Functional Behavioral Analysis

School/Classroom Structure and Relevant Demographics

This semester my field placement for Positive Behavior Support Systems, is in a middle

school in Jersey. This school, Middle School, caters to 6th, 7th, and 8th grade students in an

urban area. According to online school-specific information, the school has about 1,148 students,

41.1% White, 36.9% African American, and 20.2% Hispanic (school website). Many of the

students (66.1%) receive free or reduced lunch. They also have a breakfast program that is for

any students who qualify for it.

Doors open at 8:15am and the school day goes from 8:34 am until 3:10 pm. The students

have 9 periods throughout the day with class ranging from 36 minutes long to a double period of

an hour and 20 minutes but overall students spend roughly 6 and a half hours at school per day.

The students switch classes for various subjects including Math, Language Arts, Social Studies,

and Science. This school has many resource and special education classes. According to my

cooperating teacher, Ms. My, some have expressed concern that there are too many students in

special education classes. The school also reportedly has a high absentee rate. Consequently,

there are various rules and regulations put in place to make students and caregivers more

responsible for absences, with unexcused absence accumulation resulting in inability to

participate in certain school functions or activities.

As a school-wide reward system, they have a ZAPs program. This program rewards

students for positive behavior by giving them a ZAP when positive behaviors are witnessed.

Positive behaviors including but are not limited to respect, responsibility, safety and being a

good leaner. A staff or faculty member will sign a small sheet of paper and hand it to the

student. As the students collect these ZAPs they can use them within the school store or for ice

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cream parties. For more information about what can be bought at the school store, refer to the

attached Zap store menu. This system is actually adapted into my teacher’s classroom as well, as

she has a classroom store that takes ZAPs but only ones that students have gotten from her or in

her classroom. A behavior support that this school has is Effective School Solutions (ESS). This

involves an outside counselor who holds both group and individual therapy sessions for students

within the school. This provides extra support to the students and teachers as well.

For this placement, I have been assigned to observe in a resource room. Within this

classroom I work with my cooperating teacher, Ms. M., who has been teaching for a little over

eight years. She has been at Lake for approximately four of those years. Her previous experience

teaching was in a self-contained low level functioning autism classroom with students of the

same age as she is working with now. She went to Rowan and graduated with a degree in

Psychology. She went through an alternate route to get her teaching degree from an online

program at NJCU online. Before teaching, she worked with a grant in a preschool that involved

early intervention. She is also a special education testing team member. I have witnessed

professional development video training in terms of academic training. For math, Ms. goes to

another classroom of roughly 20 students and serves as a co-teacher with Mr. P, a Rowan

University graduate and another support staff member. In her classroom, for the time I am there,

she is the head resource teacher but also has Mr. R, a paraprofessional, providing extra support to

the students within her classroom. She has worked with Mr. R for several years. Mr. R has

described himself as a mover, which he further explained as moving from school to school

before working at Lakeview. He has worked in and visited about 500 schools. During my time in

field, he is often in and out of the classroom and does not seem to stay for long periods of time.

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 Within Ms. M’s resource room, during the students’ LAL class, there are seven students

in total, five boys and two girls. All of these students have IEPs and although the disabilities

vary, many are classified as having Multiple Disabilities. The number of students changes with

every period as different student require support in varying subjects. The students fluctuate in

age and grade level but most are in the 6th grade, between 12 and 13. The lead teacher states that

a lot of her students live in foster care or single parent, low income families. In general Ms. M

uses a range of accommodations to support the needs of diverse learners. These include extra

time, modified work to meet academic needs, reading questions aloud to students, and on the

spot coaching when necessary.

In regards to the room itself, it is relatively smaller due to its smaller class sizes as

compared to other classrooms. Ms. M works with Scope and Read 180 in Language Arts, Big

Ideas in Math, World Histories Studies Weekly in social studies, and Fusions in Science. Ms. M

also teaches a class in social skills to provide development in this area of her students as well.

