Using Self-Monitoring to Increase Behavior Specific Praise in Elementary Classrooms

Area of Science:

• Educational Psychology
• Classroom Management
• Applied Behavior Analysis

Background:

• Teachers require practical, evidence-based strategies for classroom implementation.
• Behavior-specific praise (BSP) is a key component of effective classroom management.
• Previous research indicates the potential of self-monitoring interventions.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the efficacy of self-monitoring as a standalone intervention to increase teachers' use of behavior-specific praise (BSP).
• To determine if self-monitoring can be implemented efficiently by educators in content area classes and during transitions.

Main Methods:

• A single-case multiple baseline across participants design was employed.
• Participants (educators) self-monitored their use of BSP using a hand counter.
• Data collection occurred during content area instruction and a generalization phase (transitions).

Main Results:

• Educators demonstrated an increased rate of BSP when implementing self-monitoring.
• The rate of BSP per minute was significantly higher during the generalization phase compared to the intervention phase.
• Self-monitoring proved to be a cost and time-efficient method for increasing BSP.

Conclusions:

• Self-monitoring is a viable and effective strategy for increasing educators' use of behavior-specific praise.
• The intervention is easily implemented and generalizes across different classroom contexts (instruction and transitions).
• This approach offers a practical solution for enhancing positive behavior support in educational settings.