Randomizing multiple contingency components to decrease disruptive behaviors and increase student engagement in an urban second‐grade classroom

Disruptive behaviors displayed in the classroom interfere with learning by taking time away from academic instruction. This study investigated the effects of randomizing components within an interdependent group contingency for group disruptive behavior and engagement levels of 26 students in a second‐grade classroom in an urban Midwestern school. Using a multiple‐baseline‐across‐settings design, baseline levels of group disruptive behavior and engagement were compared to intervention levels across three different class periods. Results suggest that the intervention decreased levels of disruptive behavior and increased levels of student engagement. Benefits of randomizing components within an interdependent group contingency are discussed as well as limitations to this study and suggested areas of future research. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

COMBINING SELF‐MONITORING AND AN INTERDEPENDENT GROUP CONTINGENCY TO IMPROVE THE BEHAVIOR OF SIXTH GRADERS WITH EBD

A withdrawal design was used to examine the influence of a self‐monitoring procedure on the overall effectiveness of an interdependent group contingency intervention implemented in a sixth‐grade classroom in an alternative school serving students with emotional and behavioral disorders (EBD). Dependent variables included student on‐task, off‐task, and disruptive behaviors exhibited during language arts. Following baseline, the classroom teacher implemented an interdependent group contingency using randomized criteria for reinforcement and randomized reinforcers. Next, a self‐monitoring intervention procedure was added to the existing interdependent group contingency intervention. The self‐monitoring procedure was then withdrawn and reinstated. Results indicated that though there were improvements in behavior from baseline upon intervention implementation, the self‐monitoring procedure did not increase the effectiveness of the interdependent group contingency intervention. Limitations and suggestions for future research investigating the influence of self‐monitoring on group contingency interventions are discussed.     

The effects of dependent and interdependent group contingencies on socially appropriate responses in classes for emotionally handicapped children

The effects of group dependent and group interdependent reinforcement contingencies on the level of socially appropriate behaviors emitted by emotionally handicapped elementary school students were examined. The investigation employed an ABAC design with a systematic replication (ACAB) across a second classroom. The findings suggested that: (a) Both group dependent and group interdependent reinforcement contingencies were effective in incieasing the level of socially appropriate behaviors. (b) For Classroom II, group interdependent reinforcement contingencies more often resulted in higher rates of responding for individual subjects than did group dependent reinforcement contingencies. (c) Group interdependent contingencies were shown to set the occasion for cooperative behavior among class members designed to help each other achieve individual but interdependent goals.     

Educational equity,academic standards,and countercontrol: Preventing academic deficits with supplemental interdependent rewards

School psychologists have been involved with developing and installing individual contingencies designed to remedy individual students' academic deficits. Group-oriented contingencies can be applied to broader efforts designed to prevent learning problems class-wide. Independent group-oriented rewards are frequently used in school settings to enhance learning by rewarding strong academic performance (e.g., reward for each student who maintains a 90% average). Research suggests overreliance on these contingencies may not be educationally equitable because they may be less effective or ineffective in influencing the behavior and learning of students with weaker academic skills. Theoretical and applied research is analyzed which suggests that maintaining ubiquitous independent rewards and providing supplemental interdependent group-oriented bonus rewards may allow educators to a) maintain their academic standards, b) enhance educational equity by improving learning in students who may not respond to typical independent group-oriented rewards, and c) enhance classroom climates. Also, recommendations are provided that may allow educators to mitigate concerns over perceived unfairness associated with interdependent group-oriented rewards.     

Randomized interdependent group contingencies: Group reinforcement with a twist

This investigation examined the effects of randomizing components of an interdependent group contingency procedure on the target behavior of 12 students in a second‐grade classroom in a rural southeastern school district. Specifically, using a multiphase time‐series design (i.e., A‐B‐A‐C‐B‐C design) levels of disruptive behavior were compared across baseline, an intervention phase with only randomized reinforcers (the RR+ phase), and an intervention phase with all components randomized (R‐ALL phase). Results suggest that both interventions were successful in decreasing levels of disruptive behavior, with the R‐ALL phase resulting in lower mean, and more stable, percentages of disruptive behavior. The advantages to randomizing components within a group contingency procedure are discussed, because this procedure not only incorporates the strengths of an interdependent group contingency, but also addresses the limitations. © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

