Because research has shown that providing information alone does not have an impact on educators’ behavior, supervisors and other individuals interested in personnel preparation are becoming interested in providing early childhood educators with continuous feedback about their classroom performance. Reviews of the literature on performance feedback have been conducted in the field of organization behavior management; however, a compilation of early childhood information was needed. Nineteen studies conducted in early childhood (i.e., infant/toddler through fourth grade) classrooms were reviewed to determine the characteristics of performance feedback provided to early childhood educators. Intervention effectiveness was then assessed using visual analysis of graphed data. Across studies, an immediate and clear feedback effect was displayed in the majority of tiers (participants, settings, or behaviors), contributing to the conclusion that performance feedback is a promising practice.
Alvero, A.M., Bucklin, B.R., & Austin, J. ( 2001). An objective review of the effectiveness and essential characteristics of performance feedback in organizational settings (1985-1998) . Journal of Organizational Behavior Management, 21, 3-29.
2.
Austin, J., Weatherly, N.L., & Gravina, N.E. ( 2005). Using task clarification, graphic feedback, and verbal feedback to increase closing-task completion in a privately owned restaurant . Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 38, 117-120.
3.
Babcock, R.A., Sulzer-Azaroff, B., Sanderson, M., & Scibak, J. ( 1992). Increasing nurses’ use of feedback to promote infection-control practices in a head-injury treatment center. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 25, 621-627.
4.
Balcazar, F., Hopkins, B.L., & Suarez, Y. ( 1985). A critical, objective review of performance feedback . Journal of Organizational Behavior Management, 7, 65-89.
5.
Barton, E.E., & Wolery, M. ( 2007). Evaluation of e-mail feedback on the verbal behaviors of pre-service teachers. Journal of Early Intervention, 30, 55-72.
6.
Bowman, B.T. ( 2004). The future of Head Start. In E. Zigler & S. J. Styfco (Eds.), The Head Start debates (pp. 533-544). Baltimore, MD: Paul H. Brookes.
7.
Buscemi, L., Bennett, T., Thomas, D., & Deluca, D.A. ( 1995). Head Start: Challenges and training needs. Journal of Early Intervention, 20, 1-13.
8.
Casey, A.M., & McWilliam, R.A. (2008). Graphical feedback to increase teachers’ use of incidental teaching. Journal of Early Intervention, 30, 251-268.
9.
Casey, A.M., & McWilliam, R.A. (2009). Preschool teachers’ receipt of feedback: Perspectives from a nationwide sample. Manuscript submitted for publication.
10.
Cooper, M.L., Thomson, C.L., & Baer, D.M. ( 1970). The experimental modification of teacher attending behavior . Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 3, 153-157.
11.
Cossairt, A., Hall, R.V., & Hopkins, B.L. ( 1973). The effects of experimenter’s instructions, feedback, and praise on teacher praise and student attending behavior. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 6, 89-100.
12.
Crow, R., & Snyder, P. ( 1998). Organizational behavior management in early intervention: Status and implications for research and development. Journal of Organizational Behavior Management, 18, 131-156.
13.
Dinnebeil, L.A., McInerney, W., Fox, C., & Juchartz-Pendry, K. (1998). An analysis of the perceptions and characteristics of childcare personnel regarding inclusion of young children with special needs in community-based programs. Topics in Early Childhood Special Education, 18, 118-128.
14.
Hall, L.J., & Macvean, M.L. ( 1997). Increases in the communicative behaviours of students with cerebral palsy as a result of feedback to, and the selection of goals by, paraprofessionals. Behaviour Change, 14, 174-184.
15.
Horner, R.H., Carr, E.G., Halle, J., McGee, G., Odom, S., & Wolery, M. ( 2005). The use of single-subject research to identify evidence-based practice in special education. Exceptional Children, 71, 165-179.
16.
Jalongo, M.R., & Heider, K. ( 2006). Teacher attrition: An issue of national concern. Early Childhood Education Journal, 33, 379-380.
17.
Joyce, B., & Showers, B. ( 1980). Improving inservice training: The messages of research . Educational Leadership, 37, 379-385.
18.
Joyce, B., & Showers, B. ( 2002). Student achievement through staff development (3rd ed.). Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development.
19.
Keen, D., Sigafoos, J., & Woodyatt, G. ( 2001). Replacing prelinguistic behaviors with functional communication . Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 31, 385-398.
