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…

Examines the effects of reward contingency and positive performance feedback on subsequent intrinsic motivation for an enjoyable task. Subjects were 93 high school students. (CM)

Students in four university classes in educational psychology were used as the target population to study the effect of two factors, degree of effort exerted studying a subject, and written feedback from the instructor, on the cognitive and affective attitudes these students formed toward the subject and their assignments. The students, unaware…

Asserts that most persons use too little positive reinforcement in interpersonal dealings. Outlines and comments on a four-stage lesson plan (involving introduction, social interchange, discussion of experience, and summary/conclusion) which is designed to allow participants to experience how they use positive reinforcement in contacts with…

A DESIGNED PROGRAM FOR PRESCHOOL AND KINDERGARTEN CHILDREN WHO HAVE NOT YET LEARNED TO READ AND WRITE WAS DESCRIBED. IT DEALT WITH NUMBER CONCEPTS AND NUMERALS AND USED A MULTIPLE CHOICE PICTORIAL FORMAT. IN THE TYPICAL PROGRAMED INSTRUCTION SITUATION, THE STUDENT READ A FRAME AND MADE A RESPONSE. WHEN HE MADE THE CORRECT RESPONSE, HE WAS INFORMED…

An evaluation-reward system was developed in which students received points based on a comparison of their weekly quiz performance to a "base score" which was derived from a pretest, and adjusted to reflect actual weekly performance. This system was evaluated in terms of its effect on student achievement, using a group of English classes…

In order to investigate the effect of reinforcement on learning, 21 disadvantaged black children, 4 to 5 years of age, were divided among three treatment groups. Group I children received only feedback (information) as to the correctness or incorrectness of their responses. Group II children received a raisin for each correct response, and group…

A suggested college classroom technique for motivating and rewarding student learning is the payment of play dollars to students for correct answers, attendance, and success in pop quizzes. The method is designed to encourage, not discourage, class participation, and provides students with immediate feedback on performance. (MSE)

This brief report describes parental reaction to a reinforcement strategy used with children in the Kamehameha Early Education Program (KEEP). Staff members report that "Good Work Awards" (GWAs) are viewed favorably by mothers of students. GWAs are dittoed notes sent home with children when they have met a minimum criterion for daily…

The paper presents two experiments which test the "change in feelings of competence and self-determination" proposition of cognitive evaluation theory. This proposition states that when a person receives feedback about his performance on an intrinsically motivated activity this information will affect his sense of competence and…

In this article, the author describes how Cato-Meridian, a 450-student rural high school in the New York State, successfully implemented a new cocurricular eligibility policy that integrated after-school activities with student academic accountability. The program created data that drove decisions about student life and student-teacher interaction…

Presents study results examining the effectiveness of teacher praise on children's on-task behavior. Describes Canter's Assertive Discipline, its use in Australia, and the basics of a study of the technique. Reports that all teacher subjects increased rates of praising following training, and all but one student improved levels of behavior.…

AN ELECTRONIC SYSTEM OF SMALL TRANSCEIVER UNITS, PACKAGED IN A BELT WORN BY STUDENTS IN CLASS, WAS DESIGNED TO TRANSMIT LIGHT SIGNALS AND VIBRA-TACTILE CODED MESSAGES BETWEEN STUDENTS AND A COUNSELOR AT A CLINIC SCHOOL. FOUR MALE ADOLESCENTS SELECTED FOR LOW MOTIVATION, AGGRESSIVE CLASSROOM BEHAVIOR, AND HIGH PEER-GROUP RATING REPORTED THEIR TIME…