Methods for meta-analyzing single-case designs (SCDs) are needed in order to inform evidence based practice in special education and to draw broader and more defensible generalizations in areas where SCDs comprise a large part of the research base. The most widely used outcomes in single-case research are measures of behavior collected using…

This paper reports on an investigation of the use of Facebook as a tool to mediate learning amongst distance learners at Makerere University, a dual-mode institution offering both conventional and distance learning programs. While conventional courses take 17 weeks in a semester, the distance learners come in for two residential sessions, each…

A contingency contract program was implemented in this study to determine the effects of contingency contracting on decreasing student tardiness in high school classrooms. The participants were 32 high school students. Of the 32 participants, 16 were randomly assigned to the experimental group and the other 16 to the control group. The…

The effects of a systematic study period, peer tutoring, and contractual consequences on the spelling performance of six junior high learning disabled students were investigated. Ss were scoring poorly or inconsistently on unit spelling tests. An intervention period of 2 to 4 weeks consisted of daily exposure to words through a peer tutor and…

The study implemented simple classroom procedures to increase the ontask behavior of eight second and third grade learning disabled students in an inner city school. Procedures used were modification of the environmental arrangement of the classroom (such as moving the learning centers closer to students' desks), changing the method of curriculum…

This study of self-reinforcement in children's learning looks at two key variables in the self-reinforcement process: the type of reward available and the level of achievement requisite for reward. The study was conducted to clarify the relative efficacy of self-dispensed verbal and tangible rewards for learning. The study also attempted to…

Two intermediate elementary grade level learning disabled students deficient in reading skills participated in a study to explore the efficacy of utilizing a token reinforcement program combined with behavioral contracting to increase the acquisition rate of sight vocabulary. Word recognition behavioral data were collected by measuring the time…

A study attempted to measure the effects of contingency management, conditions that essentially forced subjects to write, on their writing productivity and creative ideas. Subjects were 27 published college faculty with doctorates, divided into three groups of nine. The first or contingency group participated in a "baseline phase" during which…

Problems and strategies in implementing classroom token economy systems as a means of behavior modification are reviewed. Discussed is the importance of such factors in the original token plan as the reinforcement schedule, and time-out procedures. Among implementation issues considered are observing and counting behaviors. (CL)

Twenty-four deaf children (6 to 10 years old) were individually administered a task in which possession of accumulating candy rewards was made contingent upon the child stopping further accumulation. Ss, who under instruction periodically signed statements about the goodness of the reward, waited significantly longer before terminating the waiting…

The paper reviews 34 behavioral treatment studies (1967-1983) examining reduction of aggressive behavior in mentally retarded people. Research reviewed was limited to treatment of physically aggressive responses such as hits, kicks, bites, chokes, scratches, and throwing objects by persons designated as mentally retarded. Among results reported…

The effects of two types of contingency contracts and self-pacing on student performance in a personalized system of instruction (PSI) class were examined. Forty-seven college students in a principles of educational psychology class were randomly assigned to either a short contract, long contract or self-pacing group. One group of students signed…

Discussed is the application of behavior management techniques to problem behaviors of normal children in the home or school. Examples are given of such techniques as behavioral contracting between child and adult, reduction of undesirable behaviors through withdrawal of reinforcers ("bother sticks" and "temper tickets"), the use of a timer to…

Reward contingencies and other extrinsic constraints on behavior can lead to reduced levels of interest in and/or decreased engagement in a target activity in a subsequent noncontingent situation. It has been hypothesized that this effect is caused by a change in the self-perceived locus of motivation from intrinsic to extrinsic. It follows from…

This paper addresses some of the practical ways by which students can be given information about the adequacy of their responding. The author views this information as all that is frequently necessary to alter an inappropriate behavior. Thus, he considers feedback to be the first step in most behavior management programs. Studies to determine how…