Improving Student Behavior in Art Classrooms: An Exploratory Study of CW-FIT Tier 1

Abstract

Disruptive student behavior is a concern for educators (Everston & Weinstein, 2006), commonly recognized as a reason many teachers leave the profession (McKinney, Campbell-WhatelyKea, 2005). Research has demonstrated that 2% to 16% of students exhibit behavior that does not meet teacher expectations, negatively affecting their own and their classmates' education (Hester, 2003). A study of behavioral expectations showed that teachers considered students' self-control and cooperation the most important factors for achieving classroom success (Lane, Givner, & Pierson, 2004). Unfortunately, students who enter school without these skills can struggle socially and academically. Over 30 year ago, Jason and Kuchay (1985) noted that students' behavior differs as educational contexts vary; for example, students often exhibit better behavior in language arts and social studies lessons compared with math. Multifaceted learning opportunities for elementary students include a variety of disciplines and subjects outside their general education classroom, including music, physical education, and art. In addition to the behavioral difficulties common in general education contexts, specialty classes have unique challenges particular to the structure and characteristics of the subjects taught, including different pacing requirements and larger class sizes. For example, music teachers report that student apathy and lack of motivation cause particular stress in their classrooms (Gordon, 2002). More recently, Cothran and Kulinna (2015) found that physical education instructors, who teach in a variety of settings with little structure, frequently have difficulty productively engaging their students. Behavior Problems Specific to Art Instruction Art classes also place students in a specialized learning environment. Susi (1995) explained that environmental differences between art and general education classrooms challenge traditional behavior management models. Instructional models of art education are less predictable than typical classroom methodologies. There is an emphasis on self-expression, as students learn critical thinking skills that enable them to evaluate their own and others' 762744P BIXXX10.

Improving Student Behavior in Middle School Art Classrooms: Initial Investigation of CW-FIT Tier 1

“…Results of the study indicated that middle school art teachers were able to implement the intervention with levels of fidelity consistent with fidelity found in other CW-FIT studies (Caldarella, Williams, Hansen, & Wills, 2015; Nelson et al, 2018; Wills, Iwaszuk, Kamps, & Shumate, 2014). The fidelity for most items ranged from 96.67% to 100%.…”

“…The timers had both a beeping and a vibrating function, but teachers felt the students would display desired behavior only when they heard the audible beep to get points. For this reason, they switched the function to vibrate, as has sometimes been done in past studies of CW-FIT (see, for example, Nelson et al, 2018). Teachers awarded points after every 5 min when they felt the timer vibrates.…”

“…Researchers chose dependent variables and measures based on previous CW-FIT studies so results could be compared (Conklin et al, 2016; Nelson et al, 2018; Wills et al, 2010). Group on-task behavior data were collected first, followed by the collection of individual target student on-task behavior data.…”

“…All of the studies found an increase in overall student on-task behavior and teacher praise with CW-FIT. Nelson and colleagues (2018) sought to address the needs of art teachers who felt unprepared to manage student behavior, testing CW-FIT in one fifth-grade and two third-grade art classes. On-task behavior and teacher praise significantly improved during CW-FIT, and the intervention was found by the participating teacher and students to be socially valid.…”

“…Due to the unique challenges in middle schools and art classrooms, as well as the promising results found in classrooms with similar needs, this initial investigation explored the effects of CW-FIT in two middle school art classes. The current study sought to expand on the results gathered by Nelson and colleagues (2018) and address some of their limitations. Nelson and colleagues tested CW-FIT only in an elementary school and considered only overall class-wide data.…”