THE EFFECTS OF A SEQUENTIAL BEHAVIOR ANALYSIS PROTOCOL ON THE TEACHING PRACTICES OF UNDERGRADUATE TRAINEES

This article studied the effects which a sequential behavior feedback procedure had on the practice teaching experiences of undergraduate te acher trainees. Teaching performances of each participant were analyze d using Alternative Appropriate Instructional (AIA) and Organizational (AOA) Action measures within the ecological context of Instructional (IO) and Organizational (OO) challenges in the practice teaching setti ng. Data support the added utility of sequential (Sharpe, 1996, 1997a) information when using behavior analysis approaches to teacher traini ng. One field-based undergraduate teaching practicum was monitored. Th e key elements summarized are: (a) classroom instruction tied to the p racticum experience; (b) practice teaching experience; and (c) sequent ial observation system used for evaluation and feedback-including mult iple-baseline data (N = 4) to support this approach to teacher trainin g. Results point to the strong relationship between sequential behavio r feedback and (a) teacher-trainee improvement in meeting instructiona l and organizational challenges in the classroom; (b) teacher-trainee movement from an organizational to an instructional focus over the cou rse of the experiment; and (c) positive changes in pupil practices as a function of changes in teacher-trainee instruction. Sequential feedb ack was also socially validated by practicing teachers naive to the st udy.