2 Assignments

Operational/Behavioral Dimension

Example (Poor example is in red.)

Clear Description of Behavior – Leaves no room for interpretation; unambiguous.

The student speaks disrespectfully. Versus:

When speaking to her teachers she uses a loud voice and rolls her eyes when addressing her teachers.

Frequency – The number of times a behavior occurs

Bob got out of his seat three times.

Rate – The number of times the behavior occurs within a given time interval

Arron tapped his foot an average of 27 times in one minute.

Duration – How long a behavior lasts

Jalon stared out the window for four minutes.

Magnitude – The intensity with which the behavior occurs.

The bit left teeth marks but did not break the skin.

Use positive terms - Use terms about what the subject does rather than what the subject does not do.

The student doesn’t pay attention. VERSUS:

Student stares out window for 3-5 minutes at a time, looks around the room, looks at his desk, or looks at another student.

Student does not do classwork. VERSUS:

Student frequently talks to peers, does unassigned tasks, or calls out for help. If teacher does not intervene, these behaviors will escalate to yelling, crying, and throwing objects.

Describe what behavior looks like – rather than using a subjective “label.”

Steve daydreams. VERSUS:

Steve looks out the window for 3-5 minute timeframes. OR

Steve is lazy. VERSUS:

Steve lies across his desk during instructions.

Rose is rude to other students. VERSUS:

Rose rolls her eyes at students who are speaking to her.

Consult a list of action verbs for ideas to describe observable behaviors.

Ex, Act, debate, cooperate, focus, look, organize, perform, replace, say, select, use, write.

Ask yourself the following questions – the answer should be “yes” to these questions:

*Does the definition describe the student’s actions?

*Can I see or hear the behavior occurring as described?

Identify only one (1) target behavior to address. If you observe several behaviors that may be considered the target behavior… define the target behavior more narrowly and break down into individual behaviors.

Being disrespectful. VERSUS: When request is made, states “I ain’t doin’ that!”, slams book down on desk, & walks out of classroom.

This contains too many behaviors and should be separated into 3 separate target behaviors. Each behavior will need its own BIP.

Target Behavior (Unwanted Behavior)

Replacement Behavior (Desired Behavior)

Sue gets out of her seat too often.

Sue will remain in her seat during instruction.

James breaks pencils when he gets frustrated.

James will request a break when he feels frustrated.

Ashley talks in class without raising her hand.

Ashley will raise her hand before speaking in class.

Student looks around the room, looks at his desk, or looks at another student.

Student will sit in seat and make eye contact with teacher while verbally responding to teacher’s question.

Student talks to peers, does unassigned tasks, or calls out for help.

Student’s eyes are on the assignment, writing is task-related, student raises hand for help.