When Behavior is a Barrier to Learning: Using the Response to Intervention Model to Address Challenging Student Conduct Jim Wright www.interventioncentral.org

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Workshop Agenda… RTI & Behavior: An Introduction Identifying Behavioral Interventions That Really Work Setting Expectations in Your School for Consistent, Effective Tier I (Classroom) Behavioral Interventions Exploring Ideas to Motivate the Struggling Learner Considering Assessment Tools to Aid in RTI Decision-Making Reviewing Internet Resources to Help Schools Address Behavioral Concerns

“The quality of a school as a learning community can be measured by how effectively it addresses the needs of struggling students.” --Wright (2005) Source: Wright, J. (2005, Summer). Five interventions that work. NAESP Leadership Compass, 2(4) pp.1,6.

‘RTI Logic’: The Power of Working Smarter… -You're a pretty smart fella. -Not that smart. -How'd you figure it out? -I imagined someone smarter than me. Then I tried to think, "What would he do?” From HEIST (2001) Written by David Mamet

What is the Connection Between RTI & the Functional Behavior Assessment (FBA)?

Essential Elements of RTI (Fairbanks, Sugai, Guardino, & Lathrop, 2007) A “continuum of evidence-based services available to all students" that range from universal to highly individualized & intensive “Decision points to determine if students are performing significantly below the level of their peers in academic and social behavior domains" “Ongoing monitoring of student progress" “Employment of more intensive or different interventions when students do not improve in response" to lesser interventions “Evaluation for special education services if students do not respond to intervention instruction" Source: Fairbanks, S., Sugai, G., Guardino, S., & Lathrop, M. (2007). Response to intervention: Examining classroom behavior support in second grade. Exceptional Children, 73, p. 289.

Essential Elements of the Functional Behavioral Assessment (FBA) “Functional assessment is a collection of methods for obtaining information about antecedents…, behaviors…, and consequences… The purpose is to identify the reason for the behavior and to use that information to develop strategies that will support positive student performance while reducing the behaviors that interfere with the child’s successful functioning.” Source: Witt, J. C., Daly, E. M., & Moell, G. (2000). Functional assessments: A step-by-step guide to solving academic and behavior problems. Longmont, CO: Sopris West..pp. 3-4.

Essential Elements of the Functional Behavioral Assessment (FBA) (Cont “From this definition, several things are clear. First, functional assessment is not a single test or observation. It is a collection of methods involving a variety of assessment techniques, including observations, interviews, and review of records, that are conducted to acquire an understanding of a child’s behavior. Second, the definition clarifies exactly what is assessed—that is, the child’s behavior as well as what happens just before the behavior occurs and what happens as a result of the behavior. Third, the definition states clearly the goal of functional assessment, which is to identify strategies and interventions to help the child.” Source: Witt, J. C., Daly, E. M., & Moell, G. (2000). Functional assessments: A step-by-step guide to solving academic and behavior problems. Longmont, CO: Sopris West..pp. 3-4.

Behavioral Disabilities [BD] and RTI (Gresham, 1992) “Resistance to intervention may be defined as the lack of change in target behaviors as a function of intervention. Given that the goal of all interventions is to produce a discrepancy between baseline and post-intervention levels of performance, the failure to produce such a discrepancy can be taken as partial evidence for a BD classification. ” Source: Gresham, F. M. (1992). Conceptualizing behavior disorders in terms of resistance to intervention. School Psychology Review, 20, p. 25.

Factors Influencing the Decision to Classify as BD (Gresham, 1992) Four factors strongly influence the likelihood that a student will be classified as Behaviorally Disordered: Severity: Frequency and intensity of the problem behavior(s). Chronicity: Length of time that the problem behavior(s) have been displayed. Generalization: Degree to which the student displays the problem behavior(s) across settings or situations. Tolerance: Degree to which the student’s problem behavior(s) are accepted in that student’s current social setting. Source: Gresham, F. M. (1992). Conceptualizing behavior disorders in terms of resistance to intervention. School Psychology Review, 20, 23-37.

What does RTI look like when applied to an individual student? A widely accepted method for determining whether a student has a Learning Disability under RTI is the ‘dual discrepancy model’ (Fuchs, 2003). Discrepancy 1: The student is found to be performing academically at a level significantly below that of his or her typical peers (discrepancy in initial skills or performance). Discrepancy 2: Despite the implementation of one or more well-designed, well-implemented interventions tailored specifically for the student, he or she fails to ‘close the gap’ with classmates (discrepancy in rate of learning relative to peers).

