Using a contingency contract to increase student verbal participation

Abstract

Students with disabilities often have challenges positively engaging in the classroom due to characteristics of their disability. Not actively participating in class can result in missed opportunities to learn and less interactions with the content. A research-based behavior intervention plan using a contingency contract was implemented to increase a student’s self-initiated verbal participation in class. Analysis of the results determined that the intervention increased the student’s participation, although not to the desired extent. More frequent interventions across environments may increase the success of the interventions. Addressing a possible skill deficit regarding the processing of information may also improve the results.