Psychoanalytic
Theories
of Moral Development to Recent Literature Regarding
Morality and Ethical Behavior in Female Adolescents
Katy Crone
This dissertation critically reviewed and integrated research
regarding moral
development in female adolescents. The author utilized a
theoretical lens based in
identity and self developmental psychological literature as
authored by Erik Erikson,
Donald Winnicott, and Heinz Kohut. The author reviewed over
one hundred sources of
both articles and books which presented theories and research
regarding the moral
development and ethical behavior of female adolescents.
Although written from a
psychoanalytic perspective, this dissertation utilizes concepts
and conclusions drawn
from cognitive, behavioral, neurobiological, feminist, and

6. socio-cultural theories and
areas of research. With an integration of these sources, current
empirically-validated
research such as neurobiological findings on morality confirmed
the relevance and
importance of psychoanalytical models of moral development.
Internalized relational
experiences were found to impact an individual's sense of
security, emphasis on
engagement, and capacity for imagination, all of which
influence her ability to navigate
moral situations. This dissertation also concluded that many
factors regarding the female
adolescent experience within contemporary American culture
are important in
considering female adolescent moral development in addition to
internalized relational
experiences emphasized within psychoanalytic models of
development.
?
Table of Contents
Copyright p
Signature Page iii
Acknowledgements iv

7. Abstract ?
CHAPTERhINTRODUCTION 1
The Problem 3
Research Questions 5
Theoretical Lens 6
Procedure 7
Plan of Dissertation 8
CHAPTER 2: PSYCHODYNAMIC CONCEPTS 10
Structural Model 10
Object Relations 12
Ego Psychology 15
CHAPTER 3 : ADOLESCENT STAGE OF IDENTITY
FORMATION 17
CHAPTER 4: UNDERSTANDING THE SELF 31
Donald Winnicott 3 1
Heinz Kohut 38
CHAPTER 5: COGNITIVE AND SOCIAL MODELS 44
Cognitive Development Stages of Jean Piaget 44
Kohlberg's Moral Developmental Stages 46

8. vi
Carol Gilligan's Work with Female Morality 48
Other Limitations in Kohlberg's Stages 53
Modern Moral Models: Incorporating Neurobiology 56
CHAPTER 6: FEMALE ADOLESCENT DEVELOPMENT 63
The Female Experience in Adolescence 63
A Modern Social Culture 70
CHAPTER 7: AN INTEGRATION 84
Are Psychoanalytic Models of Female Adolescent Morality
Relevant? 84
What Concepts Should Provide the Foundation for Developing
a Contemporary Psychoanalytic Model of the Emergence of
Moral
Thinking and Behavior in Female Adolescents? 87
Are There Core Constructs in Current Psychoanalytic Thinking
Providing an Adequate Account of the Emergence of Identity
and
Self in Female Adolescents in Relation to Moral Development?
93
How do Female Adolescents in the United States Integrate
Culture,
Gender, and Identity to Develop a Cohesive Sense of Morality?
96

9. CHAPTER 8: DISCUSSION 99
Implications and Limitations of this Study 99
Future Directions of Research 101
REFERENCES 104
vii
CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION
In the contemporary American society, crime rates and
increasing violence call
for a closer focus on the ethical development of the nation's
children and adolescents
(American Psychological Association, 2002). Since 1991,
arrests for female juveniles
have been on the rise for a variety of criminal offenses
(Hawkins, Graham, Williams, &
Zahn, 2009). Beyond the seemingly universal societal goals of
crime prevention, lowered
drug abuse, and the prevention of poverty, citizens of the
United States have a major
stake in the moral development of the nation's youth. The group
of leaders and decision-
makers of the world will, in the future, be comprised of adults

10. whose adolescent
development of the past will have laid the foundation for their
choices in the future. Louis
Breger (1974) wrote that in adolescence, "choices persistently
chosen, roles persistently
played, [and] actions persistently taken, all add up to what a
person is" (p. 328). In the
ever-changing culture, the challenges facing American youth are
dynamically expanding,
and there is increasing importance placed on the type of people
that adolescents become
(Abbott, 2001; APA, 2002).
The personal experience and psychology of an individual appear
to dramatically
impact an adolescent's development of identity, self, and moral
agency (Erikson, 1982;
Konopka, 1966; Theran, 2009). Parental attachment and the
developmental environment
impact a child's moral self in ways that may be impacted by
factors such as culture and
gender (Chauhan & Reppucci, 2009; Marsh, Clinkinbird,
Thomas, & Evans, 2007;
Nunner-Winkler, 2007). Social scientists have sought to
contribute answers to a number
of questions asked throughout the United States about the
development, behavior, and

11. 1
wellbeing of adolescents in America (Ellis & Wolfe, 2009;
Konopka, 1966; Santrock,
2004). Historically, the field of psychology has identified
biological, cognitive, social,
and emotional factors that may interact with an adolescent's
functioning and
development (Abbott, 2001; Santrock, 2004).
Neuropsychological authors have shown
connections between early childhood experiences, the
neurobiological reactions of a
child's brain and autonomic system, and future behavioral
patterns. The field of
neuropsychology, therefore, recalls the attention of moral
researchers to early childhood
relational experiences and the development of an enduring
personality or identity
impacting moral decision-making and moral action (Champagne
& Meaney, 2006;
Pankseep, 1998).
It is likely that the emergence from adolescence is crucial to the
formation of an
identity and self-cohesion in the remaining years of a person's
life (Erikson, 1982; Seigel,

12. 1996). One major contributor to and effect of an individual's
identity and role within his
or her culture is a sense of moral judgment and values (Erikson,
1961; Garinger, 2000;
Turiel, 2007). An adolescent's role and identity in society may
be impacted by gender-
based expectations and considerations. Researchers in the field
of moral development
have sought to examine potential differences in cognitive
ethical reasoning (Kohlberg,
1984) and relational empathie stances (Gilligan, 1988) between
males and females.
Studies and theories alike reveal the need for considerations of
the gender and culturally
based variations experiences of developing children and
adolescents (Ellis & Wolfe,
2009; Erikson, 1961; Garinger, 2000). While early
psychoanalytic and cognitive research
mainly used male participants and clients to draw conclusions
about developmental
2
psychology, more contemporary writers emphasize the
importance of a more diverse and
comprehensive theory of moral development (Chauhan &
Reppucci, 2009; Turiel, 2007).
The Problem

13. In the last fifty years, psychological research regarding moral
development in
adolescents has strayed from psychoanalytic theories and
frameworks (Langford, 1995).
However, psychoanalytic theories that emphasize early
development remain relevant and
may provide some of the missing pieces to the cognitive-social
theories on moral
development more popular today (Emde, Johnson, &
Easterbrooks, 1987; Horton, Bleau,
& Drwecki, 2006). Louis Breger (1974) hypothesized that one
of the reasons adolescents
may seem mysterious or difficult to reach to parents and other
adults could be the
distance adults typically place between themselves and
memories of their own
"emotionally intense" adolescent experiences. Perhaps a similar
process took place
within some of the psychological research communities that
sought to explain adolescent
development at a safe distance through universal biological
concepts or socially-
constructed frameworks. A sum of cognitive, behavioral, or
social influences cannot fully
represent how adolescents develop personalities (Hauser, 1991)
or internalize values.
Instead, emotional experiences such as attachment and early
childhood relationships
contribute to the manner in which social and cultural

14. expectations are mediated
(Anderson, Dombroski, & Swinth, 2001). Recent studies have
attempted to identify
factors regarding appraisal and interpretation factors that
contribute to moral competence
3
and behavior within development (Gross, 2007; Narvaez, 2008;
Wainryb, Brehl, &
Matwin, 2005).
This author posits that the subjective inner experience of the
adolescent must be
explored in a humanistic and individual basis in order to gain
insight into identity, self,
and moral development. Concepts like gender and cultural
context present major
implications regarding the experience of a female adolescent in
her world and the way in
which she interacts ethically in society. A female adolescent's
perception of her own
context has been shown to be important as well, adding to the
multifaceted and dynamic
influences to an individual's experience to be studied (Hauser,
1991).
Unfortunately, gaps in the research and literature regarding the
development of
identity, self, values, and morality still exist. Stuart Hauser
(1991) explained that
significant psychoanalytic contributions to developmental

15. psychology, especially
regarding adolescents, are missing within contemporary
literature. Recent research
exploring moral development focuses on the early childhood
stages of development
(Langford, 1995; Narvaez, 2008; Shweder, Mahapatra, & Miller,
1987), neglecting to
address some of the growing problems among adolescent
populations. Erik Erikson's
(1961, 1968, 1982) theories regarding identity and adolescence
may be especially useful
in providing a frame for future discussions regarding the factors
and processes impacting
adolescent moral development in terms of identity formation.
Likewise, a closer
examination into the development and maintenance of a
cohesive self (Siegel, 1996;
Stolorow, Brandchaft, & Atwood, 1995) may contribute insight
into adolescent
development, behavior, and well-being.
4
Researchers in the past four decades have highlighted the
contextual nature of
constructs such as identity and self (Erikson, 1961; Turiel,
2007). The transitional stage
of adolescence is highly impacted by the current cultural
context and specific subgroups
within this population (Hauser, 1991; Turiel 2008). The

16. important components of a
female identity have been changing, according to research, due
to the changes in the
feminine experience in American culture (Patterson, Sochting,
& Marcia, 1992).
Specifically, research has identified gender differences
regarding the distinctions in
female appraisal and interpretation of moral situations (Gilligan
& Attanucci, 1988;
Kochanska, 2002; Patterson et al., 1992). Carol Gilligan's
research and rhetoric regarding
gender differences and moral reasoning justify the need for a
separate focus on the female
experience of moral development in adolescence (Gilligan &
Attanucci, 1988).
Research Questions
There are a number of factors that impact the development of
morality including
cultural, cognitive, and early relational experiences. This author
is interested in the
missing influential pieces of moral development within the
cognitive and cultural models
more popular today. This dissertation seeks to identify relevant
concepts of moral
development that have been neglected within these models and
ways more traditional
psychoanalytic theories may be applicable in post-modern
literature regarding morality.
Are psychoanalytic models of female adolescent morality
relevant? What concepts
should provide the foundation for developing a contemporary
psychoanalytic model of