Klein, L., & Knitzer, J. ( 2006). Pathways to early school success: Effective preschool curricula and teaching strategies (Issue brief no. 2). New York, NY: Columbia University , National Center for Children in Poverty.
22.
Knowles, M.S. ( 1980). The modern practice of adult education: From pedagogy to andragogy (2nd ed.) Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall/Cambridge .
23.
Kohler, F.W., Anthony, L.J., Steighner, S.A., & Hoyson, M. ( 2001). Teaching social interaction skills in the integrated preschool: An examination of naturalistic tactics. Topics in Early Childhood Special Education, 21, 93-103.
24.
Leach, D.J., & Ingram, K.L. ( 1989). The effects of information and feedback on teachers’ classroom behaviour and students’ academic engaged time. Educational Psychology, 9, 167-184.
25.
Lombardi, J., & Cubbage, A.S. ( 2004). Head Start in the 1990s: Striving for quality through a decade of improvement. In E. Zigler & S. J. Styfco (Eds.), The Head Start debates (pp. 283-295). Baltimore, MD: Paul H. Brookes.
26.
McCollum, J., McLean, M., McCartan, K., & Kaiser, C. ( 1989). Recommendations for certification of early childhood special educators. Journal of Early Intervention, 13, 195-211.
27.
Morgan, R.L., Gustafson, K.J., Hudson, P.J., & Salzberg, C.L. (1992). Peer coaching in a preservice special education program. Teacher Education and Special Education , 15, 249-258.
28.
Mudd, J.M., & Wolery, M. ( 1987). Training Head Start teachers to use incidental teaching . Journal of the Division for Early Childhood, 11, 124-134.
29.
Noell, G.H., Witt, J.C., Gilbertson, D.N., Ranier, D.D., & Freeland, J.T. (1997). Increasing teacher intervention implementation in general education settings through consultation and performance feedback. School Psychology Quarterly, 12, 77-88.
30.
Noell, G.H., Witt, J.C., LaFleur, L.H., Mortenson, B.P., Ranier, D.D., & LeVelle, J. ( 2000). Increasing intervention implementation in general education following consultation: A comparison of two follow-up strategies. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 33, 271-284.
31.
Ramey, C.T., & Ramey, S.L. ( 2004). Early educational interventions and intelligence: Implications for Head Start. In E. Zigler & S. J. Styfco (Eds.), The Head Start debates (pp. 3-17). Baltimore, MD: Paul H. Brookes.
32.
Reinke, W.M., Lewis-Palmer, T., & Martin, E. ( 2007). The effect of visual performance feedback on teacher use of behavior-specific praise. Behavior Modification, 31, 247-263.
33.
Rose, D.J., & Church, R.J. ( 1998). Learning to teach: The acquisition and maintenance of teaching skills. Journal of Behavioral Education, 8, 5-35.
34.
Sameroff, A.J., & Chandler, M.J. (1975). Reproductive risk and the continuum of caretaking casualty. In F. D. Horowitz, M. Hetherington, S. Scarr-Salapatek, & G. Siegel (Eds.), Review of child development research (Vol. 4, pp. 187-244). Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press.
35.
Sanetti, L.M.H., Luiselli, J.K., & Handler, M.W. ( 2007). Effects of verbal and graphic performance feedback on behavior support plan implementation in a public elementary school. Behavior Modification, 31, 454-465.
36.
Schepis, M.M., Ownbey, J.B., Parsons, M.B., & Reid, D.H. ( 2000). Training support staff for teaching young children with disabilities in an inclusive preschool setting. Journal of Positive Behavior Interventions, 2, 170-178.
37.
Schepis, M.M., Reid, D.H., Ownbey, J., & Parsons, M.B. ( 2001). Training support staff to embed teaching within natural routines of young children with disabilities in an inclusive preschool. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 34, 313-327.
38.
Tate, T.L., Thompson, R.H., & McKerchar, P.M. (2005). Training teachers in an infant classroom to use embedded teaching strategies. Education and Treatment of Children, 28, 206-221.
39.
Tawney, J.W., & Gast, D.L. ( 1984). Single subject research in special education. Columbus, OH: Merrill.
40.
Wade, R.K. ( 1985). What makes a difference in inservice teacher education? A meta-analysis of research. Educational Leadership, 42, 48-54.
41.
Ward, P., Johnson, M., & Konukman, F. ( 1998). Directed rehearsal and preservice teachers’ performance of instructional behaviors. Journal of Behavioral Education , 8, 369-380.