THE CLASSROOM PASSWORD: A CLASS‐WIDE INTERVENTION TO INCREASE ACADEMIC ENGAGEMENT

The present study investigated the effectiveness of a novel class‐wide intervention, the Classroom Password, for increasing the academic engaged behavior of middle school students. The effectiveness of an independent group contingency was evaluated using a concurrent multiple baseline design across three seventh‐ and eighth‐grade classrooms. Results indicated that the intervention was effective across all three classrooms in increasing students’ academic engagement, or on‐task behavior, as evidenced by visual analysis and moderate to large effect sizes. Decreases in disruptive behavior were also observed across all three classrooms. Off‐task behavior was not substantially affected in any of the three classrooms. The intervention received mixed ratings by the classroom teachers regarding its social validity. Results of the present study suggest that the Classroom Password may be an effective class‐wide intervention for increasing the academically engaged behavior and decreasing the disruptive behavior of middle school students during instructional time.     

Behavioral self-management of academic test performances in elementary classrooms

The effects of two types of self-determined reinforcement contingencies on children's test performances were investigated and compared to each other and to externally determined contingencies. In Experiment I, fourth-grade children's test performances were measured for three baseline sessions utilizing self-assessment and self-recording and three contingency sessions. Three contingency conditions resulted in significant and comparable increases in total test performances over a noncontingent reinforcement control: externally determined contingencies set in advance of performance, self-determined contingencies set in advance of performance when children were trained in contingency selection, and self-determined contingent points that children awarded themselves after performance. In a condition in which children self-determined contingencies but had no training in how to set contingencies, the results were not significantly greater than the control. In Experiment II, contingencies were introduced for a longer period of time to two fifth-grade classes. The comparable increases in test performance through externally determined and self-determined contingencies set in advance of performance when children were trained in contingency selection persisted over the three weeks. It was suggested that self-management that includes self-determined contingencies of reinforcement procedures may provide useful and cost effective techniques that educational consultants may recommend for classroom implementation.     

Removal of positive reinforcement to alter learning disabled adolescents' preacademic problems

One reversal and two multiple baseline designs were used to assess the effects of punishment on the disruptive behavior of six adolescent learning disability students. Students were selected for this study because their inappropriate preacademic behavior was reported to be interfering with individual instruction and total classroom management. During baseline conditions of praise and ignore contingencies, the frequency of inappropriate preacademic behavior was assessed. With the institution of punishment procedures (after-class minutes, token removals, token removals from group) the frequency of inappropriate behavior declined. Teachers were advised at the end of the study to reinstitute praise and ignore contingencies, with intermittent use of punishment.     

Supplementing Accelerated Reading with classwide interdependent group‐oriented contingencies

An across‐groups (classrooms), multiple‐baseline design was used to investigate the effects of an interdependent group‐oriented contingency on the Accelerated Reader (AR) performance of fourth‐grade students. A total of 32 students in three classes participated. Before the study began, an independent group‐oriented reward program was being applied (i.e., a student received access to a tangible reward after passing each AR comprehension test). This program was supplemented with an interdependent group‐oriented contingency, and results showed that the number of quizzes passed per week increased immediately after the intervention was applied; however, this increase was not maintained. When students were divided into ability groups based on their average baseline performance, the lowest performing students exhibited a statistically significant increase in quiz performance (i.e., quizzes taken, quizzes passed, and book level), but no significant changes were found in the average and high performing groups. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Using a random dependent group contingency to increase on‐task behaviors of high school students with high incidence disabilities

Group contingencies have the advantages of encouraging individual students to collectively feel responsible for appropriate and inappropriate classroom behaviors and have shown effectiveness in improving students' behavior. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of a random dependent group contingency on the on‐task behaviors of six high school students with high incidence disabilities in a resource classroom. The study used an ABAB reversal design, and the results of the study indicated that the random dependent group contingency intervention was positively associated with increases in on‐task behaviors for three of the six participants. Limitations and implications are discussed in relation to dependent group contingencies for high school students. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Student achievement and differential reinforcement of incompatible behavior: Hand raising

Workbook reading achievement of five second-grade girls was assessed under two teacher-contact contingencies. Under one contingency, teacher contacts were made during on-task behavior. Under the other contingency, differential reinforcement of an incompatible behavior (DRI) was in effect, with teacher contacts contingent on students' hand-raising behavior. Both reading achievement and time on task were greater under the on-task contingency than under DRI for hand raising.     

