Functional Behavior Assessment

By: Maggie Kirst

Reason for Referral
Ryan is a student at Jackson Elementary School who has been having
difficulties staying on-task for the past two years. Because of this, Ryans
teacher has requested that the student be used as a case study for a
Functional Behavior Assessment. Specifically, the behavioral concerns
consist of constantly talking over the teacher and other students, refusing to
participate in activities, moving around the classroom and in his chair, and
engaging in distracting behavior (including making noises, tapping, throwing
pencils, and playing with items on his desk). While the problem behaviors are
not usually violent in nature, they have been becoming more aggressive and
violent throughout the course of this semester.
Procedures
a. Background Information
b. Teacher Interview (FACTS)
c. Student Interview (Preference Assessment)
d. Direct Behavior Observations
e. Functional Analysis
f. Intervention Plan
g. Intervention Analysis
h. Further Recommendations
i. Data Collection Sheets
Background Information
Ryan is a nine-year-old boy who lives with his mom, dad, and older sister.
Ryans mom is a first generation immigrant from the Netherlands and his dad
is an African American. Ryans older sister is a junior in high school and is a
highly skilled basketball player. While Ryan has another older sister and two
more older brothers, they are all out of the house and he does not see them
often. His teacher believes that the athletic success and popularity of his four
older siblings results in the parents putting too much pressure and
expectation on Ryan. They want him to be as successful as the others, but
know deep down that he is different.
When Ryan was in kindergarten, he was diagnosed with developmental
delay. For this reason, he had an academic IEP. Throughout his kindergarten
year, his teacher began to see signs of ADHD and other learning disabilities.
When the teacher mentioned this to the parents, they were furious and
immediately took him off of his IEP. Ever since then, Ryan has desperately
needed an IEP for multiple different areas, but has not received any special
education services, individualized attention, or accommodations. In fact, his
parents will not allow him to receive any sort of accommodation (positive or
negative) that makes him look different or stand out from the rest of the
class.
In addition to the above, Ryan has lots of energy. While he enjoys playing
many sports, his favorite pass times are definitely karate, swimming, and
basketball. He also loves playing video games. When asked about his school
life, Ryan says he sometimes likes it and sometimes does not. While he likes
his teacher a lot, he says he gets really bored at school. His least favorite
subject is by far math and his favorite part of school is when there is free
time. He also enjoys science and reading specifically reading the Dog
Diaries. When asked about his instruction preferences, Ryan stated that he
preferred using iPads to paper and pencil (because they were faster and
required less effort) and that he preferred small groups to whole class
instruction. Two more interesting comments that Ryan made were about his
behavior and social life. Ryan truly believes that he is well behaved
throughout the duration of the school day. This, of course, is very contrary to
the truth. Despite this total discrepancy, I genuinely believe that Ryan is
telling the truth about what he thinks. I do not think he realizes how
disruptive his behavior can be. This ignorance also carries over into his social
life. Thankfully, Ryan actually believes he has many friends and that every
student is kind to him. He even said that a boy named Michael is his best
friend (a boy who easily gets annoyed by him and rarely talks to him).
Unfortunately, this is a complete misconception. The students are very mean
to him and not one of them would call Ryan their friend.
Building upon Ryans school life, Ryan is in 3rd grade at Jackson Elementary
School. He is in a general education classroom with twenty other students.
The classroom is quite spacious and neatly organized. In regards to seating,
the students are divided into five groups of three to six students. Ryan is in a
group with two other students with an empty desk next to him. While Ryan
has the potential to be a high achieving student, he struggles with staying on
task and therefore does not finish the majority of his work. His lack of focus
also hinders him during instruction, as he is not able to pay attention to the
content being taught. This results in him not understanding the new content
and makes it almost impossible for him to complete the work he is supposed
to do. Given Ryans lack of focus, his amount of uncompleted work, and his
lack of foundational and developmental knowledge, Ryans achievement
overall is quite low. He struggles with any sort of memorization or
application. This specifically affects his ability to do math problems and his
ability to answer comprehension questions in ELA small groups. As the
classroom primarily focuses on math and ELA, his struggles in these two
subjects is detrimental to his entire learning experience and his academic
achievement.
The student exhibits many aberrant behaviors that are concerning to the
teacher. The majority of these behaviors can be summed up in the word off
task. The student always has to be moving around the classroom, dancing
with his chair, talking over the teacher and his classmates, poking his peers,
and failing to do what he is asked to do. He is very disruptive not only to
himself, but also to the teacher and his classmates. While his behavior is not
often violent, recently it has been becoming more and more severe. This
severity includes punching one student and threatening another. Since these
violent outbreaks are not common, though, this analysis focuses on the off-
task behaviors that are described above. The off-task behaviors were chosen
because not only do they diminish any chance Ryan has to learn, but they
also decrease the likelihood of his peers learning. He is so distracting that
even the teacher loses focus and instructional time.

