The amount of research in the use of self-monitoring intervention with students has increased steadily. This article reviews the literature to date on self-monitoring with students with learning disabilities. First, it discusses the results of self-monitoring studies in terms of major dependent measures, such as on-task behavior and academic productivity and accuracy. Next, it analyzes studies comparing the effects of self-monitoring of attention and self-monitoring of performance on on-task behavior and academic responding. Finally, it discusses areas for future research and potential conceptual pitfalls.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
Baer, D. M. (1984). Does research in self-control need more self-control?. Analysis and Intervention in Developmental Disabilities, 4, 211–218.
2.
Ballard, K. D., & Glynn, T. (1975). Behavioral self-management in story writing with elementary school children. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 8, 387–398.
3.
Bandura, A. (1977). Social learning theory.Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall.
4.
Blick, D. W., & Test, D. W. (1987). Effects of self-recording on high-school students' on-task behavior. Learning Disability Quarterly, 10, 203–213.
5.
Blumenfeld, P. C., Pintrich, P. R., Meece, J., & Wessels, K. (1982). The formation and role of self-perceptions of ability in elementary classrooms. The Elementary School Journal, 82, 401–120.
6.
Borkowski, J., Estrada, T., Milstead, M., & Hale, C. (1989). General problem-solving skills: Relations between metacognition and strategic processing. Learning Disability Quarterly, 12, 57–70.
7.
Broden, M., Hall, R. V., & Mitts, B. (1971). The effects of self-recording on the classroom behavior of two eighth-grade students. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 4, 191–199.
8.
Brown, A. L., Campione, J. C., & Day, J. D. (1981). Learning to learn: On training students to learn from texts. Educational Researcher, 10, 14–21.
9.
Cavior, N., & Marabotto, C. M. (1976). Monitoring verbal behaviors in a dyadic interaction. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 44, 68–76.
10.
Clements, S. D. (1966). Minimal brain dysfunction in children (NINDS Monograph No. 3, U. S. Public Health Service Publication No. 1415). Washington DC: U.S. Government Printing Office.
11.
DiGangi, S. A., Maag, J. W., & Rutherford, R. B. (1991). Self-graphing of on-task behavior: Enhancing the reactive effects of self-monitoring on on-task behavior and academic performance. Learning Disability Quarterly, 14, 221–230.
12.
Dunlap, L. K., & Dunlap, G. (1989). A self-monitoring package for teaching subtraction with regrouping to students with learning disabilities. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 22, 309–314.
13.
Fuchs, D., Fuchs, L., & Bahr, M. (1990). Mainstream assistance teams: A scientific basis for the art of consultation. Exceptional Children, 57, 128–139.
14.
Fuchs, D., Fuchs, L., Bahr, M., Fernstrom, P., & Stecker, P. (1990). Prereferral intervention: A prescriptive approach. Exceptional Children, 56, 493–513.
15.
Gickling, E. E., & Armstrong, D. L. (1978). Levels of instructional difficulty as related to on-task behavior, task completion, and comprehension. Journal of Learning Disabilities, 11, 32–39.
16.
Glynn, E. L., & Thomas, J. D. (1974). Effect of cueing on self-control of classroom behavior. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 7, 229–306.
17.
Glynn, E. L., Thomas, J. D., & Shee, S. M. (1973). Behavioral self-control of classroom behavior in an elementary classroom. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 6, 105–113.
18.
Graden, J., Thurlow, M., & Ysseldyke, J. (1983). Instructional ecology and academic responding time for students at three levels of teacher-perceived competence. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 36, 241–256.
19.
Graham, S., & Harris, K. R. (1989). Components analysis of cognitive strategy instruction: Effects on learning disabled students' compositions and self-efficacy. Journal of Educational Psychology, 81, 353–361.
20.
Graham, S., Harris, K. R., & Reid, R. (1992). Developing self-regulated learners. Focus on Exceptional Children, 24, (6), 1–16.
21.
