Modification of inattentive classroom behavior. Hyperactive children's use of self-recording with teacher guidance

An Alternative Method for Quantitative Synthesis of Single-Subject Researches

The purpose of the present study is twofold: (a) to compare the validation of percentage of nonoverlapping data approach and percentage of data points exceeding the median of baseline phase (PEM) approach, and (b) to demonstrate application of the PEM approach in conducting a quantitative synthesis of single-subject research investigating the effectiveness of self-control. The results show that the PEM had higher Spearman correlation with original authors’judgment than PND did. The results of applying the PEM approach to synthesize the effect of self-control training on academic and social behavior showed that the treatment was highly or at least moderately effective.

Self-Recording Mutually Exclusive Multiple Responses

Self-recording procedures generally focus on a single target response despite the fact that the situations to which they are applied often involve choices among competing responses. This analogue study explored the effects of self-recording on several mutually exclusive responses in a situation in which limited behavior was available to allocate among the responses. Four young competitive swimmers could swim 25 yards of any of four swimming strokes on a given trial. During baseline all subjects exhibited distinct preferences for one of the strokes. In different conditions subjects then self-recorded choices of all strokes or of only one stroke. When only one stroke was self-recorded, choice of that stroke increased in frequency. However, when all strokes were recorded choice patterns tended toward equity among the strokes for three of four subjects, an outcome not predicted by the existing literature. The results suggest that self-recording research, and possibly applications, might be improved through better understanding of response interactions.

Self-monitoring and at-risk middle school students. Academic performance improves, maintains, and generalizes

Using a multiple baseline design across six academic settings, we found that teaching 4 at-risk middle school students to self-monitor markedly improved their academic performance as measured by their grades and related academic behaviors. Furthermore, these improvements generalized to settings where self-monitoring was never introduced, and they maintained the following school year. In this charter middle school setting, self-monitoring proved to be an extremely effective intervention. These findings suggest that it would be equally effective in a variety of settings.

Effects of a videotape feedback package on the peer interactions of children with serious behavioral and emotional challenges

Peer interactions are among the greatest challenges experienced by children who have severe emotional and behavioral problems. This study evaluated an intervention package designed to increase the ratio of these children's desirable to undesirable interactions. The package included three principal components: (a) observation of videotapes following regularly scheduled peer activity sessions; (b) self-evaluation of the children's peer interactions observed on the videotapes; and (c) delayed feedback and reinforcement for desirable peer interactions. Five students from two elementary schools participated. Multiple baseline designs and one reversal were used to evaluate the effects of the intervention package. The results showed that the intervention produced lower levels of undesirable peer interactions and higher ratios of desirable to undesirable interactions for all participants. The results are discussed in regard to their conceptual and applied implications and in terms of specific directions for future research.

Cued and noncued self-recording of attention to task

Self-recording of attention-to-task behavior when children were cued to record by an audiotape recorder was compared with self-recording without a cue. Four boys enrolled in a special class for the learning disabled were trained to monitor and record their own attention-to-task behavior under the two conditions. Both conditions resulted in increased attending behavior in comparison with baseline, but the cued condition had greater effects than the noncued condition. Similar but less powerful effects were observed for the rate of correct arithmetic computation. Weekly observations for over two-and-one-half months following the termination of self-recording requirements revealed continuing high levels of attention to task and academic productivity for three of the boys.