Teacher Interview (FACTS)

An interview was given to the teacher in order to gain a deeper
understanding of Ryans behaviors and the settings in which they occur. The
teacher indicated that the student is very likely to engage in problem
behaviors at any time throughout the day. This includes both academic, non-
academic, whole class, and small group settings. While the teacher
summarized the main problem behavior as lacking self-control and having
very little impulse control, the specific behaviors she is seeing throughout
the day are shouting out, interrupting, wandering around the room, fidgeting,
inattention, incompletion of work, and inappropriate interactions.
In addition to identifying what the problem behaviors are and where they
occur, the teacher also mentioned when the problem behaviors occurs. She
believes that his misbehavior is triggered by unwanted tasks, structured/non-
academic activities, and transitions from one activity to another. Because of
his lack of focus, it makes it very difficult for Ryan to complete tasks, listen to
instructions, and transition to a new activity. When Ryan is asked to correct
his behavior, the teacher says, it does not affect him at all. His behavior
continually is disruptive no matter the consequence. While it may appear
that the student is not gaining anything tangible from his behavior, he is
receiving attention from the teacher, attention from his peers, an opportunity
to do an activity he wants (wandering), and freedom from doing an
unwanted task. These consequences are a direct effect of his misbehavior.
Finally, while the teacher admitted it was very hard to define Ryan and all of
his needs and behaviors in a short interview, she did her very best to identify
the behavior, the setting, and the trigger. One particular challenge was that
the student has multiple different settings and triggers. This forced the
teacher to choose the ones that were the most prevalent and try to find
patterns between them all. She also said this student is an extreme mystery.
He is extraordinarily difficult to understand and label.
Student Interview
During his preference assessment, Ryan was given six flashcards that each
had a different type of tangible, positive reinforcement printed on it. These
rewards were: extra free time on his iPad, extra time to read a book, sitting in
a special chair, stickers, watching a movie, or extra free time for the whole
class. Three out of three times, Ryan ranked these rewards in the same
exact order. The order was as follows: (1) extra free time for the class, (2)
iPad free time, (3) movie, (4) special chair, (5) stickers, and (6) extra time to
read a book. When asked why he chose whole class free time over his own
individual iPad free time (as all the students do during free time is play on
their iPads), Ryan answered that he wanted everyone else to be able to enjoy
that time with him. He did not want to leave them out. He also thought it
would be more fun if the other students were available to talk to him and
play with him.
Since Ryan ranked whole class free time as his number one choice and extra
iPad free time as his second choice, both of these should be considered when
coming up with incentives for helping improve Ryans behavior and focus.
Although whole class free time is not always practical, it can be used as a
reward every once in awhile. Maybe it can be implemented when the whole
class behaved well throughout the duration of the day. On a more practical
level, Ryan can receive extra iPad free time on a more regular basis. This can
be used as a daily incentive (if he is on-task for the majority of the day he
can have iPad free time at the end of the day), or it can be used as an
assignment incentive (if he finishes an in-class assignment, he can have iPad
free time until the period is over). Both of these options could truly benefit
Ryan and would give him an external incentive for finishing his work and
staying on task. Another good advantage is that both of these incentives do
not set Ryan apart from the rest of the class (as that would be against the
requests of his parents). For all the students know, he could still be working
on the assignment. Giving these rewards in exchange for Ryans good
behavior could truly make a large difference in Ryans life and might even
help him enjoy school more.
Direct Behavior Observations
The information provided in the interview summaries stated that Ryans
problem behaviors (off-task behaviors) were equally occurring in academic
environments, specials (such as music, art, and PE), and in independent work
time. In other words, the problem behaviors occur throughout the duration of
the school day. The only exception of this is when Ryan plays games on his
iPad or reads silently to himself. Occasionally, the student will also engage in
on-task behavior when the rest of the class is being loud and disruptive and
he needs a place to escape.
Direct behavioral observations were conducted during several activities over
different days. In order to acquire this data on the student, an Antecedent-
Behavior-Consequence (A-B-C) observation technique was used. A-B-C
observations are those in which the Antecedents, the Behaviors, and the
Consequences of problem behavior are noted so that relationships between
event antecedents to target behaviors and the events that are consequences
of problem behaviors can be highlighted. The writer of this report gathered
data by observing the student on three separate occasions and recording
every time the problem behavior occurred. After the problem behavior was
recorded, the observer also wrote down what preceded the problem behavior
and what followed the problem behavior. This gave a fuller understanding of
what triggered the misbehavior and what kept it going.
ABC Observations:

T = Teacher R = Ryan St. = Other student(s)

= Long period of being quiet = Long
period of crawling around room
Time Antecedent Behavior Consequence
12:12 T everyone be R speaks out T I just said
quiet as I read loud stop talking
Class:
12:13 Two other R Stop talking T frustrated ELA
students talking face; it is not
your job to tell
them that
12:13 R looks R sits quietly T does not say
ashamed and sits anything
quietly Time:
12:16 Everyone is silent R stands up and St. stop, Ryan 24
plays with coat
12:16 St. stop, Ryan R continues T Ryan, stop it.
behavior; moving You have moved
around 6 times already
12:17 T Ryan, stop it. R lies and says T calls him out
You have moved he hasnt and tells him to
6 times already sit
12:18 Everyone is R never stops T ignores
sitting quietly moving, playing
with coat, weird
positions
12:19-12:24 I had to leave
the classroom
12:24- 12:27
12:27 Students begin to R gets up and T No, stop it.
discuss the book starts talking
over everyone
12:28 T No, stop it. R sits down, but T ignores
continues to futz
around
12:31 Students raise R talks without T ignores and
hands to make being called on talks to another
comment and puts popsicle students
stick in front of
teachers face
12:33 Teacher is R puts his T did not notice
reading popsicle stick
under teachers
hanging foot
12:33 T did not notice R keeps doing it Did until he got
bored with it
12:36 St. I have been R Hey! Hey! I T okay, lets let
to fit mountain have been. Wyatt actually
talk
minutes
 Class: Math (whole class instruction)
Time: 15 minutes
Antecedent Behavior Consequence
T = Class, be quiet. R yells T ignores
T ignores R yells St. shush him
St. shush him R yells T Ryan.
T Ryan! R quiets down T does not make a
comment
T calls on another R yells St. get really annoyed
student
T whole class R zones T does not notice
instruction
T Do this question by R works T does not make a
yourself. comment
T calls on a student R yells St. tell him to stop
yelling
T work on #15 R zones T does not notice
T calls on students to R realizes he is T does not notice
do #15 on the board supposed to be working
and begins to work
Class discussion about R zones T does not notice
problem
T Do the next R works T does not make a
problem by yourselves. comment
Class discussion about R zones, makes noises T ignores
problem

