The Process, Strategy, Principles, and Methods of Guiding and Assisting the Child in Learning - Research Paper Example

Brian, a 12 year boy, has proficient verbal skills. He likes sharing about his home and family. He has several pets at home and always narrates stories about pets to his peers and teachers. He cares a lot about animals and spends much of his time taking care of pets at his home. He always says he wants to be an engineer when he grows up. His parents have been following up his progress in school. However, Bran has trouble understanding the same content as his classmates at his level. He is more than willing to be read to by his mother or father and interested in doing oral tests and filling worksheets. At some point, Brian has difficulties in interpreting academic instructions more particularly in absence of an adult help. When presented with academic instructions or exams, Brian would progressively become angry, uneasy, breaking down and crying profusely. In order to help Brian deal with these problems, the following behaviour intervention plan was designed. For a period of two weeks, Brian will be required to have a full time company of an adult helper while in class who will help him read questions whenever he is unable to read or finds it difficult. The adult will leave at a scheduled three time period every hour. Each break will last utmost 3 minutes in duration. It is expected that during this period, Brian will most likely face individual reading exam and would either get angry or cry uncontrollably causing a halt in exam administration. In addition, he may fail to complete his exam. The behavioural plan designed is aimed at teaching him the essence of self-control in his conduct while dealing stressful situations in school and life after. During the interaction session, he will be taught how to manage his behaviour. In this regard, on the event he faces difficulty and senses a feeling of anger he will be required to stop whatever he does and raise up his hand for a short break. This would then be followed by a support schedule that would be given consistently and then slowly withdrawn. This is important in instilling in him the expected end behaviour without necessarily using reinforcement. After numerous weeks of implementing the intervention plan, it was found that on average the difficulties experienced in reading reduced considerably. However, some traces of anger would still be witnessed for example Brian would occasionally be noticed frowning during or after the exam or a reading session in class. If this recommended plan is continued, the end result would be desirable. Introduction Target behaviour Brian, a third grade student, is a normal student like others except that he has difficulties in reading and working out questions by himself. This behaviour normally begins some few minutes after the start of examination session and worsens as it nears the end. The tension first rises then followed by a show of frustration and anger and eventual loud cry sobbing uncontrollably. The crying can last for a period of between 5 and 10 minutes and always happens whenever examinations are administered across all subjects. Hypothesis It is hypothesized from his behaviour that Brian engages in crying when he fails to recall what was taught in class prior to exam administration. He therefore thinks the exam given is too difficult and meant to frustrate him. He engages in crying as a means of letting off stress and as a show of frustration on the teachers. This behaviour is normally caused by inadequate preparation and excessive parental expectation. At the beginning of every examination, he actually needs the presence of one of the parents or an equivalent helper whose work is to acknowledge every simple step he makes in doing the exam. Rationale In order to assist Brian to do his work independently and deal adequately with his unworthy behaviour, there is a need to design and teach him necessary tools required to enhance self-control. His behaviour of crying whenever he fails to memorize what was earlier taught in class can effectively be minimized by teaching himself management strategies. This was done through constant encouragements of parents and teachers where he effectively incorporated in all facets of life. “Self-management strategies when instilled in students offer them an opportunity to incorporate necessary skills needed to normalize their learning and manners through a combination of diverse strategies such as self-monitoring, individual evaluation and reinforcement (Westcott, 65)”. It is important to note from Brian’s behaviour of gradual disappointment that he was aware of what was causing the frustration, that is, high parental expectation coupled with his inability to recall what was taught in class. However, he did not know how to prevent anger from reaching extreme points. In order to assist Brian the Stop-Plot-Go strategy was implemented. The strategy is based on a self-management approach. It stresses on the need for students to take the initiative and rethink about their character while offering a means to control undesirable behaviours. It enables students like Brian, to understand the causes of the problem, the best way to solve it and evaluate how well the implemented plan worked. To achieve this goal, several behaviours that Brian fights with in exam situation will be modelled after which it will be utilized in determining the next course of plan. An evaluation form will then be drafted in order to