This report summarizes the efforts of a demonstration project at Prairie Elementary School in Urbana, Illinois to implement individualized reading and mathematics programs and to introduce the systematic application of behavior modification principles in the classroom. It describes the development, implementation, and revision of Individually…

A primary purpose of the present study was to further investigate the effects of children upon parents in order to gain a better understanding of the interactional relationship between parents and children. Subjects were 42 middle and upper-middle class parents and their daughters. Mothers and fathers were first observed separately with their…

A positive reinforcement system was designed to see if reinforcement procedures, proven effective in modifying a wide range of disruptive classroom behaviors, would be effective for children who are not particularly disruptive but who work so slowly and ponderously that they fail to make satisfactory academic progress. Subjects were five such slow…

Two experiments using paraprofessional personnel were conducted to determine effectiveness of a schoolwide token system on academic performance of trainable mentally retarded (TMR) children. The first experiment consisted of 42 TMRs in a 6-week summer program, in which reading, writing, and arithmetic were the behaviors studied. Pretest and…

Three studies were conducted to compare standard instruction with reinforcement programs for the trainable mentally retarded (TMR). In the first study, 24 TMRs were matched into two groups, with one group participating in a 6-week academic program having token reinforcement and the other group continuing in a standard teaching program. Statistical…

The hypothesis that first and second graders can improve reading skills by learning to type on electric typewriters was tested in this study. Other purposes of the research were to develop linguistic comprehension in Standard English, to produce introductory reading materials which promote phonic understanding as they fix typing-key strokes, and…

A study was conducted using positive reinforcement to increase and maintain the time spent participating in study behavior of a six-year-old female kindergarten student and to introduce the teacher to behavioral change techniques. Attending and non-attending study behaviors were observed during 30-minute independent study periods in the classroom.…

Compares opinions of British teachers and students toward educational incentives and deterrents. Little change has occurred in the responses of teachers and students over the 24 years. Differences of opinion are evident between pupils and teachers, especially with regard to corporal punishment as a deterrent and adult approval as an incentive.…

Sixty-three third and sixth graders in an experimental teaching session provided either genuine or dissembled (disguised) verbal praise to a student (confederate). Trained coders and naive observers analyzed nonverbal behavior. As hypothesized, nonverbal cues such as facial expressions, body movement, and pausing indicated verbal deception.…

Undergraduate males of different achievement orientations received either no feedback or success feedback on six tasks. On later tasks, success feedback had: (1) no effect on learning easy tasks; (2) positive effects on learning difficult tasks for high achievement orientation subjects; and (3) negative effects with low achievement orientation…

The effects of positive reinforcement on an 8-year-old partially sighted girl's visual academic performance were assessed, using a multiple baseline design that involved tasks of matching and of counting number sets. (Author/DLS)

This research attempts to develop methods which teachers can use now in dealing with disturbances in the classroom, and to investigate the efficiency of these methods in decreasing the disturbances in working conditions. Develops the idea that teachers should be able to use positive means in dealing with disruptive behavior by students. (Author/RK)