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Prevent Teach Reinforce works with Minot and Williston Basin staff to solve serious behavior

In mid-December 17 educators from 5 schools and 2 school districts (Minot & Williston Basin) invested time and effort into understanding HOW to apply the Prevent Teach Reinforce (PTR) process to REDUCE serious challenging behaviors and INCREASE desired behaviors.

The course is designed for lead teachers, behavior strategists, special education staff, and also may serve as a reinforcement learning opportunity for educators who have previously been introduced to PTR.

These educators built their knowledge around of the benefits of PTR over the course of two full days with Presenter & Facilitator Rose Iovannone, PH.D., BCBA-D, University of South Florida: 

  • proven effective by research and field testing in real classrooms—PTR was shown to reduce behavior problems and increase evidence of social skills and academic engagement
  • structured and explicit, with five systematic steps that take you beyond tips and strategies
  • consistent with positive behavior support and derived from the principles of applied behavior analysis
  • easily adaptable to the needs and goals of each individual student
  • effective for both typically developing students and learners with disabilities and other challenges


The series will continue in February and March of 2022 to examine LOCAL case studies over the course of four virtual booster sessions for continued implementation support around the following topics:

  • Goal Setting
  • Functional Behavioral Assessment (FBA) & Hypothesis
  • Behavior Intervention Plan (BIP) & Coaching
  • Coaching & Progress Monitoring


Educators will come full circle in the Fall of 2022 with a Modeling Session where they’ll be able to observe a skilled facilitator coach local school personnel through the process!

Participant Feedback After Dec. 2-day session with Dr. Iovannone

After participating, 100% of attendees who completed the feedback survey indicated having either a “strong understanding” (40%) or being “mostly understanding” (60%) of the PTR process as a whole.

Before the training, only 2 of the steps (Identifying the Problem/Goal-Setting and Organizing and Analyzing FBA Data) had 50% of participants or more report having either a “Strong understanding” or “Mostly understanding”.  After the training, this increased to all 4 steps of the process, with each being at 80% or more.  In fact, 100% of respondents indicated having either a “Strong understanding” or were “Mostly understanding” related to Identifying the Problem/Goal-Setting and Organizing and Analyzing FBA Data. 

Participants were then asked if the training provided them with sufficient examples/information for how to engage in each of the steps of the PTR Framework.  A majority of respondents indicated “yes” for each, with two of the steps at 100%.  People were least likely to indicate “Yes” for Selecting Interventions/Applying BIPs (70%) and Progress Monitoring Intervention Plans/Analyzing Implementation Fidelity (80%).

Next, they were questioned on their level of confidence in their ability to engage in each of the 4 steps of the PTR framework. Over 50% of respondents indicated feeling either “mostly confident” or “very confident” in their abilities to engage in the first three steps of the process (see below). However, 70% of respondents indicated being only “Somewhat confident” for the 4th step. Participants indicating not feeling “very confident” shared feedback stating they just need more practice and to actually put it into practice to build their confidence.

  • Participants were asked if they felt confident in their ability to coach a team in implementing the PTR process.  Of those who responded 80% responded with “Yes” or “Somewhat”.
  • 100% of participants indicated at least a “moderate”  increase in their knowledge and in their skills as a result of the session, with 50% reporting “substantial” increases, respectively.
  • 100% of respondents felt that they would be able to apply what they learned to at least a moderate extent, with half indicating to a great extent. 
  • 90.0% of respondents felt that what they learned would have either a “substantial” (70%) or “moderate” (20%) impact on their students.