Determining the collateral effects of peer tutor training on a student with severe disabilities.
Train classmates to give clear commands and praise and you get bonus drops in problem behavior plus better compliance from students with severe disabilities.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Lerman et al. (1995) taught three typical classmates how to give clear commands, praise, and stop negative talk.
They used behavioral skills training: explain, show, practice, and give feedback.
Then they watched how this changed the behavior of one student with severe disabilities.
What they found
The student’s problem behaviors dropped and compliance rose.
These were collateral effects—unplanned bonuses that happened because peers now interacted differently.
How this fits with other research
Rapport et al. (1982) saw collateral gains too, but in reading scores when inner-city teens tutored with praise and tokens.
Clarke et al. (2019) later repeated the peer-training idea with middle-school buddies using PBS; again, challenging behavior fell.
Matson et al. (2009) moved the same BST package to adult day-hab staff serving clients with dual diagnoses; positive interactions rose, showing the method works across ages.
Lutzker et al. (1979) flipped the direction—training one disruptive student to praise teachers—and still saw better classroom climate, proving student-delivered reinforcement helps no matter who starts it.
Why it matters
You can use peer tutors as low-cost behavior agents. Train classmates with a quick BST cycle and watch the target student gain compliance while problem behaviors fade. No extra adult needed, just clear commands and praise from peers.
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Join Free →Pick two typical peers, run a 15-minute BST on giving short commands and labeled praise, then let them tutor during math—count the target student’s compliance jumps.
02At a glance
03Original abstract
In one experiment and two case studies, we evaluated the impact of training peer tutors without disabilities to provide effective instructional procedures with a student with severe disabilities who exhibited aberrant behaviors in the classroom. Peer tutors received training on how to provide appropriate commands and specific praise statements, as well as to decrease negative statements. In the experiment, two peer tutors were taught these skills in a multiple baseline design. Two case studies further clarified the impact of the peer tutor training. In Case Study 1, one peer tutor received training on the three skills concurrently and data were assessed in an AB design. In Case Study 2, one peer tutor was trained prior to working with the student to determine if a peer tutor who had no prior history with the student could work effectively with minimal disruptions from the onset. Data were also measured on the student's aberrant behaviors and his compliance before, during, and after training the peer tutors. Results indicated that the peer tutors learned to provide appropriate commands and specific praise and to reduce negative statements. More important, as a collateral effect of the training program, the student's aberrant behaviors decreased and his compliance to requests improved.
Behavior modification, 1995 · doi:10.1177/01454455950192002