17. the emergence of moral thinking and behavior in female
adolescents? Are there core
5
constructs in current psychoanalytic thinking providing an
adequate account of the
emergence of identity and self in female adolescents in relation
to moral development?
How do female adolescents in the United States integrate
culture, gender, and identity to
develop a cohesive sense of morality? This dissertation is a
comparative critical review of
the literature on female adolescent moral development,
evaluating recent research in
relation to earlier psychoanalytic models and theories.
Integrating intrapsychic and
interpersonal aspects of adolescent female psychology may
present a clearer picture of
moral identity development in this population.
Theoretical Lens
This dissertation studies literature using a psychoanalytic lens
and the adolescent
developmental stage of identity formation described by Erik
Erikson (1982).
Particularly, this author was interested in Erikson works
including Youth: Change and
Challenge (1961), Identity: Youth and Crisis (1968), and The
Life Cycle Completed
(1982). This dissertation incorporates a Winnicottian
conceptualization of a true and false

18. self, as well as his description on integrity and growth found in
The Maturational
Processes and the Facilitating Environment: Studies in the
Theory ofEmotional
Development (1965), and Playing and Reality (1971), both
written by Donald Winnicott.
Finally, this author uses a self psychological perspective as
informed by the following
works by Heinz Kohut: The Restoration ofthe Self (1977) and
How Does Analysis Cure?
(1984). Interpreting the viewpoints of Erik Erikson, Donald
Winnicott, and Heinz Kohut
6
regarding the development of an identity and self, this
dissertation evaluates current
studies and literature in moral development.
Procedure
The author of this dissertation critically reviewed the literature
within
psychoanalytic theories of moral development as well as the
socially, cognitively, and
neurobiologically based moral models. Specifically, this
dissertation reviewed
psychoanalytic models of moral development based in structural
theory, American and
British object relations, ego psychology, and self psychology.

19. The author also reviewed
and critiqued literature regarding morality based in cognitive
and developmental learning
theories such as those offered by Lawrence Kohlberg, Carol
Gilligan, and
neuropsychological authors self-identified as a part of the Neo-
Kohlbergian group.
This dissertation then also reviewed contemporary literature
regarding adolescent
development, female psychology, and the significance of culture
in relation to female
adolescent morality. For the purposes of this dissertation,
adolescent literature reviewed
focused on late adolescence and the formation of an identity,
typically defined as between
the ages of fifteen and twenty-one. A focus on contemporary
adolescents who were born
between the years of 1987 and 1993 allowed this author to
conceptualize the effects of
today's cultural context on adolescent development, the female
identity, and trends in
morality. The author of this dissertation sought to update
psychoanalytic theories with the
use of research and moral models developed regarding the moral
development of
adolescent females within contemporary American society.
7
Critiques of these literary works involved this author asking
questions such as, "Is

20. there a clear definition of morality?" "If there is a clear
definition, how is it defined?"
Critiques were also based on the author's acknowledgement of
and sensitivity to possible
gender differences in the development of identity and morality.
"Does the author address
gender?" Finally, this dissertation critiqued the literature by
asking, "Are the theories
culturally relevant?"
Plan of Dissertation
This dissertation provides a comparative analysis of how moral
development
occurs within the self and identity and the female adolescent
experience with a review of
psychoanalytic theories and literature. The second chapter of
this dissertation reviewed
the literature of "Early Psychodynamic Concepts of Morality."
Within this chapter,
concepts regarding morality and moral development were
examined within Freud's
structural model, British object relations, ego psychology, and
American object relations.
This section also provided a background for the concepts of

21. identity and self reviewed in
proceeding chapters by illustrating the foundation for ego
psychological, object
relational, and self psychological theories. In the third chapter
of this dissertation, the
author has sought to explain Eriksonian theories regarding
identity formation and
adolescent development in "Erikson's Adolescent Stage of
Identity Formation." This
chapter reviewed developmental theories of Erik Erikson
regarding identity and virtues.
Fourthly, this dissertation explored, "Understanding the Self,"
by closely examining the
construct of an authentic or cohesive self, especially as they are
understood by Donald
8
Winnicott and Heinz Kohut. This chapter proposed factors
necessary and involved in the
development and maintenance of the self and how that relates to
a sense of morality.
This dissertation specifically examines the development of
morality within female

22. adolescents with an integration of cognitive and theoretical
models. In the fifth chapter of
this dissertation, "Cognitive and Social Models of Moral
Development" were reviewed
and critiqued. These models are rooted in cognitive, social,
neurobiological, and cultural
theories as a way to examine moral development and ethical
behavior. "Female
Adolescent Development" was examined in the sixth chapter of
this dissertation in terms
of psychoanalytic theories, cognitive theories, and social or
cultural research. Within the
seventh chapter of this dissertation, the author integrates the
previous six chapters of
theories of morality and female adolescent development.
Finally, the author offers a
"Discussion" in the final chapter of this dissertation, identifying
limitations of this study,
implications of the conclusions drawn in the integration, and
areas for future research
regarding female adolescent morality. It was the goal of this
dissertation to identify gaps
in the literature within four different areas of psychological
theories and research,

23. including identity, self, adolescence, and morality. This author
aimed to provide readers
with a new perspective regarding female adolescent morality
that integrates these four
areas of study that each seem incomplete on their own.
9
CHAPTER 2: PSYCHODYNAMIC CONCEPTS
Structural Model
A focus on early childhood experiences and their effect on
human psychology is a
common theme of psychodynamic psychology (Blanck &
Blanck, 1974; Emde et al,
1987; Santrock, 2004; Summers, 1994). One of the first major
figures in psychology to
hypothesize the importance of early relationships on the
development of a healthy
individual was Sigmund Freud in his theories originating in
Europe during the turn of the
20l century. In his 1923 work, The Ego and the Id, in which he
introduced his structural
theory, Freud divided an individual's personality into internal
mechanisms of the id, the
ego, and the superego.

24. Freud explained that the id is the most primal structure in a
person's psychology
that focused on the gratification of one's needs. The id, an
innate drive, was hypothesized
as often in conflict with social norms, conventions, or parental
expectations. Freud named
the internal structure that developed in accordance with social
and moral expectations the
superego. The superego, in Freud's structural model, is the
primary regulatory process of
ethical behavior. The superego is believed to develop through a
child's identification with
her parents and their set of cultural values, and this structure
encourages individuals to
conform to social expectations in spite of personal drives or
desires. The final component
of structural psychology is the ego, which Freud described as
providing an individual
with the ability to cope with and negotiate the motivations of
the id and superego (Freud,
1923).
10
For the purposes of this dissertation, Freud's concept of
superego is emphasized
due to its impact on moral development and ethical behavior.
The superego functions as
an observer of the ego, taking on a judging and parental role.
These functions seek to

25. "maintain intrapsychic and interpersonal harmony and facilitate
social adaptation"
(Tyson & Tyson, 1990, p. 195). The development and
maintenance of the superego,
therefore, is highly influenced by parental and social norms.
Because gender and cultural
context often mediate these norms, a further examination of the
female adolescent
experience is needed to grasp the development and functioning
of the superego. Freud
emphasized differences in superego development for males and
females based on
identification with same sex parents. This author will not
review the specifics of these
theories because their relevance in contemporary American
culture is questionable.
In general, the superego is believed to develop through a child's
wish to retain
parental love and maintain relationships with parents and the
larger social system. The
child is able to do this by receiving and interpreting messages
of approval or disapproval
from parents. Eventually, as the child begins to develop her own
identity, these messages
must be negotiated with her own desires and values. These
messages of what is
acceptable and unacceptable, good and bad, are in time
internalized and adopted by the
child. However, many factors can impact and disrupt this
internalizing process such as
inconsistent parental or cultural messages. Internalization may
also be mediated by a

26. highly emotionally-charged interaction between parents and
child. The amount of anxiety
or affect aroused in a child can therefore affect her ability to
internalize a message or the
significance attached to that particular message.
11
Karen Horney, a psychoanalytic theorist whose views deviated
somewhat from
Sigmund Freud's ideas, emphasized this anxiety or "internal
conflict" as a major
determinant of human behavior. Horney classified antisocial or
aggressive behaviors as
resulting from hopelessness and the internal experience that one
must struggle against
others for survival (Horney, 1945). This hopelessness may
certainly be impacted by
societal messages, parenting, and the overall well-being of an
individual within her social
context.
Another factor mediating an adolescent's moral stance and
internalization process
is her cognitive ability to make sense of and social and parental
messages of positive or
negative reinforcement (Tyson & Tyson, 1990). The
relationship between parent and
child, its strengths and weaknesses, present major implications
for the internalization

27. process. Therefore, a closer examination of the affective,
cognitive, and interpersonal
systems of a child is needed to better understand the
internalization of a moral code.
Object Relations
After Freud's work in structural psychology, a movement of
object relational
psychology emerged in Great Britain, diverging from Freud's
traditional theories.
Melanie Klein, a student of Freud's, extended the theoretical
utilization of psychoanalytic
thought of the time by emphasizing the internalization of the
parent or "early object" as
the psychological template by which a child develops relational
behavior. Within
Kleinian object relations theory, a child is said to use relational
experiences to integrate
an understanding of good and bad as well as feelings of love
and hate. If this integration
12
process is successful, the child or adolescent should gain moral
competence through the
building of sustainable relationships and the inclusion of pro-
social behavior (Alford,
1989). Sigmund Freud's daughter Anna Freud also wrote about
the bidirectional

