The effects of teachers' deviations from scripted lessons on minority special education students' engagement in mathematics

This project was a descriptive study of experienced Direct Instruction (DI) teachers' deviations from lesson scripts and the effects on student academic engagement during mathematics instruction. Participants were 10 male elementary students, 3 of whom were of minority background, enrolled in a private not-for-profit special day school for students identified as EBD. The 6 instructors averaged 4 years experience teaching DI. Script deviations and academic engagement were measured using EcoBehavioral Assessment System Software (EBASS). Instructor interviews using videotaped lessons to stimulate recall of script deviations were also conducted. Instructors' explanations of their DI practices were sought as well as the alternative strategies they used when they deviated from the lesson script. Overall, instructors deviated from lesson scripts in 47 percent of observation intervals. Script deviations were less frequent (42 percent) when the target student was from a non-minority background than when the target student was from a minority background (61 percent). Students from minority backgrounds were academically engaged at a greater frequency than non-minority students (67 percent for minority students, 48 percent for non-minority students). More experienced instructors tended to remain more on script and engage students in academic responding with greater frequency. When they deviated from lesson scripts, instructors relied primarily on academic instructional strategies. Further research needs to determine whether these findings can be replicated with larger samples, with greater diversity in student participants, and in more naturalistic environments such as public school settings.