Enhancing Group‐Based Training to Promote Incidental Teaching and Differential Reinforcement in Inclusive Classrooms

ABSTRACT Active engagement broadly refers to the use of incidental teaching strategies and reinforcement‐based procedures to promote appropriate behavior, language, and skill acquisition in naturalistic instructional settings. Teaching instructional personnel (e.g., teachers, paraprofessionals) to consistently engage in these practices can be resource‐intensive and difficult to scale. This study evaluated the effectiveness of a brief, group‐based behavioral skills training model, combined with in situ feedback, to increase the use of incidental teaching and contingent reinforcement among trainees working with preschool‐aged children with developmental disabilities in an inclusive classroom setting. Seven adults participated in the training, which included instruction, modeling, role‐play, and feedback. Participants who did not meet performance criteria received in situ feedback during classroom activities. Results showed that most participants required in situ feedback to reach mastery, but once achieved, performance improvements were maintained for up to 20 weeks. These findings support the use of scalable training models that incorporate in situ feedback to promote active engagement strategies among emerging behavior analysts in applied educational settings.