Index to Volume 93

Abstract

A clock-light cuing procedure has proven effective in controlling a variety of classroom misbehaviors when accompanied by group contingencies. In the present study, the effectiveness of a verbal learning component used in conjunction with the procedure was investigated in a first and second grade classroom of 51 pupils total. Results revealed significant reductions in misbehaviors within 13 days of treatment for both classrooms. Practical considerations in using the device are reported, as are recommendations for further research.     

Students’ problem behaviors and teachers’ warmth and demand as predictors of students’ classroom instructional experiences in first grade

The present study utilized both classroom- and student-level observation methods to investigate the relations among first grade students’ (N = 533) problem behaviors and their classroom instructional experiences. Additionally, the role of teachers’ (N = 57) warm demander characteristic, a combination of warmth and responsiveness and classroom control and demand, was considered. Multilevel modeling revealed a positive association between problem behaviors and student time in both teacher-facilitated small-group instruction and off-task, and to less time in types of instruction where students were expected to manage themselves. Interaction effects further indicated that the positive association between problem behaviors and time in teacher-facilitated, small-group instruction only existed when students with more problem behaviors were in classrooms with teachers who were high or average in warm demander characteristic, whereas the opposite pattern existed for students of teachers low in warm demander characteristic. In addition, students of teachers who were high in warm demander characteristic spent less time in disruption/waiting (a main effect), and for these students a positive association between problem behaviors and students’ time in disruption/waiting existed (an interaction effect). Implications for policy, practice, and future research are discussed.     

Decreasing attention deficit hyperactivity disorder symptoms utilizing an automated classroom reinforcement device

Psychologists and physicians are frequently approached by parents and, indirectly, by classroom teachers to diagnose and treat Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. Requests are also frequently made for psychostimulant medication to control ADHD behavioral symptoms. One reason for such requests is that alternative classroom approaches to treating ADHD have focused on positive reinforcement, response cost, and token reinforcement programs, all of which can require extensive teacher involvement. One of the major problems with such behavioral approaches is the fact that teachers have limited time to reinforce positive, attentive behaviors, and/or alternative behaviors to ADHD symptoms. This study examined the efficacy of an automated reinforcement device, the Attention Training System (ATS), in decreasing off-task behavior in an 11-year-old, fifth-grade student who had been diagnosed as being affected with ADHD and had been placed in Special Education Resource Room programming. The Attention Training System provides automated token reinforcement in the form of points on a fixed interval schedule when the youngster is on-task. When distractible, impulsive, or hyperactive behavior occurs, the Attention Training device can be activated by a teacher to provide a response-cost consequence of loss of points. The device in this study was coupled with a token reinforcement program whereby points could be exchanged for selected reinforcers at the end of each day. Results indicated that the ATS plus token reinforcement was successful in reducing off-task behavior across classes of three subject areas: Science, Reading, and Social Studies. Results have implications for psychologists and physicians in their attempts to assist families and schools in their management of youngsters with ADHD.     

延时折扣范式下大学生课堂媒体多任务现象的行为经济分析

为探讨中国大学生课堂媒体多任务行为背后的冲动性机制,采用由经典延时折扣范式改编的课堂假想情景实验考察了101名大学生的课堂发消息行为。拟合分析结果表明大学生课堂发消息行为本质上是一种在即时少量报酬和延迟丰厚报酬间权衡时做出的冲动性的选择。进一步采用曲线下面积辅助分析发现女生比男生更少进行课堂发消息行为,而且女生在有趣课堂中比在枯燥课堂中更少进行课堂发消息行为。文章提供了对于中国大学生课堂媒体多任务行为的行为经济学分析思路。     

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.     

