Effects of Targeted Professional Development on Teachers’ Specific Praise Rates

Abstract

Classroom management continues to be a concern for educators, administrators, and policymakers. Although evidence-based classroom management practices exist, teachers often receive insufficient training and support to implement these practices successfully. Schools need reliable and efficient ways to support teachers’ classroom management. This study employed a multiple baseline design across elementary teachers to investigate the effect of targeted professional development (TPD), an efficient approach that incorporated self-management and email prompts, on teachers’ rates of specific praise. We replicated this study at a second elementary school to provide additional evidence of the efficacy of TPD. Across teachers in both schools, data support a functional relation between TPD and an increase in teachers’ use of specific praise.