School districts across the nation are engaged in an ongoing attempt to bring about
change. Educational researchers strive to initiate change in the classroom with students as
well as the teachers of these students.
The evaluation of a change effort is a key element in any implementation model; as
the actual training and development strategies used to induce change need to be consistently
refined. The change effort studied was an effort to implement Madeline Hunter's
Instructional Theory Into Practice (referred to as ITIP).
The study evaluated the effectiveness of this change effort over time. The
evaluation determined the extent to which intended behavioral outcomes of five dimensions
(key elements in the 11113 model) were realized initially and four years after treatment.
Because the behaviors of the treatment teachers and control group teachers were
crucial to the study, the research design collected data by videotaping teaching episodes of
the sample group pre- and post-treatment. These episodes were assessed for their pretreatment
teaching behaviors and post-treatment teaching behaviors . In addition, the
research design collected data by videotape and assessed the teaching behaviors four years
after the initial training. In the same manner, the control group's teaching behaviors were
assessed.
An analysis of the study's treatment group concerns was done as they evolved
through the change stages, as hypothesized by Dr. Frances F. Fuller (Fuller, 1969). This
change analysis and behavioral assessment led to additional evidence for the evaluation of
the effectiveness of the change effort in question.
This study showed that, from the beginning, a change effort needs to be carefully
and clearly defined so that everyone involved understands it well and everyone shares the
same definition. The study found that the initial training did change teaching behaviors in
four of the five areas in question. However, four years after the initial training, it was
found that there was significant regression in the skills learned from the initial training
sessions. Specifically, it was the areas that showed significant growth in the initial training
that regressed four years later. These behaviors though, even after regressing after four
years, were significantly displayed to a greater degree in each of the individual's teaching
behaviors when compared to individuals who had no formal training at all. Therefore, it
must be concluded that the formal training made a difference in the teaching behaviors of
those who participated in the change effort design, but not to the degree that was necessary
for the dimensions to become part of each individuals' teaching behavior over the long
term.
Change effort designs of the future must account for the time necessary for change
to occur and promote follow up activities until a significant amount of time for this follow
up has occurred. / Graduation date: 1991
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:ORGSU/oai:ir.library.oregonstate.edu:1957/36990 |
| Date | 07 December 1990 |
| Creators | Carlson, Ron |
| Contributors | Fielder, William R. |
| Source Sets | Oregon State University |
| Language | en_US |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis/Dissertation |
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