Compose a Case Study and Action Plan for a behaviorally challenging student from the observation portion of the field experience. Write one paragraph describing the student in detail and identifying what you think the challenge is with this student.
Lisa is a 5th Grade student in a High-Level Class at an elementary school. She is a bright and engaging student, who likes to be the constant center of attention. I observed Lisa’s needy behavior over the course of two days. Within that time frame, she demanded inappropriate attention with more than 10 classroom disruptions. Many times, she would deliberately ask unnecessary questions that had obvious answers. For example, when the morning bell rang, and the rest of the class immediately started working on their bell work, Lisa asked if she should be doing last night’s homework on fractions or if she should be doing her bell work. Other times, she would deliberately begin working without proper instructions, knowing she would receive negative attention for not following directions. When given verbal warnings for disrupting work time by chit chatting with neighbors, Lisa knew how to work the system. She would immediately switch the agenda and claim she didn’t know what she was supposed to be doing or how to do it. She knew exactly how to excuse being off task with an act of helplessness. She demonstrated very few independent work skills. Lisa did not have an internal locus, nor did she appear to have a desire to acquire one.
Write three or more objectives on what you would want to achieve with this student behaviorally. The objectives here must be focused on the student. What are your expectations for the student to be able to do?
Objective 1: When given instructions, Lisa will eliminate asking unnecessary questions that have obvious answers. I expect her to wait for directions and to learn how to accurately and consistently follow instructions the first time.
Objective 2: During work time, Lisa will set aside problems she is unable to solve, save them for later, and to continue working. I expect her to learn how to work independently by completing problems she can solve without disruption or delay.
Objective 3: Lisa will eliminate socializing during work time. I expect her to take responsibility for her disruptive behavior and to learn to stay on task. She needs to stop interfering with the learning of others and her own.
Write one paragraph, describing in detail, a solution that you think would be appropriate and effective in correcting this student’s behavior. In this paragraph, state the solution, and a rationale for implementing this solution.
Lisa’s learned helplessness could be replaced with a program that would reward her for becoming an independent learner. The program would need to provide her the right motivation to change. Ideally, the solution would need to be intrinsic. With daily accountability and a weekly incentive, Lisa could learn to change her own behavior. Here is the rationale behind this solution. In general, students want rewards. When a reward system is consistent, relevant, and performance based, it offers students the best opportunity to learn that they earn their own consequences. A reward program puts Lisa at the point of responsibility — right where it belongs! It would keep Lisa in charge of her behavior and work habits because the consequences are predictable and directly related to her performance.
Write one paragraph, describing in detail, how you will implement the solution in your own classroom. Address areas such as how this solution can be continued in special area classes (elementary).
To implement this reward based program, I would begin by defining the parameters. I would create a point based program that would reward Lisa with a weekly, predesignated incentive. The predesignated reward would be determined jointly in a brainstorm session with the teacher holding veto power, if necessary. Lisa and I would come up with incentives that would sufficiently motivate her, as well as work in my classroom. Here are a few examples that Lisa could choose from. Lisa could earn eating lunch in the classroom with a friend of her choice for one lunch period. She could earn sitting in the teacher’s chair through one period of silent reading. She could earn a one-time homework or assignment pass. In sum, through proper choices, if Lisa earned a preset amount of 100 points in one week, she would receive a weekly, predesignated reward of her choice. The points given or taken away would be directly tied to her three objectives. For example, if she chooses to socialize during work time, there would be no warning. I would ask Lisa to place her daily point log on my desk for a 10 point deduction. No discussion would be allowed. Conversely, when I catch Lisa working independently, setting aside problems she is unable to solve and continuing to work, I would explicitly and specifically praise her for staying on task and give her a 10 point addition on her daily point log. Lisa would be required to keep the log with her so that all her classroom teachers could have access. I would share Lisa’s reward program with her special area class teachers, asking them to utilize it in their classrooms as appropriate.
Create a behavioral assessment tool to measure if the objectives were achieved. This assessment can be in the form of a chart or log.
Lisa’s daily log would be her behavioral assessment tool. Lisa would manually record her daily points on a monthly calendar. I like the daily accountability and the simplicity of this tracking method. It helps to make the program easy to implement. Best of all, the objectives are directly tied to the point system. Lisa can choose to earn (or have deducted) 10 points per objective. At the end of the week, she would add up all her points. If the points total 100 or more points, she will redeem her predesignated reward. Incidentally, I would also give Lisa’s reward program a name. I would name it after the desired behaviors she would be working to obtain. In Lisa’s case, her program would be called Independent Worker Reward. The program title would go at the top of monthly calendar. I would also write what weekly rewards she earned as a visual reminder that she’s making good choices. In addition to serving as an assessment tool, the calendar would also serve as a visual reminder of her hard work and success.