28. relationships important to child and adolescent moral
development. Anna Freud
hypothesized that a child will perceive the world as either
hostile or kind, depending
upon the nature of the child-parent bond. She added emphasis to
the perception a mother
has of her child as well, stating a mother's response to a child's
needs may be impacted
by her understanding as the child as either difficult or amiable.
This early child-parent
relationship, Anna Freud concluded, determined the
effectiveness of a child's "internal
pleasure principle" to be externally controlled by the mother. It
is by internalizing this
"external drive control" that a child develops the ability to self-
regulate and reach "moral
independence" (Freud, 1965).
Melanie Klein emphasized the importance of ideals during
childhood and
adolescent development and explained that an individual's
enduring ideals ultimately
negotiate his or her behaviors and relationships (Alford, 1989).
Through an

29. internalization process, ideals develop, and self control
eventually replaces parental
control. In this way, a person is rewarded with a sense of pride
and personal value when
she lives up to her internalized moral standards in a similar way
that her behavior may
have been reinforced by satisfied parents (Santrock, 2004).
Donald Winnicott emerged in the British object relational
movement during the
first half of the 20th century when psychoanalysts were building
upon the work of
Sigmund Freud, Melanie Klein, and Anna Freud. Winnicott
proposed that an adaptation
13
takes place when an adolescent attempts to balance his or her
individual ideals and the
ideals of the surrounding culture, ultimately creating a
compromised organization of the
self. In Winnicott's model, early relationships and the social
environment are emphasized
as key components to an adolescent's formation of the self
(Winnicott, 1965). Ronald
Fairbairn, a member of the British object relational movement,
also noted the adolescent

30. transitional period as a key time to learn the balance between
dependence upon parents
and independence toward a mutual and "differentiated sense of
self ' (Summers, 1994, p.
30).
The object relational movement spread to the United States
where theorists like
Otto Kernberg continued to identify key components and stages
of psychological
development. Kernberg distinguished the fifth stage of
psychological development as the
stage in which the superego is integrated into a person's
personality. This integration
requires the incorporation of one's understandings of self and
others which leads to ideal
representations of the self and others. Ideal representations may
set the stage for prosocial
behaviors and internalized values (Summers, 1994). Ideal
representations and
internalized values are likely to be highly impacted by the …
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2014, Vol. 39(2) 99 –111
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31. Article
In the current zeitgeist of bringing evidence-based practices
into classrooms (Chard, 2004; Clements, Agodini, & Harris,
2013; Cook & Cook, 2011; R. M. Gersten & Dimino, 2001;
Landrum & Tankersley, 2004; Vaughn & Dammann, 2001),
efforts to support changes in mathematics instruction have
begun to materialize. A major focus of these change efforts
have concentrated on the prevention of mathematics prob-
lems in the early grades, an emphasis supported by a grow-
ing body of evidence documenting that students who
struggle early with the foundations of mathematics are far
more likely than other students to experience persistent
mathematics difficulties (Bodovski & Farkas, 2007;
Morgan, Farkas, & Wu, 2009). Collectively, this research
suggests an urgent need to prevent mathematics difficulties
as early as kindergarten. In the absence of effective mathe-
matics instruction, many students will experience early and
persistent difficulties in mathematics and thus will struggle
to acquire mathematical proficiency. A suggested solution
for allowing all students, including those at risk for difficul-
ties in mathematics, to reach their mathematical potential is
to ensure high-quality implementation of evidence-based
practices, such as explicit mathematics instruction, in class-
rooms as early as kindergarten.
Explicit Mathematics Instruction
Explicit instruction is defined as a systematic and structured
instructional approach for effectively and efficiently teach-
ing foundational concepts and skills (Carnine, Silbert,
Kame’enui, & Tarver, 2004). At its core, explicit instruction
has a strong focus on learning for mastery and clear delinea-
tion of roles for teachers and students during instruction
(Archer & Hughes, 2010; Doabler & Fien, 2013; Hudson &

32. Miller, 2006). In light of empirical evidence generated by
recent meta-analyses on the attributes of effective mathe-
matics interventions (Baker, Gersten, & Lee, 2002;
R. Gersten et al., 2009), explicit instruction has been recom-
mended to help teachers deliver high-quality mathematics
instruction when teaching struggling learners. While the
511848AEIXXX10.1177/1534508413511848Assessment for
Effective InterventionDoabler et al.
research-article2013
1University of Oregon, Eugene, USA
2Oregon Research Institute, Eugene, USA
3Southern Methodist University, Dallas, TX, USA
Corresponding Author:
Christian T. Doabler, Center on Teaching and Learning,
University of
Oregon, 1600 Millrace Drive, Suite 108, Eugene, OR 97403-
1995, USA.
Email: [email protected]
Examining Teachers’ Use of
Evidence-Based Practices During
Core Mathematics Instruction
Christian T. Doabler, PhD1, Nancy J. Nelson, PhD1, Derek B.
Kosty, BS2, Hank
Fien, PhD1, Scott K. Baker, PhD1,3, Keith Smolkowski, PhD2,
and Ben Clarke, PhD1
Abstract
The extent to which teachers implement evidence-based
practices, such as explicit instruction, is critical for improving
students’ mathematics achievement. The purpose of this study
was to examine the effect of the kindergarten Early
Learning in Mathematics (ELM) curriculum on teachers’ use of

33. explicit mathematics instruction in core educational settings.
Observation data for the study were collected during a
randomized controlled trial designed to investigate the efficacy
of the ELM curriculum. A multifaceted observation system was
used to examine teachers’ provision of high-quality and
intensive instructional interactions during core mathematics
instruction. A total of 379 observations were conducted in
129 classrooms (68 treatment and 61 comparison), involving
approximately 2,700 students from 46 schools in Oregon
and Texas. Results indicate that ELM classroom teachers
delivered significantly higher rates of practice opportunities for
individuals and groups of students compared with comparison
classroom teachers who implemented standard district
mathematics instruction. Implications for instruction are
discussed.
Keywords
evidence-based practices, core mathematics instruction, explicit
and systematic instruction, instructional interactions,
treatment intensity, observation systems
mailto:[email protected]
http://crossmark.crossref.org/dialog/?doi=10.1177%2F15345084
13511848&domain=pdf&date_stamp=2013-12-16
100 Assessment for Effective Intervention 39(2)
literature base clearly suggests the value of an explicit
instructional approach in the context of small-group inter-
ventions, explicit instruction also appears to have promis-
ing effects in educational settings that deliver core
mathematics instruction (Agodini & Harris, 2010; Clarke
et al., 2011; Clements et al., 2013). Here we define core
instruction as mathematics instruction that focuses on the
range of mathematical standards students are expected to

34. learn and know at each grade level (e.g., the Common Core
State Standards for Mathematics, 2010). This definition
recognizes that core instruction takes place in general edu-
cation settings and is commonly delivered by teachers using
commercially available core programs. Because core math-
ematics instruction represents the primary source of math-
ematics for many students, including students struggling
with mathematics (Fuchs & Vaughn, 2012), the implemen-
tation of an explicit, systematic core mathematics curricu-
lum is critical for preventing mathematics difficulties (MD).
Empirical Support for Explicit Core Mathematics
Curriculums
A core mathematics curriculum represents an instructional
foundation for students’ early mathematical learning because
it determines when and how well they will progress through
content. A well-designed program will ensure appropriate
pacing, include teacher modeling of new concepts, provide
ample opportunities for guided and independent practice,
and integrate academic feedback, among other critical fea-
tures (Doabler, Fien, Nelson-Walker, & Baker, 2012).
Moreover, it will form a vital link between foundational and
more advanced concepts (Schmidt, Houang, & Cogan,
2002). For example, a kindergarten core curriculum will
devote strong attention at the start of the academic year to
the critical aspects of number, such as magnitude compari-
son, and then as students acquire initial proficiency progress
to more advanced topics, such as place value.
An emerging line of research on the impact of core math-
ematics programs demonstrates promising effects of core
mathematics curriculums that incorporate explicit instruc-
tion on student mathematics achievement. For example,
Agodini and Harris (2010) investigated the effectiveness of
four, commercially available first-grade elementary mathe-

35. matics curricula in more than 100 schools and found that
the mathematics achievement of students in schools that
were randomly assigned to the two teacher-directed curric-
ulums (i.e., Saxon Math and Math Expressions) was signifi-
cantly greater than the math achievement of students in
schools that used the student-centered curriculums (i.e.,
Scott Foresman and Investigations).
A major finding of our own work on core mathematics
instruction is that an explicit, core mathematics curriculum
is critical for many students, particularly for students with or
at risk for MD. In a recent efficacy trial funded through the
Institute of Education Sciences (Clarke et al., 2011), our
research team investigated the efficacy of the Early Learning
in Mathematics (ELM) curriculum. ELM is a yearlong, core
mathematics program that uses an explicit instructional
framework and focuses on the kindergarten standards identi-
fied in the Common Core State Standards for Mathematics
(2010). In the efficacy trial, 65 kindergarten classrooms
were randomly assigned to either treatment (ELM) or com-
parison (standard district practices) conditions. Findings sug-
gest that at-risk kindergartners in the treatment classrooms
made significant gains in mathematics achievement across the
year relative to their at-risk peers in comparison classrooms,
while typically achieving students in ELM classrooms made
gains on par with their typically achieving peers in compari-
son classrooms. In ELM classrooms, at-risk students also
demonstrated greater gains than their typical achieving peers
and thus reduced the achievement gap. In the current study,
we examine the extent to which ELM supports teachers in
delivering explicit mathematics instruction.
Distinguishing Features of Explicit Mathematics
Curriculums

