Managing Student Behavior
Throughout this page, I will discuss how I plan to monitor student behavior, respond to inappropriate student behavior, document student behavior, implement self-management strategies for my students, and give two examples of how I would react to undesired behavior. After the discussions, I will thoroughly describe FBA and BIP processes.
How I Will Monitor Student Behavior
I will work to monitor student behavior by checking in with the students who notoriously misbehave, rewarding the students who perform desired behaviors through my positive reinforcement system, and introducing self-monitoring strategies for all of my students so they can learn to check in with their emotions and behaviors on their own.
How I Will Respond to Inappropriate Student Behavior
How I will respond to inappropriate student behavior depends on how serious the behavior is. If the behavior is very minor, I might ignore it altogether because a teacher has to learn when to pick her battles. If a student's behavior is a one-time thing but it is affecting other students, I will ask the student to take a couple of minutes to go get a drink of water or run an errand for me. If a student consistently behaves inappropriately, I will sit down with the student one-on-one to try and figure out where the behavior is coming from. If that does not work, my next course of action is to reach out to the student's parents and schedule a meeting with the parents and student. If the student continues to act inappropriately, I will reach out to his/her other teachers to gather advice and work with the school counselor to determine if he/she needs a BIP or if it is time for an FBA.
How I Will Document Behavior
I plan to have a folder for each of my students, organized by class, to make notes in throughout the year. I will document desired behaviors alongside undesired behaviors to make sure I am positively reinforcing my students who act appropriately throughout the class period. I would like to have some sort of desired behavior recognition wall for the students who are consistently on time, turn in their homework, respect each other, and listen attentively. When students act inappropriately, I will make note of it in the folder, and if it becomes reoccurring, I will use my notes to reach out to parents and other teachers.
How I Will Implement Self-Management Strategies for My Students
An important way that I plan to implement self-management strategies for my students is by introducing them to the Peace Corners. Peace Corners are designed to teach kids how to manage their emotions and behaviors when they feel negative emotions coming. The idea is that a student should excuse himself/herself from the lesson when he/she is getting to a point where it is difficult to control his/her emotions. The student sets a five-minute timer, fills out a behavior/emotion worksheet to document how he/she felt and how he/she handled the feeling, and then, uses the rest of the time to color or play with fidget toys until he/she is calmed down enough to return to class.
Examples of Self-Management Systems for Desired Target Behaviors
The first desired target behavior that I hope to acquire with each of my students is the ability to recognize when one's emotions are becoming difficult to handle. As I discussed in the implementing section of managing behaviors, I plan to set up a Peace Corner for students to use when they recognize that their emotions are getting to an uncontrollable point. I would also like to take a lesson to go over emotions and when a student's emotions are controlling them/what that looks like/what the student can do if they find themselves in that position.
The second desired target behavior that I plan to work on with my students is the ability to manage their time appropriately. One way I will work on this is by spacing out the different parts of an essay or project to teach them that essays and projects are easier when done one piece at a time. Another way I will work on this is by giving the students a little time at the end of class to put the upcoming assignments in their planners to stay organized and cognizant of what work they can do to get ahead.
FBA and BIP Processes
A Functional Behavioral Assessment (FBA) is a problem-solving process for understanding and ultimately addressing student problem behaviors.
A Behavior Intervention Plan (BIP) is derived as a product from the information gathered during the FBA process, developed after collecting sufficient information about a student's behavior to determine the likely function of that behavior, focused on the prevention of the problem behavior and teaching of alternative/replacement behaviors, and based on an understanding of "why" a student is having difficulties, which is extremely useful in addressing a wide range of problem behaviors.
Conducting the FBA-BIP Process:
1. Identifying and Defining the Problem Behaviors
2. Gathering Information
3. Generating a Summary Statement
4. Developing a Behavior Intervention Plan (BIP)
5. Implementing the BIP
6. Monitoring and Modifying the BIP
Stakeholders needed to implement a successful FBA and BIP include parents/guardians of the student, teachers of the student, and guidance counselor. Stakeholders are important because they have different information to add to the BIP to effectively implement the FBA. It is imperative that the stakeholders collaborate during an FBA and BIP so that the student can experience the most success. The original teacher that reached out about starting an FBA and BIP will need help from the student's other teachers to gather data, and the guidance counselors and parents can contribute important information and help the student practice the desired behaviors in settings outside of school.