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.…

Students with emotional and behavioral disorders exhibit high levels of inappropriate behaviors. Although many teachers are aware of the benefits of teacher praise, its use in classrooms remains low. Training students to recruit praise is a method to counter suppressing contingencies and increase praise rates for desired classroom behaviors. With…

The prevalence of students with behavioral problems who also have learning problems has been reported to be as high as 50% (Glassberg et al. "Behavioral Disorders," 25, 9-21, 1999). In the current study, we progressively evaluated the effects of positive reinforcement, instructional strategies, and, if needed, negative reinforcement 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 treatment acceptability for behavioral interventions addressing challenging behaviors with Chinese caregivers of children with autism spectrum disorder. Factors influencing treatment acceptability (i.e., severity of challenging behavior and Chinese child-rearing values) were investigated. Caregivers of children aged…

Introduction: Learner indiscipline has emerged as a global cause for concern for educators and parents in the 21st century. This study sought to develop a framework for the successful implementation of positive discipline. The study sought to provide answers revolving around the contributing factors towards learner indiscipline, the effects of…

This study examined the generalizability and dependability of observational estimates of middle and high school teachers' use of praise and reprimands. Frequency of behavior-specific praise, general praise, and total reprimands were collected across 67, 20-min observations that took place during class-wide instruction in general education…

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…

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…

There is considerable evidence that parents/guardians play an important role in their children's education. The supportive behaviours of parents have important implications for children's learning. However, most research in this area has focused primarily on the perspectives of school leaders, teachers and parents. One area that thus remains…

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…

This research aims to expand our understanding of how to facilitate student feedback engagement processes in a computer-based formative assessment environment. In the present research, we designed a new type of elaborated feedback in terms of combining the correct solution and the erroneous solution, and the erroneous solution matched the…

Few studies examine the effects of behavior-specific praise (BSP) in secondary classrooms, and there is limited research examining the rate of BSP that is needed to improve classwide appropriately engaged behavior (AEB) and reduce disruptive behavior (DB). Using a multiple baseline design with an embedded A/B/C/A/C condition sequence…

Caregivers are often encouraged to praise children to reduce externalizing behavior. Although several theoretical perspectives suggest that praise works (e.g., praise reinforces positive behavior), others suggest it may not (e.g., children dismiss praise or experience it as controlling). This longitudinal-observational study examined whether (a)…