The effect of intermittent feedback and intermittent contingent access to play on printing of kindergarten children.

Researchers tested two ways to help kindergarteners print letters better.

One group got papers checked only now and then.

The other group got the same spot checks plus five minutes of play when the paper was good.

They watched each child’s printing errors every day.

Every child made fewer errors when play time hinged on neat work.

The boost showed up again when a new letter was taught.

Intermittent grading alone helped a little; adding play helped a lot.

Zentall et al. (1975) built on this idea. They kept the intermittent checks and added public praise and a posted scoreboard. Their package doubled writing output in older kids.

Berkovits et al. (2014) moved the same logic to ten-year-olds doing creative stories. They swapped play for small prizes and layered on goal setting. Spelling and full sentences both rose.

Jenkins et al. (1973) used the same teacher-attention trick for preschool social skills. Ignoring rough play while praising sharing cut aggression to almost zero. The method travels across behaviors.

You can tighten any academic task with two quick moves: check work only now and then, and open a fun activity the moment quality meets the mark. The schedule stays lean, kids stay motivated, and you avoid constant hand-grading. Try it next time you teach letter writing, math facts, or even sight-word reading.