Professional Development With Ongoing Coaching: A Model for Improving Educators’ Implementation of Evidence-Based Practices

• Published in: Teaching exceptional children Vol. 56; no. 6; pp. 430 - 439
• Main Authors: Saunders, Alicia F., Wakeman, Shawnee, Cerrato, Brett, Johnson, Holly
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Los Angeles, CA SAGE Publications 01.07.2024; SAGE PUBLICATIONS, INC
• Subjects: Coaching; Evidence Based Practice; Exceptional children; Professional development; Special education
• ISSN: 0040-0599; 2163-5684
• DOI: 10.1177/00400599211049821

Behavior skills training (BST) with ongoing coaching is an effective form of professional development that creates sustained educator practice change and improves student outcomes. We provide a model for how BST can be used to improve the implementation of evidence-based practices with both teachers and paraprofessionals, the latter of whom often do not receive professional development opportunities or coaching. We propose a model for BST with digital tools that can be used in face-to-face, hybrid, and virtual formats, which is timely given the pandemic. A vignette with a dyad of educators is used to illustrate the model and examples of fidelity and coaching forms are included. A figure of the BST process with visual supports provided to the educators is included.