Association for Behavior Analysis International

Classrooms are complex environments that require teachers to implement a variety of classroom management strategies to minimize problem behavior and maximize learning time. Given the difficulty of implementing behavioral interventions in the school setting, there is a need for teacher training and support. This symposium presents school-based intervention studies focused on teacher consultation to assist public school teachers in creating a classroom context where they use positive, proactive behavior management strategies to foster success for students with behavioral difficulties. Study 1 promoted equity in teachers' use of behavior-specific praise through self-monitoring and performance feedback. Studies 2 and 3 used the Prevent-Teach-Reinforce consultation model to improve classroom behavior of students with behavioral difficulties. Study 4 focused on promoting positive teacher interactions with students and decreasing student off-task behavior through teacher training on using differential reinforcement of other behaviors (DRO) and response cost token economy as a class-wide intervention.

Practitioners

This presentation introduces the results of a study that examined the impact of equity-focused teacher self-monitoring and performance feedback on establishing proportionate praise and discipline practices across students in four elementary school classrooms. A multiple-baseline design across participants was used to demonstrate that training teachers to practice self-monitoring and providing equity-focused performance feedback increased all participating teachers’ delivery of proportionate behavior-specific praise and decrease negative feedback given to diverse students.

The Prevent-Teach-Reinforce (PTR) model presents a useful teacher consultation tool to disseminate evidence-based practices into the classroom setting for teachers to create behavioral changes of students with behavioral challenges. This presentation outlines the impact of using the PTR model on three students with autism spectrum disorders in secondary school classrooms. A multiple-baseline across participants design was employed to demonstrate positive outcomes of using PTR in increasing appropriate classroom behavior and reducing problem behavior of the target students. Social validity assessments indicated both groups of students and teachers were highly satisfied with the process and outcomes of using the PTR model.

This paper presents the outcomes of implementing PTR within the multi-tiered systems of support for three students engaging in high levels of problem behavior served in three classrooms at two public elementary schools. A multiple baseline across participants design was used to evaluate the impact of using the prevent-teach-reinforce (PTR) model on student problem and replacement behaviors. Findings indicated that the classroom teachers effectively participated in the PTR assessment and intervention process, implementing the PTR intervention with fidelity, which resulted in decreases in problem behavior and increases in replacement behavior for all three participating students in both target and generalization academic times.

The presentation describes the outcomes of using differential reinforcement of other behaviors (DRO) and response cost as a class-wide intervention in implementing a token economy in one kindergarten and one 1st-grade classrooms. Using an alternating treatments design with an additional baseline phase, the study compared the impact of using DRO versus response cost on student off-task behavior and teacher positive and negative statements. Results indicated that while both DRO and response cost were effective in decreasing all six target students’ off-task behavior, three students engaged in lower levels of off-task behavior during DRO. One teacher's negative statements slightly decreased during implementation of both procedures.