Enhancing Supervisor's Feedback Skills During Paired Stimulus Preference Assessment
An 8-hour BST package heavy on performance feedback quickly ups supervisor feedback skills and improves supervisee preference-assessment accuracy.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Tryggestad et al. (2025) built an 8-hour training for supervisors. Five hours were talk and discussion. Three hours were hands-on BST with lots of performance feedback.
They used a multiple-baseline design across supervisors. The goal was better feedback during paired-stimulus preference assessments.
What they found
Supervisors started giving vague comments. After the 8-hour package they gave clear, timed, behavior-specific feedback.
Their supervisees ran preference tests more accurately. Only about half of the supervisees could give good feedback themselves without extra teaching.
How this fits with other research
Ampuero et al. (2025) also tested BST in 2025 but used brief feedback alone. They found brief feedback worked as well as full BST for paraeducators. Tryggestad adds supervisor skill focus and still wins, so brief may not cover every job.
Barker et al. (2019) showed immediate feedback beats end-of-session feedback for college students learning interviews. Tryggestad keeps the immediate style and moves it into ABA supervision.
Galuska et al. (2006) proved that clear, performance-specific instructions matter more than money when staff learn preference assessments. Tryggestad echoes that idea: good feedback content, not just any feedback, drives learning.
Why it matters
If you train staff, you can copy this 8-hour plan. Spend most time on clear modeling and rehearsal with instant feedback. Watch your supervisees' preference-assessment scores rise. Keep an extra lesson ready for those who still struggle to give feedback themselves.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
ABSTRACT Effective staff training and supervision are vital in human care services, influencing staff performance and the quality of care. This study explores the effectiveness of an 8 h training program for Board Certified Behavior Analysts (BCBA) in providing performance feedback, specifically in the context of a Paired Stimulus (PS) preference assessment. The training consisted of 5 h of instruction, exercises, and discussions, followed by 3 h of Behavioral Skills Training (BST), emphasizing performance feedback as a pivotal component. Using a concurrent multiple probe design across four supervisors, the results demonstrated substantial improvement in supervisors' ability to provide performance feedback, which in turn enhanced supervisees PS preference assessment skills. Furthermore, two of the four supervisees demonstrated mastery of feedback‐giving skills after receiving performance feedback and observing their supervisors being given feedback. The remaining two supervisees required direct instruction in feedback delivery in order to meet the mastery criteria. The study contributes to the limited literature on training supervisors to provide effective feedback and the importance of incorporating specific feedback‐giving skills in supervision training programs.
Behavioral Interventions, 2025 · doi:10.1002/bin.70043