Method: Participants were 70 sixth-grade students, 41 girls and 29 boys enrolled in three physical education classes and their physical education teacher. A single subject multiple baseline design across three classes was used to assess the effects of the intervention. This design allowed researchers to record and analyze baseline and intervention phases from participant classes in a staggered fashion. The independent variable used was the Fair Play Game strategy, which consisted of goal-setting chart, the monitoring of the unidentified student, prompts, positive pinpointing and group incentives. An essential component of this strategy is that every day, during intervention phase, the teacher informed students that one unidentified student in each team would be monitored during the lesson. If the students accomplished the goals established, the students’ team would be awarded with a “YES” or “NO” on a goal-setting chart posted on the wall, and the goal for the team would increase on the next lesson. The dependent variable was students’ number of steps taken during lessons measured by pedometers.
Analysis/Results: The results showed that the intervention had a positive impact in all three classes. The mean number of steps for baseline and intervention were: Class 1: 43 steps/min at baseline versus 64 steps/min at intervention; Class 2: 49 steps/min at baseline versus 81 steps/min at intervention; Class 3: 50 steps/min baseline versus 87 steps/min intervention. Social validity data reported by students and participant teacher showed that students increased their engagement in class, and that Fair Play Game was a feasible and easy teaching strategy to be implemented in physical education.
Conclusions: This study perceived that dependent group contingency as an informal accountability system that successfully engaged students’ in more active behaviors during the lessons.