Feasibility Study: Implementing the Zones of Regulation® Curriculum at a Whole-Class Level

Abstract

Date Presented 4/19/2018

This study assessed the feasibility of embedded multitiered support services using the Zones of Regulation® curriculum, which is focused on self-regulation skills. The study provides scientific evidence and tools for interdisciplinary implementation of self-regulation programming in the classroom.

Primary Author and Speaker: Erin McQuaid

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to assess the feasibility of embedded multitiered systems of support (MTSS) services using the Zones of Regulation® curriculum in a public elementary school. The research questions were as follows: What is the feasibility of implementing the Zones of Regulation in a fourth-grade classroom as part of general education? What is the classroom teacher’s perception regarding the feasibility of implementing the Zones of Regulation on a whole-class level? What improvements are perceived by students involved in the curriculum in the areas of self-awareness, knowledge, and application?

BACKGROUND: The reason for conducting this study came directly from the researcher’s professional experience as a pediatric occupational therapist. There was a dramatic increase in requests from classroom teachers for strategies to teach self-regulation skills to the entire student population.

The Zones of Regulation curriculum aims to teach self-regulation skills while incorporating executive functions, emotional regulation, and sensory processing. There is a significant body of literature on interventions delivered to individuals that were aimed at improving executive function skills, emotional regulation and social–emotional learning skills, and sensory processing related to the effect on the development of self-regulation skills (Hubert et al., 2015; Sawyer et al., 2015; Wells, et al., 2012). However, there appears to be a gap in the published literature regarding systematic intervention for self-regulation skills for the whole class, including students with and without disabilities.

Occupational therapy practitioners have an opportunity to play an impactful role in the educational team through direct instruction and collaboration with teachers. Conducting an institutional review board–approved study may contribute to the base of evidence, promote the view of occupational therapy practitioners as evidence-based practitioners, and support expansion of their role within the school environment.

METHOD: This study had a quasi-experimental and participatory action design. The primary investigator (an occupational therapist) and a general education teacher both provided the intervention package. There were 18 child participants (with and without disabilities) who were a convenience sample of fourth graders from one classroom where the occupational therapist was employed. Parents provided consent and students provided assent.

The data collection was mixed methods. The occupational therapist and teacher made individual journal entries before, during, and after intervention. The occupational therapist maintained a field notebook on the feasibility of each aspect of study design and intervention sessions. The teacher completed the Devereux Student Strengths Assessment Mini (DESSA–Mini) and students completed the Child Occupational Self-Assessment (COSA) Version 2.2 and the Adapted Zones of Regulation Survey before and after the intervention.

RESULTS: The qualitative data analysis indicated the following themes: Collaboration and Consultation, Group Size for Discussion/Student Engagement, Time Commitment and Time Limits, and Adaptation to Enhance Overall Feasibility. Analysis of Adapted Zones of Regulation Survey and DESSA–Mini scores using IBM SPSS Statistics (IBM Corp., Armonk, NY) indicated that the intervention was effective in this setting at the time of this study. The COSA was not found to be sensitive to change.

CONCLUSION: The results of this feasibility study indicate that with a few changes to study design, the Zones of Regulation intervention may be feasible to replicate in a general education classroom as part of MTSS services. The qualitative themes derived from the analysis of journal entries support the teacher’s positive perception of the intervention’s feasibility. This study is important for practitioners interested in conducting a research study within a classroom setting regarding the feasibility of interventions aimed at improving students’ self-regulation skills.

References

Hubert, B., Guimard, P., Florin, A., & Tracy, A. (2015). Indirect and direct relationships between self-regulation and academic achievement during the nursery/elementary school transition of French students. Early Education and Development, 26, 685–707. https://doi.org/10.1080/10409289.2015.1037624

Kuypers, L. (2011). The Zones of Regulation. San Jose, CA: Think Social Publishing.

Sawyer, A. C., Miller-Lewis, L. R., Searle, A. K., Sawyer, M. G., & Lynch, J. W. (2015). Is greater improvement in early self-regulation associated with fewer behavioral problems later in childhood? Developmental Psychology, 51, 1740–1755. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0039829

Wells, A. M., Chasnoff, I. J., Schmidt, C. A., Telford, E., & Schwartz, L. D. (2012). Neurocognitive habilitation therapy for children with fetal alcohol spectrum disorders: An adaptation of the Alert Program®. American Journal of Occupational Therapy, 66, 24–34. https://doi.org/10.5014/ajot.2012.002691