Incorporating Evidence-Based Practices Into Teacher Training and Professional Development Programs

1
Incorporating Evidence-Based Practices Into
Teacher Training and Professional Development
Programs

• Kathleen Lynne Lane, Ph.D.
• Vanderbilt University

2
Overview

• Importance of evidence-based practices in teacher
  training programs
• Suggested strategies for teacher preparation
• Illustration of how to infuse evidence-based
  practices into teacher preparation programs

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Evidence-Based Practices

• Current legislation and policy within education
  emphasize commitment to evidence-based practices
  (Shavelson Towne, 2002).
• The goal is to ensure that valuable resources are
  dedicate to practices (e.g., curriculum,
  behavioral interventions, systems changes, or
  educational approaches) that will produce
  benefits (Horner et al., 2005).

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Importance of Evidence-Based Practices in
Teacher Training

• Produce teachers who
• are ongoing critical consumers of educational
  practices and research
• can help build a schools capacity to provide
  evidence-based practices, even in less than
  optimal conditions
• have the skills necessary to make wise decisions
  with respect to resource allocation by
  identifying effective, feasible interventions

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How do we prepare teachers to meet this challenge?

• Coursework that reflects current, evidence-based
  practices
• Learning evidence-based practices
• Learning how to identify evidence-based practices
• Opportunities to learn how to integrate
  evidenced-based practices into current systems
• Sharing evidence-based practices and methods for
  identifying such practices with current educators
  in a respectful manner
• Opportunities to practice implementation in a
  range of contexts
• Applied practice in a range of contexts
• Ideal to less than optimal

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Project Building Capacity Background

• Public schools face a mounting challenge in
  addressing the behavioral, social, and academic
  needs of students with emotional disturbances
  (ED), particularly given the serious shortage of
  qualified teachers in the public school system to
  serve students with ED. While the behavioral and
  social deficits of these youngsters have been
  well-documented over the past 25 years,
  relatively little attention has been devoted to
  academic issues for students with ED until
  recently.

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Project Building Capacity Goals

• to address the shortage of teachers prepared to
  work with students with ED,
• to prepare teachers to address the academic,
  social, and behavioral needs of students with ED,
  and
• to prepare teachers to work collaboratively with
  general education teachers and PBS team members
  to identify and meet the needs of students with
  ED and those at-risk for ED within the context of
  the PBS model.

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Knowledge and Expertise

• Further, Project Building Capacity contributes to
  the expansion and dissemination of knowledge and
  expertise in the areas of
• academic development for children with ED and
• positive behavior support for all students,
  including those at-risk for ED.

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Personnel Preparation Program Three Unique
Components

• Research-based curriculum and practica
  experiences
• extensive training in empirically-derived
  academic instructional methods and
• three-tiered PBS models that include systematic
  screenings to identify students at-risk for ED,
• Training on how to work with faculty to design,
  implement, and evaluate multi-tiered models,
• Integrated training and field placement
  opportunities
• inclusive, diverse classrooms in which academic
  interventions are implemented under supervised
  conditions, in collaborative partnerships with
  credentialed teachers

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Component 1 Coursework

• Course work
• Researched-based curriculum
• Theoretical knowledge
• Instruction in evidence-based practices
• New course Taught how to
• determine if a practice is evidence-based
• construct a three-tiered model of support using
  evidence-based interventions at the secondary and
  tertiary levels of support
• implement three-tiered models of support in
  applied settings

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Component 2 Professional Development

• Professional Development
• Working with teams from local schools to design,
  implement, and evaluate three-tiered models
• Refine consultation skills
• Infuse guidelines for determining evidence-based
  practices into existing school practices

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Component 3 Practicum

• Integrated training and field placements
• Inclusive schools implemented three-tiered models
  of positive behavior support
• Support implement of evidence-based practices in
  schools
• Identify challenges and supports

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Illustration
Professional Development

• Year-long training series
• Constructing a three-tiered model of support
• Primary, secondary, and tertiary levels of
  prevention
• Evidence-based practices
• Rigorous, feasible monitoring system

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Elementary School Demographics
Source Variable Level N ()
Teachers Employed 48
Consent for PBS Program 47 (97.92)
Students Total Enrollment 835
Special Education 10
Gender Male 408 (48.86)
Female 427 (51.14)
Ethnicity Caucasian 705 (84.43)
African American 53 (6.35)
Hispanic 51 (6.11)
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Elementary School Primary Plan

