Achievement, Programme evaluation
In an article published in the Journal of Educational Psychology, Keith Herman and colleagues examined the effectiveness of the classroom management program CHAMPS on students’ social behaviors and academic achievement.
CHAMPS is a teacher training program that focuses on six dimensions: Conversation, Help, Activity, Movement, Participation, and Signal. The program provides teachers with training and coaching to support them in creating an effective classroom management plan. During the training, teachers learn how to promote responsible behaviors among their students and to preplan brief and calm ways to respond to misbehaviors.
This study involved 101 sixth- to eighth- grade teachers and their 1,243 students in the Midwest. Teachers were randomly assigned to use CHAMPS in their classes for one school year (n=50) or to the control condition (n=51). Social behaviors were assessed using the Teacher Observation of Classroom Adaptation-Checklist and academic achievement was assessed through the administration of the Missouri Assessment Program (MAP) and the Stanford Achievement Test (SAT-10).
Results showed a significant improvement in teacher ratings of classwork completion (ES = +0.18) and observed student time-on-task (ES = +0.16) in favor of CHAMPS classes as well as a significant reduction of students’ concentration problems
(ES = -0.14). No significant findings were found for the other social behavior dimensions (disruptive behavior, emotional dysregulation, prosocial behavior). Students in the CHAMPS condition achieved significantly better results in MAP English (ES = +0.14) and SAT-10 problem solving (ES = +0.17) compared to control students. No significant results were found for math achievement assessed by MAP (ES = +0.16) and reading comprehension assessed by SAT-10 (ES = +0.08).
Source: Herman, K. C., Reinke, W. M., Dong, N., & Bradshaw, C. P. (2020). Can effective classroom behavior management increase student achievement in middle school? Findings from a group randomized trial. Journal of Educational Psychology. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1037/edu0000641