Teachers Learn How to Handle Behavior Problems Through Video Training Program

MU researchers awarded a $2.9 million grant from the U.S. Department of Education to evaluate program

April 6th, 2010

COLUMBIA, Mo. –Behavior problems in the classroom can interfere with instruction, child development and academic achievement. Yet, many teachers do not have the training they need to deal with behavior problems. Now, University of Missouri researchers will use a $2.9 million grant from the U.S. Department of Education’s Institute of Education Sciences (IES) to evaluate the effectiveness of a video training program designed to help teachers understand and react effectively to behavior issues.

“Although much is known about effective classroom behavior management strategies, many teachers are not adequately trained to deal with behavior problems in the classroom,” said Wendy Reinke, assistant professor in the Department of Educational, School and Counseling Psychology in the MU College of Education. “Many teachers have reported that student behavior is becoming more challenging, and more students with disabilities are integrated into regular classroom settings. Lack of training in classroom management is one of the biggest reasons teachers decide to leave the profession.”

MU researchers will evaluate the “Incredible Years” program that uses brief vignettes of actual teacher-child interactions to demonstrate how to manage classroom disturbances. Teachers are given an opportunity to role-play similar scenarios and to give and discuss effective classroom practices. The program promotes teachers’ knowledge and use of good classroom management practices, including effective praise, proactive teaching strategies, consistent consequences and effective reprimands.

For the project, MU researchers will examine 100 classrooms in 20 elementary schools in a large urban school district near St. Louis. They will split the classroom teachers into two groups. One group of teachers will be introduced to the Incredible Years program. The other group of teachers will continue the current training program offered by the school district.

The researchers will observe the classrooms and measure academic achievement, disruptive behaviors and prosocial behaviors, such as teachers’ ratings, to determine if there is a difference between the group that received the intervention and the group that didn’t. If the program makes a difference in classroom performance, part of the money will be awarded to expand and continue the program. Reinke hopes to sustain the program in the district by training teachers who can then share the information with colleagues.

“This unique approach for training classroom management skills hasn’t been tested as a stand-alone intervention,” Reinke said. “The grant will allow us to better understand how well the Incredible Years program works, and give school districts the opportunity to implement the program and improve student learning.”

Reinke, along with Keith Herman and Melissa Stormont, associate professors in the Department of Educational, School and Counseling Psychology, were awarded the grant, which is one of the largest research grants in the history of the MU College of Education. It also is the first grant ever awarded to a professor at MU from the IES under the Efficacy and Replication category of awards.

Carolyn Webster-Stratton, a professor at the University of Washington, developed the Incredible Years Series, which includes teacher, parent and child programs. The American Psychological Association Division 12 Task force has identified the IY Series as an effective treatment for children with conduct problems.