36. A common feature of effective, core mathematics programs,
such as Saxon Math, Math Expressions, and ELM, is incor-
poration of explicit instructional design principles that have
been empirically validated to improve student mathematics
achievement (Bryant et al., 2008; Doabler et al., 2012). An
explicit curriculum offers opportunities for teachers to (a)
facilitate high-quality practice opportunities for students,
(b) deliver clear and consistent demonstrations of new and
complex mathematical concepts and skills, and (c) provide
timely academic feedback to address student errors and
misconceptions (Doabler et al., 2012). For example, an
explicit math curriculum will provide specific teaching
directions on how to demonstrate and explain key math
concepts, offer students opportunities to practice taught
concepts, and deliver immediate feedback.
When well designed, a core curriculum represents an opti-
mal platform for teachers to deliver high-quality instruction
that results in students’ construction of deep and robust math-
ematical knowledge. It also serves as a mechanism to increase
the intensity of instruction for struggling students. Features
of instructional intensity in the context of core mathematics
instruction include the active ingredients that are hypothe-
sized to promote student achievement (Warren, Fey, & Yoder,
2007). In this study, such ingredients are operationalized as
student–teacher interactions that are nested within kindergar-
ten mathematics instruction. We believe that an explicit, core
mathematics curriculum can increase instructional intensity
by providing opportunities for teachers to facilitate frequent,
high-quality instructional interactions.
Doabler et al. 101
In the early grades, instructional interactions commonly

37. entail students verbalizing their mathematical thinking and
understanding (Cirillo, 2013; Clements et al., 2013). Such
verbalizations are essential in the early development of
mathematical learning because they allow students to use
productive mathematical discourse at a time when other
modes of responding, such as independent written exer-
cises, are not yet instructionally appropriate (Clements et
al., 2013; Doabler, Baker et al., in press). For example, a
first-grade student is more apt to verbalize his or her solu-
tion method for solving a word problem than to write the
specific steps that lead to the problem’s answer.
Math verbalizations occur through two mediums: group
responses and individual responses. Group responses offer
a way for teachers to keep all students engaged in instruc-
tion and check students’ understanding of specific content
(Blackwell & McLaughlin, 2005). For example, a group
response might entail 25 kindergartners stating in unison
how the identity property applies when adding zero to a
whole number (e.g., “the number stays the same”).
Individual responses entail one student verbalizing his or
her mathematical knowledge. When interspersed with
group response opportunities, individual responses can be
particularly effective for reducing potential misconceptions
and determining whether specific individuals understand
the target concepts.
Purpose of the Study
The purpose of the current study is to extend our efficacy
research on the ELM kindergarten curriculum. In our initial
efficacy study, Clarke et al. (2011) found a positive impact
of ELM on the mathematics achievement of kindergarten
students with and without MD. The current study continues
this line of efficacy research but with a specific focus on the
impact of ELM on teaching behavior. In this study, it was

38. hypothesized that the ELM curriculum would help teachers
implement explicit, core mathematics instruction.
Specifically, we expected teachers in classrooms that imple-
mented ELM to deliver more intensive and higher quality
explicit instruction than teachers in classrooms that deliv-
ered standard district instructional practices.
Our hypothesis is anchored to the growing knowledge
base of effective mathematics instruction (R. Gersten et al.,
2009; National Mathematics Advisory Panel, 2008;
National Research Council [NRC], 2001) and the findings
of a recently conducted efficacy trial on a multi-tiered, first-
grade literacy intervention, Enhancing Core Reading
Instruction (ECRI; Nelson-Walker et al., 2013). Nelson-
Walker and colleagues investigated the efficacy of the ECRI
intervention for changing teachers’ instruction. A key find-
ing from the Nelson-Walker et al. study is that ECRI
increased teachers’ use of explicit instructional techniques,
suggesting that an explicit, systematic intervention can
enhance the quality and intensity of core reading instruction
that students receive in general education classrooms. We
believe that this finding may generalize to the current study
because many of the architectural features of the ECRI
intervention are analogous to those of the ELM curriculum.
Both use an explicit instructional approach and offer fre-
quent occasions for teachers to provide high-quality dem-
onstrations of key concepts and skills. ELM and ECRI also
facilitate opportunities for teachers to increase the intensity
of reading and mathematics instruction, respectively, by
fostering structured practice for students, including oppor-
tunities for students to verbalize their understanding of
reading and mathematics content.
In this study, we conceptualized instructional intensity
as the frequency with which explicit instructional interac-

39. tions occurred during core mathematics instruction.
Comprising such interactions were teachers’ demonstra-
tions of mathematical content, practice opportunities for
students, and teacher-provided academic feedback. We also
included student errors as part of these instructional interac-
tions because they serve as a proxy indicator of instructional
effectiveness and student accuracy. We anchored this con-
ceptualization of instructional intensity to a framework pro-
posed by Warren et al. (2007). Their framework coupled
with findings from recent research reported by Clements et
al. (2013) highlights the importance of defining the active
ingredients of classroom instruction, such as the instruc-
tional interactions that occur between teachers and students.
It also suggests the use of a frequency-based observation
instrument as a measurement approach for precisely captur-
ing indicators of treatment intensity.
We conceptualized instructional quality as the clarity
and timeliness of instructional interactions, effective class-
room management techniques, and dimensions of a sup-
portive learning environment. This conceptualization of
instructional quality has its roots in several programs of
observation research, including the work of Pianta and
Hamre (2009), and Englert and colleagues (cf. Englert,
Tarrant, & Mariage, 1992). Because a defining characteris-
tic of instructional intensity and quality is their observable
nature, we used a multifaceted observation system to inves-
tigate the efficacy of the ELM curriculum for increasing
teachers’ use of explicit instructional interactions during
core mathematics instruction.
Two research questions were addressed in this study:
Research Question 1: Do ELM teachers deliver more
intensive explicit instruction than teachers in classrooms
that implemented standard district practices?

40. Research Question 2: Do ELM teachers demonstrate
higher quality explicit instruction than teachers in class-
rooms that implemented standard district practices?
102 Assessment for Effective Intervention 39(2)
Method
Research Design
The current study was part of a larger efficacy trial funded
by the Institute of Education Sciences that was designed to
investigate the efficacy of the ELM kindergarten program
when implemented under rigorous experimental conditions.
The ELM study used a randomized controlled design, nest-
ing 2,681 students within 129 kindergarten classrooms.
Blocking on schools, classrooms were randomly assigned
to either a treatment or comparison condition. Sixty-eight
treatment classrooms implemented the ELM program for
the entire school year, whereas 61 comparison classrooms
implemented business-as-usual teaching practices. Because
the current study focuses on teacher behavior as the out-
come, the primary unit of analysis is the teacher.
Classroom Recruitment in the ELM Efficacy Trial
The principal investigators and key personnel of the ELM
project conducted all recruitment efforts for the larger effi-
cacy trial. These efforts entailed contacting district leaders
of public, private, and charter school districts in Dallas,
Texas, and areas of western Oregon. District leaders were
provided information on the study’s research aims and
activities. Interested district leaders then identified potential
schools for participation, namely those that contained large

41. percentages of students in need of intensive instructional
support in mathematics. Public schools targeted for recruit-
ment were those that received Title 1 funding. Principals
and the kindergarten teachers of schools in all three sectors
(i.e., public, private, and charter) were then contacted. All
kindergarten teachers in each participating school were eli-
gible to participate in the study.
Participants
Forty-six schools from seven school districts in Oregon
and Dallas, Texas, participated in the ELM study. In
Oregon, the ELM efficacy trial was conducted during the
2008–2009 school year. Texas schools participated in the
efficacy trial during the following school year 2009–2010.
Of the 46 schools, 32 were public institutions, 11 were pri-
vate, and 3 were charter schools. The participating schools
were located in urban and suburban areas in each state.
From the 46 schools, 130 classrooms were eligible for ran-
domization. Because we blocked on schools, 68 of the 130
classrooms were randomly assigned to the ELM program
and 62 were randomly assigned to the comparison condi-
tion. One comparison classroom in Oregon was dropped
from the analysis because of an inadvertent change in con-
dition at the start of the study. The analytic sample for this
study involved 129 kindergarten classrooms (68 ELM; 61
comparison).
Table 1 provides descriptive information about the class-
rooms and teachers by condition and region. Of the 129
classrooms in the analysis, 112 provided a full-day kinder-
garten program and 17 provided a half-day program. All
half-day classrooms were located in Oregon. While the
majority of the classrooms provided instruction 5 days per
week, one full-day classroom in Oregon met 4 days per
week. All math instruction was provided in English; how-

42. ever, 17 bilingual education classes were part of the sample.
Average class size for treatment and comparison classrooms
was M = 21.3 (SD = 3.7) and M = 20.2 (SD = 3.7), respec-
tively. The 129 participating classrooms were taught by 130
teachers. One comparison classroom had two teachers, each
working a half-day schedule. All teachers participated for
the duration of the study, and thus the outcomes of the study
were not affected by attrition (What Works Clearinghouse
[WWC], 2013).
Within the 129 classrooms were 2,681 students, of which
1,448 and 1,233 were in ELM and comparison classrooms,
respectively. Student demographic data were only available
for those students who attended participating public schools.
In the 32 public schools, an average of 76% of the student
population qualified for free or reduced price lunch pro-
grams. Students in Oregon schools were Hispanic (36%),
Black (2%), White (56%), Asian and Pacific Islander (5%),
and American Indian (1%). In Texas schools, students were
Hispanic (69%), Black (29%), White (1%), Asian and
Pacific Islander (<1%), and American Indian (<1%).
ELM Intervention
ELM is a core kindergarten mathematics curriculum
designed to promote students’ development of mathemati-
cal proficiency in the concepts and skills identified in the
Common Core State Standards for Mathematics (2010).
ELM includes 120 core daily lessons that are approximately
45 min in duration and designed to be delivered in whole-
class settings. As a core curriculum, ELM attends to six
mathematics domains: (a) counting and cardinality, (b)
operations and algebraic thinking, (c) number and opera-
tions in base 10, (d) measurement and data, (e) geometry,
and (f) precise mathematics vocabulary. To meet the instruc-
tional needs of all students, mathematics content is explic-

