EDLC 623
CASE STUDY:
ENCOURAGING APPROPRIATE BEHAVRIORS
BROOKE SIGMAN
SCHOOL OF EDUCATION, LIBERTY UNIVERSITY
Author Note
Brooke Sigman. I have no known conflict of interest to disclose. Correspondence
concerning this article should be addressed to Brooke Sigman Email: bsigman@liberty.edu
EDLC 623
CASE STUDY: ENCOURAGING APPROPRIATE BEHAVIOR
Using the STAR sheets included with the IRIS Center case study unit, answer each case study
question in the unit in the template below. Keep the questions in bold. Format your answers in
italics.
Level A: Case 1
1. Summarize each strategy and describe why each strategy might be used to help Kunj meet
one or more of his goals.
Behavior-specific Praise:
Behavior-specific praise, which is characterized as a positive phrase directed at a
particular student or group of pupils, is an active teaching technique that teachers can
implement in their classrooms. A desired, specified, and suitable behavior is reinforced with the
most effective praise. The desired action must be explicit, measurable, and observable. Since
some children may find public praise uncomfortable or not culturally acceptable, educators
should be sure they know what kind of praise their pupils are comfortable with. In order to avoid
overusing one form of praise and rendering it useless, educators should use a variety of praise
forms. A teacher should aim for a 4:1 ratio of positive praise to reprimands, meaning that praise
should be given more frequently than reprimands.
Given that Kunj's task behaviors have been improving over the past five school years, it
might be permissible to utilize behavior-specific praise with him. After years of hearing criticism,
pupils begin to think they are incapable of performing to a high standard and decide not to
attempt. The teacher would want to focus on praise remarks during solitary work and whole
class or big group activities because these are when the majority of off-task actions occur. Once
Kunj has been given the academic and behavioral objectives, the teacher can provide him
targeted praise to boost his internal motivation to focus on the material being covered in class
and do his tasks.
Criterion-specific rewards:
Criterion-specific rewards are a performance-based approach to encouraging good
conduct. This is frequently called a positive consequence or reinforcement. Reinforcement can be
applied alone or in combination with other proactive measures, including praise for particular
behaviors. Both individual pupils and the entire class can benefit from reinforcement. after the
identification of the performance criteria and the target behavior or behaviors. The
reinforcement can then be chosen by the educators. Three forms of reinforcement exist: social,
activity/privilege, and/or tangible. To ascertain the student's prompt hierarchy, an educator
should conduct a preference evaluation. Curran asserts that educators may wish to employ the
most desired reinforcements when teaching a new skill or reinforcing a challenging one.
Teachers should keep track of each student's behaviors and rewards, then utilize the information
to modify the latter. The reinforcement should be gradually reduced in use until it is completely
eliminated.
Using criterion-specific rewards could help Kunj. He enjoys reading books and periodicals,
conversing with his peers, and doodling and drawing. These are existing activities that an
educator could employ to escape from work and do his work. After Kunj finishes his classwork, I
would let him choose what he wants to do. Assuming that sketching is the most popular tool,
you can utilize it to introduce new concepts. He receives a sketching break when he participates
in instruction; this can be combined with targeted praise to help him develop tolerance while
achieving his objectives.
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Choice making:
Making choices is a proactive approach in which a teacher sets up suitable options for
the student to choose from. Giving students options empowers them to take charge of their
education and motivates them to participate actively in it. It can be applied to both boost
desired behaviors and avoid problematic behaviors. The timing of a student's choice should be
decided by the teacher. This will include the manner in which they will be given the option. The
selection of resources or media, seating arrangements, the people a student works with, or
whether they work with anyone at all, can all have an impact. It might involve giving the pupils
the freedom to select the tasks they perform or the sequence in which they finish them. One or
more of the items on the list could be the cause. This ought to be determined by the subject
matter being taught, whether it would be advantageous, and the teaching philosophies of the
instructors. Every decision should also be suitable for the culture. To ensure that all academic
goals are being reached, educators should strike a balance between academic rigor and choice
options. Options are not limited to teaching; they can also be used for social skills and
transitions during the school day.
