Effect of varying rates of behavior-specific praise on the on-task behavior of students with EBD

The purposes of this study were to examine (a) the effect of an observation -feedback intervention on the rate of a teacher's behavior-specific praise of students with emotional and behavioral disorders (EBD) and (b) the effec t of increased rates of a reacher's behavior-specific praise on the on-task behavior of a class of students with EBD. Participants were a special educ ation teacher and nine fifth-grade students in a self-contained classroom f or students with EBD. Using an ABAB withdrawal design, the rate of the teac her's behavior-specific praise was increased to a criterion level during ea ch intervention phase. Results indicate that the students' on-task behavior increased when the teacher's behavior-specific praise increased, and they decreased during the brief withdrawal phase. Implications for research and practice are discussed.