British Journal of Educational Technology Vol 26 NO 1 1995 62-65

Colloquium

Using interactive video-based modelling to teach social skills:

an experimental study
Alan Bain, Stephen Houghton and Annemaree Carroll. Department of Education and Child Psychology,
University of Western Australia, Graduate School of Education, Nedlands W A 6 0 0 9 Australia. tel:
+61 9 380 2391; fax: + 6 1 9 380 1052

In our recent research interactive video has been utilised as a potentially effective
teaching tool for social skills training (Bain, Houghton, Foo and Carroll, 1992; Carroll,
Bain and Houghton, 1994). This technology has combined the use of high quality
video images with the interactive features of the microcomputer, enabling the user to
control the display of video images, participate in instructional sequences, and obtain
feedback. However, there have been few other well controlled studies of the applica-
tion of interactive video technology to the teaching of social skills, and no investiga-
tions examining the discrete effects of the medium on learning models of social
behaviour.

In an extension of our earlier research we investigated first, whether the social skill of
responding appropriately to teacher questions, could be taught using repeated (daily)
exposure to an interactive video-based modelled sequence; and second, whether the
addition of a social skills training intervention (role-play) would have additional
positive effects on rates of appropriate responding.

Method
Six grade six and seven learning disabled students (age range 11.4 to 12.0 years)
identified initially by teacher referral as subjects who had difficulties with classroom
social interactions participated in our study.

A multiple baseline (across pairs of subjects) changing conditions design was

employed to examine the cumulative effects of the interactive video-based model-
ling, and interactive video-based modelling and role-play treatment conditions on
appropriate responding to teacher questions.

Participants were observed on 2 6 separate occasions (bakeline and two intervention

phases), each occasion being 30 minutes duration. All sessions were videotaped. A
second trained person subsequently viewed the videotaped sessions and an inter-
observer reliability level of 9 7% (range 92-100%) was obtained.

Baseline date were collected over two weeks as follows: on four separate occasions
over consecutive days for pair one, eight separate occasions over consecutive days for
pair two, and 1 3 separate occasions over consecutive days for pair three.
 Colloquium 63

Intervention phase one was undertaken each day over approximately one week. In
our study, we provided participants with interactive video-based information in the
form of a short video enactment (30 seconds duration) of a teacher asking a group of
early adolescent aged students questions. This was followed by five video sequences
depicting alternative responses to that type of interaction (see Figure 1).Participants
controlled the speed of presentation of these sequences. On completion of the video
sequences five digitised images representing each of the video sequences were shown
on screen. Participants were first asked to use the computer mouse to select the
response which was closest to the way they themselves responded in class. Following
this they were asked to use the mouse to select which image represented the most
appropriate way to respond when the teacher asks questions.

In over 99% of instances the subjects identified the response “raising hand and
waiting for the teacher” as both the most appropriate response and the one which
corresponded most closely to their own behaviour in class. Students were then asked
to verbalise the steps involved in carrying out the behaviour in question. They
identified those steps as: raise hand, look at the teacher, wait until called upon and
then supply the answer.

The second intervention phase was undertaken over approximately two weeks and
involved the addition of a role-play training procedure to the first phase. In this
condition subjects completed the phase one treatment and then moved immediately to
a second room where they role-played appropriate responding to teacher questions
using the steps identified in phase one.

After each intervention session, when all subjects had returned to class, the teacher
conducted a 25 minute peer relations lesson from which the videotaped date were
obtained. Each lesson involved 10 minutes of teacher directed reading from a book

Skill and Situation

Answering
Questions Response 1 Response 2 Response 3 Response 4 Response 5

The teacher Raise his/her Raise hand Call out the Do nothing Call out an
asks the class hand and wait and call out correct answer inappropriate
a question to be called for the or an answer to
during group upon by the teacher’s appropriate draw attention
discussion. teacher attention response to him or
In response herself
the student
would:

Figure 1: Example of situation and responsesfor an item on the interactive video rating scale
64 British Journal of Educational Technology Vol26 No 1 1995

which formed part of a set scheme; this was followed by a 15-20 minute class
discussion about the material covered in the reading session. The discussion required
the teacher to ask a set number of questions (the same set number each session) to the
group as a whole and then to select individual subjects to respond. The questions
focused on subjects’ views about the material read.

Results
Data for individual subjects were analysed using DMITSA 2.0 (Crosbie and Sharpley,
1991) which is a statistical programme specifically developed to analyse data from
interrupted time series designs. A more detailed examination of the various issues
surrounding the visual analysis versus the statistical analysis of behavioural data is
presented by Sharpley (1987).

The metric used to describe student (subjects) responding in the study was percent
rates of appropriate responding to teacher questions. Student appropriate responses
are reported as a percentage of the total number of questions asked by the teacher
during each session. Five of the six participants increased their level of appropriate
responding following the introduction of the interactive video-one of them signifi-
cantly (p < 0.05). Overall the mean rates of appropriate responding to teacher
questions increased by 10.4%.

When the role play was added to the interactive video phase, five of the six participants
showed further increases in appropriate responding: none of them significantly.
Overall the mean rates of appropriate responding increased by a further 10%.

Discussion
The results of this study represent only preliminary findings on the use of interactive
video-based modelling procedures. While the mean rates of appropriate responding to
teacher questions increased under the social skills training conditions, it should be
noted that only one of these increases was statistically significant. The variability in
student response from lesson to lesson within each phase and across phases between
subjects, limits the conclusions which can be drawn. Overall, the social skills training
procedures exerted a relatively modest effect on behaviour although there were
noticeable generalisation effects from some subjects, and informal reports from
teachers and subjects suggested that the subjects had improved in their responding
to teacher questions.

The variability in the data indicates the need for additional examination of the
application of interactive video-based modelling procedures for teaching appropriate
social skills.

References
Bain A, Houghton S, Foo B and Carroll A (1992)An evaluation of the application of interactive
video for teaching social problem-solving to early adolescents. The Journal of Computer Bused
Instruction 19 3, 92-99
 Colloquium 65

Carroll A, Bain A and Houghton S (In press) The effects of interactive video versus linear
video on the levels of attention and comprehension of social behaviour Schoof Psychology
Review.
Crosbie J and Sharpley C F (1991) DMITSA 2.0 A statistical program for analysing data from
interrupted time series Department of Education, Monash University: Victoria, Australia
Sharpley C (1987) Time series analysis of behaviour data: An update Behaviour Change 4 40-45