Class: Read Aloud Time: 20 Minutes

Antecedent Behavior Consequence
T - Put away iPads R ignores, keeps T Ryan, I said put it
playing away.
T Ryan, I said put it R keeps playing I give him a warning
away.
I give him a warning R keeps playing T takes Ryan aside
and gives him a think
sheet
Finishes think sheet R sits down quietly T does not make a
comment
T Do not play with R starts playing with T Ryan, throw that
anything. trash away.
T Ryan, throw that R throws the trash T nods at him
away. away

T Class, lets sit R kicks feet, rolls T - ignores

quietly and in place around on his stomach
while I read this book.
T ignores his behavior R begins to crawl and T does not see
hide under table

T calls on other R yells out over T points finger at Ryan

student student called on
T points finger at Ryan R is quiet T calls on him
eventually
T begins reading R begins crawling T does not see him
allowed to class backwards around the
room
T pauses to discuss R yells out sounds T puts hand out and
book lowers it (as if she is
saying be quiet)
T puts hand out and R quiets down T does not make a
lowers it (as if she is comment
saying be quiet)
T begins reading again R starts crawling St. Ryan!
around the classroom T stares at Ryan

ABC Conclusions: Ryan consistently and constantly engages in off-

task behavior throughout the duration of the day. Although he does
not necessarily need a trigger to set him off, there does seem to be a
pattern of the misbehavior increasing when the student receives
attention for his actions or when it delays his participation in an
unwanted task. He is particularly triggered when the teacher ignores
his behavior or instructs him to do something. While at first he may
listen to her correction, he quickly falls back into the misbehavior and
most of the time, the behavior returns with an even greater degree of
disruption.
All three of the settings observed above were whole class activities.
During these activities, the students know they have to follow the
rules of the teacher and participate according to the expectations she
has set since the beginning of the school year. While most of the
other students during these observations seemed to be actively
listening to the lesson and participating when they were supposed to
 be, Ryan just wandered around the classroom and made disruptive
noises. If this was banned, he then moved to zoning out.

Hypotheses
Based on the information provided through the interview and direct
observations, specific hypotheses regarding the variables that may be
operating to maintain Ryans problem behaviors are offered.
Hypothesis 1: Ryans problem behaviors are an attempt to receive
attention from the teacher. Attention from the teacher is positively
reinforcing the problem behaviors after an initial pause. In addition, the
problem behaviors are also negatively reinforced when the teacher
ignores the student or gives attention to another student.
Hypothesis 2: Ryans problem behaviors are maintained by self-
stimulation. There appears to be nothing specific in the classroom that
leads to his problem behaviors. He can engage in the problem behavior
at any point, during any class, and for any reason.

Functional Analysis
A functional analysis was conducted to clarify results of the functional
assessment and to test the hypotheses developed through the functional
assessment results so that the variable most affecting the increase in severe
behavior could be identified. Certain environmental events affect problem
behaviors differently. Some antecedent events make the demonstration of
problem behavior more likely to happen. The same logic applies to
consequent events. Some events that follow problem behaviors strengthen
the behavior and make it more likely to occur again in similar situations. For
example, if a childs misbehavior is motivated by a need to receive attention,
and contingent on problem behavior the attention is given to him, he might
be likely to demonstrate that behavior the next time. Other variables work
the same way. Because some variables increase behavior and some do not,
casual observation and third party report cannot truly separate the
independent effects of each potential reinforcer in an environment that
contains many potential reinforcers being delivered simultaneously. For
example, if a child demonstrates problem behavior and the teacher gives the
student attention and removes a task that they do not want to do, there is no
way to know the contribution of either event. Functional analysis is a
procedure by which the potential reinforcers are isolated and presented
independently of the other events to ferret out the independent effects of
multiple potential reinforcers.
Conditions
In this case study, two different conditions were used an attention condition
and an ignore condition. Both of these conditions were presented in the
natural, general education classroom environment during an ELA small group
lesson, a math small group lesson, and a math whole class instruction lesson.
The writer of this report and the teacher in the classroom worked together to
serve as the reinforcers for both of the conditions. Conditions ranged from
13-20 minutes in length. Each condition was relevant based on remarks
made during interviews and observations in the classroom. The conditions
included an attention condition and an ignore condition. These conditions are
discussed in greater detail below. Each of these conditions was specifically
designed to test a purported reinforcer that was reported in an interview or
observed in the classroom setting. Each condition restricted other reinforcers
and made only one reinforcer available following the problem behavior.
The attention condition tested the hypothesis that Ryan was more likely to
demonstrate problem behaviors when it was followed by attention from the
teacher (and occasionally his classmates). The ignore condition tested the
hypothesis that Ryan would again increase his problem behavior when he did
not receive the attention he was seeking. If Ryan wanted attention for his
behavior, he would *theoretically* continue his misbehavior until someone
give him attention.
Attention Condition: During this condition, Ryan was in the general
education classroom during an academic lesson (either math or ELA).
Whenever the problem behavior occurred, the writer of this report or
the classroom teacher would give attention (either positive or
negative) to the student. As soon as the behavior ceased, the attention
was removed until the student engaged in the problem behavior again.
Every time the student demonstrated the problem behavior, it resulted
in him receiving attention.
Ignore Condition: During this condition, Ryan was in the general
education classroom during an academic lesson (either math or ELA).
Throughout the duration of these lessons, the student was completely
ignored by both the teacher and the writer of this report. This includes
when the student demonstrated the problem behavior and when the
student demonstrated desired behavior. In both cases, the student was
ignored.
Definition of Problem Behavior
The problem behavior consisted of multiple forms of off-task behavior. This
includes: talking over the teacher and other students, wandering around the
classroom, tilting his chair, refusing to participate in activities, tapping,
zoning out, throwing pencils, crawling around the classroom, picking up and
dropping his chair, making noises, and playing with the materials on his
desk.
Method of Recording
The sessions were observed by the writer of this report. During these
sessions, a partial-interval recording system was used to record the students
behavior. The 13-20 minute sessions were divided into 10-second intervals
where the student received an X if the problem behavior occurred during
the 10 seconds or an O if the problem behavior did not occur. This method
resulted in the percentage of intervals containing problem behaviors. The
percentage of intervals was obtained by dividing the number of 10 second
intervals that contained problem behaviors by the total number of 10 second
intervals in the session.

