A Comparison of Three Opportunity-to-Respond Strategies on the Academic Engaged Time Among High School Students Who Present Challenging Behavior

Oct 15, 2026

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A single subject alternating treatment design across three student-teacher dyads compares the impact of three opportunity-to-respond (OTR) strategies—guided notes, class-wide peer tutoring, and response cards—on students’ academic engaged time. Participants were three high school students with disabilities exhibiting behavioral concerns and poor mathematics performance in general education. All OTR interventions increased percentage academic engaged time and reduced behavioral disruptions. Visual analysis and an added replication phase showed response cards as the most effective. Implications for OTR efficacy and future high school research are considered.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages11

Reading Time28 min

AccessFree to download

Abstract

Methods and Participants

Findings

Implications and Future Research

A Comparison of Three Opportunity-to-Respond Strategies on the Academic Engaged Time Among High School Students Who Present Challenging Behavior Reesha M. Adamson, PhD 1 and Timothy J. Lewis, PhD2 Behavioral Disorders 2017, Vol. 42(2) 41–51 © Hammill Institute on Disabilities 2017 Reprints and permissions: [sagepub.com/journalsPermissions.nav](sagepub.com/journalsPermissions.nav)[ ](sagepub.com/journalsPermissions.nav)[DOI: 10.1177/0198742916688644](DOI: 10.1177/0198742916688644)[ ](DOI: 10.1177/0198742916688644)[journals.sagepub.com/home/bhd](journals.sagepub.com/home/bhd) Abstract A single subject alternating treatment design across three student-teacher dyads was used to investigate the comparative impact on student academic engaged time of three opportunity-to-respond (OTR) strategies: guided notes, class-wide peer tutoring, and response cards. Participants were three high school students with disabilities with noted behavioral concerns and poor academic performance within mathematics general education courses. Results indicated all OTR interventions were effective in improving percentage of academic engaged time and reducing behavioral disruptions. Using visual analysis and an additional replication phase, response cards proved to the most efficacious in improving student outcomes. Implications for the existing knowledge base on the efficacy of OTR as well as future research within high school settings are discussed. Keywords ADHD, opportunities to respond, general education, mathematics Students with disabilities who display significant behavioral problems are being educated increasingly within general education settings and less frequently in pullout or self-contained classrooms (Trout, Nordness, Pierce, & Epstein, 2003; U.S. Department of Education, Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services, 2015). Thus, ensuring academic success among students with behavioral problems often falls to general educators, who typically have minimal training in behavior and classroom management, especially at the secondary level (Reschly & Christenson, 2006) . Delivering effective instruction in secondary classrooms to promote individual student academic and behavioral success is a difficult task for many teachers as evidenced by the high rate of teachers leaving the field due to student behavioral challenges (Simpson, Peterson, & Smith, 2011) . Perhaps the most important element of effectively meeting students’ academic and behavioral needs is implementing effective instruction. Education for students with behavioral problems must ensure student academic growth toward graduation or postsecondary education, and limit problem behavior that can disrupt student progress (Trout et al., 2003) . Students with behavioral problems often display low school engagement, poor attendance, low academic achievement, conflicts with adults and peers, disruptive behavior, mental health issues, failing grades, high drop-out rates, and increased risk for school suspension (Lane, Carter, Pierson, & Glaeser, 2006; Merrell & Walker, 2004; U. S. Department of Education, Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services, 2008) . Effective learning environments that contribute to successful short-and long-term outcomes for students with significant behavioral problems typically address the individual needs of students, with a focus on the academic and social success of all students (Haydon, Borders, Embury, & Clarke, 2009) . Moreover, the combined effects of academic struggles and behavioral challenges are well known (National Longitudinal Transition Study–2, 2007) . Coutinho (1986) stated that in elementary school, students with behavioral problems typically perform 1.5 to 2 grade levels behind their peers and that this gap widens to 3.5 grade levels by secondary school. In addition, Gregory, Skiba, and Noguera (2010) summarized research suggesting clear correlations among low achievement, antisocial behavior, and disc

FAQs

What design was used to compare the three OTR strategies?

A single subject alternating treatment design across three student-teacher dyads was used to compare guided notes, class-wide peer tutoring, and response cards.

Who participated in the study and what setting were they in?

Three high school students with disabilities participated, all showing behavioral concerns and poor mathematics performance in general education courses.

Which strategy was found to be most effective?

Response cards proved to be the most efficacious for improving student outcomes, supported by visual analysis and an additional replication phase.

Oct 15, 2026

Upload by Ben