Ms. M states that she has noticed that the curriculum used in the school is higher than any special

education student could handle so she does a lot of modifying and curriculum planning. When

looking around the class one will note desks grouped together, a back table with chairs, two desk

top computers, IPads, Mini Mac books, a Smart Board, a dry erase board and shelving or storage

that is both accessible and inaccessible to students. Ms. M’s desk is the first thing seen upon

entering the room and is pushed up against the wall so that when she sits at her desk her back is

to the rest of the classroom. The room is very print rich and includes visuals and various tools for

the students to use throughout the day. Below is a sketch of how this classroom is arranged. M

does not have an assigned seat in Ms. M’s classroom. In fact, they work in centers and move

around.

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 Below is the daily schedule of the class and for my cooperating teacher. Math instruction

involves mostly whole group instruction in a larger class size. Language arts takes place in the

resource room with a smaller class size broken into groups. The varying groups are Next

Generation (a computer reading program), Ebooks (use IPads to read books), guided reading

group, and individual reading. Despite being in groups, students are usually working on

independent tasks. Life skills is a period in which the students learn skills that are important to be

successful in the 21st century. I have not been able to observe during Science or Social Studies

but know that the Fusions curriculum is used for Science. PLC is planning time for the teacher.

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 As stated earlier, my cooperating teacher involves the school-wide ZAPs reward system

in her classroom. Ms. M has a ZAP store of her own within her classroom. If the students get a

ZAP for doing well in her class, then they can use those ZAPs for Ms. M’s classroom store. She

also uses other strategies to manage behavior that both includes and does not include the reward

system. On the bulletin board in the classroom she keeps a chart called the good manners chart.

Any time a student displays good manners, she will add a tally mark to the paper. Once the class

reaching 30 tally marks they receive a reward. This reward can include: She uses self-monitoring

on a tier 3 level, consistently used across all school periods, with some students as well. She has

a worksheet that she gives students with particular behaviors on it and as they go through their

day to various classes, they must record their behaviors and have a teacher sign off on it. If they

do well in all class, then at the end of the day they can bring it to Ms. M and get a ZAP. If they

do not, they have to explain what happened to Ms. M. Finally, Ms. M also uses a strategy to

develop pride and motivation to do well on class work. If students receive between a 90 and 100

on classwork, she will hang it up. It has been observed as effective as several students have been

heard asking what they have to score to get their work displayed in the classroom.

Background Information on Target Student

My target student, M, is a 12-year-old male in 6th grade. He reportedly lives in Millville

with his mother and possibly her boyfriend. He has an older brother. In terms of strengths, M

really enjoys sports. He plays baseball and playing the drums for the school band. Based on

information gathered through teacher interview, M likes snack foods such as chips and baked

goods, enjoys video games, technology, and television, and is involved in tech club after school.

My cooperating teacher informed me that she has an upcoming IEP meeting with M’s

mother involved in this process and is concerned that her son exhibits unusual behavior.

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Student’s current IEP states ADHD and generalized anxiety. Ms. M has stated that the student

consistently displays anxious behaviors in addition to paranoia. For example, on February 10th

M walked into homeroom breathing heavily, saying he thought I was a substitute and he could

feel his heart pounding. He said he feel like he was going to have a panic attack. In another

instance, a substitute was filling in for Ms. M and he was flipping through papers in quicken

manner, looking around the room and speaking quickly, in a higher pitched tone than usual.

Student M is in resource rooms for every subject. Academically, the student is performing at a B

grade level in all of his subjects, however Ms. M expressed that he has been having difficulty in

gym class. M shows strength and confidence in his math abilities. He can be observed

participating and giving correct answers in addition to attempting to help his peers. His

Language Arts and Literacy skills are in need of improvement. His writing and grammar abilities

need more support and his problem solving abilities in regard to this subject are low. He also

typically exhibits a lack of motivation to read. According to formal teacher interview, M is

allowed to choose the book he reads for individual reading. Ms. M stated that his homework is

rarely completed and feels that this is the biggest reasons he loses points in his classes.

This student is quite social with peers and adults alike. He enjoys telling stories and

talking to others. He has been over heard making jokes and discussing video games with his

peers, holding the conversation for an extended period of time. He will often make comments out

loud and wait for someone to respond in order to start a conversation rather than initiate. Thus

far, adult conversations have seemed to be positive. He has a good relationship with Ms. M,

displaying clear signs of comfort in conversation with her. M has been observed several times

starting conversations with Ms. M, telling her about what he had done over the weekend or what

he does outside of school.

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 There have been observed episodes of a more negative nature with both peers and adults.

