Training Special Education Teachers to Implement Evidence-Based, Technology-Supported Spelling Instruction for Students with Dysorthographia

Special education teachers often lack training to implement research-evaluated writing programs with fidelity, which contributes to insufficient instruction for students with disabilities. This study addresses a research gap: the limited documentation of implementation fidelity in French spelling interventions that integrate assistive technologies (ATs) for learners aged 9–12 with dysorthographia. Grounded in a theoretical foundation that coordinates alphabetic, orthographic, and morphographic processes within an explicit instruction sequence (explanation, modeling, guided practice, and independent application), the program aligned text-to-speech and word prediction with targeted spelling goals. Using a mixed-methods design, six elementary students participated in a single-case protocol with a transformative sequential design over 20 weeks. Four teachers received targeted training (theoretical + practical) and delivered explicit, individualized instruction during a 10-week intervention. Content analysis of teacher and researcher logs showed high, yet context-responsive, fidelity with variations by student profile, school context, and teacher. Converging quantitative and qualitative patterns suggest improvements in word-level accuracy/fluency and highlight training/coaching as a driver of fidelity. The discussion provides actionable implications for professional learning, school scheduling and dosage protection, and future research that multimodalizes fidelity evidence and instruments AT orchestration across the writing cycle.