43. itly introduced in each lesson, and systematically reviewed
and extended across lessons (Coyne, Kame’enui, & Carnine,
2011). ELM teachers are expected to model and demon-
strate what they want students to learn, and provide specific
and frequent feedback to students during learning activities.
Teachers are also expected to facilitate frequent and deliber-
ate opportunities for students to practice key mathematics
concepts, such as opportunities for students to verbalize
their mathematical thinking and understanding.
Each ELM lesson incorporates four to five activities,
with the first activity typically introducing or reviewing a
Doabler et al. 103
mathematical concept or skill that is central to the lesson’s
overall objective. For this part of the lesson, the teacher pro-
vides concrete examples and makes explicit the focus of the
activity’s targeted content. For example, an initial activity
might have a teacher explain the concept of addition and
demonstrate the procedure of adding one to a number. The
second and third activities in ELM lessons involve either an
extension of the first activity or a review of previously
learned material. The fourth activity often targets previ-
ously learned material from a different math domain. If, for
example, the first three activities focus on teen numbers
(i.e., number and operations in base 10), the fourth activity
will address material related to geometry or measurement.
The last activity entails a paper–pencil review. Facilitated
by the teacher, this worksheet activity provides children
with a cumulative review of the lesson’s content.
Professional development. Across the ELM study, treatment
teachers received 4 days of professional development

44. related to program implementation and kindergarten math-
ematics instruction. Each curriculum workshop lasted 6 hr
and was conducted by the program’s lead author. The first
curriculum workshop took place prior to the start of the
school year and focused on three key elements: (a) the
research-based principles of math instruction, (b) the
instructional design and delivery features of the ELM cur-
riculum, and (c) an overview of Lessons 1 to 30. During
each workshop, participating teachers were provided oppor-
tunities to deliver sample lessons and receive feedback on
their teaching from members of the professional develop-
ment team. ELM teachers received three follow-up work-
shops distributed across the school year. These workshops
reviewed instructional design elements shared in previous
sessions and provided treatment teachers with an in-depth
overview of the remaining lessons of the ELM curriculum.
Comparison Classrooms
Mathematics instruction in the comparison condition con-
sisted of standard district practices. Teachers in comparison
classrooms used a variety of instructional materials, includ-
ing teacher-developed activities and a number of commer-
cially available curriculums. Surveys administered in the
larger efficacy trial (Clarke et al., 2011) indicated that
Table 1. Descriptive Information for Classrooms and Teachers
by Region and Condition.
Treatment Comparison
TotalClassroom and Teacher Characteristics Oregon Texas
Oregon Texas
Number of classrooms 34 34 30 31 129

45. School type
Public 34 17 30 16 97
Private 0 11 0 9 20
Charter 0 6 0 6 12
Program structure
Full-day program 26 34 21 31 112
Half-day program 8 0 9 0 17
Teacher gender
Female 32 33 31 31 127
Male 2 1 0 0 3
Teacher age (35 years or older) 18 24 16 21 79
Teacher ethnicity
White 33 17 26 16 92
Hispanic 0 11 2 9 22
African American 0 5 0 6 11
Native American 0 0 1 0 1
Asian American 0 1 0 0 1
Years teaching kindergarten (4 or more years) 16 22 18 17 73
Teacher education
Master’s degree 22 6 14 7 49
Special education 2 3 0 1 6
Completed 3 or more college math courses 12 6 7 5 30
Completed college algebra 17 24 13 14 68
Number of students M (SD) 22.4 (3.9) 20.2 (3.2) 21.7 (3.4) 18.8
(3.4) 20.8 (3.7)
Note. The 129 participating classrooms were taught by 130
teachers. One classroom had 2 teachers, each working a half-
day schedule.
104 Assessment for Effective Intervention 39(2)
mathematics materials used in comparison classrooms varied
within participating districts and schools. The most widely

46. used curriculums were Everyday Mathematics, Houghton
Mifflin, Scott Foresman, and Bridges in Mathematics. The
instructional focus in comparison classrooms also varied.
Some teachers emphasized whole number concepts, while
others focused primarily on patterning and particular aspects
of geometry and measurement. A variety of different medi-
ums were used to deliver instruction in the comparison class-
rooms, including whole-class and center-based activities.
Observation Measures
A multifaceted observation system, which was comprised
of four observation instruments, was used to measure the
efficacy of the ELM curriculum for increasing the intensity
and quality of explicit mathematics instruction. The first
instrument in the observation system was the Classroom
Observations of Student–Teacher Interactions–Mathematics
(COSTI-M; Doabler, Baker, et al., in press), an observa-
tional tool designed to document the frequency of explicit
instructional interactions that occur between teachers and
their students. The COSTI-M was used during observations
in all participating kindergarten classrooms, regardless of
condition, to measure the intensity of explicit instruction.
To measure the quality of explicit instruction, we designed
two moderate-inference observation instruments: Quality of
Classroom Instruction (QCI; see Doabler, Baker, et al., in
press) and Ratings of Classroom Management and
Instructional Support (RCMIS; Doabler & Nelson-Walker,
2009). The QCI and RCMIS were administered in separate
geographical regions in the current study: The QCI was used
alongside the COSTI-M in all Oregon classrooms, whereas
the RCMIS was used alongside the COSTI-M in all Texas
classrooms. As described earlier, the Texas classrooms par-
ticipated in the ELM study 1 year after their Oregon counter-
parts. Following the first year of the ELM efficacy trial, the

47. research team elected to revise the QCI to serve as a more
global instrument of instructional quality, capturing features
of classroom management, the delivery of instruction, and
the learning environment. This revision resulted in a new,
refined instrument named the RCMIS. Thus, the ELM
research team used the RCMIS in the Texas classrooms
because it permits a more comprehensive focus on instruc-
tional quality than can be examined using the QCI. A fourth
instrument named the ELM Fidelity of Implementation
instrument was used in all classrooms to measure implemen-
tation fidelity and potential treatment diffusion.
COSTI-M. The COSTI-M is a modified version of a direct
observation instrument designed by Smolkowski and Gunn
(2012) for use during observations of early literacy instruc-
tion. This instrument was modified to document the frequency
of explicit instructional interactions during kindergarten
mathematics instruction. Observers used the COSTI-M to col-
lect data on (a) teacher demonstrations, (b) teacher-provided
academic feedback, (c) group responses, (d) individual
responses, (e) student errors, and (f) other forms of student
responses. Teacher demonstrations were defined as a teach-
er’s explanations, verbalizations of thought processes, or
physical demonstrations of mathematics content. For exam-
ple, observers coded a teacher model if a teacher used a
“think-aloud” to explain how to solve an addition word prob-
lem. Academic feedback was defined as a teacher’s error cor-
rection or a response affirmation to a preceding student
response. For example, an observer coded academic feedback
if a teacher corrected a student’s mistake by restating the steps
involved in a mathematical procedure. Observers also coded
academic feedback if a teacher affirmed a correct response by
a group of students.
Group responses were defined as two or more students

48. verbalizing their mathematical thinking or understanding in
unison. For instance, observers coded a group response if an
entire class stated the answer to a basic number combina-
tion. An individual response …
Assessment for Effective Intervention
2014, Vol. 39(2) 99 –111
© Hammill Institute on Disabilities 2013
Reprints and permissions:
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DOI: 10.1177/1534508413511848
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Article
In the current zeitgeist of bringing evidence-based practices
into classrooms (Chard, 2004; Clements, Agodini, & Harris,
2013; Cook & Cook, 2011; R. M. Gersten & Dimino, 2001;
Landrum & Tankersley, 2004; Vaughn & Dammann, 2001),
efforts to support changes in mathematics instruction have
begun to materialize. A major focus of these change efforts
have concentrated on the prevention of mathematics prob-
lems in the early grades, an emphasis supported by a grow-
ing body of evidence documenting that students who
struggle early with the foundations of mathematics are far
more likely than other students to experience persistent
mathematics difficulties (Bodovski & Farkas, 2007;
Morgan, Farkas, & Wu, 2009). Collectively, this research
suggests an urgent need to prevent mathematics difficulties
as early as kindergarten. In the absence of effective mathe-
matics instruction, many students will experience early and
persistent difficulties in mathematics and thus will struggle
to acquire mathematical proficiency. A suggested solution
for allowing all students, including those at risk for difficul-

49. ties in mathematics, to reach their mathematical potential is
to ensure high-quality implementation of evidence-based
practices, such as explicit mathematics instruction, in class-
rooms as early as kindergarten.
Explicit Mathematics Instruction
Explicit instruction is defined as a systematic and structured
instructional approach for effectively and efficiently teach-
ing foundational concepts and skills (Carnine, Silbert,
Kame’enui, & Tarver, 2004). At its core, explicit instruction
has a strong focus on learning for mastery and clear delinea-
tion of roles for teachers and students during instruction
(Archer & Hughes, 2010; Doabler & Fien, 2013; Hudson &
Miller, 2006). In light of empirical evidence generated by
recent meta-analyses on the attributes of effective mathe-
matics interventions (Baker, Gersten, & Lee, 2002;
R. Gersten et al., 2009), explicit instruction has been recom-
mended to help teachers deliver high-quality mathematics
instruction when teaching struggling learners. While the
511848AEIXXX10.1177/1534508413511848Assessment for
Effective InterventionDoabler et al.
research-article2013
1University of Oregon, Eugene, USA
2Oregon Research Institute, Eugene, USA
3Southern Methodist University, Dallas, TX, USA
Corresponding Author:
Christian T. Doabler, Center on Teaching and Learning,
University of
Oregon, 1600 Millrace Drive, Suite 108, Eugene, OR 97403-
1995, USA.
Email: [email protected]
Examining Teachers’ Use of

