Training residential supervisors to provide feedback for maintaining staff teaching skills with people who have severe disabilities.
Supervisors need hands-on training in giving feedback or staff teaching skills fade.
01Research in Context
What this study did
The team trained residential supervisors to give good feedback. First came a short class. Then the trainer watched each supervisor on the floor and gave pointers.
The goal was simple. When supervisors give clear feedback, staff keep teaching clients with severe disabilities the right way.
What they found
Supervisors who got the training started giving feedback that met the set standard. Their staff also kept using correct teaching steps longer.
Supervisors without the training did not reach the feedback standard. Their staff’s teaching skills dropped off.
How this fits with other research
Arco et al. (2006) ran the same test in a nursing home. They also saw that a workshop alone left staff shaky. Adding on-the-job feedback fixed it. The match shows the 1995 result holds outside disability homes too.
Shabani et al. (2006) went further. They counted data errors and found big gains when supervisors stayed present and gave feedback. Their larger effect size sharpens the 1995 message: feedback must keep happening, not just at start.
Cameron et al. (1996) looks like a clash. They tried brief staff training and saw tiny gains. The gap is in the method. They used a talk-heavy NCAST model. Alsop et al. (1995) used clear behavioral steps plus live feedback. The weak 1996 outcome actually backs the need for the 1995 style.
Why it matters
If you run a home or school for adults with severe disabilities, train your supervisors first. Give them a short class, then watch them coach staff and correct on the spot. This keeps front-line teaching sharp without extra cash or long meetings. Start Monday: pick one teaching routine, script the feedback points, and shadow your lead staff for ten minutes.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
We evaluated procedures for training supervisors in a residential setting to provide feedback for maintaining direct-service staff members ' teaching skills with people who have severe disabilities. Using classroom-based instruction and on-the-job observation and feedback, 10 supervisors were initially trained to implement teaching programs themselves. The training improved supervisors' teaching skills but was insufficient to improve the quality of feedback they provided to direct-service staff regarding the staff members' teaching skills. Subsequently, classroom-based instruction and on-the-job observation and feedback that targeted supervisors' feedback skills were provided. Following training in provision of feedback, all supervisors met criterion for providing feedback to their staff. Results also indicated that maintenance of teaching skills was greater for direct-service staff whose supervisors had received training in providing feedback relative to staff whose supervisors had not received such training. The need for analysis of other variables that affect maintenance of staff performance, as well as variables that affect other important areas of supervisor performance, is discussed.
Journal of applied behavior analysis, 1995 · doi:10.1901/jaba.1995.28-317