Search

Although data-based individualization (DBI) has positive effects on learning outcomes for students with learning difficulties, this framework can be difficult for teachers to implement due to its complexity and contextual barriers. The first aim of this synthesis was to investigate the effects of ongoing professional development (PD) support for DBI on teachers' DBI knowledge, skills, beliefs, and fidelity and the achievement of preschool to Grade 12 students with academic difficulties. The second aim was to report on characteristics of this support and explore whether features were associated with effects. We identified 26 studies, 16 and 22 of which examined teacher and student outcomes, respectively. Meta-analyses indicated that the weighted mean effect size for DBI with ongoing support for teachers was g = 0.86 (95% confidence interval [CI] = [0.43, 1.28], p <.001, I 2 = 83.74%, k = 46) and g = 0.31 for students (95% CI = [0.19, 0.42], p <.001, I 2 = 61.38%, k = 103). We did not identify moderators of treatment effects. However, subset effects were descriptively larger for ongoing support that targeted data-based instructional changes or included collaborative problem-solving. Researchers may improve future DBI PD by focusing on support for teachers' instructional changes, describing support practices in greater detail, and advancing technological supports. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper we describe the process of monitoring fidelity of implementation for a teacher-implemented early writing intervention. As part of a large, federally funded project, teachers who worked with students in grades 1 through 3 in schools across two states in the US were recruited and then randomly assigned to implementation and control conditions. Using Data-Based Individualization (DBI) as a framework for best practice in assessment and intervention, teachers in the implementation group received professional development on early writing intervention and assessment and then implemented these practices with their students who had significant writing challenges. Coaches, who were part of the research project, supported teachers and also observed teachers in both the implementation and control conditions at least twice during the course of the 20-week study. This paper focuses on the results of the fidelity measures that were administered throughout the project. An overview of the importance of fidelity checks is followed by a description of the fidelity tools used, as well as data from those tools. Areas of strength and challenge for teachers when implementing early writing assessment and intervention and engaging in data-based decision making with fidelity are discussed, along with recommendations regarding the practical and research importance of fidelity checks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For research-based academic interventions to continue to have positive effects on the outcomes of students with learning difficulties, teachers' initial implementation must be sustained after the removal of program support, including professional development (PD). In this mixed methods study, we investigated the extent to which teachers sustained data-based instruction (DBI) in early writing, 1–2 years after their participation in extensive PD, the Early Writing Project, before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. We applied a nested and interacting systems framework to examine how barriers and facilitators at macrosystem to student levels influenced teachers' self-reported ability or decision to sustain. Although most teachers sustained one or more core DBI components before and during the pandemic, few sustained data-based decision making. Our findings suggest that teachers' perceptions of their DBI sustainment was influenced by multiple interacting factors across system levels, such as student progress and limited time. Implications for approaches to supporting DBI, as well as implications for educational program sustainability theory, are discussed. Educational Impact and Implications Statement: In this mixed-methods study, we explored whether teachers continued using data-based instruction (DBI) for writing with their students with significant early writing difficulties 1–2 years after participating in professional development (PD), and why or why not. DBI is a process that teachers can use to design and evaluate individualized interventions for their students with significant learning difficulties. We found that many teachers were motivated to sustain one or more components of DBI because of student progress, even during the COVID-19 pandemic, but needed more support with data-based decision making. These findings can help identify ways to bridge DBI research and practice. Long-term implementation of DBI may require multiyear PD, integration with existing school data-based decision-making processes, and policy-level changes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In a multiyear, multisite, randomized control trial, we examined the effects of comprehensive professional development designed to support teachers’ data-based instruction (DBI) for students with intensive early writing needs. Teachers (N = 154; primarily special educators or intervention specialists) were assigned randomly to a treatment group (n = 76), in which they received tools, learning, and coaching to support their DBI implementation over 20 weeks, or to a control group (n = 78). Students either received DBI in early writing (n = 155) from treatment teachers or their usual writing instruction (n = 154) from control teachers. Treatment teachers outperformed controls on measures of DBI knowledge and skills (d = 1.57) and self-efficacy for writing instruction (d = .94), and treatment students outperformed controls on proximal and distal writing outcomes (ds = .14–.29). Student characteristics (grade, special education status, English learner status, and race/ethnicity) did not moderate intervention effects. We discuss findings in terms of the importance of supporting students with intensive learning needs, the efficacy and feasibility of implementing DBI-TLC, and implications for pre- and in-service teacher training and support. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]