Effects of Classwide Positive Peer “Tootling” to Reduce the Disruptive Classroom Behaviors of Elementary Students with and without Disabilities

The purpose of this study was to examine the use of a classwide positive peer reporting intervention known as “tootling” in conjunction with a group contingency procedure to reduce the number of disruptive behaviors in a third-grade inclusive classroom. Nineteen elementary students including four students with disabilities (i.e., specific learning disabilities and/or attention deficit hyperactivity disorder) were taught how to report their classmates’ positive behaviors using the “tootling” intervention. Results indicated that the use of the “tootling” intervention in combination with a group contingency procedure decreased students’ disruptive classroom behaviors, establishing a functional relation. Limitations of the study, implications for using tootling as a classwide positive behavior support, and future research questions are discussed.     

Prospective teachers’ beliefs about students’ goal orientations: A carry-over effect of prior schooling experiences?

This study examined the relationship between prospective teachers’ (N = 166) retrospective perceptions of their own past achievement goals and their current beliefs about students’ goal orientations and achievement behaviors. Results of hierarchical regression analysis provide correlation evidence in support of a “carry-over effect” of prospective teachers’ past goal orientations on their current beliefs about students. Specifically, prospective teachers’ were found to believe that their future students will pursue goal orientations analogous to their own past goal orientations. In addition, prospective teachers’ explanations for why students might engage in or avoid achievement-directed behaviors were examined. Regardless of past goal orientation, “internal motives” (e.g., improvement and self-satisfaction) represented the most frequent explanation offered by prospective teachers for why students engage in achievement behaviors. Prospective teachers with past performance-approach goals were significantly more likely to view avoidance as a sign of “laziness,” whereas those with past performance-avoidant goals were more likely to view avoidance as resulting from a “lack of confidence and support.” Implications for subsequent research are discussed.     

Generalizing Teaching Techniques from University to K-12 Classrooms: Teaching Preservice Teachers to Use What They Learn

Preservice teachers learn evidence-based practices in university classrooms but often fail to use them later on in their own K-12 classrooms. The problem may be a missing link in teacher preparation, i.e., failure to teach preservice teachers to generalize newly acquired techniques. Two experiments using multiple baseline designs across participants assessed effectiveness of a model to promote generalization and maintenance of a specific teaching skill. In Experiment 1, preservice teachers’ maintenance of behavior deteriorated from practicum to student teaching when intervention consisted of training to criteria alone. When a programming for generalization component (program common stimuli) was added to the intervention, teachers in Experiment 2 generalized and maintained behavior across settings (student teaching to own classrooms) at a higher average than occurred during intervention.     

The Effects of Fading a Strategic Self-Monitoring Intervention on Students’ Academic Engagement,Accuracy, and Productivity

In this study, using a single-case multiple-treatment reversal (A-B-A-B-C) research design, we replicated and extended previous strategic self-monitoring research by teaching five students, with and without disabilities, to use ACT-REACT to increase their academic engagement, productivity, and accuracy across new and previously learned math material. Then, we gradually faded the students’ use of the strategic self-monitoring recording sheet until they were no longer using it. When the ACT-REACT self-monitoring recording sheet was in place the students’ engagement and academic productivity increased; however, when it was faded, the results varied. During fading, the students’ performance generally exceeded baseline conditions and compared adequately to intervention effects. Overall, the results of this study support the advantages of strategic self-monitoring and also point to the mixed benefits of fading these procedures in inclusive environments.     

Teacher’s use of praise,clarity of school rules and classroom climate: comparing classroom compositions in terms of disruptive students

