During collaboration with teachers, potential problems were discussed and utilized to develop a needs assessment. A needs assessment of five questions was generated to determine what professional development is most needed in one of these areas. The five areas are: (1) Common curricular accommodations and modifications, (2) common symptoms of mental health symptoms, (3) evidence based strategies when developing interventions, (4) implementing functional behavior assessments (FBA), and (5) strategies for working with student’s family. The needs assessment was developed to determine which area of concern is most prominent for teachers and requires the highest need for professional development in the school. (See Appendix …show more content…
Likert-type or frequency scales use fixed choice response formats and are designed to measure attitudes or opinions (Bowling, 1997). It is an evidence based survey that uses a 5 or 7 point scale that participants can use to express opinions and the intensity of their opinions. Likert scale survey was generated and 60 surveys were placed in the teachers’ mailboxes with a note explaining the purpose of the needs assessment. In order to receive more responses, the survey was anonymous. This allowed the teachers to write in the comment sections honestly. Offering anonymity on self-administered questionnaires should further reduce social pressure, and may reduce social desirability bias (Paulhaus, 1994). After rating each area of assessment, the teachers an option to pick an area they need more assistance with in the classroom. They were also given an option to write any comments, concerns or