Effects of Brief Training Plus Electronic Feedback on Increasing Quantity and Intonation of Behavior Specific Praise Among Preschool Teachers

Kathryn Gorton, R. Allan Allday, Justin D. Lane, Melinda J. Ault

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

8 Scopus citations

Abstract

The primary purpose of this study was to examine the effects of a brief training plus e-mail-specific performance feedback (ESPF) on increasing preschool teacher’s use of behavior-specific praise (BSP) statements. Quantity of BSP was measured using a frequency count, while voice intonation of BSP statements was measured using a voice recording system. A multiple probe design across four preschool teachers who taught in inclusive preschool classrooms was used to evaluate the effectiveness of ESPF on BSP delivery. As an outcome measure, researchers examined whether changes to the teacher’s BSP affected children’s task engagement during class activities. Results indicated a functional relation between ESPF and an increase in the quantity of BSP statements. Voice intonation of BSP statements increased for three participants following ESPF; however, a clear functional relation was not present in the data. Results also indicated that increased quantity and intonation of BSP statements resulted in a tendency for increased mean task engagement across all children; this finding may warrant further investigation. Limitations and future research directions are discussed.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)731-750
Number of pages20
JournalJournal of Behavioral Education
Volume31
Issue number4
DOIs
StatePublished - Dec 2022

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© 2021, The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Science+Business Media, LLC part of Springer Nature.

Keywords

  • Behavior-specific praise
  • E-mail performance feedback
  • Praise statements
  • Teacher training
  • Voice intonation

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Education
  • Developmental and Educational Psychology

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