Using self-assessment and praise recruitment strategies to promote generalization of on-task behavior and positive teacher/student interactions in a middle school setting

This study investigated an intervention that taught middle-level students with behavior disorders to recruit praise in a generalization setting (regular education classroom). Teaching students to recruit teacher praise in generalized settings produced an increase in the overall amount of intervals of on-task behavior. Significant generalization of praise recruitment behavior and increased teacher praise did not occur as a result of the intervention. The implications of teaching middle-level students to recruit teacher praise are discussed.