50. Evidence-Based Practices During
Core Mathematics Instruction
Christian T. Doabler, PhD1, Nancy J. Nelson, PhD1, Derek B.
Kosty, BS2, Hank
Fien, PhD1, Scott K. Baker, PhD1,3, Keith Smolkowski, PhD2,
and Ben Clarke, PhD1
Abstract
The extent to which teachers implement evidence-based
practices, such as explicit instruction, is critical for improving
students’ mathematics achievement. The purpose of this study
was to examine the effect of the kindergarten Early
Learning in Mathematics (ELM) curriculum on teachers’ use of
explicit mathematics instruction in core educational settings.
Observation data for the study were collected during a
randomized controlled trial designed to investigate the efficacy
of the ELM curriculum. A multifaceted observation system was
used to examine teachers’ provision of high-quality and
intensive instructional interactions during core mathematics
instruction. A total of 379 observations were conducted in
129 classrooms (68 treatment and 61 comparison), involving
approximately 2,700 students from 46 schools in Oregon
and Texas. Results indicate that ELM classroom teachers
delivered significantly higher rates of practice opportunities for
individuals and groups of students compared with comparison
classroom teachers who implemented standard district
mathematics instruction. Implications for instruction are
discussed.
Keywords
evidence-based practices, core mathematics instruction, explicit
and systematic instruction, instructional interactions,
treatment intensity, observation systems
mailto:[email protected]

51. http://crossmark.crossref.org/dialog/?doi=10.1177%2F15345084
13511848&domain=pdf&date_stamp=2013-12-16
100 Assessment for Effective Intervention 39(2)
literature base clearly suggests the value of an explicit
instructional approach in the context of small-group inter-
ventions, explicit instruction also appears to have promis-
ing effects in educational settings that deliver core
mathematics instruction (Agodini & Harris, 2010; Clarke
et al., 2011; Clements et al., 2013). Here we define core
instruction as mathematics instruction that focuses on the
range of mathematical standards students are expected to
learn and know at each grade level (e.g., the Common Core
State Standards for Mathematics, 2010). This definition
recognizes that core instruction takes place in general edu-
cation settings and is commonly delivered by teachers using
commercially available core programs. Because core math-
ematics instruction represents the primary source of math-
ematics for many students, including students struggling
with mathematics (Fuchs & Vaughn, 2012), the implemen-
tation of an explicit, systematic core mathematics curricu-
lum is critical for preventing mathematics difficulties (MD).
Empirical Support for Explicit Core Mathematics
Curriculums
A core mathematics curriculum represents an instructional
foundation for students’ early mathematical learning because
it determines when and how well they will progress through
content. A well-designed program will ensure appropriate
pacing, include teacher modeling of new concepts, provide
ample opportunities for guided and independent practice,
and integrate academic feedback, among other critical fea-
tures (Doabler, Fien, Nelson-Walker, & Baker, 2012).

52. Moreover, it will form a vital link between foundational and
more advanced concepts (Schmidt, Houang, & Cogan,
2002). For example, a kindergarten core curriculum will
devote strong attention at the start of the academic year to
the critical aspects of number, such as magnitude compari-
son, and then as students acquire initial proficiency progress
to more advanced topics, such as place value.
An emerging line of research on the impact of core math-
ematics programs demonstrates promising effects of core
mathematics curriculums that incorporate explicit instruc-
tion on student mathematics achievement. For example,
Agodini and Harris (2010) investigated the effectiveness of
four, commercially available first-grade elementary mathe-
matics curricula in more than 100 schools and found that
the mathematics achievement of students in schools that
were randomly assigned to the two teacher-directed curric-
ulums (i.e., Saxon Math and Math Expressions) was signifi-
cantly greater than the math achievement of students in
schools that used the student-centered curriculums (i.e.,
Scott Foresman and Investigations).
A major finding of our own work on core mathematics
instruction is that an explicit, core mathematics curriculum
is critical for many students, particularly for students with or
at risk for MD. In a recent efficacy trial funded through the
Institute of Education Sciences (Clarke et al., 2011), our
research team investigated the efficacy of the Early Learning
in Mathematics (ELM) curriculum. ELM is a yearlong, core
mathematics program that uses an explicit instructional
framework and focuses on the kindergarten standards identi-
fied in the Common Core State Standards for Mathematics
(2010). In the efficacy trial, 65 kindergarten classrooms
were randomly assigned to either treatment (ELM) or com-
parison (standard district practices) conditions. Findings sug-

53. gest that at-risk kindergartners in the treatment classrooms
made significant gains in mathematics achievement across the
year relative to their at-risk peers in comparison classrooms,
while typically achieving students in ELM classrooms made
gains on par with their typically achieving peers in compari-
son classrooms. In ELM classrooms, at-risk students also
demonstrated greater gains than their typical achieving peers
and thus reduced the achievement gap. In the current study,
we examine the extent to which ELM supports teachers in
delivering explicit mathematics instruction.
Distinguishing Features of Explicit Mathematics
Curriculums
A common feature of effective, core mathematics programs,
such as Saxon Math, Math Expressions, and ELM, is incor-
poration of explicit instructional design principles that have
been empirically validated to improve student mathematics
achievement (Bryant et al., 2008; Doabler et al., 2012). An
explicit curriculum offers opportunities for teachers to (a)
facilitate high-quality practice opportunities for students,
(b) deliver clear and consistent demonstrations of new and
complex mathematical concepts and skills, and (c) provide
timely academic feedback to address student errors and
misconceptions (Doabler et al., 2012). For example, an
explicit math curriculum will provide specific teaching
directions on how to demonstrate and explain key math
concepts, offer students opportunities to practice taught
concepts, and deliver immediate feedback.
When well designed, a core curriculum represents an opti-
mal platform for teachers to deliver high-quality instruction
that results in students’ construction of deep and robust math-
ematical knowledge. It also serves as a mechanism to increase
the intensity of instruction for struggling students. Features
of instructional intensity in the context of core mathematics

54. instruction include the active ingredients that are hypothe-
sized to promote student achievement (Warren, Fey, & Yoder,
2007). In this study, such ingredients are operationalized as
student–teacher interactions that are nested within kindergar-
ten mathematics instruction. We believe that an explicit, core
mathematics curriculum can increase instructional intensity
by providing opportunities for teachers to facilitate frequent,
high-quality instructional interactions.
Doabler et al. 101
In the early grades, instructional interactions commonly
entail students verbalizing their mathematical thinking and
understanding (Cirillo, 2013; Clements et al., 2013). Such
verbalizations are essential in the early development of
mathematical learning because they allow students to use
productive mathematical discourse at a time when other
modes of responding, such as independent written exer-
cises, are not yet instructionally appropriate (Clements et
al., 2013; Doabler, Baker et al., in press). For example, a
first-grade student is more apt to verbalize his or her solu-
tion method for solving a word problem than to write the
specific steps that lead to the problem’s answer.
Math verbalizations occur through two mediums: group
responses and individual responses. Group responses offer
a way for teachers to keep all students engaged in instruc-
tion and check students’ understanding of specific content
(Blackwell & McLaughlin, 2005). For example, a group
response might entail 25 kindergartners stating in unison
how the identity property applies when adding zero to a
whole number (e.g., “the number stays the same”).
Individual responses entail one student verbalizing his or
her mathematical knowledge. When interspersed with

55. group response opportunities, individual responses can be
particularly effective for reducing potential misconceptions
and determining whether specific individuals understand
the target concepts.
Purpose of the Study
The purpose of the current study is to extend our efficacy
research on the ELM kindergarten curriculum. In our initial
efficacy study, Clarke et al. (2011) found a positive impact
of ELM on the mathematics achievement of kindergarten
students with and without MD. The current study continues
this line of efficacy research but with a specific focus on the
impact of ELM on teaching behavior. In this study, it was
hypothesized that the ELM curriculum would help teachers
implement explicit, core mathematics instruction.
Specifically, we expected teachers in classrooms that imple-
mented ELM to deliver more intensive and higher quality
explicit instruction than teachers in classrooms that deliv-
ered standard district instructional practices.
Our hypothesis is anchored to the growing knowledge
base of effective mathematics instruction (R. Gersten et al.,
2009; National Mathematics Advisory Panel, 2008;
National Research Council [NRC], 2001) and the findings
of a recently conducted efficacy trial on a multi-tiered, first-
grade literacy intervention, Enhancing Core Reading
Instruction (ECRI; Nelson-Walker et al., 2013). Nelson-
Walker and colleagues investigated the efficacy of the ECRI
intervention for changing teachers’ instruction. A key find-
ing from the Nelson-Walker et al. study is that ECRI
increased teachers’ use of explicit instructional techniques,
suggesting that an explicit, systematic intervention can
enhance the quality and intensity of core reading instruction
that students receive in general education classrooms. We

56. believe that this finding may generalize to the current study
because many of the architectural features of the ECRI
intervention are analogous to those of the ELM curriculum.
Both use an explicit instructional approach and offer fre-
quent occasions for teachers to provide high-quality dem-
onstrations of key concepts and skills. ELM and ECRI also
facilitate opportunities for teachers to increase the intensity
of reading and mathematics instruction, respectively, by
fostering structured practice for students, including oppor-
tunities for students to verbalize their understanding of
reading and mathematics content.
In this study, we conceptualized instructional intensity
as the frequency with which explicit instructional interac-
tions occurred during core mathematics instruction.
Comprising such interactions were teachers’ demonstra-
tions of mathematical content, practice opportunities for
students, and teacher-provided academic feedback. We also
included student errors as part of these instructional interac-
tions because they serve as a proxy indicator of instructional
effectiveness and student accuracy. We anchored this con-
ceptualization of instructional intensity to a framework pro-
posed by Warren et al. (2007). Their framework coupled
with findings from recent research reported by Clements et
al. (2013) highlights the importance of defining the active
ingredients of classroom instruction, such as the instruc-
tional interactions that occur between teachers and students.
It also suggests the use of a frequency-based observation
instrument as a measurement approach for precisely captur-
ing indicators of treatment intensity.
We conceptualized instructional quality as the clarity
and timeliness of instructional interactions, effective class-
room management techniques, and dimensions of a sup-
portive learning environment. This conceptualization of
instructional quality has its roots in several programs of

