assessment of behavior chapter 6 terry overton assessing learners with special needs, 5e copyright...

Assessment of Behavior

Chapter 6

Terry OvertonAssessing Learners with Special Needs, 5e

Copyright ©2006 by Pearson Education, Inc.Upper Saddle River, New Jersey 07458

All rights reserved.

What is a Behavior?

• 1) Observable

• 2) Definable

• 3) Measurable

- frequency (how often does it occur?)

- duration (how long does it occur?)

• Place a B or N in each blank, depending whether the term is a specific Behavior or Not a specific behavior

_______ 1. Angry _______ 11. Happy_______ 2. Hits classmates and yells _______ 12. Walks to

the door_______ 3. Is bad _______ 13. Loves food_______ 4. Does not complete homework _______ 14. Eats all the

food on the plate in 1 minute

______ 5. Is sad _______ 15. Good boy______ 6. Cries 4 times during the day _______ 16. Sings at recess______ 7. Good student _______ 17. Verbally

abusive______ 8. Pays attention _______ 18. Uses swear

words 20 times in 10 minutes

______ 9. Raises hand _______ 19. Is afraid______ 10. Neurotic _______ 20. Hides in the

corner when confronted by the class bully

Behavioral ApproachesC las s ica l C onditioning - an o rg anism learn s to co nn ect or asso ciate stimu li. •

4

When Christina was a baby, her parents would drive her around in the car to get her to fall asleep because the feeling of motion automatically made her drowsy. As an adult, Christina feels drowsy whenever she sits in a car, even when it is not moving.

• What is the unconditioned stimulus (US)? _________________________________

• What is the unconditioned response (UR)? _________________________________

• What is the conditioned stimulus (CS)? ___________________________________

• What is the conditioned response (CR)? ___________________________________

Nausea Conditioning in Cancer Patients

UCS(drug)

UCR(nausea)

CS(waiting room)

CS(waitingroom) CR

(nausea)

UCS(drug)

UCR(nausea)

Behavioral Approaches

Skinner’s Operant Conditioning

Operant Behavior - operates (acts) on environmentproduces consequences

Consequences (rewards and punishments) are contingent on the organism’s behavior.

Reinforcement (reward) increases the probability that a behavior will occur.

Punishment decreases the probability

that a behavior will occur.

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Types of Reinforcement• Positive reinforcement – giving something that the

person wants that increases the behavior• Examples:

– Praise– Teacher attention– Rewards

• Negative reinforcement – taking away something that the person does not want that increases the behavior– Chores– Taking away time-out

Types of Punishment• Presentation Punishment (type I) – giving something

that the person does not want that decreases the behavior– Detention– Extra work

• Removal Punishment (type II) – taking away something that the person wants that decreases the behavior– Loss of recess– Loss of privileges

Schedules of Reinforcement Continuous Reinforcement reinforcing the desired response each time it occurs

Partial (Intermittent) Reinforcement reinforcing a response only part of the time

results in slower acquisition greater resistance to extinction

Reinforcement Schedules

C on tin u ou s

In te rva l R a tio

F ixed

R atio In te rva l

V ariab le

In te rm itten t

Typ es o f R e in fo rcem en t S ch ed u les

Copyright 2001 by Allyn and Bacon

Schedules of Reinforcement:Schedules of Reinforcement:Frequency and PredictabilityFrequency and Predictability

Fixed Ratio: reinforcer given after

fixed number of behaviors Variable Ratio:

reinforcer given after

unpredictable number of

behaviors

Fixed Interval:

reinforcement only at certain periodic times Variable

Interval: reinforcemen

t at some times but not others

Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2006

Francis sells jewelry to a local gift shop. Each time he completes 10 pairs of earrings, the shopkeeper pays him for them. This is an example of a ___________ schedule of reinforcement.

• A. Fixed ratio

• B. Variable ratio

• C. Fixed interval

• D. Variable interval

Sandra’s mail is delivered every day at 10:00. She checks her mailbox several times each morning, but only finds mail the first time she checks after 10:00. This is an example of a __________ schedule of reinforcement

• A. Fixed ratio

• B. Variable ratio

• C. Fixed interval

• D. Variable interval

Vernon is practicing his golf putting. On the average, it takes him four tries before the ball goes in the hole. This is an example of a _________ schedule of reinforcement

• A. Fixed ratio• B. Variable ratio• C. Fixed interval• D. Variable intervalPaula is an eager third-grader, and loves to be called on

by her teacher. Her teacher calls on her approximately twice each period, although Paula is never sure when her turn will come. This is an example of a __________ schedule of reinforcement

• A. Fixed ratio• B. Variable ratio• C. Fixed interval• D. Variable interval

Manifestation Determination (discipline)

• Removal to an IAES (“interim alternative educational setting”) must include continued services if more than 10 days

• School personnel may remove a student to an IAES for up to 45 school days (not calendar days), whether or not the conduct is a manifestation due to:

1. Drugs

2. Weapons

3. Inflicting serious bodily injury (at school, on school premises, or at a school function)

IDEA requires assessment teams to conduct functional behavioral assessments (FBA).

• Examines circumstances surrounding the occurrence and/or nonoccurrence of the challenging behavior

• It asks “what is the function of the behavior?”• Task avoidance or escape, sensory stimulation, attention,

continuing a reinforcing activity– Antecedents

• Difficulty of assignment, noise levels, fatigue– Behavior– Consequences

• Reinforcement or punishment

– Provide new curricular and instructional approaches.

Functional Behavioral Assessment

Functional Behavioral Assessment

Direct measures involve the student, including direct observations and interviews with the student.

