An Impact Evaluation of Training in Multi-Tiered Systems of mSupport for Behavior (MTSS-B)

MTSS-B SITE VISIT INTERVIEW PROTOCOLS

Appendix D: Staff Interview (12 staff members)

CRITERIA

• Interview a minimum of 12 staff members.

  • Select 1 teacher from each grade level.

  • Select 2 teachers from special subject areas (art, music, gym, media/computer).

  • Select 4 support staff (one office staff, one cafeteria worker/custodian, one volunteer/instructional asst., and one counselor, ppw, psychologist or nurse).

Introduction (introduction will be repeated for each randomly selected staff member at each wave; no identifiable information will be collected from the respondent):

Hi, my name is _________ and I work with the MTSS-B Study about behavior support practices at your school. Do you have time to answer a few questions?

Participation is completely voluntary. Your answers are confidential and will not be linked with your name. It should take no more than 5-7 minutes. I have a document here describing the study and this interview for your reference.

National Study of Multi-Tiered Systems of Support for Behavior (MTSS-B)

Site Visit Interview

What is the purpose of the study?

This study is evaluating Multi-Tiered Systems of Support for Behavior (MTSS-B), an approach to teaching and reinforcing appropriate behavior for all students and providing additional supports for students with greater needs. Some schools in the study have been randomly selected to receive training and support in MTSS-B and other schools in the study were randomly selected to continue with their existing behavior support practices. Data is being collected to understand how this program works across schools and districts; it will not be used to evaluate individual schools, teachers, or staff members.

The U.S. Department of Education has picked MDRC, a research group, to carry out the study. MDRC is working with partner organizations to collect data for this research study—American Institutes for Research (AIR), Decision Information Resources (DIR) and Harvard Graduate School of Education. These four organizations make up the MTSS-B study team.

What am I being asked to do?

You are invited to complete an interview about behavior support practices. It will take approximately 5-7 minutes.

What are the benefits from taking part in this interview?

We hope that you will feel satisfied knowing that you are helping to improve teaching and learning in your school and throughout the country.

What are the possible risks of this interview?

There are no anticipated risks of participating in this interview. Your responses and personal information will be stored securely and will not be released to any person outside of the research team. Information collected will not be used to evaluate you or other individuals in your school.

Who will know about my participation in this interview?

Information collected for this study comes under the confidentiality and data protection requirements of the Institute of Education Sciences. All information from this study will be kept confidential as required by the Education Sciences Reform Act of 2002 (Title I, Part E, Section

183). Responses to this data collection will be used only for statistical purposes. Personally identifiable information about individual respondents will not be reported. We will not provide information that identifies you, your school, or your district to anyone outside the study team, except as required by law.

Is my participation in this interview voluntary?

Your participation in the interview is completely voluntary and your decision will not affect your current or future status in your school. We hope you will participate because your

views and experiences are very important to us. If you begin the interview and change your mind, you can withdraw at any time.

If I have additional questions, how can I get them answered?

If you want more information about this study, please contact Pamela Wells at Decision Information Resources (DIR), at pwells@dir-online.com or by calling, 832-485-3720. The MTSS-B Project Director, Fred Doolittle, can be reached at fred.doolittle@mdrc.org or by calling 212-340-8638.

1. What are the school rules? (Record responses. If said verbatim, just record the number of rules stated correctly).

2. Have you taught the school rules/behavior expectations this year?

Yes No

3. Have you given out any (____________ name of school-wide reinforcer) since ____________

(2 months)? Yes No

4. What type of student problems do/would you refer to the office?

5. What is the process for requesting assistance from the SST for a student? (Not asked of office and cafeteria/custodian)

6. If there was an extreme emergency or a stranger in the building with a weapon, how would classroom teachers be notified?

7. After being notified, what is a classroom teacher expected to do?

8. During this school-year or last summer, have you received any training in schoolwide systems for supporting student behavior such as a schoolwide reward system or classroom management strategies?

• Yes

• No

• Not sure

9. Is there a team in your school to address school-wide behavior support discipline systems?

10. What is the name of this team?

11. Are you a member of this team?

12. IF YES: Ask Team Interview Questions.

Appendix D, Cont.: Team Member Interview

• PBIS/school wide behavior support team members (at least 3 members of PBIS team; these can also be classroom teachers or support staff).

INTERVIEW ITEMS

1. Does your team use discipline data to make decisions?

2. Has your team provided training on/reviewed the school-wide program with staff this year?

3. Who is the team leader/facilitator?

4. How often does your team meet? (Please probe whether meetings occur at least once a month or less frequently than once a month)

5. Has your team been provided with professional development in MTSS-B at least once this school-year?

Yes Partial No

6. How often does your team use data during meetings for problem solving, decision-making and action planning?

Never Sometimes Most of time Always

MTSS-B Site Visit Interview Protocol-Please do not circulate