Abstract
What Classroom Management Strategies Will Elementary Teachers Use?
Classroom behavior problems have long challenged educators, with many teachers reporting that they feel unprepared to manage student behavior. As the field forges ahead in identifying evidence-based strategies and practices, it is equally important to understand what interventions teachers are likely to use and why. Furthermore, as positive behavior supports become more widely used, questions about intervention preference and usability deserve a re-visit. Authors Amy Briesch, Jacquelyn Briesch, and Sandra Chafouleaus sought to address these important issues by surveying 1,005 elementary school teachers to gather information about five common evidence-based interventions (positive verbal praise and planned ignoring, self-managed response cost, self-managed response cost with home-school notes, interdependent group contingencies, and dependent group contingencies). Teachers reported that they understood all of the interventions and could carry them out without external support. At the same time, their preference of interventions differed, with positive praise/planned ignoring and self-managed response cost interventions viewed far more favorably than group contingencies. This study highlights the need to understand teacher philosophy, contextual fit, and other variables that influence whether teachers are likely to implement evidence-based practices.
Lead author Amy Briesch commented, Despite recent emphasis on evidence-based practice in education, the presence of a research-to-practice gap continues to be a challenge for the field. As applied researchers, it is our responsibility to understand those variables that either prevent or promote sustained usage and to use this knowledge to inform the development and refinement of new technologies. Although consumer acceptability was long emphasized as a key determinant of intervention usage, we now know that even favorably perceived interventions may not be implemented with fidelity. We therefore developed the Usage Rating Profile (URP; www.usageratingprofile.org) as a standardized means of assessing relevant variables across multiple levels including the individual (e.g., Do I like it?), intervention (e.g., Does this strategy require substantial resources?), and environment (e.g., How consistent is this practice with how things are done in my school?). This investigation of classroom management practices marks our first attempt to use the URP in order to explore the relative usability of different evidence-based strategies.
Moving Toward Culturally Responsive Interventions
Across most disciplines in the United States, research outcomes pertain to the dominant culture—a condition that poses challenges for many individuals, including the research community. Exacerbating the lack of evidence for intervention applicability to all students is the White-dominated teaching profession, where cultural bias has led to teacher misconceptions, among other issues. The area of social skills is just one example where, as authors Ya-yu Lo, Vivian Correa, and Adrienne Anderson report, traditional instruction neglects cultural norms, values, and learning histories. To address this problematic research gap, Lo and colleagues adapted an existing social skills curriculum to capitalize on strengths within the Latino/a community. Embedding elements of effective practices with Latino learners, the authors incorporated computer-assisted instruction and peer mediation to build friendship skills among the participants and their peers. The intervention resulted in considerably more appropriate social interactions between Latino males who were English Language Learners and their non-Latino peers.
Lead researcher Ya-yu Lo reported, Although there has been much discussion on the need for cultural responsiveness for students from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds, empirical research on the effects of culturally responsive social skill instruction for Latino English language learners is nonexistent. We are very excited about the results of our study, showing that embedding effective practices for Latino English language learners into the design of social skill instruction was effective in bringing about improved cross-cultural social interactions of Latino participants with their peers from other cultural backgrounds. It was even more exciting to learn that the participants expressed how much they enjoyed and missed the interactions with peers during the peer-mediated intervention when the researchers visited the school the following year after the study ended.
Making the Effects of Tier 2 Interventions Last
There has been much recent research on both schoolwide (i.e., Tier 1) and intensive individual (i.e., Tier 3) interventions. Relatively little research, however, has focused on Tier 2 interventions that prevent students with moderate or emerging problem behaviors from developing more serious concerns. One program that has rapidly gained evidence for effectiveness is Check-In/Check-Out (CICO). Researchers Leila Miller, Brad Dufrene, Heather Sterling, D. Joe Olmi, and Erica Bachmayer contribute to this growing body of literature by demonstrating both reductions in problem behavior and increases in academic engagement for three elementary aged students who received CICO. As with all school-based interventions, educators are concerned with the effort it takes for implementation as well as ways to help students maintain new behaviors without continued reliance on the intervention. To address this important issue, Miller and colleagues demonstrated how to fade the intervention using mystery motivators or self-management procedures. Behavioral gains were maintained for two of the three participants with these less intensive intervention procedures.
Lead author Leila Miller observed, Check-in/Check-out resulted in behavioral gains for all participants and, according to teacher reports, led to increased positive teacher-student interactions outside of those occurring as part of the study. Also, when self-management procedures were implemented, both students and teachers reacted positively. Students appeared to enjoy the increased independence this change offered, while teachers noted they were pleased with the continued improvement students exhibited.
A Close Look at School Transitions for At-Risk Students
School transitions bring about logistical, social, and academic concerns among almost all school-age students. The transition from elementary to middle school can be particularly problematic, bringing with it increased academic demands, teacher expectations for more student independence, the changeover from a single teacher to multiple teachers, and differences in setting characteristics (generally to a larger and less personal environment). These transition changes are juxtaposed with rapid developmental changes that occur in adolescence. Some students, however, negotiate such transitions relatively easily whereas others do not. Researchers Kathleen Lane, Wendy Oakes, Erik Carter, and Mallory Messenger help us to understand student characteristics that play a role in how students will do with the transition from elementary to middle schools. Their findings showed that students identified at risk in the last year of elementary school are more likely to struggle with behavioral and academic problems as they progress through their first year in middle school. In addition, students with special education labels are likely to remain at risk during this transition. This study emphasizes the need to provide ongoing support to students with risk factors and those with disabilities as they transition across schools.
Regarding these findings, lead author Kathleen Lane commented, We contend the transition from elementary to middle school is a challenge for many students—especially those leaving the elementary school with elevated levels of risk as well as those requiring special education. We are hopeful results of this study will spark future inquiry on how to use screening data to support all students in making successful transitions into and through the middle school years.
Supporting New Teachers’ Use of Behavior Support Strategies
Seasoned teachers are keenly familiar with the powerful role that praise can have on the behavior and academic performance of the students. But, how do we assure that new teachers remember this important and powerful technique in the midst of all the other teaching and management demands that have not yet become routine? Donald Briere, Brandi Simonsen, George Sugai, and Diane Myers illustrate the effectiveness of a consultative approach to support beginning teachers with classroom management. Three new teachers were paired with experienced teachers already teaching in their school. New teachers were taught to self-monitor their use of praise. Each dyad met on a weekly basis during which time the mentor provided the new teacher with performance feedback on her use of praise, discussed strategies to increase praise, and set performance goals for the upcoming week. All of the teachers increased their praise from low levels during baseline to rates meeting or exceeding recommendations in the literature. Importantly, the intervention utilized existing school resources and required a limited amount of teacher time, increasing the feasibility of this approach for supporting new teachers.
First author Donald Briere commented, This investigation was an exciting opportunity for our team to explore the feasibility of a within-school consultation approach. New teachers have a clear need for structured support mechanisms in their schools. This study allowed us to highlight the positive effects one simple self-management technique can have on new teacher’s classroom management practices when paired with a formalized consultation model. The adaptability and application of this model across school contexts is an area we need to learn more about; however, we are certainly optimistic provided our initial outcomes.