The use of behavioral skills training to improve staff performance of discrete trial training

Clayton et al. (2019) tested a 10-minute BST package on three new staff.

The goal was to raise correct DTT steps from shaky baseline to mastery.

They used instruction, modeling, practice, and feedback in one short session.

After the single BST burst, accuracy jumped from about 65% to 97%.

Scores stayed above 97% one month later with no extra coaching.

All three staff hit the same high bar, showing the effect was reliable.

Matos et al. (2020) got the same leap with psychology interns, so the result replicates across job titles.

Ampuero et al. (2025) later showed brief performance feedback beats full BST for speed while keeping fidelity, superseding the 2019 package when time is tight.

Katechis et al. (2026) extended the model by adding fluency drills that teach RBTs to spot DTT errors, not just run trials.

Together the picture is: BST works, but shorter or boosted forms can save time or sharpen extra skills.

You can lift novice staff to mastery in the time it takes to finish a coffee break.

If your clinic is swamped, swap the full BST for brief feedback and still hit 90% plus fidelity.

Add fluency drills later so staff can catch their own mistakes and keep quality high.