Increasing Secondary Teachers’ Behavior-Specific Praise Using a Video Self-Modeling and Visual Performance Feedback Intervention

Abstract

Teachers working with students with emotional/behavioral disorders (EBD) in elementary schools can be helped to increase use of an important behavioral strategy, behavior-specific praise statements (BSPS). Unfortunately, teachers’ behaviors return to baseline levels when researchers leave, and little is known about the use of praise on high school students. To investigate strategies to promote maintenance of behavior change, an intervention combining visual performance feedback and video self-modeling was implemented with three teachers of high school students with EBD. A multiple baseline with embedded withdrawal design demonstrated a functional relation between the intervention and increased use of BSPS; however, only one teacher continued to give BSPS when the intervention was withdrawn. Implications for practice and future research are discussed.