The Effects of Behavioral Skills Training on Staff Implementation of Multiple Stimulus without Replacement Preference Assessment
A single BST cycle quickly teaches teachers to run error-free MSWO preference assessments that hold up with new students.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Yang (2022) taught special-ed teachers to run a multiple-stimulus-without-replacement (MSWO) preference assessment.
The trainer used a short Behavioral Skills Training (BST) package: explain, model, practice, and feedback.
A multiple-baseline design across teachers showed whether the training worked.
What they found
After BST, every teacher ran the MSWO correctly.
Skills carried over to new students without extra training.
How this fits with other research
O’Handley et al. (2021) got the same result with school psychologists after only one BST session.
Together the two papers form a direct replication: brief BST equals accurate MSWO no matter who you train.
Courtemanche et al. (2021) pushed the model further, training 36 staff at once. Yang keeps the package small for single teachers, showing BST scales both up and down.
Lavie et al. (2002) did the earliest test, using BST for paired-stimulus assessments instead of MSWO. Yang updates that work by switching to the faster MSWO format now common in classrooms.
Why it matters
You no longer need long workshops to get accurate preference data. One short BST loop is enough. Use the same four-step package Monday morning: show a short video of the MSWO, have the teacher practice with you, give instant feedback, and send them to run it live. You will see correct implementation right away and know the items they pick are true reinforcers.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
In this study, three special education teachers were trained to evaluate preferences without alternative multiple stimulus in 10 children with special needs using a multiple baseline across subjects experimental design and behavioral skills training program. The results showed that the behavioral skill training significantly improved the accuracy of the three special education teachers' preference assessment procedures, and the skill was generalized in the preference assessment of other special children.
Journal of Higher Education Research, 2022 · doi:10.32629/jher.v3i1.637