Training General Educators to Increase Behavior-Specific Praise: Effects on Students with EBD

Abstract

Students identified with or at risk for Emotional/Behavioral Disabilities (EBD) are being included in the general education classroom with teachers who have little training or exposure to characteristics of and interventions for students with EBD. In this study, we used a simple professional development intervention to train teachers to better use behavior-specific praise (BSP) in their classroom. A modified multiple baseline design was conducted across four teachers and seven students. Three students were identified with EBD and four were considered at risk for EBD. The goal of the study was to increase the rate of BSP delivered to all students in the classroom and determine the effects of increased BSP on students with or at risk for EBD. Results of the study show that, following the teacher training, teachers increased BSP and target students increased their task engagement. In addition to increases in BSP, the use of corrective statements decreased following the training.