Beruflich Dokumente
Kultur Dokumente
Bethann Ilgenfritz
Towson University
name to keep the real students name anonymous). He is a six-year-old student within
Mrs. M’s first grade general education classroom at ABC Elementary School. Jon is an
only child and lives at home with his mother and father. ABC Elementary School is
located in Carney, Maryland. This school has around 573 students. The school consists of
approximately 53% white students, 25% African American students and 13% Asian
students. There is a smaller demographic of students who fall under Hispanic and two or
more races. Within Mrs. M’s first grade class, there are 20 students total. There are 11
girls and 9 boys. Within the class, there are 3 students with IEP’s.
Jon has trouble focusing in school. When the teacher gives him a one step
direction, he will not follow it within the first time being asked. His behavior occurs
daily, multiple times a day. When given a specific direction, Jon will still do what he was
doing before the given direction. These behaviors often consist of talking to and at peers
at inappropriate times, fidgeting with objects, humming loudly, as well as getting out of
his seat and walking around consistently. The directions that should be followed that are
given to Jon are usually related to the lesson such as spelling words verbally, building
words with the magnetic tiles, or writing words with the whiteboards. The behaviors that
Jon displays keep him from successfully paying attention and following along in lessons.
His behaviors also distract the other students in the group who are unable to pay attention
Literature Review
Fefer, S., DeMagistris, J., & Shuttleton, C. (2016). Assessing adolescent praise and
This article discussed the positive impact that something as simple as verbal
praise has on early childhood aged children all the way up to adolescence. I focused
mainly on the early childhood information from this article, but it was reassuring and
reaffirming to read of the benefits of verbal praise even as children get into middle and
high school years. I chose verbal praise as one of the supports that I included in Jon’s
plan. I found that he really responded well to the verbal praise, even if it wasn’t a praise
that was announced to the entire group. Before implementing this behavior plan, I knew
that verbal can positively affect students, but after reading this article and implementing it
myself with Jon, I really saw the positives from it first hand. From the research that the
authors of this article have done, they have found that, “verbal feedback from teachers is
a powerful agent to promote academic success. Praise from teachers can decrease
disruptive behaviors, increase on-task behavior, and enhance motivation, resilience, and
persistence on challenging tasks”. Fefer, Demagistris, and Shuttleton also make note in
their article about how verbal praise is especially beneficial because it is free and
appropriate for all schools regardless of income. As I did implement the verbal praise as a
support with Jon, I also focused the praise to be focused on him and his efforts rather than
how smart he was or how much he knew regarding the task given. I was happy to hear
that this strategy was validated with research found in this article as they state, “The
utility of different types of praise may change with development; older students respond
POSITIVE BEHAVIOR SUPPORT PLAN 4
person-focused praise”.
Hart, K. C., Fabiano, G. A., Vujnovic, R. K., Evans, S. W., Manos, M. J., & Hannah, J.
doi:10.1177/1063426616681980
I came across this article while researching behavior supports for children who
have ADHD. I was interested in doing some research on the topic of ADHD in younger
children, as I know this played a large role in the behaviors that I saw in Jon. The article
highlighted the supports that teachers have been using that have shown positive results. It
honed in on the fact that elementary students report using much more targeted behavior
strategies, which is exactly what we were to do with our positive behavior support plan.
The results from this article proved that the more focused plans that target behaviors and
are specific to each child work significantly better than random strategies that are a
blanket recommendation.
Through her research she writes about how this can positively affect children’s success
related to my focus student for this assignment because with Jon, I needed to find
reinforcements for positive behavior that I knew he was going to respond to and that
interested him. As this article explains, the more the child is interested in the reward
system set in place, the more they are willing to work and become self-determined.
Furthermore, when children are driven by their own interests and see the benefits for
them, the more likely they are going to succeed in the future as they develop that positive
work ethic.
Lessard, J., Normandeau, S., & Robaey, P. (2016). Effects of the Incredible Years
article about the positive affects that a training/support group can have for parents and
ultimately the child who has ADHD. In my case, my mentor teacher and I really worked
with Mrs. M, Jon’s general educator as well as Jon’s parents to provide as many supports
as possible for the family when we would have regular IEP meetings. We wanted to
ensure that he was not only getting help at school, but that his parents were provided with
reinforcements at home. This article by Lessard, Normandeau, and Robaey, tested the
efficacy of two training programs for families that have children diagnosed with ADHD
and also how the programs help with the levels of necessary medication. They found that
there was a better balance of medication and behavior regulation strategies with the
Nye, E., Gardner, F., Hansford, L., Edwards, V., Hayes, R., & Ford, T. (2016).