Hallahan, D. P., & Lloyd, J. W. (1987). A reply to Snider. Learning Disability Quarterly, 10, 153–156.
22.
Hallahan, D. P., Lloyd, J. W., Kneedler, R. D., & Marshall, K. J. (1982). A comparison of the effects of self- versus teacher-assessment of on-task behavior. Behavior Therapy, 13, 715–723.
23.
Hallahan, D. P., Lloyd, J. W., Kosiewicz, M. M., Kauffman, J. M., & Graves, A. W. (1979). Self-monitoring of attention as a treatment for a learning disabled boy's off-task behavior. Learning Disability Quarterly, 2, 24–32.
24.
Hallahan, D. P., Lloyd, J. W., & Stoller, L. (1982). Improving attention with self-monitoring.Charlottesville: University of Virginia, Learning Disabilities Research Institute.
25.
Hallahan, D. P., Marshall, K. J., & Lloyd, J. W. (1981). Self-recording during group instruction: Effects on attention to task. Learning Disability Quarterly, 4, 407–413.
26.
Hallahan, D. P., & Sapona, R. (1983). Self-monitoring of attention with learning disabled children: Past research and current issues. Journal of Learning Disabilities, 15, 616–620.
27.
Harris, K. R. (1986a). The effects of cognitive-behavior modification on private speech and task performance during problem solving among learning-disabled and normally achieving children. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 14, 63–76.
28.
Harris, K. R. (1986b). Self-monitoring of attentional behavior versus self-monitoring of productivity: Effects on on-task behavior and academic response rate among learning disabled children. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 19, 417–423.
29.
Harris, K. R., Graham, S., Reid, R., McElroy, K., & Hamby, R. (1994). Self-monitoring of attention versus self-monitoring of performance: Replication and cross-task comparison. Learning Disability Quarterly, 17, 121–139.
30.
Heins, E. D., Lloyd, J. W., & Hallahan, D. (1986). Cued and noncued self-recording of attention to task. Behavior Modification, 10, 235–254.
31.
Hoge, R., & Andrews, D. (1987). Enhancing academic performance: Issues in target selection. School Psychology Review, 16, 228–238.
32.
Kanfer, F. H. (1971). The maintenance of behavior by self-generated stimuli and reinforcement. In A. Jacobs & L. B. Sachs (Eds.), The psychology of private events (pp. 39–75). New York: Academic Press.
33.
Kanfer, F. H. (1977). The many faces of self-control, or behavior modification changes its focus. In R. B. Stuart (Ed.), Behavioral self-management (pp. 1–48). New York: Brunner/Mazel.
34.
Kanfer, F. H., & Gaelick, L. (1986). Self-management methods. In F. H. Kanfer & A. P. Goldstein (Eds.), Helping people change: A textbook of methods (3rd ed., pp. 283–345). Tarrytown, NY: Pergamon.
35.
Kanfer, F. H., & Karoly, P. (1972). Self-control: A behavioristic excursion into the lion's den. Behavior Therapy, 3, 378–416.
36.
Keogh, B. K. (1983). Individual differences in temperament — A contribution to the personal, social, and educational competence of learning disabled children. In J. McKinney & L. Feagans (Eds.), Current topics in learning disabilities (pp. 33–55). Norwood, NJ: Ablex.
37.
Klein, R. D. (1979). Modifying academic performance in the grade school classroom. In M. Hersen, R. M. Eisler, & P. M. Miller (Eds.), Progress in behavior modification (Vol. 8, pp. 293–321). New York: Plenum.
38.
Lentz, F. E. (1988). On-task behavior, academic performance, and classroom disruptions: Untangling the target selection problem in classroom interventions. School Psychology Review, 17, 243–257.
39.
Licht, B. (1983). Cognitive–motivational factors that contribute to the achievement of learning disabled children. Journal of Learning Disabilities, 16, 483–490.
40.
Litrownik, A. J., & Freitas, J. L. (1980). Self-monitoring in moderately retarded adolescents: Reactivity and accuracy as a function of valence. Behavior Therapy, 11, 245–255.
