ABA Strategies for Safer Playground Behavior: Inside JABA 23

Welcome back to the Inside JABA series—this is Episode 23, and it's a must-listen for anyone interested in using Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) to improve safety in school settings.

In this episode, Dr. Jeannie Donaldson and Gabriela Gomes join Dr. John Borrero and me to discuss the paper, "Effects of differential reinforcement and time-out on the unsafe
playground behavior of young children" (note: first author, Elizabeth Linton unfortunately was not able to join us).

🎯 What You’ll Learn in This Episode:

• Playground Safety Statistics: The surprisingly high rates of injury during recess and why this matters.
• Behavior-Analytic Interventions: A review of previous ABA research focused on playground safety and injury prevention.
• Reinforcement vs. Time-Out: Pros, cons, and ethical considerations when using these strategies in natural environments.
• Study Design and Results: How the researchers implemented the intervention, what the data showed, and how students responded—both behaviorally and emotionally.
• Participant Choice & Social Validity: Insights into student preferences and recess enjoyment.
• Implications for Schools: How schools and practitioners can implement similar interventions and where the research should go next.

As you can see below, the intervention package was quite effective:

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📚 Resources & Research Mentioned:

• Linton, Gomes, and Donaldson (2025). Effects of differential reinforcement and time-out on the unsafe playground behavior of young children.
• Donaldson, et al. (2013). Effects of a reduced time-out interval on compliance with the time-out instruction.
• Chotto, Linton, and Donaldson (2024). Direct and indirect effects of and preferences for feedback during the Good Behavior Game in elementary classes.
• Heck, et al. (2001). Decreasing children's risk taking on the playground.
• Schwebel, et al. (2006). The Stamp-in-Safety Program: A Behavioral Intervention to Reduce Behaviors that Can Lead to Unintentional Playground Injury in a Preschool Setting.
• Peltier, et al. (2023). Effects of and preference for student- and teacher-implemented good behavior game in early elementary classes.

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