Running Head: CASE STUDY ON CLASSROM BEHAVIOR

Talking Out Loud: A Case Study Report on a Students Problem Behavior

Monica Duncan
San Diego State University

CASE STUDY ON CLASSROOM BEHAVIOR

Abstract
This paper contains the case study report of a student from Mission Middle School in Escondido,
California. As a graduate student trainee at the site, I support the school counselor and work
with various students individually. The student who is the focus of this report is a Latino male
who is in the sixth grade. The student was referred to me regarding behavior problems in class.
Through an ecosystemic assessment of the student I was able to view his case in a holistic way.
My methods of assessment were through record reviews, observations and interviews. The
assessment helped me to consider the context of his family, his past school records, current
teacher opinions, and my own observations to develop an evidence based intervention specific to
his needs. The use of a self-monitoring behavioral card will allow the student to learn to selfregulate his behaviors as well as receive attention for positive goal behaviors.

CASE STUDY ON CLASSROOM BEHAVIOR

Talking Out Loud: A Case Study Report on a Students Classroom Behaviors
Introduction
Julian was referred to me because he is talkative and disruptive in class. The focus of
individual counseling has helped with social and emotional development, but his class
misbehaviors can also lead to poorer academic performance, so we have touched on academic
counseling as well. My preliminary hypothesis was that the student lacked structure and had no
regard for rules but it evolved after I completed a holistic assessment. According to Whitcomb
and Merrell (2013), gathering information from the client and parents is the minimum
assessment data, but it would be desirable to include school personnel as well (p. 19). I
conducted a record review, direct observations and interviews with the student, a parent and two
teachers which allowed me to obtain an ecosystemic view of the student.
Ecosystemic Assessment
Record Review
Prior to meeting Julian for the first time I reviewed his cumulative file. The student is a
Latino male sixth grader at Mission Middle School. He lives in a two parent household and has
an older sister who is in the eighth grade and attends the same school. In his elementary school
documents the student did not have truancies and he had consistently average grades. Report
card comments from prior teachers stated he talked in class, his behavior interfered with
learning, and he needed improvement with organization and following rules. There were no
concerning test scores, and I learned that his primary language is Spanish. Just last year he was
reclassified to English proficient classes. The record review informed me that the behavior he is
displaying currently is a consistent pattern seen at previous schools. The file itself was not easily

CASE STUDY ON CLASSROOM BEHAVIOR

accessible. At our school site school counselors are required to check out a cumulative file one
at a time, so as a graduate student I was unable to view it on my own.
Observations
I conducted a few observations of Julian in various settings. I contacted both of his core
subject teachers and asked if I could conduct observations of Julian in their classrooms. Julian
has math and science with Ms. Moody and social studies, language arts and power literacy with
Mr. Eacott. I used event recording as the method of my classroom observations. Event
recording counts how many times a behavior has occurred. According to Whitcomb and Merrell
(2013), an advantage of event recording is that it can be used to determine antecedents and
consequences of behavior (p.102). I noted the antecedents and consequences of the students
behavior to better understand any patterns that might be occurring. During my recording of
Julians behavior in Mr. Eacotts class I was able to notice a pattern of Julian getting off task
when the teacher was facing away from him or not in close vicinity.
The students behavior varied within the different settings and in only one setting did I
observe Julian getting off task. Upon entering Mr. Eacotts classroom the teacher was writing a
quick-write prompt on the board and Julian was quiet in his seat. When the teacher walked to the
other side of the classroom to assist another student Julian use his notebook to tap his partners
head. He was distracted from the assignment when the teacher had his back to him and then
when the teacher turned around Julian returned to the assignment. When I observed the student
in Ms. Moodys class they were doing group projects on iPads and he was engaged the entire
time I was present. Ms. Moody later told me that when iPads are involved his focus is much
better, rather than in class lecture. I also observed him at the lunch tables and playing on the
field. During the eating and playtime observation he did not show any concerning behaviors.

CASE STUDY ON CLASSROOM BEHAVIOR

Interviews
Teacher interviews. I chose to interview the same teachers whose classrooms I had
observed and both teachers were receptive to meeting with me. I used problem identification
interviews where the main idea is for the interviewer to assess the variety of problems reported,
identify the problems that are of most concern, and obtain specific behavioral information
relating to those problems, (Whitcomb & Merrell, 2013, p. 179). I commonly began the
interview with asking, What is the biggest concern you have about Julian? which gave the
interviewee a chance to lead the conversation with the concern they feel is most prevalent. Both
teachers stated that he is easily distracted and this contributes to difficulties in the classroom.
In the interviews I also included a question about the students strengths, which
according to Whitcomb and Merrall (2013), is beneficial in order to obtain information on the
childs behavioral assets (p. 179). It was helpful to hear the teachers say what Julian excels in,
which also serves to remind them that he is a student with multiple narratives. Both teachers
asserted that Julian is capable of producing good work and is academically satisfactory. Ms.
Moody stated that Julian is respectful when he receives consequences and is a very well-liked
student by his peers (personal communication, October, 30 2014).
My interviews with both teachers informed me about classroom interventions that have
been used which gave me information on the severity of the misbehaviors. I asked the teachers,
what classrooms interventions have you implemented, if any? Ms. Moody stated the
interventions she has tried are changing his seat, sending him to a buddy room, calling home and
having him write standards (personal communication, October, 30 2014). When asked about
interventions Mr. Eacott said he has moved the students seat and written Julians name on the
board as a warning (personal communication, October, 30 2014). I noted that although they

