Online Training Gets a Nod from the National Institutes of Health
Published: 2007-10-17
IRIS Media, Inc. Awarded Small Business Innovation Research Grant
to Develop Online Teacher Training Programs
IRIS Media has been awarded a two-year research and development grant by the National Institutes of Health to produce and evaluate, Systematic Supervision: Being Safe, Responsible, and Respectful in School, an online training program for elementary school teachers, staff and students.
The grant award will support the development and evaluation of four multi-media, online training programs designed to help school staff supervise and monitor common areas such as playgrounds, hallways, bathrooms, cafeterias and buses. Materials will also be developed for students to help them learn how to be safe, responsible and respectful at school. Because bullying, harassment, and other problem behaviors occur most often in school common areas, schools and teachers need effective, school-wide strategies to improve school climate and ensure that school common areas are managed in ways that ensure student and staff safety.
IRIS Media will collaborate with the Institute on Violence and Destructive Behavior at the
Systematic Supervision, an approach to student supervision based on principles of Positive Behavior Support, was developed by Smith and Sprague and is being used in schools around the country where trainers from the Institute conduct regular staff training sessions. Teachers and staff learn to supervise crowded school common areas that have high rates of student activity. They learn moving and scanning techniques, how to be positive, how to respond to problem behavior, and how to communicate with students and each other.
The effectiveness of the Institute’s trainings over the past decade led to the idea of collaboration with IRIS Media to produce the online training. School staff will be able to access the training at times when it is convenient for them, and it gives them multiple opportunities to review and practice the techniques.
Marquez makes the point that, “Teachers are overworked and stressed. And while learning new behavior management skills can help reduce their stress, the reality is teachers don’t have a lot of time for staff development and they often remember only a portion of what they are taught. With an online training program, staff can learn at their convenience and they can review the training over time.”
After the development and production phase, the program will be evaluated in 36 schools in
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Author: NC
