Mobile applications (apps) are currently used for classroom management, communication with parents, and student learning. Although teachers have acknowledged an unfamiliarity with tools to support their selection of apps for effective use with students, they have welcomed guidance for such evaluations. Thus, we have reviewed mobile technology…

Resistance and the lack of fidelity or integrity in the use of rewards and praise are commonly cited in the behavioral consultation literature, particularly when teachers are asked to manage student behavior using frequent rewards and praise in a systematic manner. There are multiple potential reasons for resistance and lack of implementation…

Rewards can reinforce and at the same time forestall young children's willingness to learn. However, they are broadly used in the field of education, especially in early years settings, to stimulate children towards learning activities. This paper reviews the theoretical and research literature related to intrinsic and extrinsic motivational…

From an applied behavior-analytic perspective, aggression in people with intellectual disabilities is mostly maintained by social reinforcement consequences. However, nonsocial consequences have also been identified in functional assessments on aggression. Behaviors producing their own reinforcement have been labeled "automatic" or "nonsocial" in…

This is the second in a series of six papers from the Center on Education Policy exploring issues related to students' motivation to learn. As noted in the first paper of this series, motivation to learn is one of the most important factors in a student's educational journey, but a robust discussion about students' motivation may be the "missing…

In this article, the author describes the empirical studies that have investigated whether play (mostly social play) is rewarding. He then discusses the brain circuits and neurotransmitters that underlie the pleasurable aspects of play. He concludes that the pleasure of play has the ability to reinforce learning activities and that the brain's…

This paper examines the experiences of a group of female drug offenders who successfully completed a county drug court program in northeast Pennsylvania. Using the constant comparative method, we analyzed interviews with these women for thematic patterns in order to provide an evaluation of this program based on participants' subjective…

How effective are rewards (for cooperation) and punishment (for noncooperation) as tools to promote cooperation in social dilemmas or situations when immediate self-interest and longer term collective interest conflict? What variables can promote the impact of these incentives? Although such questions have been examined, social and behavioral…

Background: Action Research about my 2nd grade classroom in the Buffalo School District. I examined three areas of interest and tried to find some conclusions related to behavior management. Purpose: The purpose of this study is how will implementing procedures, rules, and consequences help improve student behavior. Research Design: Descriptive;…

Bullying behaviors are a growing concern in U.S. schools. We present here a behavioral approach to bully prevention utilizing a schoolwide intervention. Bully prevention in positive behavior support (BP-PBS) teaches students to withhold the social rewards hypothesized to maintain bullying. A single-subject multiple baseline design across 6…

Schoolwide Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (SWPBIS) is a universal, schoolwide prevention strategy that is currently implemented in over 9,000 schools across the nation to reduce disruptive behavior problems through the application of behavioral, social learning, and organizational behavioral principles. SWPBIS aims to alter school…

Argues, in response to Kohn's article in the same "Kappan" issue, that honest feedback on student performance (informational rewards) are usually necessary for initial learning to occur successfully. Some rewards do work and have long-term benefits. The current philosophy of assigning teachers a facilitative role renders them impotent and blames…

Many educators advocate praise as a reward for good student behavior. However, praise has little value when perceived as an evaluation or an undeserved compliment. Rather than spontaneously punctuating each student's actions with accolades, educators should become more informed about praise and more selective in its use. (MLH)

Incentives are commonly used by individuals and organizations to initiate change. Incentives are now being employed in education to keep students in school. In an attempt to determine the effectiveness of programs that utilize incentives, an analysis was conducted of the programs in the National Dropout Prevention Center's Focus Database that…

Treatment and management of chronic disease processes on children occurs across multiple settings, placing demands for consultation and expertise on school personnel, including school psychologists. One such chronic condition in children is type I diabetes. Children with type I insulin dependent diabetes mellitus exhibit high rates of…