Alex – Level B Case 2

1) Operational Definition Target behavior: Alex goes off-task during class instruction by
entertaining himself with magazines, falling asleep, and asking to go to the bathroom
frequently.
Analysis: Alex currently reads at an eight-grade level and has been diagnosed with a learning
disability. Despite being a relatively calm student, Alex does not turn in homework nor does he
pay attention in class. He believes his athletic abilities will keep him afloat, and that at some
point he will play professionally. Therefore, he does not see the point in completing assignments,
engaging in the class, and completing the work. His belief that school is not needed may stem
from possible insecurities about his learning disability. As a result, Alex frequently goes to the
bathroom and falls asleep in class. When completing classwork, he lets his partner take the reins
and do it rather than help and do some of the work himself. It is likely that Alex could benefit
from some counseling and one-on-one discussion with his teacher, parents, and a counselor.
2) Operational definition of Alex’s replacement behavior: Alex will stay on-task during
class and reduce his trips to the bathroom.

3) Select the most appropriate observation method from the possible strategies listed
above to measure the behaviors.
a. Explain why you chose this method.
The duration method of measuring behavior is defined as documenting how long a student
engages in a specified behavior (Assessment and Databased Decision Making). This kind of
recording is appropriate for behaviors that have a distinct beginning and end. Recurring
behaviors are often difficult to get an accurate count on, because they occur at such high rates.
Alex’s trips to the bathroom and lack of attention in class are both examples of a behavioral
pattern that must be monitored. This method of measuring behavior is a simple way of
pinpointing just how much a student engages in a certain type of off-task behavior. Collecting
frequency data for the target behavior in combination with the duration data will illustrate a more
accurate picture of the student’s behavior. It is important to keep in mind that this form of
measuring behavior takes a lot of patience and observation. Therefore, the teacher must look into
his behavior patterns, and pinpoint which off-task behavior is more problematic.
b. Explain how you would use this method to measure the problem behavior.
Because Alex’s behavior has a distinct beginning and end, I would construct a duration recording
form and obtain a stopwatch. The stopwatch will allow me to get an accurate measure of how
many times any of his off-task behavior occurs. This would be especially useful when Alex goes
on a bathroom break. When the behavior begins, I would start the stopwatch, and once it ends, I
would stop the stopwatch. The length of time that the student was engaging in off-task behaviors,
like going to the bathroom, would be recorded in the form. This method will be repeated until the
end of the observation period. Once the observation period ends, I would calculate the total
duration, and keep in his file for any future meetings.