Digital Commons Network^™

Teacher Self-Efficacy And Teaching Experience, Nicholas Daniel Hafner

Masters Theses

Teacher self-efficacy significantly impacts student learning in a variety of ways. High levels of teacher self-efficacy can lead to improved student outcomes and act as a protective factor for multiple stressors. The present study investigated the associations between teachers’ years of experience and their hours of professional development concerning a teacher’s overall self-efficacy and its three domains: student engagement, instructional strategies, and classroom management. It was hypothesized that years of experience and hours of professional development would predict overall self-efficacy and its three domains. A survey was utilized to gather demographic, experience, and self-efficacy information. A total of 194 teachers …

For The Love Of Teaching: Pre-Service Teachers’ Experience Of Moral Education, Anne Marie Foley Ruiz

Doctoral Dissertations

Moral aspects of teaching arise each and every day, yet we lack information about how prepared teachers feel about this critical aspect of teaching. This multi-case study explores perceptions of five pre-service teachers in an elementary teacher education program in Western Massachusetts. A series of interviews explore their histories prior to the program and their experiences in the program as related to the pre-service teachers’ orientations to the moral work of teaching. Research questions address the awareness and self-efficacy of student teachers in implementing the moral aspects of teaching. Using Thematic Analysis (Braun & Clark, 2006), this study explores beliefs …

Implementing The Color Wheel System To Improve Individual Student Behavior And Reduce Repeated Teacher Directions, Jade Bennett

Doctoral Dissertations

Researchers have demonstrated the Color Wheel System (CWS) to be a resource-efficient and effective classroom management system within various contexts; however, there is limited research examining the impact of the CWS on teacher behavior (i.e., reducing repeated teacher directions) and individual student in-seat behavior. Using a withdrawal (ABAB) design, the purpose of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of the CWS in decreasing repeated teacher directions and increasing student in-seat behavior. Momentary time sampling was used to record individual student in-seat behavior. Frequency recording over a 20-min time interval was used to record repeated teacher directions and frequencies were …

Evaluation Of A Classroom Management Video Training Package, Avner Fraidlin

Dissertations

To address the concerning implications of inadequate teacher preparation and training in using classroom management, the literature highlights several steps training programs can take. Namely, this includes supplementing training curricula with dedicated courses on evidence-based classroom management practices and providing teachers with performance feedback following guided practice opportunities (Stevenson et al.,2020). Videos which have been used as an instructional tool in teacher education for several decades (Ciani et al., 2021; van Es & Sherin, 2006), have been incorporated as a component in classroom management teacher trainings with positive outcomes (Wilkinson et al., 2020), and feedback has been established as an …

Social Validity And Feasibility Of The Five In 20 Classroom Management Observation Tool, Kaylee Hampton

Masters Theses

The present study aimed to assess the social validity and feasibility of a standardized classroom observation tool intended to assess teachers’ current use of the five features critical to effective classroom management. Forty-three observers who regularly conducted classroom observations (e.g., school psychologists) were recruited to complete 20-min observations in kindergarten through twelfth grade classrooms, and then complete an adapted behavior intervention rating scale to assess their social validity ratings of the tool. Due to COVID-19, observers could either complete a live observation or recall a previously completed observation. Of the 43 observations, 15 were live and 28 were recalled. To …

Assessing Teachers' Need For Classroom Management Training: Can Consultants Link Data To Evidence-Based Practices?, Jessica White

Masters Theses

The present study examined whether 53 observers could use the Five in 20 Observation Tool to accurately identify teachers needing additional classroom management training. The Five in 20 Classroom Observation Tool includes 21, evidence-based classroom management strategies, critical to effective classroom management. Fifty-three observers were recruited to complete 42 (42 primary observers and 11 reliability observers), 20-minute observations using the Five in 20 Tool. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, 29 observers participated in the recalled format and 24 participated in the live version. There was a statistically significant difference between observers who indicated fewer, or lower quality evidence-based strategies were …

Using A Behavioral Skills Training Model For Instructing Educators In Functional Assessment And Intervention Procedures In The Classroom Setting, Lorne Thomas Balmer

Theses and Dissertations

Educators often manage behavior through suppression rather than working to address the root cause of problematic behavior in the classroom. The Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act of 2004 mandates the use of functional assessment for students with varying exceptionalities to ensure students are educated in the least restrictive environment. However, functional assessment is an evidence-based strategy that could be employed by all teachers to enhance classroom management practices universally. Behavioral skills training is a research-validated approach that is often used to train professionals on a number of skills.

