Peer and college-student tutoring as reinforcement in a token economy.
Make peer or college tutoring contingent on low disruptive behavior to boost the power of your classroom token economy.
01Research in Context
What this study did
A second-grade class already used tokens for good behavior. The researchers added peer or college tutoring as a new reward.
Kids could only get tutoring time if they kept disruptive behavior low. Other kids got the same tutoring for free. The team compared which setup worked better.
What they found
Disruptive behavior dropped when tutoring was tied to low disruption. Free tutoring did not help.
Making peer or college help contingent gave the token economy extra power.
How this fits with other research
Rapport et al. (1982) extends this idea. They paid adolescent tutors with tokens for giving praise. Both tutors and tutees then read more and stayed on task.
Lydersen et al. (1974) seems to disagree. They cut disruption by reinforcing academics, not behavior. The two studies simply aim at different levers: one rewards work accuracy, the other rewards quiet behavior with tutoring time.
Bickel et al. (1984) conceptually replicates the peer piece. Kindergarten peers ran the token system themselves and still cut transition disruption.
Why it matters
You can strengthen any classroom token system by adding a high-interest reward that must be earned. Tutoring time, computer time, or helper roles all work. Tie the reward to low disruption, deliver it quickly, and watch problem behavior fall.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
Eighteen second-grade children initially received feedback in the form of nonredeemable tokens for reducing their disruptive classroom behavior. Four types of tutoring were then introduced in a Latin Square Design: noncontingent tutoring from fifth-grade peers, contingent peer tutoring, noncontingent college tutoring, and contingent college tutoring. No significant difference was found in the level of disruptive behavior of those children tutored by fifth-grade peers or college students, but contingent tutoring was significantly effective in reducing disruptive classroom behavior.
Journal of applied behavior analysis, 1976 · doi:10.1901/jaba.1976.9-169