Students With Emotional and Behavioral Disorders as Tutors

Planning and Preparation

Mr. Parker carefully identified which students would most benefit from participating as tutors in the CAT-EBD program, and with input from a kindergarten teacher colleague, tutees in need of extra skill practice in counting and number sense were identified. The teachers decided on the necessary materials (e.g., number line board games, math flashcards), location (e.g., resource classroom), and weekly tutoring schedule. Next, they developed a list of the necessary skills and procedures for the tutors to be trained on (e.g., game directions, modeling, error correction techniques, positive reinforcement strategies). Finally, the collaborating teachers discussed pairing specific tutors with tutees. This discussion was informed by student data (e.g., academic strengths/deficits, social-behavioral strengths/deficits), personal experiences (e.g., student personalities), interviews from teachers/parents, as well as input from the participating students themselves (e.g., interest surveys, reinforcement menus).

Planning for CAT-EBD requires the initial identification of any stakeholders affected by the tutoring sessions, locating tutoring space, identifying and organizing materials for tutoring, and identifying the best possible pairing matches for the tutors and tutees. Besides some of the apparent stakeholders (i.e., tutors, tutees, implementing teachers), here are some examples of some of common stakeholders you may attempt to include in the program: (a) paraprofessionals, (b) social workers and counselors (i.e., inside and outside of school), (c) check-in/check-out (CICO) facilitators (Hawken et al., 2014), (d) related school staff, and (e) administrators. Including each of these stakeholders in the planning process, defining expectations, and facilitating an open and welcoming environment will facilitate the support and success of the program. A simple invitation to these stakeholders to come observe a tutoring session can increase opportunities for praise for the participating students from new sources, therefore increasing engagement, confidence, and pride in their new skills. These invitations can prove to be beneficial for the observers, who may be surprised in seeing familiar students with EBD exhibit unfamiliar, positive social-behavioral skills (i.e., changing their own perspectives/expectations of the students’ abilities; Watts et al., 2020).

Prior to training tutors, identifying the desired tutor behaviors/skills can assist in developing an aligned fidelity checklist. A fidelity checklist is essentially a list of the necessary tutoring steps, tasks, and/or behaviors that should be observed during the sessions. This list can serve as a mini-lesson plan for training tutors, as well as an evaluation tool for assessing a tutor’s ability to implement each of the instructional steps with accuracy and consistency (i.e., during training and during tutoring sessions). Tutoring behaviors may include meeting and greeting their tutee, setting or reviewing goals, and providing specific positive reinforcement when successes are observed. Examples of fidelity checklist components related to instructional skills may include following specific rules/steps of the game, providing tutees with appropriate practice opportunities (i.e., taking turns), and/or correcting errors, when observed (e.g., modeling the desired skill, and providing additional practice opportunities).

Due to the differing instructional schedules between grade levels, scheduling tutoring sessions can be one of the key challenges to implementing CAT-EBD programming (Watts et al., 2020). In addition, resistance from staff may be observed, as some educators may perceive the tutors’ participation in the program as an undeserved reward in relation to their current classroom behavior. Practice promoting buy-in from the stakeholders can increase the long-term feasibility of the program. For example, conferencing with non-participating general and special education teachers to determine best placement of training and tutoring times not only minimize impact on academic content but deters the need for future changes in schedule due to seeking this initial input. Considering locations, utilizing the same or a similar training and tutoring setting eliminates potential variability in transitioning exceptions and teaching behaviors to the tutoring environment. Once the planning and logistical considerations are addressed, the program moves into the first stage of implementation, training tutors.

Training Tutors

Mr. Parker met with the tutors at a convenient time to train. They discussed the purpose and goals of tutoring their kindergarten “math buddies.” Mr. Parker modeled how to conduct a tutoring session with a paraprofessional, while engaging the students in identifying good tutoring skills and behaviors. Tutors practiced the math games with each other several times until they could perform the responsibilities with little to no prompting. Mr. Parker also trained a paraprofessional how to use the fidelity checklist and had them checkin during the tutor training to practice and to assess the performance of each tutor. After finding high rates of tutor fidelity, Mr. Parker was ready to let the tutors go to work with their tutees.

When training students with EBD to be tutors, it is important to begin by discussing their role, why they are important, and the goals for supporting tutees and the overall program.

