Author Archive for JohnL

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Precision Teaching conference pending

Published on 24 September 2010 in Data collection, Increasing responding, News, Other Sites, Press, Professional development, Research, Self-management, Teaching b mod and Training. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , .

The 2010 International Precision Teaching Conference will be held in Seattle (WA, US) 4-6 November 2010. Sponsored by the Standard Celeration Society, a group that promotes the use of systematic data collection procedures and objective analysis of instructional practices, the conference promises to have lots of reports that will appeal to readers of Behavior Mod. There will be special rates for students, excellent presentations, lots of chances for interaction with knowledgable folks. Check it out!

Where: Holiday Inn, 211 Dexter Ave. North, Seattle, WA 98109—Hotel Front Desk: 1-206-728-8123 | Hotel Fax: 1-206-728-2779 (Group Reservation Code: Morningside
When: 4-6 November 2010
Registration: See the Celeration.org page pointing to the Paypal form for the registration link!

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True-false question

Published on 13 September 2010 in News. 1 Comment

I doubt many readers will find this one difficult.

"Behavior management is related to behavior modification theories developed by B.F. Skinner and Carl Rogers."

  • False (67%, 14 Votes)
  • True (33%, 7 Votes)

Total Voters: 21

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Source for this question.

Why not only positives?

Published on 30 August 2010 in Classroom management, Ethics, Increasing responding, Professional development, Reducing responding, Research and Teaching b mod. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , .

Teacher A: Wouldn’t it be wonderful if we didn’t have to use any aversive procedures. Punishment is such a drag.

Teacher B: Yes! I agree. Positive reinforcement is sooo powerful—shaping, schedules, maintenance, and all that. You can do just about everything with it.

Teacher A: Really. I mean, we should make our classes totally positive this year. No negatives. None!

As strongly as I advocate the use of positive strategies in classroom management (“Catch ‘em being good!”), I have to acknowlege that there are at least three reasons it is impossible to create behavior management systems that exclusively employ positive reinforcement. Here’s why reasonable folks should resist the superficial appeal of the all-positive or positives-only Chimera.

Continue reading ‘Why not only positives?’

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No spanking

Published on 11 May 2010 in Classroom management, Ethics, Other Sites, Reducing responding and Teaching b mod. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , .

Look under ‘posters & stickers’

I am pleased to call readers’ (both of you) attention to NoSpank.net. Although much of the advocacy presented there promotes parenting and teaching practices that have limited scientific bases, the organizing feature is a rejection of the use of physical violence as a disciplinary method. I support that effort.

There are at least 40-11 better alternatives, starting with teaching the child or youth what to do. More specifically and technically, here is a list of alternative methods for reducing the chances that a behavior will occur in the future:
Continue reading ‘No spanking’

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Fryer’s incentives study

Published on 13 April 2010 in News, Press and Research. 1 Comment Tags: , , , , , , .

Under the title “Should Kids Be Bribed to Do Well in School?” Amanda Ripley of Time Magazine reported about the outcomes of the large-scale study led by Roland Fryer Jr. that tested whether incentive systems affected students’ achievement. Professor Fryer, who collaborated with many others on this ambitious project (> 270 schools), found that rewards for outcomes (e.g., grades and test scores) were less effective than rewards for what he calls “educational production functions” (activities, such as reading and participating, that led to better learning).

Here is how Ms. Ripley characterizes the outcomes:
Continue reading ‘Fryer’s incentives study’

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Better and Worse Ways of Giving Directions

Published on 21 March 2010 in Classroom management. 1 Comment Tags: , , , , .

One mistake that adults sometimes make in giving directions to children and youths is to phrase directions as questions. Another is to give directions as if they are advice. Here are some examples of each:

  1. Asking questions:
    1. O.K., everyone, why don’t you turn in your work now?
    2. Where are your pen and paper supposed to be?
    3. Jimmy, don’t you think it would be a good idea to clear your desk and get ready for reading?
    4. If you think about it just a little bit, wouldn’t you think that other people would rather you put your trash in the trashbasket?
    5. What should you be doing right now?
    6. What part of ‘get a move on’ don’t you understand?

    2. Continue reading ‘Better and Worse Ways of Giving Directions’

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