Countoons
Dr. Marilyn A. Cohen coauthor with Harold Kunzelmann for, Precision Teaching: An initial training sequence (1970), developed Countoons.
Countoons are cartoons used as visual reminders of appropriate actions, inappropriate actions, and a count of appropriate actions. The countoon can be placed on a card and left with the child as a reminder for the student to develop an action with less adult intervention.
A countoon can be divided into three parts:
- What I do,
- Count of appropriate actions, and
- What happens.
According to Cohen each part should include the following:
The first part, what I do, should be divided into three parts:
- What happens first,
- What is wrong, and
- What I should do.
The second, is for the count of appropriate actions. May count positive or negative behaviors occurrences or durations.
The third, shows the reward the student will get as a result of a predetermined number of actions.
The idea of a visual reminder can be helpful for students.
Try to be creative with the different parts. You might decide to include:
- What the student will learn,
- How they might make others feel,
- How cooperation will benefit a group, and
- Other positive things, which might happen as a result of their actions.
You might also try to eliminate the counting by setting goals and set a time for discussing how they are meeting their goal.
Use the idea of self-control to help you design a visual reminder to benefit particular students.
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