Staff Training

1. Staff Training Julia Mandelbaum Megan Duffy & Diana Zitelli

2. Outline • Didactic Training • Hands-on Training • Overview of Best Practices • Alpine Learning Group (ALG) • Princeton Child Development Institute (PCDI) • The Douglas Developmental Disabilities Center (DDDC) • Components of a Comprehensive Training Package

3. Didactic Training

4. Didactic Training • Instructional training provided to staff concerning the principles of applied behavior analysis (ABA) and effective procedures to teach students with autism • Provided through workshops or coursework • Conducted by qualified professionals in the field of ABA • Example of didactic lesson • http://www.behavior.org/autism/ (Lovaas, 1996; McClannan & Krantz, 2006; Stein, 1975)

5. Didactic Training in School Programs • Preservice Training - conducted by staff trainers or directors - occurs once a year, typically in August - usually 2 days to a week in duration - provides overview and history of applied behavior analysis (ABA) and principles of learning - teaches behavior analytic terminology - builds relationships between trainers and trainees - prerequisite to hands-on training (Bondy, 1996; McClannahan & Krantz, 2001;Meyer, Taylor, Cerino, Fisher, Moran, & Richard, 2006; Romanczyk, Lockshin, & Matey, 2001; Romanczyk, Lockshin, Matey, & Gillis, 2006; Quilitch, 1975; Stein, 1978)

6. Didactic Training in School Programs • Training Materials - consists of lectures and possible written examination of content in workshop format - may include manual of organization’s policies, readings of current research, slide presentations, role-plays, and videos (e.g., http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JT2-lHyn980) - hand-outs may be provided - tests on materials may be administered and a passing grade required (Lovaas, 1996; McClannahan & Krantz, 2006; Quilitch, 1975; Romanczyk et al., 2006; Wallace,M.D., Doney, J.K., Mintz-Resudek, C.M., & Tarbox, R.S.F., 2004)

7. Didactic Training in School Programs • Topics in Preservice Workshops - may include reinforcement, punishment, shaping, generalization, errorless teaching, incidental teaching, stimulus control, chaining, behavior contingencies, prompt and prompt fading - managing problem behavior - teaching procedures - overview of autism and developmental disabilities - arrangement of teaching environment - data collection (Lovass, 1996; Luiselli & St. Amand, 2005; McGee, Morrier, & Daly, 2001; Meyer et al., 2006; Sepler & Myers, 1978)

8. Didactic Training in School Programs • In-service Training/ Staff Meetings - review current research - expand behavior analytic terminology - follow-up to preservice training - discuss goals, program evaluation, analyze problems (Lovass, 1996; MClannahan & Krantz, 2001; Meyer et al., 2006)

9. Didactic Training in School Programs • Conferences - professional conferences in the areas of autism and ABA - cover recent developments in the field - may be required or encouraged by organization - Suggested Conferences: Center for Outreach & Services for the Autism Community (COSAC), Association for Behavior Analysis (ABA) International state chapter of ABA (Bondy, 1996; Handleman, Harris, Arnold, Cohen, & Gordon, 2006; Romanczyk et al., 2006)

10. Didactic Trainingin School Programs • Approved Courses in ABA - class in ABA and autism may be required by organization - courses should be approved by Behavior Analysis Certification Board (BACB) - passing grade in courses on principles of learning or ABA - Schools offering approved courses in ABA and autism Rutgers University – New Brunswick, NJ Caldwell College – Caldwell, NJ Queens College – New York, NY University of South Florida – Tampa, FL (Bondy, 1996; Handelman et al., 2006; Smith, Donahoe, & Davis, 2001)

11. Didactic Training in Home Programs • Workshops/ In-services/ Staff Meetings - parents are responsible for providing training by qualified professionals to staff - provide general information about ABA and autism - teach technical language and principles of ABA (e.g., shaping, reinforcement, punishment, extinction) - how to educate community about ABA - require readings of textbooks, research literature (e.g., Baer, Wolf, & Risley, 1968; Cooper, Heron, & Heward, 2007) - may provide manual of services (Neef, Parrish, Egel, & Sloan, 1986; Scott, 1996)

12. Effectiveness of Didactic Training Procedures • Staff has increased knowledge of behavior principles and autism • Improved verbal and written skills • Increased test scores after training • Staff become better trainers • May be helpful for later feedback and training (although research has refuted this) • Staff have evaluated workshops as beneficial (Dowey, Toogood, Hastings, & Nash, 2007; Gardner, 1972; McClannahan & Krantz, 1993; McGee et al., 2001; Neef et al., 1986; Quilitch, 1975; Sepler & Myers, 1978)

13. Effectiveness of Didactic Training Procedures • Can be conducted in short amount of time - this is a benefit if time is limited, but a disadvantage in terms of material that can be covered • Better staff-student relationships • Staff more likely to reinforce desirable behavior and not undesirable behavior after didactic training (Sepler & Meyers, 1978; Stein, 1975)

