Project Activities
The research team will collect direct observation data on a variety of adult interactive behaviors (including positive/supportive and negative/restrictive practices) during intensive intervention sessions with students with or at high risk of EBD. They will explore associations between these practices and (a) behavioral indicators of student access to the intervention, (b) perceived relationship quality between the interventionist and student, and (c) changes in student classroom performance. In the final year, the team will use single-case design to evaluate the effects of relationship-building practices on active engagement and challenging behavior.
Structured Abstract
Setting
The research will occur in public elementary schools in Tennessee.
Sample
Approximately 80 students and their interventionists and classroom teachers will participate in the project. Students will be in grades 1–5, will have or be at high risk for developing EBD, and will be receiving at least 30 minutes per week of intensive, one-to-one intervention in academic, social/emotional, or behavioral domains.
Factors
The malleable, educator-level factors of interest in this project are 12 adult interactive behaviors with the potential to impact interventionist–student relationship quality and student engagement in one-to-one instruction and intervention. The adult interactive behaviors include positive/supportive practices (praise/positive feedback, offering choices, responding to wants and needs, labeling or otherwise acknowledging feelings, showing interest, and positive regard) and negative/restrictive practices (reprimands, blocking/restraining movement, ignoring/denying requests, denying or otherwise invalidating feelings, non-instructional manual guidance, and negative talk).
Research design and methods
There are two primary studies in this research project. Study 1 will be a descriptive, observational group design that spans the first few years of the project. Approximately 25 student–interventionist dyads will be recruited per academic year on a rolling basis. The research team will video record and code a series of four 20-minute intervention sessions per dyad within a 4- to 6-week period, collecting data on adult interactive and student behaviors during intervention, student–interventionist relationship quality, student–teacher relationship quality, and classroom academic performance. The data from study 1 will be used to evaluate which (and to what extent) adult interactive behaviors predict (a) behavioral indicators of student access to intervention, (b) perceived relationship quality between the interventionist and student, and (c) changes in student performance in the classroom. For study 2, in the final year of the project, the research team will use a multiple baseline, across participants, single-case design to evaluate whether embedding relationship-building practices in intensive intervention sessions increases student engagement and decreases challenging behavior.
Control condition
Due to the nature of this research, there is no control condition.
Key measures
The research team will use systematic, direct observation methods to measure adult interactive behaviors (positive/supportive and negative/restrictive practices), instructional opportunities, and student behaviors (active engagement, challenging behavior) during intervention sessions. To measure interventionist and teacher perception of relationship quality with the student, the team will use the Student Teacher Relationship Scale and the Classroom Working Alliance Inventory (CWAI). The CWAI will also be used to measure student perception of relationship quality with their interventionist and teacher. Student academic engagement will be measured using Direct Behavior Ratings, and student academic performance and social skills will be assessed using the Classroom Performance Survey–Elementary.
Data analytic strategy
For study 1, the research team will use sequential analysis techniques to identify which positive/supportive and negative/restrictive practices impact the momentary likelihood of student active engagement and challenging behavior during intervention sessions. They will use regression analyses to evaluate which practices predict behavioral indicators of student intervention access, perceptions of relationship quality, and changes in academic performance in the classroom. For the single-case design study, they will use visual analysis to evaluate threats to internal validity and determine whether there is a functional relation between relationship-building practices and levels of student engagement, active participation, and challenging behavior during intensive intervention sessions.
Products and publications
Products: The products of this project will include preliminary evidence of associations between specific positive/supportive and negative/restrictive practices and student outcomes, new hypotheses about how to maximize instruction and intervention time by incorporating relationship-building practices, and reliability and validity data on an observational coding manual used to measure adult interactive behaviors. The project will also result in a final dataset to be shared, peer-reviewed publications and presentations, and additional dissemination products that reach education stakeholders such as practitioners and policymakers.
ERIC Citations: Find available citations in ERIC for this award here.
Supplemental information
Co-Principal Investigators: Granger, Kristen; Hemmeter, Mary Louise
Questions about this project?
To answer additional questions about this project or provide feedback, please contact the program officer.