This article offers suggestions to British teachers working with students who are so discouraged that praise appears to have no effect. Available knowledge about positive instructional approaches, the misuse of praise, and the value of collaborative problem solving is reviewed. (DB)

Study evaluated a program to modify school attendance for 20 special education high school students. A treatment group received social and tangible rewards for good attendance, and their parents received notices about absences. They showed no decline in attendance over a semester, whereas control group students showed significant declines. (SM)

Contends that, although the operant approach to psychology is based on objective empirical observations, much of psychology is filled with subjective, interpretive terminology. Argues that such terminology produces confusion over the definitions of basic operant concepts. Suggests a solution that defines the concepts of positive and negative…

Describes how principles of learning theory can be applied to bibliographic instruction to increase its efficacy and broaden its scope. The discussion covers conditions of learning, including motivation, active responding, and reinforcement; learning of information seeking behaviors, including the power of reinforcement and librarian-initiated…

Argues against the use of rewards for students. Discusses their origin in Skinner's behaviorism and their application in behavior modification in the classroom. Describes the problems with using rewards, as noted by Alfie Kohn and others, including the erosion of intrinsic motivation and the distortion of the focus of learning. Presents…

Reviews studies related to physical exercise with people with severe and profound developmental disabilities and comments on the main findings and on the practicality and acceptability of physical exercise. The use of technical instruments combined with reinforcing events to ensure mild physical exercise is discussed. (Author/CR)

A study compared the effects of extinction (EXT) and fixed-time (FT) schedules as treatment for the severe problem behaviors of three individuals with developmental disabilities. During EXT, the reinforcer maintaining problem behavior was withheld. During FT, the reinforcers were presented response independently at preset intervals. FT schedules…

This article discusses teaching higher-level thinking skills and concentration to students with disabilities through chess instruction. Guidelines for chess instruction are provided, including: teaching ideas and strategy first rather than specific lines of play, using a variety of instructional modalities, and building in reinforcement for…

This article presents three case studies of elementary students with learning disabilities whose behavior interfered with the quantity and quality of their classroom instruction. In each case, interventions involved teaching and reinforcing specific replacement behaviors that were identified through functional behavioral assessment. (Contains…

Discusses how conceptualizing anger control as a necessary survival skill for angry and aggressive youth is more productive than diagnosing these youth with labels like conduct disorders. Anger management programs should promote the ideas that angry persons need to trust others and that they have the ability to control their lives. (RJM)

Describes treatment containing positive components of effective instruction delivery (EID) and time-in (TI) for achieving acceptable levels of child compliance in clinic and home settings. Mothers were able to master components of both EID and TI in the clinic. Skill mastery increased at home for EID but varied for TI. Discusses benefits of…

This study compared three methods of stimulus preference assessment for four verbal children (ages six to nine) with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, specifically evaluating the utility of a verbal choice procedure for assessing relative reinforcer value. Verbal and pictorial stimulus-choice assessments identified high- and low-preference…

Research shows that adults respond primarily to positive reinforcement, want to be involved, and prefer to operate in a collegial environment. Traditional teacher evaluation violates many of these understandings. Fortunately, schools are beginning to experiment with observations and mentoring for beginning teachers and long-term…

Praise is better than punishment as a motivator for children, but both are manipulative and often backfire. Real encouragement comes in the form of honest, caring concern without strings attached. The paper presents examples of how to encourage children successfully. (SM)

Because youth who are in residential facilities are sometimes dangerous to themselves or others, there are times when physical restraints must be used for the safety of both residents and staff. But the use of restraints is coming under increased scrutiny because of potential dangers. In this article facilities share how training can help reduce…