Exploring patterns in time children spend in a variety of child care activities: associations with environmental quality,ethnicity, and gender

In order to build from previous research examining children’s activities and interaction in child care programs, the current study explored whether children’s experiences in child care programs were associated with individual (ethnicity, gender, age) and classroom (environmental quality) characteristics. Using cluster analysis with a randomly selected sample of the participants (n=1,052), groups were developed to represent differences in how children divided their time among a set of activities and interactions. These initial groupings were then validated using the second half of the sample (n=1,142). The resulting clusters identified six patterns in how children spent their time: creative, language arts, didactic, gross motor, high-level adult involvement, and individualized adult interactions. Multinomial logit analysis indicated that individual (ethnicity, gender) and classroom (environmental quality) characteristics were related to how children spent their time but that patterns of associations among the variables for children aged 10–36 months were different from patterns of associations seen among children 37 months and older. The results suggest that researchers need to further explore the ways that ethnicity and gender shape children’s experiences in child care programs.     

Observations of Children's Task Activities and Social Interactions in Relation to Teacher Perceptions in a Child-Centered Preschool: Are We Leaving Too Much to Chance?

The goal of the present study was to describe one center's interpretation of childcentered instruction and what this looked like in terms of the children's daily activities, social affiliation, and behavior in the classrooms. Staff at a self-identified child-centered constructivist preschool program were interviewed about their pedagogical philosophy and asked to give their estimates of the proportion of time that children in their classrooms spent both interacting with different people (alone, with peer, with teacher) and engaged in various behaviors. Data were collected pertaining to children's goal-directed, sustained activities, social affiliation, affect expression, and inappropriate/aggressive behavior via 2,752 naturalistic classroom observations over the course of a semester. Results indicate children a) spent significantly less time engaging in focused, goal-directed, learning activities, b) sustained their attention on one activity for significantly smaller lengths of time, c) expressed overt positive affect considerably less often, and d) had significantly less one-on-one teacher-child interaction, than was believed and desired by the staff. Results were consistent with both a fear expressed by the center director and recent calls from researchers in early childhood education, that teachers in many child-centered constructivist early childhood programs may be committing the "early childhood error" by stepping back and refraining from getting directly involved in children's activities.     

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.     

Teacher ratings of the achievement-related classroom behaviors of maltreated and non-maltreated children

This study investigated in what ways, if any, maltreated children differ from nonmaltreated children in regard to achievement-related classroom behaviors. Elementary school teachers completed the Hahnemann Elementary School Behavior Rating Scale on 33 maltreated children, 33 non-maltreated public assistance children, and 33 non-maltreated lower middle class children. The maltreated children were matched to the comparison children on gender and grade level. Results indicated that the maltreated children exhibited significantly less classroom behavior that is positively linked with academic achievement than did a comparable group of non-maltreated, public assistance children. However, the maltreated children did not differ significantly as a group from the public assistance children in most behaviors that are negatively linked with academic achievement, such as disruptive social involvement in the classroom. When compared with the lower middle class children, the maltreated children were rated as engaging in significantly less classroom behavior that is positively related to academic achievement and significantly more classroom behavior that is negatively related to academic achievement.     

基于人体骨架信息提取的学生课堂行为自动识别

利用计算机视觉技术和机器学习技术对学生课堂行为进行自动识别,是过程性评价的一种新方法,近年来逐渐引起了研究者的关注。文章以监控设备拍摄的实际课堂教学视频为数据源,采集、标注了学生课堂行为数据,提取了学生的人体骨架信息。在此基础上,文章采用Boosting算法和卷积神经网络算法,对基于这两类不同机器学习算法的5种模型进行了学生课堂行为自动识别准确率实验。实验结果表明,在学校教室这种识别比较困难的场景,基于人体骨架信息提取的学生课堂行为自动识别可以达到较高的精度,其中基于Boosting算法的XGBoost模型识别准确率最高。文章的研究推动了计算机视觉技术和机器学习技术的进一步应用,有助于解决学生课堂行为自动识别难题,并助力教师优化教学策略、提高教学效率。     

Multidimensional assessment of emotional and behavioral adjustment problems of low-income preschool children: development and initial validation

The Adjustment Scales for Preschool Intervention (ASPI) was developed and tested for use in preschool programs serving low-income children. The ASPI is a measure of emotional and behavioral adjustment problems observed within routine classroom situations. Principal components analyses revealed five reliable behavioral dimensions: Aggressive, Withdrawn-Low Energy, Socially Reticent, Oppositional, and Inattentive/Hyperactive and two higher-order dimensions: Overactive and Underactive problem behaviors. Concurrent criterion validity of these dimensions was supported by multivariate indicators of peer social competence and classroom behavior problems. Age and gender analyses indicated that boys showed higher levels of overactive behavior than girls and that younger preschool children evidenced more underactive and inattentive behavior than older preschool children. Situational analyses indicated that situations requiring more initiation and self-regulation were associated with more problematic behaviors.     