41.
Lloyd, J. W., Bateman, D. F., Landrum, T. J., & Hallahan, D. P. (1989). Self-recording of attention versus productivity. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 22, 315–323.
42.
Lloyd, J. W., Hallahan, D. P., Kosiewicz, M. M., & Kneedler, R. D. (1982). Reactive effects of self-assessment and self-recording on attention to task and academic productivity. Learning Disability Quarterly, 5, 216–227.
43.
Lloyd, J. W., & Landrum, T. J. (1990). Self-recording of attending to task: Treatment components and generalization of effects. In T. E. Scruggs & B. Y. L. Wong (Eds.), Intervention research in learning disabilities (pp. 235–262). New York: Springer-Verlag.
44.
Maag, J. W., DiGangi, S. A., & Rutherford, R. B. (1992). Effects of self-monitoring and contingent reinforcement on on-task behavior and academic productivity of learning-disabled students: A social validation study. Psychology in the Schools, 29, 157–172.
45.
Maag, J. W., Reid, R., & DiGangi, S. A. (1993). Differential effects of self-monitoring attention, accuracy, and productivity. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 26, 329–344.
46.
Mace, F. C., & Kratochwill, T. R. (1988). Self-monitoring. In J. C. Witt, S. N. Elliott, & F. M. Gresham (Eds.), Handbook of behavior therapy in education (pp. 489–522). New York: Plenum.
47.
Mahoney, M. J., & Thoresen, C. E. (1974). Self-control: Power to the person.Belmont, CA: Brooks/Cole.
48.
Malone, L. D., & Mastropieri, M. (1992). Reading comprehension instruction: Summarization and self-monitoring training for students with learning disabilities. Exceptional Children, 58, 270–279.
49.
Marshall, K. J., Lloyd, J. W., & Hallahan, D. P. (1993). The effects of training to increase self-monitoring accuracy on the attention-to-task of learning-disabled children. Journal of Behavioral Education, 3, 445–459.
50.
Mercer, C. (1991). Students with learning disabilities (4th ed.). New York: Merrill.
51.
Nelson, R. O. (1977). Assessment and therapeutic functions of self-monitoring. In J. D. Cone & R. P. Hawkins (Eds.), Progress in behavior modification (Vol. 5, pp. 263–308). New York: Academic Press.
52.
Nelson, R. O., & Hayes, S. C. (1981). Theoretical explanations for reactivity in self-monitoring. Behavior Modification, 5, 3–14.
53.
Paris, S. G., & Byrnes, J. P. (1989). The constructivist approach to self-regulation and learning in the classroom. In B. J. Zimmerman & D. H. Schunk (Eds.), Self-regulated learning and academic achievement (pp. 169–200). New York: Springer-Verlag.
54.
Paris, S. G., & Newman, R. S. (1990). Developmental aspects of self-regulated learning. Educational Psychologist, 25, 87–102.
55.
Petersen, P. L., & Swing, S. R. (1982). Beyond time on task: Students' reports of their growth processes during classroom instruction. The Elementary School Journal, 82, 481–491.
56.
Prater, M. A., Hogan, S., & Miller, S. (1992). Using self-monitoring to improve on-task behavior and academic skills of an adolescent with mild handicaps across special and regular education settings. Education and Treatment of Children, 15, 43–55.
57.
Prater, M. A., Joy, R., Chilman, B., Temple, J., & Miller, S. R. (1991). Self-monitoring of on-task behavior by adolescents with learning disabilities. Learning Disability Quarterly, 14, 164–177.
58.
Pressley, M., & Harris, K. R. (in press). Increasing the quality of educational intervention research. Educational Psychology Review.
59.
Pressley, M., & Levin, J. (1986). Elaborative learning strategies for the inefficient learner. In S. J. Ceci (Ed.), Handbook of cognitive, social, and neuropsychological aspects of learning disabilities (pp. 175–211). Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.
60.