understand the genesis and outcome of his character. This aids in offering an opportunity for better management of his behaviour as well as get a comprehensive evaluation of its result. In addition, a daily self-evaluation sheet will be developed. This will allow him follow up his behaviour during different exam sessions. From this sheet, Brian will ask himself questions on the ways and manner in which he employed different strategies to overcome tension and negative behaviour. As mentioned earlier, a number of strategies were employed to ensure a complete overhaul of his behaviour. One of the most successful strategies that will be employed is the use of specific praise which incorporates verbal statements and gestures. This can be done through approval of desired behaviour for instance by nodding as a sign of acceptance to what he does. This has to be should be done on a specific behaviour and must not be used as a general praise. The praise should be something like, “I can see you are doing great in your paper”. However, it should not be something like “Good” because such praise is too general since it does not state the reason for the praise. “Through praise, a student tends to increase the repetition of an on-task behaviour” (Flannels, 57). Brian will be granted praise whenever he is able to complete doing an exam without getting irritated on the way or showing signs of crying. He will also be reinforced in an event he uses the behaviour management tools taught well in controlling his behaviour. This will encourage him to use desired behaviours more often. Techniques As discussed earlier in this plan, the STOP-PLOT-GO-SO strategy is a self-management tool which is meant to guide a child on what to do in case whenever they are frustrated by external forces. It is also a self-assessment strategy that is used to evaluate the nature of their response to a given situation. Prior to implementation of the above mentioned strategy, there was a need to hear from Brian about the cause of frustration or anger whenever an exam is administered. It was evident from the discussion with Brian that, whenever he failed to remember the content taught, or failed to read, or perform up to the expectations of his parents, he felt irritated and short changed. The feelings associated with the situation would gradually grow to a level beyond his ability to control or withstand and would eventually find him crying out of anger. When asked about the implication of crying in class and causing undue attention in school, Brian mentioned that he was aware but added that after every cry he felt a sigh of relief upon his body. To this end, it was necessary to teach him a strategy that would aid or help her manage, record and evaluate anger as it occurs over a period of time. This was easily accepted by Brian and a discussion of the strategy and the component of its plan were conducted in his presence. During the discussion, the STOP portions of the STOP-PLOT-GO-SO strategy was adequately addressed where Brian was advised that whenever he felt irritated he had to stop everything he had in progress gaze onto the ceiling and ask himself what the problem may be. Having understood this portion well, there was a need to discuss the PLOT Portion of the strategy. In this regard, the discussion was centred on ways he could use more effectively to enhance his memory and complete the examination on time before getting irritated. On this, Brian was advised on time management. Three aspects of the PLOT portion were covered. First, parents were asked to set realistic goals for Brian as this was considered the cause of heightened tension and frustration. Secondly, Brian was advised to skip questions he had difficulties in working on them and concentrate on the simple ones first. Thirdly, if he felt increased tension or frustrations, he had to seek the presence of a helper. An assessment sheet would be used on the GO portion of the strategy. The correct of the strategy would be taught and subsequently implemented. The evaluation part of the strategy, SO portion, was conducted. This was meant to understand how the strategy worked and identify areas that required further improvement. Data collection was conducted based on the frequency of frustrations when examinations were administered. The time the frustrations lasted was also recorded for each frustration occurrence. One week, during the examination period, prior to the implementation of the strategy data about Brian’s conduct was collected based on the number of times he was sported to have cried and the events before. The duration of each occurrence was also recorded. In the succeeding week, the STOP-PLOT-GO-SO strategy was implemented. It was concurrently conducted one on one with self-management and praise (positive reinforcement). It is vital to note that each instant of behaviour demonstrated by Brian during the implementation week was recorded. This data was to be compared to the data he individually indicated that he had personally tried the use of the STOP-PLOT-GO-SO strategy. Each time he used the STOP-PLOT-GO-SO strategy well, Brian would be reinforced so long as the target behaviour was achieved. Self-assessment was carried out by the victim himself through self-evaluation and awarding of marks by checking. Specific praise would also be offered if it was confirmed beyond reasonable doubt that he followed the requirements of the strategy. Throughout the assessment week, Brian’s behaviour improved to a point where the duration of