ERIC Number: ED034711
Record Type: RIE
Publication Date: 1969-May-1
Pages: 107
Abstractor: N/A
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: N/A
EISSN: N/A
An Evaluation of the Operant Method of Teaching Disruptive and Non-learning Students in the Classroom. Final Report to the Florida State NDEA Steering Committee.
Knowles, Patsy L.; And Others
A project was conducted to teach behavior modification techniques in a number of school settings and to get teachers to apply the techniques in their classrooms. Techniques, which consisted of making some consequence (reward) contingent upon appropriate behavior emitted by the individual or group, were demonstrated at teachers' meetings in a predominantly white elementary school, a predominantly Negro junior high, a special education center, a parent group, and a guidance counselor group. Teachers who volunteered to participate (24 percent of a possible 111) recorded data on 367 students and met weekly with consultants for instruction, discussion, and plotting of behavior graphs. Seventy-seven behaviors were observed and counted with 50 attempted modifications of individual behavior, 20 of group behavior. Data was to have covered three basic observation phases: premodification--for baseline data; modification--introduction of the contingency; and postmodification--withdrawal of contingency. However, 37 premodification phases were not followed by modification; 26 behaviors were graphed through modification and 19 were completed through the final phase. Results indicate that modification techniques can be applied by teachers, parents, and guidance personnel to produce significant changes in behavior of children from all walks of life. (Included are descriptions of difficulties encountered by investigators, 45 behavior graphs with discussion of data, and the poststudy questionnaire with results.) (JS)
Publication Type: N/A
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: N/A
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: Florida Atlantic Univ., Boca Raton.
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A