Student Research 2013

2013 Research Grant Results

Name: Mary Sawyer

Title: Effects of Behavioral Skills Training & Instructional Coaching on Teachers' Implementation of Evidence Based Practices

Research Proposal: Determine the effects of Behavioral Skills Training (BST) and coaching on new special educators' implementation fidelity with Evidence-based Practices (EBP's)

  • EBP: Academic or behavioral intervention with a minimum of 3 peer-reviewed sources of EBP evidence (e.g., experimental research designs, meta-analyses, empirical literature reviews)
  • At least 1 study…
    • …conducted with similar population
    • …addressed similar issue (e.g., science vocabulary, on-task behavior)
    • …conducted in similar setting
  • Preference given to EBPs…
    • …with more extensive literature support and empirical evidence
      • »e.g., literature reviews, meta-analyses, book chapters, and textbooks
    • …with better contextual fit
      • »e.g., considered acceptable and feasible by participants and mentor teachers; addressed relevant IEP goals and objectives

Hypothesis or Questions: This study will address two primary research questions

a. What are the effects of instructional coaching on three teachers' levels of treatment fidelity of EBP in teacher-identified areas of need in Tiers 1, 2, and/or 3 of Response to Intervention (RTI)?

b. What are the effects of instructional coaching on the achievement of six sets of students (three per teacher participant; whole-class, small-group, and/or individuals) in teacher-selected areas of need in Tiers 1, 2, and/or 3 of RTI? These research questions will be addressed using single-case research design methodolog

Summary: The purpose of this research was to use BST and coaching to help new teachers engage in evidence based education. Using these training and support procedures, the researcher guided three preservice teachers as they identified academic and behavioral classroom needs, consulted the research literature, selected empirically supported procedures (i.e., EBPs), and adapted them to fit their classroom contexts. They were then supported in the implementation and progress monitoring of those procedures. Two experiments employed slightly different procedures and utilized multiple baseline designs across skills to demonstrate functional relations between the professional development procedures and teachers' implementation fidelity. Teachers' progress monitoring data indicated the EBPs were successful overall in achieving the intended student outcomes, and all participants rated the EBPs and the BST and coaching procedures highly socially valid.

View the Results