How can educators modify a student’s behavior?
Page 7: Reinforcement-Based Interventions
A critical component of every BIP is a reinforcement-based intervention because reinforcement, compared to other types of consequence, is more likely to result in meaningful behavioral change. Recall that the goal of a reinforcement-based intervention is to make the target behavior ineffective by consistently reinforcing the student’s use of the replacement behavior while simultaneously reducing reinforcement of the target behavior. In other words, the replacement behavior results in a bigger, better, or more immediate payoff than the target behavior.
Interventions used in a BIP often leverage differential reinforcement of alternative behavior (DRA), an approach in which educators consistently and intentionally reinforce an alternative behavior (i.e., the replacement behavior) while simultaneously reducing reinforcement of the target behavior. For instance, a teacher might reinforce a student for raising their hand (i.e., the replacement behavior) rather than reinforcing them for pushing papers off their desk (i.e., the target behavior). Effective implementation of DRA increases the student’s use of the replacement behavior and, in turn, decreases the target behavior. DRA entails five steps:
- Identify the target behavior
- Hypothesize the function of the target behavior
- Identify a replacement behavior
- Decide on reinforcers and a reinforcement schedule
- Reinforce the replacement behavior
Because the first three steps are completed during the FBA process and the beginning of the BIP development, this page will focus on Steps 4 and 5.
Decide on Reinforcers and a Reinforcement Schedule
DRA must be implemented in the same way across all people and environments. Therefore, the BIP should include a specific set of procedures that outline what types of reinforcers will be offered and when reinforcement will be delivered (i.e., the reinforcement schedule).
Keep in Mind
Reinforcers provided for the replacement behavior need to be more desirable (e.g., higher quality, greater in amount, more immediate, easier to attain) than the competing reinforcers that sustain the target behavior.
The BIP team should select reinforcers that will likely be the most effective for the individual student. There are three primary types of reinforcers: social (e.g., verbal praise, student-selected seating), activity or privilege related (e.g., computer time, read a book), and tangible (e.g., stickers, school supplies). Selected reinforcers should be explicitly tied to the function of the target behavior whenever possible. For instance, if the function of the behavior is to gain attention, a social reinforcer would be most appropriate. Additionally, educators should keep the following considerations in mind.
- Reinforcers should be feasible, affordable, and age appropriate, and they should complement the learning environment.
- Because reinforcers must be meaningful and motivating to the student, teams should seek input from the student and their family about the student’s preferences and interests as well as the cultural relevance of potential reinforcers.
- Educators can increase student motivation by providing the student with two to three options and allowing them to choose which reinforcer they would like to work toward.
- Effective reinforcers can change over time, so the BIP should outline several options that can be revisited in the future.
In this interview, Bettie Ray Butler discusses how educators can involve their students in the BIP process through the co-construction of a reward, or reinforcement, system (time: 2:17).
Bettie Ray Butler, PhD
Professor of Urban Education
University of North Carolina at Charlotte
Transcript: Bettie Ray Butler, PhD
I see students being involved in their own BIPs through the co-construction of a reward system. Oftentimes, teachers will determine what the rewards will be and students are not encouraged by rewards that, to them, are not beneficial. So involving them in determining what they see is beneficial, and making sure that these rewards are being meted out to the student provides the necessary encouragement. And the only way we can get to collective decision-making and co-construction of a reward system is by making sure that we give full attention to student voice as they understand their own BIPs.
In the absence of a co-constructed reward system where the teacher determines the rewards, once the student has made progress, the teacher may allow the student to pull a treat out of their goodie box. It could be a variety of things—from pencils, erasers, even a little slinky—but the behavior itself will continue, and the teacher is baffled. And they’re like, “I gave them a reward. They took something out of the treasure box. Was that not an incentive enough?” Well, you selected what was in that treasure box. You didn’t solicit input from the students. So yes, while they may select something because they want to be rewarded, they may not necessarily be motivated by what is present in the treasure box.
And so, what a co-constructed reward system looks like is the student can say, “These are the things that I enjoy.” Then that will incentivize the behavior because the student has told the teacher what they enjoy. And the beauty of that is—talk about being culturally responsive—you are pouring into a child that is demonstrating leadership potential. You’re affirming them while also addressing the behavior.
The BIP should also include a specific plan for how often educators will provide reinforcement to the student. This can be based on either the number of times the replacement behavior occurs (i.e., frequency-based) or the amount of time the student is engaged in it (i.e., time-based). The table below details when and how to use each approach.
| Type of Schedule | When to Use | How to Use |
| Frequency-based | The replacement behavior is countable or has a clear beginning and end (e.g., hand raising, requesting a break). | Deliver the reinforcer after the student engages in the replacement behavior a set number of times (e.g., every time, every five times). |
| Time-based | The replacement behavior does not have a clear beginning and end (e.g., appropriate social interaction, waiting for a turn). | Use a timer to cue at certain intervals (e.g., every five minutes, every 30 seconds) and deliver the reinforcer if the student is demonstrating the replacement behavior when the timer goes off. |
For Your Information
To determine how frequently a student needs to be reinforced for the intervention to be effective, educators can collect data on how often the student typically displays the target behavior. For example, if the student displays five instances of the target behavior in a 15-minute period, then the student engages in that behavior approximately every three minutes. As such, the team might establish an initial schedule of reinforcement that is slightly less than every three minutes (e.g., every 2.5 minutes).
