Adolescent BehaviorsGGNCT03039894
Grade Book Game Evaluation Among 6th Grade Students
An observational study of Adolescent Behaviors, run by University of California, Los Angeles at 1 site in United States.
Trial summary
School engagement is associated with children's long-term health and success. Students who are engaged in school have better academic outcomes and lower rates of risky health behaviors. Read more about this study
- Who is it for?
- Ages 7 to 17 years
- Conditions the study is for
- Adolescent Behaviors
- What is being tested?
- Gradebook Game
- How many people
- 100 participants
- Where
- 1 siteUnited States
- Study dates
- 1 Oct 2016to 30 Jun 2017
- Phase
- Observational
- Are there results?
- None posted in the registry
Key requirements
Who can take part, as listed by the sponsor. Only the study team can confirm whether you are eligible, so take this list to your doctor.
- Ages 7 to 17 years
- All sexes
- Child
Study population: Participants must be 6th grade students at Alliance College-Ready Middle Academy. They need to assent and have signed parental consent to participate.
Who may be able to join
- Student must be attending 6th grade at Alliance College-Ready Middle Academy.
- Must assent and have signed parental consent to participate.
Who cannot join
- Students whose parents are not able to provide informed consent in English or Spanish.
Trial locations and contacts
1 site in 1 country.
About this study
Official title: Improving School Engagement Among Early Adolescents: Evaluation of a Team-based Social Network Intervention
School engagement is associated with children's long-term health and success. Students who are engaged in school have better academic outcomes and lower rates of risky health behaviors. The investigators partnered with Alliance College-Ready Middle Academy 12 (Alliance 12), a charter school in Los Angeles, to develop the "gradebook game", an intervention that aims to improve academic achievement, peer support, and school engagement. The game involves frequent feedback on students' school performance, team-based competition aligned with the school mission, and peer mentorship by team captains. For the 2016-2017 academic year, the investigators will assist Alliance 12 in implementing the gradebook game in two of its five 6th grade homerooms. The investigators plan to evaluate whether the game, as hypothesized, is effective in increasing school engagement, including academic performance and positive behavior.
In order to conduct this evaluation, the investigators plan to enroll 6th grade students by obtaining parental consent and student assent at the beginning of the school year. Students will be enrolled for the entire 2016-2017 academic year. All study procedures except for parental recruitment will occur during the school day. Participation in the study involves completing 2 student surveys and permitting the collection and analysis of student data from the online gradebook and behavior system. The investigators plan to use an interrupted time series design that will analyze student gradebook and behavior data at multiple time points before and after the game starts. The surveys will be completed at the beginning and end of the study period. Surveys will include measures of self-reported school engagement, age, gender, race/ethnicity, primary language at home, social and emotional well-being, social status, and peer support. Surveys will be administered via iPad.
If the pilot study demonstrates that the gradebook game is effective in promoting school engagement and academic achievement, it is anticipated that it could be widely adopted and more rigorously evaluated in a larger study. Because the gradebook game is a low-resource intervention, it could easily and sustainably be replicated, providing a much-needed tool for schools with low engagement.
Read the detailed description
School engagement is critical to students' long-term success and appears to be strongly influenced by peer relationships. School engagement results from the interaction of the individual with the school context and is a multi-dimensional concept involving behavioral, emotional, and cognitive components. These include attendance, conduct, effort, participation, emotions towards school, identification with school, interest, and psychological investment in learning. Children who are engaged in school have higher levels of academic achievement and increased likelihood of occupational success as adults, even beyond that predicted by achievement. Children who are successful in school are also healthier adults, which is due in part to health risk behaviors that begin in adolescence. School engagement appears to protect against substance use and delinquency. Factors that have been associated with low levels of engagement (or disengagement) include trauma, stress, discrimination, and bullying, whereas supportive relationships with parents, peers, and teachers promote school engagement. Because school engagement is modifiable, it is an obvious target for school-based intervention.
