Exploring the Effect of Intervention Choice on Academic Performance and Student Acceptability

Choice allows individuals to exert control, express preferences, and influence decisions within their environment. The present study applied choice to mathematic interventions by investigating if digits correct per minute (DCPM) in mathematics would increase when five fourth and fifth grade students were allowed to choose their intervention. A Brief Experimental Analysis (BEA) was conducted, with students participating in three math interventions to determine the effectiveness of each intervention and ensure the intervention choices were equivalent. Utilizing an adapted alternating treatments design (AATD), participants had the opportunity to choose between two to three equivalent math interventions during the choice condition. For the no-choice condition, the experimenter randomly selected the intervention. Differentiation between the choice and no-choice condition was observed across 4 of 5 participants with higher DCPM observed during the choice condition. Further, participant acceptability data demonstrated higher acceptability ratings during the choice condition compared to the no-choice condition