The present study investigated the use of a behavioral skills training …

Five In 20: An Exploratory Study To Develop And Pilot An Observation Tool Used To Assess The Five Features Critical To Effective Classroom Management, Alexandria Cardot

Masters Theses

The present study aimed to develop and pilot a standardized classroom observation tool intended to assess teachers’ current use of the five features critical to effective classroom management. Thirty-nine observers who regularly conducted classroom observations (e.g., school psychologists) were recruited to complete 39, 20-min observations in kindergarten through twelfth grade classrooms. Due to COVID-19, observers could either complete a live observation or think of a previously completed observation. Of the 39 observations, 13 were live and 26 were recalled. To complete the observation, observers indicated whether the teacher was observed to use each of the 21 evidence-based strategies and if …

Evaluating The Effects Of Behavior Bingo On Students' Academically Engaged Behaviors, Kristi White

Dissertations

This study sought to extend the current literature regarding the use of an interdependent group contingency intervention (i.e., Behavior Bingo) for increasing students’ academically engaged behavior and decreasing students’ disruptive behaviors. Participants included three 6th grade Science teachers and their students. An ABAB design across classrooms was used to examine the effects of the Behavior Bingo intervention on students’ behaviors. Specifically, this study consisted of four phases: a) baseline, b) behavior Bingo intervention, c) withdrawal from intervention, and d) intervention reinstated. Results indicated increases in student’s academically engaged behaviors following implementation of the Behavior Bingo intervention with moderate to large …

General Education Teachers' Self-Reported Response To Overt Student Problem Behavior In The Classroom, Ingrid Lewis Shurtleff

Theses and Dissertations

The need for teachers to respond effectively to student problem behaviors is vital for positive student outcomes. This study examined how general education teachers respond to different problem behaviors, what variables possibly predict those responses, and if dealing with problem behaviors plays a possible role in teacher attrition. Results were reported using descriptive and statistical analyses. Three-hundred sixty-three elementary and secondary teachers in five school districts were invited to participate in a survey. Findings indicate that teachers primarily use individually directed responses to problem behaviors and the responses had little differentiation according to intensity of behavior. The data revealed some …

Achieving Positive Mental Health And Academic Achievement For Students With Behavioral And Emotional Issues In Elementary School, Reynalda Fuentes

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

Elementary students, their peers, and teachers today are being affected by emotional and behavioral issues that some students struggle with at school. In order to understand why it is affecting their academic achievement and mental health, this report answers the following research questions to investigate how these problems affect schools, classrooms, and teachers, as well as what appears to be contributing factors to this problem, and what are some of the solutions. In review of the literature on preventions and interventions placed at elementary schools the research shows that frameworks such as The Multi-tiered System of Supports, and the incorporation …

Middle School And High School Educators’ Knowledge And Acceptability Of Praise, Zachary Yehling

Masters Theses

Praise is a simple strategy, that when used correctly reduces student inappropriate behavior. Furthermore, praise is a key strategy used within the School-wide Positive Behavior Intervention Supports (SWPBIS) framework. All staff are expected to participate in SWPBIS and therefore, it is important for staff to know how use praise effectively. However, few studies have examined educators’ knowledge of effective praise use. In the current study, 201 educators completed the Praise Knowledge Assessment of Teachers and Educators (PKATE) and the Behavior Intervention Rating System for Praise (BIRS-P). The PKATE was created by the author to assess educators’ knowledge of effective praise …

Teacher Perceptions About Teaching Students With Executive Function Deficits, Susan Lynn Dunlap