• Mission School-wide Expectations
• Procedures for Teaching
• Eagle Pledge
• Posters
• Procedures for Reinforcing
• Tickets
• Classroom Drawings and School-wide Quarterly
  Assemblies
• Procedures for Monitoring
• Student Outcomes
• Treatment Integrity Social Validity

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Setting Setting Setting Setting Setting Setting
Classroom Hallway Playground Cubbies Cafeteria Restrooms
Respect -Eyes on speaker -Listen -Follow directions -Space materials -Walk -Quiet -Hands off walls -Hands to self -Follow game rules -Respond when called -Share/include everyone -Use your own stuff -Wait your turn -4 people at a time -Hands to self -Low voice -Eat your own food -Clean up -Clean up -Allow privacy by only knocking on door once
Best Effort -Quality of work is accurate, neat, and complete -Watch the person in front of you -Zone Zero -Walk on 3rd square -Pick up trash -Report unsafe objects or behavior -Help keep area safe and clean -Eat, then talk -Stay in seat -Keep floor clean -Appropriate use of facilities
Responsibility -Follow Eagle Expectations -Be on time -Be prepared -Observe rules of tattling vs. telling - Be Aware of personal space -Report visitors without stickers -Remind others to be quiet -Be Aware of personal space -Follow playground rules -Play approved games -Put materials and clothes where they belong -Unpack all materials -Know what to order -Bring lunch/ lunch money -Get all items -Raise hand -Wash hands -clean up after self and others -Report messes
Care of Property -Respect all materials -Pick up trash -Hands off walls and signs -Pick up trash -Respect nature -Use equipment appropriately -Clean space -Belongings in proper places -Pick up trash -Keep your area clean -Pick up trash -Wipe seat -Keep walls floor clean -Flush
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Elementary Assessment Schedule
Measure Quarter 1 Quarter 2 Quarter 3 Quarter 4
Attendance X X X X
SWIS (ODR) X X X X
GEIT SPED X X X X
IAI Reading Math X X
STARS Reading X X
TOWL (Writing) X
TCAP X
Tickets X X X X
SRSS SSBD X X X
Treatment Integrity X X X X
EBS Survey X X
Social Validity X X
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Secondary Interventions
Support Description Schoolwide Data Entry Criteria Data to Monitor Progress School wide data? Other? Exit Criteria
Check, Connect, and Expect This program involves checking in with a mentor at the beginning and end of the day to receive a performance goal for the day. Students who score moderate to high risk on the SRSS Daily BEP Progress Reports Students who have met there goal consistently for 3 weeks will move to the self-monitoring phase.
Project WRITE Improving the writing skills of students with behavioral concerns and poor writing skills Behavior (SRSS SSBD) and TOWL (lt25) Writing probes Story elements of 5 more (stable)

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Tertiary Interventions
Support Description Schoolwide Data Entry Criteria Data to Monitor Progress School wide data? Other? Exit Criteria
Function-based interventions Individualized interventions developed by the behavior specialist and PBS team Students who score high risk on the SRSS Target and replacement behavior Students who have met there goal consistently for 3 weeks will move to maintenance.


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Implementing the Plans Monitoring Progress
Practicum
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Student Risk Screening Scale (SRSS, Drummond,
1993)
Fall 2005 Year 1 of PBS at HESn 765
Fall 2006 Year 2 of PBS at HESn 874
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Systematic Screening for Behavior Disorders
(Walker Severson, 1992) Nominated vs. At-Risk
Students Externalizing and Internalizing
6 0.67
6
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Discipline ComparisonQuarter 1 2005-2006 to
Quarter 1 2006-2007
Rate (per instructional day)
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Attendance ComparisonQuarter 1 2005-2006 to
Quarter 1 2006-2007
Rate (per instructional day)
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Identifying Students for Targeted Supports

• Using school-wide data to identify students
  needing additional supports academically and/or
  behaviorally

