The Research-to-Practice Ball Game

Abstract

This study examined teachers' receptivity to, and the factors that influence their use of, a practice new to classroom teachers for including students with learning disabilities, classwide peer tutoring (cwpt; fuchs, mathes,' fuchs, 1993). Cwpt is a whole-class approach that uses teacher-orchestrated procedures and peer-mediated practice to supplement reading instruction. forty-four teachers in eight elementary schools participated; 29 teachers in a high-support group received honoraria and access to release time and technical assistance in order to learn about cwpt and how to implement it; 15 teachers in a low-support group received only a copy of the cwpt manual. all teachers attended a 40-minute presentation on cwpt that provided an overview on its components and benefits. measures included surveys administered before and after the initial presentations, observations midpoint in teachers' implementation of cwpt, interim interviews and logs, and a follow-up interview and observation of a subgroup of four imple-mentors. the survey responses of 44 teachers were analyzed and the six implementors were observed and interviewed. results indicated that level of support did not significantly influence teacher interest in or use of cwpt. all implementors made some modifications in the cwpt procedures. discussion focuses on factors that might have influenced teacher Interest in cwpt, their implementation rates, and reasons for teachers' modifications of the practice.