Date of Award

2012

Degree Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Department

Physiology

Abstract

Classroom behavior management problems are often seen as one of the primary barriers to achieving an educational environment conducive for academic and social-emotional growth of students. The literature indicates there is a need for evidence-based, easy-to-implement classroom behavioral interventions that align with the positive behavioral support philosophy. This study examined the effectiveness of the Mystery Motivator Calendar, an interdependent group contingency, variable-ratio, classwide intervention as a tool for reducing disruptive classroom behavior in eight diverse, general-education elementary school classrooms across seven different schools. The study employed a single-case, ABAB (baseline, intervention, withdrawal, reinstatement and follow-up), changing criterion design. The effectiveness of the intervention on disruptive classroom behavior was assessed for an eight-week period. The Mystery Motivator Calendar was found to decrease the frequency of disruptive behavior in all classrooms. The change in the effectiveness of the intervention with the passage of time was also examined. In the majority of classrooms, disruptive behavior continued to decrease, even while the criteria for intervention became more difficult to attain. Teacher intervention acceptability data indicated that seven of the eight teachers who participated in this study found the intervention to be acceptable. Results were somewhat mixed regarding student intervention satisfaction. Five classrooms generally indicated they "liked" the intervention, one classroom indicated the intervention was "somewhat liked" and the remaining two classrooms generally rated the intervention more favorably than unfavorably, however ratings were not high enough to indicate satisfaction. Limitations and implications are presented in the discussion.

Creative Commons License

Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 License.

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