Middle school is a cornerstone for success in high school. However, cognitive, emotional, and behavioral engagement of adolescents often decline as they transition from elementary to middle school, resulting in lower school grades and more challenging behaviors, especially for adolescents with or at risk for emotional and behavioral disorders…

We evaluated the effects of providing positive reinforcement for task completion, signaled via the presence of a tangible item, on escape-maintained problem behavior displayed by three typically developing children during one-time 90-min outpatient evaluations. Brief functional analyses of problem behavior, conducted within a multielement design,…

For years, the assumption has been that stereotypical behaviors functioned only to provide sensory or automatic reinforcement. However, these behaviors also may serve social functions. Given the unsettled debate, functional behavior assessment and functional analysis can be used to identify the exact function of stereotypical behavior and design…

The potential of emotional interaction between human and computer has recently interested researchers in human-computer interaction. The instructional impact of this interaction in learning environments has not been established, however. This study examined the impact of emotion and gender of a pedagogical agent as a learning companion (PAL) on…

This study examined the effects of three reinforcement histories on the persistence of task engagement by two students (ages 9-10) who were off task during independent seat work. Results found the reinforcement history that contained an instructional control component produced the greatest persistence in student engagement. (Author/CR)

This brief paper describes a Behavioral Intervention Program (BIP) in Georgia in 1995-1997 that provided services at the local level for 88 students with severe and challenging behaviors. Under the program, students with severe behaviors are identified at the local level and referred to the BIP through a request for service process. The local…

Effects of 2 home-based treatments to reduce school problems among 10 disruptive intermediate school students were probed. Although the treatment using only positive reinforcement yielded no significant change, a mixed reinforcement treatment brought both a decrease in rates of referrals to the office and decrease in depression rates. (Author/PB)