For example, when he calls out during group instruction, other students have been heard telling

him to shut up and complaining about his constant talking. According to Ms. M this student often

has trouble following directions but her concerns for him are more behavioral. This student has

been written up for instigating, verbal disrespect to both peers, and adults and noncompliance.

Other common behaviors noted were change-induced panic and disorganization. For example,

when the teacher left the room for a meeting, the student took in a sharp inhale of breath and his

eyes widened. Student began moving back and forth in his chair, asking many questions back to

back. When opening his binder, papers often fall out and he often takes about 2 minutes to find

something. Although my student-teacher observations suggest things are positive, my

cooperating teacher reports there have been elevated instances of verbal disrespect towards

teachers (usually in classes other than hers). She has been working with the student to lessen

these instances and reinforce positive behavior. She does this by using what is called a check in,

check out points (form attached). It is positive that the student has shown an interest and

motivation to lessen his maladaptive behaviors in recent weeks (since she has been doing this in

March of 2017). He has been seen showing Ms. M how well he did in certain situations and how

his behavior was good in certain classes.

Target Behavior

For the purpose of this Functional Behavior Assessment, the target behavior, is calling

out during instruction. Data are collected when calling out is both on task (relevant to the topic

being discussed) and off task.

Observation Techniques

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 From February 2017 to April 2017, I observed and collected data on M over the course of

twenty hours (eight days total). I usually observed on Fridays between 8:15 and 12:15. This

report includes anecdotal notes, running records, four-six Antecedent Behavior Consequence

(ABC) charts all focused on the same target behavior, two Functional Assessment Screening

Tool (fast) forms (separately completed by myself and Ms. M), 1 interval recording, 2 weekly

scatter plots, informal teacher interview with my own devised questions, formal interview with

the student’s teacher, and a reinforcement inventory with M. All Materials will be included in

attached PDF file.

Baseline Performance

Analysis of collected data provide insight into baseline performance of M. Through the

two scatter plots completed by Ms. M during Math and Language Arts, it is more apparent that

the behavior, occurs in Math more than it does in Language Arts. It is important to note that in

Math the calling out is more on task than it is off task, whereas in Language Arts it is more off

task. These scatter plots were recorded over the course of Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday,

with the same teachers each day. No pattern was apparent across the three weekdays; however, it

is important to note that in Math on Wednesday they did practice tests for the PARCC so

instruction was different than usual and the calling out was less frequent but more off task. Math

is also more whole instruction based whereas Language Arts instruction takes place in small

group and individual work. According to the formal teacher interview, Ms. M states that a

problematic activity for M is whole group activities, which directly supports what was recorded

in the scatter plot as a pattern noted in the behavior during the Math period.

Anecdotal notes taken during Math, 9:25am to 10:41am, show a pattern of the calling out

behavior when the student requires the attention of the teacher. Several of the instances involved

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the student calling out to ask a question or to answer a question asked by the teacher. With that

said, there is also a lack of consistent response to the behavior. For example, on the 31st of March

at 10:21am, M called out to answer a question and Ms. M immediately responded with a verbal

reprimand, followed by a verbal reprimand from Mr. P. Directly following this instance at

10:22am M called out an answer that was correct and Mr. P praised him for calling out the right

answer. Math also revealed a pattern of instances in which M raised his hand but then lowered it,

and then raised it again, only to get no response or to put his hand down without sharing. For

example, on March 24rd, there were three times at which M raised his hand to give a response.

These notes illustrated that all of the instance of calling out that were met with a negative peer

reaction take place in Math and connected to an instigation from M. For example, ABC chart 1

shows an instance in which M calls out to a peer as “NO!” twice whom rolls their eyes and the

teacher immediately responded by walking over to the students and speaking with them. Low

tones prevented me from hearing exactly how the situation was handled.

On page 5 of the attached notes (page number can be found on bottom left hand corner of

written notes), I recorded the frequency of the calling out within two different types of

instruction and with two separate instructors. During large group instruction which lasted

between 9:30am and 9:35am, M called out twice, once was on task and once was off task. Then

the class was broken into two small groups, one with Ms. M and one with Mr. P. Ms. M group

was reviewing homework problems and Mr. P’s group was reviewing lesson content. When M

was with Ms. M he called out three times, each time calling out over a responding classmate and

receiving and immediate verbal reprimand. When the students switched groups, M moved to Mr.

