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ITL 530 Case Studies: Encouraging Appropriate Behavior
243
Case Studies: Encouraging Appropriate Behavior
Ellie
Sam
Age: 14
Age: 14.2
Grade: 9th
Grade: 8th
SCENARIO
References
Devonna Wolfe
Case Studies: Encouraging Appropriate Behavior
ITL 530
National University
Curran, C., & the IRIS Center. (2003).
Encouraging appropriate behavior. Retrieved from http://iris.peabody.vanderbilt.edu/wp-content/uploads/pdf_case_studies/ics_encappbeh.pdf
Wong, H. K., Wong, R. T., Jondahl, S. F., &
Ferguson, O. F. (2014). The Classroom management book.
Scenario
SCENARIO
"Sam is an eighth grader who is not finishing his work due to his off-task behaviors. According to his records, this has been an ongoing problem since third grade. His grades have become progressively worse this year. His academic grade in his social studies class (and in most of his other classes) is at 65 percent because assignments
are rarely completed or are done haphazardly. When Sam does start an assignment, he often rushes through it, making a number of errors and overlooking information. His teacher reports the following types of off-task behaviors: reading books and magazines, drawing and doodling, daydreaming, and talking to friends and neighbors. These behaviors occur most often during independent work times and rarely during large group or whole class activities" (Curran, 2003, p. 1).
GOALS
Sam’s social studies teacher believes he is capable of doing grade-level work and has decided that Sam will achieve the following goals within six weeks:
Goal 1
Increase the number of independent assignments completed.
Goal 2
Earn 80 percent or higher on all completed assignments
Goal 2
STRATEGIES
Possible Strategies
Specific Praise
Specific Praise
- "Specific verbal or written statements to recognize a desired or correct behavior" (Curran, 2003, p. 6)
- It is important that it is not a generalized "good job" as this is not effective (Wong and Wong, 2014)
- Helps students experience success (Curran, 2003)
- Needs to be individualized and sincere (Curran, 2003)
- Make sure that these positive statements outnumber the reprimands. (Curran, 2003)
Criterion-Specific Rewards
Criterion-Specific Rewards
- "Criterion-specific rewards can be used as part of a proactive intervention for managing classroom behavior. Students may earn criterion-specific rewards such as activities, privileges, and tangible incentives after the occurrence of an identified target behavior(s) at a set level of performance" (Curran, 2003, p. 9).
- It helps students make connections between their behavior and positive consequences (Curran, 2003).
- The reward should match the difficulty of the skill or effort of the behavior (Curran, 2003).
Choice Making
Choice Making
- "Choice-making is a strategy that enables students to select from a number of options. It can be used both to prevent behavior problems and to increase specific behavior" (Curran, 2003, p. 13).
- Giving opportunities for choices has benefits including: more positive interactions between the student and the teacher, an increase in assignment completion and accuracy and it increases a student's engagement. A teacher is less likely to experience resistance when they offer students choices (Curran, 2003).
- Make sure to only offer acceptable choices that fit the learning environment, goals and teaching style (Curran, 2003).
ACTION PLAN
I would choose to start with Criterion-Based Rewards to help Sam reach his goals.
As a new teacher, I feel that the choices I will be comfortable offering will start out small. While Curran advises that even small choices are beneficial, I do not think that they will be motivating enough for the goals set out (2003).
Using this strategy would not single Sam out and will be a good tool for me to develop as I expect to encounter unmotivated students throughout my career.
Implementation
Implementation
- At the high school level I think that it's important to try to use experience or social rewards rather than material rewards.
- I would plan for activities at the end of the week that would be academically beneficial but not imperative and fun such as a kahoot, a bingo or review game. This activity would only be participated in by students that had their work completed and those that had missing or incomplete assignments would use the time to finish those instead.
- I would re-frame the activities he gets distracted by as a reward by stating that he can read or doodle when he finishes his work for the day.
Challenges
Challenges
- The rewards for these is not immediate but rather at the end of the period or week. Also using specific praise can counteract this shortcoming.
- Not all students may find these activities to be a reward. I believe that they will be effective for Sam based on his enjoyment of interaction but I will need to reassess with different students and classes
- Don't be tempted to compromise on a reward such as delivering it before the behavior as it can lead to manipulation
- Rewards may need to be varied to prevent them from becoming boring
Scenario
SCENARIO
Ellie is a ninth grader who has just moved to the community from
another city. She is quiet and withdrawn and doesn’t appear to have
made many new friends. She often sits alone in the back of the
classroom and doesn’t volunteer responses, offer ideas, or engage in class discussions. While she does most, if not all, of the independent work
required of her, she does not actively participate in any partner or cooperative activities. She avoids group contact by reading or drawing quietly or asking to be excused to go to the restroom, locker, or office. From all the information the teachers have gathered and their observations, Ellie appears to be able to read and write on grade level.