Through discussion, practitioners can help students to identify the important teaching behaviors that are necessary for becoming a successful tutor, as well as relate these skills to school-wide behavioral expectations (e.g., be respectful, be responsible, be safe). Another strategy is to help tutors to connect their individual daily behavioral goals (e.g., CICO point sheets) to behaviors within the tutoring environment. For example, a target behavior related to “be responsible” may be operationalized within the tutoring setting as (a) arriving to the tutoring sessions on time, and (b) modeling and using the instructional materials appropriately during the session.

For students with internalizing behaviors (e.g., withdrawn, anxious, depressed), utilizing a parking lot tool can provide tutors with a location to independently record questions, comments, or concerns about what they are learning/experiencing. At the end, or throughout of the training lesson(s), the content from the parking lot can be discussed, encouraging critical thinking and collaborative problem solving. The “parking lot” allows tutors’ thoughts, questions, and opinions to be acknowledged without the risk of embarrassment, escalation in behavior, or interruptions in the lesson. In addition, the “parking lot” can provide a record of common questions, solutions, and reminders, all of which can be posted within the tutoring environment and be utilized as visual resources and prompts for future use.

When modeling the tutoring procedures for the students, a teacher and paraprofessional or collaborating teacher can role-play the desired steps. The procedure can start with how the tutors should enter the room, prepare their tutoring areas, and welcome their tutee. Physically modeling tutor behaviors and providing models for verbalizing instructional skills, such as presenting the rules of playing a number line board game (e.g., “First we spin the number spinner, then we count forward, reading the numbers on the board”), are essential training components before allowing the tutors to practice. The practitioners may also model common tutee behaviors (e.g., off-task, distracted) and the appropriate tutor response/strategy for redirecting these behaviors (e.g., “Math buddy, you’re doing such a nice job counting-on from your last number. Can you show me again?”).

For guided practice, students can take turns role-playing the role of tutee and then tutor with a practitioner. Once consistency in the desired skills and behaviors is observed, tutors can role-play among themselves while the practitioner supervises and provides error correction, additional modeling/practice, and/or reinforcement where needed. Tutors should be able to perform the essential tutoring procedures with little to no prompting prior to starting actual tutoring sessions with their tutees. This can be assessed by a practitioner utilizing a fidelity checklist of the desired tutor skills (e.g., modeling, taking turns, praising tutee) while observing tutors during the independent practice portion of training.

Participating staff members should also be trained to effectively supervise and manage tutoring sessions. The training sessions can provide an opportunity for paraprofessionals or related staff to practice using the fidelity checklist to identify opportunities for praise as well as behaviors or instructional skills that need to be intervened and modeled for the tutor dyad (i.e., tutor and tutee pairs/groups). Collaborating teachers may also need training on strategies for assisting students in transitioning back to their typical classrooms environments after tutoring sessions (e.g., brief wrap-up meetings, refocusing prompts/review expectations before reentering their regular classroom).

Monitoring and Supervising

Prior to each session, Mr. Parker and the paraprofessional checked in with the tutoring dyads to discuss the previous session’s performance and to set goals and expectations for the current session, both academic and behavioral. During the sessions, Mr. Parker modeled for the paraprofessional how to give specific verbal praise to the tutors and tutees based on individual needs. The paraprofessional utilized the fidelity checklist to assist in giving corrective feedback when they found a tutor was consistently missing a step or instructional procedure. At the end of each week, tutors assisted in evaluating tutees’ learning by administering a fast-facts timed worksheet. When complete, the tutors graded the work, graphed the progress with the tutee, and provided praise for the progress made. Then, the tutors provided the results to Mr. Parker, or the paraprofessional, who would inturn praise them.

Research suggests the CAT-EBD sessions are most effective (i.e., increases in academic and behavioral skills) when implemented at least twice per week for approximately 20 to 25 min (Watts et al., 2019). Prior to beginning the sessions, a lead teacher or paraprofessional can take turns checking-in with the tutors individually or with the tutoring dyads. The check-ins can support a self-assessment of their current mood, review the progress/challenges of previous sessions, and/or give pointers for success where needed. If tutors were found to have low rates of fidelity in a certain tutor skill, you may use this time to briefly discuss and review the strategy, and then provide an opportunity to practice before the next tutoring session begins. During the sessions, the supervising practitioner, utilizing the fidelity checklist, can evaluate a given tutor’s accuracy in implementing the desired procedures and teaching behaviors. If an error is observed, the tutor or tutee may be asked to repeat the skills/step again. If the same error is exhibited/observed, the practitioner should model the step explicitly, and then provide another opportunity for them to practice/exhibit the skill, followed by praise.

