Some of the strategies for overcoming obstacles to gender parity in organizations include consciousness-raising, mentoring, informal support, training, and role modeling. Evidence to support the use of these strategies based upon the past experiences of female graduate social work students was explored. (Author/MLW)

Discusses motivation based on adult learning conditions, and suggests appropriate motivation plans for leaders and trainers that will enhance performance. The steps to develop motivation plans include assessing current thinking on motivation and reinforcement options; objectively describing expected behaviors; and developing motivational…

Coincidental teaching involves training parents to provide social skills instruction to their exceptional children in home and community environments. Teachers explain to parents the techniques of prompting and praising, help parents schedule times during their daily routine to carry out coincidental teaching, and provide lesson plans. (JDD)

Preschool children (n=32) were evaluated in an unstructured play session, matched for levels of appropriate or inappropriate social behavior, and assigned to a treatment or control condition. The treatment group conditions involved positive reinforcement, modeling, rehearsal, feedback, and time out. Although prosocial behaviors were successfully…

A point system was developed to reinforce appropriate study habits and behaviors of secondary students with learning disabilities and behavior disorders. The system functioned as a bank, with students depositing their points and earning weekly interest on points saved. Students could also use points to conduct financial transactions at the…

Eight public school adolescent students with mild mental retardation and severely disruptive classroom behaviors participated in a cooperative behavior management intervention in which student teams were rewarded for appropriate classroom behavior. Rewarding both teams and individuals was most successful in decreasing inappropriate behavior in all…

This study of 14 children (ages 3-5) with disabilities participating in the Classwide Social Skills Program found that the program increased subjects' positive play and levels of teacher reinforcement, but these increases did not generalize to 3-month or 6-month follow-up periods nor to another play session in the day. (Author/JDD)

A self-management intervention package was used with preschoolers with developmental delays. Self-assessment of performance resulted in increases in active engagement across all participants during training, but generalization to classrooms was sporadic and short-lived. When recruitment of teachers' contingent praise was added, treatment effects…

Presents discipline tips from several teachers to keep classrooms running smoothly all year. Some of the suggestions include the following: a bear-cave warning system, peer mediation, a motivational mystery, problem students acting as the teacher's assistant, a positive-behavior-reward chain, a hallway scavenger hunt (to ensure quiet passage…

Provides examples of programs that teach children positive behavior skills for success in life rather than resorting to traditional punishment. Looks at the Positive Education Program, Boys Town, the Westerly School District, and the New Opportunities Program. Such programs help children learn appropriate skills that replace problem behaviors.…

A study used a progressive delay procedure to teach self-control to six adults with mental retardation. At baseline, participants chose an immediate smaller reinforcer rather than a larger delayed reinforcer. Progressive increases in work requirements for gaining access to a larger reinforcer resulted in participants selecting larger delayed…

The author of "Reaching Up For Manhood" discusses troubling social/environmental conditions confronting boys. Raising better boys requires caring adults, safer risk-taking situations, positive reinforcement, and role models. Parents should monitor boys' media exposure, provide moral education, broaden their cultural and natural-world…

A five-part article describes and analyzes the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) and a behavioral intervention technique called "positive behavioral interventions, supports, and strategies" (PBS). Suggests guidelines for applying PBS within the framework of IDEA, especially as it applies to discipline of students covered…

Psychology students frequently have misconceptions of basic concepts in operant conditioning. Prior classroom observations revealed that most students defined positive reinforcement as reward and equated negative reinforcement and punishment. Students also labeled positive reinforcement as rewarding good behavior and negative reinforcement as…

This article reports on aspects of an evaluation of Team-Teach--a "whole setting, holistic" approach to behaviour management in a range of childcare environments. A distinctive feature of Team-Teach is that it includes training in both de-escalation skills and physical interventions, known as "positive handling strategies". The…