Training,Supervising,and Supporting Students With Emotional–Behavioral Disorders as Cross-Age Tutors

Abstract

Students with emotional and behavioral disorders (EBD) are frequently on the receiving end of intervention models (e.g., social skills training) in which targeted skills are modeled and practiced in unnatural arrangements (i.e., teacher-led). Special educators consistently report a need for effective interventions and instructional arrangements that promote social-behavioral skills of students with EBD in natural learning environments (i.e., with peers). When students with EBD are provided the opportunity to serve in the role of tutor (i.e., on the instructional delivery end of the model), increases in academic and behavioral skills have been found for both tutors and tutees. This article provides an overview of effective procedures and considerations for training, supervising, and supporting students with EBD as cross-age tutors.

Keywords

emotional and behavioral disorders tutoring cross-age peer-mediated EBD

Students with emotional and behavioral disorders (EBD) frequently exhibit deficits in areas of developing and maintaining healthy relationships with peers and adults (Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act, 2004), as well as making adequate levels of academic progress (Berry Kuchle et al., 2015). When these needs are not met within the classroom, detrimental short- and long-term outcomes occur, such as low attendance and high school completion rates and connections to the criminal justice system (Reid et al., 2004). To further complicate issues, teachers frequently report feeling underprepared to effectively serve students with EBD (McKenna et al., 2021), which may lead to burnout and result in teachers leaving the profession (Bettini et al., 2020). These conditions highlight an ever-present need for classroom interventions that address both the academic and behavioral needs of students with EBD (National Center on Intensive Intervention [NCII], 2013).

Effective interventions for students with EBD frequently include components such as peer-mediated instruction (i.e., tutoring), increasing opportunities to respond (OTR), positive reinforcement/feedback, and increasing classroom structure that allows for students to predict what will happen next (Bowman-Perrott et al., 2014; Kaya et al., 2015). Each of these components is naturally embedded within peer-mediated interventions such as peer-assisted learning strategies (PALS; Fuchs et al., 2013) and tutoring models in which students with EBD serve as cross-age tutors (CAT-EBD; Watts, Bryant, & Roberts, 2019). Recent peer-mediated research has shown positive effects on increasing academic engagement and deterring problem behaviors for students with EBD (Sinclair et al., 2019).

This population of students is typically on the receiving end of peer-mediated intervention models (i.e., they are the tutees) when they are employed. However, what happens when students with EBD are provided the opportunity to serve as the instructors (i.e., tutors) for younger students (i.e., 1 year/grade below the tutor) who are also in need of supplemental instruction (e.g., serve as cross-age tutors; CAT-EBD)? Research suggests that this is a promising avenue for supporting skill development (Spencer et al., 2009).

Students as Cross-Age Tutors

Peer-mediated interventions can take many forms and can support both academic and social-emotional skills for students with challenging behaviors (Roberts et al., 2020). One specific model, CAT-EBD, has become supported by an ever-growing research base, which suggests effectiveness in promoting academic and social skills of students with EBD (Okilwa & Shelby, 2010). Early research focusing on students with EBD in the role of peer tutors shows effectiveness in promoting both tutee and tutor academic skills and knowledge. Improvements have been found in the areas of reading, spelling, mathematics, general test scores/grades and on-task behavior, as well as attendance rates (Robinson et al., 2005). Furthermore, students with challenging behaviors have been shown to be effective tutors, with the ability to implement tutoring procedures with fidelity (e.g., follow procedures with consistency and quality) when provided with proper training, supervision, and support (Watts, Bryant, & Carroll, 2019).

In addition to tutee learning, tutors may also obtain indirect, nonacademic outcomes from serving in the CAT-EBD role (Blake et al., 2000). Social, emotional, and behavioral improvements have been found in measurements of discipline within the classroom, social skills, peer relationships, and self-esteem/self-worth (Miller et al., 2010). Considering that these domains are frequently characterized as deficit areas for students with EBD, positive effects of the CAT-EBD model such as social skill development (e.g., providing positive reinforcement to peers) and self-regulation (e.g., adaptability, dependability) are particularly salient. Similarly, considering the high demand and need for differentiated instruction (McKenna et al., 2021), the CAT-EBD instructional model, with appropriate planning and supervision, may provide opportunities for targeted instructional support as well as individual opportunities for social skills practice and the receipt of behavior-specific reinforcement (Watts, 2016). The steps and considerations for effective planning, training, supervision, and support are provided within the following sections.

