Terri LaPlante - Academia.edu (original) (raw)
Papers by Terri LaPlante
Education and training in autism and developmental disabilities, 2019
Implementation science examines the process of how programs are put into action to produce outcom... more Implementation science examines the process of how programs are put into action to produce outcomes and represents an emerging approach for analyzing the utilization of evidence-based practices (EBPs) in school settings. When EBPs are implemented effectively, they result in positive student outcomes. The Self-Determined Learning Model of Instruction (SDLMI) is an EBP shown to promote positive educational and postschool outcomes for students with disabilities; however, the process of implementing the SDLMI on a large-scale poses significant challenges. We describe efforts to implement the SDLMI state-wide with transition-age students with intellectual and developmental disabilities through the lens of implementation science. Key factors and issues that need to be addressed in ongoing research and practice to further advance student outcomes are highlighted. IMPLEMENTING EVIDENCE-BASED PRACTICES 3 Implementing Evidence-Based Practices to Promote Self-Determination: Lessons Learned fro...
This study explored teacher perceptions of their ability to implement the Self-Determined Learnin... more This study explored teacher perceptions of their ability to implement the Self-Determined Learning Model of Instruction (SDLMI) with fidelity and the impact of these perceptions on student self-determination outcomes on the Self-Determination Inventory: Student Report (SDI:SR). Using a piece-wise growth model, we found stability in teacher perceptions of their implementation over a two-year period even with the introduction of a second transition-focused intervention to a subset of the sample. Using a mediation model we then found a complex relationship between teacher perceptions of fidelity and student outcomes on the SDI:SR. We found that teacher-perceived fidelity over the course of the year was influenced by students’ beginning of the year self-determination status, and that teacher-perceived fidelity then impacted students’ end of the year self-determination status. The findings suggest an interactive relationship between teacher perceptions of implementation and student outco...
American Journal on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities, 2020
The purpose of this study was to examine self-determination outcome data in the year following a ... more The purpose of this study was to examine self-determination outcome data in the year following a one-year cluster randomized controlled trial (C-RCT) comparing the impacts of a Self-Determined Learning Model of Instruction (SDLMI) only condition to a SDLMI + Whose Future Is It? (SDLMI + WF) condition. Using multilevel B-spline model analysis with Bayesian estimation, we examined ongoing patterns of growth after the trial ended and all students were exposed to SDLMI + WF. The findings suggest that the inclusion of an additional year of outcome data provided additional insight into the impact of more intensive intervention conditions over time. Specifically, after the initial year of implementation, the SDLMI + WF condition predicted greater annual gains than the SDLMI only condition, unlike findings in the first year which reflected the opposite pattern. This evidence suggests a nonlinear growth pattern over multiple years of intervention with more intensive interventions. Implicatio...
Career Development and Transition for Exceptional Individuals, 2019
This study explored teacher perceptions of their ability to implement the Self-Determined Learnin... more This study explored teacher perceptions of their ability to implement the Self-Determined Learning Model of Instruction (SDLMI) with fidelity and the impact of these perceptions on student self-determination outcomes on the Self-Determination Inventory: Student Report (SDI:SR). Using a piece-wise growth model, we found stability in teacher perceptions of their implementation over a 2-year period even with the introduction of a second transition-focused intervention to a subset of the sample. Using a mediation model, we then found a complex relationship between teacher perceptions of fidelity and student outcomes on the SDI:SR. We found that teacher-perceived fidelity over the course of the year was influenced by students’ beginning of the year self-determination status and that teacher-perceived fidelity then affected students’ end of the year self-determination status. The findings suggest an interactive relationship between teacher perceptions of implementation and student outcome...
Research and Practice for Persons with Severe Disabilities, 2018
This study examined the differential impact of implementing the Self-Determined Learning Model of... more This study examined the differential impact of implementing the Self-Determined Learning Model of Instruction (SDLMI) alone with implementing the SDLMI combined with Whose Future Is It? with transition aged students with intellectual disability in a cluster randomized trial in the state of Rhode Island. The state of Rhode Island is implementing systemic change in transition services and supports under the auspices of a Consent Decree entered into by the state with the U.S. Department of Justice. One area of focus is promoting self-determination during transition planning in the school context as a means to affect employment trajectories. This study focused on the impact of self-determination instruction on self-determination outcomes while youth were still in school, given research establishing a relationship between self-determination and employment outcomes. Latent mediation models suggested that students in the SDLMI-only group reported significant increases in their self-determi...
