Disruptive Classroom Behavior Research Articles

Self-regulation of timeout duration in the modification of disruptive classroom behavior

The effects of self-determination vs. teacher-determination of timeout duration on disruptive behavior were investigated in a group of 15 students in a special classroom who had learning disabilities and/or behavior problems. There were five phases to the study: In a repeated measures design each subject received timeout for 5 minutes, no timeout, 5 minutes timeout, selfdetermined timeout duration, and student = teacher-determined timeout duration. The overall effect of timeout was to reduce significantly the rate of disruptive behavior. The effects of various timeout conditions did not differ, indicating self-management of timeout duration was just as effective as when the teacher set the timeout duration.

Behavior change strategies for reducing disruptive classroom behavior

The effects of independent and interdependent group contingencies for academic work on the disruptive classroom behavior of junior high school students were examined. Using a multiple baseline design, the disruptive classroom behavior in five mathematics classes was measured under baseline, independent group, and interdependent group contingencies. Group contingencies consisted of free-time contingent on completion and accuracy of daily mathematics assignments. Free-time was delivered either individually, contingent on individual performance (independent group contingency), or to the class as a whole, contingent on group performance (interdependent group contingency). In all classes, the level of disruptive behavior was reduced when treatment was initiated. Both independent and interdependent group contingencies resulted in lowered rates of disruptive behavior, with the interdependent contingency being slightly more effective. It was concluded that for junior high students: (a) Free-time is an effective reinforcer. (b) Reinforcing academic behavior is an effective method of reducing disruptive classroom behavior. (c) Both independent and interdependent group contingencies are effective techniques for changing classroom behavior. (d) The teacher can effectively implement a behavior change program with little or no training in behavior analysis.

RELATIVE EFFECTIVENESS OF TEACHER ATTENTION AND THE “GOOD BEHAVIOR GAME” IN MODIFYING DISRUPTIVE CLASSROOM BEHAVIOR1

A variety of behavioral procedures have been employed in recent years to modify disruptive classroom behavior. Such methods have been developed with the belief that curtailing disruptive behavior would strengthen positive classroom performance. In this study, two procedures, the good behavior game and the teacher‐attention method, were compared to determine short‐run effectiveness. Four teachers (two fourth‐grade and two fifth‐grade) implemented both methods in their classrooms over a five‐week period. Presentation of methods was alternated in a counterbalanced design to control for order effects. Each of the four classrooms consisted of 25 students. A time‐sampling procedure was used to record the presence or absence of disruptive behavior within 15‐second intervals. Disruptive behavior was defined as any talking‐out or out‐of‐seat behavior without permission. The results indicated that both procedures were effective in modifying disruptive classroom behavior, but that the good behavior game reduced disruptive behavior significantly better than the teacher‐attention method. In addition, all teachers preferred the game to the teacher‐attention procedure. This reaction seemed related to the effort involved in initiating the two activities. The good behavior game required less effort on the teacher's part. However, use of the game alone raises certain ethical considerations. One such issue involves abuse of peer pressure. Also, there is a possibility that negative rules may tend to promote resentment. Positively stated rules would ameliorate that problem. Another relates to the possibility that some teachers might be carried away by the ease of the game's implementation to the extent that behavior control becomes the primary objective in the classroom. As a result, one might consider use of the game to maximize short‐term change, but then phase out this procedure in favor of another method (e.g., teacher attention) for long‐run effects.

PEER AND COLLEGE‐STUDENT TUTORING AS REINFORCEMENT IN A TOKEN ECONOMY1

Eighteen second-grade children initially received feedback in the form of nonredeemable tokens for reducing their disruptive classroom behavior. Four types of tutoring were then introduced in a Latin Square Design: noncontingent tutoring from fifth-grade peers, contingent peer tutoring, noncontingent college tutoring, and contingent college tutoring. No significant difference was found in the level of disruptive behavior of those children tutored by fifth-grade peers or college students, but contingent tutoring was significantly effective in reducing disruptive classroom behavior.

