The Effects of a Modified Direct Instruction Procedure on Time Telling for a Third Grade Student with Learning Disabilities with a Brief Comparison of Interesting and Boring Formats

We designed and implemented a modified eight-week Direct Instruction (DI) program intended to teach a third grade student with learning disabilities to tell time. The first objective was to determine whether or not the appearance (interesting or boring) of the worksheet affected performance. These data suggested the use of large-scale clocks and an emphasis on oral instruction resulted in better performance. Finally, the results from a pre-test indicated that many of the prerequisite skills needed for telling time were not firm with our participant. When a modified DI procedure was implemented, these skills were mastered quickly. The overall effect size for our use of DI for telling time indicated that the intervention was highly effective. It appears that the use of DI procedures was far more important than the interest of the materials.