Affiliations: [a]
The Ohio State University and Crane Center on Early Childhood Research and Policy, Columbus, OH, USA
| [b]
The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA
Correspondence:
[*]
Address for correspondence: Matthew E. Brock, PhD, Department of Educational Studies, Crane Center for Early
Childhood Education and Policy, The Ohio State University, 334 PAES Building, 305 West 17th Avenue, Columbus, OH
43210, USA. Tel.: +1 614 688 1421; Fax: +1 614 292 4255; E-mail: [email protected].
Abstract: BACKGROUND: High-quality job coaching services are pivotal to the vocational success of adults with severe disabilities. However, many job coaches lack formal training in evidence-based instructional practices. OBJECTIVE: In this study, we test the efficacy of a training package on the degree to which six job coaches implement three evidence-based instructional practices with fidelity (i.e., task analysis, simultaneous prompting, and least-to-most prompting). METHOD: The training package features promising strategies that are validated in the broader staff training literature: description, modeling, and performance feedback on implementation steps. Six multiple baseline across behavior experiments were conducted. RESULTS: All participants made progress toward correct implementation with group training, although some participants required individualized coaching to achieve correct implementation of all steps. CONCLUSIONS: This study provides preliminary evidence that promising training strategies can be used to train job coaches to implement evidence-based instructional practices for adults with severe disabilities. In addition, this training provides one model for how to use both group and one-to-one coaching formats in tandem to promote implementation fidelity.
