The Effects of Systematic Manipulation of Reinforcement Within a Classroom Management System

Research suggests that best practice is for teachers to incorporate evidence-based classroom management strategies into their daily routines to improve student behavior. One aspect crucial to evidence-based practices is the rate at which teachers deliver reinforcement. Though research recommends reinforcement be provided frequently within classroom management systems (Robacker et al., 2016), no objective recommendation exists that assists teachers in delivering it systematically. In this study, a single case withdrawal design was used to analyze the effects of the systematic delivery of reinforcement within ClassDojo on the off-task behavior of three students in a fifth-grade general education classroom. The participating teacher also rated the acceptability and feasibility of the intervention. Findings suggest the intervention was successful in decreasing the off-task behavior of the participating students and that the intervention had high social validity. Implications and limitations of implementation within the classroom are discussed