Shanna Eisner Hirsch

A Review of Tier 2 Interventions Conducted within Multitiered Models of Behavioral Prevention.

To support students’ academic, behavioral, and social needs, many schools have adopted multitiered models of prevention. Because Tier 3 interventions are costly in terms of time and resources, schools must find efficient and effective Tier 2 interventions prior to providing such intense supports. In this article, we review the literature base on Tier 2 interventions conducted within the context of multitiered prevention models evidencing a Tier 1 behavioral plan. Article selection and coding procedures are described and results are presented. Finally, we summarize our findings of four research questions, reflect on limitations, and offer suggestions for future inquiry.

Identifying Students for Secondary and Tertiary Prevention Efforts: How Do We Determine Which Students Have Tier 2 and Tier 3 Needs?

In comprehensive, integrated, three-tiered models, it is essential to have a systematic method for identifying students who need supports at Tier 2 or Tier 3. This article provides explicit information on how to use multiple sources of data to determine which students might benefit from these supports. First, the authors provide an overview of how to make an assessment schedule for all schoolwide data. Second, the authors outline how to create a blueprint for Tier 2 and Tier 3 supports in a given school, including a description of the strategy or practice; inclusionary criteria; data to monitor progress; and exit criteria. Last, the authors provide an overview of how to connect students to support and monitor their progress.

Progeny Review An Alternative Approach for Examining the Replication of Intervention Studies in Special Education

Despite the importance of replication for building an evidence base, there has been no formal examination to date of replication research in special education. In this review, we examined the extent and nature of replication of intervention research in special education using an “article progeny” approach and a three-pronged definition of replication (direct, conceptual, intervention overlap). In this approach, original articles (i.e., parent studies) were selected via a stratified, random sampling procedure. Next, we examined all articles that referenced the parent articles (i.e., child studies) to determine the extent and nature of the replication of the original studies. Seventy-five percent of the parent studies were replicated by at least one child study. Across all parent studies, there were 39 replication child studies. Although there was a high overall replication rate, there were a limited number of conceptual replications, and no direct replication studies were identified.

Using Content Acquisition Podcasts to Improve Teacher Candidate Knowledge of Curriculum-Based Measurement

Given the significant literature supporting the use of curriculum-based measurement (CBM) for data-based decision making, it is critical that teacher candidates learn about it prior to student teaching and entry into the field as full-time teachers. The authors of this study used a content acquisition podcast (CAP), a multimedia-based instructional tool, to deliver information regarding CBM to teacher candidates. A second set of students received a practitioner-friendly text containing the same content as the CAP. Participants from three universities (N = 270) were randomly assigned to condition and completed pretest, posttest, and maintenance probes of CBM knowledge and ability to apply skill. In addition, participants completed a measure of motivation during their instruction. Results showed that participants who learned using the CAP scored significantly higher on the knowledge and application measures and reported being more motivated during instruction than peers in the text-only condition. The authors discuss implications for teacher education instruction and future research.

Student Self-Graphing as a Strategy to Increase Teacher Effectiveness and Student Motivation.

M s. Wilson and Ms. Turner coteach third grade together. Their school is in its first year of implementing a comprehensive, integrated, three-tiered (CI3T) model of prevention to meet students’ academic, behavioral, and social needs. As part of their secondary intervention, Ms. Wilson and Ms. Turner have embedded timed, repeated reading to promote oral reading fluency in small guided reading groups for students who are identified as at risk. In an effort to track student progress, the schoolwide assessment team (SWAT) has asked teachers to collect curriculum-based measures (CBM) on reading fluency using Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills (DIBELS). The teachers have been tracking their students’ progress via an online database. This coteaching pair also has three students who were identified as moderate risk on a systematic behavior screening. These students participate in Check-in, Checkout (CICO). Each student begins and ends each day with a positive contact with Ms. Turner, the CICO mentor. She provides each student with positive feedback and a new CICO daily point card and makes sure he or she is ready for his or her day (i.e., brought all materials to school). At the end of the day, the students check out with Ms. Turner. At this time, Ms. Turner graphs the students’ daily progress by recording the number of points earned in a Microsoft Excel database. In addition, the teaching pair has one student in their classroom who does not initiate social interactions. They decided to implement a social skills self-monitoring intervention to promote conversation skills. With DIBELS data, the CICO daily point card, self-monitoring sheet, and ongoing academic assessments, there was a plethora of data that needed to be collected, entered, and analyzed. In addition, the teachers felt as though the students would benefit from seeing and understanding their performance data. Ms. Wilson and Ms. Turner believed that their students were ready to take ownership of their progress. They set out to find a strategy to help manage their data and improve their students’ academic, behavioral, and social skills performance. They came across student self-graphing in their research. They wondered if student self-graphing would alleviate some of their tasks and if it is an appropriate strategy for their students. If so, what types of graphing systems should they employ? Many teachers face challenges similar to those of Ms. Wilson and Ms. Turner in their classrooms. Managing and analyzing multiple forms of data can be overwhelming. Perplexed by additional responsibilities (e.g., preparing for and participating in high-stakes testing, developing longterm standards-based lessons, attending staff meetings, educational conferences, and school programs), teachers are serving an increasingly diverse group of learners within the general education setting, including students with emotional and behavioral disorders (EBD). Students with EBD are at risk for school failure because of behavior, motivation, and learning deficits, but research has indicated that the negative effects of EBD can be mitigated through proactive academic, behavioral, and social skills interventions (Kauffman & Landrum, 2009). Many schools across the country are adopting multitiered models to identify students for appropriate interventions and monitor their progress. In general, multi-tiered models provide a continuum of support based on student need, with the goal being early detection and intervention for struggling students. Ms. Wilson and Ms. Turner’s school has chosen to implement a CI3T model of prevention (Lane, Kalberg, & Menzies, 2009). The CI3T model combines the academic framework of response to intervention, the behavioral framework of schoolwide positive behavior supports, and an additional social skills element. A multi-tiered model such as CI3T is a practical way for schools to support students and allocate school resources. The model is composed of three tiers of intervention: (a) primary or universal support (Tier 1), (b) secondary or targeted group interventions (Tier 2), and (c) tertiary or specialized individual interventions (Tier 3). The SWAT team monitors the progress and outcomes of the primary plan using academic and behavioral data. They also help teachers identify students for more targeted supports such as a supplemental reading program (e.g., Stepping Stones to Literacy; Nelson, Cooper, & Gonzalez, 2004), a targeted behavioral intervention (e.g., CICO; Crone, Horner, & Hawken, 2010), or a social skills intervention (e.g., Social Skills Improvement System; Elliott & Gresham, 2007). Specific entry (e.g., two office discipline referrals within 3 weeks or scoring at moderate risk on the Student Risk Screening Scale (SRSS) (Drummond, 1994) and exit criteria (e.g., zero office referrals for 2 months or screening at low risk on the SRSS) are used to determine the students’ response to the intervention STUDENT SELF-GRAPHING

