This quote stood out to me because I want to promote an environment that responses to students’ misbehaving in a positive manner, reflect on consequences that have failed, and what solutions can be put into place to help educators fix such issues in the classroom.  In making this approach successful, I will use the FBA to prevent misbehaviors in the classroom, and hopefully, this can contribute to the success and wellbeing of the students. FBA is “the process of gathering and analyzing information about a student’s behavior and accompanying circumstances in order to determine the purpose of intent of the actions”.  

     From the reading I want to apply and meet the needs of my students in the near future by using the Functional Behavioral Assessment.  My biggest takeaway that I want to apply with my future students is identifying positive interventions to reduce behaviors that are undesirable and develop appropriate behaviors that can be substituted with the undesirable behaviors.  This correlates to our previous reading, for example making students feel welcomed into the classroom so they are motivated to learn and in this way they do not engage in any unwanted negative behaviors.    

While working as a prep substitute teacher I worked with a 3rd/4th grade special education class with a number of students with behavioral issues. One student in particular frequently struggled with compliance and anger management. From my own observations, Jays disrespectful or violent behavior began after being instructed to start an assignment. When an assignment or activity was exciting or interesting to her she was an enthusiastic and engaged student. However, when it was something she had no desire to do, her attitude would change rapidly. She would speak disrespectfully to me and the other adults in the classroom. When further directed to begin her work or to correct behavior is when violet outbursts would begin. Some days it was throwing a water bottle or a pen and then crying at her desk, but other days it was screaming while shoving and throwing of desks and chairs. Depending on the severity of her behavior she was either given time to settle down or would be removed from the classroom. Based on when these behaviors arise, she is trying to avoid undesired activities. As a prep-sub I did not have access other observations or development plans for this student, but I believe there had to be behavioral interventions in place. Over time her violent outbursts became less frequent and less violent and she began to rely more heavily on verbal communication. Though she still needed to work on her attitude with authority figures, her progress could not be denied. 

Finally, disrespectful language was identified as a priority, because this type

of behavior disrupts the class and Undermines the authority of school personnel.” 

This quote stuck out to me because I think it is very important to prioritise which behaviors need to be eliminated first. Violence will always be ranked #1 for obvious reasons. Whether a child is violent towards other students, or towards myself, we need to stop that behavior immediately to keep everyone safe. This also stuck out to me because of the mention of unsupervised absences. During my student teaching in undergrad I was at a High School in District 10 of the Bronx. I loved the school, the energy, the teachers, everything. However, students were able to come as they please. Some would enter the classroom 10-15 minutes after class had started, or they did not come to class at all. Many parents had no idea their children were late or did not even go to school. It seems like everywhere you go as a teacher you are going to encounter some sort of disrespect which obviously should also be eliminated as well. 

I will apply this to my classroom by always looking at the bigger picture at students negative behavior. Of course as teachers we are going to want all the behaviors to end immediately, but as the article discussed that is impossible. I will make sure to prioritize that students behaviors, and make sure that myself and the other students safety always come first. Next, I can conquer all the other negative behaviors along with the other members of the IEP team. 

“Often, the function of behavior is to either obtain something such as a tangible item, attention, control, or sensory stimulation or to avoid or escape something such as assigned tasks, activities, embarrassment, or negative emotions (O’Neill et al., 1997). Many target behaviors can be explained in the context of these general functions.” We need to be able to separate ourselves from the student’s behavior and ask ourselves why is the behavior occurring, and what purpose is this behavior serving. A student’s negative behavior is not occurring just for the sake of the student being disruptive or gaining attention, for the student that behavior is serving a purpose, often a cry for help when that student is unaware or unable unable to properly, socially and effectively communicate their needs and wants to peer, teachers and family. I like the idea of being able to do a formal FBA and subsequent BIP. Being able to collaborate with other teachers and family members in collecting behavioral data ,and targeting a pattern in behaviors to help determine what purpose those behaviors actually serve ,and to better put a plan in place to correct those behaviors would be more effective than working alone ,blindly reacting to student behavior without insight. Next year I will take this learning into my own classroom. Even if no formal FBA and BIP system is in place, I will now start to look at student behavioral differently, try and do my own mental FBA and try and determine what purpose a student’s behavior really means so I can address it more effectively.

 

When I read this article I imagined my future classroom and how I would teach skills such as anger management and communicating desires, it reminded me of some of my ASD students who aren’t necessarily behavior issues but need those side skills to be taught in order to be successful.  Once I realized how similar the intervention and skills my students, with ASD and my students who need BIP, needed I realized I already have the tools and teaching skills to teach a student anger management or how to communicate a desire appropriately.  Being able to apply various teachings and differentiating instruction to each student is a skill that I will continue to work on and I realize I already have a foundation for, as I’ve already done it. 