Reinforce the Replacement Behavior
For Your Information
Behavior-specific praise is a positive statement directed toward a student or students that describes a desirable behavior in specific, observable, and measurable terms. Use this Fundamental Skill Sheet to learn more about behavior-specific praise and to review video examples and non-examples of teachers demonstrating the practice in classroom settings.
Finally, in Step 5, educators implement the plan to deliver reinforcement according to the schedule. Educators should pair behavior-specific praise with the reinforcer to help strengthen the connection between the replacement behavior and the reinforcer and to help maintain the behavior more naturally over time. Initially, educators will need to reinforce every instance of the replacement behavior. As the student becomes successful, they can gradually fade the reinforcement. For example, an educator might deliver reinforcement every time a student requests a break, then gradually begin to reinforce every second instance. For time-based reinforcement schedules, the educator could gradually increase the time between opportunities to earn a reinforcer. Reinforcement should be slowly faded over time until the student engages in the replacement behavior without needing to be reinforced.
behavior-specific praise
DEFINITION_DEFINITION_DEFINITION_DEFINITION
In addition to procedures for reinforcing the replacement behavior, the BIP should also include guidance on how to respond when the target behavior occurs. Specifically, educators should minimize reinforcement of the target behavior and instead redirect the student to use the replacement behavior. For instance, if a student begins loudly protesting an assignment, the teacher might remind them that they can use their help signal to request assistance and then provide help when the student does so. By proactively planning this response, educators can avoid unintentionally reinforcing the target behavior, which could weaken the effectiveness of the BIP.
Did You Know?
Compared to their peers, students whose behavior warrants a BIP often benefit from a more systematic and concrete approach to reinforcement. A token economy is an evidence-based intervention, which rewards students for desired behaviors using tokens that can later be exchanged for reinforcement. Token economies can be integrated into DRA by using tokens as the reinforcer for the replacement behavior.
Tokens can take many forms (e.g., stickers, coins, check marks, points, tickets) depending on the student’s age and interests. The team determines how many tokens (e.g., 10 points, five stickers) will be required for the student to earn reinforcement. For instance, for the system to be effective, one student might need to earn enough tokens to obtain a reinforcer every hour, while another might only need to do so once a week. Educators can track tokens by marking stars, checkmarks, or points on recording forms, as featured in the below examples.
Teams should consider the difficulty of the replacement behavior, the typical frequency of the target behavior, and the student’s age and development to establish reasonable criteria for reinforcement. Each time the student reaches the criteria and exchanges their tokens for a reinforcer, the system is reset and the student begins earning tokens again. The use of tokens allows the educator to consistently reinforce positive behavior and the student to visualize their progress. This system also helps students learn to delay gratification as they work toward a meaningful reinforcer over time. As the student experiences success, the team can consider increasing the criteria for earning tokens or the number of tokens required to earn the reinforcer.
Returning to the Challenge
Next, Tasha’s team turns their attention toward how to best reinforce her replacement behavior: “Tasha will use a discrete signal to request a break during which she can access a designated reset space.”
- Types of reinforcers: Because the function of Tasha’s target behavior is to escape from challenging tasks, the team decides to identify activity reinforcers that Tasha can choose from. With Tasha’s input, they create a reinforcement menu that includes options such as extra computer time and music-related privileges.
- Reinforcement schedule: This will be twofold. First, the teacher will provide behavior-specific praise when Tasha requests and accesses a reset break appropriately. After each instructional period, Tasha will receive a point if the teacher estimates that she uses the replacement behavior rather than target behavior (i.e., putting her head down, leaving the classroom without permission) at least 75% of the time. Once she has earned 10 points, she can cash in for a reinforcer from her menu. All teachers will implement this system throughout the school day.
Isaiah’s team decides to use a token board to ensure that he can access reinforcement frequently and consistently.
- Types of reinforcers: First, the team decides to use stickers as immediate reinforcers for Isaiah’s token board. The team then identifies several activities (e.g., coloring a picture, extra writing time) and tangible reinforcers (e.g., art supplies) that Isaiah can earn when his token board is filled.
- Reinforcement schedule: During all transition times, Isaiah earns a sticker on a chart every time he uses his replacement behavior (i.e., requesting additional time on a preferred activity) to express his needs. Because the team wants to reinforce Isaiah for transitioning appropriately, the teacher will also give him a sticker when he stops a prior activity and moves to the next task successfully. When all six spaces on the board are filled with stickers, he can choose a reinforcer. The paraeducator will deliver tokens paired with behavior-specific praise whenever he is with the class, with the teacher taking responsibility during other portions of the school day.