14. Problems with Didactic Training Procedures • Increases in staff performance occur without didactic training • Hands on training with feedback alone successful (Quilitch, 1978)

15. Problems with Didactic Training Procedures (Quilitch, 1978)

16. Problems with Didactic Training Procedures • Unless tests on materials are required, workshop material knowledge is not consequated - exams improve correct written responses on workshop material, but do not correlate with improvements in practical applications of material - skills learned in didactic training do not generalize to and are not maintained in applied settings • Workshop training is costly -hands-on training is more cost-effective (Neef et al., 1986; Quilitch, 1978; Sepler & Myers, 1978; Smith, 1995)

17. Problems with Didactic Training Procedures • Ethical Considerations - observations of inappropriate use of behavior techniques in applied settings may mean lack of understanding of principles by staff - short (week-long) workshops do not teach all relevant issues - research shows no relationship between didactic training and practical application of teaching procedures (McClannahan & Krantz, 1993; Quilitch, 1978; Stein, 1975)

18. Considerations with Didactic Training • Follow-up services and consultations on weekly or monthly basis • Train families • Collect data on appropriate application of behavioral techniques • Arrange for consequences for participation in workshops • Ongoing hands-on training is essential (Lovaas, 1996; McClannahan & Krantz, 1993; Meyers et al., 2006; Quilitch, 1978; Stein, 1975)

19. Hands-on Training

20. Hands-on Training • Modeling • The trainer will model the teaching procedure, the trainee will then attempt to match the trainer’s model • Repeated practice: modeling, rehearsal, and feedback • Demonstrated to be effective in training teaching skills: • Discrete trial teaching • Incidental teaching • Behavior reduction • Implementation of functional analyses • Implementation of preference assessments (Sarakoff & Sturmey 2004; Schepis et al., 2001; Moore et al., 2002; Lavie & Sturmey 2002; Roscoe et al, 2006) • Demonstrated to be effective in generalization of teaching skills across settings and students (Schepis et al., 2001, Ducharme & Feldman 1992)

21. Hands-on Training • Other techniques in modeling: • Rehearsal / role-playing – without the student present • After didactic training, but before hands-on training • Video Modeling • Demonstrated to be effective in training instructional staff to implement functional analyses, and preference assessments (Wallace et al., 2004; Lavie & Sturmey 2002)

22. Hands-on Training • Immediate Feedback • Behavior specific feedback • Include BOTH positive statement AND corrective feedback (Roscoe et al., 2006) • Example: “I like the way you used an natural tone when presenting the instruction to Johnny. Remember to also gain his eye contact and be sure he is attending before presenting the instruction.”

23. Hands-on Training • Shaping • Use most to least prompting • Behavior specific praise • Reinforcement of successive improvement in skills (Shepis et al., 2001; Sarakoff & Sturmey 2004) • Fading • Based on measurable, observable assessment of skills

24. Hands-on Training • Ongoing performance feedback • On an ongoing basis, trainers and direct supervisors provide feedback as necessary (and modeling and rehearsal, if appropriate) • Feedback among peers • On an ongoing basis, instructional staff can provide feedback to each other as needed • Demonstrated to be an effective method for maintaining improvements in staff teaching skills (Fleming & Sulzer-Azaroff, 1992) • Feedback reciprocity: multilateral feedback system (McClannahan & Krantz, 1993)

25. Training the Trainers to Train Trainees • Trainers must demonstrate mastery of the teaching skills before training instructional staff (McClannahan & Krantz, 1993) • In addition, trainers should be trained specifically in how to train new staff (i.e., training in provision of feedback, and evaluation of staff performance) (Parsons & Reid, 1995) • Follow the same model to train trainers! • Modeling • Rehearsal / Role-playing • Immediate feedback • Performance-based evaluation (Parsons & Reid, 1995)

26. Hands-on Trainingin Home Programs • Use the same model to train home based instructors, parents, siblings, and other caretakers (Krantz & McClannahan, 1993) • Modeling • Rehearsal / Role-playing • Immediate feedback • Performance-based evaluation*

27. Hands-on Training • Measuring Outcomes (McClannahan & Krantz, 1993) • Performance-based evaluation • A trainer can measure trainees’ performance (using a task analysis of teaching components) while conducting a training session or to periodically evaluate maintenance of teaching skills (Procedural Integrity data sheet) • Performance data are used to determine a trainee’s mastery of teaching skills • Evaluate trainer performance based on trainee progress • Learner-based evaluation • Evaluate trainer and trainee performance based on student progress

28. Overview of Best Practices

29. Alpine Learning Group • On going training and supervision • Forty hour staff training • Continued training and supervision • In-services and research meetings

