Effects of Tootling on Classwide and Individual Disruptive and Academically Engaged Behavior of Lower‐Elementary Students
A daily ten-note Tootling goal quickly cuts disruption and lifts academic work in early elementary rooms.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Three second- and third-grade classrooms played a game called Tootling.
Kids wrote short notes when they saw a classmate follow a rule or work hard.
The class had to hit a daily goal of 10 notes to win a small group prize.
The teacher flipped the game on and off four times to be sure it was working.
What they found
When Tootling was on, disruptive behavior dropped and academic engagement rose.
The changes showed up right away and held each time the game returned.
All three classrooms looked the same, so the effect seems reliable.
How this fits with other research
McGonigle et al. (1982) ran a similar team contest thirty-four years earlier.
They turned tooth-brushing into a class game and also saw big, lasting gains.
The two studies together show that simple group goals can steer many child behaviors.
Cook et al. (2014) tried white noise for kids with ADHD.
Noise cut off-task behavior but did not help schoolwork.
McHugh’s Tootling moved both behavior and engagement, so group contingencies can give broader pay-offs than sensory tricks.
Why it matters
You can start Tootling tomorrow with paper slips and a ten-note goal.
No extra staff, no tokens, no individual charts.
Try it during seat-work or center time and watch for quieter hands and more pencils moving.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
The current study was designed to replicate and extend the literature on the effectiveness of a classroom intervention known as Tootling, a strategy that encourages and prompts students to report instances of their peers' positive behaviors. The purpose of the present study was to assess the effects of the Tootling intervention on decreasing classwide and individual target students' disruptive behavior as well as increasing classwide and individual target students' academic engagement in lower elementary, general education classrooms using a criterion number of tootles that could reasonably be attained daily, thus potentially allowing more immediate and frequent access to reinforcement. Participants included second and third graders and their teachers in three classrooms in two Southeastern elementary schools. An ABAB withdrawal design was used in the three classrooms, along with a multiple baseline element across two of the classrooms, to determine the effectiveness of the intervention. Results demonstrated decreases in disruptive behaviors and increases in academically engaged behaviors during intervention phases as compared to baseline and withdrawal phases in all classrooms. Effect sizes were moderate to large for all comparisons. Limitations of the present study, directions for future research, and implications for practice are discussed. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Behavioral Interventions, 2016 · doi:10.1002/bin.1447