P’s group and called out eight times, seven on task in response to question or asking one, and one

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off task. The change in teacher and response to the student showed an inconsistent environment

with a lack of clear expectations on calling out.

Language Arts calling out behaviors suggested different patterns. After filling out a

FAST form for M’s calling out behavior in Language Arts, there was evidence that the function

of this behavior during this period was escape. Even further Anecdotal notes taken on March 31st

on page 17 recorded several instances of M calling out, or talking aloud to himself to escape

doing work. On April 25th, when he was working on Read 180, a computer program used in

class, he called out to the paraprofessional, starting a conversation about how old he was and not

only distracting himself but his peers as well (this can be found on page 20 of notes attached).

Running record taken on March 9th during independent reading time called out twice, once in an

attempt to ask if they were done reading and if he could move on to a new center.

Function and Hypothesis Statement

Based on the aforementioned data collection, the function of this student’s target

behavior in Math is attention and in Language Arts is escape. When the student has an answer, a

question, or wants to share thoughts or ideas, the student will call out either on task or off task

information. Ms. M typically responds with redirection and verbal reprimands. Mr. P usually

responds with verbal reprimands or praise (if M calls out on topic with correct answer teacher

sometimes will praise him). The aides in the room typically respond with off task conversation or

verbal reprimands.

Behavioral Intervention Plan

Target Behavior

Target behavior, in positive terms, is the student waiting to be called on before verbally

communicating relevant on task thoughts and ideas during instruction.

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Behavior Objectives

During academic instruction, M will share relevant, on task comments by raising his hand

and first waiting to be called on 50 percent of the time.

During Language Arts small groups, M will request breaks when needed at least one time

per period.

Rationale for Focusing on this Target Behavior

This particular behavior is the focus of this functional behavioral analysis because it

presents a concern of potential negative influence on M’s overall quality of academic and social

life. If M continues to call out to the degree that he does now, there are several possible

consequences that could become apparent. The student’s calling out often results in conflict with

his peers. It has been observed that the other students will respond to M’s calling out with verbal

disrespect, which usually instigates a reaction from M. Peers have been heard saying “Alright!

We know M! shut up!” M also, at times, uses calling out in an attempt to get the attention of his

peers and initiate social conversation. When this is done during instruction or individual work, it

causes a distraction for his teacher, his peers, and himself. When calling out, his focus becomes

the conversation or calling out the correct answer to the question, which does not invite positive

response from adults or peers within the classroom. Ms. M has reported that he has been

completing less of his classwork and homework, often distracting himself. Overall, there is a

concern for his academics and social relationships, as his calling out generates a problem in both

areas of his life. Replacing this target behavior with more effective attention getting behaviors

will help M’s quality of life.

Prevention/ Intervention Strategies

TIER 1 Considerations

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 On the Tier 1 universal level there are a few intervention strategies that would lessen the

frequency of the target behavior. The following interventions can be applied across all of M’s

classes but for the purpose of this behavior intervention plan, the focus will be on Math and

Language Arts. The first strategy to be executed would address environment. At the current time,

M sits in the back of the room in Math, where they have assigned seating. Proximity to the

teacher in the form of having the co-teacher (in this case Ms. M) move around the room rather

than stay at the front. This would allow students in the back of the room to be closer to teacher

attention. Throughout instruction, the co-teacher should make the effort to walk around the room

to provide students in the back with proximity. In Language Arts, whenever possible, Ms. M

should ask the paraprofessional in her room to situate himself in the back of the room in order to

be close to students in the back while she is working with a group in the front. She should also

ask the paraprofessional be more consistent in his presence as currently he is frequently in and

out of the room throughout the period.

Another strategy to be implemented would be rearrangement scheduling. Though this

was seen twice in the math setting, it has not been used with fidelity. Instead of having a math

class that runs from whole group instruction to individual practice, split the class into three

groups, one using the mathematical computer video game, one group reviewing homework and

one group learning new concepts. Therefore, I would recommend implementing this at least two

days out of the week if possible, as it has been noted that M works better in small groups in

which he works with peers. In Language Arts, Ms. M should attempt to make at least one center

a center in which students work in pairs. At the current time, students are put into small groups

but the tasks to be completed are independent. Allowing students to work in pairs, provides

opportunity to work together and could spur motivation to complete tasks.

