This phenomenological case study explores the perceptions of high school administrators who have implemented Schoolwide Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports (SWPBIS) at the universal tier with fidelity. For this study, perceptions refer to the views and experiences of administrators implementing SWPBIS on the success and growth they have…

In this article, we provide both a critical analysis of and logical response to a set of the most typical school-based objections to the effective use of positive reinforcement. For example, one objection is that positive reinforcement amounts to bribery. Practitioners are provided with clear and concise arguments refuting each objection and…

There is a significant need for easy-to-implement interventions in the early grades, especially in mathematics, as many children have difficulties in their first years of school with automated basic math facts recall and, therefore, fall behind. Automation of single-digit multiplication tasks represents an important developmental step, as it can…

More than half of students in the USA perform below a proficient level in math. Although evidence suggests that intervention in elementary school is critical to supporting struggling learners, and there are several research-supported instructional practices to support students with math difficulties, the existing research is limited with regard to…

Scholarship in school psychology has continued to document the need and importance of contextually relevant intervention and prevention research, but this type of research remains relatively scarce. Also problematic, this type of research is even more limited in low- and middle-income countries (LMIC) compared to high-income countries. This…

The purpose of this study is to determine if incentive programs like Renaissance impact high school students and faculty. Incentives can go a long way for students in schools. At Lehigh Senior High School (LSHS), for example, students were introduced to the Renaissance Program this school year, by receiving goodies. Coupons at Dairy Queen,…

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…

Presenting college students, in a wide variety of content areas, with frequent announced and unannounced quizzes appears to correlate positively with enhanced test performance. The purpose of this quantitative study was to examine if similar results can be achieved with high school students in a standard economics class. Based on a theoretical…

Commencing each class session with a class quiz, which emphasizes the previous week's work and is supported by immediate feedback, encourages students to revise their notes ahead of the session, undertake more reading and keep pace with course progression. It reduces the necessity for any spoken review of the previous week's work, provides…

Describes study which investigated differences between Programmed Student Achievement (PA) and Programmed Achievement Study System (PASS) instructional systems. Concludes that both systems are equally effective in motivating students. (KC)

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 article outlines a motivational/empowerment model for students on academic probation implemented at The University of North Carolina Greensboro (UNCG). The model draws from several theoretical orientations, and includes individual and group interaction as well as discussion in four key topic areas: personal responsibility, positive…

During the 1987-88 school year, the Second Generation Power of Positive Students (POPS) Multimedia Program was piloted in the West Virginia public schools, grades kindergarten through four. The program consists of eight videocassettes. Six of the eight were filmed in six West Virginia public schools using actual principals, teachers, and students.…

To motivate slow learners and discipline-problem pupils to improve their writing skills, a reinforcement program was developed in Baltimore, Maryland, modeled on an earlier program which created a school environment operated like the business world. Upon successful completion of assigned tasks, the experimental group, 24 eighth graders, were given…

This paper describes a portion of the Kennedy Youth Center program concerned with motivating previously intractable sociopathic youths in the academic and industrial arts schools. Male delinquents considered uneducable in traditional education programs, have been advanced two years in the one year they spent as participants in the differential…