The Research of College Students’ English Classroom Behavior Investigations

By employing quantitative research methods, the paper investigates college students' preferences to English classroom behaviors and the relations between behaviors and achievements. The results indicate that there are significant differences among the subjects' behavior, cognitive and emotional elements, and their classroom behaviors are mainly visual, individual, imitative and exterior-motivated; there are significant differences in behavior element and emotional element between high-result group and low-result group; confident and oral classroom behaviors have prominent relations with CET-4 achievements, and different teaching methods may make learning behaviors produce good or bad effects to achievements.     

An observational investigation of two elementary-age autistic children during free-play

Two observational systems were employed to measure the behavior patterns of two elementary-age autistic children and their classroom peers during a free-play period. Results obtained from the total behavior repertoire system indicated that the subjects spent the majority of the free-play period manipulating various toys and objects. Data obtained from the social interaction system revealed that the subjects' encounters with peers typically were negative. Additionally, the subjects were observed to respond more frequently to vocal-verbal social behavior by peers, than they were to motor-gestural responses. The observational methodology employed and the results obtained were discussed in terms of their significance for the clinical treatment of autistic behavior, and the evaluation of such treatment.     

The daily report card: A simplified and flexible package for classroom behavior management

There is a growing need for rapid low cost, and proven behavior management techniques for classroom teachers. Often, an uncomplicated system of feedback to pupils at frequent intervals, backed by reinforcers delivered at home by cooperating parents, is sufficient to decrease problem behavior and accelerate homework and classwork completion. The present paper presents a system consisting of report cards, instructions for students, parents, and teachers, which is designed to accomplish these objectives. One application of the daily report card in a regular fourth-grade classroom will be presented. In this case, a behavior problem (talkouts), and homework assignment completion were targeted and recorded during a baseline period, and then sequentially remediated using a multiple baseline design. The results indicated rapid improvement with a minimum of teacher time and effort. The use of the card with various problem behaviors in classrooms is discussed as a valuable consultation tool for school intervention.     

Response Time Differences Between Computers and Tablets

Item response time data were used in investigating the differences in student test-taking behavior between two device conditions: computer and tablet. Analyses were conducted to address the questions of whether or not the device condition had a differential impact on rapid guessing and solution behaviors (with response time effort used as an indicator) as well as on the time that students spent on the test (reading, mathematics, and science) or a given item type (such as drag-and-drop and fill in blank). Further analyses were conducted to examine if the potential impact of device conditions varied by gender and ethnicity groups. Overall there were no significant differences in response time effort related to device, although some differences related to item type and test sequence were noted. Students tended to spend slightly more time when taking the tests and certain types of items on the tablet than on the computer. No interactions of device with gender or ethnicity were observed. Follow-up research on the item time thresholds is discussed.     

Professional development to increase teacher behavior‐specific praise: A single‐case design replication

Effective classroom instruction is contingent upon successful classroom management. Unfortunately, not all teachers successfully manage classroom behavior and need in‐service professional development. In this study, we replicated a targeted professional development approach that included a brief one‐on‐one training session and emailed visual performance feedback to increase novice teachers’ use of behavior‐specific praise, an evidence‐based classroom management skill. Dependent variables collected through direct observation included teachers’ behavior‐specific praise along with average student engagement and disruptions. Four elementary teachers participated and, based on a multiple‐baseline single‐case design, we found a functional relationship between the targeted professional development and teachers’ increased use of behavior‐specific praise. However, because of variability and one teacher's limited response, effect sizes were small for behavior‐specific praise and little change was observed in student behaviors. These findings warrant further research to determine which classroom management skills affect student behaviors overall, as well as continued evaluation of this professional development model and using school‐based coaches.     

