Effects of an Intervention Package Including a Group-Oriented Contingency on the Classroom Preparation Behavior of Students in a Regular Class

Abstract

Study objective: Using an intervention package involving a group-oriented contingency for classroom preparation behavior (listening calmly to the teacher, preparing for class) in a fourth-grade class to decrease the frequency of inappropriate remarks. Design: ABCD design: baseline (condition A) and 3 interventions (conditions B, C, and D). Setting: A regular public elementary school classroom. Participants: One class of 31 fourth graders (16 boys, 15 girls). Intervention: Condition B: Students received a lesson on listening to the teacher and rules for good listening; Condition C: condition B and a lesson on what to prepare beforehand, the procedure for the group-oriented contingency, and the classroom teacher’s responses; Condition D: a timer display was added. Measures: A continuous recording method was used as an indicator of classroom preparation behavior by measuring the time for the students to become quiet at the start of class, and a product-recording method was used to measure the students’ preparedness at the start of class. Results: The time taken for the class to become quiet decreased in conditions B and D, and preparedness increased in condition C. Conclusion: The intervention package involving the group-oriented contingency had an effect on students’ classroom preparation behavior at the start of class.