Project Activities
This study will use a randomized trial to examine the effects of two implementation strategies on paraeducator implementation outcomes (fidelity and sustainment) and student efficacy outcomes (peer engagement and social skills).
Structured Abstract
Setting
This study will take place in elementary schools across Washington, California, and Oregon.
Sample
Participants will include 110 paraeducators across 55 schools, with at least 55 autistic students and 52 of their neurotypical classmates who are isolated or peripheral in their classroom social network and need recess support. At each school, at least one teacher will participate. At each school with school-based consulting teams, an additional three to five other school personnel will participate.
Intervention
Remaking Recess is an evidence-based social engagement intervention for autistic students. Paraeducators are trained to implement strategies like supporting transitions and providing in vivo instruction in social skills, in order to encourage and support peer engagement during recess. Remaking Recess will be implemented in this study with either a Coach model or a Coach+Team model. In Coach schools, paraeducators will receive direct coaching using a behavioral skills training approach in the implementation of Remaking Recess from trained members of the research team once per week until the end of the school year. In Coach+Team schools, paraeducators will receive the same direct coaching, and members of the research staff will facilitate monthly meetings with three to five school personnel to identify barriers to successful use of Remaking Recess until the end of the school year. In these meetings, facilitators will help school staff collect and interpret data on implementation, match implementation strategies to school needs to help overcome identified barriers, and create a plan to implement these strategies.
Research design and methods
This study will use a randomized efficacy-implementation trial to compare the impact of each implementation strategy on fidelity and sustainment of Remaking Recess, as well as the overall effectiveness of each implementation strategy in improving student outcomes. After baseline assessments, all participating paraeducators will be provided a 60- to 90-minute didactic Remaking Recess training. Then, schools will be randomly assigned to either the Coach or the Coach+Team condition. Outcomes will be measured at the end of the first semester and the end of the second semester, with follow-up data collection in fall and spring of the following school year. Conditions will be compared to determine whether these two implementation strategies lead to differences in fidelity of implementation, sustainment of the intervention, and student social outcomes. Data analysis will identify whether these effects are mediated by implementation leadership and climate or moderated by child-level characteristics. The research team also will estimate the costs of each condition and identify the most cost-effective approach.
Control condition
Due to the nature of the research design, there is no true control condition. The comparison is between two active conditions, Coach and Coach+Team.
Key measures
: Autistic students will be screened for study eligibility with the Social Communication Questionnaire, and neurotypical peers who are socially isolated, rejected, or peripheral will be identified with the Friendship Survey. Implementation fidelity will be measured with an observer-rated checklist and sustainment will be measured with the Provider Report of Sustainment Scale. Implementation leadership will be measured using the School Implementation Leadership Scale and implementation climate with be measured with the School Implementation Climate Scale. Student outcomes will be measured using the Playground Observation of Peer Engagement, the Friendship Survey, and the Teacher Perceptions Measure.
Data analytic strategy
With an intent-to-treat model, the research team will use generalized linear mixed models (GLMM) to detect main effects of each treatment condition on implementation, sustainment, and student outcomes. An extension of GLMM regression will be used to evaluate mediation and moderation questions.
Cost analysis strategy
The research team will use the CostOut program to compile and calculate costs for each condition and to calculate cost-effectiveness ratios for implementation and student outcomes. They will conduct sensitivity analyses to examine the robustness of the cost-effectiveness results.
Products and publications
Products: This project will result in evidence of the impact of the Coach and Coach+Team implementation of Remaking Recess on the fidelity and sustainment of the intervention and on the social outcomes of autistic students and their socially isolated neurotypical peers. This project also will result in findings on the cost to implement each strategy and the cost-effectiveness ratio. Products will include a final dataset to be shared, peer-reviewed publications and presentations, and additional dissemination products that reach education stakeholders such as practitioners and policymakers.
ERIC Citations: Find available citations in ERIC for this award here.
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Supplemental information
Co-Principal Investigators: Kasari, Connie; Shire, Stephanie
Questions about this project?
To answer additional questions about this project or provide feedback, please contact the program officer.