Modification of the excessive inappropriate classroom behavior of two elementary school students using home-base consequences and daily report-card procedures.

Two experiments investigated home‐based reinforcement contingencies to control excessive behavior in normal classrooms. Subjects were, respectively, a 12‐yr‐old fifth‐grade boy and a 9‐yr‐old fourth‐grade boy, each in a separate classroom and with a different teacher. Following baseline observations in which observers recorded several categories of student behavior and teacher‐student interaction, separate conferences were held including parents of the two children, the principal, teachers, and experimenters. A daily report‐card procedure was agreed on, stipulating a one‐day suspension from school following three successive “undesirable” daily report cards as well as the supervision of home‐based privileges and other reinforcers usually contingent on satisfactory daily reports. Measurements of daily rates of teacher attention indicated no important change in this variable throughout the various experimental conditions. The daily report procedure significantly reduced disruptive classroom behavior. In a second experiment, a teacher‐operated timer cued her own time‐sample observations. Reliability measures revealed that the teacher could accurately measure the child's behavior while she was teaching the class. The procedure was ultimately successfully expanded to the teacher's total contact hours each day.

The effects of verbalizing contingencies in time-out procedures

Four behaviorally disordered children from experimental classrooms were studied for their response to time-out from positive reinforcement. In a within-subject design, time-out contingencies were initially presented to two children without instruction. Following a reversal, the contingencies were then verbalized in a brief factual statement. This order was reversed for two other subjects. The results indicated that both contingencies were effective in reducing disruptive classroom behavior. A brief factual instruction or reason for the contingency did not facilitate the discrimination or application of time-out.

Consultee-centered consultation with a teacher as a technique in behavior management.

Client-centered consultation was effective in helping a teacher to decrease one child's disruptive classroom behavior, and consultee-centered consultation helped the teacher improve her control of the class as a whole. Initially, a client-centered reinforcement program effectively decreased the disruptive behavior of one target child. Later, attention to the teacher's feelings about being the authority figure in the classroom was used in an attempt to modify the behavior of the entire class. The data describing the behavior of a second child in the classroom suggested that this consultee-centered consultation was followed by less classroom disruption. In addition, anecdotal observations indicated that consultee-centered consultation was effective in modifying the behavior of both the teacher and the rest of the class.

Teacher-determined and self-determined token reinforcement in a special education classroom

This study demonstrates the long term effectiveness of teacher-determined and self-determined (following a history of teacher-determined) token reinforcement in the control of disruptive and on-task behavior in a junior high school special education classroom. Contingent teacher-determined token reinforcement was successful in controlling both classes of behavior over 14 weeks. Subsequent contingent self-determined token reinforcement was also effective over 11 weeks. Self-assessments were highly correlated with teacher assessments, although the former tended to be more lenient.

A simple stimulus cue for controlling disruptive classroom behavior. Methodological implications for behavior change procedures.

In two separate classrooms, a red light which had no specific consequences attached was used to reduce the talking-out and out-of-seat behavior of elementary school subjects. Following baseline phases, the light was introduced for a one-week period. An observer activated the light whenever the targeted behaviors occurred. Following a return to baseline, the light was reintroduced for a second one-week period. Results indicated that for both subjects a 95% or greater reduction in targeted behaviors occurred during the red-light phases. The results demonstrated the short-term effectiveness of a simple procedure which does not require specific back-up consequences for the reduction of disruptive behavior. The author concluded that studies using stimulus cues as part of reward or punishment procedures should employ a baseline procedure which controls for the effect of the stimulus cue without specific back-up consequences.

Sociometric and disruptive behavior as a function of four types of token reinforcement programs.

