simnet 5 projects

BEHAVIOR CHANGE PROJECT

Thomas Gonzalez

SOLUTION SAMPLE

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Thomas Gonzalez | DECEMBER 29, 2015

Table of Contents I. Identify the Target Behavior. 1

II. Describe/define the target behavior in observable and measurable terms. 2

III. Collect and chart baseline data. 2

IV. Design and Implement the behavior change program 2

V. Collect and evaluate the result 3

VI. Self-evaluation and reflection. 4

I. Identify the Target Behavior. A. Andrew is a fun, kind hearted, twelve year old, Caucasian male in the Sixth Grade.1 He is medium height for his

age, is thin, has dark hair and fair skin and wears glasses. Andrew’s parents recently divorced so he lives with both

his mother and father, alternately. He comes from a lower-middle class home and has two older sisters, one of

whom is an adult, and one who is in high school. All three siblings have remained in their primary home with the

father, while the mother lives in an apartment. Andrew has explained to the school counselor that he is happy his

parents divorced because they can now both do what they want and he does not have to hear them fight any

longer. Behaviorally, Andrew displays some areas of concern. Attention span during lessons presents some

challenges and he often fails to give attention to his daily work. Late and missing assignments are common in most

of his classes, and in the class in which he is being observed, it is a weekly and sometimes daily occurrence.

Andrew’s verbal outbursts can be frequent and a distraction to his peers and teacher. He is frequently unprepared

for class, can have inappropriate boundaries with peers, and at times, his comments and outbursts can come

across as provocative. Andrew’s academic performance appears to be average in all areas, however, he is a bright,

creative individual who exhibits results of an underachiever. Andrew’s parents are supportive in the fact that they

pay for him to go to school. They are known for letting their children do things on their own, fostering their

creativity, and taking responsibility for their actions. They are supportive of the teachers because they want their

son to have old-fashioned discipline, which to them, means a structured, strict classroom environment. Due to the

variation of learning styles within a classroom setting, however, this environment is not always available to

Andrew. In terms of personal characteristics, Andrew is outgoing, and has a sense of humor that is oftentimes,

ahead of his peers. He has a tough time controlling his body movements and laughter when he creates a humorous

situation or hears something particularly amusing. It is quite difficult to bring Andrew back to task in these

situations. Since hearing about the divorce, the teachers and staff, having longevity with the family and at the

father’s request, have given Andrew consideration, both behaviorally and academically, though Andrew has no

formal diagnosis.

B. Andrew is being observed in a Language Arts classroom that has fourteen other same age peers. The class

period occurs five days a week, is forty minutes long and is at the same time each day, before lunch. Three target

behaviors can be identified in Andrew. A primary concern is his getting class and homework assignments

completed within the timeframe allotted. One consequence for this is receiving only fifty percent for the

assignment when it is turned in the next day. Another is having to stay in for study hall instead of going to recess,

in order to complete an assignment. Ordinarily, those assignments that are falling by the wayside seem to be tasks

that need to be completed or finished at home. Assuring they get done at school is helpful for both student and

teacher. Another behavior that requires attention is his inattentiveness. Andrew is oftentimes found daydreaming,

doodling, or messing around with things in a desk that doesn’t belong to him. Lastly, a reduction in verbal

1 To keep the identity of the subject secret, I will use the alias Andrew.

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Thomas Gonzalez | DECEMBER 29, 2015

outbursts or speaking without permission would be beneficial to all in the classroom. Since Andrew is liked by his

peers for the most part, his outbursts are not only distracting, but they gain him much laughter and attention. The

to above social behaviors are often preceded by unstructured classroom tasks, and the consequences to these

have been emailing Dad, and/or removing Andrew from the group.

C. During class time, I am going to observe Andrew’s verbal outbursts. Due to the amount of disruption Andrew’s

outbursts cause the class as a whole, but most importantly for the betterment of Andrew learning his own self-

control and self-discipline, I feel this is an observable behavior that warrants change. Since this behavior in Andrew

occurs frequently, I would like to see a decrease in Andrew’s verbal outbursts by raising his hand before he speaks.

II. Describe/define the target behavior in observable and measurable terms. During teaching, Andrew will raise his hand to be called on before responding in Language Arts class 75% of the

time on 4 out of 5 days per week.

III. Collect and chart baseline data. A. The method to be used to collect baseline data is event recording done by the teacher. Tally marks are used to

record when the student raises his hand to speak and when he speaks without raising his hand. The behavior is

observed for 10 minutes per day during instruction time.

B. A table is used to record frequency of behaviors. First, the objective is recorded. The time period is chosen and

the behavior is counted and entered. Each time the desired behavior occurs it is tallied in the appropriate column

on the table. The number of desired responses is counted to form a percentage. This will tell me if the criterion for

the objective has been met.

