Professional Article Summary
Find a minimum of five professional articles that report on research conducted about or around your
topic. First, write the reference using APA format. Second, tell what the study was about
(approximately 150 words) and third, explain why this study is relevant to the study you plan to conduct
(approximately 150 words). When you have completed analyzing the articles, write a summary of what
you found.
Articles
Reference (APA format): Corbett, B.A, & Abdullah,M (2005). Video Modeling: Why does
it work for children with autism?. Journal of Early and Intensive Behavior Intervention,
2(1), 2-8.
What this study was about:
This study was an explanation of why video modeling is an effective strategy to increase
learning for children with autism. One explanation for the effectiveness of video modeling
is that individuals with autism are able to process information better visually compared
with verbally. The article emphasized Bandura’ Social Learning Theory (1977) which is
that human behavior is primarily learned by observing and modeling others. The process
of using video modeling was clearly outlined. The article supplies several references to
research conducted that validate video modeling as an effective strategy to increase skills
in a variety of areas such as social and play skills, emotion processing, and adaptive
behavior. Several studies reviewed showed that the most effective model for children with
autism to view and imitate would be a peer. Repetition of video modeling is another
important reason for success. The medium of video modeling is in itself reinforcing
because children with autism enjoy watching videos
Why this is Relevant to my Study:
The title of the article enticed me to read the “why” video modeling is effective. It is
also interesting that few Exceptional Children’s teachers, including myself, use video
modeling. This article is relevant to me because it is promising that perhaps my students
with autism will benefit and I will have first-hand experience in using video modeling in the
classroom. Motivation is part of the process for the success of video modeling. This is
excellent information for me to consider as I design the steps that I plan to use with my
students. Knowing the importance of motivation prompts me to use the Applied Behavior
Analysis approach that I have been using with my students. This article is a springboard to
other research because it included summaries of studies on video modeling . I also learned
that a peer model would be preferable for the child with autism to imitate.
Reference (APA format):
Schmidt, C., & Bonds-Raacke,J (2013). The effects of video self-modeling on children with
autism spectrum disorder . International Journal of Special Education, 28(1), 136-146.
What this study was about:
This study analyzed the effects of video self-modeling on two children with autism
spectrum disorder. The two students received the intervention of video self-modeling ten
days and control days in a random order. Both students were positively influenced by the
intervention. The first student increased in skills and the second student improved in
making transitions. The article made a case for video self-modeling compared to peer
modeling. Again, Albert Bandura’s work is noted. Modeling or observational learning is
defined as a result of observing the behavior of a model. More research has been
conducted using peer modeling compared to self-modeling. The article gave specific steps
to designing a video using self-modeling by recording the child performing the target
behavior and editing the video by removing unwanted behaviors so that the child sees only
the positive behaviors. Directions on making a video were clear.
Why this is Relevant to my Study
I wanted to investigate self-modeling in relation to peer modeling. Both are shown to be
effective. This article is relevant to my study because the single subject design across two
participants is similar to the design I plan to use. The article gives specific how to
instructions on making videos focusing on target behaviors. The research in this
particular study has the same purpose as I have defined in my area of focus. The authors
address future research and possible threats to validity which may be present in my
research as well. The data collection in this particular research was qualitative and was
done by professionals who viewed videos of the students on days when the intervention of
video modeling had been used and days when there was no intervention. Videos of the
children performing tasks were shown and the three professionals formatively assessed the
performance of the children. These options will help me I design the data collecting
process.
Reference (APA format): Gul,S.O., & Vuran, S (2010). An analysis of studies conducted
video modeling in teaching social skills. Educational Sciences: Theory and Practice , 10(1),
249-274.
What this study was about:
The article was a summary of studies. The aim of this study was to analyze studies in
which video modeling was used in teaching social skills to students with disabilities.
Children on the autism spectrum were the participants in 97% of the studies and social
skills were analyzed in 81% of the studies. The key words were video modeling, social
skills, autism and social validity. According to the authors, literature suggests that video
modeling is an effective method of teaching social, academic, and functional skills. Video
modeling is based on theory of learning through observation. The article explained four
ways that video modeling may be performed. The research model was described a
qualitative document analysis. The article included a Table that showed an analysis of the
studies on social skills training using video modeling. Basically this was a literature review
of video modeling to teach social skills. A total of 21 studies were analyzed. Two of the
studies were conducted in Turkey. The authors are a psychologist and professor of special
education in Turkey.
