Describes a South Carolina elementary school principal's program for decreasing discipline referrals and creating a positive school environment. The Great Behavior program involves weekly drawings and prizes for well-behaved students and an end-of-school party and pie-throwing event. Following a first-year 47 percent reduction in discipline…

This paper represents a report of a year-long case study of the implementation of a token economy in an entire elementary school. The effort was intended to provide teachers with an alternative to corporal punishment as a form of school discipline. In this report, both the successful and unsuccessful procedures are described in chronological…

Describes the development and implementation of Lee Canter's Assertive Discipline model, noting its use at Takoma Park (MD) Elementary School and the reaction of parents, students, and teachers. Supporters stress that it puts teachers in charge, rewarding good behavior and punishing bad, but critics call it dehumanizing, humiliating, and…

Encourages and guides teachers in utilizing direct praise of students to increase performance and self confidence, and to build positive self esteem. Details specific language habits, gestures, and methods for teachers to identify their behaviors, critical remarks, and evaluative terms, and replace them with feedback that reinforces correct…

Presents a collection of inexpensive, nonsugary rewards for students who demonstrate extra effort and fine achievement. They include a skip-a-spelling-test pass, a skip-homework pass, special lunches with the teacher, first place blue ribbons, big-goals celebrations, and a special, comfortable chair that students can use on a rotating basis. (SM)

An elementary physical education teacher describes a successful behavior improvement program implemented at his school. Students earned points (tokens) for good behavior and physical education achievement. They lost points for inappropriate behavior. Donated prizes were awarded based on accumulated points. (IAH)

Tells a story about a five-year-old boy and discovers through the telling how to be a better teacher. (MG)

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…

Describes a study that investigated the effects of promising pupils that a letter would be sent to their parents if they showed "good" progress in English comprehension. Results indicated a larger significant increase in scores for those pupils who had been promised a letter to their parents than for those who had not been given this promise. (NRJ)

A study conducted reinforcer assessments for three boys (ages 7-9) with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder who alternately received either a placebo or methylphenidate. Methylphenidate altered the relative reinforcing effectiveness of various stimuli that are often used in classroom-based behavioral treatment programs, particularly coupons…

A study explored the relationship of interest in story content, external incentives, and reading level to elementary school children's reading performance. The subjects, 75 fifth grade students who were either average or below-average readers, were asked to rate the content of five stories from "most" to "least" interesting and were then assigned…

To estimate the relative effects of three types and three combinations of feedback on children's discrimination learning, a meta-analysis was performed on the findings of 89 studies. In general, reward compared to punishment or to reward plus punishment is the least efficient method of feedback for teaching children discrimination materials.…

Describes assessment and successful treatment of a preadolescent with erratic toileting behavior and related social skills difficulties. Treatment included monitoring of bowel movements, using a star chart, and applying rewards as positive reinforcement of acceptable behavior. (HTH)

This project was designed to develop and validate a communication package on the use of incentives in education. The package, which is directed toward elementary and middle school teachers and administrators contains discussions of the following: theoretical rationales underlying the use of incentives; types of incentives; target populations for…

Because they felt that students can be responsible for their own behavior, the staff of Jefferson Elementary School, serving 300 students in grades 1 through 4 in a small rural community, developed a program which promoted self-management. In September 1979, teachers participated in an assertive discipline workshop. A Positive Action Plan evolved,…