Children in a first-grade classroom were divided into four groups. Baseline measures of disruptive classroom behavior were taken on a well-behaved and disruptive child in each group. Following baseline, four types of token economies were simultaneously introduced and rotated every 10 days within a Latin Square design. The token economies were: (1) individual reinforcement determined by individual performance; (2) group reinforcement determined by the behavior of the most disruptive child; (3) group reinforcement determined by the behavior of the least disruptive child; (4) group reinforcement determined by the behavior of a randomly chosen child. The token economies were compared on their effectiveness in changing target behavior, preference by the targets, ease of use, and cost. Additionally, sociometric responses were taken on questions of responsibility, friendship, and funniness. Results showed a significant decrease of inappropriate behavior for the disruptive children and no difference between the effectiveness of the four types of token economies in producing behavior change. However, there were other differences that indicated that the system in which group reinforcement was determined by a randomly selected child would be desirable for most teachers. Results also showed changes in the sociometric status of the disruptive children. As predicted, disruptive children were rated as more responsible when they were in the group reinforcement determined by the most disruptive child in the group token economy. Using behavior modification techniques indirectly to change sociometric status is suggested as offering a new potential technique for behavior change agents.

USE AND ANALYSIS OF THE “GOOD BEHAVIOR GAME” TO REDUCE DISRUPTIVE CLASSROOM BEHAVIOR1

A recent study reported procedures (the "good behavior game") for reducing disruptive classroom behavior. Replication of the procedures of the "good behavior game" in two classrooms showed it to be an effective technique for reducing disruptive talking and out-of-seat behavior. Further experimental analysis indicated that the effective components of the game were division of the class into teams, consequences for a team winning the game, and criteria set for winning the game. Although disruptive behavior was markedly reduced by the game, the reductions were correlated with only slightly improved accuracy of academic performance in the one classroom where academic performance was measured.

Training a retarded child as a behavioral teaching assistant

After baseline observations were made of the classroom disruptive behavior of three retarded children, a behavior modification program was initiated. Hector, a 14-yr-old boy with an IQ of 42 distributed candy reinforcers to the best behaved pupils in a class for the severely retarded. The two most distruptive children in the class were made targets for behavior modification by Hector, who was first required to earn the privilege of being a teaching assistant by behaving well in his own classroom. Hector's appropriate behavior increased when he was reinforced by serving as a “helper” and the target children behaved more acceptably through the behavior modification program even though the reinforcers were delivered by a peer.

SELF‐EVALUATION BY ADOLESCENTS IN A PSYCHIATRIC HOSPITAL SCHOOL TOKEN PROGRAM1

Nine adolescent boys with a history of high rates of disruptive classroom behavior were selected from a psychiatric hospital school and placed in a remedial reading class after school in which various factors in a token reinforcement program involving self-evaluation were investigated. The effects of self-evaluation, in the form of a rating the students gave themselves about the appropriateness of their classroom behavior, were first assessed. While the students' ratings of their own behavior correlated highly with the teacher's ratings and evaluations made by independent observers, the self-evaluations did not lead to a reduction in disruptive behavior. A token reinforcement program, in which the teacher rated the students' level of appropriate behavior and in which the students traded earned rating points for prizes, clearly led to a reduction of disruptive behavior. When the students were given the opportunity to evaluate their own behavior and to receive rewards in exchange for the evaluation, they returned to their former rates of disruptive behavior.

SELF‐REGULATION IN THE MODIFICATION OF DISRUPTIVE CLASSROOM BEHAVIOR1

This study compared self-regulation and external regulation procedures in the treatment of children's disruptive classroom behavior. After baseline data were collected, three of the four most disruptive children in each of 10 first- and second-grade classrooms received reinforcement for achieving low rates of disruptive behavior. The fourth child served as a control subject throughout the experiment. Two of the three experimental subjects were then taught to self-observe their own disruptive behavior. In the final reinforcement period, these subjects were given control over dispensing reinforcers to themselves, based on their self-collected behavioral data while subjects in the other experimental group continued with the externally managed reinforcement. In extinction, reinforcement was discontinued for all subjects, but one of the self-regulation subjects in each classroom continued overtly to self-observe. Results indicated that both reinforcement programs reduced disruptive behavior. The self-regulation procedures were slightly more effective in reducing disruptiveness than was the external regulation procedure, and this advantage persisted into extinction. These results suggest that self-regulation procedures provide a practical, inexpensive, and powerful alternative in dealing with disruptive behavior in children.

