Functions behind Behavior: Case Study Examples
During my PSIII internship, my class presented several behaviors requiring intervention that were all very different from one another. Universal/ Tier 1 strategies were often ineffective, and therefore I needed to spend some time addressing each behavior individually.
The first step is to identify the function behind a student's behavior, because there is almost always a reason behind their actions, consciously or subconsciously.
For the sake of confidentiality, I have listed my case studies as traits, and how I aimed to serve students who exhibited those traits.
What worked the students I taught might not work with another student who shares that trait because each student has a unique and contextual background that may determine how effective certain strategies are. Always consider the entire picture, and definitely utilize PBIS World to see a list of strategies (more information here).
The first step is to identify the function behind a student's behavior, because there is almost always a reason behind their actions, consciously or subconsciously.
For the sake of confidentiality, I have listed my case studies as traits, and how I aimed to serve students who exhibited those traits.
What worked the students I taught might not work with another student who shares that trait because each student has a unique and contextual background that may determine how effective certain strategies are. Always consider the entire picture, and definitely utilize PBIS World to see a list of strategies (more information here).
I tread carefully using the word anxiety - some students are diagnosed with anxiety disorders, in which they require professional support. However, any human will experience anxiety in certain situations in their lifetime.
Some students feel anxious in certain situations, and in the case of one of my students, it was in unstructured time blocks and activities. They were unsure of the outcome and therefore refused to participate or follow classroom rules during that time. When I first got to know this student, all I was able to see was disrespect and self-destruction. Through building a relationship with him and paying close attention to when and where he lost control over his emotions, I was able to identify what situations made him anxious and therefore prompted him to amour up.
The strategies we used included:
-avoiding power struggles (by walking away or not feeding into their temper or emotion, you stay in control of the situation).
-praising good behavior with a reward system where the student could work towards breaks from class.
-following through with what you say/ keeping your word (this is vital when dealing with a manipulative student).
-track and record behaviors (this enhances parent communication, and can highly when and where a student is struggling). A template for tracking can be found here.
-maintain high expectations: when this student was being self-destructive, or destructive towards others or the classroom, they were not allowed to stay in the room. We brought them to the office, and if they refused to follow, the principal came to remove the student. By maintaining those expectations for classroom behavior, the student simply must respect them in order to be allowed in. Multiple times in the school year, the student's parents were called to pick him up as he was "not ready to learn". This also communicates to parents the severity of the situation. Lastly, this maintains a fair classroom. It is unfair to the other students when their classroom is an unsafe or undesirable environment to learn and interact with one another. If you don't apply the classroom rules to that student, then other students might not continue to follow them.
Some students feel anxious in certain situations, and in the case of one of my students, it was in unstructured time blocks and activities. They were unsure of the outcome and therefore refused to participate or follow classroom rules during that time. When I first got to know this student, all I was able to see was disrespect and self-destruction. Through building a relationship with him and paying close attention to when and where he lost control over his emotions, I was able to identify what situations made him anxious and therefore prompted him to amour up.
The strategies we used included:
-avoiding power struggles (by walking away or not feeding into their temper or emotion, you stay in control of the situation).
-praising good behavior with a reward system where the student could work towards breaks from class.
-following through with what you say/ keeping your word (this is vital when dealing with a manipulative student).
-track and record behaviors (this enhances parent communication, and can highly when and where a student is struggling). A template for tracking can be found here.
-maintain high expectations: when this student was being self-destructive, or destructive towards others or the classroom, they were not allowed to stay in the room. We brought them to the office, and if they refused to follow, the principal came to remove the student. By maintaining those expectations for classroom behavior, the student simply must respect them in order to be allowed in. Multiple times in the school year, the student's parents were called to pick him up as he was "not ready to learn". This also communicates to parents the severity of the situation. Lastly, this maintains a fair classroom. It is unfair to the other students when their classroom is an unsafe or undesirable environment to learn and interact with one another. If you don't apply the classroom rules to that student, then other students might not continue to follow them.
Students may be reluctant to start a task, participate, or interact with their peers because they do not feel safe. This was the case for my student: for the first three weeks of my PSIII internship, my student refused to begin work or leave the classroom for gym and assemblies. After presenting this to the behavior specialist, she recommended some one on one time with the student, as well as patience: they might simply need time to warm up to you.
I created a secret handshake with the student and we got to know each other better by having a "student teacher meeting", where we went through silly and useful questions. This was effective as the student felt safe to drop their armor and embrace me as their teacher. It also gave me a better picture of their home life and some context to their behavior.
By week four, I was so pleased to see my student blooming in classes he had never participated in before (in my time at the school). In math class, they finished an entire work booklet so quickly that I did a double take! This was reassuring as they demonstrated great understanding to what we had learned that last month, and reminded me to never assume where a student is at, academically or socio-emotionally.
