Use Of Peer-Mediation To Develop Instructional Behavior In Pre-Service Teachers

6. At the end of each week, the investigators evaluated student performance of the prepared lessons. The performance of the instructional method was evaluated on each student's successful completion and inclusion of each step in the instructional sequence as they role-played teaching the lesson.

7. At the end of the semester, each student developed and role-played teaching a new lesson using one of the eight instructional procedures mentioned above. As the students taught their lessons, the investigators evaluated the student's performance of each step in the instructional sequence.

Experimental Design

Using a simple ABA design (Tawney, & Gast, 1984), the investigators measured the effectiveness of peer-mediated instruction to develop instructional behavior. Initially, the investigators administered a baseline assessment (i.e., 50 item multiple choice test) to determine the students' familiarity with each behavioral procedure. The individual student's percentage of correct responses was recorded and graphed as initial baseline data. During the intervention phase, the investigators weekly presented a new instructional method and had pairs of students instruct each other in a specific instructional procedure. As the students role-played their prepared lessons, the percentage of correct steps completed in each of the instructional procedures was recorded and graphed as intervention data. As a final baseline measure of Student performance, individual students selected an instructional procedure, prepared a new lesson, and role-played its instruction. The investigators monitored their performance and the percentage of correct steps completed in each student's presentation was recorded and graphed as baseline data.

Results

As illustrated in Figure 1, the initial baseline shows limited student skill in various methods of behavioral instruction. The investigators noted conspicuous and sustained increases in specific teaching behaviors after peer-mediated instruction was initiated. As portrayed in Figure 1, these increases in teaching behavior extended into the post-instructional phase of the study. Given the consistent increases in level across subjects, the data demonstrated the effectiveness of peer-mediation develop specific instructional behavior.

[Figure 1 ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

Conclusion

Results of this study demonstrated the effectiveness of a peer-mediation strategy to develop eight specific instructional behaviors in the eight pre-service teachers. This effect was replicated across subjects. However, because of the limited number of participants and the specificity of the target behaviors the generalizability of effect to a larger population may be restricted to these teacher trainees. Yet, the results of this study benefit not only the investigators' teaching but also that of other college and university instructors. Identification of effective classroom techniques benefits the professor's instructional choices. Because of identified efficacy, college and university instructors enhance student performance through these choices. Further research with a larger group of students may imitate the effectiveness of the presented instructional package.