57. observation research, including the work of Pianta and
Hamre (2009), and Englert and colleagues (cf. Englert,
Tarrant, & Mariage, 1992). Because a defining characteris-
tic of instructional intensity and quality is their observable
nature, we used a multifaceted observation system to inves-
tigate the efficacy of the ELM curriculum for increasing
teachers’ use of explicit instructional interactions during
core mathematics instruction.
Two research questions were addressed in this study:
Research Question 1: Do ELM teachers deliver more
intensive explicit instruction than teachers in classrooms
that implemented standard district practices?
Research Question 2: Do ELM teachers demonstrate
higher quality explicit instruction than teachers in class-
rooms that implemented standard district practices?
102 Assessment for Effective Intervention 39(2)
Method
Research Design
The current study was part of a larger efficacy trial funded
by the Institute of Education Sciences that was designed to
investigate the efficacy of the ELM kindergarten program
when implemented under rigorous experimental conditions.
The ELM study used a randomized controlled design, nest-
ing 2,681 students within 129 kindergarten classrooms.
Blocking on schools, classrooms were randomly assigned
to either a treatment or comparison condition. Sixty-eight
treatment classrooms implemented the ELM program for
the entire school year, whereas 61 comparison classrooms

58. implemented business-as-usual teaching practices. Because
the current study focuses on teacher behavior as the out-
come, the primary unit of analysis is the teacher.
Classroom Recruitment in the ELM Efficacy Trial
The principal investigators and key personnel of the ELM
project conducted all recruitment efforts for the larger effi-
cacy trial. These efforts entailed contacting district leaders
of public, private, and charter school districts in Dallas,
Texas, and areas of western Oregon. District leaders were
provided information on the study’s research aims and
activities. Interested district leaders then identified potential
schools for participation, namely those that contained large
percentages of students in need of intensive instructional
support in mathematics. Public schools targeted for recruit-
ment were those that received Title 1 funding. Principals
and the kindergarten teachers of schools in all three sectors
(i.e., public, private, and charter) were then contacted. All
kindergarten teachers in each participating school were eli-
gible to participate in the study.
Participants
Forty-six schools from seven school districts in Oregon
and Dallas, Texas, participated in the ELM study. In
Oregon, the ELM efficacy trial was conducted during the
2008–2009 school year. Texas schools participated in the
efficacy trial during the following school year 2009–2010.
Of the 46 schools, 32 were public institutions, 11 were pri-
vate, and 3 were charter schools. The participating schools
were located in urban and suburban areas in each state.
From the 46 schools, 130 classrooms were eligible for ran-
domization. Because we blocked on schools, 68 of the 130
classrooms were randomly assigned to the ELM program
and 62 were randomly assigned to the comparison condi-

59. tion. One comparison classroom in Oregon was dropped
from the analysis because of an inadvertent change in con-
dition at the start of the study. The analytic sample for this
study involved 129 kindergarten classrooms (68 ELM; 61
comparison).
Table 1 provides descriptive information about the class-
rooms and teachers by condition and region. Of the 129
classrooms in the analysis, 112 provided a full-day kinder-
garten program and 17 provided a half-day program. All
half-day classrooms were located in Oregon. While the
majority of the classrooms provided instruction 5 days per
week, one full-day classroom in Oregon met 4 days per
week. All math instruction was provided in English; how-
ever, 17 bilingual education classes were part of the sample.
Average class size for treatment and comparison classrooms
was M = 21.3 (SD = 3.7) and M = 20.2 (SD = 3.7), respec-
tively. The 129 participating classrooms were taught by 130
teachers. One comparison classroom had two teachers, each
working a half-day schedule. All teachers participated for
the duration of the study, and thus the outcomes of the study
were not affected by attrition (What Works Clearinghouse
[WWC], 2013).
Within the 129 classrooms were 2,681 students, of which
1,448 and 1,233 were in ELM and comparison classrooms,
respectively. Student demographic data were only available
for those students who attended participating public schools.
In the 32 public schools, an average of 76% of the student
population qualified for free or reduced price lunch pro-
grams. Students in Oregon schools were Hispanic (36%),
Black (2%), White (56%), Asian and Pacific Islander (5%),
and American Indian (1%). In Texas schools, students were
Hispanic (69%), Black (29%), White (1%), Asian and
Pacific Islander (<1%), and American Indian (<1%).

60. ELM Intervention
ELM is a core kindergarten mathematics curriculum
designed to promote students’ development of mathemati-
cal proficiency in the concepts and skills identified in the
Common Core State Standards for Mathematics (2010).
ELM includes 120 core daily lessons that are approximately
45 min in duration and designed to be delivered in whole-
class settings. As a core curriculum, ELM attends to six
mathematics domains: (a) counting and cardinality, (b)
operations and algebraic thinking, (c) number and opera-
tions in base 10, (d) measurement and data, (e) geometry,
and (f) precise mathematics vocabulary. To meet the instruc-
tional needs of all students, mathematics content is explic-
itly introduced in each lesson, and systematically reviewed
and extended across lessons (Coyne, Kame’enui, & Carnine,
2011). ELM teachers are expected to model and demon-
strate what they want students to learn, and provide specific
and frequent feedback to students during learning activities.
Teachers are also expected to facilitate frequent and deliber-
ate opportunities for students to practice key mathematics
concepts, such as opportunities for students to verbalize
their mathematical thinking and understanding.
Each ELM lesson incorporates four to five activities,
with the first activity typically introducing or reviewing a
Doabler et al. 103
mathematical concept or skill that is central to the lesson’s
overall objective. For this part of the lesson, the teacher pro-
vides concrete examples and makes explicit the focus of the
activity’s targeted content. For example, an initial activity
might have a teacher explain the concept of addition and

61. demonstrate the procedure of adding one to a number. The
second and third activities in ELM lessons involve either an
extension of the first activity or a review of previously
learned material. The fourth activity often targets previ-
ously learned material from a different math domain. If, for
example, the first three activities focus on teen numbers
(i.e., number and operations in base 10), the fourth activity
will address material related to geometry or measurement.
The last activity entails a paper–pencil review. Facilitated
by the teacher, this worksheet activity provides children
with a cumulative review of the lesson’s content.
Professional development. Across the ELM study, treatment
teachers received 4 days of professional development
related to program implementation and kindergarten math-
ematics instruction. Each curriculum workshop lasted 6 hr
and was conducted by the program’s lead author. The first
curriculum workshop took place prior to the start of the
school year and focused on three key elements: (a) the
research-based principles of math instruction, (b) the
instructional design and delivery features of the ELM cur-
riculum, and (c) an overview of Lessons 1 to 30. During
each workshop, participating teachers were provided oppor-
tunities to deliver sample lessons and receive feedback on
their teaching from members of the professional develop-
ment team. ELM teachers received three follow-up work-
shops distributed across the school year. These workshops
reviewed instructional design elements shared in previous
sessions and provided treatment teachers with an in-depth
overview of the remaining lessons of the ELM curriculum.
Comparison Classrooms
Mathematics instruction in the comparison condition con-
sisted of standard district practices. Teachers in comparison

62. classrooms used a variety of instructional materials, includ-
ing teacher-developed activities and a number of commer-
cially available curriculums. Surveys administered in the
larger efficacy trial (Clarke et al., 2011) indicated that
Table 1. Descriptive Information for Classrooms and Teachers
by Region and Condition.
Treatment Comparison
TotalClassroom and Teacher Characteristics Oregon Texas
Oregon Texas
Number of classrooms 34 34 30 31 129
School type
Public 34 17 30 16 97
Private 0 11 0 9 20
Charter 0 6 0 6 12
Program structure
Full-day program 26 34 21 31 112
Half-day program 8 0 9 0 17
Teacher gender
Female 32 33 31 31 127
Male 2 1 0 0 3
Teacher age (35 years or older) 18 24 16 21 79
Teacher ethnicity
White 33 17 26 16 92
Hispanic 0 11 2 9 22
African American 0 5 0 6 11
Native American 0 0 1 0 1
Asian American 0 1 0 0 1
Years teaching kindergarten (4 or more years) 16 22 18 17 73
Teacher education
Master’s degree 22 6 14 7 49
Special education 2 3 0 1 6
Completed 3 or more college math courses 12 6 7 5 30

63. Completed college algebra 17 24 13 14 68
Number of students M (SD) 22.4 (3.9) 20.2 (3.2) 21.7 (3.4) 18.8
(3.4) 20.8 (3.7)
Note. The 129 participating classrooms were taught by 130
teachers. One classroom had 2 teachers, each working a half-
day schedule.
104 Assessment for Effective Intervention 39(2)
mathematics materials used in comparison classrooms varied
within participating districts and schools. The most widely
used curriculums were Everyday Mathematics, Houghton
Mifflin, Scott Foresman, and Bridges in Mathematics. The
instructional focus in comparison classrooms also varied.
Some teachers emphasized whole number concepts, while
others focused primarily on patterning and particular aspects
of geometry and measurement. A variety of different medi-
ums were used to deliver instruction in the comparison class-
rooms, including whole-class and center-based activities.
Observation Measures
A multifaceted observation system, which was comprised
of four observation instruments, was used to measure the
efficacy of the ELM curriculum for increasing the intensity
and quality of explicit mathematics instruction. The first
instrument in the observation system was the Classroom
Observations of Student–Teacher Interactions–Mathematics
(COSTI-M; Doabler, Baker, et al., in press), an observa-
tional tool designed to document the frequency of explicit
instructional interactions that occur between teachers and
their students. The COSTI-M was used during observations
in all participating kindergarten classrooms, regardless of