30. Alpine Learning Group • Annual employee performance evaluation • Data collected • Serves as way to assess • Formal training week

31. PCDI • Pre-service • In-service • Hands on training • Trainer/Trainee relationship

32. PCDI • Evaluation of staff • Identical to training protocol • Conducted by senior professional

33. DDDC • Annual staff training • Ongoing training • Service of Division of Research

34. Conclusions Components of a Comprehensive Training Package

35. Conclusions: Components of a Comprehensive Training Package • Didactic training alone does not result in mastery of teaching skills • Hands-on training is essential in improving teaching skills • Ongoing training and feedback are necessary to maintain teaching skills • Performance-based evaluations & learner-based evaluations allow assessment of efficacy of training procedures

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37. References McClannahan, L.E. & Krantz, P.J. (2001) Behavior analysis and intervention for preschoolers at the Princeton Child Development Institute. In J.S. Handleman & S.L. Harris (Eds.), Preschool education programs for children with autism (pp 191-214). Austin, TX: Pro-ed. McClannahan, L.E. & Krantz, P.J. (2006) Behavior analysis and intervention for school-age children at the Princeton Child Development Institute. In J.S. Handleman & S.L. Harris (Eds.), School-age education programs for children with autism (pp 143-162). Austin, TX: Pro-ed. McGee, G.G., Morrier, M.J., & Daly, T. (2001). The Walden Early Childhood Programs.. In J.S. Handleman & S.L. Harris (Eds.), Preschool education programs for children with autism (pp 157-190). Austin, TX: Pro-ed. Meyer, L.S., Taylor, B.A., Cerino, K.E., Fisher, J.R., Moran, L. & Richard, E. (2006). Alpine Learning Group. In J.S. Handleman & S.L. Harris (Eds.), School-age education programs for children with autism (pp 19-48). Austin, TX: Pro-ed. Moore, J.W., Edwards, R.P., Sterling-Turner, H.E., Riley, J., DuBard, M, & McGeorge, A. (2002). Teacher acquisition of functional analysis methodology. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 35, 73-77. Neef, N.A. (1995). Research on training trainers in program implementation: an introduction and future directions. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 28, 297 – 299. Neef, N.A., Parrish, J.M., Egel, A.L., & Sloan, M.E. (1986). Training respite care providers for families with handicapped children: Experimental analysis and validation of an instructional package. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 19, 109-124. Parsons, M.B., Reid, D.H. (1995). Training residential supervisors to provide feedback for maintaining staff teaching skills with people who have severe disabilities. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 28, 317 – 322. Quilitch, H.R. (1975). A comparison of three staff-management procedures. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 8, 59-66 Romanczyk, R.G., Lockshin, S.B., & Matey, L. (2001). The Children’s Unit for Treatment and Evaluation. In J.S. Handleman & S.L. Harris (Eds.), Preschool education programs for children with autism (pp 49-94). Austin, TX: Pro-ed.

38. References Romanczyk, R.G., Lockshin, S.B., Matey, L., & Gillis, J.M. (2006). The Children’s Unit for Treatment and Evaluation. In J.S. Handleman & S.L. Harris (Eds.), School-age education programs for children with autism (pp 49-88). Austin, TX: Pro-ed. Roscoe, E.M., Fisher, W.W., Glover, A.C., & Volkert, V.M. (2006). Evaluating the relative effects of feedback and contingent money for staff training of stimulus preference assessments. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 39, 63-77. Sarokoff, R. & Sturmey, P. (2004). The effects of behavioral skills training on staff implementation of discrete trial teaching. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 37, 535-538. Schepis, M.M., Reid, D.H., Ownbey, J., Parsons, M.B. (2001). Training support staff to embed teaching within natural routines of young children with disabilities in an inclusive preschool. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 34, 313-327. Scott, J. (1996). Recruiting, selecting, and training teaching assistants. In C. Maurice, G. Green, and S. C. Luce (Eds.), Behavioral interventions for young children with autism (pp. 231-240). Austin, TX: Pro-ed. Sepler, H.J. & Myers, S.L. (1978). The effectiveness of verbal instruction on teaching behavior-modification skills to nonprofessionals. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 11, 198. Smith, D.M. (1995). A system of program evaluation and the use of feedback as a means of improving service delivery. Behavioral Interventions, 10, 225-236. Smith, T., Donahoe, P.A., & Davis, B.J. (2001). The UCLA Young Autism Project. In J.S. Handleman & S.L. Harris (Eds.), Preschool education programs for children with autism (pp. 29-48). Austin, TX: Pro-ed. Stein, T.J. (1975). Some ethical considerations of short-term workshops in the principles and methods of behavior modification. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 8, 113-115. Wallace, M.D., Doney, J.K., Mintz-Resudek, C.M., & Tarbox, R.S.F. (2004). Training educators to implement functional analyses. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 37, 89-92.