With Kunj, choice making could be used to let him decide which task he wants to finish
first. It's possible that Kunj dislikes his current seat since he can hear the air conditioner running
and making a distracting noise. As a result, he may be daydreaming. if he is allowed to choose
where he wants to sit. In order to avoid hearing the air conditioner, he might decide to go across
the room. The teacher may let him choose which peer from a pre-selected list to work with on
the task. Pupils are more open to their instruction and absorb more knowledge from their peers.
Level A: Case 2
2. Summarize each strategy and describe why each strategy might be used to help Heather
meet one or more of her goals.
Rules:
Preventing problematic behaviors in the classroom can be facilitated by establishing and
upholding efficient rules. For pupils to be able to self-monitor their own activities and behaviors,
these should be brief and unambiguous. The learning settings are kept consistent and
predictable by the common rules that the students abide by. Students should be specifically
taught by their teachers how to incorporate classroom norms into their daily routines. When
formulating classroom rules, teachers should let students contribute and help decide what the
rules will be. Students should assist in choosing the penalties for both following and breaking the
rules, as the most effective rules are linked to both good and negative outcomes. They gain
control over the classroom and the anticipated behaviors as a result, and they also realize that it
is their duty to enforce the rules. Throughout the year, teachers should provide students
feedback and reinforce rules if monitoring data indicates that a particular rule is frequently
broken. Rules may be added or changed as needed. As usual, we must ensure that our policies
are culturally appropriate for our children.
All students must raise their hands when participating in class instruction, according to
regulations that can be established by Ms. Reyes. This establishes the standard that Ms. Reyes
can uphold. She can be more successful if she combines this with a collective contingency.
Students will respect classmates by taking turns during group discussions, which is the second
rule that might be made to help Heather stop interrupting during class talks. A group
contingency reward is another way to emphasize this.
Contingent Instructions:
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When a teacher has to change a student's conduct to something more acceptable, they
should employ contingent instructions. Since this is regarded as a scolding, it should never be
used in public and should only be used sparingly. Contingent instruction should be implemented
immediately and discreetly by educators. It ought to outline which behaviors are to be stopped
and which are to be started. A reinforcement ought to be given right away when the proper
conduct has started. The contingent instructions should only concentrate on one behavior at a
time if a pupil is exhibiting several.
This would only be suitable for use when working alone. It would be too public to use this
tactic unless you took Heather out of the group environment to speak with her about her
actions. Saying something like, "Heather, please stop talking to your neighbor and start working
on your class assignment," would be suitable during solo work. As soon as Heather begins
working on her class task, commend her for choosing to work on it.
Group Contingency-
Teachers can enhance proper behavior in both individuals and groups of pupils by using a
group contingency. By establishing a group goal behavior or a favorable group consequence for
a target behavior, this reinforcement technique makes use of peer influence. Group
contingencies come in three different varieties. The first scenario, known as the dependent
contingency, involves a single student or a small number of students receiving a reward for the
group as a whole if the required behavior is accomplished. The second is the independent
contingency, which occurs when a person receives their own reward for meeting the group
expectation. The third is the interdependent contingency, which occurs when the class or a
subset of pupils receives a reward for meeting the group expectation. Since interdependent and
dependent contingencies can target numerous students at once and take less time to design and
maintain, they are the most successful in promoting proper behaviors.
To deal with Heather's blurting conduct, Ms. Reyes can use any kind of group contingency. A
dependent condition might be that the class gets an additional five minutes of recess if Heather
raises her hand and waits to be called during whole group. After large group, students who
waited to be called on would be reinforced by independent students and given five minutes of
free time. Everyone would have to wait to be called upon in order to get a class prize under
interdependent. She might employ the same kind of incentive scheme for both working quietly
on her own assignments and interrupting class conversations.
Level B: Case 1
3. Select one strategy you feel would best address Garrison’s goals. State why you selected
this strategy to address the goals.
