By differentially reinforcing questionnaire statements that favored teachers' behavior-specific praise in a multiple-baseline design across participants, we altered the verbal behavior of general education teachers. Our target was a written verbalization favoring the delivery of specific rather than general praise. We then assessed the effects on…

A traditional tootling procedure was implemented along with a public posting component to determine the effects on academically engaged, disruptive, and passive off-task behaviors in four general education high school classrooms. Students in the traditional tootling phase were instructed to report on their peers' positive, prosocial behaviors. At…

Middle school is a cornerstone for success in high school. However, cognitive, emotional, and behavioral engagement of adolescents often decline as they transition from elementary to middle school, resulting in lower school grades and more challenging behaviors, especially for adolescents with or at risk for emotional and behavioral disorders…

The present study evaluated the effects of two reinforcement contingencies on teacher use of behavior-specific praise (BSP) in the classroom. An alternating treatments design was used to compare the implementation of both an independent and interdependent contingency to increase frequency of BSP delivery. Four general education elementary school…

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…

School-based consultation is effective for improving teachers' use of evidence-based classroom management strategies. However, teachers often respond differentially to varying types of consultation strategies. This study utilized a multiple baseline design across four teachers (i.e., two preschool and two elementary) to examine the effectiveness…

Middle school special education teachers often express concern about challenging student behavior. Class-Wide Function-Related Intervention Teams (CW-FIT), a behavior management program based on school-wide positive behavior support, have been effective in elementary general education classrooms. The present study, the first to apply it in a…

The Teacher versus Students Game is a variation of the Good Behavior Game (Barrish et al. in J Appl Behav Anal 2:119-124, 1969. https://doi.org/10.1901/jaba.1969.2-119) in which students compete against the teacher to earn points and win the game. Students earn points when they follow rules, whereas the teacher earns points when they do not. The…

Paraprofessionals need adequate training and supports to assist young children with autism spectrum disorders to engage in appropriate social interactions during small group activities with their peers. In this study, we used in situ coaching and brief post-session feedback to improve the use of environmental arrangement, prompting, and praise by…

School-wide, selective, and individual positive behavioral supports are critical elements of a comprehensive, tiered model of service delivery. Positive peer reporting (PPR) involves brief, highly structured sessions during which peers are provided the opportunity to praise the behavior of target students. PPR procedures were modified in this…

Although research has clearly supported the use of school-wide positive behavior support (PBS) in elementary school settings, data-based research has not been conducted to support program-wide PBS in early childhood settings. The purpose of this study was to specifically support teachers' use of universal features of program-wide PBS and to…