Self-monitoring increases time-on-task of attention deficit hyperactivity disordered students in the regular classroom

Abstract

This paper investigates self-monitoring as a structured intervention for studens with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) in the regular classroom. The definition and procedures for self monitoring are based on the research of Hallahan, Lloyd, Kosiewicz, Kauffman, and Graves, (1979). Three fourth grade classrooms, two treatment and one control, participated in this study. The ADHD students and all of their peers in the intervention classrooms were engaged at least once a day in monitoring their own behavior. Each student checked a box "on-task" or "off-task" when prompted by an audio signal (beep). An audio cassette was played for 10 to 30 minutes with beeps sounding at intervals ranging from 10 to 80 seconds (an average of 45 seconds between beeps). The intervention was used during mathematics instruction when students were expected to do independent seatwork. No student was singled-out during the intervention. Eight students previously diagnosed with ADHD, three in each intervention classroom and two in the control classroom, were monitored by observers without the students' knowledge of who was being observed. The ADHD students were observed during a baseline period before intervention began and throughout the intervention period. Additionally, they were rated pre- and post-intervention by their teachers on the Conners Teacher Rating Scale. Pre-intervention observation results were compared to intervention period results for both treatment and control groups. Comparisons were analyzed using analyses of variance (ANOVA) procedures. Additionally, the pre- and post-intervention findings of the Conners were analyzed using ANOVA and displayed graphically to demonstrate overall change. The results strengthen the claim that self-monitoring increases the time-on-task of ADHD students in a regular classroom, without singling them out from the group and without them knowing they were the aim of the intervention.