Using active supervision and precorrection to improve transition behaviors in an elementary school.

Abstract

Schools often identify settings in which transitions occur, such as hallways and cafeteria, as major problem behavior areas. School psychologists may be called on to assist in bringing problem behaviors during transitions under control as a consulting resource for general education, or as a form of behavioral support for students with behavior problems in special education. This study was designed to investigate the effect of a school-wide intervention plan, consisting of precorrection and active supervision strategies, on the social behavior of elementary students in major transition settings. Three transition settings were targeted in an elementary school: (a) entering the school building, (b) moving to the cafeteria for lunch, and (c) exiting the school building. A multiple baseline design across the three transition settings was used. An analysis of baseline data indicated high rates of student problem behavior, especially running, hitting, and yelling, and low rates of precorrection and active supervision behaviors by staff. Results showed increases in precorrection and active supervision behaviors by staff with concomitant, substantial reductions in student problem behavior. Details of the methodology and results, and practical implications and directions for future research are described and discussed.The need for school psychologists to assist in the development and evaluation of school-wide behavior support systems is derived from two concerns. First, consistent with their traditional role as consulting resources for special educators, school psychologists consult with educators regarding the behavioral supports necessary to improve the participation of students with social, emotional, or behavioral

Multilevel models for multiple-baseline data: modeling across-participant variation in autocorrelation and residual variance

“…In addition, we focused on a relatively simple multilevel model, which was appropriate for applications involving multiple baselines across participants when there was a continuous outcome and linear trends within phases. Multilevel modeling has been extended for applications with multiple baselines across settings and behaviors (Beretvas & Chung, 2010;Colvin, Sugai, Good, & Lee, 1997), as well as for noncontinuous outcomes, like count data (Beretvas & Wang, 2011;Shadish & Rindskopf, 2007;Shadish et al, 2008), and for nonlinear trends within phases (Beretvas, 2011;Shadish & Rindskopf, 2007;Shadish et al, 2008). The theoretical rationale proposed here still holds for these more complex applications.…”

A Brief Intervention to Increase the use of Precorrection and Praise by Elementary School Teachers

“…Researchers have used precorrection interventions to improve the behavior of individuals (Crockett & Hegelian, 2006), student pairs (Miao, et al,2002), small groups of students (Stormont et al, 2007), entire classes (De Pry & Sugai, 2002;Faul et al, 2012;Flood et al, 2002;Gena, 2006;Simonsen et al, 2010), and schools (Colvin et al, 1997;. Researchers have used precorrection to reduce problem behavior, reduce selfinjurious behavior (Crockett & Hegelian, 2006), increase engagement (Faul et al, 2002;Flood et al, 2002;Miao, et al, 2002), and improve reading scores (Miao et al 2002).…”

“…Initially Colvin et al (1997) and then Lewis et al (2000) used multiple baseline research to measure the behavior of students in common areas. Later, De Pry and Sugai (2002) and then Miao et al (2002) used a multiple baseline research design to measure the impact of precorrection on students in classroom and small group settings.…”

“…Precorrection has often been described as a form of behavioral prompting (Colvin et al, 1997;Lewis, Colvin, & Sugai, 2000). Recent researchers have come to use the terms precorrection and prompting as largely interchangeable terms (Faul et al, 2012;Simonsen, Myers & DeLuca 2010;Stormont et al, 2007).…”

A Brief Intervention to Increase the use of Precorrection and Praise by Elementary School Teachers

“…Colvin, Sugai, Good and Lee (1997) first used precorrection to improve school-wide transitions. A brief, fifteen-minute staff training, with minimal follow up, was effective in reducing problem behavior at transitions throughout the school, traditionally one of the most problematic times of the day.…”