School Psychology Commons^™

The Compliance Training For Children Model On Child Compliance: A Meta-Analysis, James Derieux

Dissertations

The current study was the first study to conduct a systematic review and meta-analysis of the literature on The Compliance Training for Children Model developed at The University of Southern Mississippi. Twenty-five studies incorporating treatment components from the model (e.g., effective instruction delivery, time-in, time-out, and contingent praise) were included in the study and evaluated for their effects on levels of child compliance. Results of the study yielded predominately large effect size calculations. A moderator analysis was conducted to evaluate treatment components, intervention setting, primary interventionist, and What Works Clearinghouse Standards (WWC, 2010) as potential moderator variables. Findings determined that …

The Effects Of Using Behavioral Skills Training In Teaching Non-Aba Professionals To Implement Discrete Trial Training: A Meta-Analysis, Lindsey Bernard

Master's Theses

This quantitative meta-analysis evaluated the effectiveness of behavioral skills training (BST) for training non-applied behavior analysis (ABA) professionals to implement discrete trial training (DTT), as well as examining the methodological rigor of these studies using WWC design standards. Results indicate that BST produces large effects and the majority of studies either met design standards with reservations or met design standards. As a result, researchers and practitioners may be optimistic that BST is an effective approach to training non-ABA professionals to implement DTT.

A Meta-Analysis Of Check-In/Check-Out: Effectiveness, Social Validity, And Design Standards, Caitlyn Weaver

Master's Theses

The present study serves to investigate the evidence-base for Check-in/Check-out (CICO), a widely used behavioral intervention. Fifty-two studies were included in the review and 44 studies were included in the meta-analysis. Standardized mean difference was used to calculate an omnibus effect for CICO, which showed that CICO significantly improves student outcomes. Effect sizes were large for several dependent variables, including academic engagement, reduction in problem behaviors, percentage of points on a daily behavior report card, and reduction in internalizing behaviors. No moderators significantly explained variability within these relationships. Social validity was assessed across CICO studies and was reported to be …

Using Two Reinforcement Contingencies To Alter Teachers' Rates Of Praise, Ashleigh Eaves

Dissertations

The current study evaluated the effects of a positive and negative reinforcement contingency on teachers’ use of behavior specific praise (BSP) in the educational setting. An alternating treatments design was used across four participants in a rural, Southern elementary to determine if one or both conditions was successful in increasing the use of BSP. Data were collected on teachers’ use of BSP, general praise, general reprimands, and behavior specific reprimands (BSR). Additionally, student engagement in academically-associated and/or disruptive behaviors was measured throughout baseline, treatment, and follow-up phases. Results indicate both the positive and negative reinforcement contingency were successful in improving …

A Parametric Analysis Of Opportunities To Respond On Academically Engaged Behavior, Morgan G. Mccargo

Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the adequate rate of opportunities to respond (OTR) to provide to students that would result in the highest rates of Academically Engaged Behavior. This study utilized a parametric analysis to evaluate and assess the effects of altering the number of OTR provided per minute (i.e., 1, 3, 5) on academically engaged behavior, disruptive behavior, and passive off-task, as an antecedent intervention in a general education elementary school setting. An alternating treatments design was utilized with three treatment conditions. All treatment conditions were implemented in a predetermined pattern, meeting the standards of Kratochwill …

Evaluating The Effects Of Behavior Bingo On Students' Academically Engaged Behaviors, Kristi White

Dissertations

This study sought to extend the current literature regarding the use of an interdependent group contingency intervention (i.e., Behavior Bingo) for increasing students’ academically engaged behavior and decreasing students’ disruptive behaviors. Participants included three 6th grade Science teachers and their students. An ABAB design across classrooms was used to examine the effects of the Behavior Bingo intervention on students’ behaviors. Specifically, this study consisted of four phases: a) baseline, b) behavior Bingo intervention, c) withdrawal from intervention, and d) intervention reinstated. Results indicated increases in student’s academically engaged behaviors following implementation of the Behavior Bingo intervention with moderate to large …