This article talked about the studies that have been conducted across many states
and it looks specifically into the different approaches that special needs coordinators take
to target behaviors in the classroom. It walks the reader through many possible
problematic behaviors that have been exhibited through teacher observations and then
from there, they list possible approaches to classroom behavior management. I really
liked this article because it reinforced and affirmed my belief in positive reinforcements
and it actually referenced the incredible years program that I looked into for my other
resource. This article connects and validates the research that was done in that article by
Lessard, Normandeau, and Robaey. Finally, I connected with the section of the article
that talked about relationships and maintaining appropriate distance to the child, as I
chose to use proximity control with Jon. The article highlights real teacher comments that
report how important it is to develop a strong relationship with the child and to know
which level of proximity they are comfortable with or what works best for them. This
example from the teacher also demonstrates how children get their emotional cues from
the adults. I knew from previous weeks of working with him, that he responded to
proximity control and would realize he needed to focus if I were to walk closer to him. It
was an easy non-verbal cue that would tend to cue him in to focusing.
POSITIVE BEHAVIOR SUPPORT PLAN 7
On February 6th, 8th and 9th, I observed Jon at the same time when he came to the
Fundations group with my mentor and I for a total of 30 minutes for each day. This time
that I was observing him to get my baseline data, he was part of a small group of students
all in his class that were participating in the Fundations program for extra support with
reading and writing skills. During this time, students are expected to follow along with
the directions given by the lead teacher, Ms. K, and to participate by raising their hand.
I chose to use a data table that clearly organized the behavior and frequency. The
three behaviors that I noticed to be prevalent with Jon was staying in his seat, not
Overall, my data proved to me that Jon has difficulty following directions that are
given to him the first time. Once he displayed off-task behavior, it was hard to get him to
come back to the group and focus along with the other students. I found that he was
frequently fidgeting with other objects around him, blankly staring up at the ceiling or
I was also able to get input from Jon’s general educator, Mrs. M. She reported that
she finds that Jon’s behavior is very disruptive to the class as a whole as he has trouble
following the directions that have been given to the rest of the class. She told me that she
worries about Jon because she sees that his inability to follow one-step directions is
greatly affecting his learning and is also disrupting the rest of the students and their
learning.
Mrs. M also informed me that she and Jon’s parents are in constant
communication with one another and they are in the process of figuring out the correct
POSITIVE BEHAVIOR SUPPORT PLAN 8
dosage of medication that works best for Jon’s ADHD. His mom reports that she finds
the same behavior at home when she asks him to complete a task with a one-step
direction. She finds that it is nearly impossible to get Jon to listen to her when she asks
him to do something such as cleaning up a mess or helping her with something around
the house. They are hopeful that the more time he spends in the structured school setting;
I spoke with Jon’s Library teacher who is right across the hall from the room
where we would teach Jon for our Fundations group. She reported similar behaviors that
both Mrs. M and my mentor have observed from Jon over the past months in first grade.
She said that Jon really loves to pick out books when he is at specials with her but just as
his general education teacher and I have noticed, when he is interested in a topic and
when there are topics that they cover that he likes, he is much less disruptive and off
track. She finds Jon to be a pleasure to have in class however, when she asks him to do
something or gives a direction to the class, she finds that it takes many times of reminders
to get Jon to finally focus and complete the task that is given to him.
POSITIVE BEHAVIOR SUPPORT PLAN 9
Based on the data that I collected, I have determined that the function of Jon’s
behavior is work avoidance as well as the inability to focus on one thing at a time due to
his ADHD. I find that Jon is disinterested in the activities that are going on at the given
time of instruction and therefore he avoids the work that is expected of him. The function
of Jon’s behavior is not sensory because he is not stimulated by any sensory stimulation.
The function of Jon’s behavior is not to obtain tangibles because he does not receive
Replacement Behavior
The desired replacement behavior that we are looking for Jon to demonstrate is:
During small group instruction, Jon will follow one-step directions with two reminders or
I was sure to clearly explain what exactly it was that I was looking for from Jon.
