Impact of ClassroomBased Interventions on Student Outcomes

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Impact of Classroom-Based Interventions on
Student Outcomes Leslie M. Babinski Tamara A.
Nimkoff Ann E. Harman
1450 Raleigh Road, Suite 200 Chapel Hill, NC
27517
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ABSTRACT
In order to help all children succeed, regular
education teachers must be skilled in modifying
their instruction and implementing specific
interventions based on their students learning
needs. In this era of increased accountability
for all students as a result of No Child Left
Behind, teachers are expected to be able to reach
even children considered difficult to teach. A
framework for understanding how children learn
and how to adapt instruction for learning
differences provides teachers with the knowledge
base necessary to make the many instructional
decisions they make each day. This study is an
exploration of a professional development program
called Schools Attuned that provides teachers
with the knowledge and skills necessary to
address a variety of learning needs in a regular
education setting. Results of a cross-sectional
survey indicate that teachers reported
improvements in students academic, social,
behavioral, and affective outcomes following
Schools Attuned. In addition, students of Schools
Attuned trained teachers who received
consultative special educational services, as
opposed to a pull-out resource class, were more
likely to experience improvements in behavior,
motivation, and student-teacher interactions.
Students who participated in a demystification
session with their teacher also experienced
improvements in self-concept, attitude,
motivation, and student-teacher relationships.
Finally, teachers who focused on strengthening
students strengths were more likely to report
improvements in self-concept and student-teacher
interactions. Taken together, these results
provide support for the positive impact of
Schools Attuned on student outcomes.
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• SCHOOLS ATTUNED PROGRAM
• Training Components
• Neurodevelopmental approach to learning
• 35 hour core course
• 10 hours of practicum
• Pre-course activities
• Attuning a Student A Seven Step Process
• Noticing a student
• Data collection
• Data analysis
• Profile building
• Linking the profile to school performance
• Developing a management by profile plan
• Implementing the management by profile plan

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• SCHOOLS ATTUNED
• Themes of Demystification
• Destigmatization
• All people have both strengths and weaknesses
• Alliance Formation
• The teacher, parent, and student are all
  working toward the same goal
• Infusion of Optimism
• There is hope for overcoming the students
  learning difficulties
• Evaluation of Professional Development Programs
• Guskeys Five Levels (1995)
• Participants reactions to the experience
• Participants acquisition of new knowledge and
  skills
• Changes in organization, procedures, and school
  climate
• Assessment of participants new knowledge and
  skills
• Impact on student outcomes

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• METHOD
• Sample
• Teachers from Oklahoma and North Carolina who
  completed the training from March through June
  2003
• A total of 317 surveys were mailed and 192 were
  returned completed for a 63 response rate.
• Because the focus of this study is on classroom
  practices, administrators and related service
  personnel were excluded from the analyses.
• The final sample includes 134 classroom teachers.
• Research Questions
• What individual student outcomes do teachers
  report as a result of the Attuning a Student
  process?
• Are there any differences in reported outcomes
  for students who receive consultative special
  education services as compared to those who
  receive resource class services?
• Do student outcomes differ based on the use of
  interventions specific to the Attuning a Student
  process, such as the focus on student strengths
  and the use of demystification?

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RESULTS
Individual Student Outcomes


Individual Student Improvements in

100
Course grades (63)

90
gt
80
Standardized test scores (25)

74
gt
70
Social interactions (48)

63
gt
61
56
60
Self
-
concept (7
4)

51
Percent of Teachers who
gt
Reported Improvement
48
50
45
42
Student behavior (42)

gt
40
Motivation (56)

30
gt
25
Student
-
teacher interactions (61)

20
gt
10
Parent
-
teacher interactions (45)

gt
0
Attitude toward
school (51)

gt
Behavior
Motivation
Self-concept
Course grades
Stand. test scores
Social interactions
Parent-teacher int.
Student-teacher int.
Attitude toward school
Area of Student Improvement
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Type of Special Education Services

Students who received collaborative/
consultative services as compared to a

70
resource class were more likely to show
Behavior


significant
improvements in
Received collaborative/
24
consultative services



Received resource

services


Behavior


Area of Student Improvement
gt
80
(70 vs. 24,
7.6, df 1, p .01)

x
2
Motivation

45

Motivation


gt
(80 vs. 45,
x
2
3.9, df 1, p .05)

90

Student
-
teacher

relationships

Student
-
teacher relationships


gt
55

(90 vs. 55,
x
2
4.1, df 1, p .04)

0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
Percent of Teachers who Reported Improvement
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Focus on Strengthening Strengths

W
hen teachers reported a focus on
strengt
h
ening a students strengths
80
they were more likely to show

Self
-
concept

T
eachers who


reported strengthe
n-
55
ing strengths


Improved self-concept

Teachers who did not
gt
report strengthening
strengths


(80 vs. 55,
7.2,

x
2
Area of Student Improvement

df 1, p .01)

66
Improved student-teacher interactions

Student
-
gt
teacher


41


(66 vs. 41,
x
2
5.9,

0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
df 1, p .02)

Percent of Teachers who Reported Improvement
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Demystification

Student outcomes related to demystification


Increased self-concept

gt
86


(86 vs. 54,
x
2
16.2,

S
elf
-
concept

df 1, p .00)

54


Teachers who used

demystification


Improved attitude


gt
Teachers who did not
use demystification

60
toward school

Attitude toward

school



(60 vs. 37,
6.2,

x
2
37
df 1, p .02)

Area of Student Improvement

Improved motivation

66
gt
Motivation



(66 vs. 40,
x
2
8.6,

40
df 1, p .00)


Improved student-


gt
68
Student
-
teacher
teacher interactions

interactions



(68 vs. 48,
5.3,

48
x
2
df 1, p .03)

0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100

Percent of Teachers who Reported Improvement

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SUMMARY


Teachers reported improvements in students
academic, social, behavioral, and
gt
affective outcomes.


Teachers reported mo
re positive outcomes for special education
students who
gt
received consultative services as compared to
those who received service
s in a
resource class setting.


Integrating students strengths into the
management plan resulted in more

gt
improvements in self
-
concept and student
-
teacher interactions.


Students who participated in a demystification
session showed more improv
e-
gt
ment in self
-
esteem, attitude toward school, and motivation as
compared to
those who did not participate in demystification
.