Written by Dr. Tracey Enser
As I finish a school year, one of my favorite things to do as a teacher is reflect on my year. I enjoy thinking about the pros and cons and using these to improve for the next year. After talking with many teachers about their pros and cons, a common theme on the con side is the one or two students who demonstrated extreme difficulties with the classroom management plan. The time needed to focus on this student or students affected classroom instruction and caused the teacher to become frustrated and burnt out quickly. This challenge is becoming more prevalent in schools across the United States, including WELS schools.
The focus of this article is to introduce a method that is valuable in helping teachers identify why the student is not responding and what the teacher can do to help the child be successful. The method is conducting Functional Behavior Assessment (FBA) and creating Individualized Behavior Management Plans.
Teachers communicate that more students are demonstrating disruptive behaviors, ranging from wandering around the room and defiance to physical or verbal aggression. In some cases, the disruption can impact four or more hours of instructional time per week. Teachers try different methods in their attempt to eliminate or decrease the behavior, but it only becomes worse. Why is this? In many cases, teachers focus on the behavior itself, rather than focusing on why the behavior is occurring. This is one reason Functional Behavior Assessment (FBA) can be helpful in identifying methods to help a child who is demonstrating difficult behavior.
What is FBA? Dr. Doug Guess from the University of Kansas provided the following definition for FBA: “FBA is a process for gathering information to understand the function or purpose of a behavior in order to develop an effective intervention plan.” (Riffel, 2013) There are three main steps for completing an FBA:
- Define the target behavior
- Gather information
- Form a hypothesis
Teachers are encouraged to work with team members to gain a better understanding of why a behavior is occurring. Many times disruptive students demonstrate a number of concerning behaviors, and it is difficult to focus on one. FBA allows the teacher to select one target behavior and gain a better understanding of the impact this target behavior has on this particular student.
Due to the small number of staff members in WELS schools, establishing a team for the process is often one of the greatest concerns. Teachers will find by working with other teachers, and including the parents and student, each team member will gain a better understanding of the student. The team aspect also communicates the care and concern each team member has for the student. My encouragement for WELS teachers is to do the best they can to establish a team during the process.
Team members can use various forms of data collection to gather information about the student, indicating trends in the behavior and determining a ‘why’ for the behavior. The recommended data collection time is at least ten school days, as a student’s behavior may vary on a daily basis. After conducting an FBA, teachers can use the information to create an Individualized Behavior Management Plan for the student (Riffel, 2010; Tincani, 2011).
In talking with many WELS teachers, another concern is time and resources. This method may appear time-consuming and difficult. As a former WELS elementary teacher and current Emotional Behavioral Disorders teacher, I can assure you the process is valuable in helping your students. Please consider the amount of instructional time lost due to disruptive behaviors and the amount of time you spent changing classroom management, hoping something would improve. By focusing on this particular student and determining a function of the behavior, you ultimately save time and decrease the amount of frustration these disruptive behaviors may cause.
There is also a five-week course available through Martin Luther College’s Teaching That Works series, Individualized Behavioral Management Plans That Work. Current teachers have the opportunity to gain a better understanding of FBA, its importance, and the components of FBA and Individualized Behavioral Management Plans. In addition, teachers implement FBA and design an Individualized Behavioral Management Plan in their classroom for two weeks, as they are guided through any challenges. The fifth and final week includes a reflection week as teachers reflect on the process and determine how they can use FBA and Individualized Behavioral Management Plans in the future.
A student who took the course had the following reflection: “I found myself adjusting ways I managed my classroom to meet the individual needs of students with behavior problems. I feel more confident to teach knowing I have a behavior management plan to guide my steps through the struggles of classroom management.”
CLICK HERE for more information on the Teaching That Works series.
CLICK HERE to register for Dr. Enser’s Teaching that Works Course.
Dr. Enser has been an elementary behavioral disorders teacher at Prairie Learning Center in Olathe, Kansas, for four years. She is also an adjunct professor for MLC for Continuing Education and Graduate Studies and previously served as a first and second grade teacher for nine years at WELS elementary schools.
References
Riffel, L.A. (2010). Target the behavior, not the student. Behavior Doctor Seminars, pp.37-69. http://behaviordoctor.org/?page_id=484
Riffel, L.A. (2013). Writing a behavioral intervention plan based on a functional behavior assessment (5th ed.). Behavior Doctor Seminars. http://behaviordoctor.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/2014fba2BIP.pdf
Tincani, M. (2011). Preventing challenging behavior in your classroom: positive behavior support and effective classroom management. Prufrock Press Inc. Waco, Texas.
Yes. You can use FBA in any classroom. Please let me know if you would like more information.
Is the FBA process appropriate for use in a 4K classroom?
Thank you for your response. I appreciate your zeal in wanting to keep children in our schools…at the foot of the cross. I pray God’s rich blessings upon your continued labors in that regard.
Two expressions in your response give me some concern. I am hesitant to refer to the Bible as a “tool box”. God’s Word is not a self-help manual which can be followed to cure all ills. I assume you did not mean it that way; I am merely suggesting that the term not be used and thus avoid any misunderstanding.
Another point with which I am uneasy is this: “This approach allows us to use the Law and Gospel and go beyond that to find out why the behavior is occurring.” I am all for determining WHY a particular behavior is occurring but to do so WITHIN the perspective of Law/Gospel. To use the expression “go beyond” seems to indicate an inadequacy in the use of Law/Gospel. Perhaps I am not grasping how you are using the term.
