Shaping Evidenced-Based Practices in Assessment and Intervention: School Problem Solving Teams As the Unit of Analysis

Introduction: Most schools use problem-solving teams (PSTs) as a collaborative way to address behavioral problems of students requiring intervention. Despite their increased use, this method can be improved upon to better bridge the research-to-practice gap. Research indicates that teams do not implement processes that result in the successful implementation of evidence-based practices (EBPs) or even problem-solving processes in general. The overall goal of Project LIST (Learning to Improve School Teams) was to develop and evaluate a set of procedures utilizing principles of applied behavior analysis and organizational system methods to identify and improve the selection and implementation of EBPs and the decision-making behaviors of PSTs responsible for addressing students’ behavior problems/disorders. Summary data from this four-year project will be presented.

Methods: Activities took place with 18 PSTs in elementary schools across 7 districts in Wisconsin. The Performance Diagnostic Checklist for Schools (PDC-S; self-report measure) and the Diagnostic, Observation, Recording, and Analysis, Second Edition (DORA-II; observational measure) were used to identify barriers to EBP implementation and school team functioning (e.g., problem solving and decision making). PDC-S and DORA-II data were used to develop an intervention based on principles of applied behavior analysis and individualized for each PST. A member of the research team met with each PST to share data; ongoing coaching was provided; and the content of the intervention was tailored to each teams’ behavioral function. Four areas were identified as targets for intervention: (a) Meeting Basics, (b) Problem Identification and Goal Setting, (c) Intervention Implementation, and (d) Intervention Monitoring.

Results: A randomized single-case multiple-baseline time-series across schools design was used to evaluate the promise of the protocol. Statistical and visual analyses were conducted. For the measure of team functioning (DORA II), a modified Revusky (1967) randomization-test procedure was calculated comparing pre- and post-intervention differences for phase mean distribution scores for each school team. Two out of three cohorts showed a statistically significant improvement in team functioning following the LIST intervention (ds=1.29 and 2.09). In addition, for those two cohorts more than 60% of the pre- and post-intervention outcome distributions were non-overlapping. Additional fine-grained analyses will be presented on the individual PST skills that were a focus of intervention.

Conclusions: Results extend previous work by showing that team processes can be improved by implementing function-based interventions for PSTs.