Abstract
Children in group-care settings often require reinforcement in the form of teacher attention in order to stay engaged in learning tasks. Three children enrolled in a half-day integrated preschool who were having difficulty staying engaged with group or independent learning activities participated in the study. The effects on engagement time of equal amounts of teacher attention, given at a rapid pace or at a slow pace, were compared. Rapid attention produced higher engagement time than slow attention or no attention for all dtree children. The results suggest that rapid-paced teacher attention may be effective in helping young children stay engaged in activities. The results are discussed in terms of basic research on behavioral momentum, which describes the effects of reinforcement rate on task persistence.
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