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:

  1. What I do,
  2. Count of appropriate actions, and
  3. What happens.

According to Cohen each part should include the following:

The first part, what I do, should be divided into three parts:

  1. What happens first,
  2. What is wrong, and
  3. 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:

  1. What the student will learn,
  2. How they might make others feel,
  3. How cooperation will benefit a group, and
  4. 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.

 

Additional sources:

  1. Procedures for teaching 50 pro social skills: asking a question, sharing, goal setting,
  2. Using Countoons to Teach Self-Monitoring Skills

Dr. Robert Sweetland's notes
[Home: homeofbob.com ]