Behavioral Intervention Plans (Elementary): Developing a Plan to Address Student Behavior

Transcript: Challenge

Functional Behavioral Assessment (Elementary): Identifying the Reasons for Student Behavior

DJ is a well-liked and energetic fourth grader with a fun sense of humor. Unfortunately, his grades have recently started dropping due to missed assignments and lack of participation. DJ’s teacher reports that he is always off task and needs constant redirection. Because he is so social, he regularly misses instructions, fails to start tasks in a timely manner, and puts work aside to talk with peers. Additionally, he often talks out of turn. Although his teacher provides verbal redirections, DJ returns to off-task behaviors relatively quickly. He tried moving his desk away from other students, but DJ started calling across the room and finding excuses to get up and talk with classmates. His teacher also implemented a class-wide point system in which DJ and his classmates could earn points for being on task and trade them for a prize if they met their weekly goal. DJ seemed somewhat interested initially, but he rarely reached his goal. His teacher has become increasingly frustrated with DJ’s behavior and is out of ideas.

Presley is a quiet first grader who enjoys drawing and coloring. She was identified as having a developmental delay at age two and continues to have limited language skills. For example, she typically communicates using single words or short phrases. Presley’s teacher reports that she is physically aggressive and often pushes, hits, and kicks her peers. Because these behaviors seem to come out of nowhere, the teacher’s response to Presley’s behavior is reactive and usually involves directing her to the Calm Corner and calling her parents. On a few occasions when Presley was physically aggressive multiple times in a day, the teacher sent Presley to the principal’s office and her parents were called to pick her up. Presley’s teacher now keeps her separated from the class for much of the school day. Presley walks with a paraeducator instead of in line with her peers, completes center activities alone instead of with a group, and sits at a table during whole-group instruction instead of on the carpet with everyone else. However, there are times that Presley must interact with her classmates, and the behavior continues to occur in these situations. Presley’s teacher is troubled by this behavior and feels like she is spending most of the school day running interference to keep anyone from getting hurt.

Here’s your challenge:

Why do students engage in certain behaviors?

How can educators determine why students are engaging in these behaviors?