EDU 6657- Behavior Intervention Plan

A behavior intervention plan is the outcome of the FBA. The behavior intervention plan is tied to a specific student and specific behaviors. Carrying out this plan is how the support team intends on improving the student’s behavior. “Because an FBA focuses on causes of behavior that can be found in the context in which the behavior occurs, results of an FBA are used for developing interventions” (Scott, Anderson, & Spaulding, 2008).

Once an FBA is conducted and a behavior has been identified, the behavior support team can make a behavior plan to match the FBA. The goal, as we learned in class is to make the antecedent irrelevant, the behavior inefficient and the consequence ineffective. By doing this the student won’t want to engage in the negative behavior. The idea is to find an alternative behavior that is more socially acceptable for the student, but gets them the same consequence. Eventually, you hope to get the student to engage in the desired behavior.

Once the BIP has been developed and implemented it is imperative that data be taken at regular intervals to make sure the plan is working and to adjust the plan as it does work to get towards the desired behavior. “…data must be used to evaluate the success of instruction. When the data indicate success, the plan should stay in place (or be faded), and when the data indicate failure, the plan must be changed” (Scott, Anderson, & Spaulding, 2008). The BIP should be thought of as a fluid document that can be or should be changed based on the changing needs of the student. Just like an IEP is to academic success of a struggling student, a BIP is to behavioral success of a struggling student.

Scott, T. M., Anderson, C. M., & Spaulding, S. A. (2008). Strategies for developing and carrying out functional assessment and behavior intervention planning. Preventing school failure, 52, 39-49.

 

EDU 6657- Functional Behavior Assessments

If a child has a behavior that is so prevalent that it disturbs his learning and the learning of others on a regular basis, there needs to be an intervention. An FBA is the best way to approach a situation like this since it looks for the root of the problem, the “why?” to the students’ behavior.

“Functional Behavior assessment has advanced techniques to assess the motivating consequences and the antecedent conditions that set the occasion for many of these problematic behaviors” (Jensen, Olympia, Farley, & Clark, 2004). An FBA is a systemic way to approach a problem behavior situation. What is so great about this is that it is not complicated, it does take time, but it is something that anyone with some training can do. An FBA looks at the environment that the student is in and takes into account several factors, what is the antecedent, the behavior and the consequences? Basically what is the setting? What is the child doing? And what happens as a reaction to it? It is important to categorize these details in order to figure out the real reason or function of the behavior. This is important if you want your behavior plan to be successful.

We learned in class that once you have the function figured out you can move onto making the antecedent irrelevant, the behavior inefficient and the consequence ineffective. This will become your behavior plan.

Jensen, W.R., Olympia, D., Farley, M., & Clark, E. (2004). Positive psychology and externalizing students in a sea of negativity. Psychology in the Schools, 41(1), 67-79. Doi: 10.1002/pits.10139.

EDU 6657-Effective Classroom Design and Academic Instruction

Effective classroom design and academic instruction does improve behavior. It is likely that if a student is not engaged in a lesson, or does not have something given to them to complete, that they will engage in negative behavior. We, as teachers, need to come up with how will keep the students attention. According to what we learned in class there are five evidence based strategies for effective classroom management, which in turn will lower the negative behavior in a classroom. They are:

1. Make the most of your classroom space

2. Continually review and practice posted behavior expectations

3. Student should be actively engaged in class in a way that an observer would notice

4. Have a positive reinforcement system in place

5. Have a negative reinforcement or punishment system in place

By having these systems in place you help decrease the chance of problem behaviors in the classroom. These structures help keep students busy in a meaningful way. It also means that the teacher has in place a plan to try to redirect problem behaviors or give consequences for problem behaviors. This short list really gives classroom teachers a lot of tools.

According to the Article, Instructional Adaptation in the Management of Escape Maintained Behavior in a Classroom, “ Disruptive classroom behavior is a major factor contributing to teacher stress and discontent and significantly affects teachers’ capacity to maintain productive and orderly learning environment (Hawe, Tuck, Manthei, Adair, & Moore, 2000).” (Moore, Anderson, & Kumar, 2005). We can empower teachers with strategies to avoid having disruptive behavior, and using the above mentioned strategies is a great start to effective classroom management.

Moore, D. W., Anderson, A., & Kumar, K. (2005). Instructional adaptation in the management of escape-maintained behavior in a classroom. Journal of Positive Behavior Interventions, 7, 216-223.

 

EDU 6657 How can we improve behavior outcomes for students?

The first step in setting up a situation where students can be behaviorally successful is to have clear expectations. I think the School-Wide Positive Behavior Support s (SWPBS) system is an excellent program that sets students up for success and understands that there will be students at different behavior levels. SWPBS uses a tiered system. In class we learned that the idea is that most kids (about 80%) will fall in Tier 1. If the school has clear and easy to remember expectations that are practice and are routine. As well as positive reinforcement built in, most students will see success. There is also a tier 2 and 3. Tier 2 typically represents 10%-15% of the student body and tier 3 about 5%-10%. What makes SWPBS unique, I think, is that there is still a SWPBS plan for the tier 2 and 3 students. They do not just get thrown into a different program. The program is for everyone, it just may need to be adjusted according to the needs of those students. “Within an SWPBS framework, these evidence-based interventions are organized further into a continuum that first considers what all students require for behavior support and then sequences interventions into an array of increasingly specialized intensity to accommodate students whose behaviors are not responsive to a given intervention (Sugai and Horner, 2009, p.229).

Another way to improve behavior outcomes is to look at an Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) approach. In this approach there are four ways of explaining behavior. These are:

1. Escape- This is where students try to avoid a difficult task

2. Wants attention – This can be from peers or adults

3. Access to a Tangible-Which is seeking monetary or social reinforcements

4. Self-reinforcement- Giving self a reward, like you get to go for a walk if you do this

By using this approach and explaining why students are engaging in certain behaviors, the circumstances can be modified to get better behavior outcomes.

Sugai, G., & Horner, R. H. (2009). Responsiveness-to-intervention and school-wide positive behavior supports: Integration of multi-tiered system approaches. Exceptionality, 17, 223-237.