From Theory to Practice: A Tiered Support Model for Increasing Preservice Teachers’ Use of Behavior Specific Praise

This study used a multiple baseline with reversal design to assess whether visual performance feedback (VPF) influenced targeted and nontargeted staffs' use of behavior-specific praise (BSP) in a day-treatment program. This study expands on the typical VPF audience and assesses whether VPF can be effective with noncertified staff in a day-treatment program for young children with behavior disorders, an environment in which it is difficult to maintain high rates of BSP. In previous school-based studies, VPF has been collected by researchers and provided to targeted teaching staff. In the current study, rather than relying on researchers, the authors used staff instructors to collect VPF and assessed how that experience influenced the instructors' use of BSP. Results suggest that VPF provided, on average, a doubling in rates of BSP use by directly targeted staff and more than a 50% increase in rates of BSP in nontargeted instructors who collected BSP data. Furthermore, three of the four participants had substantially higher praise-to-correction ratios during the VPF intervention when compared with baseline and reversal conditions. Implications for improving treatment fidelity and reducing supervision time are discussed.

Behavior-specific praise (BSP) is one of the simplest classroom management strategies to implement and considered an evidence-based practice. Unfortunately, teachers underuse BSP and deliver more reprimands to students in their classrooms. Secondary students receive the highest rates of reprimands and exclusionary discipline (i.e., office discipline referral [ODR], suspension, expulsion) with students of color receiving disproportionate rates compared to their White peers. Performance feedback is a commonly used strategy to change teacher practices however, little is known about the impact of performance feedback on the equitable delivery of BSP and reprimands to students by race and sex. The purpose of this multiple baseline design study was to examine the effects of a visual performance feedback (VPF) intervention with secondary teachers on their equitable delivery of BSP and reprimands and the collateral impacts on student outcomes. In the first phase of intervention, teachers received VPF on their total BSP and reprimands. In the second phase, teachers received disaggregated VPF on their rates of BSP and reprimands delivered to students by race and sex. Results indicate a functional relation between VPF and total BSP and an overall reduction in total reprimands. Mixed results were found between VPF and the equitable delivery of BSP and reprimands rates delivered to students by race and sex. Student outcomes indicated an increase in average class-wide academic engagement and no impact on ODRs as no teacher delivered a single ODR. Key findings, limitations, and future research are discussed.

This study evaluated the effects of visual performance feedback (VPF) on teacher use of behavior-specific praise. In addition to receiving individual VPF, teachers participated in group consultation focused on increasing competence in the use of behavior-specific praise. Three general education elementary teachers and six students participated in the study. Classroom peer composite data were also collected. Teacher and student behaviors were monitored across baseline and VPF conditions in a multiple baseline design. The results indicated that VPF resulted in an increase in behavior-specific praise for participating students across all teachers relative to baseline. Additionally, teachers increased their use of behavior-specific praise with classroom peers. The findings highlight the need for direct assessment of intervention implementation and for the collection of peer data to identify collateral intervention effects.

Effective use of classroom management practices is critical to creating positive classroom climates supporting students’ academic and behavioral outcomes, and teachers in rural areas have a strong need for training in classroom management. One classroom management practice with significant support is behavior-specific praise (BSP). Research shows teachers need training to use BSP at high frequencies. Multicomponent training packages with sustained coaching have demonstrated increases in teacher use of BSP, but more flexible training approaches are needed to meet the needs of rural teachers. We used a multiple baseline design to first evaluate the effects of an online module on rural teachers’ use of BSP. Then, we evaluated the additive effects of asynchronous, virtual peer coaching on BSP. Results tentatively suggest the presence of a functional relation between virtual peer coaching and BSP following the online module and suggest the absence of a functional relation between the online module alone and BSP.

