The effects of observational feedback on treatment integrity in school-based behavioral consultation.

Abstract

This study evaluated the effects of performance feedback on levels of treatment integrity in school-based behavioral consultation. Three teachers employed in a residential treatment community were responsible for treatment implementation. Treatment integrity was defined as the percentage of 2 minute intervals during which contingent teacher reinforcement for student on-task behavior was directly observed. Teacher and child behavior were monitored across baseline, traditional consultation, and consultation with performance feedback conditions in a multiple baseline design. Following a Problem Identification Interview and Problem Analysis Interview (Bergan, 1977), mean levels of treatment integrity for the three teachers ranged from 9% to 37%. The addition of a performance feedback package increased treatment integrity for all three teachers to levels ranging from 60% to 83%. The findings contribute to a growing literature supporting the need for direct assessment of treatment integrity in school-based consultation research and practice.School-based behavioral consultation is, to paraphrase Mark Twain, a good talk spoiled. The interaction typically begins with a consultant and teacher discussing a student's inappropriate behavior, which can be very rewarding (Baer, 1977;Witt, 1990). Often, however, the student's problem behavior is attributed to the "inappropriate" behavior of the teacher (e.g., attention), and the consultant recommends a "new" response (e.g., ignoring the behavior, time out) instead. Because this new This article is based on a dissertation submitted by Kevin M. Jones in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the PhD degree. We are grateful for the assistance of Mary Young, Catherine DeSalvo, and the participating teachers and students.

Treatment Integrity of School-Based Behavior Analytic Interventions: A Review of the Research

“…The same method can be used with permanent product recording by dividing the number of permanent products produced by the teacher in a session by the total number of permanent products expected to be produced during the session, and multiplying by 100 (e.g., Mortenson & Witt, 1998, Noell et al, 2000. In other studies, treatment integrity was calculated by dividing the number of intervals (e.g., 30 s) in an observation during which the teacher correctly implemented all components by the total number of intervals within the observation, and multiplying by 100 (e.g., Jones, Wickstrom, & Friman, 1997;Wood, Umbreit, Liaupsin, & Gresham, 2007).…”

“…The consultant and the teacher problem-solve ways in which treatment integrity can be improved, and praise is provided for all components of the intervention that were implemented correctly . To illustrate, Witt et al (1997), Noell et al (1997), and Jones et al (1997) compared daily performance feedback to a more traditional model of classroom consultation. Traditional consultation (didactic instruction and provision of rationale for intervention) was ineffective in maintaining teacher implementation of individualized interventions.…”

“…To respond to this concern, much research has focused on the effects of continued performance feedback on teachers' treatment implementation (Gilbertson, Witt, Singletary, & VanDerHeyden, 2007;Jones et al, 1997;Noell, Duhon, et al, 2002;Noell, Witt, Gilbertson, Ranier, & Freeland, 1997;Noell et al, 2000Noell et al, , 2005. In a performance feedback model, consultants collect treatment integrity data through direct observation or permanent product recording and meet with the teacher to share data on treatment integrity and student behavior.…”

Conjoint behavioral consultation: An emerging and effective model for developing home-school partnerships.

“…A performance review was then completed and social praise provided for accurate implementation of the intervention plan across settings. The primary objective of the CTMI was to facilitate consultees' cooperation by providing direct support and performance feedback, thus minimizing resistance and increasing the strength of the intervention plan (Butler, Weaver, Doggett, & Watson, 2002;Jones, Wickstrom & Friman, 1997;Noell, Duhon, Gatti, & Connell, 2002).…”

Teacher motivation as an enhancement to the first step to success early intervention program for children with tertiary level behavioral challenges.

“…Commonly associated with performance feedback are frequent consultation meetings (Jones, Wickstrom, & Friman, 1997;Noell, et aI., 2005). Reinke, Lewis-Palmer, and Martin (2007) evaluated the effects of daily visual representations of objective databased information without frequent consultations on a sample of teachers (n = 3) whose targeted behavior was the increased use of behavior-specific praise.…”