Prior studies have documented interventions that improve school engagement, but effect sizes are generally small and they are resource-intensive and therefore difficult to implement widely. As far as the investigators know, none have used a social network or team-based behavioral economics approach. A partnership between UCLA and Alliance College-Ready Middle Academy #12 (Alliance 12), a charter middle school in Los Angeles led to the development of the novel Gradebook Game. This intervention aims to induce supportive social pressure aligned with a school's mission in order to promote school engagement and achievement. Sixth grade students are organized into teams by Advisory period and mentored by 8th grade team captains. Throughout the regular school day, students are assigned points for effort, achievement, and citizenship (as captured by the online gradebook and behavior tracker), which then get repackaged into weekly team scorecards for the Game. Teams compete against each other for total points in bi-weekly match-ups, and wins are rewarded with incentives tailored to the school's needs. This intervention is unique in bringing a team-based behavioral economics approach to impact school engagement. It is grounded in principles from two successful interventions: the Good Behavior Game and Peer Connection. The Gradebook Game Intervention has been piloted for feasibility in one Advisory group of 6th grade students at Alliance 12 during the Spring of 2016. If effective, it could feasibly be implemented widely and has the potential to transform social norms and school culture, providing a much-needed tool among schools with low student engagement.
The investigators plan to study the effectiveness of the Gradebook Game in promoting school engagement and achievement. This study would likely be the first to evaluate an intervention that utilizes team competition to generate social pressure and peer support around behaviors that promote success in school. This study has the potential to inform whether the Gradebook Game intervention should be adopted by other schools struggling with low student engagement; and depending on the results, it could lead to a larger, more rigorous study that would evaluate whether the Gradebook Game is effective in promoting school engagement and achievement among a diverse study population, which could be beneficial to schools and families across the nation.
- Conditions
- Adolescent Behaviors
- Being tested
- Gradebook Game
- Keywords
- school-based, evaluation, interrupted time series
- Medical subject headings
- Adolescent Behavior
What participants receive
What participants receive. In a randomised study each person is assigned to one group by chance.
Gradebook GameOther
Students in the intervention group will spend time meeting as teams to review their scorecards, and do team-building activities, all of which will occur during non-content periods at school (Advisory and Enrichment).
| Study group | Role | What they receive |
|---|---|---|
| Intervention | The middle school selected 2 advisory classrooms to participate in the Gradebook game during 6th grade. Students in these 2 classrooms were block randomized to teams by baseline grade book and student engagement scores. These small student teams stay together for an entire year and meet once or twice a week. Teams are led by 8th grade student team captains, picked by school staff for their positive leadership skills. Every 2 weeks throughout the year, teams are randomly matched in head-to-head competition. In each 2-week-long game (i.e. Gradebook Game), individual team members accrue points from teachers and administrators for academic performance, effort, and school behavior. Team wins are announced and public scoreboards are updated frequently. The investigators will collect student survey data at baseline and after the intervention, approximately 5-6 months apart. Receives: Other: Gradebook Game | |
| Control | The middle school has chosen three 6th grade classrooms that will not play the Gradebook game. The investigators will collect school gradebook and behavior information weekly for 8 to 10 time points before and after the intervention is implemented. Students will complete a survey at baseline and after the intervention, approximately 5-6 months apart. |
What is being measured
The primary outcome is the main question the study is designed to answer.
Academic and Behavior Information
collect school grade book and behavior information weekly for 8 to 10 time points before and after the intervention is implemented.
Measured: up to 20 times during 6 month period
Secondary outcomes (1)
Social Emotional well being, social status and peer support
Survey data will be collected via iPad using a study ID during non-content periods at school (Advisory and Enrichment). Surveys will include measures of self-reported school engagement, social-emotional well-being, and peer support.
Measured: baseline and at 6 months
Timeline
From the start of the study to its completion; the mark is today. Estimated dates are the sponsor’s plan.
- First posted1 Feb 2017 (estimated)
- Study start1 Oct 2016
- Primary completion30 Jun 2017
- Study completion30 Jun 2017
Resources
- Official record on ClinicalTrials.govThe registry entry this page is built from, with its full change history.
