CWPASM: A Classwide Peer-Assisted Self-Management Program for General Education Classrooms

Abstract Though a number of empirically-supported interventions have been shown to improve classroom behavior, classroom management remains a major concern of both educators and administrators. This research examined the effectiveness, feasibility, and acceptability of one of these interventions, a classwide peer-assisted self-management program (CWPASM). Using a multiple baseline design across classes, we first investigated the effects of CWPASM on appropriate classroom behavior of three classes of 7th grade language arts students and 10 target at-risk students. We then examined the effects of the systematic withdrawal of CWPASM on maintenance of appropriate behavior by the entire class and the at-risk students. Simultaneous on-task behavior of the class and on-task and appropriate use of social skills for the ten target at-risk students improved after CWPASM was introduced in the general education classroom. Improvements in behavior maintained for all classes and for most at-risk students throughout the systematic w ithdrawal of CWPASM. Simultaneous on-task behavior of the entire class improved from near zero levels during baseline to almost 80% during the last few days of the intervention. As a group, target students improved from an average 35% on-task during baseline conditions to an average of 80% during treatment conditions. In addition, target students' appropriate use of the two social skills, following instructions and gaining teacher attention, also increased. Teacher ratings of target students' social competence and academic skills as measured by the SSBS (Merrell, 1993) improved in statistical and practical significance. In terms of feasibility and acceptability, the CWPASM compared favorably with other classwide interventions in the time, personnel, training, and material resources required to implement the condition. The results of these studies are discussed in terms of their implications for classroom practitioners and for future research. Classroom management is a top rated concern of general educators and public school administrators, even though a number of interventions have been shown empirically to improve classroom behavior. Disruptive behavior in the classroom reduces academic learning time not only for the disruptive student but for all students within the class. Teachers who must spend time managing disruptive behavior have less time available to teach. An alternative approach to teacher management of student behavior is training students to manage their own behavior. Such an approach, if feasible to implement in general education classrooms, may allow teachers to both intervene with students demonstrating problem behaviors or academic difficulties and teach all children skills that promote responsible behavior. Self-management programs typically involve some combination of two or more of the following strategies: self-monitoring (comprising self-assessment and self-recording), self-evaluation (including decision-making and goal-setti ng), and positive reinforcement (determined and administered by the teacher or student). A successful program combines the strategies to teach students responsibility for their own social behavior and academic performance (Young, West, Smith, & Morgan, 1991; Young, West, Li, & Peterson, 1997). Researchers have documented extensively that students with and without disabilities can learn to use self-management components to regulate their own behaviors and to decrease reliance on adults and other external agents. These methods promote generalization and permit teachers to spend less time on classroom management and more time on instruction (see McDougall, 1998; Nelson, Smith, Young, & Dodd 1991; Reid, 1996; Webber, Scheuermann, McCall, & Coleman, 1993, for reviews of self-management programs). Researchers have found that self-management training packages increase on-task behavior (Blick & Test, 1987); decrease inappropriate classroom behaviors (Prater, Plank, & Miller, 1991); improve academic performance in creative writing (Glomb & West, 1991), improve vocabulary acquisition (Hogan & Prater, 1993), math problem completion (Prater, Hogan, & Miller, 1992), and reading comprehension (Edwards, Salant, Howard, Brougher, & McLaughlin, 1995). …