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Staying Consistent With Staff Training

We know the icky feeling - having to tell adults what to do all day. Most of us didn't go to school to be in charge of other co-workers (unless you are an administrator).

Let's get personal: When we were younger, we had to manage staff that were twice our age. Going into someone else's room and making recommendations, or having to be in charge or paraprofessionals for seven hours isn't always rainbows and unicorns - especially when those people have been in the school longer than you have.

But, part of building capacity when it comes to promoting positive behaviors is training staff. The key? Doing it frequently.

Why is consistent staff training an absolute must?

Whether you are a classroom teacher, specialist, or consultant, the goal is to clone yourself. Yep; we want that expertise and quality instruction to seep down the walls of every room in your school.

Telling staff what to do is often not enough to get them to do it effectively, accurately, and consistently.
Quality instruction should come from ALL staff, not just the "ones in charge."
Consistency with implementation of strategies, interventions, data collection, programs and more is necessary for true, long-term behavior change.
Staff behaviors need to change in order to get student behavior to change - and that takes a certain level of training.
Your co-workers cannot read your mind. You need to SHOW them what to do again and again until they are fluent in it.

Why typical staff trainings aren't usually effective:

In-service days are used to prioritize other things
Trainings that do occur aren't always meaningful to teachers working with students with complex behaviors
Trainings are presented in lecture format and don't involve much practice
Follow up, coaching, and feedback is often forgotten - an essential part of building fluency in any skill!
Meetings, planning, teaching, and paperwork are getting in the way.
You don't get paid for putting in extra hours
Your schedules don't line up
We are just trying to make it through the day...

Don't FIND the time, CREATE the time!

If improving student behavior and teaching skills is a priority, which it should be, you MUST create the time to train your staff often. Training does not have to be hours long (you are welcome!). But, to create the time, you sometimes need to get creative:

Before school while prepping for the day
After school while cleaning up
Waiting for the bus
Meet them for coffee
Zoom or phone call
Borrow and share TA's with another teacher so you have coverage
Give students free time every once in a while
Shift duties and each lunch together
Run a station together so you can show them what to do
Set up a regular weekly meeting and put it on everyone's calendar

How long should training be?

This all depends on what you are training on! Trainings can be 1 minute to 1 hour if you so desire. Just modeling a quick strategy? This can be quick. Explaining the rationale behind and intervention? You may need more time. Showing them how to lead a small group? You can do this in the moment during the school day (zero time taken away!) We are experts at being flexible with our students, so try and be flexible with your training as well.

What should staff trainings consist of?

Any time you are training a staff member to do what you do, you need to provide four main things:

1. Instructions: These can be verbal or written, ideally both. This is a detailed explanation of what you want them to do and say and what you DON'T want them to do or say. Give them the rationale behind everything! The more they understand the importance and reasoning behind it, the more willing they likely will be to do it.

2. Model it: It's time to get over the stage fright. Visualizing a behavior or skill in your mind is not the same as seeing someone physically doing it. Show a video or better yet, show them how to do it yourself.

3. Rehearsal: Now it's their turn. Have them run the station or implement the strategy you are having them learn. This is their time to build fluency by practicing it over and over again. It's all about creating new muscle memory.

4. Feedback: Give them feedback, both positive and corrective. Tell them exactly what parts of social skills group they lead well, and tell them which parts you both need to review together. Did they appropriately praise after the right behavior? Tell them! Did they prompt at the wrong time? Tell them. Remember to give more positive to corrective feedback (4:1) if you want those good skills to increase! Yep - this research and evidence-based strategy works for ALL humans, not just our students.

Now, do it all again!

You got it. This isn't a one and done thing. You have to come back to staff training over and over again throughout the weeks to make sure staff truly master and stay fluent with their skills.

Need assistance in training your school or classroom staff? We offer staff training based on the needs of your staff. Head over to our Admin Corner or Teacher Corner to see how we can help!