Rankin, J., & Reid, R. (in press). The SM rap—or here's the rap on self-monitoring. Intervention in School and Clinic.
61.
Reid, R. (1993). Implementing self-monitoring interventions in the classroom: Lessons from research. Monograph in Behavior Disorders: Severe Behavior Disorders in Youth, 16, 43–54.
62.
Reid, R., & Harris, K. R. (1989). Self-monitoring of performance. LD Forum, 15, 39–42.
63.
Reid, R., & Harris, K. R. (1993). Self-monitoring of attention versus self-monitoring of performance: Effects on attention and academic performance. Exceptional Children, 60, 29–40.
64.
Roberts, R. N., & Nelson, R. O. (1981). The effects of self-monitoring on children's classroom behavior. Child Behavior Therapy, 3, 105–120.
65.
Rooney, K. J., & Hallahan, D. P. (1988). The effects of self-monitoring on adult behavior and student independence. Learning Disabilities Research, 3, (2), 88–93.
66.
Rooney, K. J., Hallahan, D. P., & Lloyd, J. W. (1984). Self-recording of attention by learning disabled students in the regular classroom. Journal of Learning Disabilities, 17, 360–364.
67.
Rooney, K. J., Polloway, E., & Hallahan, D. P. (1985). The use of self-monitoring procedures with low IQ learning disabled students. Journal of Learning Disabilities, 18, 384–389.
68.
Ruggles, T., & LeBlanc, J. (1985). Behavior analysis procedures in classroom teaching. In A. Bellack, M. Hersen, & A. Kazdin (Eds.), International handbook of behavior modification and therapy (pp. 353–390). New York: Plenum Press.
69.
Sawyer, R. J., Graham, S., & Harris, K. R. (1992). Direct teaching, strategy instruction, and strategy instruction with explicit self-regulation: Effects on the composition skills and self-efficacy of students with learning disabilities. Journal of Educational Psychology, 84, 340–352.
70.
Skinner, E. A., Chapman, M., & Baltes, P. B. (1988). Control, means-ends, and agency beliefs: A new conceptualization and its measurement during childhood. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 54, 117–133.
71.
Snider, V. (1987). Use of self-monitoring of attention with LD students: Research and application. Learning Disability Quarterly, 10, 139–151.
72.
Stipek, D., & Maclver, D. (1989). Developmental change in children's assessment of intellectual competence. Child Development, 60, 521–538.
73.
Stipek, D. J., & Tannatt, L. M. (1984). Children's judgments of their own and their peers' academic competence. Journal of Educational Psychology, 76, 75–84.
74.
Thoresen, C. E., & Mahoney, M. J. (1974). Behavioral self-control.New York: Holt, Rinehart & Winston.
75.
Torgesen, J. (1986). Learning disabilities theory: Its current state and future prospects. Journal of Learning Disabilities, 10, 399–407.
76.
Treiber, F. A., & Lahey, B. B. (1983). Toward a behavioral model of academic remediation with learning disabled children. Journal of Learning Disabilities, 16, 111–116.
77.
U.S. Department of Education. (1990). To assure the free and appropriate public education of all handicapped children: Twelfth annual report to Congress on the implementation of the Education of the Handicapped Act.Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office.
78.
Webber, J., Scheuermann, B., McCall, C., & Coleman, M. (1993). Research on self-monitoring as a behavior management technique in special education classrooms: A descriptive review. Remedial and Special Education, 14, (2), 38–56.
79.
Whalen, C. K., & Henker, B. (1991). Therapies for hyperactive children: Comparisons, combinations, and compromises. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 59, 126–137.
80.
Wiederholt, J. L. (1974). Historical perspectives on the education of the learning disabled. In L. Mann & D. Sabatino (Eds.), The second review of special education (pp. 103–152). Philadelphia: Journal of Special Education Press.
81.
Zimmerman, B. Z. (1989). A social cognitive view of self-regulated academic learning. Journal of Educational Psychology, 81, 329–339.
