Online Training for Teachers Delivering Evidence-Based Preventive Interventions

This study investigated the perceived feasibility and pattern of implementation following an online training for teachers delivering an integrated intervention encompassing two school-based universal preventive interventions: Promoting Alternative THinking Strategies (PATHS) curriculum and the PAX Good Behavior Game (GBG). Forty-five teachers from three urban elementary schools completed an online training consisting of didactics and video demonstration and received in-person coaching across a 31-week implementation period. Data from 65 teachers from three schools who received in-person training and coaching provided a benchmark for comparison. Most teachers in the online training + in-person coaching (OLT + IPC) condition reported that the technology was easy to use and that the course was as effective as an in-person workshop. Teachers in the OLT + IPC group reported positive attitudes regarding PATHS and the PAX GBG that generally were not significantly different from attitudes reported by teachers who received in-person training + in-person coaching (IPT + IPC). Importantly, teachers in the OLT + IPC condition achieved a high level of implementation quality similar to that demonstrated by teachers in the IPT + IPC condition. The frequency of intervention delivery by OLT + IPC teachers was also not significantly different than that of IPT + IPC teachers. These findings provide evidence that the internet is a promising component in a training sequence designed to teach teachers to deliver evidence-based preventive interventions.