Successful instruction is contingent upon effective classroom management. Unfortunately, not all teachers are effective classroom managers and many require in-service professional development (PD) to increase their use of evidence-based classroom management skills. Although PD models have been developed and evaluated, many are resource-intensive. To address this, we developed a multitiered system for PD (MTS-PD) to provide increased levels of support based on need as measured by teacher behavior. We conducted two studies to examine the effect of Tiers 1 and 2 of the MTS-PD model on elementary school teachers’ use of behavior-specific praise (BSP). Study 1 examined the effect of Tier 1, a single 25-min didactic training, and Study 2 examined the effect of Tier 2, which included regular visual performance feedback delivered via email. The results of Study 1 indicated that teachers did not increase their rates of BSP to a priori defined levels of success. Study 2 found that the Tier 2 PD approach increased teachers’ BSP rates, a functional relationship was established, and the rates maintained 3 months after the Tier 2 PD. Study limitations and future directions are discussed.

ABSTRACTPerformance feedback has been shown to improve teachers' classroom management skills. Typically, a researcher provides the performance feedback, not school‐based personnel. Therefore, we investigated the effects of performance feedback on classroom management skills when the feedback is delivered by school‐based personnel. We used a concurrent multiple baseline design across participants to examine the effects of visual performance feedback provided by a school behavior resource teacher on four teachers' use of behavior specific praise. One White behavior support teacher, two White teachers, and two Black teachers, all with more than 5 years of teaching experience participated in the study. We used visual analysis and Tau‐U single‐case design effect sizes to evaluate the multiple baseline design. Results indicate a functional relation between visual performance feedback provided by a school behavior resource teacher and teachers' increased use of behavior specific praise The results suggest that school‐based personnel can be trained in data collection, brief coaching sessions, and implementation of visual performance feedback to support teachers in increasing their use of behavior‐specific praise. This study provides evidence that school‐based personnel can help teachers increase their use of BSP during instruction.

Multitiered support for professional development (MTS-PD) is a framework for applying a three-tiered support system to teacher classroom management professional development through targeted training and coaching. In this study, we conceptually replicated two prior MTS-PD studies. Following a school-wide training on behavior-specific praise (BSP), we conducted screening observations to identify teachers in need of additional support. Four teachers were identified and agreed to participate in a multiple-baseline design study focused on providing a targeted PD on BSP followed by emailed and texted visual performance feedback. We observed a functional relation between performance feedback and teachers’ increased use of BSP among participants. Teacher acceptability surveys indicated the teachers approved of the performance feedback intervention and preferred receiving it via text due to ease of access. The results of this study provide further support for the MTS-PD framework along with meaningful considerations for future research. Supplemental data for this article is available online at https://doi.org/10.1080/2372966X.2020.1853486.

Effectively managing a classroom is crucial in promoting positive student outcomes. Behavior-specific praise is an empirically supported strategy to reinforce desirable student behaviors. Following a review of the literature, we identified tactile prompting and self-monitoring as effective methods to increase teachers’ use of behavior-specific praise while sustaining intervention long enough until teachers contacted natural maintaining contingencies. We created electronic tactile awareness prompting with self-monitoring (eTAPS) by combining two applications on an Apple Watch. Using a multiple-baseline-across-participants design, this study primarily investigated the effects of eTAPS on special education teachers’ use of behavior-specific praise. Secondarily, this study investigated the impact that behavior-specific praise would have on the on-task behaviors of targeted students with disabilities demonstrating frequent off-task behaviors. Results indicated that eTAPS was effective in increasing and maintaining behavior-specific praise rates. Furthermore, significant increases in student on-task behavior occurred. Implications of results and future research are discussed.

An Experimental Study of Effective Teaching in First-Grade Reading Groups

Preschool children experience a variety of risk factors that could result in the development of more severe mental and behavioral health issues later in life. Simple, teacher-delivered interventions, such as behavior-specific praise, are effective for altering at-risk preschool children’s behavioral trajectory. However, preschool teachers are often not well-trained in the implementation of evidence-based classroom management strategies. The purpose of this study was to test the efficacy of a school-based consultation modality, in situ training, for increasing and maintaining four Head Start teachers’ use of behavior-specific praise. Of particular interest was whether Head Start teachers generalized their use of behavior-specific praise to settings in which in situ training did not occur. Results indicated that all four Head Start teachers increased and maintain their use of behavior-specific praise and generalized their use of praise to settings in which in situ training did not occur. Furthermore, concomitant improvements in the Head Start teachers’ children were observed. Implications, limitations, and directions for future research are discussed.

