Promoting Changes in Teachers' Conduct of Student Pair Activities

The purpose of this study was to examine the effectiveness of reciprocal peer coaching for promoting changes in teachers' conduct of student pair activities. A multiple baseline design was used to examine four conditions. Two kindergarten teachers implemented student-assisted learning activities alone during an initial baseline and then collaborated with another teacher during two coaching phases. Finally, each teacher participated in a final maintenance condition in which they conducted their activities in the absence of technical support or assistance. A range of teacher and student outcomes was collected. Results indicated that reciprocal peer coaching produced two important changes in teachers' methods of monitoring their student-assisted activities. First, both teachers increased their use of suggestions, prompts, questions, and related talk to facilitate students' social interaction with classmates. A second coaching phase enabled teachers to employ spontaneous adaptations in the academic materials, skills, or social interaction roles/process of individual student pairs. Both teachers continued to institute adaptations during maintenance, and one continued to provide prompts and suggestions for students' interactions. Finally, several students demonstrated corollary improvements in their social interaction skills. These results have important implications for enabling teachers to accommodate the needs of students with special needs in general education classrooms.