Nelson, Melanie A.; Caldarella, Paul; Hansen, Blake D.; Graham, Mark A.; Williams, Leslie; Wills, Howard P. (2018). Journal of Positive Behavior Interventions, v20 n4 p227-238. Retrieved from: https://eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ1191271
Reviewed: March 2023
This review may not reflect the full body of research evidence for this intervention.
Evidence Tier rating based solely on this study. This intervention may achieve a higher tier when combined with the full body of evidence.
To view more detailed information about the study findings from this review, please see Class-Wide Function-Related Intervention Teams (CW-FIT) Intervention Report (289 KB)
Characteristics of study sample as reported by study author.
| Asian | 4% | |
| Other or unknown | 57% | |
| Pacific Islander | 4% | |
| White | 35% |
| Hispanic | 57% | |
| Not Hispanic or Latino | 43% |
| Other or unknown | 100% |
The study took place in two art classrooms in one Title 1 elementary school in suburban Utah.
Participants included 46 students in two art classrooms (Classes 2 and 3) taught by the same teacher. The students were in grades 3 and 5. Across the two classrooms, 35% of students were White, 4% were Asian, 4% were Pacific Islander, and 57% did not report race. Fifty-seven percent were Hispanic or Latino. More than half of the students (59%) were male.
Class-Wide Function-Related Intervention Teams (CW-FIT) is a classroom management system designed to improve student behavior. The program includes establishing classroom rules and appropriate behaviors, playing a team-based game to reinforce appropriate behaviors, minimizing social attention to inappropriate behaviors, and providing self-management tools to individual students who need extra support. In this study, the teacher organized each classroom into six teams of three to four students based on their seating assignments. During the first 3 weeks, the teacher taught one social skill lesson each week, focusing on following directions the first time, getting the teacher’s attention the right way, and ignoring other students’ inappropriate behaviors. Each social skill lesson lasted 10 to 15 minutes and included explaining the rationale for the social skill, an explanation of the behaviors needed to demonstrate the skill, and opportunities for role-playing with other students. During the remaining sessions, the teacher briefly reviewed the target skills at the beginning of each period and displayed a poster with the CW-FIT skills. In 3- to 5-minute intervals during each session, the teacher praised teams and gave them a point if all members were demonstrating the target skills. If one or more students in the group were off task, the team received no points. At the end of the class, teams that earned points in 75% to 85% of the intervals received rewards such as candy, pencils, toys, or games. The teacher also implemented a Tier 2 self-management component of CW-FIT with six students who continued to have difficulty using the target skills. These students were asked to record their own behavior, and when the timer vibrated, the teacher instructed the students to evaluate their own behavior and award one point to themselves if they used the target skills. Classroom 2 met once a week for 1 hour, and Classroom 3 met twice a week for 30 minutes.
There is no comparison group in single case designs. In the baseline and withdrawal phases of the single case designs, the art teacher conducted art class as normal, using classroom management techniques such as assigned seating, expectations related to correct use of art supplies, negative consequences for behavior problems, and reinforcement for appropriate behaviors. Class expectations were displayed on a poster. The teacher gave candy to students who exhibited good behavior and awarded points to classrooms for good behavior, which they could put toward a pizza party. The school was implementing components of schoolwide positive behavior support but did not have a complete program.
Prior to the study, researchers provided a 2-hour training that consisted of explanations of the major intervention components, including social skills, teams, points, rewards, consequences, and self-management, as well as opportunities to practice implementation and ask questions. The researchers also provided a 30-minute booster training right before CW-FIT implementation began, which included a review of the desired social skills, praise, and reward options. The researchers were present during initial CW-FIT sessions to ensure implementation fidelity and help answer any questions. Over the course of the study, the teacher also had brief consultations with researchers totaling approximately 10-15 minutes.
An indicator of the effect of the intervention, the improvement index can be interpreted as the expected change in percentile rank for an average comparison group student if that student had received the intervention.
For more, please see the WWC Glossary entry for improvement index.
An outcome is the knowledge, skills, and attitudes that are attained as a result of an activity. An outcome measures is an instrument, device, or method that provides data on the outcome.
A finding that is included in the effectiveness rating. Excluded findings may include subgroups and subscales.
The sample on which the analysis was conducted.
The group to which the intervention group is compared, which may include a different intervention, business as usual, or no services.
The timing of the post-intervention outcome measure.
The number of students included in the analysis.
The mean score of students in the intervention group.
The mean score of students in the comparison group.
The WWC considers a finding to be statistically significant if the likelihood that the finding is due to chance alone, rather than a real difference, is less than five percent.
The WWC reviews studies for WWC products, Department of Education grant competitions, and IES performance measures.
The name and version of the document used to guide the review of the study.
The version of the WWC design standards used to guide the review of the study.
The result of the WWC assessment of the study. The rating is based on the strength of evidence of the effectiveness of the intervention. Studies are given a rating of Meets WWC Design Standards without Reservations, Meets WWC Design Standards with Reservations, or >Does Not Meet WWC Design Standards.
A related publication that was reviewed alongside the main study of interest.
Study findings for this report.
Based on the direction, magnitude, and statistical significance of the findings within a domain, the WWC characterizes the findings from a study as one of the following: statistically significant positive effects, substantively important positive effects, indeterminate effects, substantively important negative effects, and statistically significant negative effects. For more, please see the WWC Handbook.
The WWC may review studies for multiple purposes, including different reports and re-reviews using updated standards. Each WWC review of this study is listed in the dropdown. Details on any review may be accessed by making a selection from the drop down list.
Tier 1 Strong indicates strong evidence of effectiveness,
Tier 2 Moderate indicates moderate evidence of effectiveness, and
Tier 3 Promising indicates promising evidence of effectiveness,
as defined in the
non-regulatory guidance for ESSA
and the regulations for ED discretionary grants (EDGAR Part 77).
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