The effects of mystery motivators on disruptive pupil behavior in a universal pre-kindergarten classroom.

Abstract

Studies have shown that the teaching and learning process is being interfered with on a daily basis by disruptive pupil behaviors. In this study, a fifth year teacher, found that circle and story time in her Universal Pre-Kindergarten classroom were being greatly affected by pupil disruption. In response, she examined the effects of a classroom-based intervention called the mystery motivator game, a combination of group contingencies with randomized criteria and unknown rewards, on three specific disruptive behaviors (i.e., talk outs, inappropriate touching, and out of area). Results suggested that the intervention was successful in reducing all three disruptive behaviors to an acceptable level. In fact, the mystery motivator game reduced pupil disruption by 62% overall. Inappropriate touching was impacted the most with an average decrease of 70%. Implications for future research and practices are provided.