Archive for the 'Other Sites' Category

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Behavior contracts that work

Published on 17 January 2010 in Classroom management, Other Sites, Research and Understanding. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , , , , , , .

Over on Smart Classroom Management, the site where he presents tips based on his book, Michael Linsin offers three reasons for not using behavior contracts. After a brief introduction that is generally pretty accurate, he argues that (a) “behavior contracts label students,” (b) “external rewards are short term,” and (c) “follow through is a bear.” He recommends employing a consistent behavior management plan for classrooms and adhering to it faithfully.

I certainly agree with the recommendation that teachers adopt and faithfully execute a carefully conceived and evidence-based classroom management plan, but I disagree with Mr. Linsin’s rejection of use of behavior contracts both because I think that contracts may be a component of a comprehensive management plan and because I think the objections he raises are specious.
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Why animal research matters

Published on 21 December 2009 in Need, Other Sites, Press, Professional development, Research, Teaching b mod and Understanding. 0 Comments Tags: , , .

In “Like a Rat: Animal research and your child’s behavior” that they penned for Slate, Alan Kazdin and Carlo Rotella explain why it is sensible to infer methods for modifying human behavior from research on rats, pigeons, and monkeys. They quite clearly show how what we know from systematic research on infra-human organisms applies to us, the magnificently complicated, subtle, and rational organisms—at least as we seem to see ourselves.

Psychologists who work with children and families tend to avoid mentioning to parents that the treatments they use are often based on research done on animals. It’s no secret that the widely used technique of the timeout was developed in studies on rats or that important early research leading to treatments for anxiety in humans was done on dogs, cats, and other species—but the subject doesn’t come up a lot in conversation. We will confess to doing our bit to perpetuate this professional shyness about animal research by tiptoeing around it….

If you, dear reader, have ever wondered why research about pressing levers or pecking disks matters for changing human behavior or have had someone ask you a question about the connection between research conducted in a laboratory with animals and learner performance, you should read Professors Kazdin’s and Rotella’s “Like a Rat: Animal research and your child’s behavior.”

By the by, it’s just one of many excellent pieces that they’ve published on Slate.

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Florida Autism conference

Published on 20 July 2009 in News, Other Sites, Press and Training. 1 Comment Tags: , , .

The Scott Center at Florida Institute of Technology in Melbourne (FL, US) will host its second annual conference on Autism 6 November 2009. The theme for this year is “Power and Potential of Communication,” and the featured speakers includ Mark Sundberg, Jim Carr, and Bridget Taylor.

Link to the conference Website and to the Scott Center.

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CSPV

Published on 11 June 2009 in News, Other Sites, Press and Research. 0 Comments Tags: , , .

For those who are interested in preventing school violence, here’s a reminder of a resource that I expect will be generating more and more helpful products in the coming years: the Consortium To Prevent School Violence (CPSV).

The Consortium to Prevent School Violence (CPSV) seeks to promote the effective implementation of school violence prevention practices that are:

  1. Based in high-quality scientific research
  2. Proven to prevent and reduce school violence

Following the school shootings of Fall 2006, a group of 20 researchers and practitioners in the field of school violence prevention collaborated on the creation of a position statement on the school shootings. In the process, it became apparent that an alliance of researchers and practitioners in school violence prevention to further the common goal of reducing school violence would be highly valuable

Although some of the recommendations are pretty generic (i.e., do not offer specific directions or procedures for implementation), the project is moving in potentially valuable directions. There is a strong emphasis on research and empirical evidence.

Link to the CSPV site.

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For the geeky among us

Published on 16 April 2009 in Data collection, News, Other Sites and Research. 0 Comments

Over at Teaching All Students, Patrick Black has a post about using an iPod Touch (an iPhone would work, too) as a data collection device. He’s simply (but sensibly) coordinated publicly available resources in a way that permits data entry, recording, and communication. Take a look by following this link.

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Sensible staff development session

Published on 18 January 2009 in Classroom management, Other Sites, Press and Teaching b mod. 1 Comment Tags: , , .

Over on Docere est Discere, G. Broaddus has a post about an in-service session that, from his well-written report, appears to have made a lot of sense. Here’s a snippet from his introductory paragraph:

We had Indiana State University (at Terre Haute) professor Todd Whitaker giving us a presentation entitled “What Great Teachers Do Differently,” and it was humorous, insightful, and engaging (and many other attributes would be appropriate). Whitaker is the author of several books, one of which shares the title of the presentation with the subtitle “Fourteen Things That Matter Most”; appropriately, we were given a list of these fourteen things, but Whitaker could only cover some of them in the four hours or so we would be there.

Mr. Broaddus, who apparently is documenting his experiences during he time he is completing student teaching, gives specific examples of points made by Professor Whitaker. Among them are factors in classroom management that have appeared here (e.g., use praise; manage one’s own behavior). I’ll be checking into Professor Whitaker’s books, and I’ll revisit Mr. Broaddus’ blog.

Link to the entry on Docere est Discere.

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