Effects of Coaching on Teachers’ Use of Function-Based Interventions for Students With Severe Disabilities

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of coaching on special education teachers' implementation of function-based interventions with students with severe disabilities through the use of a delayed multiple baseline across participants design. This study also sought to examine if teachers could generalize the ability to implement function-based interventions to different situations with their students.Additionally, this study examined the effect of the function-based intervention on the students' problem and replacement behaviors. After an initial training on completion ofFBAs and implementation of function-based interventions, coaching was provided by the researcher to each teacher. Results indicated that there was a functional relationship between implementation of the coaching procedure and an increase in teacher fidelity scores. Teachers demonstrated the ability to generalize the strategies to another situation with the target student. While some improvement in student behavior was noted upon teachers implementation of the function-based intervention without coaching (e.g., teacher baseline), this improvement was not consistent for all students and across the replacement behaviors. A functional relationship was found between accurate implementation of the function-based interventions (e.g., the coaching phase) and an increase in the students' primary replacement behaviors.

Effects of Professional Development and Videoconferencing on the Increase of Opportunities to Respond and the On-Task Behavior of Students with Emotional Behavior Disorders

“…Although the teachers' baseline data were not always consistent, all teachers met their OTR goal on each intervention session. The findings of this study are consistent with previous research, indicating that PD and teacher coaching can have an immediate effect on the implementation of evidence-based strategies (Bethune & Wood, 2013;Kretlow et al, 2012;Simonson et al, 2010;Sutherland et al, 2000). Like other successful studies, this study used PD and teacher coaching as a package; therefore, these positive results were not surprising.…”

“…Maintenance data and responses to the social validity surveys suggest that teachers felt like this was a worthwhile intervention and would continue to use it without coaching. Similar studies that collected maintenance data 5-7 days after the conclusion of intervention have shown that teachers maintain evidence-based strategies at goal levels after coaching ended (Bethune & Wood, 2013;Codding et al, 2005;Duchaine et al, 2011). Other researchers have shown positive maintenance results as far as three months after the intervention (Miller et al, 1991;Thompson, Marchant, Anderson, Prater, & Gibb, 2012).…”

The Effects of Bug-in-Ear Coaching on Pre-Service Behavior Analysts’ Use of Functional Communication Training

“…There is an extensive body of literature on promoting fidelity of implementation through effective coaching techniques. Side-by-side coaching, for example, has been used to ensure the fidelity with which individual behavior support plans are implemented in early childhood programs (e.g., Bethune & Wood, 2013) and the fidelity with which teachers implement class-wide positive behavior support strategies in early childhood settings (e.g., Stormont et al, 2015). Researchers have also examined the utility of behavioral consultation models on the implementation of individualized behavior support plans (e.g., Noell & Gansle, 2014); the plan implementation phase of behavioral consultation shares characteristics with common coaching models including observation, monitoring implementation, supporting plan revisions, and providing additional training as needed (Sheridan et al, 2013).…”

Another Tool in the Belt: Self-Directed Professional Learning for Teachers of Students with Moderate and Severe Disabilities

“…Typical professional development or learning activities take on many different forms, from workshops (e.g., Courtade, Browder, Spooner, & DiBiase, 2010) to online modules and courses (e.g., Hanline, Hatoum, & Riggie, 2013) to coaching (e.g., Bethune & Wood, 2013). In today's era of educational reform (e.g., increased emphassis on teacher evaluations; Sledge & Pazey, 2013), professional learning should also include occasions for teachers to reflect critically on their practice and to fashion new knowledge and beliefs about content, pedagogy, and learners (Avalos, 2011;Prawat, 1992).…”