A portable device for group modification of classroom attending behavior

Area of Science:

• Educational Psychology
• Behavioral Interventions

Background:

• Teachers require portable methods to signal and reinforce appropriate classroom behavior as they move around the room.
• Current methods may lack portability or immediate feedback mechanisms for managing student conduct.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and evaluate an inexpensive, portable wireless switch system for signaling and reinforcing appropriate classroom behavior.
• To assess the impact of a contingent movie reward system, mediated by the wireless switch and clock, on class-attending behavior.

Main Methods:

• An inexpensive wireless switch was adapted for classroom use to activate a timer when students were attending to their work.
• A movie reward was made contingent upon accumulating a predetermined amount of time on the timer.
• Independent observers used stopwatches to record class-attending behavior, correlating these with the timer's data.

Main Results:

• The implementation of the wireless switch and timer system led to an increase in class-attending behavior.
• The contingent movie reward significantly enhanced the duration of on-task behavior recorded by the timer.
• Data from independent observers showed a high correlation with the remote-controlled clock's records of class attending.

Conclusions:

• A portable wireless switch system is a feasible and effective tool for managing classroom behavior.
• Contingent reinforcement, facilitated by technology, can successfully increase on-task student behavior.
• The system offers a practical solution for teachers seeking to monitor and improve classroom engagement.