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

This week I read the article Training General Educators to Increase Behavior-Specific Praise: Effects on Students with EBD. The article focused on a study completed in three classrooms, two elementary and one middle school, across the country, focusing particularly on three students with EBD and four labeled as 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" (Allday, Hinkson-Lee, Hudson, Nielsen-Gatti, Kleinke, & Russel, 2012, p.87). BSP, or behavior-specific praise, "provides students with praise statements that explicitly describe the behavior being praised" (Allday, et al., 2012, p. 87). For example, instead of simply saying "Great work," a teacher using BSP could say "I like how are sitting in your seat so quietly" or "Thank you for raising your hand to speak." Because working with students with challenging behaviors has been reported as the most challenging part of a teacher's professional life, this article aims to give teachers an effective and fairly simple intervention to support success and engagement in the classroom (Allday, et al., 2012, p. 87). It has been shown that "teacher attention, in the form of behavior-specific praise (BSP), is one type of attention that has shown to be effective in previous studies to increase on-task behavior, task completion, correct academic responses, and compliance" (Allday, et al., 2012, p. 87). The teachers in the study went through a brief training on implement BSP in their classroom and then were observed on about 15 to 20 separate, thirty minute sessions. During the observations, the students engagement was tracked, as well as the teacher's use of BSP. After the study was completed, it was shown that every student's level on-task behavior increased throughout the study. As Allday states (2012), "correlation analyses suggest a positive relationship between increases in rates of BSP and increases in on-task behavior, with a moderate to strong relationship for most students" (p. 95). Instead of using behavior-specific corrections, which reference an undesirable behavior, the teachers were using dramatically more BSP for all their students, resulting in a much more engaged and responsive in class.

I found this article related very closely to our reading and activities this week, as well as my personal experiences working in a special education classroom. In my current classroom, we have two students that often exhibit challenging behavior, including noncompliance and aggression, both verbal and physical. We have found that instead of using behavior-specific corrections, such as "Please stop talking" or "Sit down in your seat," the students are much more receptive to behavior-specific praise. Not only do the students enjoy being praised for behaving properly, but they understand exactly what they did that was right and know to repeat that behavior if they want to receive more praise and positive attention in class. Also, because we use BSP rather than BSC for all of our students, not just those with challenging behavior, the students with behavior issues hear their peers being praised for behaving in a positive manner and recognize that they could be receiving attention if they were to follow suit. This allows they students to learn from their peers without having to be told what to do by the teacher or support staff. As the textbook states, many students with EBD "are not fluent in social behavior because they have not had adequate exposure to models of social skills" (McLeskey, Rosenberg, & Westling, 2013, p. 105). Using BSP for all students in the classroom allows the students with EBD to find these positive models within their peers. Also, using BSP helps foster positive and authentic relationships between students and staff. Because "trusting relationships develop when teachers communicate in ways that reflect a genuine concern for students' academic performance and emotional well-being," BSP is much more effective in building these authentic connections than the constant behavior-specific corrections that many students with EBD are used to hearing at school (McLeskey, et al., 2013, p. 106). 

I found this article to be very useful and practical for all teachers. The methods used in the study are simple and it would be easy to implement BSP in the classroom. While many teachers are used to using behavior-specific corrections, with time and practice, they could easily transition to using behavior-specific praise instead. I have experienced how receptive students with challenging behavior can be to this positive attention and believe it is a very effective classroom management tool for working with all students, not just those with EBD. 

Allan Allday, R. R., Hinkson-Lee, K., Hudson, T., Neilsen-Gatti, S., Kleinke, A., & Russel, C. S. (2012). Training General Educators to Increase Behavior-Specific Praise: Effects on Students with EBD. Behavioral Disorders, 37(2), 87-98.

McLeskey, J., Rosenberg, M.S., & Westling, D.L. (2013). Inclusion: Effective Practices for All Students. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson.