Self Monitoring

Self-Monitoring Strategies for Use in the Classroom: A Promising Practice toSupport Productive Behavior for Students With Emotional orBehavioral Disorders

Holly M. Menzies, California State University, Los Angeles

Kathleen Lynne Lane and Johanna Marie Lee, Vanderbilt University

We begin this article byintroducing you to Andy.He is a student that all

teachers have probably encountered atone time or another. Andy is likableand engaging, but his behaviors posesome challenges for his teacher. Healmost never completes hisassignments, and when reminded tostay on task, or if scolded for off-taskbehavior, Andy gets angry and upset.It may seem counterintuitive, butAndy is the kind of student who needsto be given more responsibility for hisown behavior. In this article, we willillustrate why and how that can bedone.

Students who have emotionaland behavioral disorders (EBD)encounter difficulties in theclassroom with their teachers, on theplayground and lunch area with theirpeers, and at home with their parentsand siblings (Kauffman & Landrum,2009; Walker, Ramsey, & Gresham,2004). In the absence of proactivestrategies that help them identify andmanage their problem behaviors,these students often find it difficult tobe successful in school. This isparticularly evident in their lowacademic performance, low rates ofacademic engaged time duringstructured class activities, and highlevels of negative social interactionswith peers—all of which arecharacteristic of students with EBD(Geenen, Powers, & Lopez-Vasquez,2001; Nelson, Benner, Lane, & Smith,2004; Reid, Gonzalez, Nordness,Trout, & Epstein, 2004).

However, a variety ofmetacognitive strategies such as self-monitoring, self-evaluation, self-

instruction, goal setting, strategyinstruction, as well as combinedstrategies (e.g., goal setting and self-monitoring) can be effective tools ineliminating or minimizingmaladaptive behaviors andincreasing more desirable social andacademic behaviors (Mooney, Ryan,Uhing, Reid, & Epstein, 2005). In thisarticle, we focus predominantly onthe strategy of self-monitoring andhow it can be used to address avariety of behaviors, with anemphasis on academic outcomesgiven that students with EBDstruggle in all content areas (Lane,2004). Specifically, we introduce theconcept of metacognition and providean overview of a range ofmetacognitive strategies that areavailable for use in promotingacademic outcomes with studentswith and at risk for EBD. Wehighlight some recent studies thatshow how such strategies have beenused successfully to supportacademic outcomes for students withEBD across the K-12 continuum.Next, we delineate step-by-stepprocedures for designing andimplementing self-monitoringprocedures in your classroom,followed by one illustration of howthis strategy can be applied in anelementary/middle school setting.Finally, we conclude with a list of tipsto ensure successful implementationof self-monitoring procedures byavoiding some common challenges.

Metacognition Defined

Metacognition is an area ofresearch that offers effective learning

techniques for students who do notautomatically reflect on, evaluate, andaddress breakdowns in their learningprocesses or behavior (Butler, 1998).Successful students have the ability tothink about why something is notworking and then deploy an actionthat helps them solve that problem. Inother words, metacognition can bethought of as ‘‘thinking aboutthinking.’’ For example, when goodreaders do not understand somethingthey have read, they go back andreread, or they might sort through theinformation in the text until they canmake sense of it. However, poorreaders do not automatically use suchstrategies. They do not consciously orspontaneously monitor their owncognitive processes. As a result, theyhave few resources to draw on whenfaced with a problem and may rely onmaladaptive responses that arecompletely ineffective. For studentswith behavioral issues, a lack ofattention, as well as reflection, canmanifest as inappropriate responses insocial situations, noncompliance,defiance, and low levels of academicengagement in school (Walker et al.,2004).

