Training Special Education Teachers in China to Deliver Bidirectional Naming Instruction in a Computer-Assisted Instructional System

Abstract

The study sought to evaluate effects of self-directed training on teachers' ability to implement computer-assisted instruction (CAI) designed to teach bi-directional naming (BiN), a skill that involves incidental learning, to children with developmental delays. Three special education teachers in China participated in this fully online study. A single case design with multiple probes across participants was used. At baseline, we conducted 1.5-2 hours of online lecture-based training about BiN and its teaching procedures, followed by evaluation of teacher implementation using picture cards. In the intervention condition, we provided teachers access to the web-based CAI BiN program and its accompanying manual in order for them to learn the system and evaluate their implementation of BiN instruction. Compared to baseline, all three teachers implemented BiN instruction with greater accuracy and in less time in the intervention condition. Implications for training special education teachers to use CAI to teach BiN for students with developmental delays are discussed.