A Comparison of Pyramidal Staff Training and Direct Staff Training in Community-Based Day Programs

Teaching Practitioners to Conduct Behavioral Skills Training: A Pyramidal Approach for Training Multiple Human Service Staff

“…As indicated earlier, a number of previous investigations with pyramidal training did not report the degree to which practitioners implemented the constituent steps of the training process while training other staff (e.g., Demchak & Browder;Haberlin et al;Jones et al, 1977;Neef, 1995;Pence et al, 2012;Shore et al). Third, whereas in a number of previous investigations trainers trained other staff only on a specific skill set on which the trainers recently had been trained Haberlin et al;Page et al, 1982;Pence et al), in the current investigation the trainers trained target skills that were not the focus of their own training. That is, the participants initially were assessed while they trained three specific skills to a staff person in simulation (behavior-specific praise, least-to-most prompting, providing a two-item choice) but trained to train using two other skills (embedded teaching, conducting a preference assessment).…”

“…First, the investigation demonstrates a specific means (i.e., BST) of training practitioners to train other staff. A number of previous investigations on pyramidal training did not specify how the practitioners were trained to train others beyond essentially being instructed to use the same procedures to train staff that were used to train them (Demchak & Browder, 1990;Green & Reid, 1994;Shore et al, 1995;van den Pol et al, 1983) or simply being directed to train their newly acquired skills to other staff (Demchak et al, 1992;Haberlin et al, 2012). Second, the results demonstrate a means of documenting a BST skill repertoire among practitioners who function as staff trainers.…”

“…However, because this approach focuses on trainer and staff use of a specific behavior-change skill, questions have been raised regarding the degree to which the staff trainers would be able to train other important skills to staff beyond the specific behaviorchange skill that was the focus of the trainers' own training (Demchak & Browder, 1990;Finn & Sturmey, 2009). Such a concern is highlighted when considering that investigations on pyramidal training generally provide data that the staff trainers were competent in applying the behavior-change skill but not data regarding the trainers' implementation of the constituent steps of BST when training the skill to other staff (Demchak & Browder, 1990;Demchak et al, 1992;Haberlin et al, 2012;Jones, Fremouw, & Carples, 1977;Neef, 1995;Pence et al;Shore, Iwata, Vollmer, Lerman, & Zarcone, 1995). The lack of documentation that the staff trainers accurately implemented the staff training procedures is a likely explanation of why pyramidal training can result in the staff trainees being less proficient in performing the target behavior-change skill than their trainers who were trained to perform the skill by the senior trainer (Demchak et al).…”

Pre‐service teacher‐delivered behavioral skills training: A pyramidal training approach

“…This hands‐on approach to skill training is unique in that pre‐service teachers learn a new EBP while simultaneously learning how to teach others that same EBP through modeling, role‐play, and explicit instruction from an expert trainer. Pyramidal training methods have been used a variety of settings such as at home (e.g., Alnemary, Wallace, Alnemary, Gharapetian, & Yassine, ; Haberlin, Beauchamp, Agnew, & O'Brien, ), in schools (e.g., Kunnavatana et al, ; Suhrheinrich (), and university settings (e.g., Martocchio & Rosales, ).…”

Developing a Framework of Islamic Bank Operational Risk Management: ‘People Risk’

“…Looking into the training programme (on-job training, induction training, in-service training, off-job training), Akiyele (2007) discovered that employee can only perform better through the acquisition of skills, knowledge and ability from training program. Meanwhile Haberlina, Beauchampb, Agnewc and O'Brien (2012) found that the methodological approach of training (pyramidal or consultant-led training) plays an important role to the effectiveness of training program.…”