Teacher Practice
Conditions
Keywords
Sign Language, Deaf, Teacher Training
Brief summary
This study examines whether a professional development program helps teachers implement Strategic and Interactive Signing Instruction (SISI) with higher fidelity. The training includes review of an intervention manual, live modeling of SISI components, and discussion of implementation expectations. Teacher fidelity is evaluated with the Strategic and Interactive Signing Instruction Fidelity Tool, which rates the extent to which core components are used during a intervention session. The study also documents how often teachers receive additional support (e.g., coaching) to understand which procedures help strengthen implementation.
Detailed description
This project uses a nonconcurrent multiple-baseline design across four teachers who serve deaf children in a deaf education program. The goal is to examine changes in teachers' SISI implementation fidelity following training and coaching. At baseline, the PI observes each teacher's typical language arts instruction using the SISI Fidelity Tool. Three stable data points are collected for each teacher before intervention. Every SISI component is scored as 1 (fully implemented), 0.5 (partially implemented), or 0 (not implemented), and then summarized as a percentage of components implemented. After baseline, the PI provides a two-day training in SISI procedures. Teachers then begin implementing SISI in a staggered fashion: Teacher 1 starts immediately after training for three weeks; Teacher 2 begins in Week 4; Teachers 3 and 4 begin in Weeks 7 and 10. All instructional sessions are video-recorded and uploaded to a cloud platform, where the PI and a second rater review them for daily fidelity monitoring. Throughout the study, the PI offers coaching as needed to support implementation. The PI also tracks children's progress on their individually targeted sign language skills to confirm that intervention adjustments are appropriate and timely. If implementation challenges arise or if data collection procedures are insufficiently clear or consistent, refinements may be made. Any refinements are put in place immediately and monitored for their influence on teacher fidelity and the feasibility of study procedures.
Interventions
Evidence-based instructional methods, grounded in cognitive, sociocultural, and linguistic theories, are applied to interventions that support sign language development in deaf children.
Sponsors
National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIDCD)
The University of Tennessee, Knoxville
Study design
Allocation
NON_RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
CROSSOVER
Primary purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
NONE
Intervention model description
This research uses the noncurrent multiple baseline design across teacher participants.
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
18 Years to 99 Years
Healthy volunteers
Yes
Inclusion criteria
* Teachers of the deaf working in a school for the deaf across kindergarten to 3rd grade levels
Exclusion criteria
* Not teachers of the deaf working in a school for the deaf across kindergarten to 3rd grade levels
Design outcomes
Primary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| SISI Fidelity | Baseline began at the start of the school year for all participants. Because intervention start times were staggered in the multiple-baseline design, intervention duration ranged from approximately 12 to 40 weeks across participants. | The Strategic and Interactive Signing Instruction (SISI) Fidelity Tool is a 45-item observational checklist assessing adherence to the model-guided-independent cycle, scaffolding quality, and use of targeted ASL skills. Each item is rated from 0 to 1 (0 = not implemented, 0.5 = partially implemented, 1 = fully implemented). Scores are summed and converted to a percentage (0-100%). Higher scores indicate stronger fidelity of implementation. |
Countries
United States
Participant flow
Recruitment details
Four teachers from a school for the deaf were recruited.
Pre-assignment details
All four teachers provided business-as-usual language instruction to generate baseline data before receiving training in Strategic and Interactive Signing Instruction (SISI) to implement during the intervention phase.
Participants by arm
| Arm | Count |
|---|---|
| Single Case Research Design A noncurrent multiple baseline design across teacher participants will be utilized to assess the extent of support required by teachers to become proficient in SISI implementation. In this study, the independent variable is the SISI training, and the dependent variable is teacher fidelity to the SISI program as measured by the SISI fidelity checklist. | 4 |
| Total | 4 |
Baseline characteristics
| Characteristic | Single Case Research Design |
|---|---|
| Age, Continuous | 38 Years STANDARD_DEVIATION 7.4 |
| Deaf Status | 4 Participants |
| Race (NIH/OMB) American Indian or Alaska Native | 0 Participants |
| Race (NIH/OMB) Asian | 0 Participants |
| Race (NIH/OMB) Black or African American | 1 Participants |
| Race (NIH/OMB) More than one race | 0 Participants |
| Race (NIH/OMB) Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander | 0 Participants |
| Race (NIH/OMB) Unknown or Not Reported | 0 Participants |
| Race (NIH/OMB) White | 3 Participants |
| Region of Enrollment United States | 4 Participants |
| Sex: Female, Male Female | 3 Participants |
| Sex: Female, Male Male | 1 Participants |
Adverse events
| Event type | EG000 affected / at risk |
|---|---|
| deaths Total, all-cause mortality | 0 / 4 |
| other Total, other adverse events | 0 / 4 |
| serious Total, serious adverse events | 0 / 4 |
Outcome results
Primary
SISI Fidelity
The Strategic and Interactive Signing Instruction (SISI) Fidelity Tool is a 45-item observational checklist assessing adherence to the model-guided-independent cycle, scaffolding quality, and use of targeted ASL skills. Each item is rated from 0 to 1 (0 = not implemented, 0.5 = partially implemented, 1 = fully implemented). Scores are summed and converted to a percentage (0-100%). Higher scores indicate stronger fidelity of implementation.
Time frame: Baseline began at the start of the school year for all participants. Because intervention start times were staggered in the multiple-baseline design, intervention duration ranged from approximately 12 to 40 weeks across participants.
| Arm | Measure | Value (MEAN) |
|---|---|---|
| Single Case Research Design | SISI Fidelity | 80 Percentage of SISI practices implemented |