Clarity of school rules and teachers’ use of praise are strategies suggested to facilitate a positive classroom climate. Studies indicate difficulties for teachers to use such approaches in classrooms with higher levels of disruption. To study (1) if student-rated clarity of school rules, use of praise, and classroom climate differ between students in classes with lower numbers of disruptive students versus classes with higher numbers, (2) if clarity of school rules and teacher’s use of praise are longitudinally associated with classroom climate, (3) if the possible longitudinal association differs between groups, classes (n = 109) in school grades 5–7 were divided into two groups, based on head teacher ratings of disruptive students in class. Baseline and 12-month follow-up responses collected within a Swedish trial were used to perform multiple regression analysis, to compare groups and to investigate possible longitudinal associations. Students in classes with less disruption rated all variables more positively. Classroom climate deteriorated over time in both groups, even if the low disruption group perceived their climate as more positive at follow up. Clarity of school rules did not substantially contribute to classroom climate longitudinally, whereas teacher’s use of praise to some extent did. The difference in longitudinal associations between groups was marginal, hence our hypothesis on weaker associations in the high disruption group could not be confirmed. Clarity of school rules is not longitudinally associated with classroom climate, but teachers may positively influence the learning environment by giving praise, regardless of level of disruption.     

Effects of a Classwide Interdependent Group Contingency Designed to Improve the Behavior of an At-Risk Student

When students display disruptive behaviors, it interferes with their own, and other students’ learning and with the teacher’s ability to instruct during academic activities. This study investigated the effects of a classwide interdependent group contingency on the on/off-task behaviors of an at-risk student in a first-grade classroom in a private Midwestern school. The student was referred for intervention due to his high rates of off-task behavior and low levels of academic engagement. An ABAB withdrawal design was used to evaluate the effectiveness of the intervention to improve the target student’s behavior as well as that of his classroom peers. Results suggested that the intervention decreased the individual student’s off-task behavior and increased academic engagement while also having positive effects on overall behavior in the classroom.     

Primary school teacher interpersonal behavior through the lens of students’ Eysenckian personality traits

The present study investigates the association between students’ Eysenckian personality traits and their perceptions of teacher interpersonal behavior. A sample of 273 Cypriot public primary school fifth and sixth graders, as well as their teachers participated in the study. Students completed a three-part self-report questionnaire of: (a) a demographic questions sheet, (b) the Greek adaptation of the Questionnaire of Teacher Interaction for Primary students and (c) the Greek Eysenck Personality Questionnaire Junior. Teachers rated students’ academic achievement in language and mathematics. Extraversion was associated with cooperative teacher behaviors, (i.e. leadership, helping friendly, understanding, and student responsibility freedom), whereas Neuroticism and Psychoticism, with teacher oppositional behaviors (i.e. dissatisfaction, strictness, and admonishing behavior). Regression analyses, run separately for each dimension of perceived teacher interpersonal behavior, revealed different predictors, with only Extraversion and Psychoticism explaining variance in students’ perceptions, whereas academic achievement was more likely to predict all but one of the dimensions of teachers’ interpersonal behavior.     

The Role of Teacher Behavior Management in the Development of Disruptive Behaviors: An Intervention Study with the Good Behavior Game

The role of teacher behavior management for children’s disruptive behavior development (hyperactive and oppositional behavior) was investigated using a universal classroom preventive intervention study. Five-hundred seventy children were followed from second to third grade of elementary school. Observations of teacher behavior management and children’s on-task and off-task classroom behavior and peer reports of hyperactive and oppositional behavior were available. Results showed that the reduced use of negative remarks of intervention teachers predicted children’s increase in on-task behavior and decrease in talking-out behavior. These improved children’s classroom behaviors in turn mediated the impact of the intervention on the development of hyperactive and oppositional behavior over the studied period. These results were similar for girls and boys. The results underscore the role of teachers’ classroom management strategies in improving children’s classroom behavior, which, in turn is an important component in the reduction of disruptive behavior development.     

The Effects of Positive Peer Reporting as a Class-Wide Positive Behavior Support

School-wide, selective, and individual positive behavioral supports are critical elements of a comprehensive, tiered model of service delivery. Positive peer reporting (PPR) involves brief, highly structured sessions during which peers are provided the opportunity to praise the behavior of target students. PPR procedures were modified in this study to provide all children in a classroom the opportunity to provide or receive peer praise. The effects of class-wide PPR on teacher-recorded critical events were evaluated using a multiple baseline design across two classrooms. Results indicated marginal improvement across the two settings, as well as supplemental measures of behavior outside of the classroom and class-wide sociometric nominations. Implications for future research and emerging models of school-wide PBS are discussed.     

