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.
Continue reading ‘Behavior contracts that work’
Gregory Fabiano and colleagues report about a non-experimental analysis of the effects of a group contingency on children’s behavior in school cafeteria. Pretty interesting. Worthy of systematic study.
Behavior Modification, Vol. 32, No. 1, 121-132 (2008)
DOI: 10.1177/0145445507308577
© 2008 SAGE Publications
A Group Contingency Program to Improve the Behavior of Elementary School Students in a Cafeteria
Gregory A. Fabiano, William E. Pelham, JR, Karen Karmazin, Joanne Kreher, Carlos J. Panahon, Carl Carlson
Studies of behavior modification interventions for disruptive behavior in schools have generally focused on classroom behavior with less research directed toward child behavior in other school settings (e.g., cafeterias). The present report documents the effect of a group contingency intervention with a random reward component, targeting disruptive cafeteria behavior. An uncontrolled study of the effect of the group contingency program across the school year suggested substantial behavior improvement after the program started. Two natural treatment discontinuations during the same school year provide further support for the intervention. Both sources of information suggest behavioral improvement in rule-following behavior when the program was actively implemented.