An Evaluation of the Caught Being Good Game With an Adolescent Student Population

Abstract

This study investigated the Caught Being Good Game (CBGG), for use with an adolescent student population. The CBGG is a positive variation of the Good Behavior Game (GBG), a popular group contingency intervention in classroom management literature. In this positive version, teams of students receive points for engaging in desirable behavior, rather than marks for breaking class rules. Research on the CBGG has garnered empirical interest in recent years; however, there is little published research on the game with adolescent populations. This study investigated if visual feedback displayed on a scoreboard during the CBGG is a necessary part of the game. This was examined by implementing the game both with and without overt visual feedback, using an ABACABAC reversal design. Academically engaged behavior and disruptive behavior were monitored. The CBGG was effective in both formats, leading to increases in academically engaged behavior and decreases in disruptive behavior in the participating class group. This suggests that perhaps immediate visual feedback is not an essential component of the CBGG for adolescent, mainstream students. This may be a time-saving measure for teachers wishing to implement the game. Students and their teacher rated the game favorably on social validity measures.

The caught being good game in a middle primary school class.

“…The current findings are in line with other recent evaluations with similar age groups, while focusing on the novel, single-sex setting which is directly relevant in Irish educational contexts. They also represent the first evaluation of the CBGG with Irish primary school students more generally, with previous research in Irish contexts taking place with secondary school students (Bohan et al, 2021).…”

“…This study provides an insight into the potential for group contingency interventions with those most at-risk for disadvantage in society. Bohan et al (2021) evaluated the CBGG with a population of adolescent students attending an urban secondary school in Ireland and demonstrated that it could be effective in targeting disruptive behavior and academic engagement. There is no application of the CBGG in Irish primary schools to date.…”

“…The effectiveness of the GBG has been well-established in mainstream primary school settings (e.g., Dadakhodjaeva et al, 2020; Nolan et al, 2014), secondary school settings (e.g., Ford et al, 2020; Mitchell et al, 2015) and has been applied in special education, resource, and inclusion settings (e.g., Flower et al, 2014). Positive alterations of the GBG, sometimes termed the “Caught Being Good Game” (CBGG; e.g., Bohan et al, 2021; Wahl et al, 2016; Wright & McCurdy, 2012), involve the provision of points to teams for following class rules during the game, rather than marks for breaking class rules. The aim is generally for teams to surpass a criterion of points by the end of the game and those surpassing the criterion are eligible for a reward.…”

Does the Immediacy of Feedback Matter in Game-Based Classroom Management? Analysis of the Caught Being Good Game With Adolescent Students

“…The modified CIRP included eight items to which students responded "yes" or "no." In keeping with previous research (e.g., Bohan et al, 2021;Mitchell et al, 2015), modifications included changing the tense of the items to past tense, using the term "students" rather than "child," and incorporating an additional item on rewards. Turco and Elliott (1986) reported that the original CIRP had an average coefficient alpha of .86.…”

“…These potentially modifiable components of the GBG and CBGG are crucial to our understanding of the games' applicability in the classroom and can have important time-saving implications. Bohan et al (2021) manipulated feedback as a variable component of the CBGG. The CBGG was implemented in two formats with an adolescent class group.…”