Project Activities
Four professional development online modules were developed with input from general and special education teachers and administrators. The research team obtained input from researchers with expertise in special education, teacher preparation and professional development, and online learning to inform the development and revision of the professional development program. The modules were then pilot tested in a small-scale randomized waitlist-controlled trial.
Structured Abstract
Setting
The research took place in elementary schools in Florida.
Sample
For the development activities, participants included 16 educators (general and special education teachers in grades K-5 and school counselors) with expertise in working with students with disabilities and an advisory board of five researchers with expertise in special education, teacher preparation and professional development, and online learning. For the pilot study, 65 teachers and 472 of their students with and without disabilities participated.
The project resulted in an online professional development program, DIAL, that includes four modules and coaching on how to recognize, respond to, and report bullying. The online modules include an explicit focus on students with or at risk for disabilities and cover the following topics: (1) understanding bullying, including the definition, types, student roles, and how it develops; (2) examining risk characteristics, including the prevalence, warning signs, and risk factors; (3) establishing school-wide and classroom prevention; and (4) individual prevention, including supporting unique needs, understanding behavior functions and skill development and implementing individualized interventions, and understanding legal obligations. Each module contains videos and provides guidance for applying the content addressed in the module. The program also includes a virtual coaching component to provide teachers with feedback and reinforce content presented in the modules.
Research design and methods
During the development phase, the professional development modules and coaching plan were developed and refined with input from an advisory board of researchers and focus groups with educators. Following development, the research team conducted a pilot study using a small randomized controlled trial to assess the program's promise for improving teacher practices and student outcomes. Three schools were assigned to the intervention and the other three to the waitlist control group. Data were collected from teachers and students pre- and post-intervention to examine the promise of the professional development program for improving teacher outcomes (ability to identify bullying and select appropriate interventions, self-efficacy, stress and job satisfaction, and classroom management) and student outcomes (bullying perpetration, peer victimization, academic achievement, school attitudes, and social/emotional behavior). Data on the acceptability and fidelity of the program were collected throughout the pilot study. In Year 4, the research team used focus groups to elicit additional feedback from intervention teachers who implemented the intervention in the pilot study to obtain final feedback on the intervention and how well the modules aligned with their knowledge and expertise.
Control condition
For the pilot study, schools and teachers in the waitlist control group continued with business-as-usual practices around bullying prevention and intervention. They were provided access to the modules in the final year of the project.
Key measures
Teacher outcomes were measured using researcher-developed knowledge assessments embedded within each module as well as a pre- and post-test measure within the modules to determine teachers' ability to identify bullying and select appropriate interventions. Teachers completed questionnaires on the school environment as it related to bullying, their own self-efficacy, stress and job satisfaction, and classroom management. Teachers also completed surveys on students' social, emotional, and academic behavior as well as teacher-student relationships. A subset of older students in grades 3-5 completed measures on their teachers' effectiveness as well as their own experiences with bullying and school attitudes and relationships. School records on each participating student provided data on demographic information, attendance, academic achievement, behavior, disability status and type, and special education services and placement. To assess the acceptability and fidelity of the program, as well as to continuously improve the modules, participant teacher satisfaction surveys were collected at the end of each module. Teachers also evaluated the usability and feasibility of the program using an observation checklist for professional development training. Engagement in and fidelity of the professional development program was measured by backend user information from the online platform, including the number of logins, duration of logins, and duration devoted to module components.
Data analytic strategy
Focus group audio data was transcribed and coded using a grounded theory approach. Analyses of the pilot study data used a multilevel modeling approach to account for the inherent structure of students nested within classrooms and classrooms nested within schools, as well as control for student baseline characteristics such as gender, race/ethnicity, or disability. These models examined the direct effect of the intervention on teacher and student outcomes as well as the extent to which teacher behavior mediated intervention impacts and intervention fidelity and school environment factors moderated intervention impacts. Descriptive analyses were conducted to summarize intervention fidelity, usability, feasibility, and acceptability.
Cost analysis strategy
The research team conducted cost and cost-effectiveness analyses using the ingredients method approach. Specifically, they calculated the total and per participant incremental cost of the DIAL training and the cost-effectiveness for educator outcomes associated with the DIAL training and conducted sensitivity analyses to estimate the potential cost range for future implementations of the DIAL training.
Key outcomes
The main findings of this project, as reported by the principal investigator, are as follows:
- Results of the pilot study of the DIsability Anti-BuLlying (DIAL) professional development determined that teachers who received the DIAL program reported higher levels of self-efficacy related to instructional strategies and lower levels of maladaptive and avoidance attitudes toward bullying than control teachers. DIAL did not significantly impact students’ bullying, conflict, social cognition, or social anxiety.
- The cost analysis study showed that DIAL cost $413.51 per teacher and $21.76 per student. In addition, for every $861.48 invested in DIAL training, teachers’ self-efficacy in their instruction improved by one standard deviation above teachers in the control group. Sensitivity analyses revealed that future implementations of DIAL could cost between $324.75 and $790.90 per teacher.
People and institutions involved
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Project contributors
Products and publications
Publications:
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Additional project information
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