The effects of explicit timing on middle‐school students’ writing production across 5‐ and 15‐min sessions

Abstract

Enhancing rates of accurate, active, academic responding can enhance learning. Both temporal manipulations (i.e., reducing time to work on assignments) and providing multiple distributed temporal cues (MDTC), sometimes referred to as explicit timing, have been shown to enhance rates of accurate mathematics responding. The current study was designed to evaluate the effects of session length (i.e., 5 vs. 15 min to write) and temporal cues (i.e., a single initial temporal cue vs. MDTC) on seventh‐ and eighth‐grade students writing assignment rates and writing accuracy. Results showed that the 5 min writing sessions did result in significantly greater rates of accurate responding than the 15 min sessions; however, explicit timing did not significantly alter writing rates or accuracy. These findings suggest that educators can enhance rates of accurate writing by reducing writing session lengths. Discussion focuses on applied implications of providing briefer writing sessions and future research investigating the interaction between multiple temporal cues and assignments.

Evaluating the effects of the color wheel system on a teacher’s repeated directions.

“…This consistency can enhance the probability of students meeting behavioral expectations and reduce the probability that some students or groups of students are being treated unjustly (Bracy, 2011; Hand, 2020; Perez & Okonofua, 2022; Perry-Hazan & Lambrozo, 2018). Routinely providing the 2-min and 30-s warnings prior to an activity transition may enhance the probability that students stop engaging in their current activity (Ignacio et al, 2019; Rhymer et al, 1999) and praising rule-following behavior may be an efficient and effective reinforcer that reduces undesired behaviors and enhances the probability that student behavior meets expectations (D. Fudge et al, 2008; Kirk et al, 2010; Martens & Kelly, 1993).…”