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 A huge pattern noted in baseline performance was an inconsistency in teacher response to

the target behavior. Being that Ms. M is M’s Language Arts teacher and is in his Math resource

room with Mr. P, there should be a consistent expectation regarding calling out taught. Teachers

for both classes should clearly communicate to both classes that calling out is not an appropriate

way to try to get attention. The expectation should state, “If I have something to share I will raise

my hand and wait until I am called on. If I am not called on, I should write my question down

and ask at a later time.” In implementing this across both classrooms consistently, students will

have a better understanding of the expectations regarding this behavior, rather than being

inconsistently reprimanded.

Teachers should also use a common tone, a strategy that builds off of expectation setting.

When addressing calling out behavior, teachers should remain calm and avoid embarrassing or

making a joke of the situation. Teacher tone should be calm and collected, and should simply

remind students of the expectations regarding the behavior. Language should sound similar to,

“student, I am glad you are so excited to share however, I would like to remind you that I cannot

call on you if you do not raise your hand. Please give your friends a chance to answer the

questions. Thank you.” This language works well to highlight the last universal strategy to be

implemented which would be task specific praise. Due to the function being attention, it would

beneficial to use task specific praise. This will give students positive attention while boosting

self-esteem and motivation. In using task specific praise, the teacher needs to praise students for

a specific task done to reinforce occurrence. This would sound like this, “I really like the way M

raised his hand and waited to be called on when I asked the question. M, will you share your

answer please.”

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 Lastly, in the Language Arts classroom, warning time can be put in place to help the

students be aware of the time left in each center. Providing warning time could lessen the

frequency of calling out and asking when the students will be switching centers. Warning time

should be implemented in the form of a visible and auditory timer. Students should be able to

both see the time ticking down and hear a noise when it is time to switch to the next task. This

can aide in transitions, as they will be less abrupt and will provide a consistent and predictable

environment for students. Students will also build time management skills as they will be able to

see how much time they have left to complete the task they are working on.

There are two strategies that are currently used within these two classrooms that are

beneficial. Breaking into groups with math allows for some small group work and breaks up

direct instruction and practice that the class usually consists. I do think that it should be

implemented more frequently as noted above. In addition to that, in Math, students have an

online math video game that they can play if they have completed the work for the day. The

students really enjoy playing this game. It has also been used as a reinforcer to motivate students

to stay on task and follow directions. If they do well during whole group instruction, then he

allows them to take the last fifteen to twenty minutes to work on this online video game. There

are some aspects of Languages Arts in which students are allowed to choose. They can pick the

book they want to read and sometimes the activity. This is useful in keeping students engaged in

instruction and should be continue. Lastly, I think that their ZAP school wide program makes a

difference in the school. The students receive ZAP when they doing something well but can

never expect to get one. Overall, it seems to work with a majority of the students within the

room, as they get to use these ZAPs to buy things from the school store.

TIER 2/TIER 3 Interventions

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 Tier two and three interventions would involve several strategies specifically tailored to

M, to teach replacement skills for the functions his current target behavior is addressing. The

first intervention would have M using a visual cueing system and chart. At the top of the

student’s chart, there would be two pictures. One picture would be of a student raising their hand

and the other would be of a pencil writing on a piece of paper. This visual representation would

remind him of the two ways in which he can answer a question or share a thought. Writing his

thoughts and ideas chart would be useful in that he would be able to write anything he would like

to share but does not get the chance too. If he fills in this chart at any time during math

instruction, he will place the chart in the top right corner of his desk to signal to Ms. M that he

has added something. Ms. M should address the chart, read what he has written and star it off. It

is also good for helping address any questions he may have that he does not get the chance to ask

out loud. (an example of visuals and chart are provided in the supplemental materials). If he

receives 10 stars by the end of the week, he will receive a ZAP. This will reinforce raising hand

or writing down off task comments rather than calling them out during instruction.