Edutopia offers a few strategies for supporting reluctant learners.
I created a secret handshake with the student and we got to know each other better by having a "student teacher meeting", where we went through silly and useful questions. This was effective as the student felt safe to drop their armor and embrace me as their teacher. It also gave me a better picture of their home life and some context to their behavior.
By week four, I was so pleased to see my student blooming in classes he had never participated in before (in my time at the school). In math class, they finished an entire work booklet so quickly that I did a double take! This was reassuring as they demonstrated great understanding to what we had learned that last month, and reminded me to never assume where a student is at, academically or socio-emotionally.
Edutopia offers a few strategies for supporting reluctant learners.
Impulsive |
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When a student is impulsive, they might need support processing and understanding the situation they are in. A student of mine had a short temper and fast impulses, which disrupted their (and others') learning multiple times throughout the day. It presented itself in a few different ways:
-anger towards peers
-poor decisions and responses
-a lack of consideration for others
However, this student always took accountability for their actions after they had deescalated. The student showed genuine understanding for why their actions were wrong/ disruptive, and made a goal for reentering the classroom.
Because they showed understanding of social skills in these debriefs, we learned that the student needed support in processing their interactions, as opposed to repetitive discipline for actions (which would be ineffective).
Here are the actions we took with this student:
-scaffolded instructions and directions
-cues between student and teacher (to bring each other's attention to a situation)
-having a safe place for student to deescalate and waiting to debrief with them until they are calm and collect
-lots of movement breaks to exert excess energy
Once we helped this student work through social situations that he previously struggled with, we were pleased to see the student sharing their skills and talents. This student was particularly creative, and sometimes I noticed them get frustrated when they did not have enough opportunity to share their ideas and show their work. Accommodating for them to present and share their ideas also aided in mutual respect for talking time in the classroom.
-anger towards peers
-poor decisions and responses
-a lack of consideration for others
However, this student always took accountability for their actions after they had deescalated. The student showed genuine understanding for why their actions were wrong/ disruptive, and made a goal for reentering the classroom.
Because they showed understanding of social skills in these debriefs, we learned that the student needed support in processing their interactions, as opposed to repetitive discipline for actions (which would be ineffective).
Here are the actions we took with this student:
-scaffolded instructions and directions
-cues between student and teacher (to bring each other's attention to a situation)
-having a safe place for student to deescalate and waiting to debrief with them until they are calm and collect
-lots of movement breaks to exert excess energy
Once we helped this student work through social situations that he previously struggled with, we were pleased to see the student sharing their skills and talents. This student was particularly creative, and sometimes I noticed them get frustrated when they did not have enough opportunity to share their ideas and show their work. Accommodating for them to present and share their ideas also aided in mutual respect for talking time in the classroom.
Stealing |
When students steal, there is always an underlying reason (whether the student is aware of it or not). It may be...
-To stay connected to somewhere they feel safe. Where some students have separation anxiety from home or a guardian, some students do not go home at night to a place they feel safe. By taking something from school, they are preserving a piece of their safe place. A way to address this is have an item that they have permission to travel with/ take home. This might prevent the stealing as they will already have something special, just for them. You could use a school item or have a secret handshake that acts as a unique farewell at the end of the day. Kimochis is a neat website that sells stuffed toys geared towards specific problem behaviors. They have a stuffed toy designed for separation anxiety, so in this case, I would keep one heart at school, and the other student takes the other home. When they are at school, the hearts can be connected!
-Some students steal to gain attention or to spite someone that they are frustrated with
-Some students might simply just steal because they want something (this won't likely present as a reoccurring situation though).
I reiterate that if I were to only address the stealing that student is committing, and not seek the underlying reason why, I will not find an effective way to stop it. Stealing had severe consequences on my student: no one wanted to be friends with them and teacher/
student items were going missing (never to be seen again).
-To stay connected to somewhere they feel safe. Where some students have separation anxiety from home or a guardian, some students do not go home at night to a place they feel safe. By taking something from school, they are preserving a piece of their safe place. A way to address this is have an item that they have permission to travel with/ take home. This might prevent the stealing as they will already have something special, just for them. You could use a school item or have a secret handshake that acts as a unique farewell at the end of the day. Kimochis is a neat website that sells stuffed toys geared towards specific problem behaviors. They have a stuffed toy designed for separation anxiety, so in this case, I would keep one heart at school, and the other student takes the other home. When they are at school, the hearts can be connected!
-Some students steal to gain attention or to spite someone that they are frustrated with
-Some students might simply just steal because they want something (this won't likely present as a reoccurring situation though).
I reiterate that if I were to only address the stealing that student is committing, and not seek the underlying reason why, I will not find an effective way to stop it. Stealing had severe consequences on my student: no one wanted to be friends with them and teacher/
student items were going missing (never to be seen again).