Improving Preservice Teachers' Knowledge and Application of Functional Behavioral Assessments Using Multimedia

Functional behavioral assessment (FBA) is an empirically supported intervention associated with decreasing problem behavior and increasing appropriate behavior. To date, few studies have examined multimedia approaches to FBA training. This paper provides the outcomes of a randomized controlled trial across three university sites and evaluates whether preservice teachers can learn the core features of the FBA process through short multimedia vignettes compared to a traditional method (i.e., in-person lecture with PowerPoint). Based on our previous research, we hypothesized that the multimedia group (n = 97) would outperform the traditional method group (n = 102). Results indicated statistically significant differences in FBA knowledge favoring the students who participated in the multimedia condition, F(1, 198) = 9.61, p = .002, d = 0.45. Findings are discussed along with implications for practice and subsequent research.

Using Content Acquisition Podcasts to Increase Student Knowledge and to Reduce Perceived Cognitive Load

The use of multimedia-driven instruction in college courses is an emerging practice designed to increase students’ knowledge. However, limited research has validated the effectiveness of using multimedia to teach students about functional behavioral assessments (FBAs). To test the effectiveness of a multimedia tool called Content Acquisition Podcasts (CAPs), this study utilized a pretest–posttest design across two groups of students. One group received instruction on FBAs in the form of a CAP, whereas the other group received a typical lecture (control comparison). Results revealed that members of the CAP group performed better on the posttest compared to the students who received the lecture when the pretest scores were controlled for previous knowledge. In addition, students in the CAP group had lower self-reported levels of cognitive load. Implications for the use of CAPs and future research are discussed.

Effects of an interdependent group contingency on engagement in physical education.

We examined whether a group contingency increased engagement during elementary school physical education sessions. The intervention employed procedures (explicit instruction, goal setting, and reinforcement) drawn from the first tier of classwide function-related intervention teams (CW-FIT; Wills et al., 2009). Results showed salutary increases in engagement that corresponded with the teachers implementation.

Three Student Engagement Strategies to Help Elementary Teachers Work Smarter, Not Harder, in Mathematics:

Many students with and/or at risk for emotional and behavioral disorders have academic deficits that affect their performance in mathematics. In addition, these students’ behavioral issues may interfere with their academic achievement. For these students, it makes sense for teachers to consider implementing research- and/or evidence-based practices that simultaneously promote mathematics fluency and increased academic engagement. The purpose of this article is to provide teachers with three instructional practices that we believe can easily be integrated into mathematics instruction. The practices are opportunities to respond, token economy, and self-monitoring.

Positive behavioral interventions and supports in pictures: Using videos to support schoolwide implementation

ABSTRACT Teaching expectations is an essential component of schoolwide positive behavioral interventions and supports (PBIS). Creating PBIS videos is a tool for teaching expectations and other targeted skills within a schoolwide PBIS framework. In this article, we offer the why, how, when, where, and what of producing/screening PBIS videos to effectively support schoolwide prevention efforts. Because effective videos (a) demonstrate the core PBIS principles and (b) meet technical video production standards, we offer a rubric for self-evaluating your own videos considering these two key elements. To support the use of PBIS videos, we also present a sample screening schedule and a tip sheet with questions to ask before, during, and after PBIS video production.