Describes the Dorm 5 experiment at Windham College, Putney, Vermont, designed to create a living environment to assure individual rights and intellectual values through positive reinforcement techniques following operant conditioning. Problems of vandalism and noise were solved as physical space was utilized to meet student needs for social and…

Low income classrooms demand that teachers supervise and monitor students' seatwork actively and control private interactions with students. Praise and a relaxed climate are more important in low than high income settings. (JD)

Urges reading teachers to fight the cultural tendency to value conformity above performance, to increase their production of approval signals, and to use these signals to reinforce a variety of behaviors. (RL)

Illustrating the way in which poorly posed questions may adversely affect class participation and learning, this article presents examples of classroom questions that have been classified and analyzed; components of hierarchical questioning strategies; and methods for using questions to stimulate thinking and enhance classroom learning. (Author/JC)

An investigation of the effects of a seven-day camp experience with disturbed adolescents on approximately sixty undergraduate "camp counselors" was conducted. Limitations of the study are discussed as well as some suggestions for future research into practicum sites for programs training teachers of the severely disturbed. (Editor/RK)

In a sentence-completion task, eighty sixth-grade students were assigned specific difficult goals or general goals ("do your best"). Subjects received one of four levels of monetary incentive. Specific difficult goals produced higher performance than nonspecific across various incentive conditions, and maintained those levels when previously…

Fifth-grade students classified as high or low in self-concept were paired in an achievement-related task in which one succeeded and one failed. High self-concept children attributed success more to their high ability and engaged in more positive self-reinforcement than did low self-concept children. Results were discussed within an attribution…

Measures the relative effectiveness of a short-term punishment versus a snort-term positive reinforcement contingency system for reducing the frequency of specific inappropriate behaviors of a group of senior elementary students. Students were directly involved in identifying the different types of discipline so that they might help determine the…

The reward structure of a classroom refers to the rules under which students are reinforced for academic achievement. Various types of interpersonal reward structures--competitive, cooperative, and independent--are discussed. Studies of the effects of rewards on performance, attitudes and interpersonal relations are reviewed, emphasizing…

Outlines the management-by-objectives process used to monitor, train and develop personnel in a youth service project. (BR)

The extended resident outdoor education experience is one of the most successful ways for an individual to have consistent positive experiences in terms of learning, socialization, and growth of self-concept. (Author/JC)

Describes the SUCCESS program which is based on the idea that success plays a major role in determining a child's self concept and future goal setting behavior, and that systematic parental attention and positive reinforcement are basic to helping each child feel successful and valuable as a person. (MS)

Acquisition, discrimination, and review training were used to teach four severely retarded adolescents to tell time to the nearest 5-minute interval. All subjects acquired the target behavior, and three of four maintained appropriate responses after 8 weeks. Discrimination errors and the social relevance of the skill are discussed. (Author/JW)

Four young mothers with one-year-old infants were successfully taught to reduce their children's potential for injury in the home through interventions which included increasing positive interactions with the infant, child-proofing the home, using playpen time-out for potentially dangerous behaviors, and giving positive attention for safe…

Suggestions on how to improve physical education by improving the classroom environment and teaching methods and by inviting full participation of students, faculty and administration are given. (JL)