The Effect of Coaching on a Faith Community Volunteer’s Use of Effective Teaching Behaviors

An important part of quality of life for people with moderate and severe disabilities (MSDs) is being involved in extracurricular and community activities. However, volunteers, who may not have experience with including people with MSDs, lead most community activities. The purpose of this study was to demonstrate the effectiveness of teacher coaching on a volunteer church school teacher’s use of effective teaching behaviors (opportunities to respond, behavior-specific praise, and opportunities to participate) in educating a child with MSD. The investigators used a multiple-baseline-across-behaviors design to evaluate the effectiveness of coaching. The results showed a functional relation between coaching and an increase in the number of teaching behaviors used by the volunteer.