UC Riverside

Effective classroom management (CM) is critical to promoting student success, as there is a clear connection between teacher CM practices and student academic, social, and behavioral outcomes. Research demonstrates that children spend more time academically engaged, progress more rapidly, and have higher levels of academic achievement when they are in a well-managed classroom. Despite the importance of CM and its influence on student outcomes, pre- and in-service training in this area appears lacking. To address this issue, some scholars have proposed the use of a data-driven, multi-tiered approach to support educational service delivery, including professional development (PD) activities designed to promote use of effective CM practices. However, in current, applied practices, PD opportunities fall largely at two ends of the spectrum of time, energy, and resources required. The goal of the present study was to explore the utility of a moderately intensive, Tier II level, PD approach within a multitiered system of educator support (MTSES) framework. A combined multiple baseline, ABC single case design across participants was used to evaluate the effects of two, PD approaches, performance feedback (PF) and performance feedback with self-monitoring (PF+SM), on the CM practices of four volunteer participants. Classroom management was measured through daily 20-minute observations using the Direct Behavior Rating- Classroom Management (DBR-CM). During the first intervention phase, participants received brief verbal and visual performance feedback before each observation period and during the second intervention phase, a self-monitoring component was added to these procedures. Results of visual and empirical analyses indicated that the PF only intervention was effective in increasing teachers use of evidence-based CM practices as measured by DBR-CM total score. Slight improvements in CM practices from the first intervention to the second intervention (PF + SM) were observed for individual participants but no effect of this intervention was demonstrated. Several important limitations and suggestions for future research are discussed.