Pretutoring: Planning and Training

Before training students with EBD to be cross-age tutors, the instructional focus, related materials, and necessary skills must first be identified. Without proper planning, tutoring interventions will likely become less feasible and effective (Yasutake et al., 1996).

Selecting and arranging tutoring pairs/groups

Technically, cross-age tutoring can take place between any pair of students as long as the tutor is one or more grade or year above that of the tutee. Generally, the greater the range in age/grades between the tutee and tutors, the more accessible the academic content or skills will be to the tutor. Considerations should be made in regard to the focus of the tutoring role. Specifically, practitioners should determine whether tutoring sessions will provide practice opportunities in needed academic skills similar to the tutee’s need/target skill, or whether tutors must be competent in the academic skill so that they can focus on practicing positive social skills and on-task behaviors as a tutor, throughout the sessions. For example, if a tutee in first grade is in need of extra practice in basic computation skills, a tutor in second or third grade with similar needs may also benefit from the additional practice within the tutoring sessions. In contrast, if this same tutee is assigned a tutor in middle or high school, the tutor will most likely be proficient in the target academic skill but may still benefit socially, emotionally, and behaviorally from managing the tutoring sessions (e.g., modeling on-task behavior, time management, providing praise to peer, organization).

When planning for CAT-EBD, practitioners should consider students’ abilities, interests, behavioral needs, and personalities in matching tutors and tutees (Wang et al., 2013). Interest inventories, preferences assessments, and/or reinforcement menus can serve as effective data collection tools for determining shared interests and reinforcement styles/choices. Identifying common interests can provide teachers with prompts to support their tutors in getting to know, and engaging, their tutees (e.g., “David loves basketball, so why don’t you start your greeting by asking him about his favorite player”). This information can also assist in identifying common reinforcers (i.e., rewards) for the tutee and tutor when goals are achieved (e.g., basketball time in the gym).

When implementing any tutoring or peer-mediated instructional model with students with challenging behaviors, the teacher should critically evaluate what will work best for individual students. Although students with EBD can be effective and safe tutors, it is important to note that students with more aggressive, violent, or self-harming behaviors should be carefully considered before including in participation. That being said, Blake et al. (2000) purposely selected students with the most abusive behaviors to serve as tutors in a CAT-EBD program to decrease the frequency of negative behaviors and increase the number of supportive behaviors for both tutors and tutees. A related example can be found in the utility of CAT-EBD within a residential treatment program, during morning routines, where one student’s challenging behaviors typically led to aggressive behaviors that required the use of physical restraints. The student was given a “job” (i.e., CAT-EBD) to provide tutoring in basic reading and writing skills during morning academic time. This required the student to complete morning routines and arrive to school on time to take care of the responsibilities associated with her job. These responsibilities essentially deterred undesired behaviors (e.g., truancy, self-harm, lack of engagement in academic tasks) and facilitated motivation and positive self-esteem in the student, as well as provided educators with increased opportunities to praise the student within the residential and academic settings. Thus, CAT-EBD may serve the underlying function of the behavior (e.g., obtain peer/adult attention) by providing opportunities for positive replacement behaviors (McKenna et al., 2016).

When planning the pairing of tutors with tutees, it is important to assess the strengths and deficits in emotional, behavioral, and academic domains for all participating students. Depending on a tutor’s challenging behaviors or emotional needs (i.e., internalizing or externalizing), pairing a tutee with strengths in these areas may be appropriate, and vice versa. Tutees with the most intensive academic needs may benefit from being paired with a tutor who displays more consistent, effective instructional skills (i.e., modeling, corrective feedback, specific positive reinforcement). Furthermore, seeking input from both tutors and tutees is important as to preferences in pairing, as this may deter later engagement and interaction problems.