Multi-Tiered Systems Of Support For Head Start Teachers Behavior Specific Praise, Elizabeth Lown

Dissertations

A variety of evidence-based studies have examined teachers’ intervention implementation and its effects on student outcomes. This study tested a Multi-Tiered Systems of Support approach to supporting teachers’ intervention implementation. Specifically, the Multi-Tiered Systems of Support approach was comprised of Tier 1 (didactic training), Tier II (tactile prompting), and Tier III (performance feedback). The primary dependent variable was Head Start teachers' use of behavior specific praise. Secondary dependent variables included teachers' use of reprimand statements and child outcomes, which included academically engaged behavior and disruptive behavior. This study further examined if Head Start teachers' use of behavior specific praise was …

Test-Driving Interventions For Teachers To Improve Treatment Integrity, Viktoria Papp

Honors Theses

Teachers often have to implement interventions in the classroom to address challenging student behaviors. Such issues are often addressed during behavioral consultation which involves working with a specialized consultant, such as a school psychologist, to determine the most robust strategy that will predictably have the greatest impact in addressing the problematic behavior. Equally important in this intervention process is the application of any intervention technique or strategy in the manner in which it has been designed and investigated to work based on supporting research.

There is an increasing need for consultants to consider utilizing strategies that promote the adherence to …

The Quiet Classroom Game With An Indiscriminable Contingency In A High School, Stefanie Schrieber

Master's Theses

The Quiet Classroom Game (QCG) is an interdependent group contingency utilized to decrease classroom noise levels, increase student engagement, and decrease disruptive behaviors in the classroom setting. The purpose of the current study was to investigate the effects of the QCG in three high school classrooms in the Southeastern United States. Classrooms were recruited based on teacher reports of excessive noise and high rates of disruptive behavior. A multiple baseline design with two intervention phases was utilized to examine the effects of the intervention. The first phase was the QCG alone, and the second phase was the QCG with an …

Dependability Of Two Group Observation Methods Across Rater And Time, Kayla E. Bates-Brantley

Dissertations

Collecting efficient and reliable behavior assessment data is often a goal for school districts and school psychologists. Unfortunately, the most accurate methods of behavior observations, systematic direct observations (SDO), can be time-intensive and often requires specific training. This often minimizes the number of trained professional available for observation procedures. Planned activity check (PAC), a variation of momentary time sampling, has the potential to combine the accuracy of SDO with efficiency. However, few studies have evaluated the psychometric principals of PAC. The current study sought to evaluate the reliability and dependability of PAC by comparing PAC to an individual-fixed (I-F) SDO. …

Evaluation Of A Role-Playing Game To Improve Social Skills For Individuals With Asd, Kate A. Helbig

Dissertations

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) affects one in 59 children (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2018). Impairments in social communication and restricted and repetitive behaviorsare often associated with debilitating outcomes for individuals with ASD. Therefore, it is critical to identify successful treatments to address the social deficits characteristic of ASD. This study investigated the effects of a role-playing game (RPG) on social skill acquisition for individuals with ASD. The primary dependent variable was skill acquisition within the context of the RPG setting. Generalization of skill acquisition outside of the game-context and social functioning was also evaluated. Results indicated that the …

Check-In/Check-Out With High School Students, Ashley Murphy

Dissertations

Check-in/Check-out (CICO) has been shown effective in reducing problem behavior (PB) and increasing academically engaged behaviors (AEB) for elementary and middle school students (Mitchell, Adamson, & McKenna, 2017); however limited research has included high school students. The current study sought to evaluate the effectiveness and social validity of CICO for four high school students in a general education setting. During the initial intervention phase, two students refused to participate in the CICO process (i.e., did not attend check-ins or check-outs despite multiple efforts); therefore, CICO was ineffective for these students. For two other students, CICO was ineffective for improving behavioral …

Peer-Mediated Tootling With A Standardized Form And A Mystery Motivator In High School Classrooms, Sarah J. Wright

