Co-Principal Investigator(s): Collier-Meek, Melissa; Yel, Nedim

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to evaluate the efficacy of Planning Realistic Intervention implementation and Maintenance by Educators (PRIME2) for improving elementary school teachers' implementation of function-based behavioral interventions for students with and at risk for disabilities. PRIME2 is a theory-informed, consultation-based, individually tailored, tiered system of implementation support developed with previous IES funding. Research-based interventions implemented with fidelity can improve behavioral and academic outcomes for elementary students with or at risk for disabilities. Yet, research consistently indicates interventions are not implemented with sufficient fidelity. Insufficient implementation can result in referral for more intensive intervention, possibly resulting in expensive special education services or restrictive placements that could have been avoided. The current project aims to address this by evaluating the efficacy of PRIME2 relative to a condition representing behavioral consultation without tiered implementation support.

Project Activities: The research team will evaluate the efficacy of PRIME2 using a randomized controlled trial to first examine the impact of universal teacher support provided to all participants. Teachers who do not adequately respond to the universal support condition will be randomized to a multiple baseline design study in which more targeted implementation support strategies will be evaluated. The researchers will analyze data to determine the effects of PRIME2 on teachers' implementation of function-based behavior interventions and changes in proximal and distal student academic and behavioral outcomes, mediators and moderators of these effects, and intervention costs and cost-effectiveness.

Products: This project will provide evidence of the efficacy of PRIME2 for improving teachers' implementation of function-based behavioral interventions and students' behavioral and academic outcomes. The project will result in a shared final dataset, peer-reviewed publications and presentations, and products that reach education stakeholders such as practitioners and policymakers.

Structured Abstract

Setting: The research will take place in elementary schools in rural, urban, and suburban areas of Massachusetts and Connecticut.

Sample: Participants will include 64 general education teachers in grades K–5 and their students. Participating teachers will have requested consultation support for a student demonstrating challenging behavior.

Intervention: PRIME2 is a system of tiered implementation supports delivered in the context of a consultative model. Within PRIME2, Implementation Planning serves as a universal implementation support. The first component of Implementation Planning is action planning, a detailed logistical planning that tailors the intervention to the implementer and context while maintaining core intervention components. Coping planning, the other component of Implementation Planning, involves proactive identification and remediation of implementation barriers. As some teachers need additional support to initiate or maintain intervention components, PRIME2 also includes more intensive Targeted Implementation Support Strategies. Teachers who are unable to implement all or part of the intervention will receive the more targeted Participant Modeling and Role Play. Teachers who show a decreasing trend or highly variable pattern of implementation will receive the more targeted Performance Feedback and Motivational Interviewing.

Research Design and Methods: This study will use a randomized controlled trial and experimental single-case design studies to test the efficacy of PRIME2. Teachers will be recruited in three cohorts of approximately 22 each. Based on their scores on measures of behavioral intention and classroom management, participating teachers will be sorted into four groups (high intention—low classroom management, high intention—high classroom management, low intention—low classroom management, low intention—high classroom management). Within each school, teachers will be block randomized to the intervention or comparison condition so that teachers in both conditions have similar levels of baseline behavioral intention. Teachers in both conditions will engage in functional assessment and behavior intervention through consultation and receive high-quality, direct training on identified intervention strategies, with equivalent amounts of follow-up consultation across conditions. All teachers in the PRIME2 condition will receive Implementation Planning. Sessions will be audio recorded and reviewed for procedural fidelity. Rating scale data on teacher, student, and contextual outcomes will be collected at baseline, end of consultation, and the end of follow up. Observational data on teacher and student outcomes will be collected at baseline and weekly for 10 weeks during consultation and at 1- and 2-month follow-up time points for teachers who respond to Implementation Planning. For teachers who do not adequately respond to Implementation Planning, the post-Implementation Planning data points will serve as baseline data in the experimental single-case design studies, a Targeted Implementation Support Strategy will be implemented, and formative teacher and student outcome data will be collected.

Control Condition: Teachers in the control condition will receive problem-solving consultation aligned with best practices across 10 weeks. Consultation will not include any aspects of Implementation Planning but rather general problem-solving sessions during plan implementation that are the same duration as Implementation Planning.

Key Measures: Researchers will use the Classroom Strategy Scale-Observer Form and the Implementation Beliefs Assessment to measure teachers' classroom management practices and behavioral intentions, respectively. Individualized behavior intervention fidelity measures developed during previous research will be used to formatively measure fidelity. Fidelity measures developed for each PRIME2 strategy will be used to measure procedural fidelity and program differentiation. Students' behavioral and academic outcomes will be assessed via systematic direct observation (of disruptive behavior, academic engagement, student-specific target behavior), the Academic Performance Rating Scale, and the Behavior Assessment System for Children — Third Edition Behavioral and Emotional Screening System. Student-, teacher-, and school-level moderators will be measured using demographics surveys, the Organizational Health Inventory, Implementation Leadership, Implementation Climate, Implementation Citizenship Behavior scales, the Teacher Stress Inventory, and the Maslach Burnout Inventory-Educator Survey.

Data Analytic Strategy: A series of latent growth curve models will be conducted to examine the main effects of the intervention on teacher practices and student outcomes; the extent to which teacher growth in fidelity mediates the intervention's effect on student outcomes; and the extent to which behavior intention and other teacher, student, and school characteristics moderate the effects on teacher practices. For experimental single-case design studies, contemporary visual, effect size, and randomization analyses will be used.

Cost Analysis: The ingredients method will be used to determine intervention costs and researchers will conduct cost-feasibility and cost-effectiveness analyses.

Related IES Projects: Project PRIME: Planning Realistic Intervention Implementation and Maintenance by Educators (R324A100051)