inappropriate behaviour was negligible. Every time an improvement was noted, reinforcement followed. The type of reinforcement was varied in order to achieve the desired result. For instance, a series of verbal praise was interchanged with gifts. This worked so well since he did not anticipate the type of reinforcement he would get next. Since parental expectations were the root cause of the undesirable character, parents were involved. Occasionally, both parents would be called and advised on how the problem would best be dealt. Through their cooperation, parents would give their child reinforcement for the positive behaviour. This helped to ease tension between him and his parents thereby helped to stop exuding the fear of expectations. At some point the parents and their kid would be interviewed in one sitting. The consistency of reinforcement was gradually minimized by increasing the spacing between intervals of reinforcements. A reinforcement chart was created based on data collected over the entire period. The chart was as shown below: Reward offered Marks scored on score card 5 minutes play time in the field 1 10 minutes computer game 2 15 minutes play on computer game 3 15 minutes break away from class and shopping 4 20 minutes ride around the compound 5 20 minutes free choice of activity he wants to engage in 6 15 minutes interaction with parents and teachers 7 20 minute drive for lunch in the company of a teacher of her choice 8 Lunch and dinner 9 30 minutes break away from class to attend to his favourite pets, smart lunch and dinner 10 Methods Objective In an event where Brian felt irritated by the type of questions he was advised to do either of the following activities skip questions he had difficulties in working on them and concentrate on the simple ones first or ask for a helper. In this case, a teacher would be called to assist. On the part of the parents, they were required to set realistic goals for their child. Baseline data Day Exam Time Length of time before getting upset Notes Monday Mathematics 8.00 a.m. 10 minutes In the beginning everything seems to be okay. On the 10th minute he starts getting irritated and cries Tuesday Religion 9.00 a.m. 13 minutes He does the first three questions but the fourth question proves to be a bit challenging. He drops the pen down and begins to cry. Wednesday Science 8.30 a.m. 18 minute Demands for immediate assistance from his teacher which is not immediately granted. Thursday French 10.30 a.m. 16 minutes Attends the exam session for the first 15 minutes. In the sixteenth minute, he leaves class and is later found crying in a lonely location. Friday English 11.00 a.m. 7 minutes He attends the exam answering a few questions in the paper. He asks for permission to leave in order to attend to his favourite pet at home. The baseline data was collected based on behavioural observation during administration of examination for one week. This appears to be the origin of his frustration and anger. The frustrations and desperation would occur every time the exam is administered which would last 10 minutes on average. Since each examination paper is expected to take duration of 60 minutes, it was evident that he spent on average 17% of the total time allocated for every exam frustrated or desperate. This time is crucial as it takes away the time allocated for the exam. Therefore, it is wise to root out this behaviour by all possible means. From the observations made, Brian had no problem attempting questions. His main problem was when he failed to remember what was taught in class while attempting questions. During the interview, Brian admits that the tests were too abstract and hard to do. He also admits that his parents expect outright pass from school. He says that this was the cause of his frustrations. Procedures The cause of Brian’s behaviour is when during the examination he fails to do questions the right way or fails to recall. When presented with a science examination, he begins to demand for immediate assistance from his teacher. However when this is not immediately granted, he breaks down and starts crying uncontrollably. This is caused by a feeling that he can’t do the exam by his own unless a teacher was within reach to assist him do the exam. The data structure used for baseline data collection was identical to the one used during intervention. The duration that each frustration took was recorded and noted as inappropriate. Further, the cause of each frustration was listed and appropriate intervention measure designed to curb its occurrence in future. The instance upon which the STOP-PLOT-GO-SO strategy was used by Brian was also recorded with his help as an informant. The time he did the exam alone and behaved in the right manner in the examination room was also noted. The type of reinforcements chosen for Brian was wisely selected from the list of those activities he enjoyed doing best. It was arranged in such a manner that those that he liked most would rewarded upon a repeated positive response. In the beginning of this schedule he worked for reinforcements that required the application of less effort but as time progressed he preferred saving each award for a bigger gift. With such a trend, his behaviour stabilized and as it stabilized the ease to get a reward was made complicated. This was intentionally done to ensure that the target behaviour was adopted as a habit and not necessarily in expectation of a reward. It was necessary after a week-long implementation of intervention plan