Dissertations

Peer-mediated tootling with a standardized procedure was implemented along with a mystery motivator component to determine the effects on academically engaged and disruptive behavior in three general education high school classrooms. The intervention used an A/B/A/B design across all classrooms. The goal of the study was to determine if these components would increase academically engaged behavior and decrease disruptive behavior. Students were trained on tootling procedures with a standardized format, which included reporting on peers’ positive, prosocial behavior on a premade tootling slip with various behaviors that they could select as being observed, reading five random slips aloud, totaling the …

Direct Behavior Observations And Teachers' Ratings Of Internalizing Problem Behaviors, Lauren R. Parker

Honors Theses

Systematic direct observation is a commonly used method in schools to compile data on students' behavior in a naturalistic setting. Internalizing problem behaviors, behaviors such as social withdrawal, somatic complaints, and anxiousness, can lead to adverse consequences and have not, to the researchers' knowledge, been systematically observed in a classroom setting. Additionally, students have never been identified for intervention through direct observation. The researchers administered the Student Internalizing Behavior Screener (SIBS), which is a 7-item, teacher-completed, Likert-type scale which measures occurrences of internalizing problem behaviors. Once scores from the SIBS were calculated, students who scored at-risk were chosen for observation …

Improving Individual And Group-Wide Behaviors In Head Start Classrooms With Mystery Student Intervention: Assessment Of Effectiveness, Generalization, And Maintenance, Jamie Pasqua

Dissertations

The current study investigated the effects Mystery Student intervention on improving individual and group behaviors in Head Start classrooms. Mystery Student Intervention is a randomized independent group contingency and has only been investigated in one previous study (Pasqua, 2016). A multiple baseline design across three Head Start classrooms was employed to determine the effectiveness of Mystery Student Intervention on decreasing aggregate class and individual child disruptive behaviors. Of further interest was the extent to which the effects of Mystery Student Intervention generalized to other settings and results maintained following its removal. Results indicated that Mystery Student Intervention was effective at …

Increasing Teachers' Use Of Behavior Specific Praise Via A Smart Watch, Kristi White

Master's Theses

This study evaluated the effects of a teacher prompting procedure to increase teacher behavior specific praise using a Smart Watch. Participants included three Head Start general education teachers. An ABAB design across participants was used to examine the effects of Smart Watch-based prompts on teachers’ praise rate. The study consisted of four phases: a) baseline, b) teacher praise training and intervention, c) withdrawal from intervention, and d) intervention reinstated. Implementation of the intervention resulted in increases of average behavior specific praise rates and general praise rates for all three participants. Although, averages fail to reach criterion set by the researcher …

Tired Consultation To Improve And Maintain Teachers’ Behavior Specific Praise, Mariangely Melendez Galan-Torres

Dissertations

Many teachers are ill prepared in behavior management and literature has demonstrated the relationship between poor classroom management and academic outcomes. Common strategies to address teachers’ skill deficits in classroom management include didactic training and school-based consultation. Literature suggests that traditional didactic training can immediately increase knowledge acquisition, and school-based consultation is used to respond to ongoing academic and behavioral outcomes. However, both of these methods commonly fail to result in implementation fidelity and long-term maintenance of skill utilization. Research in the education field has demonstrated large to very large effect sizes for systems such as Response to Intervention (RtI) …

Using Digital Performance Feedback To Increase Teacher Integrity Of A Repeated Reading Intervention, Heather M. Whipple

Dissertations

The National Assessment of Educational Progress reports 64% of 4^th grade students and 66% of 8^th grade students are less than proficient in reading despite the availability of evidence-based interventions in school settings (NAEP, 2015). It is important to implement reading interventions with struggling readers and because the role of the school psychologist has shifted from providing direct intervention services to students to providing consultative services to teachers, it is important to find various methods to promote teachers’ adherence to these interventions. Treatment integrity has been defined as the degree to which an intervention is implemented as planned …

