School-Based Behavioral Intervention Case Studies

Effective Problem Solving for School Psychologists

Michael I. Axelrod, Melissa Coolong-Chaffin, Renee O. Hawkins, Michael I. Axelrod, Melissa Coolong-Chaffin, Renee O. Hawkins

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2020
• ISBN:
  9781000284133
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Bildung
• Subtopic: Verhaltensmanagement

School-Based Behavioral Intervention Case Studies translates principles of behavior into best practices for school psychologists, teachers, and other educational professionals, both in training and in practice. Using detailed case studies illustrating evidence-based interventions, each chapter describes all the necessary elements of effective behavior intervention plans including rich descriptions of target behaviors, detailed intervention protocols, data collection and analysis methods, and tips for ensuring social acceptability and treatment integrity. Addressing a wide array of common behavior problems, this unique and invaluable resource offers real-world examples of intervention and assessment strategies.

1
Introduction

Michael I. Axelrod, Melissa Coolong-Chaffin and Renee O. Hawkins

Introduction

Schools across the nation are implementing Multi-Tiered Systems of Support (MTSS) as a way to address the academic and behavioral needs of all students. These systems have broad support from many educational leaders and organizations (e.g., Batsche et al., 2005; Council for Exceptional Children, 2008; National Association of School Psychologists, 2009). The purpose of these systems is to use a data-driven process to efficiently and effectively deliver resources according to student need (CRTI, n.d.). This process is designed to be efficient in that more intensive resources (e.g., small-group instruction, individualized interventions) are reserved for students for whom objective data identify a need. The process is designed to be effective, as it rests on practices with theoretical and empirical support (e.g., high-quality core instruction, reliable and valid assessment procedures, evidence-based interventions) (CRTI, n.d.).

Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS) is the application of MTSS principles to support the development of academic, behavioral, and social skills in schools. Implementation of PBIS has been associated with improved outcomes for students and schools, such as increased academic performance, increased social-emotional competence, decreased bullying behaviors, decreased disciplinary actions (i.e., office disciplinary referrals, suspensions, and expulsions), and increased perceptions of school climate and safety (see Noltemeyer, Palmer, James, & Wiechman, 2019). PBIS encompasses a three-tiered model in which coordinated school systems collect relevant outcome data to inform universal practices for all students (i.e., Tier 1); targeted practices for students whose behavior indicates a need for more support (i.e., Tier 2); and intensive practices for students who have not responded adequately to lower-level supports and thus require individualized interventions (i.e., Tier 3). Recommendations for successful implementation of intensive services include conducting function-based assessments, providing wraparound supports across school and home environments, and carefully considering cultural and contextual fit.

One approach that can inform the process of developing successful interventions and supports within a PBIS framework comes from the tradition of applied behavior analysis. Applied behavior analysis uses principles of learning theory to guide the selection, implementation, and evaluation of interventions designed to impact socially significant behaviors (Baer, Wolf, & Risley, 1968). Behaviors targeted for intervention may be social or academic in nature. An important consideration in the development of effective behavioral interventions is matching the intervention to the function the behavior serves for the student. Fundamental to this process is the premise that students (and indeed, all living organisms) engage in behaviors for a reason and that behaviors persist because of the reinforcement contingencies established through experience. Behavior is generally reinforced by access to social attention, access to preferred tangible items or activities, avoiding or escaping demands or situations, and, in some scenarios, sensory stimulation. Effective behavioral interventions seek to increase desired behaviors and/or decrease undesired behaviors by understanding these variables that maintain problem behavior. With this in mind, educators can design interventions that allow students to access something pleasant or avoid/escape something unpleasant through appropriate rather than inappropriate behavior. Students are then empowered with skills to get their wants and needs met without causing harm or damaging relationships.

Guided by hypotheses regarding the function the behavior serves for the student, interventions may focus on stimuli or conditions that occur or exist prior to the behavior (i.e., antecedents) or stimuli or conditions that happen after the behavior occurs (i.e., consequences). Antecedent variables include type of demand (e.g., level of difficulty of the material, duration of the activity, social partner), modeling of the behavior, prompting (i.e., physical, verbal, visual), pacing of instruction, size and composition of the instructional or social group, and opportunities to respond. Consequences include error correction, contingent incentives for academic or behavioral performance, praise or acknowledgment, access to or removal of tangible items or desired activities, and removal of stimuli. Importantly, all of the aforementioned variables can be manipulated by educators to change student behavior. Intervention packages including multiple variables can be developed and the effects of those packages on individual student performance can be evaluated. Readers are referred elsewhere for more detailed information about the behavioral principles that guide this approach (see Alberto & Troutman, 2013; Cooper, Heron, & Heward, 2007).

Perhaps obvious, but often overlooked, is the fact that the identificat...