Self-Monitoring of Cursive Writing Skills in a Second Grade Normal Classroom: Differential Effects of Behavioral and Academic Monitoring Requirements

This study was designed to assess the contributions and differential abilities of two types of self-monitoring interventions (academic and behavioral) in securing immediate and sustained (generalizable) increases in academic productivity. Fifteen second grade children participated in a study in which the experimental groups were required to either monitor on-task behavior or the component skills of a cursive writing task. While academic increases were demonstrated by both of the experimental groups during treatment, the study clearly demonstrated that academic self-monitoring was superior to behavioral self-monitoring in producing immediate and sustained academic results without the aid of reinforcement.