The timer-game: a variable interval contingency for the management of out-of-seat behavior.

The timer-game was demonstrated to be a practical and effective procedure for managing the out-of-seat behavior of elementary school children in a remedial classroom. The timer-game allowed the students to earn token reinforcement by being in their seats whenever the bell of a kitchen timer rang. The bell rang about once every 20 minutes. In a second experiment, peer reinforcement was applied in conjunction with the timer-game to manage one student's out-of-seat behavior. .LTHOUGH the ability to maintain an orderly classroom does not necessarily result in the achievement of academic goals, orderliness is often considered to be a prerequisite for effective teaching. Thus, MoNTROsE M. WOLF is Associate Professor of Human Development and Research Associate, Department of Human Development and Bureau of Child Research, University of Kansas, Lawrence; EDWARD L. HANLEY is Assistant Professor of Education, University of Vermont, Burlington; LOUISE A. KING is Teacher, Wichita Public Schools, Wichita, Kansas; JOSEPH LACHOwiTZ is Director of Research and DAVID K. GILES is Director, Southwest Indian Youth Center, Tucson, Arizona. The research reported herein was performed in part pursuant to Grant No. HD03144, National Institute of Child Health and Human Development. it is not surprising that the management of classroom behavior has become a focus of applied behavioral research (Wolf, Giles, &: Hall, 1968; Barrish, Saunders, k Wolf, 1969; Madsen, Becker, & Thomas, 1968; Hall, Lund, k Jackson, 1968; Thomas, Becker, & Armstrong, 1968; O'Leary, Becker, Evans, & Saudargas, 1969; Osborne, 1969). Wolf, Giles, and Hall (1968) described an experimental remedial classroom for low achieving sixth-grade children in which academic behavior was supported by a token reinforcement system. One classroom problem was a moderately high rate of out-of-seat behavior, a common problem characterized by apparently aimless wandering, extended stays in the lavatory, prolonged pencil sharpening, and more visiting than is considered desirable. A technique was introduced for managing the out-of-seat behavior. It involved the occaEXCEPTIONAL CHILDREN 113 sional ringing of a kitchen timer that was set by the teacher to ring after intervals of varying durations, averaging about 20 minutes. Every student who was in his seat when the timer rang avoided the loss of tokens. While it seemed that the timer game was effective in reducing out of seat behavior, no objective data was presented. The present study describes an empirical evaluation of the effects of the timer game.