Student____________________________________________ Date Initiated____________

Objective__________________________________________________________________

Raises Hand Doesn’t Raise Hand

C. The table is used to record responses due to the ease with which I can tally. While teaching I can simply observe

during instruction and keep record directly on the top shelf of my podium, which I return to frequently for the text

of my lesson. In short, I can consistently chart at the podium throughout the observation and instruction process

without the student’s knowledge.

IV. Design and Implement the behavior change program A. 1. Andrew already responds fairly well and respectfully to my prompts. I will continue to use positive

reinforcement. Since the prompting technique is any teacher behavior that can cause a student to know how to

exhibit a behavior correctly, I will continue to use this method to reinforce what I am already doing in the

classroom with Andrew. In addition, I will continue to reinforce the other students in the classroom who raise a

quiet hand so that Andrew has the opportunity to learn appropriateness by observation and imitation. Lastly, I will

use a Token Economy, where a token can be exchanged for a variety of reinforcers at the end of the schedule.

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Thomas Gonzalez | DECEMBER 29, 2015

A. 2. There are some reasons why I chose the above techniques. Positive reinforcement is unlimited and all

students in the class can benefit. First, and foremost and because of the positive nature of the techniques, I believe

Andrew will respond. Secondly, I was already doing some aspects of these techniques so will choose to keep those

that are working, in place. With the new knowledge I have gained through the material, I can focus on these

techniques, and not only work to strengthen them, but can improve on consistency. Finally, I already have some

colorful reinforcers I can use, and this can provide Andrew with immediate feedback and could be a positive

attention getter for him.

B. 1. To reinforce behavior I like in Andrew, I will tell him very specifically and directly, with eye contact, when I like

what he is doing. During teaching time, I will model for Andrew using the following example. I will pose my

questions to the class and follow those questions with the statement, “I am looking for someone who has a quiet

hand raised.” Since I already know Andrew likes to be heard by his peers, I can assume he will do what he needs to

do in order to be called on. Lastly, I will give colored tokens when I see Andrew exhibiting the correct behavior of

raising his hand and being called on before speaking.

B. 2. This is the second year in a row in which I have had Andrew in my class. I am quite familiar with his placement

among peers and know he has a creative and fun nature. Varying learning styles for Andrew is not always

successful. Some days, he just does not have a successful day with his behaviors, most specifically, raising his hand

to speak. When these moments occur, I want to be ready for them. The reinforcements I chose can replace

Andrew’s inappropriate behaviors with appropriate ones. With a successful schedule, they can decrease the

probability of inappropriate behaviors. They are versatile and easily integrated into the school day and curriculum,

can be individualized or used with small groups or whole class, and are inexpensive. I chose the above

reinforcements so that Andrew and I may, together, have the opportunity to experience successful school days

both academically and behaviorally.

C. 1. I will reward Andrew with a reinforcer immediately after the target behavior occurs. This short term

continuous schedule is to be applied during the first stage of the behavior change project. It will occur in the form

of different rewards. I will use positive reinforcement when he raises his hand before speaking, or token rewarding

as soon as the correct behavior presents itself. Getting a reinforcer every time will be the best way to teach

Andrew his new behavior expectations.

C. 2. Since this schedule is designed to be most often applied during the initial stages of a program, I feel it will be

beneficial for Andrew and me. Though inconsistent and unfocused, I have already tried to do some continuous

reinforcement with Andrew previously. For this reason, with the newly acquired knowledge of the subject, I would

like the opportunity to implement it correctly and consistently. In addition, with having only a forty minute class

period, it will be practical and fairly easy to manage and maintain. This schedule, according to the text, gives a high

rate of response. It will allow me flexibility within the classroom environment. For the time frame in which I will be

implementing the behavior change project, and because Andrew’s behavior is not what I would label severe, I feel

this is an appropriate schedule.

V. Collect and evaluate the result A. The behavior change project proved successful. The target student increased the amount of times in which he

raised his hand during Language Arts lessons over the given time period. In the observation stage the subject rarely

raised his hand before speaking and during the implementation phase, he clearly increased his hand raising

behavior before speaking during a lesson.

