Animal trainers working in scent detection programs are responsible for arranging training contingencies as well as for observing and recording animal behavior. We provided behavioral skills training (BST) to animal trainers working with scent detection rats to improve the treatment integrity of scent-detection research sessions. We evaluated the…

Teachers were asked to identify and rank 10 preferred stimuli for 9 toddlers, and a hierarchy of preference for these items was determined via a direct preference assessment. The reinforcing efficacy of the most highly preferred items identified by each method was evaluated concurrently in a reinforcer assessment. The reinforcer assessment showed…

This paper, on the potential contributions of performance science to education, defines performance and performance science, distinguishes between behavior and performance, presents tactics for presenting instruction, presents tactics for designing training, and outlines how to decide which accomplishments are valuable enough to include in a…

Two persons (ages 15-24) with developmental handicaps were taught by 2 therapists under varying punishment conditions. Results indicated that the task being taught was mastered by each subject only when the therapist delivering punishment was teaching and that each subject made more eye-to-face contact when the therapist delivering punishment was…

This study evaluated the importance of active student responding while using the microcomputer to deliver the contingencies of programed instruction. Results from 75 undergraduates found that students who covertly responded to frame blanks or were required to type frame answers performed better on a posttest than students who passively read…

This paper defines precision teaching; describes its monitoring methods by displaying a standard celeration chart and explaining charting conventions; points out precision teaching's roots in laboratory free-operant conditioning; discusses its learning tactics and performance principles; and describes its effectiveness in producing learning gains.…

The performance of five students (ages 6 to 10) in an adjustment class for deaf children was compared under fixed and variable ratio schedules of reinforcement. During the VR condition, students visually attended more and engaged in disruptive behavior less often than during the FR condition. (Author)

This study of implementation of a classwide peer tutoring program for 108 disadvantaged students found that specific variations in program implementation and teachers' applications of the program produced differential levels of student outcome. Implementation factors considered included, among others, opportunities to receive program sessions and…

The study investigated the effects of interspersing known items during spelling instruction on new words for three moderately to severely mentally retarded male students (ages 19 to 24). Results showed that high density reinforcement did facilitate performance over baseline; however, interspersal training was superior to the other conditions in…