On the day that I introduced the positive reinforcement concept to Jon (Friday, February
9th), I showed him the template we would use to monitor his behavior and to track how
often/well he was following the one-step directions I was giving. Once we had the chance
to discuss this individually, I also specifically told Jon directly what an example
directions correctly the first time. I wanted to be sure these directions and explanations
were all very clear for him so that there was no confusion and he knew what he needed to
do to earn the rewards so I also met with him the morning of the first day of
implementation to go over again what supports he I was using and what behavior I was
looking for. I taught and implemented the behavior supports during our small group
The first positive support that I used with Jon in my behavior plan was positive
reinforcement. Each time that Jon would follow a one-step direction from me with two
reminders or less, I would give him specific verbal praise. I would say things such as
“Thank you Jon for following my directions the first time they were given.” Or, “ Jon,
way to listen and follow directions the first or second time I asked you without hesitation.
I love to see you working hard”. Sometimes I would also give him a high five or a fist
Another positive support I used with Jon was a visual reminder of encouragement.
Each time he did follow my direction with two reminders or less, I would give him a
color chip. Each time Jon got a chip, I would also put a check in the box on my paper to
POSITIVE BEHAVIOR SUPPORT PLAN 11
remind me that for that direction, Jon was able to complete the task with two reminders
or less. If Jon earns fifty percent or more of the opportunities for chips throughout the
duration of group, he would get a token for the day and would earn five minutes of free
time to play in our resource room before I took him back to Mrs. M’s class. Jon not only
had his daily incentives, but I know that Jon loves trinkets and little toys from
McDonalds or the dollar store so I decided that if Jon was able to earn a token for each
day of the week, or five tokens in total depending on absences or days off, that he was
able to choose a prize from the prize bin where I had collected little trinkets I knew he
would love and would want to work for. This tied each day into a weekly incentive as
well and held him accountable for each day to have multiple days of success rather than
just scattered days. Each day that he did earn 50 percent or more checks, he would get a
The third support that I used with Jon was proximity control. With his constant
need for reminders, I thought that proximity control was a super helpful strategy that I
could use with him as a more non-verbal support. I knew that for Jon, this would be
something that would positively help him because when I would work with Jon’s class
prior to taking over fully as the lead teacher, I noticed that the closer I stood to his seat,
the more on task he was. I knew that if he felt like anyone wasn’t watching at any time,
that is when we would see more of the off-task behaviors. The proximity control along
with the verbal praise and the visual encouragement that he knew he was working for
something that he liked, all worked together to give Jon the supports that were helpful to
him.
I began to implement my positive behavior plan February 12th and carried it out
the following days of the week, which was February 13th, 14th, 15th and 16th. The plan
was implemented again on Tuesday, February 20th because we did not have school
Monday, February 19th due to president’s day. February 21st, Jon was absent from group
due to a first grade field trip. The final day of implementation was on Thursday, February
22nd. There were a total of seven days that my behavior plan was implemented with Jon. I
had planned on implementing this prior to the start date of February 12th , but we had
snow days that affected this as well as the fact that Jon was absent for a few days in a row
because of an illness that pushed back the start date as well. When looking at the data of
how well he did on the two days of implementation the second week, his day absent due
to the field trip, and the day that we had off of school, could have easily impacted his
behavior for the second week of data, as he was thrown off from the normal routine. I
would also like to note that none of the days that I took official data on Jon were days
that he was removed from group for other outside supports. However, days where he was
missing parts of group because of required supports with other adults in the building, I
did find that he struggled more with staying focused on the tasks presented to him than
Week 1
18
16
14
12
10 Number of directions followed
8 Number of directions given
6
4
2
0
2/12/18 2/13/18 2/14/18 2/15/18 2/16/18
Week 2
20
18
16
14
12
10 Number of directions followed
6
4
2
0
2/20/18 2/22/18
POSITIVE BEHAVIOR SUPPORT PLAN 14
2/12/18
2/13/18
2/14/18
2/15/18
2/16/18
2/20/18
2/22/18
Overall, there was a lot that I learned after collecting data on Jon’s behavior for
the seven days that I was able to take official data on him. In the first week that I
implemented the three supports and Jon was working towards his break after group as
well as working toward his weekly goal, he did well with the supports and I noticed a
decrease in his off-task behavior and an increase in his ability to follow directions with
two prompts or less as the week went on. The first day that the plan was implemented,
February 12th, Jon did not earn his sticker for that day and I think that this was due to the
