Consultation as a vehicle for increasing novice teachers' use of evidence-based classroom management strategies

Teachers' classroom management skills have a significant impact on students' short and long-term outcomes. Unfortunately, research has demonstrated that teachers, particularly novice teachers, often struggle to effectively manage classrooms and student behavior. Teacher consultation, which is defined as working one-on-one with a teacher in order to build a specific set of skills in order to best meet the needs of students, has emerged in the literature as method for enhancing teacher skills. This study examined the integration of a classroom management consultation model, the Classroom Check-up, into the student teaching component of a pre-service education program for four participants. Impacts on teacher and student behaviors were examined using a multiple baseline design. Results indicated positive teacher behavior change related to praise, opportunities to respond, precorrections, reprimands, and time spent teaching and decreased student disruptive behaviors. Overall, both student teacher and student behaviors were positively impacted by participation in the Classroom Check-up consultation model