CASE STUDY ON CLASSROOM BEHAVIOR

both stated the student displayed misbehaviors, Mr. Eacott has used less interventions than Ms.
Moody and neither teacher has resorted to detention or sending him to administration.
When I spoke further with Mr. Eacott he added that Julian does not exert much effort in
writing or homework assignments (personal communication, October, 30 2014). I asked the
teacher if he was aware that Julian was just reclassified to English proficient classes in the fifth
grade. Mr. Eacott was stunned. Mr. Eacott perceived Julian as a student who was not exerting
effort in writing versus a student who was struggling in writing. By addressing the teachers
comment with facts from the cumulative file I was initiating a dialogue which ultimately would
benefit the student (Singh, Urbano, Haston & McMahan, 2010, p. 139). It is possible that Julian
struggles or lacks confidence in writing due to his inefficiency in the English language. I
advocated for Julian because although he does display behavior problems, when viewing his case
holistically it is important note his school history.
Parent interview. I conducted a parent meeting with Julians mom. In order to
demonstrate expertness, attractiveness and trustworthiness, which are aspects of relationship
building, I explained to the parent my role, what work I had already done with Julian, and the
intervention I planned to implement (Whitcomb & Merrell, 2013, p. 167). I considered the
cultural context of the parent and asked if she would prefer to speak in Spanish. The students
mother was able to express herself better in Spanish, which contributed to our rapport building. I
used a strengths-based view during the interview, which according to Border et al., (2013) helps
to create a more positive and collaborative relationship (p. 190). The positives I noted were the
student has an afterschool routine at home, his sister is a Peer Helper with no behavior concerns,
and the mother had the time and energy to come in to discuss her sons involvement in
counseling services. The mother also stated that if Julian needed therapy she could take him

CASE STUDY ON CLASSROOM BEHAVIOR

afterschool (M. Simon, personal communication, November 3 2014). I plan to follow up with
the mother to provide her with the resources for therapy if she feels that is needed, although I
expressed none of the school staff have recommended it.
I also asked the mother what she wants for Julian in the future, what she wants him to
accomplish, and what are the strengths he displays? These questions allowed me to see that the
mother has high expectations of her son and wants him to succeed in life. If I had a chance to
interview her again I would ask about Julians father as there was no mention of the fathers role
in Julians home life. Meeting with Julians mother allowed me to further add to my holistic
view of their familys life context.
Student Interview. I have met with Julian consistently during the semester to provide
individual counseling. Julian mentioned to me that he spends a large part of his day at school,
because he stays at the afterschool program, and little time at home (personal communication,
October 30, 2014). This comment made me aware of his desire to be at home more. In addition,
Julian told me at a later date that his father works in landscaping and commutes far so he does
not get home until late and Julian spends most of his time with his mom or at school (personal
communication, November 20, 2014). These comments informed me of the students desire for
attention. I took this information into consideration when researching and intervention.
Intervention
After collecting assessment data about my student I proposed to implement a selfmonitoring behavior card with the student. Self-monitoring interventions help students manage
social and academic behaviors and increase levels of self-efficacy, motivation and school
achievement (Rafferty, 2010, pp. 51-52). I discussed and co-created positive behavior targets

CASE STUDY ON CLASSROOM BEHAVIOR

with Julian, which served as goals on his behavior card. Julian currently has two target behavior
goals, which are to raise his hand in class and stay on task. We defined and practiced what that
looks like in our counseling sessions.
I chose to focus on positive behaviors as the goal because, according to Loftin, Gibbs and
Skiba (2005), the plan will be more accepted by the student when the goals are positive and will
increase appropriate behavior while the undesired behavior often decreases (pp. 12-13). In
addition, since the student is passionate about football I created the self-monitoring card to
incorporate football terminology to increase his interest. I will continue to review the card with
him, as well as retrieve teacher input of his progress or changed behaviors. The goal is for the
student to internalize the process overtime and slowly fade out the use of the intervention
(Rafferty, 2010, p. 56). It has only been one week since we implemented the card, but I will
evaluate the effectiveness of the intervention overtime as the student continues to progress.
Conclusion
My hypothesis changed after I conducted the ecosystemic assessment and gained a
comprehensive view of the various factors influencing the students life. My new hypothesis is
that the student is seeking attention and has learned the most effective way to gain attention is
through problem behavior. Through the use of the self-monitoring behavior card the student will
receive positive attention for his goal behaviors. I met the student before I conducted
observations, which could have contributed to not seeing consistent problem behaviors among
various settings. However, the record review and interviews informed my assessment and
allowed me to recognize his support at home, learn his academic history, and note his strengths
to move forward with an intervention.

CASE STUDY ON CLASSROOM BEHAVIOR

References

Borders, L. D., Gonzalez, L. M., Henderson, A., Hines, E. M., & Villalba, J. A. (2013). Parental
involvement in childrens education: Considerations for school counselors working with
Latino immigrant families. Professional School Counseling Journal, 16(3), 185-193.
doi:10.5330/PSC.n.2013-16.183
Loftin, R.L., Gibb, A.C., & Skiba, R. (2005) Using self-monitoring strategies to address behavior
and academic issues. Institute on Community Integration, 18(2), 12-13. Retrieved from
http://ici.umn.edu/products/impact/182/over6.html
Rafferty, L.A., (2010) Step-by-step: Teaching students to self-monitor. TEACHING Exceptional
Children, 43(2), 50-58.
Singh, A. A., Urbano, A., Haston, M., & McMahon, E. (2010). School counselors' strategies for
social justice change: A grounded theory of what works in the real world. Professional
School Counseling, 13(3), 135-145.
Whitcomb, S., & Merrell, K. W. (2013). Behavioral, social, and emotional assessment of
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