For Language Arts, several different strategies will be implemented to address the

behavior function of escape. It has been noted in the teacher interview, that M has the

opportunity to choose break times, but I have never seen this enforced or a system in place,

therefore, my first strategy consists of having three break cards. When M feels as though he

needs a break during small group centers, he will walk one of the cards up to Ms. M and hand it

to her. She, in turn, will hand him a timer for a 5-minute break. M will get to sit at a desk in the

front of the room and take his 5-minute break. This break will include various activities that he

can choose from to spend the 5-minutes working with. These activities will be predetermined by

Ms. M and M. Once the timer rings he will hand it back in and walk back to the center he was in

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to complete the work. Ms. M should note when he takes a break and how many of the breaks he

takes. Throughout this Language Arts period, M will also have his sharing thoughts and ideas

chart with him for use. Though he does not have an assigned seat in Language Arts, he can

signal Ms. M or the paraprofessional Mr. R by placing it on the corner of the table where he is

working. If he receives 10 stars by the end of the week, he will receive a ZAP.

Across both subjects, M will have a self-monitoring chart that will contain aspects and

skills that are being taught to use. (example of chart attached) It would be completed by M on

Friday and be briefly discussed with Ms. M during homeroom on Monday morning. This chart

would be a way for M to rate his performance from the whole week. He will be able to look over

the stars he has received, the breaks he has taken, and what was accomplished over the week.

Discussion with Ms. M will review the chart he has completed and data she has collected. She

will ask him about what he feels his strengths and weakness are, and what he will aim to do

better the next week. If his self-monitoring chart and discussion with Ms. M go well, Ms. M will

sign off on his chart. When M gets 4 charts signed off on, he will have time during which he will

be allowed to play educational but interactive video games on the IPads within the classroom or

ZAPs. This self-monitoring will reinforce reflection on raising hand or writing off task

comments down, while also teaching him to take appropriate breaks during small group center

work. It also allows for other forms of escape in the reinforcer while also ensuring that the

student is completing work and making progress.

Consider Functional Alternatives

Instead of calling out during Math instruction, student will be taught to raise his hand,

write down his thoughts in a journal, and self monitor his response methods to get his desire for

attention met in an appropriate way. Instead of calling out during independent small group work

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in Language Arts, student will be taught to choose three 5 minute breaks and self-monitor to get

his desire for escape met in an appropriate way.

Reinforcement Schedule

In terms of reinforcement schedule, M will be receiving reinforcers at fixed intervals. For

his thoughts and ideas chart, across both subjects, if he receives 10 stars he will receive a ZAP. If

he receives 10 in one period but not in the other period, he will only get one. If he accomplishes

it in both, then he will receive two ZAPs. When M gets 4 charts signed off on, he will have time

where he is allowed to play educational but interactive video games on the IPads within the

classroom or one ZAP. The above reinforcers were chosen based on student interest. M really

enjoys playing video games, as he can be heard talking about them constantly and has even been

observed attempting to play them during Language Art small group centers. ZAPs were chosen

because M has been observed repetitively counting how many ZAPs he has and how many more

he needs. Reinforcers will also be added to the ZAP menu so that he can have more options to

use his ZAPs for. Lunch with Ms. M (needs 3 ZAPs), Couch working (needs 5 ZAPs) (he would

be allowed to work in the hall on the couches outside of the room under supervision of a

teacher), and fidget toys (needs 10 ZAPs). Fidget toys, however, would have rules. They can

only be used for the period he is in Ms. M’s and Math and if it becomes too much of a distraction

or used as a weapon, it will be taken back. These ZAP menu options would also only be offered

based on ZAPs received through using the intervention strategies.

Rationale for Intervention

The proposed intervention is the best option at this point because it will teach M

functional alternatives for meeting his desires for attention and escape. It provides more selective

and targeted support, individualized to M in order to better his overall quality of life and success

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in school. Based on observation M is constantly attempting to get teacher attention during Math.

As indicated in the weekly scatter plot, many of the calling out instances were on task, meaning

they were relevant to the conversation during instruction. Giving him a way to share this

information through his chart would allow him to share this information in a manner that limits

calling out. Having the teacher sign it reinforces his desire for attention but through a method

that is more adaptive to the situation. The visual cueing is a good match for M as he has been

frequently attempting to raise his hand, only to put his hand back down again and call out. This

visual cue serves as a reminder for M that he can either raise his hand or write it down. This

discourages calling out by giving his two other ways in which he can share information.