Comparing The Relative Effectiveness Of Function-Based Antecedent And Reinforcement Interventions For Increasing Preschoolers’ Appropriate Behavior, Ashley Murphy

Master's Theses

The current study extended current literature regarding using brief functional analysis methodologies to inform function-based intervention for increasing preschool students’ academically engaged behavior. Teachers were prompted through brief functional analysis procedures by the researcher. Brief functional analysis results informed two function-based interventions: an antecedent intervention - pre-session non-contingent reinforcement, and a reinforcement intervention – differential reinforcement of alternative behavior. The two interventions were compared according to effectiveness on increasing preschool students’ academically engaged behavior and social validity ratings from teachers. Results indicated for all three participants the reinforcement intervention was not only more effective, but also received higher social validity …

Planned Activity Checks: Teachers’ Perceptions Of Social Validity For Class-Wide Behavior Assessment, Jacquelynn Elizabeth-Sidnie Johnson

Honors Theses

The purpose of this study was to determine if the implementation of Planned Activity Checks (PACs), which were a newly proposed method of behavioral observation which had been implemented by teachers in an elementary or high school setting, had the same results as a direct research observation in the classroom. The current system in place for behavioral assessment is a direct observer, either a social worker or counselor, coming into the classroom and directly observing a single student or a group of students for the entire class period. Most observations fall into three main categories: standardized rating scales, systematic direct …

Examining The Perceived Influence Of A Comprehensive Youth Development Program For Promoting Black Male High School Persistence, Richard Gray Walker

Dissertations

Black male youth in the United States drop out of high school at a rate consistently higher than their White counterparts. A lack of academic persistence contributes to lower workforce participation rates among Black Americans, which leads to lower national productivity and unrealized personal prosperity. Youth development research has developed an extensive body of knowledge regarding possible causes and contributing factors of minority high school dropout. Literature shows youth experience higher dropout rates when they grow up in adversity. Adversity risks such as dysfunctional families, cultural discontinuity between home and school, dysfunctional neighborhoods, or low-expectations from teachers contribute to graduation …

The Effects Of Real-Time Visual Performance Feedback Using A Tier Approach For Increasing Behavior Specific Praise On Teachers, Elizabeth Lown

Master's Theses

A number of studies have found behavior specific praise to be effective in increasing academically engaged behaviors and decreasing disruptive behaviors of students. The proposed study evaluated the effects of real-time visual performance feedback as a strategy for promoting teacher use of behavior-specific praise. An ABCBC design was utilized to determine the efficacy of real-time visual performance feedback in comparison to delayed visual performance feedback. The primary dependent variable measured was teacher use of behavior-specific praise. Additionally, student outcomes were assessed to determine the relationship between teacher use of behavior-specific praise and student behavior. The results from the study provide …

The Good Behavior Game: Effects On And Maintenance Of Behavior In Middle-School Classrooms Using Class Dojo, Komila Dadakhodjaeva

Dissertations

Classroom management is one of the key components for successful instruction and affects both instructors and learners. Although most frequent discipline strategies in schools involve punitive actions, research suggests that using positive statements to teach and reinforce desirable behaviors is more appropriate and effective. A form of a group-oriented contingency that focuses on desirable behaviors is a positive variation of the Good Behavior Game (GBG). The GBG has been used widely in its original form, focusing on undesirable behaviors, and more research is needed on its positive version. Another strategy that can be used within classrooms is Class Dojo, a …

Effects Of A Function-Based Peer Management Intervention With Middle-School Students With Adhd, Kate A. Helbig

Master's Theses

Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is characterized by impairment in functioning due to inattention, hyperactivity, or impulsivity, as well as difficulties in school with social rejection and academic underachievement (American Psychiatric Association, 2013). The purpose of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of a peer-mediated non-contingent reinforcement (NCR) intervention informed by functional assessment data to decrease disruptive behavior for students with a special education classification of OHI-ADHD. Participants included three student dyads in a middle school setting located in the Southeastern United States. An A/B/A/B withdrawal design was used to evaluate the effectiveness of this intervention. The primary dependent variables …

