Click here to learn about strategies for teachers.
Click here if you would like to contact someone at Project REACH.
Click here to learn more about the partnerships that we have formed with other institutions and organizations studying these issues.
spacer  
 
  Click here to learn about Project REACH.
  Click here to review strategies for parents.
  Click here to review strategies for teachers.
  Click here to review information discussed at one of the many presentations by our faculty and staff.
  Click here to review results from the research conducted under Project REACH.
  Click here to learn more about our staff.
  Click here to learn about our project partners and to link to other sites devoted to social, emotional, and behavioral support.
 
  Click here to review publications through Project REACH.
  News
  University of California Riverside's logo
   
spacer  

TASK INTERSPERSAL

"For Teachers" header
divider line

Step 1: Identify difficult tasks.

This may be a task where the student is having difficulty staying on-task, completing the task, or perceiving the task as “too hard”.
  bullet  
Important: If student problems are related to a lack of skill, necessary instruction should be provided before task interspersal is used as an intervention. Task interspersal will help to improve academic skills but will not teach new ones.
spacer   spacer  
  bullet  
Collecting data on the student’s on-task behavior, task completion, or other behaviors before implementing the intervention may help better illustrate the effects of the intervention.
  bullet  
Task interspersal has been found to be more effective in tasks that are made up of a series of items (e.g. math problems), rather than one long continuous task, such as a reading assignment.

Step 2: Identify easy tasks.

These items must be those the student has already mastered. If you are unsure about certain items or tasks, test them with the student to ensure he or she can complete them quickly and easily.

Step 3: Alter the existing assignment or task by interspersing the easier items among the target items.

A good rule of thumb is to intersperse the easier items in a ratio that allows for approximately 30% easy items to 70% target items.
  bullet  
For example, add 3 easy items to an assignment with 7 difficult items.

Step 4: Give assignment to student.

Monitor student progress to ensure that he or she is making progress.
spacer   spacer