Instructional materials

Considerations for appropriate and accessible instructional materials should be a central focus when planning for tutoring sessions. The tutoring sessions do not need to be focused fully on providing instruction for the development of new skills; they can also can provide additional practice opportunities through learning activities that allow for corrective feedback and positive reinforcement of skills that have been previously presented and modeled in class (e.g., during teacher-led or direct instruction).

For example, in one study, the instructional materials and procedures for the tutoring sessions were built around playing number-line board games (Watts, Bryant, & Roberts, 2019). These materials were chosen for both the content (i.e., to practice and reinforce early numeracy knowledge and skills) and the accessibility of the instructional procedures for the tutor (i.e., the tutor had already mastered the academic skills, and the procedures were familiar based on previous experience playing board games). Thus, the tutor was able focus effort on implementing tutoring procedures such as following game directions and providing corrective feedback (i.e., counting forwards and backwards) in a positive manner, as well as modeling prosocial skills and behaviors (e.g., encouraging tutees and keeping them on-task and engaged). In addition, modeling their own competency in these specific academic skills serves as a possible source of self-confidence in an academic domain. Playing number-line board games also requires minimal training due to the simplicity of the game as well as the required skills to teach, facilitate, and provide corrective feedback to the tutee.

Scheduling tutoring sessions

The frequency and duration of the tutoring sessions will depend on both the targeted content and the skills and ages of the students. For example, younger students may benefit from shorter, more intensive tutoring sessions, whereas older students may be able to engage in multicomponent learning activities or supplemental “skill and drill” curriculum materials. It should be noted that CAT-EBD programs containing tutors with EBD have been found to be most effective (i.e., skills acquired and maintained) when (a) attended, at minimum, 2 to 3 times per week for 30-min sessions and (b) consistently implemented for 10 or more weeks (Watts, Bryant, & Carroll, 2019).

One of the most frequent barriers identified by teachers implementing CAT-EBD programming is the challenge of scheduling tutoring sessions at common times between the different grade-level schedules of tutors and tutees (Watts, Bryant, & Roberts, 2019). Administrators should support shared planning time between collaborating educators, as the increased feasibility of the program may provide additional support for students who are at risk, and who require supplemental instructional minutes. When possible, tutoring sessions should be scheduled during the same days and times each week, and within the same classrooms or learning environments. These planning considerations will support the tutees and tutors in becoming familiar with the routine and better prepare them for transitioning into the tutoring setting, thus facilitating productive instructional time. These arrangements should be made prior to tutor training, so the tutors can begin familiarizing themselves with the tutoring routine and environment during the training sessions.

Training tutors

Before beginning a tutoring program, it is important to ask students whether they would like to be a tutor/teacher (e.g., math buddy) to help support a younger student’s learning. Asking students with challenging behaviors if they would like to volunteer, opposed to informing the students that they will now be required to participate, can reduce problem behaviors throughout the tutoring process. In addition, if the CAT-EBD program is presented as a unique opportunity and responsibility, which it typically is for this population of students, engagement and motivation may increase as well. Facilitating more willing, engaged, and motivated tutors in turn will increase the effectiveness of the tutoring program (Jolivette et al., 2002).

A fidelity checklist measures the level at which a tutor is implementing or following a set of instructional procedures/behaviors. Developing a fidelity checklist prior to training can assist in identifying the necessary skills and procedures required for training/teaching tutors how to be tutors (see Figure 1). This checklist can also be used later during implementation of the tutoring sessions to assess tutor performance and identify areas that may need additional practice before the next sessions with their tutee. The following training components have been found to facilitate high rates of fidelity by the tutors: (a) modeling of tutoring skills and procedures; (b) guided practice of tutoring sessions such as meet and greet, setting goals, and providing reinforcement; (c) role-playing as tutor and as tutee; (d) error correction techniques that provide additional practice; and (e) positive reinforcement strategies such as specific praise statements and high-fives (Watts, Bryant, & Carroll, 2019). Providing video examples of other peer tutors exhibiting these desired behaviors in tutoring environments (e.g., giving directions in supportive ways, taking turns, being patient, providing verbal praise) can assist learning and increase engagement.

