Strategies for preventing the escalation of problematic student behavior in inclusive school settings are detailed. These strategies include utilizing proactive behavioral interventions, implementing function-based behavioral interventions that address root causes of escalated student behaviors, and teaching and reinforcing socially acceptable…

In this article, we introduce behavior-specific praise as a portable, feasible strategy for teachers and families to increase student engagement as well as to decrease off-task and disruptive behaviors in a variety of environments. We provide step-by-step guidance to illustrate how behavior-specific praise can be used by teachers during in-person…

A tremendous amount of evidence supports the importance of building relationships between educators and students (Kincaide et al., 2020). Because of this, there is an emerging focus in both research and practice on how student-teacher relationships are assessed, the impact of these relationships on student outcomes, and methods for building and…

Research has demonstrated that behavior specificity is a salient characteristic of teacher praise efficacy. Praise variety may also be an important characteristic to reinforce desired student behavior based on research about the quality of reinforcers. In this study, we used an alternating treatments design to examine the effects of varied and…

This article discusses the use of behavior-specific praise (BSP), an effective technique for promoting prosocial behavior and managing classrooms. It addresses the criticism that BSP may reduce students' intrinsic motivation and offers directions on how to use BSP to provide students, especially those with challenging behaviors, with useful…

Students' misbehaviors at younger ages can lead to more significant issues at the high school level such as dropping out, drug and alcohol abuse, and incarceration. The purpose of this study was to examine high school students' perceptions of positive reinforcement and punishment practices in their high school's behavior system. Two specific…

The quality of the relationship that develops between a student and teacher has been connected to pivotal instructional and behavioral outcomes for students. The student-teacher relationship can specifically be harnessed to reduce minor behavioral infractions. However, it is an element of the learning environment that is often overlooked. This…

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) and other forms of positive feedback and public acknowledgment are underutilized in secondary classrooms. Surprisingly, few studies have evaluated the independent effects of BSP in these settings. Using a multiple baseline design with an embedded A/B/B + C condition sequence, the purpose of the current study was to…

Purpose: Many speech-language pathologists (SLPs) experience challenging behaviors during service delivery and also report minimal training in effective behavior management strategies. The purpose of this tutorial is to present low-effort behavior management strategies that SLPs can adopt, adapt, and implement. Method: After providing an overall…

Within the context of a multi-tiered framework for behavior support, intervention intensification is warranted when a Tier II intervention fails to adequately address a targeted behavior. A traditional approach to intensification is to shift from standardized supports at Tier II to individualized and more resource-intensive supports at Tier III.…

Determining the misbehaviors encountered in physical education classes and the methods used against these behaviors is important both in terms of producing new solutions by revealing the current situation in classroom management and providing a preliminary information for teachers who will just start the profession. The aim of the study is to…

Functional communication training, an intervention for challenging behavior rooted in principles of applied behavior analysis, has copious empirical support dating back to the mid-1980s for autistic individuals. Recently, there has been a concerted effort to thin reinforcement delivery during functional communication training using…

This article provides an overview of how reinforcement serves as the foundation for a function-based approach to support students with challenging behavior. Understanding reinforcement is essential when providing function-based support for students with challenging behavior. Reinforcement "strengthens" behavior, increasing the…

During a school day, children make several transitions between activities, which can take away from instructional time and result in challenging behaviors. This study investigates the impact positive engagement and behavioral supports have on children's behavior while transitioning. Participants (N = 40; 77.5% Male; 92.5% Hispanic) were enrolled…