The Effects Of Plickers As Response Cards On Academic Engagement Behavior In High School Students, Morgan G. Mccargo

Master's Theses

Multiple studies have demonstrated the effectiveness of increasing student opportunities to respond for increasing academically engaged behavior. The use of response cards has held the most efficacy in terms of increasing opportunities to respond, yet no research has been done with the addition of a technology component. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the utility of technology-based response cards on increasing academically engaged behavior of students in three high school general education classrooms. It is hypothesized that the use of Plickers® will increase academically engaged behavior classwide and decrease disruptive behavior across students in all three classrooms.

Evaluating The Effects Of "On-Task In A Box" As A Class-Wide Intervention For Increasing On-Task Behavior And Academic Performance, Allison Ashley Battaglia

Dissertations

The present study was designed to replicate and extend the literature on the intervention package, On-Task in a Box, as a class-wide intervention to increase on-task behavior and decrease disruptive behavior. A second purpose of the study was to evaluate the effects of the intervention on students’ academic performance. The On-Task in a Box intervention utilized video modeling to train students on how to engage in on-task behavior, as well as how to self-monitor their behavior. Additionally, the intervention included students self-monitoring their on-task behavior using self-recording forms. Depending on select students’ percentage of on-task behavior on the self-recording forms, …

Maintenance And Generalization Of Preschool Teachers' Use Of Behavior Specific Praise Following In Situ Training, Zachary Charles Labrot

Dissertations

This study tested the efficacy of in situ training via a multiple baseline design across participants for increasing four Head Start teachers’ use of behavior specific praise (BSP) in classroom settings while evaluating concomitant changes in their classes’ behavior. Of further interest was the extent to which Head Start teachers maintained and generalized use of BSP in untrained settings. The results of this study indicate that in situ training was effective for increasing Head Start teachers’ use of BSP above baseline rates and generally maintained above a predetermined criterion (i.e., .5 BSP statements per minute). Data also indicate that Head …

Effects Of A Tiered Intervention Package To Increase Teacher Behavior Specific Praise, Hannah Jeanne Cavell

Dissertations

Disruptive behaviors have been shown to impact academic performance in the classroom. Praise is a commonly prescribed intervention to decrease classroom disruptive behaviors and increase academic engagement. In this study, an intervention package consisting of large-group training, verbal reminders, and visual performance feedback (VPF) combined with contingent preferred rewards was used to target three elementary school teachers’ use of behavior specific praise (BSP) in the classroom during a selected intervention period. Disruptive behaviors as nominated by teacher report were additionally assessed to determine if increased praise would lessen the frequency of class wide disruptive behaviors.

Using a multiple baseline design, …

An Evaluation Of Behavioral Skills Training On The Implementation Of Peer-Mediated Discrete Trial Training, Christopher M. Furlow

Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of behavioral skills training on the implementation of an evidence-based teaching method by student interventionists for children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Three elementary school students were trained to use an applied behavior analysis (ABA) based instructional method, known as discrete trial training (DTT), to teach academic skills to children with ASD. A multiple baseline across individuals was used to demonstrate the effectiveness of the behavioral skills training and peer-mediated DTT procedures. Generalization of the interventionist’s ability to teach new, previously untrained target behaviors was assessed by conducting generalization probes …

Evaluation Of A Positive Version Of The Good Behavior Game Utilizing Classdojo Technology In Secondary Classrooms, William Blake Ford

Dissertations

Appropriate and effective classroom management skills are critical in supporting students’ academic, social, and behavior development in schools; however, teachers often cite needing help with classroom management as their greatest need. Given this concern, school psychologists need effective and efficient strategies to offer to teachers and school staff dealing with classwide behavioral difficulties. The Good Behavior Game (GBG) is an empirically supported interdependent group contingency intervention providing explicit classroom management techniques aimed at improving student behavior. The purpose of this study was to assess the effects of a positive version of the GBG utilizing ClassDojo technology on classwide academically engaged …