Attention
Ignore

Data

Percentage of time ON-task

Interpretation of the functional analysis
When evaluating functional results, the more problem behaviors that a
particular condition contains, then the more confident the assumption that
that condition contains an actual reinforcer for that target behavior.
Identification of the exact reinforcers leads to more accurate intervention
recommendations. The graph above represents the percentage of intervals
where the problem behaviors did not occur as observed in each condition.
The results of the functional analysis indicate that Ryans problem behavior
of being off-task is maintained by two different functions: receiving attention
and being ignored. Both of these confirm the hypothesis that the student is
seeking attention and will not stop until he receives it. This is extremely
difficult, as one can see, because no matter what the teacher does, the
problem behavior is being reinforced. If the teacher tries to correct his
behavior, he continues to do the behavior to get her attention again. If the
teacher ignores his behavior, he will get worse and worse until she begins to
recognize him. Ryan knows he can always receive more attention if he
continues engaging in problem behaviors.
The importance of functional analysis results are only as beneficial as using
the information to correct the problem. In most cases, the reinforcer
identified in the analysis can be directly used to motivate appropriate
behavior as the target behaviors no longer result in reinforcement. In Ryans
case, the problem behaviors are maintained by attention from the teacher
and occasionally his peers.

Behavior Intervention Plan:

Student Information Name: Ryan
Date: 3/17/17
School: Jackson Elementary
Grade: 3rd
BIP Report by: Maggie Kirst
Problem Behavior: Off-task behavior:
This student engages in many forms
of off-task behavior. This includes:
talking over the teacher and other
students, wandering around the
classroom, tilting his chair, refusing
to participate in activities, humming,
tapping, zoning out, throwing
pencils, crawling around the
classroom, picking up and dropping

Hypothesized function of the
behavior:
Replacement Behavior:
Method of Teaching
Replacement Behavior:
Intervention
his chair, making noises, and
playing with the materials on his
desk.
This student specifically struggles
with not sitting in his seat properly,
talking out of turn, zoning out, and
not listening to instructions.
Combination of a need for
attention (specifically from the
teacher, not classmates) and self-
stimulation.
The student is expected to:
- Only talk at the appropriate
times
- Stay engaged during
instruction
Actively participate in
the lesson by obeying
instructions and
answering questions
Not zone out or talk
to other students
during the lesson
Remain in his seat
during the lesson
- Keep his chair on all four legs
(he is permitted to stand if he
needs)
- Obey instructions the first
time he hears them
The student will be taught the
desired behavior by implicit
shaping. Although the student will
not be aware of what is going on or
the intervention plan (per request of
his parents), the constant positive
attention from his teacher will
[hopefully] shape his behavior in a
positive way.
Positive reinforcement will be put
 into place to help the student
successfully develop the appropriate
replacement behavior. Specifically,
the teacher will offer the student
verbal praise and positive attention
consistently throughout the day.

Accommodations Clear, concise directions

Proximity
Prompts: verbal or nonverbal
Frequent breaks
Option to stand as he works
Opportunity to speak his thoughts
at some point
More attention from the teacher

With parent consent:

Self-monitoring program
Preferential seating
An IEP or 504 plan (individualized
instruction)
Incentives for appropriate
behavior
Signal to inform teacher he needs
a break
Classroom aide

Method of Measuring Progress: Data will be collected using a

partial interval recording. Every
ten seconds, the recorder will mark
down whether or not the student
engaged in off-task behavior (as
defined above). If at any point
during those ten seconds the
student was off-task, he will receive
an X. If he was on-task throughout
the whole ten seconds, he will
receive an O. The duration of
these observations will vary.

Frequency of monitoring: The behavior will be monitored by

 the writer of this report on four
separate occasions throughout the
semester. Each session will be 17-20
minutes in length. As discussed
above, the students behavior will
be recorded every ten seconds.
Identified Reinforcer: Positive attention from the
teacher/student teacher.

