Date of Award

Fall 2019

Degree Type

Masters Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Arts (MA)

School

Psychology

Committee Chair

Evan Dart

Committee Chair School

Psychology

Committee Member 2

Keith Radley

Committee Member 2 School

Psychology

Committee Member 3

Brad Dufrene

Committee Member 3 School

Psychology

Abstract

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 indiscriminable contingency. The indiscriminable contingency was added to determine if the effects of the QCG would maintain with a thinner schedule of reinforcement. Results were primarily analyzed through visual analysis and indicated that the intervention was effective in decreasing noise levels; however, no changes were present for student behavior in either phase. Effect sizes were also calculated as a secondary analysis and were reported in the moderate to large range for decibel level and small to moderate range for student behavior. Social validity measures were also administered to students and teachers, with reports of moderate acceptability from both raters. Findings overall indicate that the QCG is an effective intervention in the high school setting for reducing noise levels. Additional research is necessary to determine the effect of the QCG on student behavior.

Download

Share

COinS