The effects of increasing active student responding with response cards during mathematics instruction on the disruptive behavior of fourth-grade urban learners

This study examined the effects of response cards on disruptive and academic behavior during math instruction. Students, in two fourth-grade, urban classrooms received two different instructional conditions: (a) single student responding or (b) response cards. Single student responding employed a traditional instructional format where the teacher lectured on math content and students volunteered to answer questions by raising their hands. The second condition used response cards, which were notebook-sized dry-erase boards that the students used to respond to the teachers' questions. Under this condition, each student would write his/her answer on the response card and then present the answer to the teacher by holding up the card when prompted by the teacher. This permitted all the students to respond simultaneously and continuously throughout the lesson.; From the two classes, nine students, identified as having high levels of disruptive behavior during math, were targeted for data collection. Across both instructional conditions, observers recorded whether or not target students exhibited disruptive behavior. The classroom teacher recorded student responding during instruction, indicating which target students raised their hand, how many correct and incorrect responses were made, and how many questions were asked during each lesson. A single subject research reversal design was used to evaluate the effects of the instructional conditions.; All nine-target students responded to more questions and answered more questions correctly during the response card condition. Substantial reductions in disruptive behaviors were recorded during response card conditions for all targeted students.; Seven of the nine students reported that they liked to use the response cards and wanted to use them in other classes. Students also felt they were better behaved when they used the cards. Both teachers reported that they liked teaching with the cards, their use had a positive effect on the students' behavior, and they planned to continue using the cards in their classes.