Using behavioral skills training with preservice teachers in the university classroom

Kirkpatrick et al. (2021) ran a single-case study inside a university classroom. They used one round of behavioral skills training (BST) with preservice teachers.

The goal was simple: teach the teachers to run a token economy with a small group of students. The team checked if accuracy went up and asked the teachers if the training felt useful.

After the BST session, every preservice teacher ran the token economy correctly. The gains showed up right away and looked big.

The teachers also said the training was practical and fair. Social-validity scores were high.

Ampuero et al. (2025) did almost the same thing but taught icon-exchange communication instead of a token system. One BST session still pushed all three teachers to 90 % plus fidelity. Together, the two studies show one brief BST package works for different classroom skills.

Radoggo et al. (2024) flipped the script. They used BST plus tokens to teach job-related social skills to adults with neurodevelopmental disorders. The combo worked there too, so BST plus tokens is useful both for teaching staff and for teaching clients.

Gormley et al. (2019) asked a bigger question. They gave 54 frontline staff a one-day BST workshop plus coaching. Staff used reinforcement, prompting, and task analysis better than 50 controls. The classroom demo you see here scales up to whole agencies when you add coaching.

You can slip a single BST cycle into a lecture and leave with teachers who run a token economy correctly. No extra practicum, no long externship. If you train teachers, parents, or aides, use this lean model: brief instruction, model, role-play, and live feedback. One shot is often enough, and the skill can transfer to new tasks or new people.