• 0Shopping Cart
Edge Enterprises
  • About Us
  • What’sNew
  • EdgeProducts
    • The Learning Strategies Curriculum
    • Content Enhancement Routines
    • Teaming Techniques
    • Strategic Tutoring
    • Cooperative Thinking Strategies
    • Community Building Series
    • Strategic Math Series
    • Motivation Strategies
    • Social Skills Programs
    • Speaking with Power Series
  • CustomerSupport
    • Contact Us
    • FAQs
  • ProfessionalDevelopment
  • QuickOrder
  • Search
  • Menu Menu

BUILD Strategy Professional Development Workshop (Manual & Digital Program)

D. Sue Vernon

Jean B. Schumaker
Donald D. Deshler
In the BUILD Strategy program, students are taught to follow five strategic steps that enable them to work together to resolve two-sided issues. Each lesson focuses on one step where students learn about the step, watch a demonstration of the step, and practice using the step.
This professional development program includes a manual and a digital program. The digital program provides instruction on how to teach the BUILD Strategy to students. It includes instructions related to each lesson and video clips of a teacher using the instructional procedures found in the manual. The digital program must be purchased with a manual. To preview a portion of one of the classroom video clips, click on the “Play” button in the video box on this screen.

$44.00

SKU: CS5SET Categories: Cooperative Thinking Products, Cooperative Thinking Strategies, Published by Edge Enterprises Inc, Social Skills Programs
  • Additional information
  • Research
  • About the Author

Additional information

Cover

Paperback

Publisher

Edge Enterprises, Inc.

Year Printed

2004

Includes

Manual and Flash Drive

Description

Research on the BUILD Strategy Professional Development CD Program

Overview
The BUILD Strategy is used by cooperative groups to resolve a two-sided issue. The research was conducted in 18 fifth-grade general education classes. Six teachers participated in this CD program to learn how to provide instruction in the strategy. They worked through the CD program individually. They also read the BUILD Strategy instructor’s manual. They taught the strategy to a total of 125 students. They will be referred to as the “multimedia-workshop group.” Six additional teachers simply read the instructor’s manual for the BUILD Strategy and taught the strategy to their 113 students. They will be referred to as the “manual-only group.” Six more teachers and their 109 students served as the comparison group. The comparison teachers did not teach the BUILD Strategy to their students. The teachers were randomly assigned to the groups.

Results
Measures were gathered on the fidelity of the multimedia-workshop teachers’ and manual-only teachers’ implementation of the instruction, their quality of instruction, and the quality of the instructional environment. The General Linear Mixed Model (GLMM) analysis for the Quality of Instruction measure revealed a significant difference between the two groups [F(1,10) = 5.59, p = .04] with higher scores for the CD group. A t-test for the Environment measure revealed a significant difference between the groups as well (t(4) = 3.904, p = .011). No difference was found between the implementation results for the two groups of experimental teachers. Both groups implemented the program.


Figure 1 displays the mean percentage scores that the multimedia workshop and manual-only teachers earned on a test of their knowledge of the instructional methods and the strategy. A t-test for independent groups revealed a significant difference in favor of the multimedia workshop group, t(10) = 2.895, p = .016.


Figure 2 displays the mean percentage scores earned by students of the three groups of teachers on a written test of their knowledge of the BUILD Strategy. The data were analyzed comparing the three groups of students’ raw posttest scores while controlling for the pretest scores. The results showed that the adjusted mean scores on the posttests were significantly different, F(2,14) = 1267.331, p < .001, η2 = .995. Follow-up comparison tests revealed significant differences between the posttest scores of the comparison and the multimedia workshop groups, p = .000, and between the comparison and the manual only groups, p = .000. The posttest scores of the multimedia workshop group and the manual only group were not statistically different from each other.


Figure 3 displays the mean percentage of points earned by the students as they used the BUILD Strategy in cooperative groups in their classrooms to resolve issues. GLMM results indicated that the multimedia workshop and manual only groups earned significantly higher scores than the comparison group, F (2, 15.1) = 32.88, p < .0001. Significant differences were found between the posttest scores of the comparison and the multimedia workshop groups, p = .000, and between the comparison and the manual only groups, p = .000. The posttest scores of the multimedia workshop group and the manual only group were not statistically different from each other.