Reinforcement Schedule: The student will receive positive

attention from the teacher every
two to three minutes during
individual work time and as
consistently as possible during
instructional time.

Plan for Generalization In order to help the student develop

the appropriate behavior outside of
just his general education
classroom, I will train his other
teachers (art, PE, music) on how to
implement positive reinforcement
and attention for Ryan. That way, he
will be receiving positive attention
throughout the entire day, not just
in his academic classes.

Plan for Maintenance Initial goal: the students on-task

behavior will increase from 20% to
60%. This will be the direct result of
the above reinforcement schedule.

Upon reaching this initial goal, the

teacher will fade reinforcement
to an intermittent schedule
(instead of interval). The ultimate
goal is that the student will continue
the high percentage of on-task
behavior with intermittent
reinforcement.

Intervention Results:
 90%

80%

70%

60%

50% With Intervention

Percentage of time ON- Baseline Data
40%
task
30%

20%

10%

0%

Narrative: It is incredible how quickly and effectively the behavior

intervention plan increased Ryans on-task behavior. While at first he was not
willing to take any positive reinforcement and would ignore it by staring off,
walking away, or start talking over you, he eventually was able to accept it.
When Ryan finally understood what was going on (or so it appeared), he was
able to occasionally look in my eyes, give a little smile, and even proudly
explain what he was doing. While it is important to keep in mind that there
could have been many other reasons for an increase in on-task behavior (it
was just a good day, a more enjoyable activity, etc.), I would still consider
the invention successful. All it took was helping Ryan grow accustomed to
receiving positive attention and then he was able to shine. Now that positive
attention is not as foreign to Ryan and is something he now desires to have,
this pattern of positive reinforcement could really benefit him and his
classmates. These observations sessions were only 17-20 minutes long I
can only imagine what could happen if he received positive reinforcement
throughout the day! His whole disposition about himself and his abilities
could change drastically.

Further Recommendations
I recommend the continuation of implementing the behavior intervention
plan throughout Ryans daily routine. Since the data shows such obvious and
overwhelming growth in his behavior, the positive reinforcement should
definitely continue. While at first the positive reinforcement can be given at
certain intervals (every five minutes or so), the intervention can begin to
fade into intermittent reinforcement. In other words, the teacher praises the
student whenever she sees him on-task. In order to expand this behavioral
growth outside of just the general education classroom, I recommend
meeting with the other teachers in the school (PE teacher, music teacher,
librarian) and teaching them the positive reinforcement strategy. That way,
everywhere that Ryan goes he will receive attention for his good behavior,
not his bad behavior.
I also recommend that the teacher try to collaborate with the parents so they
too can implement positive reinforcement. Perhaps with all of this data
shown and a way for Ryan to receive help without being labeled as
different, the parents would be willing to get involved. Another reason the
parents may be more likely to collaborate is that this report is stating a
solution, not a problem (which the parents do not like hearing about).

DATA COLLECTION:

X = Off task O = On
Partial Interval Recording task

BASELINE DATA:
Math: Small Group
XXXXXX XXXXXX XXXXXX XXOOOX
XXXXXX XOOOOO XXXXXX XXXXXX
XXXXXO OXXXXO XXOOXX
OXXXXO XXXXXX OOXXXX
OXXXXX XXXXXX XXXOXX
Percentage ON TASK: 19% Percentage OFF TASK: 81%
Minutes ON TASK: 3 minutes, 10 seconds Minutes OFF TASK: 13 minutes, 50
seconds

ELA: Small Group

OOOOXX XXXOOO OOXXXX XXXXXX
XXXXXX OXXXXX XXXXXX XXOOXX
XXXXXX XXXXXX XOXXXX
XOOOXX XOOOXX XOXOOX
XXOXXX OXXXXX XXXXXX
Percentage ON TASK: 24% Percentage OFF TASK: 76%
Minutes ON TASK: 4 minutes Minutes OFF TASK: 13 minutes

Math: Large Group

XXXXOO XXXOXX XXXXXX XXXXOO
OXXXXX OOXXXX XXXXXX XXXOOX
XXXXXX XOXXXX XXOOXX XXXXXX
XXOOXX OXXXXX XOXXXX
XXXXXX XXXXXX XXXXXX
Percentage ON TASK: 16% Percentage OFF TASK: 84%
Minutes ON TASK: 2 minutes, 50 seconds Minutes OFF TASK: 15 minutes, 10
seconds

FUNCTIONAL ANALYSIS: ATTENTION

ELA: Small group
XXOOOO OXOOOO OOXOOO XXXOXX
XOOOOO OOOOOO OOOOOO XXXXOX
OOOOOX OOOOXO OOOOXX XXXXXX
OOXOOX OOXOOX XXXXXX XXXXXX
XOOXOO XOOOOO XXXOOX XXXXXX

Percentage ON TASK: 55% Percentage OFF TASK: 45%

Minutes ON TASK: 11 minutes Minutes OFF TASK: 9 minutes
Notes: Ryan was able to remain on task whenever he or a member of his small
group was reading. Since that was the majority of this small group, he was able on
task fairly well. However, as soon as the group transitioned into a discussion, Ryan
really struggled to pay attention. He would not be listen to his group members or
the teacher, he would be stare off into the distance, he would shout out over the
other students talking, and he would look around the room. When the group
transitioned again into a time of independently answering questions, Ryan was not
able to stay on task for even ten seconds.