 

In this article they highlighted the quote “In making observations for the FBA, team members identify the behavior(s) of concern and record the antecedents and consequences of each

Behavior”. This is critical because the student also has a part in their behavior process. Since an FBA has connections to a BIP, is like an even more though out intervention that lists the concern step by step but more importantly analyzes why this happens. I think having the student in this shows them that the teachers care and want to give them a real chance before pulling them out of an inclusive class. I think a child like Sammy may not realize that thy can be switched out and if he was pulled out of an inclusive class and put into a smaller class he probably would act out even more and gain nothing from the transition. Since an inclusive class demands more from a student, its best for him to stay in his LDE, but of course teachers do not want his behavior to take away from the rest of the students. So, showing him the steps and the well thought out guide teachers refer to in order to really assess his behavior and help him manage it better since consequences are not the solution but more the issue. The quote “functional behavioral assessment will positively affect challenging student behavior.” Also supports my takeaway in that the FBA is showing the student what will help him and what can be changed for the better and it is up to him with the support of teachers and parents to better his behavior, his rapport with peers and his academic standing.
I want to try to implement these guides in my classroom, but I always want students to feel the connection and to feel they are cared for. my classroom environment is where students will feel comfortable and as equals and when that is not enough for behavior, we will continue to treat them as equals and include them in their interventions so they can be aware of the thought we put into their education  and bettering themselves.

 

 

The passage stood out because it showed that team effort is required when dealing with behavioral problems and provided specific descriptions  using a case study  guide in the FBA process providing detailed illustrations of each section of the FBA. 

Just like noted in the case study, expecting Sammy to change all inappropriate behaviors simultaneously  immediately would have been unrealistic. Therefore as a teacher, I would approach each behaviors together with the team and if possible extend and involve the parents in the whole process. 

After reading the article “A Practical Guide to Functional Behavioral Assessment,” the following quote stood out to me: “Expecting Sammy to change all inappropriate behaviors simultaneously would have been unrealistic” (Shippen eat al, 2003, p. 37). It is important that when we are developing a functional behavioral assessment (FBA), that we are realistic about what we expect from our students. This is why the FBA focuses on the behaviors with highest priority, as determined by the IEP team. It is also important to focus on these target behaviors so that we do not overwhelm the student by wanting them to change all of their problem behaviors at once. Developing a behavioral intervention plan (BIP) will not only help the student improve on their target behaviors, but will provide the necessary tools and strategies that can be applied to other “non-target” behaviors. 

 

Functional behavioral assessments are going to be an excellent resource to improve the classroom management and the overall classroom atmosphere of my future classroom. In my experience as a substitute teacher, I often found myself not knowing how to address behavioral issues in my classroom. Often times, when I intervened by calling home or having a meeting with the assistant principal, I would feel as if the problem was solved temporarily. I believe that implementing functional behavioral assessments will enable me to provide consistent support to my students. It is also important to note that these students may be misbehaving because they have not been taught how to behave in a positive manner. As part of a behavioral intervention plan (BIP), the students are able to get one on one time with a teacher who teaches them the replacement positive behavior. Modeling is an essential part of the teaching experience, and it is through adequate modeling that my students will be able to improve their behavior. 

 

This article really made me reflect on my previous experiences as a substitute teacher working inside a special education classroom with multiple students with emotional or behavioral disorders (EBD). Throughout my time in this classroom, I co-taught students who were aggressive and had low workload tolerances. This presented many challenges to our instruction, as any amount of work that required an extended period of time would lead to aggressive and violent behaviors. We followed a BIP which allowed for frequent breaks, positive reinforcements, and lighter workloads, however, many times these interventions were unsuccessful. After reading the article, I can now reflect and infer that perhaps the goals that were set were not realistic without instruction on certain social and behavioral skills. This is how I can implement what I have learned to help meet the needs of my students. I can precede interventions with necessary skill training which will increase the likelihood that the goals for my students are met. Also, I plan on ranking behaviors by priority to ensure I do not overwhelm a student with too many replacement behaviors to exhibit at once. Regarding replacement behaviors, I now understand that it is important to match the function of the replacement behavior to that of the problem behavior. I have learned many techniques like this which will increase the likelihood I am effective at maintaining a positive classroom environment. Overall, this semester has taught me methods that help me better connect with my students on a personal level to instill a trusting and caring relationship. Such relationships are vital, and often can be achieved via restorative practices. I plan on using restorative practices like restorative circles weekly to help create a positive learning environment for my classroom. Last but not least, I have learned that creating a welcoming classroom is first achieved on day 1, and starts with the implementation of positively and specifically phrased rules and procedures to follow. All of these techniques will help students feel safe, welcomed, and optimistic in the classroom which will foster greater learning.