A variety of skills are consideredto be metacognitive: planning for andexecuting a task, monitoring one’sactions, analyzing a problem,applying a strategy, maintainingattention, and evaluating ormonitoring completion of an activity(Butler, 1998). All of these actionsrequire that students actively thinkabout the situation they are engagedin, evaluate it, and then decide on acourse of action. Many of us do thisautomatically without much

SELF-MONITORING STRATEGIES FOR USE

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conscious effort, but students withbehavior challenges may have toexplicitly be taught how to usemetacognitive strategies to managetheir conduct. There is considerableevidence to show that learning andusing self-directed behaviors canpositively affect students’ behavior aswell as their academic growth(Nelson, Smith, Young, & Dodd,1991). In contrast to teacher-directedinterventions, self-directed strategiesallow students to be independent andtake more responsibility for theiractions. Students learn how tonavigate troublesome areas withoutrelying on the teacher to mediate itfor them. For example, a typicaldifficulty encountered by students isreturning homework. Students whomay otherwise be successful in a classare apt to earn a low grade or evenfail because they do not consistentlyturn in their assignments. A studentmay have even completed thehomework and have it in hisbackpack but then neglect to hand itin. A teacher can efficiently andeffectively help the student managesuch a task through the use of a self-monitoring strategy. This allows theteacher to support the studentwithout resorting to scolding, and ithelps the student learn to becomeindependent through scaffoldedsupport. Initially, a teacher willmonitor a student frequently in asystematic manner. Once the studentbegins to satisfactorily perform thetask, the structured monitoring willno longer be needed.

Metacognition Strategies: A Rangeof Techniques

Metacognitive strategies such asself-monitoring, self-evaluation, self-instruction, and goal setting, as wellas a combination of these strategies,can be used to support students whohave difficulty managing theirbehavior. These are also referred to asself-regulation strategies (Harris &Graham, 1996). We briefly defineeach and then focus on self-monitoring.

Self-Monitoring

Self-monitoring is a two-stageprocess that involves observing andrecording. The student needs todetermine if the target behavior didor did not occur. Then, the studentself-records some feature of the targetbehavior (Mace, Belfiore, &Huchinson, 2001). He or she caneither record the number ofoccurrences of a target behavior to bedecreased (e.g., getting out of one’sseat) or to be increased (e.g., time ontask). Then the student and teachertogether determine an acceptablenumber of occurrences andreinforcement for obtaining theagreed upon number. Sometimes thesimple act of recording increasesawareness enough to modify thebehavior; in other cases, thereinforcer is critical in reducing orincreasing the occurrence of abehavior. We will discuss thisstrategy in more detail in subsequentsections.

Self-Evaluation

Self-evaluation moves beyond therecording of a behavior to theevaluation of performance. Self-evaluation involves a studentcomparing his or her performancerelative to a set criterion (e.g.,completing 10 word problems with atleast 90% accuracy). The criteria canbe established by the teacher, thestudent, or in a collaborative fashion.Then, the student receives some formof reinforcement (e.g., a small breakor a positive behavior support ticket)if he or she meets the criteria. Forexample, a student might review ahomework assignment by looking foritems such as name, date, andcompleteness and then decidewhether he or she had doneacceptable work. Self-evaluation issimilar to self-monitoring in that bothstrategies require students to self-assess behavior and record theirperformance within specifiedintervals. Also, it should be notedthat there are different types of self-evaluation: teacher mediated andpeer mediated, with both being quite

successful (DuPaul, McGoey, &Yugar, 1997).

Self-Instruction

Self-instruction is the use of self-talk to bolster performance. Namely,students use self-statements to directtheir behavior (e.g., ‘‘This is a longassignment, but I can finish this workby breaking it into smaller chunks’’;Graham, Harris, & Reid, 1992).Students whisper statements tothemselves that assist them incompleting a task, solving a problem,or mediating a social situation. Forexample, Fish and Mendola (1986)used self-instruction training toincrease the rate of homeworkcompletion by three elementary-agestudents with emotional disturbances.Miller, Miller, Wheeler, and Selinger(1989) used a combination of self-instruction and self-monitoring toincrease academic performance anddecrease inappropriate classroombehavior for two adolescents withbehavioral disorders.

Goal Setting

Goal setting involves studentssetting a behavioral target (e.g.,writing an essay). This goal is used tostructure the students’ effort, giveinformation on how the student isprogressing toward the goal, andmotivate the student to complete thegoal (Schunk, 2001). Smith, Nelson,Young, and West (1992) used goalsetting in conjunction with self-evaluation to support eight studentswith either behavior disorders orlearning disabilities. Results of amultiple-baseline across-settingsdesign revealed (a) decreases in off-task behavior and (b) increases in thequantity and quality of academicwork produced in the specialeducation setting.

Thus, there is a range of strategiesavailable for use in shaping students’performance. Before using self-monitoring, self-evaluation, self-instruction, or goal setting, it isimportant to determine whether astrategy is appropriate for a givenstudent.