EVALUATION OF THE CLASS PASS INTERVENTION FOR TYPICALLY DEVELOPING STUDENTS WITH HYPOTHESIZED ESCAPE‐MOTIVATED DISRUPTIVE CLASSROOM BEHAVIOR

The aim of this study was to evaluate the Class Pass Intervention (CPI) as a secondary intervention for typically developing students with escape‐motivated disruptive classroom behavior. The CPI consists of providing students with passes that they can use to appropriately request a break from an academic task to engage in a preferred activity for preset amount of time. In addition, students are incentivized to not use the class passes by continuing to engage in the academic task and instead exchanging them for a preferred item or activity. Using an experimental single‐case withdrawal design with replication through a concurrent multiple‐baseline across‐participants design, the CPI was shown to reduce disruptive behavior and increase academic engagement in three students who engaged in hypothesized escape‐motivated behavior. Results also revealed that the effects of the CPI were maintained at a two‐week follow‐up probe and consumers found it to be acceptable. The limitations and implications of the findings for future research on effective classroom‐based interventions are discussed.     

The effects of initial interval size on the efficacy of DRO schedules of reinforcement

The differential reinforcement of other behavior (DRO) is a behavior-reduction procedure that has been popular for several years. In classroom settings, it provides reinforcement when a student does not display inappropriate responding for a particular interval of time. Unfortunately, relatively little is known about how to use DRO effectively in applied settings. Most research has been conducted in laboratory settings; the purpose of the present study was to provide a replication of one of those studies. This study examined the effect of the size of the initial DRO interval on the disruptive behavior of students with moderate disabilities. In the first experiment, a group of six students was observed during baseline in two classes. Two different DRO values were then used. In one classroom, it was equal to the mean number of 10-second intervals between disruptions during baseline. In the other classroom, it was twice the mean number during baseline. In the final phase, behavior in both classrooms was put under the same DRO program. In the second experiment, the disruptive behavior of three students was studied in a different design in which both methods of determining the initial DRO value were compared. The results of both experiments showed that an initial DRO value equal to the mean number of intervals between responses in baseline was much more effective than a value twice that size in reducing disruptions.     

Reduction of disruptive behaviors using an intervention based on the Good Behavior Game and the Say‐Do‐Report Correspondence

Disruptive behavior can waste a great deal of teaching time in the classroom, leading to feelings of frustration in teachers and an increase in academic failure among pupils. Prior research indicates that intervening in these kinds of behaviors improves the classroom atmosphere and facilitates the learning process. With this in mind, the aims of this article are to (a) reduce the incidence of disruptive behaviors such as standing up without the teacher's permission, shouting, fighting, and interrupting the teacher or a fellow classmate, using a combination of the Good Behavior Game (GBG) and Say‐Do‐Report (S‐D‐R) Correspondence training; (b) achieve long‐term maintenance of results following the gradual withdrawal of the intervention; and (c) introduce the GBG in a different educational context than those discussed so far in the empirical literature. The intervention took place with the 15 children of a standard primary classroom (Cycle 1) at a state‐run school in Andalusia (Spain). Using a multiple baseline design across situations, the GBG and Say not‐not Do‐Request not (Sn‐nD‐Rn) Correspondence training were introduced. A significant reduction in the incidence of disruptive behavior was observed, contingent on the respective application of the intervention in each baseline. The combined application of the GBG and the S‐D‐R Correspondence proved to be an effective way of decreasing disruptive behaviors (shouting, interrupting, etc.) in the classroom, and the results were maintained for 1 year following the gradual withdrawal of the treatment. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