Why this is Relevant to my Study:
This article was helpful because it outlined four different ways to conduct video
modeling. The article showed the stages of defining and choosing target behaviors,
obtaining parent permission, observing the participants, editing the videos, collecting
baseline data, showing videos, collecting the intervention data and creating graphics to
explain the data. The studies that were analyzed varied but all had the above components.
These are the same components that are in my single subject design, so the study affirmed
that I am on the right track in studying the effects of video modeling on students with
autism. This article analyzed studies in which the target behavior was social skills. I may
use social skills as a target behavior for one of my participants. This article gave concise
and concentrated summary of studies performed and answered important questions about
participants, methods, data collection, and results obtained.
Reference (APA format):
Wilson, K.P. (2013). Incorporating video modeling into a school-based intervention for
students with autism spectrum disorders. Language, Speech, and Hearing Services in
Schools, 44, 105-117.
What this study was about:
This article was categorized as a tutorial mainly for speech-language pathologists. The
tutorial gave step-by-step instructions for using video modeling for students with autism.
The author was persuasive in showing that the process is a practical and efficient tool for
use at school. As in almost all of the literature I have read on video modeling, this article
referred to Bandura’s social cognitive theory. We learn from models. The article also
emphasized that children with autism have strengths in visual processing. Rationales for
the use of video modeling were outlines as the following: Video modeling increases child
independence, easily individualized, low cost, consistent implementation, and efficient use
across professional settings. The process includes choosing an appropriate target skill, a
model, and a setting. The video length should be from 3-5 minutes. Overall this was the
most practical and useful article in my literature review. The article cited evidence based
research as well as giving practical ways to implement video modeling.
Why this is Relevant to my Study:
Because one of my students with autism is a seven year old boy who is nonverbal, I
wanted to gain the perspective of video modeling to increase communication. The step by
step instructions for using video modeling are an excellent resource for me as a plan to
incorporate video modeling as an intervention for my action research. Some of the
guesswork has been taken out of the process because of this excellent resource. Video
modeling can be a bit intimidating and I have been hesitant in the past to use it. This
article was encouraging that it is a practical intervention. The article was affirming
because I have learned to use the strengths of my students with autism when I plan lessons.
Individuals with autism have strengths in visual processing. I plan to use this article as a
guide in implementing video modeling.
Reference (APA format):
Plavnick, J.V. (2012). A practical strategy for teaching a child with autism to attend to
and imitate a portable video model. Research & Practice for Persons with Severe
Disabilities, 37(4), 263-270.
What this study was about:
This study focused on using a smart phone as a tool for video modeling. The article
described a qualitative study of the behavior of a 4-year old child with autism when
attending to a portable video screen. The article also cited other research that showed
positive effects such as acquiring target skills faster when taught with video modeling as
opposed to live models. The target behavior in this study was for the participant to attend
to the iPhone. Attending was defined as using direct eye gaze. Final results showed that
attending behavior rapidly increased. The study basically focused on training a child with
autism to attend to a screen. In the discussion section of the article it was noted that after
the child learned to attend to the screen then other skills could be acquired. The method of
the research was quantitative. Seconds of attending were recorded. The participant
gained attending skills.
Why this is Relevant to my Study
When I implement the intervention of video modeling I plan to use IPads so I conducted
a search using the keywords autism, video modeling, and IPad. There were no results. I
changed the search word IPad to tablet and received two journal articles of studies using
mobile devices. This article used a single subject design which I plan to use as the method.
The study showed the importance of first teaching attending the student to attend to the
device such as an IPhone or and IPad as a first step. I think that using IPads rather than
IPhones will increase the child’s participation. The author noted that the smaller display
may have decreased the child’s attention. I was encouraged to read that the period of time
to teach the participant to attend to the video screen was brief and that once the student
was taught to attend that video modeling was effective in teaching other behaviors.
Big Take-aways: Overall Conclusions to Inform my Project
(What have you learned from these articles you have read that is relevant to you and your work?
I have concluded that there is abundant evidence that video modeling is an effective intervention for
teaching students with autism academic, social, and functional skills. Although the professional literature
that I review was current, I was surprised that research on video modeling goes back three decades.
Most of the methods of research involved single subjects which is not unusual when the participants are
students with disabilities. Most of the studies described in the literature used a qualitative rather than
quantitative data collection to assess the effectiveness of video modeling on the behavior or skill
acquisition of students with autism. I was most pleased with the number of articles that gave specific
steps to implement video modeling. The articles included tips and advice from making the videos to using
them with students in a variety of settings. I feel more informed and confident about my project.