- Other trials for Adolescent BehaviorsStudies of the same condition, open and under way.
- More trials run by University of California, Los AngelesThe sponsor's other registered studies.
- What the trial phases meanHow a treatment moves from first tests in people to approval.
More details
For doctors and researchers: how the study is designed, who runs it, and its registry IDs.
Study design
- Study type
- Observational
- Observational model
- Case-control
- Time perspective
- Prospective
- Enrolment
- 100 participants (actual)
Sponsor and investigators
- Lead sponsor
- University of California, Los Angeles
- Sponsor type
- University, hospital or other
- Responsible party
- Principal investigator, Mitchell Wong, MD, PhD, University of California, Los Angeles
- Investigators
- Mitchell D Wong, MD, PhD, Study chair, University of California, Los Angeles
IDs, dates and publications
- ClinicalTrials.gov ID
- NCT03039894
- Sponsor's protocol ID
- IRB#16-001059
- Acronym
- GG
- Status last verified
- Oct 2017
- First submitted
- 30 Jan 2017
- Last updated
- 30 Oct 2017
- Results posted
- No
- Data monitoring committee
- No
- FDA-regulated drug
- No
- FDA-regulated device
- No
- Individual data sharing
- No: Participants have been assigned a study ID number to link their name, address, phone number, grade book and behavior data, and survey responses. This ID will be used for all survey data collection and to identify all grade book and behavior data. The computer file linking the personal identifiers and the study ID number will be kept separate from the survey, grade book, and behavior data. Personally identifying information pertaining to individual participants will not be shared or made available to other researchers. Any data request will be made to the Faculty Sponsor (Mitchell Wong, MD PhD) or to the principle investigator (Ashley Lewis-Hunter, MD) and any data shared will be encrypted and will not include any personal identifying information.
Study at a glance
From the registry record, last updated by the sponsor on 30 Oct 2017. Recruitment status is as the sponsor reported it: confirm with the study team.
- Official title
- Improving School Engagement Among Early Adolescents: Evaluation of a Team-based Social Network Intervention
- ClinicalTrials.gov ID
- NCT03039894
- Acronym / sponsor ID
- GG / IRB#16-001059
- Conditions
- Adolescent Behaviors
- Keywords
- school-based, evaluation, interrupted time series
- Study type
- Observational
- Recruitment status
- Completed
- Enrolment
- 100 participants (actual)
- Lead sponsor
- University of California, Los AngelesUniversity, hospital or other
- Study start
- 1 Oct 2016 (actual)
- Primary completion
- 30 Jun 2017 (actual)
- Study completion
- 30 Jun 2017 (actual)
- First posted
- 1 Feb 2017 (estimated)
- Results
- Not posted in the source record
Clinical summary
The research question as the sponsor registered it. This describes what the study plans to test, not what it found.
School engagement is associated with children's long-term health and success. Students who are engaged in school have better academic outcomes and lower rates of risky health behaviors. The investigators partnered with Alliance College-Ready Middle Academy 12 (Alliance 12), a charter school in Los Angeles, to develop the "gradebook game", an intervention that aims to improve academic achievement, peer support, and school engagement. The game involves frequent feedback on students' school performance, team-based competition aligned with the school mission, and peer mentorship by team captains. For the 2016-2017 academic year, the investigators will assist Alliance 12 in implementing the gradebook game in two of its five 6th grade homerooms. The investigators plan to evaluate whether the game, as hypothesized, is effective in increasing school engagement, including academic performance and positive behavior.
In order to conduct this evaluation, the investigators plan to enroll 6th grade students by obtaining parental consent and student assent at the beginning of the school year. Students will be enrolled for the entire 2016-2017 academic year. All study procedures except for parental recruitment will occur during the school day. Participation in the study involves completing 2 student surveys and permitting the collection and analysis of student data from the online gradebook and behavior system. The investigators plan to use an interrupted time series design that will analyze student gradebook and behavior data at multiple time points before and after the game starts. The surveys will be completed at the beginning and end of the study period. Surveys will include measures of self-reported school engagement, age, gender, race/ethnicity, primary language at home, social and emotional well-being, social status, and peer support. Surveys will be administered via iPad.