Exceptional Children, 2012
Promoting self-determination has become a best practice in special education. There remains, howe... more Promoting self-determination has become a best practice in special education. There remains, however, a paucity of causal evidence for interventions to promote self-determination. This article presents the results of a group-randomized, modified equivalent control group design study of the efficacy of the Self-Determined Learning Model of Instruction (SDLMI, Wehmeyer, Palmer, Agran, Mithaug, & Martin, 2000) to promote self-determination. The authors used data on self-determination using multiple measures collected with 312 high school students with cognitive disabilities in both a control and a treatment group to examine the relationship between the SDLMI and self-determination. After determining strong measurement invariance for each latent construct, they found significant differences in latent means across measurement occasions and differential effects attributable to the SDLMI. This was true across disability category, though there was variance across disability populations.
Career Development and Transition for Exceptional Individuals, 2019
Self-determination, defined by acting as the causal agent in one’s life, plays a critical role in... more Self-determination, defined by acting as the causal agent in one’s life, plays a critical role in the transition from high school to postsecondary education, employment, and community living for all students, including students with significant support needs. The Self-Determined Learning Model of Instruction (SDLMI) is a teaching model designed to enable teachers to promote self-determined action by focusing on the goal setting and attainment process. In this article, we focus specifically on the implementation of the SDLMI with students with significant support needs, including those who have complex communication needs. We describe the SDLMI process in detail with specific examples for implementation with students with significant support needs based on several recent research studies.
Research and Practice for Persons with Severe Disabilities
This study examined the differential impact of implementing the Self-Determined Learning Model of... more This study examined the differential impact of implementing the Self-Determined Learning Model of Instruction (SDLMI) alone with implementing the SDLMI combined with Whose Future Is It? with transition aged students with intellectual disability in a cluster randomized trial in the state of Rhode Island. The state of Rhode Island is implementing systemic change in transition services and supports under the auspices of a Consent Decree entered into by the state with the U.S. Department of Justice. One area of focus is promoting self-determination during transition planning in the school context as a means to affect employment trajectories. This study focused on the impact of self-determination instruction on self-determination outcomes while youth were still in school, given research establishing a relationship between self-determination and employment outcomes. Latent mediation models suggested that students in the SDLMI-only group reported significant increases in their self-determi...
Education and training in autism and developmental disabilities, 2019
Implementation science examines the process of how programs are put into action to produce outcom... more Implementation science examines the process of how programs are put into action to produce outcomes and represents an emerging approach for analyzing the utilization of evidence-based practices (EBPs) in school settings. When EBPs are implemented effectively, they result in positive student outcomes. The Self-Determined Learning Model of Instruction (SDLMI) is an EBP shown to promote positive educational and postschool outcomes for students with disabilities; however, the process of implementing the SDLMI on a large-scale poses significant challenges. We describe efforts to implement the SDLMI state-wide with transition-age students with intellectual and developmental disabilities through the lens of implementation science. Key factors and issues that need to be addressed in ongoing research and practice to further advance student outcomes are highlighted. IMPLEMENTING EVIDENCE-BASED PRACTICES 3 Implementing Evidence-Based Practices to Promote Self-Determination: Lessons Learned fro...
This study explored teacher perceptions of their ability to implement the Self-Determined Learnin... more This study explored teacher perceptions of their ability to implement the Self-Determined Learning Model of Instruction (SDLMI) with fidelity and the impact of these perceptions on student self-determination outcomes on the Self-Determination Inventory: Student Report (SDI:SR). Using a piece-wise growth model, we found stability in teacher perceptions of their implementation over a two-year period even with the introduction of a second transition-focused intervention to a subset of the sample. Using a mediation model we then found a complex relationship between teacher perceptions of fidelity and student outcomes on the SDI:SR. We found that teacher-perceived fidelity over the course of the year was influenced by students’ beginning of the year self-determination status, and that teacher-perceived fidelity then impacted students’ end of the year self-determination status. The findings suggest an interactive relationship between teacher perceptions of implementation and student outco...
