THE EFFICACY OF AN ALL-POSITIVE APPROACH TO CLASSROOM MANAGEMENT

This study addressed the question of whether an all-positive approach to classroom management can be effective. The on-task behavior and academic performance of eight, second- and third-grade children with behavior problems were examined. Results indicated that an all-positive approach that relied primarily on praise was not effective. However, when an individualized reward system was used, the children's rates of on-task behavior were high and stable. Similar effects were observed for academic productivity. Thus, a classroom can be managed using only positive consequences. However, to be successful, such an approach may require a considerable amount of teacher time and effort, particularly potent, varied and individual rewards, and high rates of appropriate behavior previously established using both positive and negative consequences.     

学习积极性的心理分析

学习积极性是学生在学习活动中的一种自觉的能动的心理状态。从儿童出生来到这个陌生的世界,他们就不断地和环境相互作用,接受客观现实中的各种刺激并作出相应的应答活动。随着年龄的增长和身心的发展,儿童对周围事物产生强烈的好奇心和旺盛的求知欲。但是,为什么在学校里,有的学生对学习表现出很大的积极性,有的学生却不愿意学习,觉得学习是个沉重的负担,毫无积极性呢?学生的学习积极性究竟从何而来呢?本文仅从心理学的角度对学生的学习积极性谈一谈个人的认识。     

THE GENERALITY AND SOCIAL VALIDITY OF A COMPETENCY-BASED SELF-CONTROL TRAINING INTERVENTION FOR UNDERACHIEVING STUDENTS

We evaluated the effectiveness, generality, and social validity of a modified version of a competency-based self-control package developed by Stevenson and Fantuzzo (1984). Three underachieving fifth-grade students were trained to use this intervention to increase their arithmetic proficiency. Results indicated that the intervention produced improved arithmetic performance. Moreover, all possible classes of generalization were evidenced for the participants. Social validity data showed that the children's arithmetic performance either surpassed or approached the mean performance of their higher achieving classmates. Additionally, teachers reported that the intervention was effective, appropriate for classroom use, and easy to implement.     

THE EFFECTS OF RECIPROCAL PEER TUTORING AND GROUP CONTINGENCIES ON THE ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE OF ELEMENTARY SCHOOL CHILDREN

We evaluated the effects of reciprocal peer tutoring combined with group reinforcement contingencies on the arithmetic performance of 12 underachieving fifth-grade students. Results indicated that the intervention increased the students' arithmetic performance to a level indistinguishable from their classmates during treatment and 12-week follow-up phases. Pre-, post-, and follow-up sociometric data indicated that the students who participated in the treatment groups increased their amount of peer affiliation with other treatment group members.     

Using response cards to increase student participation in an elementary classroom

The use of response cards during large-group social studies instruction was evaluated in a fourth-grade classroom. The experiment consisted of two conditions, hand raising and write-on response cards, alternated in an ABAB design. During baseline, the teacher called upon 1 student who had raised his or her hand in response to the teacher's question. During the response-card condition, each student in the class was provided with a white laminated board on which to write one- or two-word answers in response to each question asked by the teacher. Rate of active student response during instruction was much higher with response cards than with hand raising. Most students scored higher on daily quizzes following sessions in which response cards were used than they did on quizzes that followed hand-raising sessions. Response cards were preferred over hand raising by 19 of the 20 students in the class.     