Figure 1.

Sample CAT-EBD fidelity checklist.

Teachers can begin tutor training with a discussion about what a tutor is and does as well as what a good tutor looks and sounds like (i.e., necessary behaviors and skills exhibited). This discussion may be supported, especially for younger students, by relating tutors to teachers (i.e., How do tutors behave? What skills do they need?) and also providing visual models and examples of CAT-EBD (e.g., video models and/or observations of other cross-age tutoring sessions in action). Next, depending on the instructional content and/or materials, the teacher-trainer should model (e.g., perform the behaviors while using an explicit talk aloud) the desired procedures as they would be implemented during a tutoring session. Breaking down the tutoring session into accessible sections can help the tutor to focus on the individual components within each step: (a) introducing tutee, (b) reviewing previous tutoring materials and skills, (c) providing new instructions or directions, (d) modeling new skill or activity, (e) practicing skills, (f) providing feedback, and (g) wrapping up. In addition, modeling and practicing the procedures and skills for each part will make the content more accessible before tying each of the steps together. Trainers should also provide examples of undesired behaviors for the students to identify and correct. It is important that the teacher or paraprofessional model the inappropriate behavior for the student to correct, not the other way around, which may provide an opportunity for the student to be reinforced for an undesired behavior (Leedy et al., 2004). During this procedure, students should specifically state why the teacher-performed behavior is inappropriate or incorrect and then model the correct procedure or expectation. Then, the teacher or paraprofessional can state and reinforce the specific positive characteristics displayed by the student during this modeling. Role-playing both the tutee and tutor roles is beneficial for tutors, as each arrangement provides opportunities to catch errors, support additional practice opportunities, and administer positive and corrective feedback as necessary. The role-play scenarios may also assist in identifying problems that may occur in actual tutoring sessions, which can be problem-solved together.

At the end of the training, the fidelity checklist can be used to evaluate the tutors’ competencies in each of the instructional components to ensure they are being implemented effectively, as well as identify the areas where corrective feedback or additional practice is required. Prior to attending the first CAT-EBD session, the tutors should role-play with one another, or a younger student, and be evaluated using the fidelity checklist. If the tutors are implementing the procedures with high rates of fidelity, they are prepared to begin attending real tutoring sessions with their tutees. After training, during the supervision of the tutoring sessions, the fidelity checklist remains useful as a progress monitoring tool, and it can also be provided to the tutor to utilize as a visual support/reminder during the tutoring sessions.

Supervising, Monitoring, and Reinforcement

Providing positive feedback to both the tutors and tutees should be a consistent focus during supervision and monitoring. Specific praise and feedback should be provided for targeted behaviors and behavioral goals that align with the students’ Individualized Education Program (IEP) or check-in/check-out behavioral point sheets (Bruhn et al., 2016). Kalis et al. (2007) suggested educators provide four positive statements for every one negative statement to increase productive student–teacher relationships. Teachers and paraprofessionals can also remind students that it is natural and expected to make mistakes when trying something new such as peer tutoring, and that making mistakes is part of the process of learning something new. These types of reminders can serve as a form of precorrection to address cognitive distortions students may have about making mistakes when they are provided consistently and supported by reteaching skills (e.g., modeling, guided practice) and reinforcement of effort and adherence to procedures.