B. The data collected is shown below in graphic form.

Observation Phase

Raises Hand Does Not Raise Hand Percentage

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Thomas Gonzalez | DECEMBER 29, 2015

2/7 ...................... 0 ................................................................. 111 .................................. 0%

2/8 ...................... 1 ................................................................ 1111 ............................... 20%

2/9 ...................... 0 ................................................................. 111 .................................. 0%

2/10 .................... 1 ................................................................... 1 .................................. 50%

2/13 .................... 0 ................................................................... 1 .................................... 0%

Totals ................. 2/14 – 14% .......................................... 12/14 – 86%

Implementation Phase

2/14 .................... 111 ............................................................... 1 .................................. 75%

2/15 .................... 11 ................................................................. 1 .................................. 67%

2/16 .................... 111 ............................................................... 1 .................................. 75%

2/21 .................... 1 ................................................................... 1 .................................. 50%

2/22 .................... 11 ................................................................. 0 ................................ 100%

2/23 .................... 1111 ............................................................. 0 ................................ 100%

Totals .................. 18/23 – 78% ......................................... 5/23 – 22%

VI. Self-evaluation and reflection. A. Though it was a lot of work to keep track of, I had a great experience completing the behavior change program

for Andrew. The results of the project are clearly shown in the data which was collected. In a ten minute time

period from 10:10 to 10:50 a.m. over a period of seven days, the amount of time the student raised his hand and

did not raise his hand to speak was charted and evaluated using a percentage. During the observation week, the

student portrayed the following: out of 14 times in which the student could have raised his hand, he did so on two

occasions, which left twelve occasions in which he did not raise his hand to speak. This resulted in 14%. During the

implementation phase of the program, and with the use of reinforcers, the student exhibited the following: out of

23 times in which he was given opportunities to raise his hand to speak, he did so on 18 occasions resulting in 78%

accuracy, proving the program to be successful. It was really neat and fun to watch the student receive his verbal

and physical rewards. Because he is very likeable I enjoyed being a part of this activity in which he clearly showed

enjoyment.

B. There are some guesses that can be made as to why my behavior change project proved to be successful.

Primarily, I increasingly became a firm believer in the consistency factor. Positive reinforcement is something I

have always used in the classroom and I believe I am genuine so I think this was already a built in trigger for

success. Secondly, the student I chose to observe is already a likeable, respectful student. It does not take much to

bring him back to attention. Thirdly, our school has small class sizes. For Andrew’s class of 16 with few academic

needs, I feel well-equipped and focused to be able to handle behavior types of situations. Lastly, Andrew has been

going to school with these same peers since Preschool. Even though he may not exhibit it in the moment of an

inappropriate behavior, he does take care with how his peers view him and he responds to that. Many guesses

could be factored in as to the success of the project, with the above being a few.

C. This is the first time in my teaching where I have actually participated in implementing a behavior change

project. I questioned myself on several occasions during the process. Once I could clearly see the data and figure

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Thomas Gonzalez | DECEMBER 29, 2015

the percentages, it all seemed to fall into place. A couple concerns I had were the number of questions I was asking

during the teaching phase. For next time, I think I should make a point, for example, to plot out the number of

questions I might ask the class, so there can be plenty of opportunities for success. I don’t think I factored in the

need for asking many questions due to the fact that I am not always going to call on my target student. Something

else I might do differently is to try to be a better planner. Even though I did this project for a class and a deadline,

for the future it would be a good idea to sit with my calendar and be a good planner before I launch a new plan. I

would have liked to have more data, which was the original plan. Lastly, I would look a little closer into the use of

Token Economy. While I used it in this project, I felt I could have started to lose focus. Next time, I may want to try

only one or two tasks for increasing desired behaviors.

D. I really learned a lot from doing this class project. One recurring word that seems to creep into many of my

paragraphs is, first and foremost, consistency. I cannot stress this word to myself enough in my school day. This

has always been an area of struggle for me and yet it seems to show itself in most aspects of life. Without it, no

doubt, it is tough to be successful. It truly was key in this project’s success and I am fortunate to have been coerced

along the way. Another aspect, which I have previously mentioned, is the use of Token Economy. I think in my

teaching career, I have always enjoyed rewarding kids in one way or another, either verbally or with physical

rewards. The down-side to that is that I have never really been consistent. So, I think I’ve used the Token Economy

idea, but really didn’t implement it to the degree in which it resulted in long-term effects. Also, I never realized

that a schedule of reinforcement is a big part in getting results. It was new information to learn that you should

choose different ones for different tasks. Lastly, another important piece of information I learned is that you only

should focus on one behavior at a time. This was a great realization for me during class one evening. In struggling

with consistency, and focus to begin with, I felt this idea of identifying many, but only choosing to focus on one

behavior at a time, to be rather calming. I came to the simple realization that all along, it has not only been rough

for me, but for the student as well, if a teacher expects to fix too many behaviors at once. The focus and

consistency of this project allowed for success in both my student and me.

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Thomas Gonzalez | DECEMBER 29, 2015

A

Andrew’s parents, 1

C

collect baseline data, 2

colorful reinforcers, 3

I

Implementation Phase, 4

L

Language Arts classroom, 1

O

Observation Phase, 3

P

positive reinforcement, 2

T

Token Economy, 2

V

verbal outbursts, 2

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