ABSTRACT
The behavioristic focus on pedagogy is very different from the focus of educational research on pedagogy. When B. F. Skinner turned directly to educational applications he was concerned with optimum behavior change, not with what might be done within existing educational constraints. Many of the features of behavioral programming were adapted to the constraints of higher education by Fred Keller and his colleagues. The research drawn primarily from the consultant model has contributed to the reform of one entire field of education—special education. The pedagogy of choice throughout special education is recognized as behavior analysis even by those who were less than enthusiastic about early efforts. The influence of the substantive findings of behavior analysis has begun to be felt in the marketplaces of therapy, business, and in special education. The existing and potential contributions of a behavior-analytic approach to education and its reform are extensive.
