Researchers from Mizzou’s College of Education and Human Development are giving free training and coaching to middle school teachers in rural Missouri thanks to support from the U.S. Department of Education.

Contact: Eric Stann, 573-882-3346

Every day, teachers deal with various disruptive behaviors in their classrooms, from students talking out of turn to more serious issues such as kicking, fighting or pushing. Experts at the University of Missouri’s College of Education and Human Development are committed to helping teachers and students work through these situations in a respectful way.

Thanks to a $3,999,994 million grant from the U.S. Department of Education, Mizzou’s researchers are working to provide free online training and coaching on classroom management to 110 middle school teachers in rural Missouri. The team will use CHAMPS, a commercial training program developed by Safe and Civil Schools that has been widely used by schools across the country for the past 30 years.

The goal is to support teachers in creating a safe learning environment for everyone, said Keith Herman, the grant’s primary investigator and a Curators’ Distinguished Professor in the Department of Educational, School and Counseling Psychology. 

“This project is meant to support teachers through training and ongoing coaching so they can develop and/or improve their skills in this area,” said Herman, who is also co-director of MU’s Missouri Prevention Science Institute. “Our goal is to help reduce the number of stressors teachers face and grow their confidence as they work to positively influence their classrooms and their students.”

Herman said the training is designed to stop problem behaviors in students before they even start by making it less likely that something is going to happen and get the student back on track and learning again. Teachers are also taught the necessary skills to de-escalate challenging situations.

“We will help teachers set up their classrooms for success by building off what they already do well,” he said. “This can include strengthening their rules and expectations and the structure of their classroom such as creating easy pathways around the room to maximize their positive interactions with students. When teachers can do these things, data shows there are fewer disruptions, and teachers don’t have to give as many warnings for troublesome behaviors.”  

This project is an extension of the group’s previous study. Using the same training curriculum, the earlier findings showed that teachers had more positive interactions with their students, leading to better focus and grades. This grant builds on that work by expanding it to online training — making it more accessible to teachers in any location.  

Throughout the current grant, the researchers will see how well the program works when taught online.

“At Mizzou, we’re focused on improving the lives of both children and adults, and our goal is to help create a nurturing environment for learning,” Herman said.” “Regardless of the delivery method, if we can help teachers have more structured, predictable and positive interactions with their students, then the students should view their teachers more favorably and ultimately spend more time engaged and on-task.”