Behavior Intervention Plan - Assignment Example

Behaviour intervention plan for Zoe Lecturer: Zoe’s behavior intervention plan (BIP) Purpose of the BIP Behavior intervention plan is prepared from the functional behavior assessment, and provides a description of the problem behavior and identifies a plan how to teach replacement behaviors and make changes to the situations that contribute to the behavior (Riffel, 2009). A behavior intervention plan encompasses multiple approaches towards changing problematic behavior through altering the setting events, teaching new behavioral skills and appreciating the replacement behaviors. According to Legg (2009), the proactive measures will adjust the environment to make the problem behavior unnecessary while the educative approach will replace the behaviors so that him the ability of the student to function more effectively and exhibit the expected behaviors. Wheeler & Richey (2013) asserts that teaching approaches entails teaching of the replacement skills such as interpersonal skills, communication skills, courtesy, politeness and social skills that assist the student gain self-confidence and self-esteem. The effective approaches will manage the consequences in order to reinforce the desired behaviors and replacement behaviors (Wheeler & Richey, 2013). All the behaviors have a function and teachers must find the function the behavior while dealing with disruptive behaviors (Legg, 2009). Functional behavior assessments will enable the teachers to implement efficient and effective behavioral intervention plans that are based on practical intervention strategies that will replace the problematic behavior and reinforce the desired behaviors. The plans must identify the antecedents and setting events and additional information such as the nature of the setting, environment and information on any medication or illness facing the concerned student (Wheeler & Richey, 2013). Target behaviors The target behaviors include the types of behaviors that are displayed during the incident. All the problematic behaviors have a function and can be changed through eliminating the setting, modifying the triggers or promoting alternative desired behaviors while minimizing the reinforcement of the problem behaviors (Wheeler & Richey, 2013). In this case, the critical target behavior is to enable Zoe to stop making animal noise when in need of teacher attention and learn how to work on assignments independently. Definition of behaviors Making animal noises- making of animal noises is socially unacceptable during the class since it disturbs other students who are working independently. The other students are upset with the noises and this will interfere with the calm classroom environment since such noises attract the attention of the other learners. Zoe’s behavior is disruptive and is likely to make inappropriate statements or comments regarding the teacher or other students thus interfering with learning progress (Wheeler & Richey, 2013). When Zoe makes the noises, the teacher is likely to scold or move towards him thus interrupting the organized learning. Not working independently- in this case, Zoe will not be capable of ensuring personal learning and will require assistance of the teacher during all the assignments. For instance, Zoe may not be able to complete his home assignments thus leading to poor academic outcomes at the end of his studies. Zoe is hyperactive- Zoe may only complete small assignments and can leave the classroom without permission if the teacher does not offer assistance in problem-solving. Antecedents & setting events The setting events describes the important things that may be happening in the life of Zoe that may be causing the negative behaviors displayed in class. The antecedents are the precipitating events that lead to the behaviors and include the events and things that are either related to the time of the day, physical environment or activities that are occurring within the setting. Asher (2010) is of the idea that the BIP aims at eliminating or modifying the triggers of the problematic behavior and ensuring pre-correction by promoting alternative behaviors. For instance, Zoe is not willing to work independently especially for the challenging tasks and this is the reason why he make animal sounds in order to catch the attention of the teacher. Academic frustration is a precipitating event since Zoe seems to lack problem-solving skills that can enable him work independently. The teacher should understand the cause of the behavior since Zoe seems to have poor communication skills since he cannot use polite words to attain the attention of the teacher (Asher, 2010). Interventions: Setting event & antecedent (prevention) The setting events and antecedents in the case of Zoe include the desire to seek attention from the teacher and the animal sounds are associated with frustration due to the limitations in communication skills. In this case, it is impossible to eliminate the setting events and prevent the antecedents, but the teacher can modify the setting and antecedents in order to change Zoe’s problematic behavior. Zoe should sit close to teacher- Sitting closer to the teacher will provide Zoe with the much needed attention and will reduce the chances of making the animal sounds. Provide more time to complete difficult tasks- The teacher should allow Zoe more time to accomplish the challenging tasks Replacement behaviors (alternative behaviors) The replacement behaviors (alternative behaviors) aim at countering the problem behaviors and some of the possible interventions that are applicable include teaching of new appropriate behaviors, reinforcement of the appropriate behavior and increasing opportunities for displaying the appropriate behaviors in classroom (Crone & Horner, 2012). The teacher can manipulate the situations that lead to problem behavior or change the antecedents that lead to inappropriate behaviors. Raise hand for assistance- The replacement behaviors include enabling Zoe to raise hand to ask for assistance from the teacher at least two times during each lesson and encourage Zoe to work on the answers independently just like the other students (Asher, 2010). Complete individual assignments- Zoe must be capable of completing a minimum of 60 percent of all in-class assignments independently within the allocated time during the class. Zoe should be capable of completing assignments independently. Zoe will be capable of raising his hand or making polite help request at least two times per lesson. Use help card- Zoe should be capable of using ‘help’ card and displaying courtesy when asking for assistance from the teacher. Reinforcement to increase appropriate behavior The reinforcement to increase appropriate behavior that will enable Zoe to undertake assignments independently and stop making animal sounds when in need of teacher attention. Completion of in-class assignments- The teacher should encourage Zoe to complete assignments independently and must avoid reprimanding Zoe for errors or wrong answers. The teacher should stand near Zoe during the assignments in order to monitor Zoe’s actions such as trying to raise the hand up or moving his lips to make the sounds. The teacher must provide