Effects of Response Cards on Performance and Participation in Social Studies for Middle School Students with Emotional and Behavioral Disorders

Abstract

This study investigated the use of the instructional strategy of response cards during social studies instruction in five middle school emotional support classrooms. Twenty-nine middle school students identified as emotionally and behaviorally disordered from four public school campuses participated using a crossover design, in which all students received each of two instructional conditions. In one treatment condition, students used write-on response cards daily to review social studies concepts. In the other condition, students received traditional instruction. Results indicated that average mean posttest scores increased during the response card condition. Percentages of students who were responding to academic content increased, as did their response accuracy. The overall percentage of on-task behavior increased slightly when response cards were used. Qualitative data suggested that students enjoyed using response cards and they thought they remembered more information on days when response cards were used. All teachers reported that they enjoyed using the response cards and would continue to use them in the future during social studies instruction as well as in other content areas. Recommendations for future research are offered.