Effects of Multilevel Supports on Special Education Preschool Teacher Implementation of Function-Based Interventions

Abstract

Early childhood special education teachers require training and support in implementing function-based intervention for challenging behavior. Yet, teacher professional development practices are not universally effective,and teachers may benefit from differentiated supports. The purpose of this study was to pilot and evaluate a multilevel approach to teacher professional development for function-based intervention. The multilevel approach included behavioral skills training, practice-based coaching, and teacher self-monitoring and was evaluated using a multiple baseline across participants single-case research design. Results demonstrated that while all teachers benefited from the professional development, teachers required different levels of support within the multilevel approach. These findings support a growing body of work suggesting that teachers may require varying levels of support to implement evidence-based practices.

Multi-tiered systems of educator professional development: A systematic literature review of responsive, tiered professional development models

“…BST training model at Tier 1 (e.g., Rispoli et al, 2021) whereas others did not include those individualized components until Tier 3 (e.g., coaching; LaBrot et al, 2021). In addition, the use of more intensive coaching supports varied across studies as well.…”

“…Other outcomes for the learners include percent of correct responses (Brock et al, 2021;Sinclair, 2019) or number of mands (Rispoli et al, 2021). The remaining studies did not provide information about the learner outcome variables.…”

“…This form of training was provided to groups of varying sizes, ranging from three trainees (LaBrot et al, 2021) through to a whole-of-staff cohort from a large middle school (enrolment of 1050; Myers et al, 2011). Duration of Tier 1 didactic training ranged from 30-minutes (or approximately; Gage, MacSuga-Gage, et al, 2017;Johnson, 2021;Rispoli et al, 2021;Thompson et al, 2012) through to 210-minutes across the school year (Ennis et al, 2020). Four studies used individualized approaches to Tier 1 training, with individual behavioral skills training (Rispoli et al, 2021), one-on-one direct training (Sanetti & Collier-Meek, 2015), brief individual training (Simonsen et al, 2014), and individual didactic training (Reed, 2014) all reported as methods of instructing individuals at Tier 1.…”

“…Owens et al ( 2020) described a single 30-40-minute session delivered to trainees using BST, while Brock et al (2021) reported trainees receiving two 15-minute coaching sessions that used a video recording of trainee practice to deliver corrective and positive feedback relating to the target skill (Brock et al, 2021). Myers et al (2011) reported 10-minute weekly coaching meetings in which graphed trainee performance data were reviewed and feedback delivered to trainees, while Rispoli et al (2021) provided weekly 20-minute sessions. In addition, Sinclair (2019) coached trainees at Tier 2 using real-time remote bug-in-ear coaching (i.e., the delivery of immediate performance feedback to a trainee within their work setting using in-ear communication devices).…”

“…Of the 16 studies included in this systematic review, six studies met What Works Clearinghouse (WWC) standards without reservations (Gage, MacSuga-Gage, et al, 2017;LaBrot et al, 2020LaBrot et al, , 2021Rispoli et al, 2021;Sanetti & Collier-Meek, 2015;Simonsen et al, 2014;see table 4). Six studies met standards with reservations.…”