Effects of professional development for instructional assistants on student independence in an inclusive setting

Instructional assistants need adequate training and supervision to support students with moderate to severe disabilities in adaptive tasks throughout the school day in a full inclusion setting. In this study, a professional development package comprised of empirical training and coaching strategies was designed and led by the special education teacher to teach four instructional assistants to follow a prompt delivery schedule. Instructional assistants were expected to implement the prompt delivery schedules with fidelity for the purpose of fading the amount of adult support required for students to complete adaptive tasks. Results showed the package was effective for teaching instructional assistants to follow a prompt delivery schedule and a relationship was established between implementation fidelity and student outcomes. In addition, generalization and retention measures of the targeted skill used by instructional assistants were positive. Teacher designed and led professional development can be an effective way for instructional assistants to receive the training in the skills required to serve students with moderate to severe disabilities in a full inclusion setting.