immediate attention and encourage Zoe to use the ‘help’ card or use polite language such as ‘please’ while asking for assistance from the teacher. Although Dave may fail to write any answer, the teacher will move close to Zoe without providing answers and praise him for the verbal help request and not making the animal sounds. Implement emotional regulation strategies- emotional regulation strategies such as taking breaks to help Zoe with the work and praising him for working independently and maintaining lower frustration levels during the class will help in controlling the frequency of problematic behavior. The teacher should provide Zoe with wide range of tasks and resources and encourage learning through mistakes. The teacher should also incorporate real life examples and open ended tasks that will encourage Zoe to identify and correct his errors through reflecting on his answers (Padden, 2009). Teaching of social and communication skills- Zoe’s problematic behavior is associated with poor socialization and communication limitations. The teacher should assist Zoe to learn how to be polite through encouraging him to use polite actions and words such as ‘please’, excuse me and thank you’ when in need of teacher attention. Zoe seems to struggle with social interactions with other students and he should be encouraged to work in small groups in order to build his self-confidence (Padden, 2009). Participation in group activities- The teacher must encourage Zoe to participate in group activities each day in order to develop interpersonal skills and communication skills. The teacher must accompany Zoe to participate in groups such as play and can reward Zoe with a star sticker while he displays the expected behavior during the group activities (Miltenberger, 2012). Zoe and the teacher should review the questions and answers that have been presented during the small group learning activities. For instance, the teacher can ask easy questions on the day’s weather and then prompt Zoe to raise his hand while in the small group in order to answer the question. The teacher should the congratulate Zoe for raising the hand and attempting to answer the question thus leading to more interactions with Zoe. Consequence (reduce target behaviors) This entails what will happen when the desired behavior is exhibited. Miltenberger (2012) asserts that the historical approaches emphasized on rapid-suppressive methods such as school suspension, corporal punishment, and loss of privileges. The methods have totally failed in promoting a lasting behavior change and teaching alternative replacement behaviors. The appropriate methods or consequences of responding to problem behavior in order to reduce target behaviors include redirection to the alternative behaviors or extinction of the problem behaviors. Zoe should receive help from the teacher if he asks appropriately. Zoe should be rewarded for not making the animal noises and showing politeness when asking for teacher attention. The teacher should remind Zoe of the importance of using the help card and politeness when seeking teacher attention. Behavioral Intervention Plan Model for Zoe Data collection methods The data collection methods will be useful in assessing the progress in attaining the appropriate behaviors and should include the duration, frequency and intensity of the behavior. Teacher observation and collecting data is the most appropriate method of determining whether the alternative reinforcement behaviors are being attained by the behavior support interventions that have been implemented. The teacher must record the context of the behavior, the antecedents, the consequences of the behavior and Zoe’s reaction in order to determine the frequency and situations when Zoe is more likely to exhibit the behavior. Time Context Activities Antecedents Target Behaviors Consequence (outcome) Zoe’s Reaction Staff Initials Begin & End of behavior The places, events and people in the environment, events) Describe exactly what occurred in the environment just before targeted behavior was exhibited. List types of behaviors displayed during incident. What happened in the environment immediately after behavior was exhibited. How did the student react immediately following the initial consequence being delivered? B A B C A B A B G B B H C A C Key: A Group A Assigned independent assignment problems A Not working independently A Teacher attention A stopped B Individual B Choice given B Disruptive animal noises B Redirection B continued C Reading C Redirection C Physical aggression C Discussion of behavior C intensified D Math D Instruction/directive D D Personal space given D E Spelling E New task E E Changed activity E F Social Studies F Routine task F F Peer attention F G Science G Physical prompts G G Verbal reprimand G Other behavior H Free Choice H Teacher attention to others H H Physical prompt H I Lunch I Told “NO” I I Time out I J Outside J Close proximity J J Close proximity J K Bus K Loud noise K K Sent home K Data analysis Student name ____Zoe Date: ________________________________ Days of Data: _____________________________ (The number of days the data was collected on the behavior Total Number of Incidents: ________________________ (The number of times the behavior was observed by the teacher) Average number of incidents daily: ____________________________ (The number of incidents recorded divided by the number of days of data collection Average length of time engaged in each behavior: _________________________ (The length of time taken for the behavior and it is calculated as the amount of time spent on the behaviors divided by the total number of problematic behavior incidents Baseline: Take total minutes engaged in behavior divided by total minutes the child was observed for data collection during the baseline and multiply by 100) __________ TIME OF DAY Tally Ratio % INVOLVED Your schedule would be based on the child’s day 8:30-8:59 9:00-9:29 9:30-9:59 10:00-10:29 10:30-10:59 11:00-11:29 11:30-11:59 12:00-12:29 12:30-12:59 1:00-1:29 1:30-1:59 2:00-2:29 2:30-2:59 3:00-3:30 DAY OF WEEK Tally AVERAGE INCIDENTS PER DAY MONDAY □ TUESDAY □ WEDNESDAY □ THURSDAY □ FRIDAY □ BEHAVIORS Tally Ratio % INVOLVED Making animal noises A Failure to complete independent assignments B Physical Aggression C References: Asher, M.J. (2010). The behavior problems resource kit: fits and procedures for identification, measurement and intervention. London: Research Press. Crone, D.A & Horner, R.H. (2012). Building positive behavior support systems in schools: functional behavioral assessment. London: Guilford Press. Legg, K.D. (2009). Functional behavior assessment and behavior intervention plans: effective methods. New York: Bethel University. Miltenberger, R.G. (2012). Behavior modification: principles and procedures. Belmont: Wadsworth. Padden, D.H. (2009). Effective school-wide discipline through positive behavior supports: analysis of current practice. New York: ProQuest. Riffel, L.A. (2009). Writing a behavioral intervention plan using functional behavior assessment data. New York: Routledge. Wheeler, J.J & Richey, D.D. (2013). Behavior management: principles and practices of positive behavior supports. New York: Pearson Education Limited. Read More