Indirect methods include teacher and parent reports, interviews with persons who know or work with the student, and evaluation of work samples.




Methods of Direct Observation

Anecdotal or Narrative Recording- Observations of behavior in which the teacher notes all behaviors and interactions that occur during a given period of time.




Follow This Case

Matt, a 4th grade student, seems to react in a negative manner towards his peers. During his reading class, he pushed another student and said a sarcastic remark to his teacher when he was instructed to get his reading homework out to pass toward the front of the class.

During this reading class, Matt’s teacher requested that the special education teacher observe to assist her with figuring out why Matt seemed to be having difficulty. The specialeducation teacher completed an anecdotal recording.




Anecdotal Recording of Matt

Matt entered the classroom. He went to his desk and talked to the student sitting next to him. The student responded. When the teacher requested that the students prepare for their oral reading period, Matt continued talking with his peer. The peer asked Matt to leave him alone. Matt continued talking to the student and the student replied “Leave me alone. Stop talking. We are going to get into trouble.” At this point, Matt shoved the student. Peer repeats request. The teacher instructed the students to hand in their reading questions that were assigned for homework. The peer told Matt, “ Pay attention. Get your homework out.” At this point, Matt replied, “I didn’t do the stupid homework.” The peer laughs.




Write each in the following format:

Antecedents Behaviors Consequences




Antecedents Behaviors Consequences

Matt enters the room.

Matt talks to his peer.

The peer responds.

Teacher gives command.

Matt talks to his peer.

The peer responds.

Peer tells Matt tostop.

Matt pushes peer.

The peer responds.

Peer tells Matt to get homework out.

Matt talks to peer. The peer responds(laughs).




Event Recording

Event recording-Recording the frequency of a target Behavior; also called frequency counting.

Matt’s teacher and the special education teacher reviewed theanecdotal recording. They determined that Matt’s talkingwas being reinforced by the responses of his peer. In other words, talking to the peer served the function of receivingpeer attention. The special education teacher asked Matt’s teacher if Matt behaved in the same manner during otherclasses. The teacher decided to complete an observation forother classes and other days to see if the behavior was consistent.The next slide illustrates the data.




Event Recording for MattTarget Behavior: Talking to Peers

Monday Tuesday Wednesday

Reading 1111 11 1111 1111 1111 1111 11

Spelling 111 11 11

Writing 11 1111 11

Math 1 11 1




Review the frequency count presented on thePrevious page. Discuss the following questions.

1. Is Matt’s behavior consistent in all of the other periods observed?

2. When does the behavior seem the mostproblematic?

3. Is the behavior the same across the three days of the observations?4. What hypotheses can you generate or, in

other words, what other information would you want to find out to help you understand

the behaviors?




Special Education Teacher and General Classroom Teacher Discussion

The teachers discussed the data and made the followingObservations. Matt’s talking is consistently more problematic during reading class. His talking seemed toincrease through the week in reading class.

The questions that the teachers decided they wanted to answer were:

How is Matt achieving in reading? How does Matt feelAbout the reading tasks he is required to do? For example, does he dislike the oral reading time or the written homework for the stories read in class?




Special Education Teacher and General Classroom Teacher Discussion

Other questions they considered were:

Does Matt have friends in his other classes? (The peer he talked with is only in his reading class.)

Are there factors outside the classroom that prevent himfrom completing his homework for reading?

Because reading is the first class of the day, are there factors that occur in the mornings before school or on the way to school that impact his behavior (setting events)?

Does Matt use his time in class to complete his work?




Frequency or Event Recording

Latency Recording

One intervention that Matt’s teacher implemented was a change inseating arrangement. Matt was no longer sitting next to the same peer. He continued to have some difficulty in reading class.As the teachers discussed Matt’s behaviors, one of the factors thatseem to influence Matt’s ability to make academic progress wasthe length of time it required Matt to complete his assignments. His teacher noted that Matt seems to take a long time getting organized and getting to work. His teacher decided to complete a latency recording. For comparison, the teacher also completed a latency recording for 2 peers sitting beside Matt.

Latency recording- Observations involving the amount of time that elapses from the presentation of the stimulus until the response occurs.




Latency Recording

Instruction

Get readingBooks out

Take out Paper

BeginChapterquestions

Matt

145 seconds

90 seconds

120 seconds

Peer 1

20 seconds

15 seconds

18 seconds

Peer 2

5 seconds

12 seconds

10 seconds

Stimulus Time to Respond




As you can see, Matt seems to take significantly more time responding to requests in reading class.

Can you suggest some strategies or interventionsthat might be beneficial to try?

Matt’s teacher analyzed Matt’s permanent products in his academic subjects. His teacher noted that Matt’s skills seemed to be somewhat weak in the areas of reading decoding, reading comprehension, and writing. Discuss the impact of his academic skills on his behavior and the impact of his behavior on his academic achievement. Review the other types of informal academic and behavioral assessment that should be used next.

Analyzing the Data




Momentary Time Sampling

T: Observation 1 = 20% C: Observation 1 = 80%T: Observation 2 = 60% C: Observation 2 = 100%

Checklists and Rating Scales

• Child Behavior Checklist• Behavior Assessment System for Children

(BASC)• Connor’s Rating Scales

Projective Tests

• Sentence Completion• Drawing Tests• Rorschach• Apperception Tests

assessment of behavior chapter 6 terry overton assessing learners with special needs, 5e copyright...

Documents

specific behavior

extinction slide

behavior examples

bacon slide

organisms behavior

behavior chores

reinforcement reward

class bully slide