Math: Small group

O = On task Z = Zoning M = Messing around T = Talking

MMOMMM OZZMZT TOTMMT

ZOZMMO ZTTTZT TTMZMT
TTOOOT MOOMZZ
OTOMMT TZMZOO
OTTMZO OOOOTT

Percentage ON TASK: 28% Percentage OFF TASK: 72%

Minutes ON TASK: 3 minutes, 20 seconds Minutes OFF TASK: 8 minutes,
40 seconds
Notes: In order to give the viewer a better understanding of how the students was
being off task, I included more specific data. The box above the chart explains all of
the different letters. It is quite obvious that the student loves talking and messing
around. Sometimes the student is not even talking to anyone in particular; he is just
talking to himself or talking to no one. What is extremely fascinating is that Ryan
was on task whenever he was actively writing in his questions on his iPad. This is
contrary to the data I had received before. Perhaps the difference lies with writing in
the answers on his iPad instead of writing them in on a hardcopy booklet. One
aspect that remained the same, however, is his constant off task behavior when the
group was trying to discuss. He was completely disengaged and distracted.
Math: Whole Class Instruction
XXXXXX XOOXOX XOOOOX
XXX00X XXXXXO XXXXXX
XXOOOX OOOOOX OOOXXX
OOXXXX XXXXXX XOOXXO
XXXXXX XXXXXX XOOXXX

Percentage ON TASK: 31% Percentage OFF TASK: 69%

Minutes ON TASK: 4 minutes, 40 seconds Minutes OFF TASK: 10 minutes, 20
seconds

FUNCTIONAL ANALYSIS: IGNORE

Math: Small group
XXXXXX XXXXXX XXXOOX XXXXXX
XXXXXX XXXXXO XXXXXX XXXXXX
OXXXXX XXXXXX XXOXOX XXXXXX
XXXXXX XXXXXX XXXOOX XXXXXX
XXOXXO XXXXXX XXXXXX XXXXXX

Percentage ON TASK: 8% Percentage OFF TASK: 92%

Minutes ON TASK: 1 minute, 40 seconds Minutes OFF TASK: 18

minutes, 20 seconds
Notes: Some of the behaviors Ryan engaged in when he was off task include:
shouting out, playing with stuff on his desk, moving around, humming, staring off
into the distance, rocking in his chair, talking to himself and trying to talk to others,
and tapping.
Whenever the small group was engaged in a discussion or working together on a
problem, Ryan was completely gone. When the teacher had the small group actively
do something, Ryan was able to participate and be on task while that activity lasted.

Math: Whole class instruction (with integrated technology

and response cards)
XXOOXX XOXXXX OOXOXX
XXXXXX OXXXOO OXOOXO
XXXXXX OXXXXX XXXXXX
XXOXXX XXXXOO XXXXXX
XXXXXX XXXXXX XXXXXX

Percentage ON TASK: 19% Percentage OFF TASK: 81%

Minutes ON TASK: 2 minutes, 50 seconds Minutes OFF TASK: 12 minutes, 10
seconds
Notes: During this lesson, Ryan was constantly talking (mostly to himself) and
zoning out. He also hummed quite a bit. This surprised me, actually, as this lesson
required constant responding and the use of technology. I will also note that I was
not tracking out of seat as off task. He was out of his seat the duration of this
entire lesson, so I began a duration recording instead of considering this in my
partial interval recording.

ELA: Small Group

XXXXXX XXOXXX OOXXXX
XXXXXO XXOXOX XOXXXX
OOXXXX XXXXXX XXXXXX
XXXXXO XXXXXX OOXXXX
OXXXXX XXOOXX XXXXXX

Percentage ON TASK: 17% Percentage OFF TASK: 83%

Minutes ON TASK: 2 minutes, 30 seconds Minutes OFF TASK: 12 minutes, 30
seconds

BEHAVIOR INTERVENTION PLAN: POSITIVE

ATTENTION
Math: Whole Class session
XXXXOX XXXXXX XXXXXX XOXXXX
XXOXXX XXXXXX XXXXXX XXXXXX
OXXXXX XXXXXX XXXXXX XXXXXX
XXXXXX XXXXXX XOOXXX XXXXXX
XXXXOX XXXXXX XXXXXX XXXXOX
Percentage ON TASK: 7% Percentage OFF TASK: 93%
Minutes ON TASK: 1 minute, 20 seconds Minutes OFF TASK: 18 minutes, 40
seconds
Notes: This was so discouraging! Every time I tried to give verbal praise to Ryan, he
avoided eye contact and just completely ignored me. I do not know if it was just an
incredibly bad day, or if he did not know how to handle the praise, but his behavior
was awful!

Math: Individual Work Time

XXXXXX OOXXOO XXXXXX XXXXXX
XXXXXX OOOOOO XXXXXX XXXXXX
OOOOOO OOOOOO XXXXXX
XOOOOO OOOOOX XXXXXX
OOOOXX OOXXXX OXXXXX
Percentage ON TASK: 37% Percentage OFF TASK: 63%
Minutes ON TASK: 10 minutes, 40 seconds Minutes OFF TASK: 6 minutes, 20
seconds
Notes: He was on task when he saw all of his peers finishing up and he had not yet
started.