If the pilot study demonstrates that the gradebook game is effective in promoting school engagement and academic achievement, it is anticipated that it could be widely adopted and more rigorously evaluated in a larger study. Because the gradebook game is a low-resource intervention, it could easily and sustainably be replicated, providing a much-needed tool for schools with low engagement.
Detailed description
School engagement is critical to students' long-term success and appears to be strongly influenced by peer relationships. School engagement results from the interaction of the individual with the school context and is a multi-dimensional concept involving behavioral, emotional, and cognitive components. These include attendance, conduct, effort, participation, emotions towards school, identification with school, interest, and psychological investment in learning. Children who are engaged in school have higher levels of academic achievement and increased likelihood of occupational success as adults, even beyond that predicted by achievement. Children who are successful in school are also healthier adults, which is due in part to health risk behaviors that begin in adolescence. School engagement appears to protect against substance use and delinquency. Factors that have been associated with low levels of engagement (or disengagement) include trauma, stress, discrimination, and bullying, whereas supportive relationships with parents, peers, and teachers promote school engagement. Because school engagement is modifiable, it is an obvious target for school-based intervention.
Prior studies have documented interventions that improve school engagement, but effect sizes are generally small and they are resource-intensive and therefore difficult to implement widely. As far as the investigators know, none have used a social network or team-based behavioral economics approach. A partnership between UCLA and Alliance College-Ready Middle Academy #12 (Alliance 12), a charter middle school in Los Angeles led to the development of the novel Gradebook Game. This intervention aims to induce supportive social pressure aligned with a school's mission in order to promote school engagement and achievement. Sixth grade students are organized into teams by Advisory period and mentored by 8th grade team captains. Throughout the regular school day, students are assigned points for effort, achievement, and citizenship (as captured by the online gradebook and behavior tracker), which then get repackaged into weekly team scorecards for the Game. Teams compete against each other for total points in bi-weekly match-ups, and wins are rewarded with incentives tailored to the school's needs. This intervention is unique in bringing a team-based behavioral economics approach to impact school engagement. It is grounded in principles from two successful interventions: the Good Behavior Game and Peer Connection. The Gradebook Game Intervention has been piloted for feasibility in one Advisory group of 6th grade students at Alliance 12 during the Spring of 2016. If effective, it could feasibly be implemented widely and has the potential to transform social norms and school culture, providing a much-needed tool among schools with low student engagement.
The investigators plan to study the effectiveness of the Gradebook Game in promoting school engagement and achievement. This study would likely be the first to evaluate an intervention that utilizes team competition to generate social pressure and peer support around behaviors that promote success in school. This study has the potential to inform whether the Gradebook Game intervention should be adopted by other schools struggling with low student engagement; and depending on the results, it could lead to a larger, more rigorous study that would evaluate whether the Gradebook Game is effective in promoting school engagement and achievement among a diverse study population, which could be beneficial to schools and families across the nation.
Study design
- Observational model
- Case-control
- Time perspective
- Prospective
- Number of arms
- 2
| Arm | Type | Receives |
|---|---|---|
| Intervention | – | Other: Gradebook GameThe middle school selected 2 advisory classrooms to participate in the Gradebook game during 6th grade. Students in these 2 classrooms were block randomized to teams by baseline grade book and student engagement scores. These small student teams stay together for an entire year and meet once or twice a week. Teams are led by 8th grade student team captains, picked by school staff for their positive leadership skills. Every 2 weeks throughout the year, teams are randomly matched in head-to-head competition. In each 2-week-long game (i.e. Gradebook Game), individual team members accrue points from teachers and administrators for academic performance, effort, and school behavior. Team wins are announced and public scoreboards are updated frequently. The investigators will collect student survey data at baseline and after the intervention, approximately 5-6 months apart. |
| Control | – | –The middle school has chosen three 6th grade classrooms that will not play the Gradebook game. The investigators will collect school gradebook and behavior information weekly for 8 to 10 time points before and after the intervention is implemented. Students will complete a survey at baseline and after the intervention, approximately 5-6 months apart. |
Who may qualify
- Ages
- 7 to 17 years
- Sex
- All
- Age groups
- Child
- Study population
- Participants must be 6th grade students at Alliance College-Ready Middle Academy. They need to assent and have signed parental consent to participate.
