Examination of a Tiered Training Model to Increase School Psychology Graduate Students’ Behavior Specific Praise
A trio of video model, tactile prompt, and graphed feedback quickly lifts grad students’ behavior-specific praise and keeps it there.
01Research in Context
What this study did
LaBrot et al. (2021) tested a three-step training plan with school-psychology grad students. The steps were: watch a short video model, get a buzz in your pocket when it is time to praise, and see a graph of your praise rate after each session.
The students led reading groups for elementary kids. The researchers counted how many behavior-specific praise statements each student-teacher gave per minute.
What they found
Praise rates jumped from about zero to two praises per minute after the first training tier. They stayed high for all six students across the study.
Follow-up checks four weeks later showed the praise was still happening without extra coaching.
How this fits with other research
Plant et al. (2007) got the same result with real teachers using only a simple feedback sheet. LaBrot adds video and tactile prompts, showing you can reach the same goal with more tools.
Falligant et al. (2025) also gave in-situ feedback after group training. Both studies prove that brief feedback right after practice is the key to mastery.
Dukhayyil et al. (1973) paired feedback with social praise for teachers. LaBrot swaps the social praise for a buzz in the pocket, giving the same boost without needing another adult in the room.
Why it matters
If you train new staff, stack a quick video, a silent prompt, and a graph. The combo takes minutes to set up and keeps praise high weeks later. Try it during your next supervision session.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
Several strategies (e.g., performance feedback, video models, tactile prompting) have been found to be effective for improving preservice teachers’ use of foundational behavior management skills. However, there is limited research examining these training strategies for promoting preservice clinicians’ use of evidence-based behavior management skills. Furthermore, when these strategies are utilized, personnel receiving training often respond differentially. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of a tiered training model that incorporated performance feedback, video models, and tactile prompts to increase school psychology graduate students’ rates of behavior specific praise during one-to-one sessions with child clients. Results indicated that rates of behavior specific praise increased and maintained across time. Findings, limitations, and directions for future research are discussed.
Education & Treatment of Children, 2021 · doi:10.1007/s43494-021-00048-0