fact that it was the first day of implementation and he was still getting used to the
supports as well as remembering what he was working for. We had a discussion together
after the end of the group and we talked about why he did not earn the sticker for the day
and I showed him that I would write the percentage at the bottom of my paper each day
so he could see how close he was. I encouraged him that this was just motivation to work
harder the next day for a break and to get his sticker for the day. For the second day of
POSITIVE BEHAVIOR SUPPORT PLAN 15
implementation, February 13th, I decided that when I picked he and the other students up
for group that day, that I would remind Jon again what his goal was for the day and what
I was looking for him to do rather than focusing on what he shouldn’t be doing. Although
it was not by much, I did notice a slight increase in Jon’s focus and a decrease in the
usual off-task behaviors he presented (fidgeting with pencils or papers on the desk,
wiggling in his seat or getting out of his seat and moving around, calling out etc.) As the
week went on, his off-task behaviors did decrease and his ability to follow directions with
two prompts or less did increase. By February 16th, he had increased the amount of
checks on his behavior chart to 76 percent. I noticed that after the consecutive good days,
he was willing to work harder because he was seeing positive results. The following
week of implementation on February 20th and February 22nd showed that Jon did not
After analyzing the data as well as knowing the weekly schedule and how it
looked in implementation, I think that although the days where Jon did have 50 percent of
checks or more, did have a lot to do with the supports I put into place, I also think that
because the weekly routine was consistent that entire week, it really helped Jon’s
behavior in a positive way and reflected on to his behavior. When Jon did not have
consecutive days where the routine was the same because of the weekend, and the day off
of school for president’s day, his behavior really showed that he was out of routine and
had a harder time following directions. I believe that Jon’s behavior was work avoidance
because with the positive behavior supports that were used, Jon had rewards for
completing directions given during class when there was something attached to it that he
POSITIVE BEHAVIOR SUPPORT PLAN 16
was interested in or that he wanted to work for. By making the work meaningful to him,
Reflection
After completing this assignment, I have learned so much about behavior and how
to manage behavior in the classroom. I quickly realized the planning, time and effort that
goes into properly implementing a positive behavior support plan and I had no idea how
specific it really needs to be for each individual child for the plan to work to the fullest
potential. I was happy that I was able to implement this plan with the placement I was in,
having a small group pull out in a resource room. I felt that even though I had a small
group, it was hard at times to manage the group while appropriately implementing my
supports. I found it challenging to remember the content I was teaching, making sure
proper supports and attention are given to the rest of the students in the group, and
remembering to follow through with the correct supports with Jon. As the days went on,
it did become a bit easier to implement as I became more familiar with it as well, but I
definitely realized how much I needed to be ready to do my best teaching each day for
I felt as though my supports were successful to the best that they could be. We
had some days where Jon was absent or where we did not have school because of a
holiday. The second week of implementation was were these days occurred and I found
that his behavior really reflected the days off of the routine. I found that the days where
he was in group all five days in a row, that by the end of the week, his percentage of
following one step directions with two reminders or less was definitely higher. Knowing
that he is on medication for his ADHD and that the parents and pediatrician were
POSITIVE BEHAVIOR SUPPORT PLAN 17
working to manage his dosing to see what works best, I had to remind myself at times
that the medication dosage might be the underlying factor aside from the supports I was
Being reflective and open with Jon about his behavior each day was very helpful
in the implementation of the supports and in the increase of his direction following. I
wanted Jon to feel as though I was there to help him and to encourage him to be
If I had to do this project over again, I would have had Jon receive a prize from
the bin after three days of following directions at least 50 percent of the total given
directions rather than five days. With his consistent absences and the fact that he does go
to see other school-based professionals, which can overlap into the time we have him for
group, it will be more frequent so that he does not get discouraged. Another change that I
would make would be to have the chart in front of Jon each day. I think that if he had this
visual in front of him he would have been able to monitor his behavior even more and be
more motivated to follow directions. Although I gave Jon chips to reinforce the
behaviors, he would have benefitted from seeing the chart as well which I could have
Overall, this project taught me a lot about positive behavior supports and how to
use supports to help individual students as well as how it can help an entire small group
or class. I will definitely be sure to find ways to implement these new strategies into my