Self-Monitoring of Attention Versus Self-Monitoring of Performance: Examining the Differential Effects Among Students with Emotional Disturbance Engaged in Independent Math Practice

Although students with emotional disturbance are commonly known for their social behavior deficits, they often have academic deficits as well. Unfortunately, most of the intervention research and many of the practices used with this population focus upon their social behavior deficits and fail to recognize the need to improve their academic skills. Therefore, there is a need for identifying research-based interventions that focus on ameliorating social and academic deficits often exhibited by students with emotional disturbance. The purpose of this study was to examine the differential effects of self-monitoring of attention versus self-monitoring of performance on the academic and social behaviors of three minority students identified as having emotional disturbance while independently engaged in practicing mathematical calculations. The findings suggest that students with emotional disturbance may perform better socially and academically during math practice while self-monitoring their academic performance. Social validity data also suggest that students rated self-monitoring of academic performance more favorably than self-monitoring of attention. In addition, all target students in this study exhibited levels of on-task behavior more similar to their peers while self-monitoring academic performance compared to self-monitoring attentive behavior.