The paper addresses behavior management strategies for developing new behaviors in special needs learners, strategies for changing existing behaviors, and strategies for developing behavioral generalization. An introductory overview identifies five basic principles of behavior management. Fourteen behavioral terms are then defined (e.g.,…

The study sought to identify effective procedures for facilitating initial imitative vocal behavior in mentally retarded children, thus accelerating the initial stages of language acquisition. Three groups of Down syndrome children ages 6 months to 4 years (N=15) served as subjects in an examination of the relative effectiveness of three…

This practicum was designed to reduce the frequency of disruption occurring in a class of emotionally disturbed students, aged 6-10. Objectives were to have the students remain on task and attentive to teacher instruction during 80 percent of a morning classroom session and to reduce the need for crisis intervention outside the classroom. Three…

This paper provides students with a brief outline of behavioral principles and behavior change techniques, and describes various means of behavior change including operant conditioning. Methods discussed include reinforcement, extinction, punishment, response cost, time-out, overcorrection, training, and data collection for taking a baseline.…

The effects of two interdependent group contingencies, group-average and group-individual, on math performance and verbal interaction were investigated. In a group-average contingency the average performance of the members of the group must meet a set criterion level. In a group-individual contingency each member of the group must meet a set…

The use of the behavioral science principle of contingency in several approaches to teaching beginning reading is discussed in this paper. The failure to provide a contingent relationship between the given reading skill and student success in demonstrating the skill can lead to repeated apparent successes without the student actually manifesting…

Explored with 30 parents of preschool children who demonstrated behavior problems and the teachers who worked with the parents was a method of intervention that demanded limited staff time and provided a systematic approach to counseling parents. Findings suggested the feasibility of using classroom teachers as parent counselors when trained in…

The paper provides summaries of three presentations entitled: "Family and Parent Variables Affecting Outcomes of a Parent Mediated Intervention" (S. Rosenberg and C. Robinson), "The Home as Learning Environment: Using Food Activities to Develop Reading Skills" (R. Handel), and "A Behavior Management Technique for Maladjusted Teenagers in a Public…

Provided are strategies for teaching activities of daily living (ADL), which include dressing, eating, grooming, toileting, and basic homemakine, to severely retarded students. Reviewed are the steps necessary to teach ADL skills: ADL assessment, identification of appropriate strategies and tactics, and task analysis. Explained are four common…

In an introductory psychology course, students were taught some principles of "adjustment" using self-management techniques and were required to conduct a self-management project. The four student projects reported herein were specifically designed to improve study skills through use of Premack's principle and stimulus control. Course…

This paper describes a series of summer workshops for inservice teacher training (kindergarten, grades 1, 2, and 3) in the application of techniques and procedures based on pupil mastery of individualized modules of instruction. Contingency reinforcement management methods were demonstrated and practiced in the attempt to change pupil behavioral…

The long term effect of a behavior modification toilet training program developed by N. Azrin and R. Fox was investigated for eight severely and profoundly institutionalized retarded persons (7-50 years old). (CL)

Relationships among teachers, exceptional children, and their peers should be considered when determining causes of misbehavior and the strategies to correct them. Checklists outline possible teacher and student behaviors which contribute to student misbehavior, and such interventions as independent, dependent, and interdependent group…

The article explores the paradoxical relationship between normalization ideology and behavior analysis as reflected in techniques used in the treatment of self-injurious behavior (SIB) in mentally retarded individuals. Ideology should be evaluated carefully for its effects on science policy to prevent undesirable limits on research and treatment.…

Outlined are behavior management strategies for emotionally disturbed students who are partially mainstreamed. Appropriate behavior outside the classroom earns the child stamps. Inappropriate behavior inside the classroom results in warnings, penalty points, and time-out. On-task behavior is also rewarded with stamps, which may be accumulated for…