28 B E Y O N D B E H A V I O R

Prerequisite Components

Before using any of the abovestrategies to address a behaviorconcern, a few issues must beconsidered (see Table 1). First, it mustbe determined whether a studentunderstands and can perform thedesired behavior (or knows how tosuppress undesirable ones). If he orshe cannot, this is considered anacquisition deficit, and the first step isto instruct the student in how toeliminate the negative behavior orproduce the appropriate prosocialbehavior. If a student knows how toperform a behavior but does not doso, this is a performance deficit andcan be addressed with a self-regulation strategy. Yet if the desiredbehavior (e.g., computing three-digitmultiplication problems) is not in thestudent’s repertoire, this is anacquisition deficit: a can’t-do problem(Gresham, 2002). In contrast to aperformance deficit (a won’t-doproblem), acquisition deficits requireexplicit instruction in the new skillrather than immediately focusing onself-regulation strategies (Elliott &Gresham, 1991).

Second, it must be determinedwhether the student is able to controlthe problem behavior. Out-of-controlbehavior will initially require moreintensive intervention than a self-regulation strategy. Concerns aboutstudent safety may mean that it is notpossible to take the time to teach andhave the student practice a self-regulation strategy. For example, astudent exhibiting high rates ofdisruptive or aggressive behavior

may be better served in the short termby a functional assessment-basedintervention. Then, once behaviorsare more in control, one can movetoward self-regulatory–typeinterventions.

Third, the behavior must occurfrequently. If the behavior is a low-frequency behavior, then self-monitoring may not be the mostappropriate strategy. The occurrencesmay be too far apart for a student andteacher to see meaningful, immediatechanges in behavior. Although low-frequency behaviors can be extremelydisruptive, other interventionprocedures (e.g., differentialreinforcement schedules) may benecessary.

Finally, the behavior must bereadily observable and easilyrecorded by the student. Prior tomonitoring the behavior of interest,the behavior must be operationallydefined, with clear presentation ofexamples and nonexamples toeliminate any ambiguity. Also, it isimportant that the recording systembe both reliable and feasible.

In the following section, we willfocus more on self-monitoring. Wewill briefly review contexts in whichthis strategy has been usedsuccessfully in shaping students’behavior. Then, we provide a step-by-step set of procedures for conductinga self-monitoring intervention.

A Focus on Self-Monitoring: Step-by-Step Procedures

Self-monitoring has theadvantage of being relatively simple

to implement as well as effective.Several studies have shown that self-monitoring has been highly effectivefor students in a variety of settings(e.g., self-contained and inclusivesettings) and different academiccontent areas (e.g., math, spelling,and reading). Self-monitoring canalso be used in combination withother metacognitive strategies, suchas self-instruction or goal setting. Inshort, self-monitoring is a highlypromising practice to support theacademic performance of studentswith EBD.

There are many ways to structureself-monitoring interventions (e.g.,Vanderbilt, 2005). In the sections thatfollow, we offer one five-stepapproach to conducting a self-monitoring intervention thatemphasizes a balance betweenscientific rigor and feasibility withinthe classroom context.

Step 1: Identify and OperationallyDefine the Behavior of Concern

The first step in setting up a self-monitoring intervention is to identifythe target behavior. A commonexample is calling out. The teacherand student discuss and even role-play what the behavior looks like—yelling aloud to the teacher, shoutingout an answer before being called on,or raising a hand, but not waiting tobe called on—to be sure they bothagree to the description. Teachers andstudents will also want to role-playthe appropriate replacement behavior(e.g., raising your hand).

When evaluating a targetbehavior for use in a self-monitoringprogram, it is vital to determinewhether the behavior occurs as aresult of an acquisition deficit orperformance deficit as we definedpreviously. If the target behaviorselected is the result of an acquisitiondeficit, the student must be taught anew skill first and then learn how toself-monitor the use of the skill(Project REACH, 2008).

We encourage teachers not tofocus exclusively on reducingproblem behaviors (e.g., reducing

Table 1 GUIDELINES FOR USING SELF-MONITORING

A self-regulation technique can be used if you can answer yes to each ofthe following questions:

Yes/No Can the student perform the expected behavior?Yes/No Can the student control the problem behavior?Yes/No Does the behavior occur frequently?Yes/No Can the behavior be readily observed and recorded?