Mr. Salinas, Ellie’s English teacher, becomes concerned when Ellie’s failure to participate in group activities begins to cause some resentment among her peers. Some students say they don’t want to be placed in a group with Ellie because “She won’t help out and it just drags us down. It’s like she doesn’t
even know we’re there.” This problem is also beginning to affect Ellie’s
grade in English class because several of the semester competencies
and assignments require peer and group interaction. There are
upcoming small group literature discussion activities and
peer editing and writing support groups.
GOALS
Mr. Salinas believes Ellie is capable of the work and sets the following goals for her to
achieve by the end of the semester:
Goal 1
Increase her participation in class discussions and conversations
Goal 2
Interact effectively within literature discussion activities and peer editing or writing groups
STRATEGIES
Possible Strategies
Specific Praise
Specific Praise
- "Specific verbal or written statements to recognize a desired or correct behavior" (Curran, 2003, p. 6)
- It is important that it is not a generalized "good job" as this is not effective (Wong and Wong, 2014)
- Helps students experience success (Curran, 2003)
- Needs to be individualized and sincere (Curran, 2003)
- Make sure that these positive statements outnumber the reprimands. (Curran, 2003)
Criterion-Specific Rewards
Criterion-Specific Rewards
- "Criterion-specific rewards can be used as part of a proactive intervention for managing classroom behavior. Students may earn criterion-specific rewards such as activities, privileges, and tangible incentives after the occurrence of an identified target behavior(s) at a set level of performance" (Curran, 2003, p. 9).
- It helps students make connections between their behavior and positive consequences (Curran, 2003).
- The reward should match the difficulty of the skill or effort of the behavior (Curran, 2003).
Choice Making
Choice Making
- "Choice-making is a strategy that enables students to select from a number of options. It can be used both to prevent behavior problems and to increase specific behavior" (Curran, 2003, p. 13).
- Giving opportunities for choices has benefits including: more positive interactions between the student and the teacher, an increase in assignment completion and accuracy and it increases a student's engagement. A teacher is less likely to experience resistance when they offer students choices (Curran, 2003).
- Make sure to only offer acceptable choices that fit the learning environment, goals and teaching style (Curran, 2003).
Contingent Instructions
Contingent Instructions
- "Contingent instructions are specific directions given to an individual student to cease an undesired behavior and to engage in a more appropriate alternative" (Curran, 2003, p. 18).
- They act as a "coupling request" as they both address the inappropriate and desired behaviors (Curran, 2003).
- They should be done quietly and only addressing one behavior (Curran, 2003).
Effective Rules
Effective Rules
- "Rules are explicit statements that outline the expectations teachers have for students to follow in order to provide a safe, secure, and effective learning environment. Rules provide common guidelines for all students and offer predictability in the learning environment, assisting students in self-regulating their behaviors. Establishing and maintaining the effective use of classroom rules is a critical proactive foundation in preventing potential behavior problems" (Durran, 2003, p. 15).
- You can have a more effective classroom by being clear about what is expected of students.
Group Contingency
Group Contingency
- "A group contingency is a group reinforcement technique that capitalizes on peer influence by setting a group goal or implementing a group consequence for behavior. The purpose of this strategy is to prevent behavioral problems,
increase appropriate behaviors, and decrease incorrect behaviors, depending on how the contingency is engineered" (Durran, 2003, p. 22).
- There is Dependent, Independent and Interdependent types of group contingencies (Durran, 2003).
ACTION PLAN
While the prompt calls for choosing only once
strategy I feel strongly that this case should be handled
with Specific Praise and Effective Rules.
I believe that Group Contingency would pose too high of a risk for Ellie as a "student's standing ill worsen if she or he doesn't earn the reward" (Curran, 2003, p. 22). It is also possible that some of her behavior is due to anxiety so increasing the stakes would only worsen the behavior.
It appears that the rules and expectations have been too lax if a student is able to excuse themselves from an activity every
time it occurs. At the same Ellie needs to be encouraged
as she takes strides to participate in group work.
Implementation
Implementation
- I would clarify the instances in which a student is able to leave the classroom and reiterate that it can't be during direct instruction time or group work.
- I would set up future group work with very structured roles so it was clear what was expected from students and would give them a specific job to do within the assignment.
- Last, I would focus on catching Ellie making progress to provide specific praise. I would make sure to do so either quietly or after class as she appears to be shy.
Challenges
Challenges
- Ellie already has a bit of a reputation so it might take awhile for her classmates to form a new opinion. I can try to offset this by pairing her with more empathetic and outgoing students.
- Enforcing boundaries can result in resistance at first if bathroom and locker privlidges weren't maintained at a healthy level.
- Ellie's behavior may be indicative of anxiety or trauma and she may need more support or resources than these strategies provide her.