IMPROVING CLASSROOM ENGAGEMENT AMONG HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS WITH DISRUPTIVE BEHAVIOR: EVALUATION OF THE CLASS PASS INTERVENTION

Off‐task and disruptive classroom behaviors have a negative impact on the learning environment and present a unique challenge for teachers to address. The aim of this study was to evaluate the Class Pass Intervention (CPI) as a behavior management strategy for secondary students with disruptive classroom behavior. The CPI consists of providing students with passes that they can either (1) use to appropriately request a break to engage in a preferred activity for a preset amount of time or (2) keep and later exchange for a preferred item or activity. Using an ABAB withdrawal design with replication through a concurrent multiple baseline across participants design, the CPI was shown to increase academic engagement, which is incompatible with disruptive behavior, in 4 students who engaged in high levels of disruptive behavior throughout the baseline condition. Results also demonstrated partial support for the durability of intervention effects over time and indicated that both teachers and students perceived the intervention to be socially feasible. Implications of the results and directions for future research are discussed.     

Classroom management and students' mathematics achievement: The role of students’ disruptive behavior and teacher classroom management

Establishing a well-organized classroom conducive to learning is a key element of high-quality teaching. However, less is known about the degree to which the classroom management process is affected by the specific students in the classroom. Using two large-scale datasets of German secondary school students, the present two studies examined the effectiveness of teachers' classroom management in mathematics while taking into account students' disruptive behavior in the classroom. When controlling for the average level of disruptions in the classroom, both students' disruptive behavior and teachers' monitoring activity were negatively associated with students' mathematics achievement, whereas no associations occurred for teachers' structure and rule clarity. The results suggest that teachers' monitoring activity needs to take into account students’ disruptive behavior in the classroom, highlighting the complexity of effective classroom management.     

从视频研究透视课堂教学对学生学习的影响及其路径——基于GTI视频研究上海数据的实证分析

教学的有效性是教育研究的一个核心议题,而相关的课堂教学研究大多基于间接性的课堂数据,使得教师效应长期处于“黑箱”状态.本研究利用OECD发布的全球教学洞察(GTI)视频研究对教师和学生的课堂行为进行的教学视频观测而生成的实证数据,聚焦中国上海的初中数学课堂,探析特定的教师课堂教学实践对其学生的学习兴趣、自我效能和成绩的...     

The effects of cognitive style and course content on classroom social behavior

This study of the effects of course content and cognitive style on students' classroom social behavior utilized 29 boys experiencing academic difficulties. After completing the Embedded Figures Test, each subject was assigned to either field-dependent (FD) or field-independent (FI) groups. Systematic observations of the two groups' classroom behaviors in French and mathematics classes were compared using ANOVA techniques. Results showed that the social behavior profiles of the two groups were the same on 18 behavioral categories. However, consistent with previous findings, FI subjects were more disruptive than FD subjects. Variance in social behavior was due principally to course content. The interactive effects of cognitive and task characteristics on social behavior are discussed within a cognitive-behavioral perspective.     

Improving homework accuracy: Interdependent group contingencies and randomized components

Homework is an often employed teaching strategy that has strong positive effects on academic achievement across grade levels, content areas, and student ability levels. To maximize academic learning, accuracy of homework should be addressed. The present investigation employed a multiple‐baseline design across academic behaviors to examine the efficacy of randomization of the interdependent group contingency on the homework accuracy of six fourth‐grade students enrolled in a general education class. Results demonstrated that the interdependent group contingency coupled with randomly selected components improved accuracy of homework performance. Specifically, participants demonstrated gains in all three subject areas. Limitations and future research are also addressed. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

问题导学法在初中数学教学中的应用探究

问题导学法是随着教育教学改革不断深化而出现并且得到教师广泛关注和应用的一种新兴的教学模式。在初中数学教学课堂上应用这种模式,不仅能实现教学效率的提升,还有助于学生自主学习能力的强化,实现学生的综合发展和成长。因此,教师要在课堂上强调问题的设计,通过师生有效沟通以及课堂的回顾总结,使这一模式在数学课堂上得到更好的应用,同时给初中学生的数学学习和全面发展提供更大的帮助。