American Journal on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities, 2020
The purpose of this study was to examine self-determination outcome data in the year following a ... more The purpose of this study was to examine self-determination outcome data in the year following a one-year cluster randomized controlled trial (C-RCT) comparing the impacts of a Self-Determined Learning Model of Instruction (SDLMI) only condition to a SDLMI + Whose Future Is It? (SDLMI + WF) condition. Using multilevel B-spline model analysis with Bayesian estimation, we examined ongoing patterns of growth after the trial ended and all students were exposed to SDLMI + WF. The findings suggest that the inclusion of an additional year of outcome data provided additional insight into the impact of more intensive intervention conditions over time. Specifically, after the initial year of implementation, the SDLMI + WF condition predicted greater annual gains than the SDLMI only condition, unlike findings in the first year which reflected the opposite pattern. This evidence suggests a nonlinear growth pattern over multiple years of intervention with more intensive interventions. Implicatio...
Career Development and Transition for Exceptional Individuals, 2019
This study explored teacher perceptions of their ability to implement the Self-Determined Learnin... more This study explored teacher perceptions of their ability to implement the Self-Determined Learning Model of Instruction (SDLMI) with fidelity and the impact of these perceptions on student self-determination outcomes on the Self-Determination Inventory: Student Report (SDI:SR). Using a piece-wise growth model, we found stability in teacher perceptions of their implementation over a 2-year period even with the introduction of a second transition-focused intervention to a subset of the sample. Using a mediation model, we then found a complex relationship between teacher perceptions of fidelity and student outcomes on the SDI:SR. We found that teacher-perceived fidelity over the course of the year was influenced by students’ beginning of the year self-determination status and that teacher-perceived fidelity then affected students’ end of the year self-determination status. The findings suggest an interactive relationship between teacher perceptions of implementation and student outcome...
Research and Practice for Persons with Severe Disabilities, 2018
This study examined the differential impact of implementing the Self-Determined Learning Model of... more This study examined the differential impact of implementing the Self-Determined Learning Model of Instruction (SDLMI) alone with implementing the SDLMI combined with Whose Future Is It? with transition aged students with intellectual disability in a cluster randomized trial in the state of Rhode Island. The state of Rhode Island is implementing systemic change in transition services and supports under the auspices of a Consent Decree entered into by the state with the U.S. Department of Justice. One area of focus is promoting self-determination during transition planning in the school context as a means to affect employment trajectories. This study focused on the impact of self-determination instruction on self-determination outcomes while youth were still in school, given research establishing a relationship between self-determination and employment outcomes. Latent mediation models suggested that students in the SDLMI-only group reported significant increases in their self-determi...
Exceptional Children, 2012
Promoting self-determination has become a best practice in special education. There remains, howe... more Promoting self-determination has become a best practice in special education. There remains, however, a paucity of causal evidence for interventions to promote self-determination. This article presents the results of a group-randomized, modified equivalent control group design study of the efficacy of the Self-Determined Learning Model of Instruction (SDLMI, Wehmeyer, Palmer, Agran, Mithaug, & Martin, 2000) to promote self-determination. The authors used data on self-determination using multiple measures collected with 312 high school students with cognitive disabilities in both a control and a treatment group to examine the relationship between the SDLMI and self-determination. After determining strong measurement invariance for each latent construct, they found significant differences in latent means across measurement occasions and differential effects attributable to the SDLMI. This was true across disability category, though there was variance across disability populations.
Career Development and Transition for Exceptional Individuals, 2019
Self-determination, defined by acting as the causal agent in one’s life, plays a critical role in... more Self-determination, defined by acting as the causal agent in one’s life, plays a critical role in the transition from high school to postsecondary education, employment, and community living for all students, including students with significant support needs. The Self-Determined Learning Model of Instruction (SDLMI) is a teaching model designed to enable teachers to promote self-determined action by focusing on the goal setting and attainment process. In this article, we focus specifically on the implementation of the SDLMI with students with significant support needs, including those who have complex communication needs. We describe the SDLMI process in detail with specific examples for implementation with students with significant support needs based on several recent research studies.
Research and Practice for Persons with Severe Disabilities
This study examined the differential impact of implementing the Self-Determined Learning Model of... more This study examined the differential impact of implementing the Self-Determined Learning Model of Instruction (SDLMI) alone with implementing the SDLMI combined with Whose Future Is It? with transition aged students with intellectual disability in a cluster randomized trial in the state of Rhode Island. The state of Rhode Island is implementing systemic change in transition services and supports under the auspices of a Consent Decree entered into by the state with the U.S. Department of Justice. One area of focus is promoting self-determination during transition planning in the school context as a means to affect employment trajectories. This study focused on the impact of self-determination instruction on self-determination outcomes while youth were still in school, given research establishing a relationship between self-determination and employment outcomes. Latent mediation models suggested that students in the SDLMI-only group reported significant increases in their self-determi...