Math: Individual Work Time

XXXXXX OOOOOO XXOOOO OOOOOO
XXXXXX OOOOOO OOOOXX OOOOOX
XXXXXX OOOOOO XOOOOO
OOOOOO OOXXXX OOOOOO
OOXOOO XXXXOO OXOXOO
Percentage ON TASK: 65% Percentage OFF TASK: 35%
Minutes ON TASK: 14 minutes Minutes OFF TASK: 6 minutes
Notes: Ryan was definitely more receptive to the encouragement this time around.
He was able to look me in the eyes and explain what he was doing.

ELA: Spelling
OXOOOO OOOOOO OOOOOO OXOXOO
OXOOXX OOOOOO OOOOXO XXOOOO
OOOOXO OOOOXX OOXXOO
XOOOOX OOOOOO OOOOOO
OOOOOX OOOOOO OXXOOO

Percentage ON TASK: 81% Percentage OFF TASK: 19%

Minutes ON TASK: 13 minutes, 50 seconds Minutes OFF TASK: 3 minutes, 10
seconds
Notes: Ryan was unbelievable during this session! He managed to stay on task and
even do extra work with his spelling words. This was the fourth of four trial runs
with the positive reinforcement. Instead of completely ignoring the positive
comments, he actually acknowledged them at times with a smile or an explanation
of what he was doing.

BONUS DATA:
Reading: Independent reading on iPad
OOOOOO OOOOOO OOOOOO OOOOOO
OOOOOO OOOOOO OOOOXX OOOOOO
XOOOOX XOXXOO OOOOOO XOOOOO
OOOOOO OOOOOO OOXOOO OOOOXO
OOOOOO OOOOOO OOOOOO OOOOXO

Percentage ON TASK: 91% Percentage OFF TASK: 9%

Minutes ON TASK: 18 minutes, 10 seconds Minutes OFF TASK: 1
minute, 50 seconds
Notes: For the small amount of time that Ryan was off task, he was trying to
find a new book, standing up, or staring off. He did extremely well
throughout these 20 minutes. I also noted that Ryan frequently whispered to
himself while he read and liked scrolling down to see how much he had left.
One other interesting note is that the rest of the class was very loud during
these 20 minutes. It was almost like Ryan enjoyed hiding away from that
noise and receding into the pages of his book.

Reading: Independently reading a book

OOOOOO OOOOOO XXXXXX
OOOOOO OOOOOO XXXXXX
OOOOOO OOOOOO XXXXXX
OOOOOO OOOOOO OOOOOO
OOOOOO OOOOOO

Percentage ON TASK: 79% Percentage OFF TASK:

21%
Minutes ON TASK: 11 minutes Minutes OFF TASK: 3
minutes
Notes: Ryan obviously loves to read. While he was still constantly moving
and changing positions, he would not take his eyes off of his book. It is
interesting to note, however, that Ryan read without any distraction for ten
solid minutes, was consistently off task for three solid minutes, and then
went back to being on task. It appears as if he just needed to get out all of
his energy in order to resume his reading.
 Duration Recording:

Class: Math (whole class instruction) Target Behavior: Off-task;

talking, snorting, zoning, moving
around, fidgeting
Start Time End Time Duration Specific
Behavior
8:08:13 8:09:11 58 seconds Zoning, snorting
8:10:02 8:10:10 8 seconds Talking out loud
8:11:57 8:13:07 1 min. 10 secs. Stomping, talking
8:14:25 8:14:50 25 seconds Zoning
8:15:00 8:15:49 49 seconds Talking out loud
8:16:43 8:18:54 2 min. 11 secs. Blurting out
8:18:17 8:21:41 3 min. 24 secs. Moving around,
talking
8:23:12 8:25:20 2 min. 8 secs. Moving, doodling
8:25:59 8:30:00 4 min. 1 sec. Playing around
with pencil

Total time observed: 25 minutes (8:05

8:30)
Total time off-task: 15 minutes, 14
seconds
Percent of time off-task: 61%

Class: Math (whole class instruction) Target Behavior: JUST

out of seat
Start Time End time Duration
7:56:00 8:07:03 11 min. 3 secs.
8:10:09 8:16:27 6 min. 18 secs.
8:16:52 8:18:03 1 min. 11 secs.
8:19:01 8:23:20 4 min. 19 secs.
8:24:50 8:26:45 1 min. 55 secs.
8:28:00 8:28:19 19 secs.
8:35:15 8:35:33 18 secs.
8:39:40 8:41:00 1 min. 20 secs.

Total time observed: 45 minutes (7:56 8:41)

Total time off-task: 26 minutes, 43 seconds
Percentage of time off-task: 59%

Notes: Notice that the target behavior was only out of seat. This does not
include off-task behavior outside of that. When the student was out of his
seat, he was titling his chair, standing, up wiggling, dancing, moving around,
and picking up and dropping his chair.

Class: Math (whole class instruction) Target Behavior: Zoning

out during instruction
Start time: End time: Duration:
8:17:00 8:17:47 47 seconds
8:17:52 8:18:17 25 seconds
8:19:31 8:27:37 8 minutes, 6 seconds
8:29:04 8:30:01 57 seconds
8:32:17 8:34:29 2 minutes, 11 seconds
8:35:15 8:36:30 1 minute, 15 seconds
8:37:15 8:41:00 3 minutes, 45 seconds

Total time observed: 24 minutes (8:17 8:41)

Total time off-task: 17 minutes, 26 seconds
Percentage of time off-task: 73%

Notes: Notice, the target behavior is only zoning out during the math
instruction. There was a common theme of Ryan being on-task when he was
copying down the things on the board onto his workbook and Ryan being off-
task during the lecture and discussion. This is consistent with other data as
well. In regards to his comprehension of what he was copying down, I am not
sure, but am fairly sure he was mindlessly copying down what he was
supposed to without any real comprehension of the material.

