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…

We evaluated the separate and combined effects of the antecedent manipulations of effective instruction delivery and time-in, as well as the effects of the addition of the consequent manipulation of contingent praise in a compliance training package for four elementary students displaying low levels of compliance. Four teachers were trained to…

Designed primarily for elementary and secondary school teachers, the book presents one approach to the systematic and effective use of positive reinforcement to motivate better learning in normal or disturbed children. In Part 1, describing how contingency contracting works, each chapter contains a self-diagnostic pretest, narrative summary and…

In this study, 24 individuals (ages 6-37) with down syndrome had to learn a symbolic conditional discrimination task. Participants showed better terminal accuracy and faster learning of the task when the alternative correct responses were each followed by unique different outcomes than when nondifferential outcomes were arranged. (Contains…

Reports on a study which attempted to determine whether an academic contingency system that successfully modified academic performance and on-task behavior of selected target children would also lead to vicarious academic or behavioral effects in non-target children. Results show that it did not. (CMG)

Red Light-Green Light is a levels system providing immediate behavior modification feedback and varying privilege levels throughout the school day for primary students with behavior disorders. This article presents guidelines for implementation, covering development of classroom rules, classroom expectations, and system maintenance. Tips for…

This article reviews the research on the benefits of applied behavior analysis (ABA) for the education of children with autism up to 5 or 6 years of age. The most common models for service delivery are presented (home- based and center- or school-based) and a few recent treatment innovations are discussed. (Contains references.) (CR)

Some educators are turning to the process of contingency management within a classroom as a short term, immediate motivator which can work for virtually every student, regardless of his/her final grade in the course. Contingency management consists of providing a set of alternatives from which those chosen by the student reward the students in…

Prompting, positive and negative reinforcement, and a gradually extended reinforcement schedule were used with three autistic clients (two six-year-olds and one adolescent) to teach them to maintain on-task behaviors without constant supervision. Results indicated that appropriate behavior could be successfully maintained with only infrequent and…

The paper addresses behavior management strategies for developing new behaviors in special needs learners, strategies for changing existing behaviors, and strategies for developing behavioral generalization. An introductory overview identifies five basic principles of behavior management. Fourteen behavioral terms are then defined (e.g.,…

This study of interactions between three severely withdrawn, autistic preschool children and six nonhandicapped peers found that peers can be effectively taught strategies to increase appropriate social behaviors of autistic classmates, and a group-oriented reinforcement contingency is an effective complement to teacher-prompted interventions and…

Effects of self-monitoring alone and in combination with external contingent rewards on sight word acquisition were compared across two groups of four learning-disabled elementary students. Both treatments were found to increase sight word vocabulary, but contingent reward did not enhance the reactivity of self-monitoring for most students.…