Functional Behavior Assessment and Behavior Intervention Plans

1. What is the problem behavior?

The problem behavior that Mark is presenting in class is that he is creating offtask jokes that disrupt the learning environment and inhibit his other classmates
ability to learn. He talks out of turn, mumbles under his breath, and makes
inappropriate jokes or comments that creates uncomfortable situations for the
other students in the class. The behavior happens during homeroom, lunch, and
during Mr. McGreevys classroom. The class clown behavior is usually
accompanied with lack of attention and not completing his work. The reasoning
for this behavior appears to be to obtain attention from his classmates. This
behavior may occur during homeroom and lunch because it is a time to socialize.
In Mr. McGreevy class, Mark may have a lot of his friends in the class. He also
may want attention for his jokes to shift attention on his difficulties in school.
These behaviors occur more often when he has forgotten to take his Adderall.
Mark also has a tendency to act out when he is working individually, which could
be because he becomes frustrated with the assignment and either lacks someone to
turn to for assistance or to vent his frustrations to.
2. What is the responsibility of the general education teachers?
My responsibility as a general education teacher who teaches Mark, I would need
to be a participant in the creation of a Behavioral Intervention Plan and to make
sure I implement the plans procedures in my classroom to help increase positive
behavior. I will also need to make sure that I am keeping accurate data on Marks
behavior to help with determining the effectiveness of the intervention plan. I
would use the procedures determined by the BIP to promote the positive
behaviors, such as on-task behavior, appropriate jokes at appropriate times, and
finishing class tasks.
3. How would you carry out this BIP in your classroom and content area?
A way to carry out the BIP in my classroom would be to start with a meeting with
Mark to form a self-management plan. This could be a physical reminder, such as
a note card on his desk or a hand signal meaning for him to refocus, and possibly
ask him to come to my desk or go to him and talk about why the behavior was
inappropriate, if I felt that the behavior required it. I would talk with Mark about
the types of jokes are appropriate for the classroom and what types of jokes would
be inappropriate. I could also follow the BIP plan with Mark that gives him points
for finishing his work by the end of class and staying focused during class for set
amounts of time. For each point Mark receives during the class period, I would let
him tell a historical joke he found to the class at the end of the class period.
Following the BIP plan, the first step of this intervention would be to have Mark
earn points by not disrupting the class for a certain set amount of time. The next
step would extend the amount of time without interruption needed to earn points,
eventually reaching the point where Mark will have to not disrupt the class during
the whole class period. At each step of reinforcing behavior, Mark will have to
reach the point goal to tell the joke at the end of class.

4. How will you monitor progress?

I will monitor Marks behaviors by following the set time period for monitoring
and marking when he shows inappropriate behavior. I would set a quiet reminder
for during my class period where I would check behavior. When I see that Mark
can consistently go a week without acting out for the set times, I will increase the
time he needs to be on task for. At the end of class, when he had met his goal, I
would praise him for his behavior and invite him to share a joke. I will get the rest
of the class attention and allow Mark to share his joke.
5. What other strategies may be effective for working with Mark?
I could make more of my activities hands-on rather than just sitting and reading.
Instead of the students just reading a primary source. I could ask them to create a
skit to act out what the authors are saying if it is acceptable. It will allow Mark the
opportunity to move around and also give him a chance to joke around during
non-instruction time, as long as he has completed his assignment and would not
be disturbing others. I could make more of my class assignments group based,
making sure I put Mark in a group that is not completely his friends. I could also
allow him to work with a partner on individual work, so that he has someone to
turn to for assistance should he become frustrated.