"This science of behavior provides the guidance and foundation that schools, businesses, communities, and any other place you can think of need to create the type of culture people are proud to be a part of (Gavoni & Weatherly, 37)."
In any school, time is limited. For this reason, it's important to maximize the existing resources and strategies that have been validated for use in increasing favorable behaviors in the school setting. To start this process of behavior change, we must begin with our ABCs.
A = Antecedents. These are the things that come before a behavior. They may be things that prompt or remind a behavior to occur or it may be the setting and conditions in which the behavior takes place.
B = Behavior.
C = Consequences. This is what follows behavior. The consequence, whether good or bad, will determine whether the frequency of the behavior will increase or decrease. The impact a consequence will have is dependent on the individual.
"All behavior, in and outside of the workplace follows this antecedent-behavior-consequence sequence, or ABCs. This includes the behavior of our students, teachers, and school leaders (Gavoni & Weatherly, 38)."
Consider the consequences you are providing to staff. Do you only show up when something goes wrong? If that's the case, what sort of impact do you think that may be having on the educators you are coaching? How are you developing good habits in your coaches? How are you shaping their behaviors to build better behaviors? What goals are you developing for your coaches? These will all be targeted in the Deliberate Coaching Model.
But remember, "until other natural reinforcers can take over, such as seeing that progress saves time and actually works with their students, you need to keep providing external reinforcement like praise and positive feedback. Because this can’t last forever, it’s imperative that coaching conversations constantly help the coaches see the value in their day-to-day work (Gavoni & Weatherly, 46)."
"Classroom and schoolwide results are driven by behavior, and these behaviors need to be developed. Students must be trained to meet the requirements of their curricula and their lives, teachers must be trained to teach the students, and coaches must be trained on how to coach the teachers (Gavoni & Weatherly, 51)."
Every teacher operates under their own style or preferences, but it is so important to not overlook the science available surrounding building student skills and managing behaviors and performance in classrooms. This means implementing explicit instruction, opportunities for lots of practice of skills, and frequent feedback on skills. "School curricula should be built to ensure that the skills kids learn are either built into their day-to-day lives (to access natural reinforcement) or built into subsequent curricula (Gavoni & Weatherly, 54)."
If behavior training was not provided to teachers in college, it is the role of the coach to step in and provide training, modeling, encouragement, and tools to assist.
Prioritize what should be trained over what can be trained.
"Your training priorities influence your use of resources. How these resources are used directly affects the return on investment that your school administrators might be requesting. A clear understanding of training needs and optimal value provides an understanding of the specific behavior and results that will guide training efforts and set your training systems up for success (Gavoni & Weatherly, 57)."
Remember, more training is not the solution to every problem!
"Let's not forget the fundamental purpose of training: to build skills not yet in an individual’s repertoire or refine skills in a way that produces maximum impact. When looking to achieve this goal in an efficient and effective manner, you can't only take into account how well training is delivered; what's driving the demand for training is equally critical. Training should be used to address a need for training; It shouldn't be a one-size-fits-all bandage for all performance problems, Understanding this is the best way to position you and your training services for success (Gavoni & Weatherly, 58)."
Training is employed to build skills and encourage certain behaviors, however it may also serve another purpose: punishment.
Training following poor performance may act as a consequence to punish the behavior, sometimes with failure to emphasize positive replacement behaviors in a manner that is sustainable. Additionally, using training as a punishment to "send a message" can hamper performance.
"You're assuming that training will fix the problem, that a lack of training was the problem. But what if that assumption is wrong? Are the performance deficits truly caused by a lack of knowledge and skills needed to do the job? Always assuming that someone's performance problems occur because they lack a skill set can be demoralizing for the individual (Gavoni & Weatherly, 60)."
What is missing is acknowledgement of the learner. Science tells us that learning requires responding. The more opportunities to offer responses and get feedback on them, the greater the learning. So training systems that are quick but offer limited opportunities for the trainee to perform and get feedback… will not produce learning.
Behavioral Cusps provide opportunities for new behaviors, contingencies, and reinforcers
"The more criteria a behavior meets, the stronger it is as a training target, and the more you and the performer will experience a return on investment (Gavoni & Weatherly, 64):"
Does the skill you’re training help the person access reinforcers and desired environments?
Does the skill help other people?
Does the skill benefit the organization or community?
Does the skill help generate other desired behaviors?
Does the new skill replace an ineffective, inefficient, or otherwise inappropriate skill?
Training can motivate and guide learners. It can help build habits and change cultures in schools.
Here are a few things to consider to maximize the impact of training on performance problems:
Rule Out Environmental Barriers
Find the True Cause of the Performance Problem
Identify Your Proactive-Training Needs
"The science of behavior offers a level of precision that seeks out the causes of behavior in order to maximize the effective leadership tools you have in your repertoire, including the proper use of valuable training and professional or talent development systems. These are evidence-based tools to help you assess, manage, and sustain any issues related to learning and performance (Gavoni & Weatherly, 73-74)."
is "aimed at imparting information and/or instructions to improve the recipient's performance (Gavoni & Weatherly, 77)"
happens during an allotted time period
focuses on what needs to be done and why
is skill-oriented
"involves time-based, task-oriented behaviors which function to transfer a performer's previously acquired skills into the natural environment (Gavoni & Weatherly, 78)."
picks up where training leaves off
results in sustainable performance
achieves targeted outcomes
comes in different packages depending on the conditions
can occur in both simulated and natural conditions
focuses on "successfully applying skills within the work environment and helping performers get in contact with naturally occurring positive reinforcement through feedback and measurement (Gavoni & Weatherly, 78)."
Coaching requires the transfer of skills into the natural environment. Before this transfer, however, the skill needs to be developed through practice. Many other fields (e.g. medical, athletic, aviation) have utilized simulations to train professionals; the use of simulations in the education field would help to "improve decision-making and critical-thinking skills as well as teacher discipline-related concepts (Gavoni & Weatherly, 82)."
How do you create a quality education simulation? Here are some tips to get started:
Use varied settings
Choose meaningful characters and determine role expectations
Determine the goals (i.e., what skills you want participants to use)
Determine how to deliver feedback
Establish measurable criteria for success
Create branching scenarios to illustrate consequences of decision-making
Determine how to debrief