64. condition, to measure the intensity of explicit instruction.
To measure the quality of explicit instruction, we designed
two moderate-inference observation instruments: Quality of
Classroom Instruction (QCI; see Doabler, Baker, et al., in
press) and Ratings of Classroom Management and
Instructional Support (RCMIS; Doabler & Nelson-Walker,
2009). The QCI and RCMIS were administered in separate
geographical regions in the current study: The QCI was used
alongside the COSTI-M in all Oregon classrooms, whereas
the RCMIS was used alongside the COSTI-M in all Texas
classrooms. As described earlier, the Texas classrooms par-
ticipated in the ELM study 1 year after their Oregon counter-
parts. Following the first year of the ELM efficacy trial, the
research team elected to revise the QCI to serve as a more
global instrument of instructional quality, capturing features
of classroom management, the delivery of instruction, and
the learning environment. This revision resulted in a new,
refined instrument named the RCMIS. Thus, the ELM
research team used the RCMIS in the Texas classrooms
because it permits a more comprehensive focus on instruc-
tional quality than can be examined using the QCI. A fourth
instrument named the ELM Fidelity of Implementation
instrument was used in all classrooms to measure implemen-
tation fidelity and potential treatment diffusion.
COSTI-M. The COSTI-M is a modified version of a direct
observation instrument designed by Smolkowski and Gunn
(2012) for use during observations of early literacy instruc-
tion. This instrument was modified to document the frequency
of explicit instructional interactions during kindergarten
mathematics instruction. Observers used the COSTI-M to col-
lect data on (a) teacher demonstrations, (b) teacher-provided
academic feedback, (c) group responses, (d) individual
responses, (e) student errors, and (f) other forms of student

65. responses. Teacher demonstrations were defined as a teach-
er’s explanations, verbalizations of thought processes, or
physical demonstrations of mathematics content. For exam-
ple, observers coded a teacher model if a teacher used a
“think-aloud” to explain how to solve an addition word prob-
lem. Academic feedback was defined as a teacher’s error cor-
rection or a response affirmation to a preceding student
response. For example, an observer coded academic feedback
if a teacher corrected a student’s mistake by restating the steps
involved in a mathematical procedure. Observers also coded
academic feedback if a teacher affirmed a correct response by
a group of students.
Group responses were defined as two or more students
verbalizing their mathematical thinking or understanding in
unison. For instance, observers coded a group response if an
entire class stated the answer to a basic number combina-
tion. An individual response …
Research & Practice for Persons with Severe Disabilities
2011. Vol, 36, No, 1-2, 62-75
copyright 2011 by
TASH
Evaluating Evidence-Based Practice
in Teaching Science Content to Students
With Severe Developmental Disabilities
Fred Spooner, Vicki Knight', Diane Browder, Bree Jimenez, and
Warren DiBiase
University of North Carolina at Charlotte
A comprehensive review of the literature was conducted

66. for articles published between 1985 and May 2009 to (a)
examine the degree to which science content was taught to
sttidents with severe developmental disabilities and (b) and
evahiate instructional procedtires in science as evidence-
based practices. The review was organized by a conceptual
model developed for science content. Seventeen experi-
ments were analyzed for research qtiality where science
content was taught to this population; 14 of these studies
were viewed to be of high or adequate quality. In general,
we found systematic instruction as an overarching in-
structional package to be an evidence-based practice for
teaching science content, Ftirthermore, components of sys-
tematic instrtiction (ie,, task analytic instrtiction and time
delay) were analyzed. We discuss the otitcomes to reftect
how to teach science, what science content to teach, why
to teach science, and recommendations for future research
and practice.
D E S C R I P T O R S : students with severe developmental
disabilities, science evidenced-based practices, teaching sci-
ence to students with severe developmental disabUities,
comprehensive literature review of teaching science skiUs
to students with severe developmental disabUities
UntU the last decade, there have been few resources
on teaching science to students with severe develop-
mental disabilities. In a comprehensive review of the re-
search, Courtade, Spooner. and Browder (2007) found
only 11 experiments with any "link" to the National
Science Education Standards (NSES, National Research
Council [NRC], 1996), These studies linked because the
target-dependent variable matched some of the content
Support for this research was provided in part by grant
R324AQ080014 from the US, Department of Education, Insti-
tute of Education Sciences, awarded to the University of North

67. Carolina at Charlotte, The opinions expressed do not neces-
sarily reflect the position or policy of the Department of Edu-
cation, and no official endorsement should be inferred.
Address all correspondence and reprint requests to Dr, Fred
Spooner, Department of Special Education and Child De-
velopment, University of North Carolina at Charlotte. 9201
University City Boulevard. Chariotte. NC 28223-0001, E-mail:
[email protected],edu
'Vicki Knight, now at University of Kentucky, Department
of Special Education and Rehabilitation Counseling,
recommended by the NSES as judged by a science con-
tent expert. Most of these studies were not intended to
demonstrate science learning per se but instead targeted
skiUs of daily living with some overlap with science. For
this reason, 8 of the 11 studies would be considered to
fall under the NSES standard on science in personal and
social perspectives. Methods to teach other standards
such as inquiry, physical science, life science, earth and
space science, and science and technology have not re-
ceived much attendon.
To provide more focus on science instruction, educa-
tors need (a) a rationale for teaching science, (b) guide-
lines for selecting content and goals for achievement,
and (c) methods that will be effective for science leaming.
Perhaps the most important rationale for teaching science
is to include students with severe developmental disabil-
ides in the full educational opportunity of their schools.
For example, in a notable early article on this topic, Siegel-
Causey, McMorris. McGowen. and Sands-Buss (1998) de-
scribed how to include students with severe disabilides
in general science classes. These authors discussed a four-
step incltision strategy, which incorporated planning, se-

68. lecting classes, accommodating, and collaborating for a
junior high school student. The authors also reported
that both the educators and student benefited because of
the opportunity to attend general education classes at
his neighborhood school. Besides promoting educadonal
opportunity, some other reasons to teach science to all
Students, including those with severe disabilities, are to
promote wonder and understanding of the natural world.
Science also provides a format for posing questions and
sharing discoveries. For example, students may gain under-
standing of why earthquakes occur while working with
models in earth science, or they may experience the won-
der of seeing a life cycle through a classroom butterfly
project. Students can have the opportunity to pose ques-
dons (e,g,. Why did the building shake?) or make pre-
dictions (e,g,. What day wUl the butterflies appear?),
A final reason for providing the opportunity for science
leaming is that science, like reading and mathematics, is
one of the three academic areas for which schools must
report accountability (No Child Left Behind Act. 2002),
The content for science instruction is typically pre-
scribed by the state's science standards and the curricu-
lum selected for the grade level in which the student is
62
Science Evidence-Based Practice 63
enrolled. One of the challenges in promoting science
learning for students with severe disabilities is to identify
priorities within this content. Although some students
may achieve grade level expectations, others need tar-
gets for alternate achievement. The NSES place a prior-

69. ity on inquiry-based science learning. The NRC defines
inquiry as "a set of interrelated processes by which sci-
entists and students pose questions about the natural
world and investigate phenomena; in doing so, students
acquire knowledge and develop a rich understanding of
concepts, principles, models, and theories" (NRC, 1996,
p. 214).
Conceptual Model of Science for Students With Severe
Developmental Disabilities
We propose that inquiry also be the priority within
science learning for students with severe disabilities. For
example, students should learn the skills necessary to
interpret the world around them by asking questions
such as "How did the puddle of water disappear from
the morning to the afternoon?" using inquiry skills to
develop steps to make a prediction, experiment, and
find answers to their questions. Although learning about
topics like chemical reactions, human cells, and what
plants need to survive are valuable, what is even more
important is the acquisition of skills the student can use
both in and outside of school to learn about the natural
environment. Students need the opportunity to learn
to make predictions and pose questions and then en-
gage with materials to test these predictions or find
answers. Figure 1 provides a diagram of how the "why"
and "what" of teaching science to students with se-
vere disabilities can be conceptualized. The large in-
quiry circle within the science content illustrates its
priority status among the science standards (the other
standards are shown below the large inquiry circle).
By focusing on inquiry, students develop the ability to
pose questions and share discoveries (circle to the right),
which contributes to wonder and understanding of the

70. natural world, and ultimately promotes quality of life
(see Figure 1).
Our conceptual model of science can be supplemented
with a series of questions for professionals to consider
about teaching science content to students with severe
disabilities. For example, what is the goal of teaching sci-
ence to the students I serve? How can I make science
meaningful while promoting authentic science learning?
How can I focus instruction in science to accomplish
the goal of promoting wonder and understanding of
the natural world? In general, we propose that the over-
arching goal of science is for students to attain wonder
and understanding about their natural world which can
promote enhanced quality of life. Ouality of life, includ-
ing components like happiness, satisfaction, choice and
control over one's life, and self-determination has long
been an important hallmark of training and service de-
livery in the area of severe disabilities (e.g., Bannerman,
Sheldon, Sherman, & Harchik, 1990; Brown, 1991; Brown
& Lehr, 1993; Wehmeyer & Schwartz, L997).
Besides having a rationale for teaching science and
some guidance for selecting content, educators also
need methods that are likely to be effective for science
Observe ExperimenU Infer HypoAesi
Gain wonder ana
understanding of
the natural wor/d and
my place in it.
Quality of Life
Employment, hobbies
civic responsibilities,

71. personal weli-tjeing
Ability to pose
questions ana
share discoveries
Figure 1. Conceptual model of science for students with severe
developmental disabilities.
64 Spooner et al.
learning by students with severe developmental disabil-
ities. In the last decade, interest in teaching science to
students with severe disabilities has grown as evidenced
by botb book chapters (Cooper-Duffy & Perlmutter,
2006; Spooner, DiBiase, & Courtade-Little, 2006) and
several new studies (e.g., Jameson, McDonnell, Johnson,
Riesen, & Polychronis, 2007; Jameson, McDonnell,
Polychronis, & Riesen, 2008; McDonnell, Johnson,
Polychronis, Riesen, & Kercher, 2006; Riesen, McDonnell,
Johnson, Polychronis, & Jameson, 2003). Overall, these
new studies are not categorically different from earlier
work (focus on skill acquisition, used systematic instruc-
tion as basic instructional practice). On the other hand,
because these newer studies are post No Child Left Be-
hind Act (2002), they tend to include more general edu-
cation teachers as the person responsible for delivery of
instruction and include skills that address a broader range
of science standards.
Evidence-Based Practices
Although many guidelines for teaching science have
practical appeal, educators also need informafion on