Monitoring the progress of both tutees and tutors is important to ensure the tutoring sessions are productive and worthwhile in promoting academic and/or behavioral goals. Academic progress monitoring assessments and curriculum-based measurement (CBM) can be easily embedded within, or following, a given CAT-EBD session. If the assessments are easy to implement, or require minimal training, the tutors may be able to administer the measures as a wrap-up or closing activity at the end of the final tutoring session each week. This arrangement provides a predictable structure and routine for both the tutor and tutee. If the assessment is more complex in terms of instructions, the tutor can serve as a support, keeping the tutee focused and engaged in the CBM, while the educator administers the directions and supervises the progress, providing additional assistance when needed. In addition, the scores from these CBMs can be charted or graphed, providing direct and accessible visual data for the tutor to monitor, and also provide opportunities for positive reinforcement when goals are achieved (Sutherland & Snyder, 2007). While supervising, an educator or paraprofessional can observe a given tutoring dyad or group and complete a fidelity checklist to assess where feedback, both positive and corrective, and/or additional practice may be needed. In addition, the identification of both the strengths and challenge areas for each tutor will facilitate more productive and effective post-tutoring meetings.

Post-Tutoring: Feedback and Support

Wrapping up, the practitioner should provide specific positive reinforcement for individual and group successes observed during the session. In addition, the educator may set aside time to meet with individual tutor dyads/groups or tutors alone to review successes and problem-solve any challenge areas. The frequency and length of these interactions will depend on the student needs (e.g., brief check-ins after each session or a regular scheduled meeting time at the end of each week). Acknowledging progress toward goals or positive behaviors observed during the sessions is a good way to begin the meetings. In addition to positive reinforcement, this may also be a time where the educator can provide corrective feedback or strategies to assist the tutor in future sessions.

Meetings with tutors can also be conducted in groups, where discussions and collaborative problem-solving support can be provided together. During these discussions, it may be beneficial to use the sandwich method for giving feedback, which involves giving behavior-specific praise first, focusing on implementation issues second, and ending the discussion with behavior-specific praise for previously observed successes and positively participating in group problem-solving. When giving feedback, if the fidelity checklist shows low rates of implementation, a retraining or booster session may be required to review and practice tutoring procedures that were found to be missing or implemented inconsistently. When retraining or providing constructive feedback, it is important to remember to provide positive reinforcement statements before and after negative feedback, similar to training and supervision stages (Conroy et al., 2009). Exemplary tutors can be utilized as CAT-EBD models in providing training or retraining (e.g., modeling, role-playing), guidance and feedback, and problem-solving support to new or future tutors. Videos of previous tutors in action provide accessible and natural models for students being trained, as they can better relate and see themselves in their peers. Note that permissions may be required for video modeling. In this role, students with EBD may continue to receive the benefits of the tutoring role without necessarily attending tutoring sessions (i.e., peer recognition as tutors/leaders and increased self-confidence and self-esteem).

Conclusion

When students with EBD are provided the opportunity to serve in the role of a tutor in CAT-EBD models, they are provided a sense of responsibility as well as a sense of the teacher’s positive, high expectations of them (Wang et al., 2013). Within the tutoring environment, the tutor is exposed to student behaviors that are the target of development or instruction. Being in the CAT-EBD role and observing the learning process, as well as the challenges of teaching another student, the tutor may gain insight into the importance of student behavior (e.g., staying on task, listening, following directions) on learning. Essentially, these students with EBD may be observing and identifying the essential skills or barriers to being a “good” student. After CAT-EBD, when these students return to the role of student, they may attempt to utilize more productive attitudes and behaviors similar to ones desired for their tutees (Robinson et al., 2005). In addition, when students with EBD serve as cross-age tutors, they are likely to exhibit skills that allow them to be seen as a positive role model for their tutee (Schunk, 1998). To be seen as a role model to their tutee and benefit from receiving the desirable positive attention of a younger student, the tutor may begin to develop positive social and behavioral skills to take on that positive role model identity with more frequency.

Students with EBD can function effectively as tutors when provided with appropriate training, supervision, and support (Ryan et al., 2004), but when implementing interventions for students with challenging behaviors, educators should always consider the materials and procedures required, the arrangement/partnering of tutor and tutee, the continual progress monitoring of the program, as well as the overall goals and outcomes for both student populations.

Footnotes

Declaration of Conflicting Interests

The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Funding

The author(s) received no financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

ORCID iD

Gavin W. Watts

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