Adapted from IRIS Center (n.d.). SOS: Helping students become independent learners.Retrieved from http://iris.peabody.vanderbilt.edu/index.html


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talking out, noncompliance, or verbalaggression) but also to focus onimproving academic performance. Ifstudents are academically engagedand learning meaningful skills, theywill be less likely to engage inundesirable behaviors to escape tooeasy or too difficult tasks (Lane, 2004;Umbreit, Lane, & Dejud, 2004). Theself-monitoring procedure canpositively affect both the quality andquantity of students’ work (Smith etal., 1992), not just their classroombehavior. Consider a self-monitoringpackage that includes monitoring ofacademic productivity or accuracy tomaximize academic success inconjunction with improved behavior(Lam, Cole, Shapiro, & Bambara,1994).

Step 2: Design the Self-MonitoringProcedures, Including aMonitoring Form

The teacher should create asimple self-recording data sheet thatindicates the blocks of time to bemonitored (see Figure 1). There are

many advantages to breaking the dayup into smaller chunks. For one, itmakes the task less daunting, and thestudent can be rewarded if he or sheis successful in at least one of the timeperiods. It also provides informationabout when the behavior is mostlikely to occur, enabling the teacher tobetter support the student withprompts or reminders.

It is also important that the self-monitoring form be age appropriate.For example, when working withvery young children or students withlimited reading skills, it may be wiseto use clip art in place of text. Whenworking with adolescents, it isprudent to make sure the forms arecommensurate with the reading leveland do not draw unwanted attentionfrom classmates.

Step 3: Teach the Student the Self-Monitoring Procedures

Students will need instruction onhow to complete the form. Considerusing modeling, coaching, and role-play when explaining the process to

the students (e.g., Lane, Weisenbach,Little, Phillips, & Wehby, 2006). Thestudent should be reminded at thebeginning of each time period to beaware of the target behavior. If astudent is recording a behavior to bedecreased (e.g., calling out), it is nothelpful to draw a student’s attentionto it in an accusing or negativemanner while the behavior isoccurring. Self-monitoring is not apunishment; it is a tool that can help astudent become more aware of his orher actions.

One option is to use areinforcement contingency inconjunction with self-monitoring. Forexample, you may want to structurean intervention in which the studentearns breaks from nonpreferredactivities (negative reinforcement) oraccess to preferred activities (positivereinforcement) contingent uponmeeting prespecified goals that he orshe monitors (e.g., Umbreit, Ferro,Liaupsin, & Lane, 2007). In this case,it is important to use behavior-specific verbal praise to reinforce

Figure 1 ANDY’S DAILY SELF-MONITORING FORM



appropriate behavior or academiceffort (Vanderbilt, 2005). Then, incollaboration with the student, set agoal and select the reinforcement—agentle reminder of what a student isworking for can be used to redirectthe student when necessary. Whenselecting reinforcers, it is important toconsider the function of the behaviorto be decreased. Determine what isaccessed or avoided (such asattention, an activity or task, or asensory experience) when undesiredbehavior is performed by the student.Then, for maximum effect, addressthat same function withreinforcement when the desiredbehavior occurs (Umbreit et al., 2007).

Step 4: Monitor Student Progress

Use the data collected before andduring the self-monitoring process totrack student progress. Beforestarting the intervention, it isimportant to measure the student’sbaseline status using the recordingsheets created for self-monitoring (seeFigure 2). This objectively illustratesthe magnitude of the problem.

Likewise, during implementation, theteacher can use the form and compareit to the student’s completed form tocheck and reward accuracy inrecording (matching; McLaughlin,Burgess, & Sackvill-West, 1981).These data can then be comparedwith baseline and other previous datapoints to assess progress. This alsomakes it apparent to the teacherwhen parts of the plan are in need ofmodification (Vanderbilt, 2005).

