Remote training of educators in Taiwan to disseminate discrete trial training for students with developmental disabilities

Zhao et al. (2024) built a three-tier remote train-the-trainer program in Taiwan. First, experts taught teachers to run discrete trial training. Next, those teachers coached other educators. Finally, the new coaches trained classroom staff. The whole chain happened online. A multiple-baseline design tracked each tier’s DTT fidelity.

Every tier reached and kept high DTT fidelity. Teachers who learned remotely could pass the skill on. Their own coaching later produced the same gains in coworkers. Improvements held after the cameras turned off.

Zhu et al. (2020) showed remote feedback alone lifts BCBA trainee fidelity in China. Chen adds the train-the-trainer twist and proves the effect travels down two more levels. Shin et al. (2021) and Downs et al. (2008) already showed brief in-person BST plus feedback pushes DTT accuracy near 100 %. Chen matches those gains without anyone flying in. Bao et al. (2017) warned that online modules by themselves do little; real coaching is the active part. Chen agrees, but shows the coach can also be a local teacher trained through Zoom.

You can now scale DTT across schools without travel costs. Train a small group of teachers online, then let them coach the rest. Use the same script, checklists, and Zoom rooms you already own. Start with one willing teacher, measure baseline, and roll tier by tier. Remote growth chains beat remote modules every time.