Staff Development

1. Staff Development ED 571: School and Home-Based Programs for Children with Autism

2. School-Based Program

3. Players • Instructional aides • Teachers • Staff Trainer • Related service providers • Director & Supervisor • Supervisors • Consultant • Administrators • Secretarial • Medical • Financial/Business • Others?

4. Credentials • What are the qualifications of the: • aides • teachers • staff trainers • consultant

5. Hiring • What is the interview process? • Who should the candidate interview with? • Administrative AND clinical

6. Hiring (cont) • Interview • Face to face • where did they hear about the position • Interest in position • long & short term goals • Describe program AND requirements • Minimally ONE year commitment • Have candidate work with child • Model, have candidate imitate, provide feedback, have candidate implement feedback

7. Staff Training • Workshops/lecture • Hands-on

8. Staff training ~ Workshops/Lectures • Monthly Workshop • Various topics of ABA • Teaching procedures (activity schedules, discrete trial, incidental) reinforcement, prompting, generalization • Pre-service: • 3-4 days prior to beginning of school year • autism, basic principles of ABA & professionalism • Staff development days • 3-4 days per year (no students)

9. Staff Training~ Hands-on Training • Observation • Paired with staff trainer • Model, have staff imitate, provide feedback, have staff implement feedback • Alternate independence with training • Use of video?

10. Other training opportunities • Provide training to a new staff member • Attend conferences • Present at conferences • other?

11. Program Make-up • Allocation of staff across school program • Allocation of individualized programs across instructors

12. Allocation of Staff Across School Program • How do you allocate your teachers across program? Skills • Career • Move around program so can gain experience with multiple skill and age levels • How do you allocate your instructors across program? • Skills • Career • Move around program so can gain experience with multiple skill and age levels

13. Allocation of Individualized Programs Across Instructors • Teachers teach all foundational learning skills • Contingency management • On-task behavior • Reinforcement system • Easier programs for newer staff members • E.g., gross/fine motor, matching • Same programs across students • Other?

14. Supervision • What is the hierarchy? • E.g., Director Consultant  Teacher  Instructor • Related service providers?

15. Supervision (cont) • Director Consultant • Be sure the role of Director and role of Consultant is well delineated • Teachers • In terms of teachers supervising instructional staff, check union rules for a public school • Consultant & director should always empower the teachers with the instructional staff and parents • How else can you increase accountability?

16. Communication among the Staff • Classroom communication • Ongoing hands-on training • Effective for teacher to spend whole day with one child and train all staff members -this ensure consistency • Brief after-school meeting about that student • Weekly classroom meetings • Systems in place to: • alert teacher when student is not making progress and observation/training is needed • alert teacher when student needs new sets

17. Communication among the Staff • Teacher collaboration • Grade level teachers should collaborate minimally weekly • Biggest asset in a program are your colleagues!!!!!

18. Communication among the Staff • Program communication • Weekly grade-level meetings with director • Problem solving • Ensure consistency across program • Why is consistency important???? • Weekly management meetings • Consultant, trainers, director

19. Documentation • For all meetings, notes should be taken and stored for future reference • E.g., when consultant provides recommendations to a teacher, an e-mail is sent to all other consultants, teacher, and director

20. Evaluating Staff • Who evaluates teachers, instructional aides, consultant?

21. Evaluating Staff (cont) • Annual evaluations of all staff members • contract contingent on successful evaluation • Ongoing brief evaluations of all staff • Ongoing data notebook evaluations • External programmatic review

22. Ongoing brief staff evaluation • In one session, collect data on: • On-task • Opportunities to respond • Contingency management • Incidental teaching

23. Annual staff evaluation • Professionalism • On-Task • Opportunities to respond • Behavior-descriptive praise • Teaching new skills • Incidental teaching • Programming generalization • Teaching social competence • Relationship building • Decreasing problem behavior • Understanding intervention technology • Maintaining the physical environment • Assessing personal appearance

24. Ongoing data notebook evaluation • Sufficient data collection • Progress • Generalization probes • IOA • Explanatory statements • Consent • Accurate graphing techniques • Neat and professional • Can administrator do this?

