For many years, the Gallup Organization has studied the characteristics that identify teachers' and counselors' talents. Recently, the Gallup Education Division has developed a book titled "Teach With Your Strengths" that explores the unique ways in which teachers think, feel and behave. The book explores three principles of great teachers that…

In this article, the author presents his views on Michael's (1975) and Baron and Galizio's (2005) arguments on eliminating the distinction between positive and negative reinforcement. He first discusses Michael's concept of these two types of operations and contrasts it with the notions of Baron and Galizio. The author provides the readers his own…

This article discusses an eight-week experimental classroom at the Malcolm Price Laboratory school at the University of Northern Iowa in which two teachers attempted to do some prescriptive teaching with 10 intermediate grade boys who had a history of disruptive behavior in the classroom. Contingency management techniques were used. (RC)

Assertive Discipline is an outgrowth of Canter and Associates' professional efforts in both working directly with children with behavior problems and consulting with teachers on how to deal effectively with such children. Assertive Discipline is an in-depth approach to classroom and school discipline. Lee and Marlene Canter first published…

A replication study was conducted with five underachieving fourth graders to determine the effects of teacher-written praise notes and associated parent praise as motivating agents for increased performance of assigned school tasks. When Ss completed 80% or more of their work they were given a praise note to take home to parents who were…

In observations of three brain injured children (20, 32, and 24 months old), the authors found a strong association between reinforcement density and cooperative behavior during physical therapy sessions. The results suggested that the delivery of reinforcement per se has substantial effects on behavior. When large amounts of noncontingent…

A teacher describes her efforts to deal with an 11-year-old severely emotionally impaired girl in a classroom with other acting out, aggressive students. The girl's behavior problems included breaking, tearing, spitting, swearing, running, and sexual aggression. A positive reinforcedment system was found to be primarily responsible for success in…

In an experiment designed to explore the immediate disconfirming effects of strong and mild incongruent messages and the impact of certain contextual constraints on disconfirming effects, 192 male undergraduates evaluated videotaped examples of strong and mild sarcasm and joking and the complementary congruent forms of straightforward positive and…

Behavior can be modified because it is governed by its consequences. Observable behavior, excluding its causes, is modified by the application of techniques derived from B.F. Skinner's operant learning theory. Optimum effects can be achieved only after thorough knowledge of the child is gained, particularly in the area of his capabilities. The…

A microcounseling approach was used to conduct a study of an experimental training program. The objective was to train naive college students, who were interested in counseling, to assess clients' attitudes toward guidance tests. A correlation of .797 was obtained between clients' ratings of attitudes toward tests and the trainees' ratings of…

In the first of three studies, A Nonverbal Technique for Studying Music Preference, a free operant technique was used for determining the type of music most preferred, and therefore most likely to function as a reinforcer, for 66 retarded children (ages 9-20, IQ range 34-69). In the second study, Effects of Noncontingent Music on Addition…

This study investigated the effectiveness of operant conditioning procedures in stimulating intermediate elementary students to constructively utilize free time for pursuing occupational information. (RC)

Children having academic and behavior problems may benefit from a contract drawn up by the teacher identifying specific behaviors that should be changed. Agreed upon and understood by student, teacher, and parents, the contract becomes an effective teaching tool. (JD)