It is also important to have thestudent track his or her own progress.Self-graphing has been proven to behelpful in increasing desirablebehaviors during self-monitoringbecause of the visual stimulus itprovides. The data collected can alsobe used to provide documentationtoward meeting individualizededucation plan (IEP) goals. It alsopromotes intrinsic reinforcementwhen the student can see concreteevidence of his or her ownimprovement (Carr & Punzo, 1993). Astudent may be tempted to make hisor her behavior appear better by notbeing truthful when collecting his or

her own data. In this case, there are acouple of options for addressing theproblem. Sometimes just talking withthe student about the importance ofbeing accurate will help. It is alsoimportant to be sure that thebeginning reinforcers are easyenough to obtain so that the studentwill feel successful and will not resortto being untruthful. However, it maybe that the teacher will have todouble-check the student’s data toensure accuracy.

Step 5: Maintenance and Follow-Up

Once the student has successfullyused self-monitoring on a consistentbasis and it has resulted in improvedacademic and/or behavioralperformance, self-monitoring shouldbe gradually faded (Vanderbilt, 2005).Ultimately, the student shouldmaintain the desired behaviorindependently. This fading can occurin many ways, such as lengtheningself-monitoring intervals (e.g., goingfrom 5-minute check points to 10- or15-minute check points), matchingless frequently (McLaughlin et al.,

Figure 2 ANDY’S OUTCOMES IN WORK COMPLETION: BASELINE AND INTERVENTION PHASES


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1981), or self-monitoring for fewerperiods during the day or only onetime per day, until self-monitoring isno longer occurring at all andbehavior is maintained acrosssettings. Intermittent, specific verbalpraise and some reinforcementshould still be used when a studentperforms appropriately, especiallyafter self-monitoring is no longer ineffect.

In the section that follows, weoffer one illustration of how thesesteps can be applied. Specifically, youwill read about an application of aself-monitoring strategy conductedwith an early adolescent whostruggles with work completion.

Self-Monitoring to Increase WorkCompletion: An Illustration

Andy is a sixth-grader in Mr.Valdez’s general educationclassroom. Andy qualifies for specialeducation because of a learningdisability, with a secondary diagnosisof an emotional disturbance asdetermined by a multidisciplinaryteam. Andy has had an IEP since thefirst grade. Mr. Valdez consults withthe special education teacher, Ms.Macmillan, to modify and adapt thecore curriculum for Andy. Andy hasan engaging personality and loves totalk with peers and adults. Hislistening comprehension skills areexcellent, and he is especiallyinterested in social studies classbecause he enjoys hearing aboutdifferent countries and cultures. He isalways ready with a question or anopinion. However, Andy issignificantly below grade level inlanguage arts and mathematics.Because of problems with readingcomprehension, he also has difficultyin social studies and science.

The first step in implementing aself-monitoring strategy is to identifyand define the behavior you wantaddressed. Despite the fact that Mr.Valdez provides Andy with tasks thatare mostly at his instructional level,Andy is not successful in classbecause he rarely completes his

assignments. Andy has twotechniques he uses to avoid doingwork. First, he tends to talk andsocialize rather than focus on theassignment. Andy is masterful atengaging the teacher with a host ofquestions or visiting with thestudents who sit next to him. Othertimes, Andy gets frustrated andangry, and then withdraws. He sitsand sulks and ignores his teacher’spleas to begin working. Both of thesestrategies allow Andy to avoidcompleting the assigned task.

Mr. Valdez met with Ms.Macmillan to figure out how tosupport Andy in finishing his classwork. Ms. Macmillan suggested thatself-monitoring might be an effectivetool for Andy as noncompletion ofassignments is an easily observedbehavior and occurs frequently.However, Mr. Valdez must evaluatewhether the academic tasks are onesthat Andy can completeindependently. Self-monitoring forwork completion will be effectiveonly if the tasks are academicallyappropriate for Andy. If they are toodifficult or have not been adequatelytaught, it is unreasonable to assumethat Andy can work through themwithout assistance. Mr. Valdez mustalso decide if Andy has the ability tocomplete an assignment on his owneven if the academic task isappropriate. It is the case that somestudents’ attentional problems are sosevere that they physically may notbe able to concentrate long enough tofinish a given task.

After talking together, Mr. Valdezand Ms. Macmillan agreed that self-monitoring would be a good strategyfor Andy to try. They collected dataeach day for 1 week to determine thepercentage of assignments that Andycompleted each day and graphed thisinformation (see Figure 2). This wasdone to determine the Andy’sbaseline levels of performance.

