Date of Completion

5-10-2013

Embargo Period

5-10-2013

Keywords

Teacher-Directed Opportunities to Respond, Classroom Management, MTSS, Teacher Professional Development, Teacher Behavior, Student Behavior

Major Advisor

Brandi Simonsen

Associate Advisor

George Sugai

Associate Advisor

Michael Coyne

Field of Study

Special Education

Degree

Doctor of Philosophy

Open Access

Open Access

Abstract

This dissertation aimed to explore the effects of a targeted professional development package within the context of a multi-tiered system of support (MTSS) model for professional development (PD) on teachers’ rates of presentation of opportunities to respond during teacher-directed phonics instruction. Research indicates that increased presentation of teacher-directed opportunities to respond (TD-OTR), an evidence-based classroom management strategy with demonstrated positive impacts on student academic and behavioral outcomes, may be one of the most critical classroom management practices available to teachers. I aimed to use an experimental single subject multiple baseline design across teachers, to examine the effects of a targeted professional development package (including self-management package and performance feedback) on increasing teachers’ presentation of TD-OTRs and the resulting impacts of teacher behavior change on student academic and behavioral outcomes. Due to teachers’ positive response to universal intervention, a functional relation between targeted PD and teacher behavior was not documented (i.e., experimental control was not achieved). Therefore, within this dissertation, I present five case studies. These case studies detail the increases in teachers’ rates of presentation of TD-OTRs when the universal and, for one teacher, targeted PD was implemented and present outcomes for students’ academic and social behavior. Results indicate that providing classroom management PD within an MTSS framework may be an effective strategy for increasing teachers’ rates of presentation of TD-OTRs. In addition, 3 low-risk and 3 moderate/high-risk students within each classroom demonstrated sustained or increased academic engagement and decreased disruptive behavior as teachers increased their rates of TD-OTR presentation. However, measures of students’ oral reading fluency did not indicate growth during the intervention phase. Implications for policy makers, practitioners, and researchers are discussed in detail.

Download

Share

COinS