Evaluation and Reflection

After several weeks of the CAT-EBD program, Mr. Parker noticed a significant increase in tutees’ early numeracy knowledge and skills (e.g., counting-on, skip counting, number comparison). He also noticed increases in the tutors’ daily behavioral point sheet scores, as well as their ability to be redirected without frequent behavioral outbursts. Mr. Parker and the kindergarten teacher continued their collaborative meetings to evaluate the progress, to acknowledge successes, and to identify ways to improve the overall effectiveness of the tutoring program.

After each week, implementing teachers can connect with stakeholders to identify strengths and challenges of the CAT-EBD program, issue retraining lessons when needed, and modify schedules or groupings to increase effectiveness. Related tasks include evaluating tutee assessment results and tutors’ behavioral scores to determine if instructional components can be added or removed to target specific skill improvement. Identifying and developing plans or mini-lessons for problems that occurred in previous sessions as well as setting future goals should be ongoing considerations when meeting with collaborating teachers/paraprofessionals.

Compared with teacher-lead social skills instructional models/curriculums, students with EBD may be provided with a more engaging and motivating environment for practicing pro-social skills when in a tutoring role. CAT-EBD increases frequency and depth for authentic practice by facilitating interactions with peers, albeit younger and older, and can also provide opportunities to work on developing functional work skills such as managing time, schedules, and organization, and following a routine with consistency for several weeks. Undesired behaviors, schedule conflicts, absences, fire drills, and other unexpected interruptions all require active and flexible planning and problem solving but also provide learning opportunities that can be connected to real-world situations (i.e., jobs, post-secondary environments).

Teachers who have implemented CAT-EBD report student improvements in utilizing self-regulation/coping skills (e.g., independently requesting breaks), daily behavior point chart scores in general education classes (i.e., target behaviors), weekly progress monitoring assessment scores, and functional skills such as reading an analogue clock (i.e., to attend tutoring sessions on time; Watts et al., 2020). General education teachers have perceived increases in engagement and on-task behavior after students attended CAT-EBD (Blake et al., 2000). Administrators noticed a decrease in calls for behavioral assistance or intervention during less structured, non-academic times (e.g., recess, gym, before and after school) and engaged in public praise by visiting tutors’ classrooms and calling them to their office for a positive phone call home (dependent on students’ comfort level). Furthermore, these positive outcomes can be part of an ongoing communication with parents and families (e.g., phone calls, emails, parent communication logs) which can support more effective, collaborative relationships, and provide opportunities for students to be rewarded at home (Algozzine & Ysseldyke, 2006).

Conclusion

The tutees’ teacher informed Mr. Parker that they frequently asked about when the next session would be, and if they could have additional time with their tutors outside of the tutoring time. Other teachers also noticed improvements and asked to come observe the tutoring sessions in action. They were pleasantly surprised by the tutors’ behaviors and performance, and even observed peers asking the tutors about the program in the hallways and their inclusion classrooms. Mr. Parker shared these findings with the students, their parents, and the principal at the next teacher evaluation meeting.

Students, teachers, and parents of students participating in CAT-EBD programs have reported high levels of perceived effectiveness and a strong desire to continue the program once it ends (Watts et al., 2020). The CAT-EBD model helps to utilize the limited resources in a school/classroom to maximize differentiation in instruction, increases the availability for special educators to provide direct instruction to students with the most intensive needs, and deepens the quality of authentic social-emotional-behavioral skills practice and acquisition. Furthermore, CAT-EBD facilitates and builds confidence in marginalized students (with EBD) by providing them with an opportunity to be seen as a responsible leader in a school setting, an opportunity not generally afforded to this population. When educators place an emphasis on cross-grade level collaboration, thinking outside the box (i.e., as far as using new instructional models), and allocate the necessary planning and training time, CAT-EBD can be an effective intervention for students with a wide range of academic and behavioral needs.