FUNCTIONAL BEHAVIOR ASSESSMENT

Alexa Iandolo

SPC 3540-01

Classroom Management In Diverse and Inclusive Settings

Professor J. DHaem

April 18, 2016

CONTEXTUAL FACTORS:

John is 12 years old and is in the 6th grade. John is a heavier set and taller boy. He was
born in the United States. His primary language is English. His cultural background is Turkish.
He has no siblings and his parents are separated. John lives with his father, his mother is not in
the picture at all. Johns language arts class has 7 students, 1 girl and 6 boys. Ms. S is the teacher
for this class. Mrs. L is also in the room as a paraprofessional for another student. Based on
observations and information from Ms. S, his developmental levels are above the other students
in the class. He is placed in all resource classes for his main subjects (language arts, math, social
studies, and science). According to his IEP, John has very good comprehension but he has great
difficulties seeing the text in front of him but absolutely refuses to wear his glasses. John is
engaged in the materials during class. He tends to always volunteer to answer questions during
the lessons. He generally answers the questions correctly, showing his understanding of the
materials being taught. John can correctly pronounce words and fluently read but gets distracted
by others in the class, which causes him to stop reading and start talking to the other students.
John has no problems giving back information he just read or learned. He has accurate writing
skills. He can write complete sentences with only one to no mistakes in spelling or grammar. In
the classroom, John does not act out or disrupt the class. Sometimes John will get frustrated
while doing an activity that was assigned and instead of trying to work it out himself or ask a
teacher for help, he will just start talking to the other students to try to procrastinate doing the
work. If John is asked to go up to the board to circle a word in the lesson, he will get up and do it
but he will complain by groaning/moaning or asking why. John tends to speak out and start a
conversation with other students while he is supposed to be working. Also, he comments on what
the other students may be doing. For an example, if a student just read out loud, John will
comment by saying you could have read louder or you read that nicely based on the mood he
is in that day, causing it to be a positive or negative comment. As John gets assignments or is
taught new materials, his learning approach is not much different than any of the other students.
He starts and follows through but if the other students distract him at his table, it is a bit difficult
to get him back to focusing on completing that work. Ms. S must walk over to John and point to
his paper or look over his shoulder for him to realize he needs to get back on task. John loves to
play video games or any games on the computer.

TARGET BEHAVIOR:

When given seatwork, John will look at the paper, start to fill it out and then turn around
and talk to the other students in the class. This will occur 2-3 minutes after looking over the work
he was given. He puts his pencil down and starts talking to his tablemates. When John is
prompted to finish his work, he just stares at the paper. This continues until the time to do the
seatwork is over.
SETTING:

Johns behavior was observed in the following two settings using a duration recording
procedure.

SETTING 1 Language Arts Resource Room

Language Arts Class 8:07 9:32

John has language arts every morning for two block periods with Ms. S. I observed as the
students walked in and went to their assigned seats. The classroom is small but very colorful and
bright. It has positive quote posters that the students chose to hang up; there are also helpful
educational posters. There is a SmartBoard and white board on opposite ends of the room. The
teachers desk on the side corner and the student desks are set in groups of 3 or 4. John sat in his
seat next to the closets and the door. He sits with two other boys. The teacher began by asking
the students to take out their PARCC practice cookie worksheet homework. John followed the
directions given and took out his completed homework. The teacher then pulled up a PowerPoint
on adverbs and handed out a packet with 3-4 pages. They were asked to circle certain things and
highlight other important aspects as they went through the materials. John followed these
directions. After the PowerPoint, Ms. S gave the students worksheets for practice. John began
and after about 2 minutes; John started to talk to his tablemates. He was asked to get back to
work. He did. After about 2 more minutes, John began to talk to the student sitting behind him at
a different table. John was asked to try to finish the worksheet. This process continued for about
15 more minutes. The teacher warned the students they only had five more minutes to complete
the worksheet. John looked at his paper, picked up his pencil, and quickly filled out the rest of
the worksheet. John displayed 11 target behaviors during this time period.

