Effects of Performance Feedback on Treatment Integrity of a Class-Wide Level System for Secondary Students With Emotional Disturbance

Abstract

Traditional professional development for teachers seldom results in program implementation with high fidelity or improved student outcomes. In this study, we evaluated the effects of performance feedback on the implementation of a class-wide, behavioral level system in four self-contained, secondary classrooms for students identified with emotional disturbance. Using a multiple-baseline across-participants design, we examined the effects of performance feedback on the treatment integrity of the level system, along with changes in student engagement and student disruptive behavior. Results indicated a clear functional relation between performance feedback and teachers’ treatment integrity, with less of a relation observed between performance feedback and students’ academic engagement or disruptive behaviors. Implications of these findings are discussed within the context of effective behavioral interventions for students with significant behavioral challenges.

A Priori Justification for Effect Measures in Single-Case Experimental Designs

“…Specifically, Type I error rates (i.e., false positives) and statistical power (i.e., true positives) are commonly assessed (e.g., Borckardt et al, 2008;Declercq et al, 2019;Levin et al, 2018;. An example in applied literature of an effect measure being used because it does not demonstrate a ceiling effect can be seen in Ginns and Begeny (2019).…”

Special Educators’ Experiences of Interpersonal Interactions While Serving Students With Emotional/Behavioral Disorders

“…Results also have implications for research on improving services for students with EBD. Scholars often recommend providing SETs PD, and researchers have tested PD strategies for SETs serving students with EBD (e.g., Ginns & Begeny, 2019). Because SETs rely on others to enact effective practices, there is also a need to understand whether providing PD to a broader audience might be more effective than PD to SETs alone, and whether PD may be more effective when offered with improved support for coordination with others.…”