25. Annual Notebook evaluation • Number of programs reviewed • Number of individualized programs • Percentage of individualized programs • Number of programs rated effective • Percentage of programs rated effective • Number of programs rated appropriate • Percentage of programs rated appropriate • Percentage of programs with current consent • Percentage of programs with some/any interobserver agreement

26. External Programmatic Evaluation • Objective professional evaluates program by evaluating data notebooks • Who does this evaluate?

27. Retention • How do you keep morale high and retain your staff? • Preps/lunch • Daily hours • Teacher support • Appropriate resources • Professionalism • Open communication

28. Home-Based Program

29. Players • Instructional aides • Teachers • Staff Trainer • Consultant • Financial/Business • Others?

30. Recruitment • Where do you get the instructors from? • How about the teachers?

31. Credentials • What are the qualifications of the: • aides • teachers • staff trainers • consultant

32. Hiring • What is the interview process? • Who should the candidate interview with? • Parent & consultant

33. Hiring • Interview • Face to face • where did they hear about the position • Interest in position • long & short term goals • Describe program AND requirements • Minimally ONE year commitment • 10 hours per week with child • 2 hrs per day 5 days per week • No more than 4 staff members with child • Have candidate work with child • Model, have candidate imitate, provide feedback, have candidate implement feedback

34. Staff Training • Workshops/lecture • Hands-on

35. Staff training Workshops/Lectures • Monthly Workshop • Various topics of ABA • Teaching procedures (activity schedules, discrete trial, incidental) reinforcement, prompting, generalization

36. Staff TrainingHands-on Training • Observation of skilled staff member • Paired with staff trainer • Model, have staff imitate, provide feedback, have staff implement feedback • Alternate independence with training • Consultant/trainer needs to train with each staff member minimally weekly • Use of video?

37. Other training opportunities • Provide training to a new staff member • Attend conferences • Present at conferences • other?

38. Program Make-up • Allocation of staff across home program • Allocation of individualized programs across instructors

39. Allocation of Staff Across Program • How do you allocate your instructors across home program? • Skills • Career

40. Allocation of Individualized Programs Across Instructors • Consultant/trainer teaches all foundational learning skills • Contingency management • On-task behavior • Reinforcement system • Easier programs for newer staff members • Other?

41. Supervision • What is the hierarchy? • E.g., Consultant  Trainer  Instructor • Parents? • Related service providers?

42. Communication among the Staff • Home program communication • Ongoing hands-on training • Effective for trainer to see all staff members minimally weekly to ensure consistency

43. Communication among the Staff • Frequently • Overlap sessions to allow for collaboration • Necessity of team meetings???

44. Documentation • For all training, notes should be taken and stored for future reference • E.g., when consultant provides recommendations to a staff member, an e-mail is sent to staff member and consultant • Communication book among staff members?

45. Evaluating Staff • Who evaluates instructional staff? • consultant?

46. Evaluating Staff (cont) • Annual staff evaluation • Ongoing brief evaluations of all staff • Ongoing data notebook evaluation • External programmatic review??

47. Ongoing brief staff evaluation • In one session, collect data on: • On-task • Opportunities to respond • Contingency management • Incidental teaching

48. Annual staff evaluation • Professionalism • On-Task • Opportunities to respond • Behavior-descriptive praise • Teaching new skills • Incidental teaching • Programming generalization • Teaching social competence • Relationship building • Decreasing problem behavior • Understanding intervention technology • Maintaining the physical environment • Assessing personal appearance

49. Ongoing data notebook evaluation • Sufficient data collection • Progress • Generalization probes • IOA • Explanatory statements • Consent • Accurate graphing techniques • Neat and professional • Can parent do this?

50. Annual Notebook evaluation • Number of programs reviewed • Number of individualized programs • Percentage of individualized programs • Number of programs rated effective • Percentage of programs rated effective • Number of programs rated appropriate • Percentage of programs rated appropriate • Percentage of programs with current consent • Percentage of programs with some/any interobserver agreement