Using Performance Feedback and Reflective Goal-Setting to Increase 3 Positive Teaching Behaviors

Educational policymakers and researchers recognize the need for teachers to implement evidence-based practices and engage in ongoing professional development during their careers. Such efforts to effectively management classroom environments support stronger student outcomes (Oliver et al., 2011). However, many pre-service and in-service teachers report struggling with behavior management and addressing challenging student behaviors (Reinke et al., 2008; 2011).

To support educators, researchers have identified effective training procedures, often including performance feedback, for increasing teachers’ use of specific teaching behaviors. Positive teaching behaviors (PTBs), such as increasing classroom structure and teaching expectations promote student academic achievement, increases appropriate student behavior, and helps build positive relationships between teachers and students (MacSuga-Gage et al., 2012). Effective classroom management incorporates a collection of PTBs to promote appropriate behaviors (e.g., antecedent strategies) and reinforce desired behaviors (e.g., consequence strategies; Moore et al., 2017). Three effective, low-intensity strategies that help teachers prompt and build appropriate student behavior(s) are behavior-specific praise, opportunities to respond, and instructional commands/precorrections.

Meta-analyses establish PF as an evidence-based practice for increasing participants’ intervention fidelity and promoting behavior change with various education professionals (teachers, paraeducators, grade-level teams, etc.; Fallon et al., 2015). Allowing teachers to self-reflect on researcher-provided PF is a potentially effective strategy rarely included in PF research (Barton et al., 2011). Self-reflection describes “the ability of teachers to reflect upon practice in a critical way so as to actively improve current practice” (Watts & Lawson, 2009, p. 610, emphasis in original). Behaviorally, self-reflection equates to self-management, promoting teachers’ evaluation and modification of their own behavior (Simonsen et al., 2010).

I worked to change a teachers’ positive teaching behaviors (PTB) through a multi-component intervention plan (including in-person trainings, daily performance feedback emails, and the participants’ reflective goal-setting). A multiple-baseline across behaviors experimental design was used to hold non-target behaviors in baseline while intervening on a specific PTB. All lessons were video/audio recorded and coded in 20-minute segments.

During baseline, Leah (pseudonym) demonstrated almost no behavior-specific praise (BSP), moderate instructional commands/prompts (ICP), and many opportunities to respond (OTR). Leah demonstrated high variability across baseline for all behaviors, indicating intermittent and random use of the behaviors. Implementation of the intervention package led to significant level increases and celerations for all behaviors. A demonstration of stimulus control and an experimental effect was seen across all behaviors during intervention. Accelerations and smaller bounce envelopes (e.g., less variability) show that Leah demonstrated each PTB more frequently and consistently each week.

Leah used BSP and ICPs less often and decelerated their use over the duration of respective maintenance phases once the intervention was removed, but levels remained above baseline levels. The large bounce envelope and significant bounce change from intervention to maintenance show that Leah provided BSP less often and with greater variability. Interestingly, Leah continued to use OTRs more often and consistently after intervention withdrawal.

You can access the slides for this presentation at the 2019 Standard Celeration Conference HERE.

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