ORGANON The Web Tutor for Basic Logic Courses

We would like to introduce the web tutor ORGANON, which aimsto support basic logic courses at the University of West Bohemiain Pilsen (Czech Republic). The application was designed tofulfill two requirements. Firstly, it should help students duringtheir study to practice exercises on their own (providing permanentcontrol during students’ practicing exercises as wellas answering students’ questions immediately as they arise).Secondly, it should reduce teachers’ burden (diminishingthe amount of consultations as well as administrating students’homework including correcting and grading). The tutor is availableat http://kfi.zcu.cz/lide/dostalova/organon.     

Diagnosing students’ misconceptions in algebra: Results from an experimental pilot study

Computer-based diagnostic assessment systems hold potential to help teachers identify sources of poor performance and to connect teachers and students to learning activities designed to help advance students’ conceptual understandings. The present article presents findings from a study that examined how students’ performance in algebra and their overcoming of common algebraic misconceptions were affected by the use of a diagnostic assessment system that focused on important algebra concepts. This study used a four-group randomized cluster trial design in which teachers were assigned randomly to one of four groups: a “business as usual” control group, a partial intervention group that was provided with access to diagnostic tests results, a partial intervention group that was provided with access to the learning activities, and a full intervention group that was given access to the test results and learning activities. Data were collected from 905 students (6th–12th grade) nested within 44 teachers. We used hierarchical linear modeling techniques to compare the effects of full, partial, and no (control) intervention on students’ algebraic ability and misconceptions. The analyses indicate that full intervention had a net positive effect on ability and misconception measures.     

Classroom justice and psychological engagement: students’ and teachers’ representations

This article presents the results of a study carried out with the aim to: (1) analyze secondary school students’ and their teachers’ ideal representations of classroom justice, (2) deepen the topic of students’ sense of injustice, and (3) explore the links between students’ perceived injustice and their psychological engagement in school, measured on different aspects (identification with one’s own class, learning motivation, dialogue with teachers). A questionnaire was distributed to 400 Italian secondary school students and their 79 teachers. Results show that the representations of ideal classroom justice refer to communication, principle of equality and principles of effort/need, and that the positions of teachers and students on these representations differ. Moreover, students report a rather diffuse and shared feeling of being treated in an unjust manner by their teachers, and this affects their psychological engagement in school. Results are commented on their theoretical, methodological and applicative implications.     

Schools as promoters of moral judgment: the essential role of teachers’ encouragement of critical thinking

The assumption that high level functioning is characterized by a great deal of autonomy is central to some major theories of moral development [Kohlberg (in T. Lickona (ed.) Moral development and behavior: Theory, research and social issues, 1976); Piaget (The moral judgment of the child, 1932)] and to the self-determination theory of motivation [Ryan and Deci (The American Psychologist, 55, 68–78, 2000)]. Based on these theories, we hypothesized that students’ perceptions of their teachers as autonomy supportive, mainly in the form of encouragement of critical thinking, and perhaps also choice, would be positively associated with students’ advanced moral judgment. Data collected from 12th grade students in two regular schools and two democratic schools supported this hypothesis. Results also showed that being a student in a democratic school (as opposed to a regular one) was associated with autonomous moral judgment, and that this association was mediated by students’ perceptions of teachers as encouraging criticism, but not choice. A possible implication is that programs of moral education should explicitly promote teachers’ inclination to encourage critical thinking in their students.

Establishing and Evaluating the Substantive Adequacy of Positive Behavioral Support Plans

The Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act (2004) renewed the commitment to provide positive behavioral support (PBS) for students that engage in persistent problem behavior. Behavior intervention plans (also known as PBS plans) serve as legal documents that help guide the implementation of intervention strategies to encourage more positive forms of behavior. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the substantive adequacy of PBS plans developed for special education students. This was accomplished by documenting the content of plans developed by two different groups of educators using a rating instrument based on the key concepts of PBS planning. Results revealed that the majority of plans developed by teams without identified training and expertise in PBS were rated as substantively inadequate, lacking critical information related to effective behavioral support planning. The implications of the results for everyday practice in the schools and directions for future research are discussed.     