The next step in the interventionis to design the self-monitoringprocedures. Mr. Valdez needed tocreate a monitoring chart that wouldhelp Andy track the assignments he

was responsible for completing. Heand Ms. Macmillan designed a dailychart that included the academicsubjects taught each day, a space forwriting in each day’s assignments,and a box in which Andy wouldcheck off whether or not hecompleted the assignment (seeFigure 1).

The third step is to explain andteach the self-monitoring procedures,so the plan was introduced to Andy.Mr. Valdez explained to Andy thatcompleting his daily assignments is animportant part of getting good gradesand that he and Ms. Macmillan hadthought of a way to help Andy get hiswork finished. Mr. Valdez showedAndy the chart and explained that he(Mr. Valdez) would write in eachassignment (as they were introduced)and then Andy would concentrate onfinishing the assignment. Once Andywas done with it, he would check it offin the box labeled completed. If he didnot finish the assignment by the end ofthe class, he would check off the boxlabeled not-completed. At the end of theday, Mr. Valdez and Andy would sitdown and calculate the percentage ofassignments completed that day.Together they would determine thepercentage of assignments completedeach day. Because Andy currentlyfinishes few or no assignments (seeFigure 2), Mr. Valdez decided to beginwith a completion rate of 50%. Heplanned to increase the rate once Andyexperienced enough success to bemotivated to work moreindependently.

Some students might also requirethat accuracy be monitored as well.For example, Mr. Valdez could havestipulated that Andy complete 50% ofhis assignments with 80% accuracy orbetter. This is an importantconsideration for students who maybe inclined to rush through theirwork just to meet the completionbenchmark. However, Mr. Valdez feltthat in the beginning, it would benecessary only to monitor forcompletion.

Mr. Valdez knew that Andyreally enjoyed socializing, so he asked



Andy if he wanted to work for ateacher-hosted lunch. Mr. Valdez andMs. Macmillan would invite Andyand another student of his choosingto eat lunch with them. Andyespecially loved pizza day at school,so Mr. Valdez would treat to pizza onthe designated day. Once Andycompleted 50% of his assignments in6 nonconsecutive days, he would berewarded with the teacher-hostedlunch. Mr. Valdez was careful tostructure the completion rate in sucha way that Andy was extremely likelyto encounter rapid success.

Next, progress is monitored. Thisincludes the baseline informationpreviously collected, as well as datacollected during the intervention.Andy was eager to try out thestrategy (as was Mr. Valdez!), andthey began the next day. Mr. Valdezsent a note home to Andy’s parentsexplaining the new strategy and saidthat each day Andy would bringhome his daily monitoring sheet toshare with his parents. In thebeginning, Mr. Valdez took extra timeto prompt Andy to fill out his self-monitoring chart, which was kept onAndy’s desk. At the end of the classperiod, he would check in with Andyand ask him how it went. WhenAndy did complete an assignment,Mr. Valdez gave him a thumbs up,and when he didn’t, Mr. Valdezsimply said, ‘‘I think you will be ableto complete the next assignment.’’ Asa result of implementing the strategy,Mr. Valdez also became more awareof skill deficits that sometimes madeit harder for Andy to workindependently. When that was thecase, Mr. Valdez would touch basewith Ms. Macmillan to see how hemight further adjust or modify thecurricular task. In addition, Mr.Valdez was less likely to get irritatedwith Andy, and rather than scoldinghim simply reminded Andy that hewas working toward a goal. The firstcouple of days actually required moreof Mr. Valdez’s time and attention,but by the end of the week, he had tospend considerably less timeprompting Andy than he did before

implementing the strategy. Inaddition, his interactions werepositive rather than reactive, evenwhen he had to note that Andy hadnot completed a task. When he andAndy met at the end of each day, itwas more of a coaching interactionthan a disciplinary one. Andy’sparents were also helpful in makingthe strategy work. They praised Andyverbally when his daily chart showedhe had completed 50% of hisassignments. When he didn’t reachthe 50% benchmark, they urged himto work harder the next day.

The final part of the self-monitoring intervention ismaintenance and follow-up. It is Mr.Valdez’s plan that once Andy hasreached 80% task completion, he willbegin to lower the reinforcement rate.He and Ms. Macmillan hope thateventually Andy will no longer evenrequire the scaffolding that dailycharts provide. Once Andy hasinternalized the strategy and adoptedit as his own, he will be able monitorhis behavior without the use of anyexternal supports.