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The problem that prompted this study was that kindergarten through 5th grade teachers were struggling to find appropriate interventions to support the rising number of students exhibiting executive function deficiencies (EFD). The purpose of this qualitative study was to investigate the experiences and perceptions of local elementary teachers about students with EFD, about instructional strategies used to help focus EFD students, and about teachers’ professional needs to work effectively with EFD students. Diamond’s core characteristics of EFD served as the conceptual framework guiding this study. The research questions focused on teachers’ experiences and perceptions of strategies used for students with …

Evaluating Use And Preference For Performance Feedback To Teach Instructional Strategies, Natalie Jones Shuler

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

Written and graphical feedback may be useful tools for supporting instructors because they require fewer scheduled meetings and provide instructors with permanent performance records. Although written and graphical feedback have been effective at improving some skills (e.g., use of praise), little is known about efficacy across a wider array of skills or about teacher preferences for these feedback types. Study 1 evaluated use of written and graphical feedback to increase opportunities to respond (OTRs) provided by three instructors of equine-assisted activities and therapies. Feedback increased OTRs for all three instructors. Additionally, all instructors showed untaught increases in praise when receiving …

The Effects Of Peer Observation On Teacher Intervention Integrity, Garrett D. Warrilow

Dissertations

The observer effect is a term used to describe a process during which an observer's behavior changes as they measure the behavior of another individual. The observer effect has been widely studied in organizational behavior management but has limited research with teachers in schools. The current study sought to use the observer effect as part of a teacher training package by evaluating the effects of peer observations on an observing teacher's implementation integrity of components of a Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS) system. Participants were four middle school teachers of students in general education classrooms. The primary dependent variables …

Self-Management As A Class-Wide Intervention: An Evaluation Of The “Self & Match” System Embedded Within A Dependent Group Contingency, Andrew J. Bulla

Dissertations

The U.S. Department of Education (2015) indicated that about 95% of students with special education eligibility receive some form of education in the general education setting. Students with disabilities tend to engage in more disruptive behaviors than their non-disabled peers (e.g., Murphy, Beadle-Brown, Wing, Gould, Shah, & Homes, 2005). If teachers are spending more time managing disruptive behaviors, time allocated to instruction is lost. Self-management is one evidence-based intervention that has shown consistent effects on increasing on-task behavior and decreasing disruptive behaviors. Although feasible at the individual level, previous research has identified that class-wide self-management interventions may be efficacious but …

An Analysis Of General Education Teachers' Use Of Diverse Praise, Shelby L. Beschta

Masters Theses

Teacher praise is a strategy that effectively reduces student disruptive and off-task behavior. Although teacher praise has been studied for more than five decades, most research has looked at general and behavior specific praise. There may be other aspects of praise, beyond specificity, that could inform consultation. Examining teachers' diverse use of praise may inform how to maximize this strategy and improve upon teacher training. The purpose of this study was to determine whether teachers' diverse use of praise could be measured. Once it was determined, the data were analyzed to determine how many diverse praise categories teachers used on …

Conceptualizing The Mindful Teacher: Examining Evidence For Mindfulness Skills In Teachers' Classroom Speech And Behavior, Cynthia Lynn Taylor

Dissertations and Theses

Mindfulness-based interventions can improve teachers' capacities for attention and emotion regulation, as well as their prosocial dispositions like compassion and forgiveness. The purpose of this set of research studies (including three case studies and a larger non-randomized treatment -- control group quasi-experimental study) was to examine whether or not capacities like these, learned through participation in a mindfulness training (MT) program for teachers, become embodied and show through as changes in teachers' mindful behavior in the classroom -- specifically, their ability to be calm, clear-minded and kind-hearted in their speech and behavior with students in the classroom. These studies used …

The Tootling Intervention With Classdojo: Effects On Classwide Disruptive Behavior And Academically Engaged Behavior In An Upper Elementary School Setting, Melissa Mchugh Dillon