Dimensionality of rosenberg’s self-esteem scale among normal-technical stream students in Singapore

Dimensionality of the widely used Rosenberg’s Self-Esteem Scale (RSES) was investigated in a sample of 153 seventh-grade Asian students from Singapore. Confirmatory factor analyses performed on the scores of the RSES revealed two factors (positive and negative self-esteem) as hypothesized. Both factors were empirically related to different external variables. Results from multiple regression analyses indicated that positive self-esteem significantly predicted students’ mastery goal orientation and academic self-efficacy scores while negative self-esteem significantly predicted students’ disruptive behavior. These findings provide some preliminary support that the two factors could possibly be measuring substantively distinct dimensions, thus calling into question the unidimensionalty of the RSES in an Asian school-based sample. This study was supported by a grant from Center for Research in Pedagogy and Practice, National Institute of Education (CRP 26/04 RA) to Rebecca P. Ang.     

Increasing On-Task Behavior Using Teacher Attention Delivered on a Fixed-Time Schedule

The effectiveness of fixed-time delivery of attention to increase the on-task behavior of 2 students in general education was examined. The teacher in this study provided attention to students on a 5-min fixed-time schedule and responded to students in her typical manner between cued intervals. An ABAB withdrawal design was used to test the effects of the intervention. The results of this study indicate that a fixed-time schedule of attention was effective in increasing students’ on-task behavior and decreasing their off-task behavior. Implications of the study for research and practice are discussed.     

Employing the Principles of Positive Behavior Support to Enhance Family Education and Intervention

Positive behavior support (PBS) is an evidence-based approach for supporting adaptive behavior and addressing behavioral challenges. It is critical that families have access to effective evidence-based behavior support practices for both intervention and prevention because they lead to better outcomes for families, and counter-productive family management practices have been shown to further escalate children’s behavioral challenges. PBS has been demonstrated to be effective with individual children with serious behavior challenges in family homes and features of PBS are evident in common family-based intervention approaches. Unfortunately, complete application of PBS in family contexts has not been fully explored or conceptualized. The purpose of this paper is to define the core features of PBS including lifestyle enhancement, assessment-based intervention, and comprehensive support plans (i.e., including strategies for prevention, teaching, and management). Examples of how the features of PBS are currently being employed within the field of PBS and within other evidence-based parent education and support programs are provided. Suggestions for how collaboration, assessment, data-based decision making, comprehensive intervention, and tiered approaches to service delivery may be used to enhance behavioral support for families are offered. Lastly, future directions for research and practice are recommended.     

Effects of the KiVa Anti-bullying Program on Adolescents’ Depression, Anxiety, and Perception of Peers

The present study investigated the effects of the KiVa antibullying program on students’ anxiety, depression, and perception of peers in Grades 4–6. Furthermore, it was investigated whether reductions in peer-reported victimization predicted changes in these outcome variables. The study participants included 7,741 students from 78 schools who were randomly assigned to either intervention or control condition, and the program effects were tested with structural equation modeling. A cross-lagged panel model suggested that the KiVa program is effective for reducing students’ internalizing problems and improving their peer-group perceptions. Finally, changes in anxiety, depression, and positive peer perceptions were found to be predicted by reductions in victimization. Implications of the findings and future directions for research are discussed.     

Domain identification predicts black students’ underperformance on moderately-difficult tests

Although stereotype threat theory suggests that, in stereotype threat settings, negatively-stereotyped students who are highly domain-identified risk underperforming on difficult tests but can perform well on easy tests, it is unclear how these students will perform on moderately-difficult tests in stereotype threat settings. The present study found that the higher black students’ verbal identification the worse their performance on a moderately-difficult verbal test in an ability-diagnostic setting. The students’ verbal identification did not relate to their performance in a non-diagnostic setting. The discussion addresses the need for research to determine the mediators between high domain identification and underperformance, and whether it is beneficial for students to be less domain identified.