Coaching Teachers in Detection and Intervention Related to Bullying

Objective: Bullying is prevalent in schools, negatively impacting those directly involved as well as bystanders and the broader school climate. Given that students spend the majority of their time in the classroom, teachers play a critical role in preventing and intervening with bullying; however teachers often struggle to correctly identify bullying and intervene effectively. The purpose of this paper is to provide an overview of a pilot trial that adapted the evidence-based teacher coaching model, Classroom Check-Up (CCU), to include a focus on the prevention and detection of and response to bullying. This adapted Bullying CCU was then integrated with TeachLivE, an innovative and mobile mixed-reality simulator.

Method: Focus groups with students and teachers were conducted to make initial refinements to the CCU materials. The ADDIE model of systematic instructional design was then used to iteratively analyze, design, develop, implement, and evaluate the Bullying CCU strategies, including how the specific tools were working when used with teachers and then rapidly adjusting and refining the materials in real time. A similar process was used to develop the simulator scenarios, ensuring that the experience provided enough exposure to bullying behaviors to practice new strategies, without being too intense, unrealistic, and thus, disengaging.

Results: The purpose of this presentation is to provide an overview of the specific adaptations made to the CCU materials, which will demonstrate how the core elements of the CCU were retained while adding this new focus on bullying, and the scenario development of the simulator. An overview of the randomized controlled trial testing this model with 100 teachers across 5 schools during the 2016-17 school year will be provided. Preliminary data will be presented regarding how coaches spent their time, to allow for a comparison to other adaptations of the CCU. Other publications of CCU adaptations have provided the amount of face-to-face time the coaches spend with teachers engaging in each phase of the CCU, as well as additional time coaches spend that does not require teacher time (e.g., for observations). Teacher perceptions of the coaching and simulation experience will also be presented.

Conclusions: Coaching teachers to integrate classroom behavior management with specific strategies for preventing, detecting, and responding to instances of bullying in the classroom is a novel approach to addressing this concern. The use of mixed-reality simulation provides a unique opportunity for teachers to receive guided practice and immediate feedback and may result in better uptake and use of strategies than is typically achieved.