effects of a self-evaluation intervention on the instructional behavior of special education interns

This study investigated the effects of an audiotaped self evaluation intervention on the instructional behavior of interns in classrooms for students with disabilities. Three interns teaching in elementary school settings in Southeast Florida participated in the study. The dependent variable was frequency of specific social praise statements. The independent variable was the self evaluation intervention which consisted of an individual training session that required each intern to listen to five minute audiotaped samples of their instruction and then graph the frequency of specific social praise. A multiple baseline design was used to measure the effects of the intervention. Generalization probes were administered to determine the effects of the intervention in other content areas and maintenance probes were evaluated to determine the effects of the intervention over time. A qualitative design employing an open ended interview was used to enhance and amplify the quantitative portion of the study and to find out what value the interns placed on the intervention. Results indicated that the intervention had a positive effect on all three interns' use of specific social praise. Generalization probes indicated that two of the three interns increased their use of specific social praise during non-targeted content areas. The maintenance probes indicated that all three interns' average use of specific social praise was well above their baseline averages, although two of the three interns had a decreasing trend. The findings from the qualitative data supported the results from the quantitative analyses and revealed that interns valued the self evaluation intervention because it allowed them to reflect, evaluate, and then change their behavior. Recommendations for future research were made.