This study used data from 435 teacher‐child dyads in early childhood classrooms to examine the extent to which teachers' use of behavior specific praise (BSP) with children screened for elevated rates of externalizing behaviors was influenced by the intensity of child challenging behavior and gender. Observational assessments indicated that teachers used BSP infrequently. A multiple regression model revealed a significant association between the interaction of child challenging behavior and gender and teachers' delivery of BSP. An examination of the simple slopes revealed a disordinal interaction where the relation between challenging behavior and teachers' delivery of BSP differed as a function of child gender. These findings point to an increased need for training to support teachers' use of BSP and understanding of the influence of child gender and behavior on the use of BSP.

The purpose of this study was to synthesize the literature in support of training teachers to use behavior-specific praise, which is a strategy used to reduce students’ disruptive and off-task behavior as well as prevent students’ problem behaviors from occurring. The results of 28 single-case studies examining the effectiveness of training teachers to increase their use of behavior-specific praise were synthesized in this meta-analysis. Overall results suggest that praise training produced a strong effect (Tau-U = 0.85) at increasing teachers’ use of behavior-specific praise. Limitations, implications, and future directions of the findings are discussed.

The limitations and challenges of paraprofessional training are well documented. These issues are magnified by the increasing reliance on paraprofessionals to provide vital support for students with emotional and behavioral disorders (EBD). Despite evidence supporting self-monitoring for improving teacher and paraprofessional skills, there are limited demonstrations of how paraprofessionals improve their use of evidence-based strategies through self-monitoring. This study examined the effects of self-monitoring on paraprofessionals’ total use of praise and behavior-specific praise. A first exploratory item included the extent to which any increases in praise covaried with paraprofessional use of reprimands. A second exploratory item determined whether any changes in praise covaried with the engagement and disruptive behavior of their students with EBD. Self-monitoring was associated with increased total praise, a moderately increased use of behavior-specific praise, and improvements in student engagement along with decreases in student disruptive behavior. Implications for behavioral interventions for students with EBD are discussed.

.School-based consultation typically focuses on individual student problems and on a small number of students rather than on changing the classroom system. The Classroom Check-Up was developed as a classwide consultation model to address the need for classroom-level support while minimizing treatment integrity problems common to school-based consultation. The purpose of the study was to evaluate the effects of the Classroom Check-Up and visual performance feedback on teacher and student behavior. Results indicated that implementation of the Classroom Check-Up plus visual performance feedback increased teacher implementation of classroom management strategies, including increased use of praise, use of behavior-specific praise, and decreased use of reprimands. Further, these changes in teacher behavior contributed to decreases in classroom disruptive behavior. The results are encouraging because they suggest that consultation at the classroom level can create meaningful teacher and student behavior change.

This study examined the impact of teacher training interventions on establishing equity in teacher implementation of a common positive behavior classroom support strategy, behavior-specific praise (BSP), in four elementary classrooms. Teacher self-monitoring and written performance feedback were used to support teachers in improving classroom practices by establishing proportionate praise and discipline practices across racially diverse students. A multiple-baseline across participants design was used to evaluate the impact of self-monitoring and written performance feedback with and without equity-focused procedures on teacher delivery of BSP and reprimands and their perception of student classroom behavior. Results indicated that the typical self-monitoring and written performance feedback were effective in increasing the participating teachers’ overall rates of delivering BSP and reducing reprimands; however, substantial disparities in praise delivery were observed among student racial groups across teachers. Additional feedback regarding equity was necessary for reducing disparities in teacher behavior. The results also indicated that teacher perception of student classroom behavior improved, as a result of the teacher training intervention.