Conclusions
These results show that the Professional Development CD Program is effective in instructing teachers in how to teach the BUILD Strategy to students. The quality of instruction and the instructional environments created by teachers who used the program received significantly higher scores than those created by teachers who only read the instructor’s manual. In addition, the teachers who used the CD program demonstrated significantly more knowledge about the program than the manual-only teachers. Although there were no significant differences between the two groups of experimental students, the students of the teachers who used the CD program performed better than the students of the manual-only students on both measures. Both groups of experimental students performed significantly and substantially better than the comparison students on both measures. Thus, not only is the CD program effective with teachers, the instructional program associated with the BUILD Strategy is effective in producing student change.

Reference
Vernon, D. S. (2004). Effects of a professional development software program for the BUILD Strategy Program: Progress Report for SBIR Phase II Grant #R44HD36139. Washington     D.C.: National Institute of Child Health and Human Development.

About the Author

D. Sue Vernon, Ph.D.

Affliations

 

      Research Affiliate and Certified SIM Professional Development Specialist
        University of Kansas Center for Research on Learning
        Lawrence, KS

 

        Lecturer
        Department of Special Education
        University of Kansas
        Lawrence, KS

 

        Retired Director of Research & Development
        Edge Enterprises, Inc.

Lawrence, KS

 

My Background and Interests
By wearing my different hats (a university instructor, a certified teaching-parent, a trainer and evaluator of child-care workers, a SIM professional development specialist, a parent of three children (one with exceptionalities), and a researcher), I have gained knowledge and experience from a number of perspectives. I have a history of working with at-risk youth with and without exceptionalities (e.g., students with learning disabilities, emotional disturbance, behavioral disorders) in community-based residential group-home treatment programs and in schools. I also have extensive experience with training, evaluating, and monitoring staff who work with these populations, and I have conducted research with and adapted curricula for high-poverty populations. In addition to the BUILD Strategy program and other Cooperative Thinking Strategies programs, I’ve developed and field-tested interactive multimedia social skills curricula, community-building curricula, communication skills instruction, and professional development programs. I have also developed and validated social skills measurement instruments. As a lecturer of graduate-level university courses in the Department of Special Education at the University of Kansas, I have taught courses designed to enable teachers to access and become proficient in validated research-based practices.

The Story Behind the BUILD Strategy Professional Development CD
My focus for the last 30 years has been on helping youths learn, and especially on helping them learn how to use social skills. My interest in social skills instruction began when I was a teaching-parent in a group home for adolescents who had a history of social problems. Clearly, those youths had not learned the social skills they needed to be successful in today’s world. Nevertheless, experience showed they could learn to use social skills well, given the right type of instruction. Later, I was the co-founder and Director of Training and Evaluation of the Teaching-Family Homes of Upper Michigan, originally developed through funding from the Michigan State Department of Mental Health and Father Flanagan’s Boys Home. This new agency eventually provided services to over 1,000 youths per day in schools, residential group homes, regional treatment centers, treatment foster homes, schools, and in counseling centers. My primary responsibility in this position was teaching adults (e.g., parents, teachers, foster parents, counselors) to teach social skills to children, and everyday I witnessed these adults successfully teaching the various skills to the youths in their care. Unfortunately, the population receiving instruction was often children who were already involved in the juvenile justice “system.” They were in trouble and had been removed from their homes. As I watched their growing success, I wanted to find a way to introduce social skills instruction as a way to prevent social problems – I wanted to teach children alternative ways of behaving that would help them not only to stay out of trouble but also to create and maintain relationships. I thought the perfect place to prevent problems would be in the general education classroom beginning in elementary school.