The break cards implemented in Language arts were implemented to provide M with the

opportunity to escape for about 5 minutes before coming back to the task. Most of the calling out

during language arts, according to the weekly scatter plot was off task. Through observation and

running record, it was clear that M called out when he was working in these groups and often

was attempting to escape the work. In giving him a way to escape for a short period of time he

would be able to have that desire met while also going back to complete work. For example, on

page 10 running record and page 17 has notes based on observation that should the student

calling out to Ms. M when he is supposed to be working, in addition to calling out to peers. In

using his thoughts and ideas chart would counter the common pattern of calling out to escape

work.

This intervention also works to involve M in the process of learning these alternative

skills. Monitoring himself addresses a key component in implementing an intervention that is

person centered. Research conducted by Donald E. Briere III and Brandi Simonsen, suggests that

self-monitoring is an effective strategy for at risk middle school students (2011). Their study

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looked at two middle school age students who were “at-risk” and presented with off task

behaviors. The results of their study showed that when a self-monitoring system was

implemented that coincided with the function of their behavior, the off-task behavior happened a

less frequently. (Briere, D. Simonsen, B., 2011). This self-monitoring implemented into my

intervention will attempt to work similarly in that he will be self-monitoring his behaviors in

order to become more aware of the behavior and reinforce the use of alternative behaviors, thus

looking for less occurrence of the target behavior.

Possible Modifications to Interventions

Implementation for the mentioned intervention may need several modifications as it is

put into use with M. One consideration would be possible hesitation in having these charts while

other students do not have them. In middle school social influence plays a huge role in behavior

and attitude. Therefore, consideration for possible student isolation or embarrassment should be

made in the way this plan is implemented. Possible modification would be finding a way to have

it involve technology of some sort. Though this is not possible at the current time as the

computers for student use do not always work, if situation changes modification can address this.

Another consideration is involving the student in adding to the ZAP menu (what he can buy with

ZAPs) based on the week he is working towards it.

Due to past experience with implementation of the check in and check out points chart M

has had, I would consider how intervention can change as he progresses and how to insure

fidelity continues. I could see having to modify the planning aspects to include M more and keep

him motivated and engaged. The check in and check out point chart has fallen into disuse and he

has not been progressing as projected. Therefore, with these interventions I would ensure to

consider this in advance. For the break card implementation, I would enforce a rule that cards

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cannot be used back to back and M can only use one per small group center he is in. These

modifications may be necessary to make sure that M is not taking advantage of the break cards.

Evaluation Considerations

Evaluation would be in the form of self-monitoring and teacher-student conferencing that

takes place at the end of every week. M’s effective use of his three break cards, and frequency of

his hand raising while waiting to be called on and writing on his thoughts and ideas charts will be

evaluated. The key players in this evaluation would be M, Ms. M and when necessary Mr. P and

Mr. R.

Recommendations for Student’s Future

I recommend the continual use of this proposed intervention for as long as it is socially

relevant and academically beneficial to M. Constant monitoring should take place to account for

any adjustment that may be needed over time. If this intervention is successful I would

recommend also working in an at home element. As M has not been completing homework, this

can be added to the self-monitoring chart he fills out. It can also add an aspect in which both

parent and teacher sign off on assignment planner to ensure homework gets completed. Thinking

forward, it is also my recommendation that some of the other behaviors that have become a

problem are addressed. Patterns of verbal disrespect to peers and adults, and noncompliance can

have a negative effect on M’s overall success in school and quality of life. Over the summer

months, it could be suggested that these other behaviors be monitored and recorded by his

mother. It can also include the equivalent of a sticker chart in which he is rewarded for days

when these instances do not happen and work his way up to various summer activities. In the

next school year consistent expectations should continue. In conclusion, focus on the target

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behavior and teaching alternative behaviors will benefit M’s overall success in school and in his

future.

References

Briere, D., & Simonsen, B. (2011). Self-Monitoring Interventions for At-Risk Middle School

Students: The Importance of Considering Function. Behavioral Disorders, 36(2), 129-

140. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org.ezproxy.rowan.edu/stable/43153530

School Website. (n.d.). Retrieved March 10, 2017, from

https://www.schooldigger.com/go/NJ/schools/1032000271/school.aspx

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