As a practitioner in the field of special education, continuous improvement of your skills is essential to providing the best possible support to your students. One exciting area of development is the integration of video-coaching into web-based interventions. A recent study titled My Activity Coach – Using video-coaching to assist a web-based computer-tailored physical activity intervention: a randomised controlled trial protocol provides valuable insights that can be applied to enhance your practice.
Study Overview
The study investigates the effectiveness of combining computer-tailored physical activity advice with brief online video-coaching sessions. Participants were divided into three groups: one receiving both tailored advice and video-coaching, one receiving only tailored advice, and a control group. The primary outcomes assessed were engagement, retention, satisfaction, and changes in physical activity levels.
Key Findings
The study found that the combination of tailored advice and video-coaching significantly improved participant engagement and satisfaction compared to tailored advice alone. This approach also led to better retention rates and more substantial changes in physical activity levels.
Implementing These Findings in Your Practice
Here are some practical steps you can take to integrate these findings into your practice:
- Incorporate Video-Coaching: Add brief video-coaching sessions to your online therapy services. Use platforms like Skype or Zoom to facilitate these sessions.
- Tailor Your Advice: Personalize your therapy advice based on individual student needs. Utilize computer-based systems to generate tailored feedback.
- Monitor Engagement: Track the engagement levels of your students using website analytics and feedback forms to ensure they are benefiting from the interventions.
- Enhance Retention: Use reminders and follow-up sessions to keep students engaged and committed to their therapy plans.
- Focus on Satisfaction: Regularly assess student satisfaction with the interventions and make adjustments based on their feedback.
Encouraging Further Research
While the study provides a strong foundation, further research is needed to explore the long-term benefits of video-coaching and tailored advice in various educational settings. Consider conducting your own small-scale studies or collaborating with researchers to contribute to this growing field.
To read the original research paper, please follow this link: My Activity Coach – Using video-coaching to assist a web-based computer-tailored physical activity intervention: a randomised controlled trial protocol.