Ibelieve that decision-making would be the most effective way to achieve Garrison's
objectives. He enjoys engaging with his peers and prefers hands-on activities. Giving Garrison a
say in his schooling can encourage him to begin his assignments rather than put them off.
4. Describe how you would implement this strategy in your classroom and any cautions for its
use.
Iwould let him choose the supplies, tools, or visual aids he would need to finish the
arithmetic homework. I'll provide different ways to obtain the reading materials for every
reading assignment. I would also give students the option to work independently or in groups of
up to three for all academic assignments. Each student completes the homework if group work
is selected, however they can ask the other students for assistance if necessary. In order to finish
the assignments, Garrison would also have options for other seating spaces.
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Level B: Case 2
5. Select one strategy you feel would best address Ellie’s goals. State why you selected this
strategy to address the goals.
Group contingency is the tactic I would choose for Ellie. Ellie is having trouble making friends
with her peers because she is a new student at the school. While she works to get her friends'
acceptance and approval to work in groups, Ellie could win incentives for them by completing a
dependent contingency.
6. Describe how you would implement this strategy in your classroom and any cautions for its
use.
Ellie would receive five minutes of free time for every ten appropriate interactions during
a class discussion or peer/group activity, according to the formula I would apply for her. The
class may choose to cash in up to 15 minutes of class time at a time and collect the reward time.
I would increase the amount of relevant interactions to get the five minutes of free time later on
to gradually fade away the benefit.
Level C: Case 1
7. Create a priority list of two critical goals each for Patrick and Zach.
Zach Patrick
1Respect your peers. Respect your peers.
2effectively collaborate with
peers
minimize the amount of
talking that interrupts
class discussions
8. Identify two or three strategies you could use to address the goals you listed.
Zach Patrick
1Praise for particular behaviors Behavior specific praise
2Group contingency Criterion-Specific rewards
3Rules rules
. Provide a rationale for why you selected these strategies.
Zach Patrick
1 behavior specific praise:
The boys are acting badly toward one another and their classmates. This is making
the classroom atmosphere unfavorable. The positive behaviors that do occur in the
classroom can be highlighted with behavior-specific praise.
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2 criterion-specific rewards:
Zach and I would work
together to create a
system of rewards for his
proper peer interactions.
group contingency:
It would be reliant on the group contingency. Patrick
can earn the other pupils ten minutes of free time
each day if he treats them with respect. He will be
able to regain his peers' esteem as a result.
3 Rules-
Students choose the expectations to be met and the penalties for breaking or
adhering to the rules when the rules are established in the classroom. Students may
be more able to accept accountability for their behavior as a result.
10. Choose one strategy to implement immediately and justify your selection and discuss
what information you used to support this.
The first strategy that I would implement would be to create rules for the classroom –
specifically focusing on respect for peers and expectations for group discussions and
participation in group work. I would have the students select the rewards and punishments for
the rules.
11. Describe how you would implement this strategy if you were the classroom teacher
and any possible cautions or considerations of which you should be aware.
The first strategy that I would implement would be to create rules for the classroom –
specifically focusing on respect for peers and expectations for group discussions and
participation in group work. I would have the students select the rewards and punishments for
the rules.I'll call a class meeting to talk about my belief that we should add some additional
rules. Next, I would outline the three problem areas I have identified: problems with group
discussions, challenges with respect for others, and concerns with pair or group work. I would
point out that we are failing to meet our educational objectives because of these behavioral
problems. In order for us to decide which rules to add and their implications, I will facilitate the
class discussion. The possibility that Zach and Patrick won't want to abide by the guidelines
should be taken into account. If necessary, I would incorporate more techniques to motivate the
guys to behave better.
References
Curran, C., & the IRIS Center. (2003, 2021). Encouraging appropriate behavior. Retrieved from
https://iris.peabody.vanderbuilt.edu/wpcontent/uploads/pdf_case_studies/ics_encappbeh.pdf
Maag, J. W. (2007). Behavioral theory and practice: Current and future issues. In L.Florian (Ed.),
Handbook of special education (pp. 259–271). London: Sage.