Thanks again for your labors in behalf of God’s children and His teachers in the classroom and may He continue to richly bless your efforts.
John Schibbelhut
Dr. Enser,
Thanks for the insightful post about assisting disruptive students. FBA sounds like a great method for finding the target behavior and creating an intervention plan. This could definitely assist teachers in finding the root cause of student behavior.
Thanks again for sharing the info,
Dennis
Jo,
Thank you for your post.
I have explained the example of hitting below in another response. Since that is a more extreme behavior, I will explain another behavior.
Behavior: Student turns around to talk to peers during class
Why: unable to hear directions and asking peer to explain
Plan:
Teacher will use signal like hand to shoulder to make sure she has students attention, gain eye contact with student, give directions to student directly and check for understanding
Have a peer buddy to make sure the student knows the correct page and directions to the assignment when the teacher is unavailable. (Be sure to set clear boundaries with peer buddy ahead of time-show page number, check for understanding, get back to class)
Many times when we see a student turning around and talking to a peer in class, the student will get in trouble for talking, especially if it continues. We assume the student has a negative intent for the behavior: The student just wants to talk or the student wasn’t paying attention. As a teacher, I have found myself jumping to conclusions and not taking the time to find out the intent behind the behavior. During the data collection, the why is found. In most cases, when a student continually displays the behavior of turning and talking to peers during class, it is because they have not heard the directions/page number. They could have issues with transitions, auditory difficulties or other sensory issues, etc. This does not classify them as special needs or mean they need to receive services or go to another school, this just means they need more time or modifications. Every person has little quirks like that and has special ways to help them learn things. By making the modifications to ensure you have the student’s attention when giving directions, that is a quick and simple solution.
God’s blessings!
Hi, John. Thank you for your response. We have a great tool box at WELS schools that cannot be used at public schools-The Bible. This is why I dislike seeing kids frequently be asked to leave our schools to go to public schools due to behavior. This approach allows us to use the Law and Gospel and go beyond that to find out why the behavior is occurring. As mentioned before, we have a coping skill that we can use to help our students through any problems, God’s Word. We need to get to the root of the problem first to determine how to use it best.
Let me give you an example.
Let’s say we have a student named Johnny and he hits often. As a teacher, we often will use the Law and Gospel approach with him. “Johnny, hitting is wrong. Hitting is a sin. Hitting hurts people. Jesus doesn’t want us to hit.” How many times have we said those words? Many times…and we should! It is a sin! It is wrong! After we have this discussion, the result is often a punishment for the sin. We can also say to Johnny after he asks for forgiveness that because Jesus died for us and washed away our sins, he is forgiven. HOW AWESOME IS THAT!! We are so blessed to have that assurance!
But…what happens when Johnny hits again? We use the Law and Gospel. Johnny keeps hitting. We have a VERY frustrated teacher, might have pastors involved, upset parents, peers might not want to play with him. Maybe there is even discussion that the student cannot be served at a WELS school anymore. We continue to use the Law and Gospel and should continue this, but the behavior is continuing…now it is time for FBA.
WHY is the behavior occurring? In the example above and in the Law and Gospel approach, we are focusing on the behavior itself. Before I go on, I am not taking the Law and Gospel approach out, I am adding to it.
With FBA, the teacher, and hopefully a team, will sit down and observe Johnny, particularly during the times he typically would hit. The person observing will tally the number of times that Johnny hits during a specific amount of time and look for patterns. Another method is to look at what happens before the behavior and the consequence. In addition, the teachers, parents, and Johnny will sit down and talk about the behavior and discuss patterns. They will work as a team to get to the root of the problem. After the interviews and data collection, the team will review the data and look for patterns.
AHA! Johnny hits when he wants something. In the data, he hit when he wanted a toy, he hit when he wanted a pencil, and he hit when he wanted to sit by the teacher. Johnny doesn’t know how to ask for things the correct way. My job as the teacher is to teach him how to do this. Now, I will come up with methods to help him learn the skills to do this and stop the hitting. I assure you, once you know the why behind the behavior and focus on teaching them replacement behaviors, the undesired behavior will lessen over time. It isn’t going to be easy and an overnight fix, but with persistence, you should see a positive change. I am not saying that one day you will sit down and show him how to do it the correct way and he will get it. You will need to repeat this until he stops hitting. You are trying to correct a behavior that he has trained his brain to use when he wants/needs something. You need to change the way his brain is trained. This is not an easy task, but now you can better understand why he continues to hit and help him when he displays the behavior.
Now, when Johnny hits…”Johnny, hitting hurts. Hitting is a sin and God does not want us to hit. I realize you are hitting when you want something. Would you like a pencil? Let me show you how to ask for a pencil.” Now, you will show Johnny how to ask for the pencil. “Johnny, I would like you to practice with me how to ask for a pencil. Let’s go ask Sally for the pencil.” You go practice. You can ask Sally to explain to Johnny how she felt when he used his words instead of hands. Make sure you set clear boundaries. Tell Johnny, if you continue to hit, you will need to move and sit in this hoop, away from the group, during play time, or set another limit. There should still be consequences, my goal is to stay away from punitive consequences. I could go on and on…but again, there is so much more detail in the course.
I hope this helps to clarify! Behavior is tricky. My goal is to help make things easier for teachers and students in the WELS and to keep our students at our schools, instead of having to send them to a public school.
Gods’ blessings!
Would you please share a specific example of a behavior, the why, and a plan to be implemented?
I pray that all FBAs and consequent BMPs will continue to be conducted and implemented via the perspective of our gracious God’s Law and Gospel.