Tips for Developing Effective Self-Monitoring Programs

In Table 2, you will find a set oftips for different phases of the self-monitoring process: development ofthe self-monitoring package,introduction of the package to thestudent and student training, andimplementation of the self-monitoring package. These tips arederived from limitations of variousstudies of the effects of self-monitoring on students with EBD, aswell as observations based on thosestudies (Mooney et al., 2005).

Specific tips regarding thedevelopment of a self-monitoringplan for an individual studentaddress the issue of personalization.A self-monitoring package must bematched to a student’s individualneeds, with attention to theirstrengths and weaknesses (Dunlap etal., 1995). These tips include severalways to ensure that the plan

developed has the highest potentialfor benefiting the student in terms ofimproving academic achievementand behavior.

Second, student training is animportant part of the self-monitoringprocess. If a student does notrecognize the value of the self-monitoring program, the student willnot find it intrinsically reinforcingand will not adhere to the guidelines(Dunlap et al., 1995). Likewise, astudent must learn the procedures tomastery before beginning the self-monitoring intervention (Vanderbilt,2005). These tips are geared towardmaking the benefits of the plan clearand evaluating whether the student iscapable of self-monitoring.

Third, implementation of the self-monitoring package must avoiddrawing unwanted attention to thestudent. It must also includegeneralization and maintenance ofthe self-monitoring skills (Carr &Punzo, 1993; Vanderbilt, 2005). Thetips in this category are intended tohelp the student assimilate as muchas possible within their leastrestrictive environment and to self-monitor as independently as possible.

Summary

Students with EBD often strugglebehaviorally, socially, andacademically. Fortunately, there are avariety of metacognitive strategiessuch as self-monitoring, self-evaluation, self-instruction, goalsetting, and strategy instruction aswell as combined strategies that canbe used to improve both academicand behavioral performance (Mooneyet al., 2005). In this article, we focusedon the application of self-monitoringstrategies to meet the multiple needsof students with EBD (Lane, 2004;Nelson et al., 2004). Specifically, weintroduced the notion ofmetacognition, providing a briefintroduction to a range ofmetacognitive strategies. Then, wefocused on self-monitoring strategies,providing step-by-step proceduresfor designing and implementing self-


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monitoring interventions in theclassroom setting. We offer a vignetteto illustrate how self-monitoringmight look in an elementary/middleschool setting. Finally, we concludewith a list of tips to ensure successfulimplementation of self-monitoringprocedures by avoiding somecommon challenges.

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Table 2 TIPS FOR SELF-MONITORING: DURING DEVELOPMENT, IMPLEMENTATION, AND EVALUATION

Time Tips

Development N If possible, train and implement at the beginning of a school year or semester (Glomb & West,1991).N Address one positive behavior at a time. Select the behavior earliest in the chain (Vanderbilt,2005). For instance, monitor academic productivity instead of time on task (a student must be on taskto be academically productive).N Use the positive of the behavior (often the replacement behavior); instead of having a goal todecrease time off task, have the student monitor time on task (www.Lehigh.edu/projectreach/teachers/self-management/sm-implement.htm).N Consider a preintervention functional assessment for a full understanding of underlyinginteractions between behaviors and environment to increase efficacy (Dunlap et al., 1995).N Create a package that can be used along with instead of replacing existing classroom managementpractices (Dunlap et al., 1995).

Teaching the student N Secure buy-in on the part of the students. The more a student buys in, the more likely her or shewill be to use it (Dunlap et al., 1995).N Use the student’s strengths and examples of his or her performance of desirable behavior todescribe the procedure (Vanderbilt, 2005).N Have a student-friendly definition of the behavior being monitored on hand. Be sure to useobservable terms and include examples and nonexamples (Vanderbilt, 2005).

Implementation N Give consistent, behavior-specific verbal praise.N Student materials should be inconspicuous and age appropriate, with teachers using the leastcueing possible (Carr & Punzo, 1993).N Use data to monitor and reward honesty of self-recording as well as improved performance(Project REACH, 2008; Dunlap et al., 1995).N Use self-graphing or weekly charts (Carr & Punzo, 1993).N Provide high levels of support/prompting at the start of implementation and then fade forgeneralization.



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