THE EFFECTS OF KNOWN-ITEM INTERSPERSAL ON ACQUISITION AND RETENTION OF SPELLING AND SIGHTREADING WORDS1

The use of well-documented procedures such as shaping, differential reinforcement, and fading may not be the most practical for teaching certain academic behaviors. An alternative procedure of interspersing trials on previously trained items with trials on unknown items has been suggested, but its effects on acquisition and retention have not been systematically examined. This study investigated the effects of interspersing known items during training on new tasks. Six mentally retarded adolescents were given pretests on spelling and sightreading words, which were divided into pools of learned and unlearned items. Training and baseline conditions were implemented concurrently, using a multi-element design. During interspersal training sessions, 10 known words from the pretest were alternately presented with each of 10 test words that were incorrect on the pretest. The ratio of previously mastered words to test words was gradually reduced. During baseline sessions, 10 different test words were presented without alternation of previously known words. During this condition, a procedure involving high-density social reinforcement contingent on task-related behaviors, but not necessarily correct responses, was later introduced, followed by a return to the original noninterspersal baseline. During all conditions, test words were deleted and replaced after meeting a mastery criterion of three consecutive correct trials. Retention tests were administered over learned test words for all conditions, at specified intervals. Results showed that both acquisition and retention of spelling and sightreading words were facilitated by the interspersal procedure. All subjects acquired more words during the interspersal condition than either the high-density or baseline conditions. The effectiveness of the procedure may possibly be attributed to better maintenance of attending behavior to unknown items as a function of the inclusion of known items, which directly increase the amount of reinforcement for correct responses during the early stages of skill acquisition.     

THE EFFECT OF THE ABSENCE OF CLOSE SUPERVISION ON THE USE OF RESPONSE COST IN A PRISON TOKEN ECONOMY1

A naturally occurring experiment, in which direct supervision of a token economy in a penal system was removed and re-instated, is reported. A retrospective analysis revealed that in the absence of close supervision the use of response cost rose dramatically, both in terms of categories of behaviors for which response costs were levied and in the frequency of their use. The return of direct supervision led to a decreased use and an end to the growth of categories of behaviors punished.     

THE RELATIVE EFFICACY OF METHYLPHENIDATE (RITALIN) AND BEHAVIOR-MODIFICATION TECHNIQUES IN THE TREATMENT OF A HYPERACTIVE CHILD

Drug versus placebo effects were contrasted with those of contingency management in the treatment of a hyperactive child. Several criterion behaviors were monitored in two different settings to gauge the breadth and generalizability of drug and behavior-management effects. Medication and contingency management effects were both found to be situation specific. No interaction effects were found. Accuracy of task performance, amount of eye contact with the experimenters, frequency of repetitive hand movements, and distractible behavior were apparently unaffected by medication (Ritalin versus placebo) within the clinic. A multiple-baseline design incorporating contingency reversals revealed the reinforcement contingencies to be the crucial variable controlling behavior within the clinic. Medication effects were shown to be significant within the home setting where reinforcement contingencies were not changed. While aggressive behavior decreased as a function of Ritalin, repetitive hand movements increased.     

An analysis of daily report cards and parent-managed privileges in the improvement of adolescents' classroom performance

A daily report-card system, involving home privileges administered by parents, was developed for use with "problem" junior-high students. In Experiment I, when home privileges and parent praise were contingent on improved school conduct, classwork, daily grades, and teacher satisfaction, the school performance of three students improved considerably. In Experiment II, a similar report-card system was employed with two additional students, except only parent praise was contingent on improved school performance. Under these conditions, one of the students did not bring the report card home, and class performance did not improve until contingent home privileges were added. The school performance of the second student improved with the card and praise alone. However, there appeared to be a slow decline of classwork performance over time. For Experiment III, an instructional manual, describing the report-card program, was written for school guidance counsellors. Two guidance counsellors read the program, used it with one student each, and found that the school performance of both students improved. These results suggest that the daily report-card program with home consequences administered by parents can improve the school performance of, and teacher satisfaction about, students having considerable difficulty in school.     

A behavioral technology for producing concept formation in university students

Three experiments analyzed the effectiveness of a textbook incorporating "concept programming" in producing concept formation in university students. The concept programming portion of each lesson requires students to determine which concept is illustrated by each of 20 short fictional stories about everyday behavioral situations. The stories are selected to illustrate and contrast the concepts of that lesson. Student responses are heavily prompted during the initial stories of each lesson. The first experiment demonstrated that students generalize to entirely novel examples from the examples in the textbook. The second experiment demonstrated that the concept programming portion of the textbook is a critical component in producing generalization. The third experiment demonstrated that the amount of concept formation produced by the concept programmed textbook is greater than that produced by a widely used standard textbook.