As a result, a whole line of research on social skills instruction was born. During early research efforts, I began observing and recording social interactions as students worked in cooperative groups on different types of tasks (and I was appalled at how the students treated one another – especially how other students treated students with exceptionalities). I surveyed teachers and found that they actively supported social skills instruction and were looking for ways to enhance productivity in cooperative groups. They had specific types of tasks in mind that they wanted their students to complete. For example, they wanted their students to learn how to work together to resolve a controversial issue. Thus, my colleagues and I developed and tested the BUILD Strategy program in general education elementary classrooms. Our goal for the Cooperative Thinking Strategy Series was to develop programs that could be used in general education classes and that would benefit students with and without exceptionalities. We wanted students to learn ways to cooperate with each other that they could use in their future lives, such as in post-secondary schools, work, and community situations. Once the BUILD Strategy Program was developed and shown to be effective, we wanted to provide an inexpensive way for teachers to learn how to teach the BUILD Strategy. Thus, the BUILD Strategy Professional Development CD was born. It contains step-by-step instructions on how to teach the BUILD Strategy along with videoclips of a teacher teaching the strategy.

My Thoughts about BUILD Strategy Instruction chopardwiki.com
I have observed the BUILD Strategy program being successfully used in schools and in group-home settings with elementary, middle school, high school, and college students. I have no doubt that even adults in business settings could benefit from the principles taught in this program. David and Roger Johnson were our consultants on the Cooperative Thinking Strategy Series. In one brainstorming session during the development of the BUILD Strategy program, David suggested that we avoid the area of “debate” (which was our original intent). In a “debate,” of course, one side loses. Instead, he suggested setting up a situation in which both sides could “win.” It was great advice. From that conversation, we decided to concentrate on teaching students a strategy that would result in everyone on the team gaining knowledge about both sides of the topic and then making an informed decision. Our focus in the BUILD Strategy program became understanding and education rather than competition; as a result, students learn as much as possible about an issue from the perspective of both sides.

Indeed, during our pretest observations prior to teaching the strategy, observers watched students become invested in one “side” of an issue and often threatened to fight “to the death” to “win” the argument. In absolute contrast, after instruction in the BUILD Strategy, the posttest team sessions were not arguments. Instead, they represented a civilized process in which students listened and shared information about the pros and cons of both sides of an issue and eventually voted on a decision that was based on what they had learned instead of an emotional investment.

When I think about some of the adult decision-making discussions/arguments I’ve witnessed, I certainly realize that there were definitely times when everyone would have benefited from a peaceful BUILD-Strategy approach to resolving an issue instead of the “gang war” version of making a decision! This is a strategy that can be used by anyone at any age!

 

Teacher and Student Feedback on the BUILD Strategy
The results of the field test demonstrated that students who received instruction in the BUILD Strategy could work together more effectively to resolve a controversial issue than students who did not receive the instruction. Experimental students with and without exceptionalities examined an issue and defined the opposing sides, gathered information about both sides of the issue, discussed the consequences of decisions, identified possible compromises, reviewed the facts, made a personal decision, and conducted a team vote as to the best way to resolve the issue.

In addition, the BUILD Strategy was strongly endorsed by both teachers and students. Teachers commented: “Understanding others’ viewpoints, knowing there are processes that lead to peaceful resolution, and developing teamwork skills are all beneficial,” “The thing I liked most about the BUILD Strategy was the process that students were taught to follow. They need ways to organize thoughts into productive systems and solutions,” “This strategy filled a need in my class. The strategy was straightforward to learn and implement, logical in the approach to the area it addressed, and enjoyable for students to use. Integrating the SCORE Skills into all strategies has also been a very effective way to keep reinforcing these crucial behaviors,” and “The BUILD Strategy really forced students to use high-level thinking skills.”

Eighty-six percent of the students in our field test recommended that all fourth- or fifth-grade students receive this instruction. Comments from students included, “It really helped me make decisions easily. I like the way it is split up into different steps,” “I can use the BUILD Strategy for my life,” “The thing I liked the best was that I got to work with people I never worked with before and nobody was closed-minded,” “It helped me see both sides of an issue and not just pick the one that sounded better,” and “Most students do not know how to wisely make decisions. Using this strategy is good practice.”

data issue dc

My Contact Information
Please contact me at svernon2@windstream.net

Copyright 2009-2020 - Edge Enterprises, Inc.
Privacy Policy | Return Policy
Beginner & Advanced Strategic Tutoring Professional Development Digital...BUILD Strategy: Instructor’s Manual
Scroll to top