Two studies were conducted in special education classrooms (5 students) and one study was conducted in a general education setting (2 students). Each study targeted one of the following behaviors: Compliance to begin low-preference requests, latency to begin working on low-preference math problems, and on-task behavior while working on independent math seatwork. The effect sizes for compliance to begin low-preference requests ranged from 4.03 to 5.80, the effect sizes for latency to begin low-preference math problems ranged from 1.84 to 2.18, and the effect sizes for on-task behavior ranged from -.29 (for one student the procedure was not effective) through 1.19. The percentage of non-overlapping data points for compliance was 100%, 67% to 83% for latency, and 17% to 80% for on-task behavior. Percentage change in level across the three studies indicated a range of small to large changes.
The duration of time across which behavioral momentum and task interspersal interventions were assessed ranged from 12-30 sessions (one session occurring per day). Two of the three studies assessed procedural integrity, and in those cases, procedural integrity exceeded 95%. Consumer satisfaction was not assessed in the studies. In all studies, the interventions were not linked to assessment information (e.g. functional behavioral assessment). Generalization of the behavioral effects of the interventions was not assessed in the studies.
In summary, the results of this literature review indicate that more research is needed to assess the effects of behavioral momentum and task interspersal interventions for students with EBD. The reviewed studies indicate that these interventions show promise in promoting positive changes in student behavior such as responding to instruction and increasing on-task behavior, but more research is need to evaluate the extent and durability of these effects as well as their applicability to the EBD population. Furthermore, research evaluating task interspersal for students without a disability has found that the procedure can improve student perceptions of difficult assignments. Future research might evaluate whether these effects can be replicated in an EBD population.
Future studies should include students of diverse racial/cultural backgrounds and should not neglect to report the racial/cultural makeup of the participants. Since the current studies assess the effects of the interventions with elementary age students, studies are needed that examine the effectiveness, feasibility, and acceptability of these interventions with middle or high school age students. Subsequent studies might also address the generalization of positive behavior changes to other non-targeted settings or materials. While procedural integrity was evaluated in two of the three studies, the reviewed studies did not assess consumer satisfaction (i.e. teacher, student) with the intervention procedures, thus future research should address this need.

References

Belfiore, P.J., Lee, D.L., Scheeler, C., & Klein, D. (2002). Implications of behavioral momentum and the academic achievement for students with behavior disorders: Theory, application, and practice. Psychology in the Schools, 39(2), 171-179.

Davis, C.A., & Reichle, J. (1996). Variant and invariant high probability requests: Increasing appropriate behaviors in children with emotional-behavioral disorders. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 29, 471-482.

Skinner, C.H., Hurst, K.L., Teeple, D.F., & Meadows, S.O. (2002). Increasing on-task behavior during mathematics seatwork in students with emotional disturbance by interspersing additional brief problems. Psychology in the Schools, 39(6), 647-659.