Kristin L. Main teaches the Ontario Literacy Course, an alternative course designed to support students who have failed the required standardized test for high school graduation. She sees the purpose of the class as giving students a chance to feel successful and helping them to see the practical value of purposeful communication and integrated…

Three teacher researchers conducted this action research project to increase their 54 high school students' achievements in mathematics. The teacher researchers had noticed a trend of low scores on teacher-made chapter tests and non-completion of daily homework. Standardized tests showed that most students scored below average on the mathematics…

The importance of effective instruction on student academic and social achievement has been well documented. Strong classroom management and the use of high rates of opportunities to respond (OTR) have been two advocated classroom practices to positively impact student performance. This article presents an analysis of data collected across 35…

This study examined the effects of the Living Skills school-based intervention program as a method of improving school adjustment and the social lives of at-risk elementary school students. Youth participants were referred to the program by teachers or school counselors based on perceptions of risk due to rejection and isolation, aggressive and…

Behavior problems continue to be an issue for teachers and parents to address. Studies have shown that challenging behaviors in early childhood are linked to problems in the areas of academics and socialization in adolescence and adulthood. Most schools use a reactive, consequence-based approach to behavior management. With school violence and…

Classrooms are dynamic environments in which teachers and students engage in ongoing reciprocal interactions throughout the school day. Classes that include classwide effective intervention practices are likely to have positive teacher-student interactions and to promote student learning and engagement while minimizing problem behaviors. However,…

In many teacher training courses, reflection upon practice plays a very important role in learning to teach. A number of strategies have been developed to help student teachers learn to reflect. Current reflection strategies often focus on problematic instead of on positive experiences. Ideas from positive psychology and solution-based therapy…

What is the role of positive feedback in the adult English language classroom? This study applies ideas from complexity theory to explore the relation between frequency of oral feedback received and student language proficiency. The researcher collected data from digital recordings of adult students (N = 41) who attended classes for 30 weeks at…

As more and more schools adopt school-wide positive behavior support (SWPBS) as a model for school improvement and the success of initial demonstration sites becomes evident, districts are faced with expansion and sustainability issues. Careful planning of these implementation efforts requires district personnel to be familiar with the resources…

For any organization to become or remain competitive and provide incentive and fulfillment for the people who work there, management must be flexible and open to change and the needs of its employees. That is where a human resources system, complete with motivational techniques, comes in. (Author)

Compares the effectiveness of a token economy with traditional forms of intervention. Results indicate the token economy procedure to be considerably more effective. (Author)

Based in part on a PhD dissertation (Irwin) submitted to the University of Pennsylvania.

Lists potential reinforcers that may be employed with various motivational tactics, and groups them into ten categories with specific examples of each. Most of these reinforcers may be used in manager-evaluated contingencies, with the exception of a few, which are listed because of their value in self-control tactics. (Author/VT)

Fifth- and sixth-grade students were asked to sort cards by one of three possible sorting methods. Subjects received either general praise, descriptive praise, or no praise. The extent to which the two praise groups sorted by the method for which they were reinforced was assessed. (Author/JMB)

Two experiments contrasted the effects of several methods of initiating the play activity of elementary school children on children's willingness to persist in an initially interesting activity. (Author)