UNDERSTANDING THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN TEACHER BEHAVIOR AND MOTIVATION IN STUDENTS WITH ACQUIRED DEAFBLINDNESS.

BECAUSE LITTLE is known about teacher-student relationships that involve students with acquired deafblindness, the authors performed a multiple case study with a multiple-method design to investigate the relationship between need-supportive teaching behaviors and student en- gagement. Using self-determination theory (Deci & Ryan, 2000), they analyzed video observations of interactions. It was found that teachers' provision of structure, autonomy support, and involvement often co-occurs with higher levels of student engagement. Moreover, varying degrees of need support over time seem to result in varying levels of student engagement. Examples are provided of need-supportive teaching behaviors that can be used to foster the motivation of students with acquired deafblindness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]