Putting the Individualized Back into Instruction: Coaching Teachers to Implement Academically Responsive Instruction in Deaf Education Classrooms

Abstract

The goal of this study was to examine the effects of a coaching intervention on teachers’ ability to implement academically responsive instruction through flexible instructional arrangements in self-contained classrooms for students who are Deaf and hard of hearing (DHH). A secondary goal of the study was to determine the impact of the implementation of flexible instructional arrangements on students’ academic engagement within instructional arrangements. Three teachers at a center school for the Deaf received differentiated coaching to learn how to implement the indicators of flexible instructional arrangements. Teachers were coached on 12 operationalized indicators using individual approaches that met the needs, learning styles, and preferences of each teacher. A changing criterion design replicated across teachers was used to examine the impact of the coaching intervention on teachers’ implementation of the indicators, as well as the impact of flexible instructional arrangements on students’ active engagement. Results show that coaching had an impact on all three teachers’ implementation of flexible instructional arrangements. As teachers mastered the indicators of flexible instructional arrangements requiring coaching, change occurred in their implementation of instructional arrangements. Students’ active engagement increased and passive engagement decreased when they participated in less whole class instruction and spent more time in small group and child-managed arrangements. After no longer receiving coaching, teachers maintained the implementation of flexible instructional arrangements and students continued to demonstrate higher levels of active engagement as compared to baseline. Limitations and implications for future practice and research are discussed.