基于行为序列的学习行为模式识别与教学干预

课堂环境下的学习行为是学习者进行知识学习的外在表现形式,对学习行为模式的识别有助于教师把握不同学习群体的特征规律,从而设计差异化教学干预方案,以改善学生的学习成效。在文献分析的基础上,文章首先以苏南某地区J中学的初中生为调查对象进行了问卷调查,并基于分析结果对课堂学习行为进行分类与编码;随后,文章采用聚类分析法对不同学习行为进行序列转换分析,并设计了基于课堂表现数据的学习行为模式识别模型;最后,文章采用滞后序列分析法对不同类型学习者的学习行为序列转换进行分析,挖掘了不同类型学习者存在的问题学习行为,在此基础上设计了基于问题学习行为的教学干预机制,以帮助学习者转换学习行为模式,进而提高学习效果。     

Environmental factors influencing the affiliative behavior of male and female rats (Rattus norvegicus)

Three experiments were conducted to investigate the influence of rearing and housing manipulations on the affiliative behavior of male and female rats. Animals were tested in same-sex pairs in an open field for time spent in contact and for socially facilitated activity. The results revealed a sex difference in both the degree and the form of affiliative behavior of rats. In general, males were more affiliative and more responsive to a second animal. Males engaged in more rough-and-tumble play, whereas females spent more time in social grooming. Housing conditions of adult animals and rearing conditions were found to influence the degree to which males engaged in male-like affiliative behaviors and females engaged in female-like affiliative behaviors. Social behavior appears to be a function of the interaction between the affiliative repertoire of the animals involved, the nature of the social stimulus, and the features of the environment.     

Teachers’ Predictions of Children’s School Success As a Function of Their Behavioral Tolerances

Abstract

Ecological theory suggests that behaviors and characteristics of individuals are important determinants of interactions those individuals have with others. Regular classroom teachers with different levels of tolerance for selected behaviors were asked to rate a hypothetical child who exhibited certain disturbing behaviors; in this case, the child was rated as to the likelihood of success in a regular classroom within several areas of possible performance. Analyses of the results indicated that ratings of interaction potential were differentially influenced according to tolerance for socially defiant behaviors. Implications for ecological theory and the mainstreaming process were discussed.     

Exploring the effects of online learning behaviors on short-term and long-term learning outcomes in flipped classrooms

ABSTRACT

The flipped classroom pedagogy has been widely used recently. Despite many researches have paid attention with the learning outcome of flipped classroom, there has been limited attention in regard to investigate the relationship between learning behavior and learning outcomes in a flipped classroom. In this paper, we proposed to investigate the influence of online learning behaviors on short-term and long-term learning outcomes in a flipped classroom. This study used Calculus and grade point average (GPA) scores to represent short-term and long-term learning outcomes, respectively. Multiple linear regression indicated that students’ online learning behavior does not have a significant effect on short-term learning outcomes, but has a significant effect on long-term learning outcomes. For applying multiple correspondence analysis, students were divided into groups according to five grade levels based on their scores. According to GPA grade level, students’ online learning behaviors had a significant effect on long-term learning outcomes for the five groups (GPAa, GPAb, GPAc, GPAd, GPAe). According to their Calculus grade level, students’ online learning behaviors had a significant effect on short-term learning outcomes for three groups (CALa, CALd, and CALe), but two groups (CALb and CALc) did not demonstrate this trend. For exploring the effects of online learning behaviors on future learning outcomes, GPA can be considered representative because the GPA was calculated for the entire academic year 2015. Students in the CALa group exhibited the highest frequency of online learning behaviors and obtained the highest GPA grade levels (GPAa and GPAb). For the CALb, CALc, CALd, and CALe groups, students with a higher frequency of online learning behaviors obtained a higher GPA grade level. These results indicate that students’ online learning behaviors have a positive effect on future learning outcomes.