Dissertations

The current study was designed to replicate and extend the literature on the effectiveness of a classroom intervention known as Tootling (Skinner, Skinner, & Cashwell, 1998) to include an interactive technological component, ClassDojo, to decrease disruptive classroom behavior as well as increase academically engaged behavior. Tootling is a peer-monitoring intervention that encourages students to report instances of appropriate behaviors they have seen their peers perform. Thus far, studies utilizing direct observation data to measure disruptive behavior during Tootling (Cihak, Kirk, & Boon, 2009; Lambert, 2014, Lambert el al., 2015, Lum et al., 2015; McHugh et al., 2014) have shown reductions …

Effects Of Various Seating Arrangements On Disruptive Classroom Behavior, Natalie Marie Robichaux

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Both class-wide behavioral interventions and antecedent strategies are commonly used to target disruptive behavior problems and improve classroom management. Typically, antecedent strategies precede behavioral interventions due to their proactive nature. Antecedent strategies, such as altering the classroom seating arrangement, may be more desirable to teachers than behavior interventions due to their simplicity and ability to be easily incorporated into existing routines. Past research, though limited, has demonstrated that row and column seating arrangements are associated with lower disruptions during independent work activities compared to group seating arrangements. In the first study, a multi-element design was used to compare rates of …

Generalization And Maintenance Of High School Teachers' Use Of Behavior Specific Praise Following Direct Behavioral Consultation In Classrooms, Traci Ann Taber

Dissertations

This study tested the efficacy of in situ direct training on increasing high school teachers’ use of behavior specific praise in the classroom. Of further interest was the extent to which training led to teachers’ maintained praise and generalized praise use in untrained classes. Students’ disruptive behaviors were measured concurrently to test the relationship between increased praise use and decreases in students’ inappropriate behavior in the classroom. Increasing the frequency of teachers’ use of praise statements with students for engaging in appropriate behavior has shown subsequent reduction in the occurrence of classroom disruptions resulting in less time that a teacher …

A Detailed Analysis Of Coaching In Teacher-Child Interaction Training (Tcit), Krystal M. Studivant

Dissertations, 2014-2019

Teacher-Child Interaction Training (TCIT) is a school-based prevention program in which teachers are taught to use basic principles of behavior modification in the classroom to prevent and reduce problem behaviors in young children. A key aspect of the effectiveness of TCIT is the in-vivo coaching, which allows for immediate feedback during the natural flow of teaching activities with children. The purpose of the current study is two-fold: a) to support the research on the effectiveness of the DePaul TCIT method in preschool classrooms and b) to analyze the content and quality of coaching statements. The intervention was introduced sequentially within …

My Classroom Management Plan: The First Two Weeks Of School, Hannah Burkhart

Honors Projects

As a pre-service teacher in one of the best teacher preparatory programs in the country, I learned many of the theories behind classroom management and discipline. After spending time during student teaching in my own classroom, however, I needed a more immediately useful solution than theory could provide. After investigating varied classroom management approaches and styles, I discovered the work of Harry and Rosemary Wong who inspired the creation of my own classroom management plan: a step-by-step guide of best practices and approaches to respond to daily issues and routines in the classroom. While I have heard that “the best …

Teacher Child Interaction Training (Tcit) Creates A Positive Classroom Environment: Improving Attachment And Management Of Child Behavior Problems, Kara Devers

Dissertations, 2014-2019

By improving the quality of early teacher-child relationships, a child may improve his socio-emotional competence and decrease problem behaviors. Teacher Child Interaction Training (TCIT), adapted from Parent Child Interaction Therapy (PCIT), is a school-based prevention program in which teachers are taught to use the principles of learning and behavior management in the classroom to enhance positive interactions and attachment, and to prevent and reduce problem behaviors in young children. In the present study, changes in teacher and child behavior were experimentally analyzed within a multiple-baseline design across two classrooms with five teachers and thirty nine preschool children. Teacher and child …

A Comparison Of The Effectiveness Of A Token Economy System, A Response Cost Condition, And A Combination Condition In Reducing Problem Behaviors And Increasing Student Academic Engagement And Performance In Two First Grade Classrooms, Britta Leigh Fiksdal