Class: Math (going over test) Target Behavior: Out of

seat
8:30:00 8:39:34 9 minutes, 34 seconds

Total time observed: 10 minutes (8:30 8:40)

Total time off-task: 9 minutes, 34 seconds
Percentage of time off-task: 96%

Notes: Notice that the target behavior is just being out of seat. Other off-
task behavior is not included in this data. When the student was out of his
seat, he was standing up, spreading his legs into the shape of a triangle,
jumping, lying on the floor, playing with his chair, and riding his chair like a
horse. Once the math instruction was over, the students were allowed to
have iPad free time. He sat down while he did this.

Class: Math (whole class instruction) Target Behavior: Off-

task behavior
Start Time: End Time: Duration:
8:07:03 8:10:43 3 minutes, 40 seconds
8:11:05 8:11:37 32 seconds
8:13:17 8:13:31 14 seconds
8:14:29 8:16:03 1 minute, 34 seconds
8:19:01 8:19:32 31 seconds
8:20:40 8:21:12 32 seconds
8:21:51 8:22:52 1 minute, 1 second
8:23:01 8:23:43 42 seconds
8:24:19 8:24:28 9 seconds
8:25:51 8:27:59 2 minutes, 8 seconds
8:28:04 8:34:13 6 minutes, 9 seconds

Total time observed: 27 minutes (8:07 8:34)

Total time off-task: 17 minutes, 12 seconds
Percentage of time off-task: 64%

Notes: Ryans off-task behavior consisted of moving around the classroom,

throwing his pencil, talking over the teacher, and working ahead when he
was explicitly told to wait. The majority of the time when he was on-task was
when the teacher was helping him individually.
 FBA Rubric
100 pts.
Poor Fair Good Excellent
FACTS The FACTS The FACTS The FACTS The FACTS
Checklist checklist is not checklist is checklist is checklist is
(15%) included or it is incomplete in complete with complete with
incomplete in one section or details that appropriate
multiple details are indicate the details to
sections. inappropriate to candidate took indicate the
allow the care to identify candidate took
candidate to concerns and great care to
make document appropriately
appropriate them, but some identify
conclusions. details are left concerns and
out, leaving the document
reader with them.
questions.
Observation No observation Observation Observation Observation
Notes (15%) notes are notes are notes are notes are very
included or they somewhat detailed, detailed,
are incomplete. detailed, allowing the allowing the
allowing the reader to reader to fully
reader to understand understand
understand what the what the
what the candidate candidate
candidate observed. observed.
observed. Conclusions Conclusions
Conclusion made are based made are based
made do not on data and are on data and are
appear to be appropriate for appropriate for
based the behaviors the behaviors
appropriately and situations and situations
on data for the observed. observed.
behaviors and
situations
observed.
Preference No preference The preference The preference The preference
Assessment assessment is assessment is assessment is assessment is
(10%) included or it is complete, yet complete and complete and
 incomplete. indicates the shows shows a high
candidate does candidates level of
not fully competence to competence on
understand the conduct and the part of the
process or is make candidate.
unable to make appropriate Appropriate
appropriate conclusions as a conclusions are
conclusions result of data made as a
based on the collected. result of data
data. collected.
Behavior NO BIP is The BIP is The BIP is The BIP is
Intervention included or is complete, but complete and complete and
Plan (20%) incomplete in indicates the shows a level of shows a high
multiple candidate has thought and level of thought
sections. some areas for understanding and
growth in from the understanding
understanding candidate to from the
the indicate candidate to
development. understanding. indicate a high
Interventions Interventions level of
are not based are based on understanding.
on data or are data and are Interventions
not appropriate appropriate for are based on
for the student. the student. data and are
appropriate for
the student.
Behavioral No data is Data is Data is Data is
Data (10%) provided or is collected for all collected for all collected for all
incomplete. observations. observations. observations.
Anecdotal notes Anecdotal notes Anecdotal notes
are somewhat are detailed and are very
detailed to allow the reader detailed and
allow the reader to envision allow the reader
to envision what occurred to envision
what occurred in the what occurred
in the environment in the
environment during environment
during observations, during
observations, but may leave observations.
but leaves out some details Conclusions are
many details out that create based on data.
that create questions in the The candidate
questions in the readers mind. shows a very
readers mind. Conclusions are high level
Conclusions are based on data. ability to make
not based on The candidate educational
data. The shows an ability decisions based
candidate to make on data.
indicates that educational
more learning decisions based
must take place on data.
to have an
 understanding
of how to make
educational
decisions based
on data.
APA, No attempt is The reference The reference No errors exist
Grammar, & made at citation has citation has one in the citation,
Spelling (5%) referencing more than one error. There is 1 grammar, or
according to error as it is spelling or spelling.
APA 6th edition written. There grammar error.
guidelines and are 2-3 spelling
more than 3 or grammar
errors in errors.
spelling or
grammar exist
in the writing.
Presentation No presentation The The The
(25%) is given or is presentation is presentation is presentation is
incomplete. unclear, leaving clear, helping very clear,
classmates and classmates and helping
professor with professor to classmates and
questions about understand professor to
the important important understand
details of the details of the important
FBA. FBA. details of the
FBA.