the token system and the behaviour scoreboard was made Brian’s class affair. Results DATA DESCRIPTION First Day (Monday) Brian had to be taught about the STOP-PLOT-GO-SO strategy. In this case, the steps required for carrying out the process were emphasized. This was aimed at controlling his behaviour and ways through which he could respond appropriately to stress. Specific steps were demonstrated and practiced on spot. Data was collected from the instant he began to implement the behaviour plan. At the beginning of the intervention plan implementation, Brian seemed interested but as time progressed he had to be reminded. Second day (Tuesday) During the second day, he had to be reminded to check on the intervention plan. He was fair on the extent at which he became angry and little improvement was noted. Third day (Wednesday) This was a fair day for Brian. This is because he did pretty well in controlling his temper during the exam session. He takes a longer time doing the exam alone before demanding for assistance in the 18th minute. He was reinforced by giving him a 15th minute break and lunch for the positive response he showed. In addition, he was able to complete the exam on time. He was verbally praised and this really did well, he felt really good and motivated for the next day. Day four (Thursday) This was not a good day as compared to the rest. He takes the exam well within the first 16 minutes before getting angry. He is later found crying in a lonely place. When asked why he does so, he apologizes for failing to adhere to advises as given to him. This is summarized in the table and graph below Day Day 1 Day 2 Day 3 Day 4 Duration in minutes 8 12 18 16 STOP-PLOT-GO-SO Strategy steps implemented 2 4 6 10 Frequency of outbursts 15 14 12 5 Summary and Interpretation The intervention that was used in this project was a big success in manning the behaviour of the victim because it helped in ensuring that Brian worked on his examination with success. It also ensured that his parents stopped giving unrealistic expectations. Further, it enabled him build his confidence the more he practiced as per the expectations of the schedule. He is a student f average performance capable of doing even better given the necessary incentives. This is because he demonstrated that he could actually do the entire examination papers given that he is helped to build confidence (Project Management, 42). To help build his confidence against his fears, I would assist in giving hints to how questions would be answered. This was amazingly interesting because after a few hints he could independently do the rest of his work with ease. The main aim of this management project was help him roll on some few problems and let the entire work for him. This was important in helping him understand that what he fears as not possible is actually possible given the right determination and hard work. Although his problem can still show up in the next few examination sessions, it is vital to note that the whole problem will come to halt in a couple of days to come. If the program is continuously intensified for the next two exam sessions it would be possible to achieve the desired goal. By the third examination period, Brian did quite well in just a few steps taught to him on how behaviour can be managed. With such consistency in limiting the probability of getting angry whenever an exam proves difficult, he would completely eliminate the bad behaviour and behave as other students do. Critique The chosen scale for evaluating behaviour of the victim may be susceptive to errors. Thus there is a need for correction to ensure that the evaluation plan designed runs concurrently with the amount of time assigned for the examination period. This is important because it will help in curbing the tendency of eating into some minutes allowed for completion of the exam. For instance, I can set aside 10 minutes after every exam for purposes of evaluating with the victim how he was able to manage behaviour and how well the plan worked for him. This time will also be crucial in setting the way forward for the plan. He would explain what he can do differently next time. The use of the plan was a very important motivating factor for Brian as he would no longer be motivated by reinforcements to carry out positive acts but by the fact that the plan worked in ensuring he completed the exam on time and with minimal pressure from parents. Therefore, his focus changed from working in an exam for reinforcement but working because he was motivated to (Graham, 90). Suggestions for further inquiry This approach will be tried in a larger group in order to find out whether factors such as character traits had no effect on the outcome. I would also propose rolling out the research on children of varied ages and sex in order to curb the outcome of the research influenced based on age or gender. Works cited Flannels, Steven, Ginger Levin, and Steven Flannels: Essential People Skills for Project Managers. Vienna, Va: Management Concepts, 2005. Internet resource Graham, Robert J. Project Management: Combining Technical and Behavioral Approaches for Effective Implementation; New York: Van Nostrand Reinhold, 1985. Print. Project Management: A Systems Approach to Planning, Scheduling, and Controlling: Pub Edition: John Wiley & Sons Inc., 2009, Print. Westcott, Russ. Simplified Project Management for the Quality Professional: Managing Small and Medium-Sized Projects. Milwaukee, Wis: ASQ Quality Press, 2005. Print. Read More