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The Impact of the Good Behavior Game on Writing Quantity and Quality
Lindsay M. Fallon
1
, Amanda M. Marcotte
2
, Narmene F. Hamsho
3
, Patrick Robinson-Link
1
,
and John M. Ferron
4
1
Department of Counseling and School Psychology, University of Massachusetts Boston
2
Department of Student Development, University of Massachusetts Amherst
3
Department of Psychology, University of Massachusetts Boston
4
Department of Educational and Psychological Studies, University of South Florida
Results from research indicate writing is a critical skill linked to several academic outcomes. To promote
improvements in writing quantity and quality, intervention might target increasing students’academic
engagement during time designated to practice writing. The purpose of this study was to implement an
evidence-based classwide behavioral intervention, the Good Behavior Game (GBG), during daily writing
practice time in two classrooms. Participants (n=45) included students in a Grade 1 and Grade 2 class
enrolled in an elementary school in a large suburb in the northeast U.S. Findings based on visual analysis
and multilevel modeling indicate that students, on average, wrote more words (quantity) and more correct
writing sequences (quality) when the GBG was played versus when it was not. Implications include the need
for replication studies to extend findings and explore how school psychologists might consider the use of
behavioral interventions to promote improved engagement and academic output in the classroom.
Impact and Implications
This preliminary quantitative study examined the impact of the Good Behavior Game on the writing
quanity and quality of 45 Grade 1 and Grade 2 students in a large elementary school. Study findings
indicate that, on average, students wrote compositions with more words (quantity) and correct writing
sequences (quality) when the Good Behavior Game was played versus when it was not. This is important
as it adds to the literature linking behavioral intervention to improvements in academic outcomes.
Keywords: writing, behavior, classwide intervention, multitiered systems of support
Supplemental materials: https://doi.org/10.1037/spq0000436.supp
Writing is a complex skill used for learning, expression, and
communication. It is critical to academic success as students must
write proficiently to demonstrate content knowledge to their tea-
chers (Troia & Olinghouse, 2013). Yet proficient writing perfor-
mance requires mastery of fundamental early literacy skills.
According to national assessments, over 70% of students are not
proficient writers (National Center for Education Statistics, 2012). To
best serve students with writing difficulties, researchers have investi-
gated possible targets for intervention and intervention efficacy.
Interventions targeting writing fluency (Eckert et al., 2006)and
explicit instruction of writing strategies (Koster et al., 2015) have shown
great success. However, this success is limited to the improvement of
student writing performance. In comparison, research has highlighted the
use of behavioral interventions to not only improve academic perfor-
mance but also behavioral functioning (Bradshaw et al., 2009). Unlike
writing interventions, behavioral interventions could be an efficient tool
allowing teachers to support classroom social behavior while simulta-
neously supporting academic performance, including writing.
The body of research examining the relationship between behav-
ioral functioning and the writing performance of elementary-aged
students, although limited, has grown in recent years. Specifically,
Kent et al. (2014) emphasized the importance of focused attention
during writing to improve writing performance in early elementary
school grades, specifically for first-grade students. Similarly,
Hamsho and Eckert (2021) revealed a significant relation between
writing performance and classroom behaviors, where third-grade
students demonstrating higher levels of accuracy and consistency of
academic work were found to be more proficient writers. Therefore,
it stands to reason that an intervention targeting behavior would lead
to improved attention and ultimately better writing performance.
This is consistent with prior recommendations indicating that
increased writing practice leads to enhanced writing performance
(Graham et al., 2016). In fact, in an early study using a single-case
multiple baseline design, researchers found that a self-monitoring
intervention encouraged students with learning disabilities to track
their attention and performance, leading to increases in writing
productivity and on-task behavior (Harris et al., 1994).
Lindsay M. Fallon https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0813-3337
Amanda M. Marcotte https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9724-5252
Narmene F. Hamsho https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3596-7962
This project was funded by the Society for the Study of School Psychology
Early Career Research Award. We have no known conflict of interest to
disclose.
Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Lindsay M.
Fallon, Department of Counseling and School Psychology, University of
Massachusetts Boston, 100 Morrissey Boulevard, Boston, MA 02125, United
States. Email: lindsay.fallon@umb.edu
School Psychology
© 2021 American Psychological Association 2021, Vol. 36, No. 4, 255–260
ISSN: 2578-4218 https://doi.org/10.1037/spq0000436
255
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