Behavioral Case Study Example

1) Description of Student, Class, & School

Student:

· I chose to observe E.R. because he suffers from both a behavioral difficulty and a minor language barrier that proves to be an issue in the classroom. E.R.’s behavioral difficulty is his inability to stay seated in his chair and focus on the task at hand. E.R. is also Chinese and is taught and spoken to in Chinese at home by his parents and he sometimes speaks Chinese at school, which distracts him from his English learning.

· Strengths: is proficient in math and reading when focused, completes work efficiently when staying on task

· Weaknesses: has a hard time sitting still, stands out of seat when told multiple times to sit, chooses not to focus on activities, daydreams frequently opposed to doing task, is learning two languages (Chinese at home and English in school, gets confused when at school not to use Chinese)

· E.R. is considered average in his academic abilities; however, there is a huge discrepancy between his abilities when he is focused and when he is not. Because my students’ are Kindergarteners, they all tend to socialize with each other and don’t leave anyone out. However, I have noticed that because of E.R.’s slight language barrier, some students tend to shy away from him because he sometimes speaks Chinese to them and they don’t understand.

Class:

· Mrs. Rose’s go to behavioral strategy is specific praise, in which she verbally promotes a desired behavior of one or more of the students, which creates a positive environment and enhances relationships with students. This strategy is especially effective because other students recognize when Mrs. Rose praises the good students, thus making the other students want to act good as well.

School:

a) What is the socioeconomic status of the school?

· Ellwood Elementary- 52.7% of students are socioeconomically disadvantaged as of school year 2013-2014.

2) Functional Behavior Assessment (USE GRAPHIC ORGANIZER)

A Functional Behavior Assessment:

· Describes two incidents of behavior in observable terms (A-B-C). What is the Antecedent, Behavior, and Consequence of the behavior?

· Quantifies occurrences of the Behavior by Monitoring Progress for 3 days.

(4 is supposed to be crossed out in all columns, its just not showing up)

· Identifies a hypothesis as to the function of the behavior.

Behavior:

E.R. is unable to stay seated in his chair and does not listen to instructions (compliance issue).

Hypothesis:

I hypothesize that E.R. acts out in class and does not listen to instructions as a way of gaining attention from his peers, and in turn, avoiding the task at hand. In addition, I believe E.R. randomly speaks in Chinese to his classmates as another way to get attention.

Commentary: After completing this process write 1-2 paragraphs discussing what you saw and how it relates to your hypothesis for the behavior.

After cultivating this hypothesis, I took careful observation of E.R. in a group setting. I found that he was constantly trying to get the attention of other students by interrupting them while working, thus, encouraging them to act out as well. Not only does bothering the other student’s pose as a major hindrance to E.R.’s learning, but it is his unwillingness to comply when told to stop that acts as his main behavioral difficulty. For example, today in class we did out May-do as usual and I was given a group of 6 boys, one being E.R.. I strategically placed him at the end of the table to keep a closer eye on him and hope he wouldn’t bother the other students. As expected, E.R. began to yell in Chinese to the other students across the table and cause a raucous. It is difficult because I do not want E.R. to associate speaking in Chinese with punishment because he should not be punished for speaking a language he is learning along with English. It must be made clear to him that he is being punished for bothering the other students, not for speaking Chinese. After many attempts to have him focus on the activity, I sat down next to him and worked with him one on one. Utilizing the strategy of specific praise and telling E.R. good job when he would answer correctly worked very well for him. I realized that E.R. focuses much better when worked with one on one along with praise for good work. E.R. was then able to finish the activity efficiently and accurately.

3) Behavioral Intervention Plan (USE GRAPHIC ORGANIZER)

· Develop a behavior plan that you will be able to implement in your classroom.

· Be sure to include proactive and reactive strategies.

· Include 1 Behavior Interventions Strategy discussed in class (See Behavior Intervention Chart we filled out in class).

· Please describe how you will use these strategies do not just list them.

· Briefly describe why this plan will address your hypothesis.

Commentary: After completing this process write 1-2 paragraphs reflecting on why you think this would work. If possible try to implement some of the strategies (with permission from your Teacher). Reflect on the effectiveness of your strategies.

I think implementing both dependent contingencies along with specific praise would be a very effective behavioral strategy for E.R. for many reasons. One of the major reasons I chose to implement dependent contingencies is because I hypothesized that the reason E.R. acts out is an attempt to gain attention from his peers. In having the whole group depend on E.R. to finish his activity, he would be encouraged to behave properly in order to gain the reward and approval of his peers. In addition, I have found that E.R. responds very well to specific praise and really feels encouraged to behave properly and efficiently when told how well he is doing. With both dependent contingencies and specific praise implemented, I believe that E.R.’s behavioral difficulties would disappear and, in turn, his work ethic would improve drastically.