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Secondary Interventions
Support Description Schoolwide Data Entry Criteria Data to Monitor Progress School wide data? Other? Exit Criteria
Check, Connect, and Expect This program involves checking in with a mentor at the beginning and end of the day to receive a performance goal for the day. Students who score moderate to high risk on the SRSS Daily BEP Progress Reports Students who have met there goal consistently for 3 weeks will move to the self-monitoring phase.
Project WRITE Improving the writing skills of students with behavioral concerns and poor writing skills Behavior (SRSS SSBD) and TOWL (lt25) Writing probes Story elements of 5 more (stable)

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Identifying Nonresponsive Students With Behavior
Writing Concerns

• Second Grade
• Behavior Concern
• Student Risk Screening Scale (SRSS Drummond,
  1994) moderate (4-8) or high (9) risk
• Systematic Screening for Behavior Disorders
  (SSBD Walker Severson, 1992) Exceeding norms
  Externalizing or Internalizing
• Writing Deficit
• Test of Written Language-3 (TOWL-3 Hammill
  Larsen, 1996) At or below 25 percentile

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Project WRITE Overview
Screening 2nd grade student
Students exceeding criteria on writing screeners
Students exceeding criteria on behavioral
screeners
SRSD Instruction for each consenting student with
both writing and behavioral deficits
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Project WRITE Participants
Leg Student Gender Ethnicity TOWL Behavior Behavior
SSBD SRSS
1 Joe Male A.A. 12.5 Ext High
1 Bob Male White 25 Moderate
2 Adrian Male White 25 Ext High
2 Lyle Male White 9 Moderate
3 Kevin Male A.A. 5 High
3 Renee Female White 25 Int
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Project WRITE Method

• Intervention Description
• Self-Regulated Strategy Development (SRSD)
• 4 days a week 30-min sessions delivered 11 by a
  research assistant

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Two Mnemonic Strategies

• 1. POW for planning
• Pick my idea
• Organize my notes
• Write and say more

• 2. WWW What2 How2
• Who is the main character?
• When does the story take place?
• Where does the story take place?
• What does the main character do or want to do
  what do other characters do?
• What happens when the main character tries to do
  it what happens with other characters?
• How does the story end?
• How does the main character feel how do other
  characters feel?

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Experimental Design Statistical Analysis

• Multiple baseline across participants design with
  multiple probes during baseline (Johnston
  Pennypacker, 1993)
• 6 student participants randomly assigned to 1 of
  3 legs
• Data analyzed via visual inspection to examine
  stability, level, and trend, as well as mean
  changes by phase and percentage of
  non-overlapping data points

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Project WRITE Leg 1
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Project WRITE Leg 2
Pre-Intervention
Post-Intervention
Maintenance
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Project WRITE Leg 3
Pre-Intervention
Post-Intervention
Maintenance
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Pre-Intervention Probe for Joe

• The sledding race. There is a girl that thinks
  she is perfect bet she isnt perfect at
  everything.

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Post-Intervention Probe for Joe

• A long time ago in January two boys went to the
  store. They had no money to buy anything. They
  tried to get fish but they couldnt do that. They
  are mad because they do not have any fish. Then
  they are sad because they do not have any pets at
  all. So they go to the library and tried to get a
  pet there but they got in more trouble than they
  were at first. Their mom and dad went with them
  this time they bought the fish for them. They
  were happy and they went to the store with some
  money to get one more fish.

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MaintenanceProbe for Joe

• Long ago outdoors in the grass a mean, mean
  rabbit got all of the other rabbits afraid of
  him. He told them about a rabbit and a carrot.
  Most of the rabbits left. One of the rabbits
  wanted to stop him but he was afraid that he was
  going to get hurt. The rabbits were so mad that
  he did it anyway. Finally he did it. The mean
  mean rabbit disappeared. They were sad cause they
  thought that he would be hurt really bad, but he
  was not hurt at all. He was happy. The rabbit
  came back and he did it again. But this time
  nobody was afraid of the mean rabbit. Nobody even
  came. The rabbit was so mad that he scared them
  so bad now that they stayed the whole entire time
  now. He was still very mad. He decided to
  disappear and never come back.

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Summary

• Given the importance of incorporating
  evidence-based practices to produced the greatest
  benefit for all students, it is important for
  teacher training and professional development
  programs to prepare teachers who
• are ongoing critical consumers of educational
  practices and research
• can help build a schools capacity to provide
  evidence-based practices, even in less than
  optimal conditions
• have the skills necessary to make wise decisions
  with respect to resource allocation by
  identifying effective, feasible interventions