A note on the effects of group and individual contingencies upon deviant classroom behavior.

SUMMARYA 6‐yr‐old male's disruptive classroom behavior was modified by a combined use of individual and group contingencies. When a tantrum occurred the child was put into an adjoining cloakroom. The deviant child, as well as the entire class, was rewarded with candy for periods of non‐tantrum behavior. Although only tantrum behavior was focused upon, by the time the tantrums had decreased substantially, other deviant classroom behaviors had also decreased significantly and the deviant child's peer relationships and school work had improved.

The good behavior clock: A reinforcement/time out procedure for reducing disruptive classroom behavior

Adaptations of token reinforcement and time out from reinforcement were used for reducing the highly disruptive classroom behavior of a first-grade boy. A 15-minute electric timer was fitted with a false face, and for each two minutes of displayed running time, the boy earned a treat for the class—group reinforcement. The clock ran only when the child was quiet and in his seat. When he misbehaved, the teacher turned the clock off. High rates of disruptive behavior during baseline and reversal periods, and low rates during first and second intervention reinforcement periods were paralleled by changes in tardiness-from-recess behavior—indicating generalization of conditioning.

DELAYED TIMEOUT AS A PROCEDURE FOR REDUCING DISRUPTIVE CLASSROOM BEHAVIOR: A CASE STUDY1

The disruptive behavior of a 9-yr-old boy was eliminated by the illumination of a light on the subject's desk, which represented the loss of free time later in the day. Instructions alone failed to reduce the frequency of disruptive behavior. When the light was removed and disruptive behavior no longer resulted in a loss of free time, disruptive behavior returned to its previous level.

Reducing disruptive behavior through consultation

A university laboratory school counselor was consulted by a fourth grade teacher in order to resolve disruptive classroom behaviors of one student who did not stay seated and frequently spoke without permission. A behavioral approach in the classroom enabled the counselor to help. The teacher was instructed to pay attention to the child only when he remained seated or raised his hand for recognition. The student's behavior improved substantially. This study illustrates how the counselor can be effective as a consultant.

REINFORCEMENT THERAPY IN THE CLASSROOM1

Teachers were trained in the systematic use of attention and praise to reduce the disruptive classroom behavior of four first-grade children. Observation measures showed a significant improvement from baseline to treatment for these children and no significant changes for same-class controls. While the amount of teacher attention to target children remained the same from baseline to treatment, the proportion of attention to task-relevant behavior of these children increased. Psychological tests revealed no adverse changes after treatment.

Inadequate Social Acceptance and Disruptive Classroom Behavior

A REVIEW of selected literature has indicated that: (1) Children of high social acceptance tend to possess desirable, positive personality charac teristics while those of low social acceptance tend to lack them.1'2?3?4 (2) Children of high social ac ceptance tend to actively participate and coop erate socially, with a tendency to conform, while those of low social acceptance do not.5? 6?7 (3) Children of low social acceptance tend to display undesirable characteristics, such as showing-off, annoying others, restlessness, feelings of inferi ority, nervousness, and emotional instability.8?9?10 With initial support drawn from the latter find ings, this investigation proposed to test the fol lowing hypothesis: Children socially unaccept able to their classmates tend to manifest poor behavior in the classroom characterized by dis ruptive, attention-seeking actions. Poor behavior was considered behavior incompatible with and undesirable in the best interest of the educa tional success and effective operation of a class. The investigation involved nine fifth and sixth grade classes, generally achieving below grade level, in a low socio-economic urban community. The incidence of children presenting classroom behavior problems was relatively high.