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

Previous research has shown that token economy systems and response cost procedures are effective in reducing disruptive behaviors in classrooms and increasing academic engagement. Few studies have compared the effectiveness of combining these two classroom management techniques, examined academic performance, and directly observed academic engaged time. The current study compared the effectiveness of four conditions: baseline, response cost procedure, token economy system, and a combination condition among two, first grade classrooms in a small town in central Wisconsin using direct observation and permanent product of a three question quiz. Behaviors assessed included problem behaviors in the classroom, academic engaged time, …

Applied Behavioral Self-Control Intevention For Impulsive Preschoolers, Kimberlee J. Zetocha

Theses and Dissertations

The present study evaluated the effectiveness of a 12 week school-based behavioral intervention with preschoolers age 4 to 5 with self-control problems. Teachers were trained to use instruction, modeling, rehearsal, and role-playing to increase the children's self-control. Children were taught self-monitoring, self-verbalization, the use of production cues, and self-control skills during one on one training. The classroom intervention consisted of weekly educational sessions on the proper classroom behaviors that are indicative of good self-control. The treatment program aimed to improve the child's self-control skills and to decrease impulsive behaviors. It was also intended to train self-control skills to children so …

An Examination Of The Good Behavior Game And Behavior Specific Praise Statements On Student And Teacher Behavior, Robert Allen Wright

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

This study directly compares two interdependent group oriented contingency strategies, the GBG and the GBG with a behavior specific praise statement (BSPS) component (i.e., GBG+BSPS) to examine the relative effectiveness of each as a tool for class-wide behavior management, to inspect the effect on teacher interactions with students, and to assess the relative teacher and student acceptability of both games. The Good Behavior Game has been identified as an evidence-based intervention to manage class-wide behavior difficulties, but recently has been criticized for not being proactive in teaching appropriate classroom behavior. The relative effectiveness and acceptability of each game as a …

Decreasing Inappropriate Classroom Behaviours Through A Videotape Self-Modelling And Self-Monitoring Treatment Package, Catherine Ann Coyle

Theses : Honours

Children with autism frequently display an inability to function independently. This has led researchers to develop treatments that are aimed at overcoming the dependency of these children on parents and teachers and which teach them to manage their own behaviour. A self-management treatment package consisting of videotaped self-modelling, self-monitoring, and self-reinforcement was investigated in the present study. The focus was the effect of the treatment package on the inappropriate classroom behaviours of three children with autism. The behaviours that were chosen were those that were most likely to interfere with the participants' ability to work independently in the classroom. The …

A Three Step Strategy For Training A Beginning Teacher To Use Positive Social Reinforcement In The Classroom, Robert D. Morris

Master's Theses

The purpose of the study was to measure the effectiveness of a three-step strategy designed to modify a classroom teacher's consequating behavior. In Step 1, a group contingency game was introduced into the classroom to reduce talk-outs and out-of-seats. In Step 2, the game was supplemented by observer instructions and feedback to the teacher concerning her consequating behavior. The purpose of the feedback was to increase teacher approval for appropriate behavior and to decrease teacher disapproval for inappropriate behavior. In Step 3, the group contingency game was removed but the teacher continued to receive feedback on her consequating behavior. Therefore, …

The Effects Of Live Modeling And Specificity Of Verbal Reinforcement On The Modification Of Classroom Behavior, James Joseph Fox Iii

Master's Theses

This study attempted to increase the frequency of student on-task behavior in two. third grade classrooms. using live modeling and vicarious reinforcement. In a multiple baseline-counterbalanced treatments design two classrooms of students were exposed to live, peer modeling displays of on-task behavior. In one class­ room the teacher praised the model, using behaviorally specific praise while the second classroom teacher used non-specific praise. Praise conditions were later reversed. It was hypothesized that after exposure to the modeling display s a) the frequency of on-task behavior would be increased over baseline levels to a pre-determined treatment outcome , b) behaviorally specific …