Cade Charlton

Social engagement is critical to the personal and social development of children. Individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) often exhibit low levels of social engagement with peers and adults, with clearly fewer instances of eye contact, initiation, joint attention, and empathy. Given the pivotal role of social engagement, procedures that naturally evoke higher rates of social engagement may be critical. Prior research suggests that cartoons and other animated characters are more appealing to children with ASD than traditional face-to-face interactions with adults. However, this assertion lacks consistent empirical support. In this study five elementary age students with ASD participated in a series of interactions with adults and live animation avatars. An alternating treatments design was used to evaluate participants social engagement comparing their interactions with avatars to those with humans. Data showed all five participants were consistently more attentive to the avatar than to human interventionists. In addition, all participants and their parents indicated the procedures were socially valid (i.e., preferred, feasible, and effective).

Behavior intervention plans (BIPs) are intended to help educators systematically support students with behavioral problems at school. Previous research confirms that the effectiveness of a BIP depends on the degree to which the plan is technically adequate and implemented with integrity. What remains unclear from the literature is how professional experience and environmental variables impact technical adequacy, treatment integrity, and student outcomes. The purpose of this study was to explore these relationships using data collected from a survey of members experiences with the BIP implementation team. The researchers collected BIPs from local school districts and then surveyed members of the implementation team regarding their professional qualifications, training, involvement in the BIP development process, treatment integrity, and perceived impact on student outcomes. Results from two multiple regression models predicting treatment integrity and student outcomes suggest that practitioners perceptions of BIP quality significantly predicted treatment integrity. Additionally, training, BIP quality, and treatment integrity significantly predicted student outcomes. These findings suggest that practitioners perceptions of BIP quality may play an important role in predicting treatment integrity but improving student outcomes requires technical adequacy and targeted professional development.

A safe, supportive school climate is critical for school effectiveness. Unfortunately, the research linking a positive school climate to critical student outcomes includes few systematic reviews of the school climate literature and no reviews focused on the effects of interventions to improve school climate. This review examined the methodological quality and findings from 18 experimental studies evaluating the effects of schoolwide interventions on teacher and student perceptions of school climate. Each study was rated in terms of quality of the methods and magnitude of effects on school climate. Results indicated that only three of the 25 articles were considered methodologically sound. Effect sizes estimating the differences in teacher perceptions of school climate ranged from 0.29 to 1.69, while those concerning differences in student perceptions ranged from 0.03 to 1.93. Studies examining the effects of schoolwide positive behavioral interventions and supports (SWPBIS) and social and emotional learning (SEL) interventions were the most methodologically sound and associated with the highest effect sizes.

Highlights<br>This study evaluated the use of a live animation avatar to teach five individuals with autism to initiate conversations.<br>The use of an avatar with explicit instruction was effective and preferable to participants and their parents.<br>Participants generalized the use of the acquired skill to interactions with peers.<br>Avatars are more dynamic than some applications of technology-aided instruction and may be equally effective.

In the United States, many teachers feel underprepared to manage student classroom behavior positively. Such management is crucial for students to learn effectively, especially those with or at risk of emotional and behavioral disorders (EBD). Although increasing teacher praise and decreasing teacher reprimands may be research-based practices, more empirical evidence is required for them to be considered evidence based. The current study of 65 elementary school teachers and 239 students across three states contrasted the effects of these teacher behaviors on engagement and disruptions of students who were and were not at risk of EBD. Using structural equation modeling, we examined how the engagement and disruptions of students at risk were more sensitive to teacher praise and reprimand than the behavior of their typical peers. These results support the literature and invite teachers to consider that who they praise and reprimand is just as important as how.

State and national educational leaders encourage the use of an integrated multitiered system of supports (MTSS) to improve services to students with academic and social behavior problems. Implementing and sustaining MTSS is facilitated by support from leaders in state education agencies (SEAs). The purpose of this study was to identify the specific events, resources, and supports that help or hinder the work of scaling up an integrated MTSS approach from the perspective of MTSS leaders in SEAs. Researchers interviewed leaders in 27 U.S. states using the critical incident technique, a qualitative methodology to identify critical incidents associated with changes in practice. Eight helping incident, seven hindering incident, and nine wish list categories were identified. Helping categories included multidisciplinary leadership, access to professional development, consistent language and/or practices, consultation with external partners, and a focus on student outcomes in evaluation and planning. Seven hindering categories included competing philosophies, high personnel turnover, varying levels of readiness, and inadequate data systems. Participants also identified two unique categories associated with the items they wished had happened or could happen in the future including access to personnel with high-level MTSS training and access to more effective interventions.

The purpose of this article is to synthesize the existing research on classwide social, emotional, and behavioral programs for kindergarten students. The researchers identified 26 studies in peer-reviewed journals and dissertation databases to review. Each study was examined and coded in terms of study characteristics, strength of evidence, and quality of evidence. The interventions represented in the studies were grouped into four categories: socialemotional learning, behavioral, coping skills, and other. The studies of behavioral interventions demonstrated the strongest effects on increasing prosocial behavior and decreasing antisocial behavior. These studies also included the highest quality of research. The socialemotional learning intervention studies consistently demonstrated weaker effects and lower quality research. The remaining categories included too few studies to draw meaningful conclusions. Implications for practice and future research regarding classwide kindergarten social, emotional, and behavioral interventions are discussed.

Many state education agencies provide supports for local education agencies (LEAs) that are implementing tiered frameworks or Multi-Tiered Systems of Support (MTSS). With a 61% response rate to an online survey, 35 LEA-level systems coaches identified what state-level supports were helpful in facilitating MTSS implementation. Responses highlighted the importance of state coaches knowing the LEAs needs, which was most likely to occur when state coaches attended onsite meetings, met with district leaders, reviewed data, and actively problem solved with the LEA. Participants indicated that the monthly meetings led by the state coaches for the local implementers were difficult to attend and may not have been as helpful as hoped. The online modules which were intended to create foundational understanding, were not as beneficial as the annual conferences. Implications for practice include the importance of connecting coaching practices to the specific needs of the LEA and providing funding for professional development.