Ms. S explained to me that she constantly has to stay on top of what John is doing during
independent work because of how often he turns to talk to others. John enjoys working on the
computer. He spends a lot of his time playing computer games. If John is typing on the computer,
he can easily get his work done without many interruptions.

SETTING 2 Academic Support (class for extra academic help)

Classroom 12:31 1:12

John entered the classroom. There were a few desks and a couple computers in this
classroom. There are only a select few students in the class based on their schedule and which
classes they are enrolled in. This class is used to make up work, catch up, extra time on
assignments etc. John had a test and a couple of homework assignments to finish up. Ms. S is the
teacher for this class as well. Ms. S handed John the test to finish. John started the test, after
about 3 minutes, John asked Ms. S to use the bathroom. When John got back from the bathroom,
he sat down in front of his paper and just looked at it. He started to play with his pencil, and then
turned to a classmate to talk. Ms. S asked John to finish his test. John started working again,
finishing about 2 problems before getting off task again, talking to the student at the desk behind
him. Ms. S asked John to finish up. After about 20 more minutes of that same communication
back and forth, Ms. S called John over to sit next to us while he finished his work. John came
and sat next to us. He sat there and looked at the paper. He sits very hunched over to try to see
his paper. John asked Ms. S if he could sharpen his pencil, she replied saying that he had three
seconds to do so. John got back to his seat and started to draw lines on his paper. Ms. S asked to
see his paper and he refused to let her see it. She explained that if he needed help, to ask and we
can help him. He replied no and stared at his paper. At the end of the period, Ms. S had to collect
Johns paper. Ms. S explained that John goes through these situations in almost all of his classes.
In this particular time period, John displayed 16 target behaviors during this period.
DURATION RECORDING: SETTING 1

Student: John Observer: Ms. Iandolo

Teacher: Ms. S Place: Resource Language Arts

Target Behavior: given seatwork, cannot stay on task

Date: 4/7/16 Recorded Duration each time

the target behavior was seen

Start Time: 8:07

End Time: 8:50

Total Duration: 40 minutes

Divided by total number of behaviors: 40 divided by 11

Average duration per behavior: 3.63

DURATION RECORDING: SETTING 2

Student: John Observer: Ms. Iandolo

Teacher: Ms. S Place: Academic Support

Target Behavior: given seatwork, cannot stay on task

Date: 4/7/16 Recorded Duration each time

the target behavior was seen

Start Time: 12:31

End Time: 1:12

Total Duration: 40 minutes

Divided by total number of behaviors: 40 divided by 16

Average duration per behavior: 2.5

HYPOTHESIS:

My hypothesis is that Johns behavior occurs for a few reasons. These factors include
avoidance or a way to escape the material and attention. John seems to avoid doing work that
may be confusing, tough, or challenging for him. John uses ways to try to escape by turning
around to talk to others or play with his pencil to seem as if he is working on the assignment, or
just staring at the paper. John may struggle to see the paper in front of him, causing him to not be
able to read the information on the paper. The target behaviors were observed when John was
given individual work that needed to be completed. When John is involved in a class lesson, he
seems as though he is mastering the materials. A part of my theory is supported by the observed
behaviors during two different classes that John is in and teacher informed discussions. In
language arts, John can highlight, underline or circle the materials he is told too or imitate what
the teacher shows them to do on the board. John volunteers to answer questions during the lesson
and gets them correct, however when John receives the individual work coinciding with the
lesson, John cannot complete the work. In academic support, when John is given extra time to
complete assignments, he does not use his time efficiently and he does not ask for any help. John
may be trying to avoid embarrassment by not asking for help. Instead, John will find ways to try
to avoid completing his work.

Another factor that may be a function to the target behavior would be attention seeking.
John may disrupt the class, so that the other students and the teacher will pay attention to him.
John tries to make others laugh. When John is off task, talking to students around him, it was
observed that he tries to tell jokes. He tries to get in as many as he can before the teacher says his
name. After he gets called on, he turns around to look at his paper with a little grin, almost
unnoticeable unless it is closely observed. My guess is that John wants the teacher to call his
name so that he knows the teacher is paying attention to what he is doing.