Evaluating the Accuracy of Results for Teacher Implemented Trial-Based Functional Analyses.
After one short PD, Head Start teachers ran spot-on TBFAs and their matched interventions beat unmatched ones every time.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Three Head Start teachers learned to run trial-based functional analyses (TBFAs) during one short training.
Each teacher then tested one preschooler whose problem behavior disrupted class.
After the TBFA showed the function, the teacher picked either a matched or unmatched intervention and tracked results.
What they found
Every time the teacher used an intervention that matched the TBFA result, problem behavior dropped and good communication rose.
When the same teacher used a non-matched plan, gains were smaller or vanished.
Brief training was enough for teachers to run accurate TBFAs and pick winning strategies.
How this fits with other research
Sorrell et al. (2025) extends this work by moving training online. They used virtual video modeling plus feedback to teach future teachers the same TBFA steps. Skills carried over to real classrooms with little extra coaching.
Guinness et al. (2024) zooms in on feedback timing. They showed that giving correction right before the next FA run speeds staff mastery. Mandy et al. gave feedback during initial PD, then let teachers practice—both paths led to accurate TBFAs.
Lerman et al. (1995) looks at delayed feedback in a different task. Their trainers still improved when feedback came after the session, matching the current finding that teachers can stay accurate even without live coaching.
Why it matters
You can hand a preschool teacher a one-page TBFA script after a single PD and trust the data. Match the result to a simple FCT plan and you get faster behavior drops and more spontaneous requests. Try filming your next training and sending clips with voice-note feedback—Sorrell’s team cut travel time to zero while keeping quality high.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
Trial-based functional analysis (TBFA) allows for the systematic and experimental assessment of challenging behavior in applied settings. The purposes of this study were to evaluate a professional development package focused on training three Head Start teachers to conduct TBFAs with fidelity during ongoing classroom routines. To assess the accuracy of the TBFA results, the effects of a function-based intervention derived from the TBFA were compared with the effects of a non-function-based intervention. Data were collected on child challenging behavior and appropriate communication. An A-B-A-C-D design was utilized in which A represented baseline, and B and C consisted of either function-based or non-function-based interventions counterbalanced across participants, and D represented teacher implementation of the most effective intervention. Results showed that the function-based intervention produced greater decreases in challenging behavior and greater increases in appropriate communication than the non-function-based intervention for all three children.
Behavior modification, 2015 · doi:10.1177/0145445515590456