Key inclusion criteria (2 listed)
- Student must be attending 6th grade at Alliance College-Ready Middle Academy.
- Must assent and have signed parental consent to participate.
Key exclusion criteria (1 listed)
- Students whose parents are not able to provide informed consent in English or Spanish.
Eligibility is decided by the study team after screening; this overview does not establish that a patient qualifies. Full inclusion and exclusion criteria.
Interventions
| Intervention | Type | Arms |
|---|---|---|
| Gradebook GameStudents in the intervention group will spend time meeting as teams to review their scorecards, and do team-building activities, all of which will occur during non-content periods at school (Advisory and Enrichment). | Other | Intervention |
Primary outcome
Academic and Behavior Information
Time frame: up to 20 times during 6 month period
collect school grade book and behavior information weekly for 8 to 10 time points before and after the intervention is implemented.
1 secondary outcome
Social Emotional well being, social status and peer support
Time frame: baseline and at 6 months
Results and safety
The study is completed, but results are not available in the source record. That does not mean the treatment did or did not work.
Research links
- Official record on ClinicalTrials.govLast updated by the sponsor 30 Oct 2017.
- Individual participant dataSharing planned: No. Participants have been assigned a study ID number to link their name, address, phone number, grade book and behavior data, and survey responses. This ID will be used for all survey data collection and to identify all grade book and behavior data. The computer file linking the personal identifiers and the study ID number will be kept separate from the survey, grade book, and behavior data. Personally identifying information pertaining to individual participants will not be shared or made available to other researchers. Any data request will be made to the Faculty Sponsor (Mitchell Wong, MD PhD) or to the principle investigator (Ashley Lewis-Hunter, MD) and any data shared will be encrypted and will not include any personal identifying information.
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Referral and contact
AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals. Contact the study team or a site listed below; they decide who can take part. This study is not recruiting at the moment.
Mitchell D Wong, MD, PhD study chair
University of California, Los Angeles
1 site in 1 country: see every site and its status.
Questions about this trial
What is this clinical trial studying?
An observational study of Adolescent Behaviors, run by University of California, Los Angeles at 1 site in United States.
The full registered description is in the About this study section and the official record.
Who may be eligible to take part?
The sponsor lists 2 inclusion and 1 exclusion criteria. Eligibility is decided by the study team after screening, so read the full criteria and contact a listed site.
Is this clinical trial currently recruiting?
The record says: finished, as of the sponsor's last update on 30 Oct 2017. Status can change between updates, so confirm with the study contact before making plans.
Where is the study taking place?
The record lists 1 site in United States. Whether a site is taking part right now should be confirmed with that site. See every site.
What are the possible benefits and risks?
They depend on the study and the treatment, and no study can promise a benefit. The study team explains the known risks during informed consent, before anyone joins; the record itself does not list them.
Are results available for this study?
The study is completed, but results are not available in the source record. That does not mean the treatment did or did not work.
How can a doctor refer a patient or contact the research team?
The record lists no contact. The official record names the sponsor, who can be asked directly. AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals.
What does the primary outcome measure?
Academic and Behavior Information (time frame: up to 20 times during 6 month period). It is what the study was designed to measure, not a finding.
Where can I read the original study information?
Does a listing mean the treatment is approved or proven to work?
No. A listing means the study is registered. It does not show that the treatment is safe, works, or is approved by a regulator.
How often is this information updated?
AzTrials copies changed records from ClinicalTrials.gov every night and reloads the whole registry every week. The sponsor last updated this record on 30 Oct 2017.