Paul Chance at Amazon dot com

Have I mentioned that I collect Listmanias?

Well, I do.

Paul Chance's list of "Reviews Written by Paul Chance" is so good I may have to start collecting reader review lists, too.^*

Here he is on Fred Jones Tools for Teaching:

The discussion of incentives is very good, but while incentives are important, I think B. F. Skinner's comment is worth remembering: Skinner said that we have to get the student to the point where he does things because of the satisfaction gained from doing them because the teacher is not going to follow the student around forever handing out smily faces. (I'm paraphrasing Skinner, but that's the idea. See his The Technology of Teaching for the exact quote.) I think part of the solution is to see to it that the student's efforts are successful most of the time. (As I say in my own book, success is the great motivator.)

The idea of building motivation through reinforcement makes sense to me.

The idea of putting kids in groups, handing them an open-ended project to do, and assuming they are now motivated because they're active learners not passive vessels makes no sense at all.


^* He has a Listmania, too!