Avg Classroom Academic Performance Level Discrepancy 1: Skill Gap (Current Performance Level) Discrepancy 2: Gap in Rate of Learning (‘Slope of Improvement’) Target Student ‘Dual-Discrepancy’: RTI Model of Learning Disability (Fuchs 2003)

How can a school restructure to support RTI? The school can organize its intervention efforts into 3 levels, or Tiers, that represent a continuum of increasing intensity of support. (Kovaleski, 2003; Vaughn, 2003). Tier I is the lowest level of intervention and Tier III is the most intensive intervention level. Universal intervention: Available to all students Example: Additional classroom literacy instruction Tier I Standard-Protocol (Group-Based) Intervention: Students who need additional support than peers are grouped and given targeted interventions. Example: Supplemental activities to boost reading fluency Tier II Individualized Intervention Plan: Students whose intervention needs do not respond sufficiently to Tiers I & II are reviewed by the Teacher Support Team. An individualized plan is put together, monitored, and revised if needed. Tier III

Levels of Intervention: Tier I, II, & III Tier I: Universal Tier II: Individualized Tier III: Intensive

Applying ‘RTI Logic’ to Social Behavior Support (Fairbanks, Sugai, Guardino, & Lathrop, 2007) Tier I (‘Universal System’) for behavioral support: Is implemented schoolwide for all students Requires that the school "identify and explicitly teach schoolwide expectations Includes a system to "acknowledge expectation-compliant behavior" Defines inappropriate behaviors and applies consequences for those behaviors with consistency Reviews group progress toward schoolwide goals (data collection and feedback) Source: Fairbanks, S., Sugai, G., Guardino, S., & Lathrop, M. (2007). Response to intervention: Examining classroom behavior support in second grade. Exceptional Children, 73, p. 289.

Positive Behavioral Interventions & Supports: Three-Tiered Approach Source: www.pbis.org

‘Big Ideas’ in Student Behavior Management

‘Imagineering’ Exercise Imagine that you are walking through a South Asian jungle with a guide. You are alone in the great forest. Suddenly you come upon a clearing. In the clearing, you see a solitary elephant enaging in these behaviors. What thoughts go through your head as you watch the elephant?...

Big Ideas: Similar Behaviors May Stem from Very Different ‘Root’ Causes (Kratochwill, Elliott, & Carrington Rotto, 1990) Behavior is not random but follows purposeful patterns. Students who present with the same apparent ‘surface’ behaviors may have very different ‘drivers’ (underlying reasons) that explain why those behaviors occur. A student’s problem behaviors must be carefully identified and analyzed to determine the drivers that support them. Source: Kratochwill, T. R., Elliott, S. N., & Carrington Rotto, P. (1990). Best practices in behavioral consultation. In A. Thomas and J. Grimes (Eds.). Best practices in school psychology-II (pp. 147=169). Silver Spring, MD: National Association of School Psychologists..

Common ‘Root Causes’ or ‘Drivers’ for Behaviors Include… Power/Control Protection/Escape/Avoidance Attention Acceptance/Affiliation Expression of Self Gratification Justice/Revenge Source: Witt, J. C., Daly, E. M., & Moell, G. (2000). Functional assessments: A step-by-step guide to solving academic and behavior problems. Longmont, CO: Sopris West..pp. 3-4.

Teacher Referral Example… “Showed disrespect towards me when she yelled inappropriately regarding an instruction sheet. I then asked her to leave the room. She also showed disrespect when I called her twice earlier in the class to see her report card grade.”

Big Ideas: Be Proactive in Behavior Management (Martens & Meller, 1990) Teachers who intervene before a student misbehaves or when the misbehavior has not yet escalated have a greater likelihood of keeping the student on task and engaged in learning. ABC Timeline C B A Source: Martens, B.K., & Meller, P.J. (1990). The application of behavioral principles to educational settings. In T.B. Gutkin & C.R.Reynolds (Eds.), The handbook of school psychology (2nd ed.) (pp. 612-634). New York: John Wiley & Sons.

ABC Timeline

Teacher Referral Example… “C. and T. were horsing around in the classroom. In the process, they knocked down an overhead projector and crushed it.”

Big Ideas: Behavior is a Continuous ‘Stream’ (Schoenfeld & Farmer, 1970) Individuals are always performing SOME type of behavior: watching the instructor, sleeping, talking to a neighbor, completing a worksheet (‘behavior stream’). When students are fully engaged in academic behaviors, they are less likely to get off-task and display problem behaviors. Academic tasks that are clearly understood, elicit student interest, provide a high rate of student success, and include teacher encouragement and feedback are most likely to effectively ‘capture’ the student’s ‘behavior stream’. Source: Schoenfeld, W. N., & Farmer, J. (1970). Reinforcement schedules and the ‘‘behavior stream.’’ In W. N. Schoenfeld (Ed.), The theory of reinforcement schedules (pp. 215–245). New York: Appleton-Century-Crofts.

Student academic problems cause many school behavior problems. Big Ideas: Academic Delays Can Be a Potent Cause of Behavior Problems (Witt, Daly, & Noell, 2000) Student academic problems cause many school behavior problems. “Whether [a student’s] problem is a behavior problem or an academic one, we recommend starting with a functional academic assessment, since often behavior problems occur when students cannot or will not do required academic work.” Source: Witt, J. C., Daly, E. M., & Moell, G. (2000). Functional assessments: A step-by-step guide to solving academic and behavior problems. Longmont, CO: Sopris West, p. 13