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Abstract

When an instructional strategy lacks evidence of its effectiveness with certain learner groups, educators can conduct action research in their classroom to determine strategy effectiveness. In the present study, seven preservice teachers of the deaf (TODs) implemented self-graphing interventions with deaf/hard of hearing (DHH) learners to change target on- and off-task behaviors. Preservice teachers were master 's-level candidates in a university teacher preparation program. DHH learners were 5-16 years old, attended general education classrooms at their local schools or schools for the deaf, and used multiple forms of communication/language. Candidates successfully completed ABAB design studies, and three candidates collected maintenance data after the interventions were withdrawn.They conducted their studies with high interobserver agreement. All DHH learners changed their target behavior when self-graphing was introduced. This study expands self-graphing evidence from high-incidence disability groups to a diverse group of DHH students.

Keywords: self-graphing, self-monitoring, action research, preservice teachers, deaf/hard of hearing

Beal is a professor at Valdosta State University. She teaches Deaf education and interpreting courses and researches ASL assessment and acquisition in deaf children and second language learners and evidence-based instructional strategies. She was previously a teacher of the deaf within mainstream schools and schools for the Deaf.

The Individuals With Disabilities Education Improvement Act (IDEIA, 2004) and Every Student Succeeds Act (2015) require educators to use assessment data paired with evidence-based instructional strategies for all learners, including those who are deaf/hard of hearing (DHH). Therefore, in-service and preservice teachers of the deaf (TODs), and those that prepare them in university teacher preparation programs, must be well-versed in evidence-based instructional strategies to provide effective instruction for their students.

Instructional strategies are learning techniques or methods that contain a series of actions with a definable student learning outcome (Knoors & Hermans, 2010; Marzano, n.d.). Student learning outcomes are goals that define a specific skill and level of proficiency that students must achieve (Brown University, 2024). Instructional strategies are considered evidence-based if an accumulation of studies that include quality indicators document that use of a strategy is responsible for a change in specific learner performance (Horner et al., 2005; Kratoch-will et al., 2013). Small and diverse target populations, such as students who are DHH, present a challenge to the creation of an accumulation of studies focused...

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