Proposal

If Doug perceives
that he is
experiencing some
sort of failure he
lashes out at peers
and educators
even if they are
trying to help and
eventually
disengages from
the lesson and
shuts down.

Hypothesis
Doug has
developed poor
strategies to cope
with failure.

Action Plan
Survey
Break card/think
sheet
Daily goal checklist

Reflection

To respond to the behavior this student has been displaying in class I could
create a survey where the student evaluates his feelings towards the class. Here are
some possible survey questions:
What are your goals for the class?
What do you expect from Mr. Stearns as an instructor?
What does Mr. Stearns expect from me as a member of a learning
community?
What do you need to be successful in the class?
The survey will help me identify some areas I can improve in to create a positive
learning environment for Doug. It also helps Doug, who is goal oriented, set some
goals for himself to work towards. He will also identify areas he can be successful.
The goal is that when he feels he is heading towards failure he can realign himself
towards a success path because he has taken the time to assess his learning habits
and identified how he can be successful in math class.
Another possible response to Dougs behavior would be a break card paired
with a think sheet. When Doug begins to feel overwhelmed he can present the
break card to me to momentarily leave the room and complete a think sheet. I can
also give Doug a break card if I notice he is displaying inappropriate behavior or
shutting down. When Doug leaves the class he will complete a think sheet that asks
why he needed to leave and what he can do when he returns to the class to be
successful. A potential downside is that Doug does not like missing class so he may
not take as many self-prescribed breaks as he needs.
A third course of action that may be taken would be to be to create a daily
goal checklist. This would break the each class period down in to achievable goals
that Doug could check off as each period runs its course. Here is a sample list:
I brought all of the necessary materials to class.
I completed the start of class routines.
I worked well with my peers during my group work.

I added value to group discussion.

I can explain the days focus question.
This list not only shows Doug where he is standing throughout the class period it
gives me something measurable to assess Dougs progress.
One of the merits of the survey is that it is a tool that could help all of the
students in my class. If I implement it when they return from their weeklong midwinter break all of the students can assess where they are in achieving their goals
and focus on how they can reach those goals and tell me how I can help. The survey
also works well with the think sheet because when Doug must explain what he can
do to get back on track we can always reference the survey and what he said he
needs to do to be successful. This could be a valuable tool if he is resistant to
putting effort in to his answers on how he can reach his goals when he gets back in
class. The daily goal checklist can also help Doug physically see which goal he is
struggling with that day and tailor his think sheet to how he can achieve that
specific goal when he returns to class.
The combination of the courses of actions could help Doug learn how he can
be successful through the survey and daily goals checklist. The think sheet helps
Doug use successful coping strategies that he creates when he experiences failure.
Since my hypothesis for why he exhibits the problematic behavior outlined in my
proposal is that Doug has developed poor strategies to cope with failure these three
courses of action work together to help Doug avoid failure and create guided coping
strategies for when he does experience self-perceived failure. The strategies he
develops will get him back on track to a goal that he knows he must reach each day.
The ultimate goal will be for Doug to realize that he is heading towards a breakdown
before it happens and that he will not have to leave the class to refocus on his daily
goals, but that he will be able to re-track before he gets overwhelmed.
I choose to proceed with a combination of all three of these courses of action.
I will first implement a survey. I will review the results of the survey with Doug. Once
we have discussed the results of his survey we will work together to establish a list
of reasonable goals Doug can work towards each class period. I will introduce the
daily goals checklist and the think sheet simultaneously so that it is apparent the
two are part of one cohesive plan rather than two separate actions. The first break
Doug takes I will work with the student in completing the think sheet so that the
expectations are clear.
To evaluate the implementation of my action plan, I will set weekly
expectations for the think sheet and the daily goals checklist. The first week Doug
will be instructed to take as many breaks as he feels necessary and to complete the
daily goal checklist every day. This first week is aimed at getting Doug acclimated
with the system. The second week Dougs goal will be to take five or less breaks
and accomplish at least 75% of the weeks daily goals. Each subsequent week he
will be expected to take one less break and accomplish 5% more of the weeks daily

goals. If a weeks goals are not met Doug will be expected to type a paragraph
explanation of why he did not reach that weeks goal and what he can do the next
week to ensure he reaches his goals. If Dougs goals are not met multiple weeks in a
row the punishments will become more severe. If Doug reaches his goal his work
will be recognized by some award which we agree on together. At the end of six
weeks Doug will be expected to be taking one break a week and hitting 95% of the
daily goals. At this point I will evaluate whether Doug should stay on the plan with
these expectations or if he ready to become independent of the plan.
The creation of this behavior intervention plan was done with the aid of the
compilation of research done in the book Middle and Secondary Classroom
Management by Carol Simon Weinstein and Ingrid Novodvorsky. Research included
in the chapter Responding Effectively to Problem Behaviors describes the
effectiveness of using a behavioral learning approach to strengthen desired
behavior. The method relies heavily on self-management which includes selfmonitoring, self-evaluation and contingency contracting. The chapter states that
the goal of self-management is to help students learn to regulate their own
behavior. This goal is equivalent to the goal of this case study, which is why I
relied heavily upon the general ideas of self-management. Dougs daily goal log is a
way he can self-monitor himself and learn to observe and record a targeted
behavior during a designated period of time. Weinstein and Novodvorsky write that
the student who is self-monitoring must be able to identify the appropriate and
inappropriate behaviors beforehand. The survey Doug will complete along with the
discussion we will have following the survey serve this purpose. The think sheet
Doug completes during his breaks is a way he can self-evaluate, which requires him
to judge the quality and acceptability of [his] behavior. The specific rewards and
punishments for the plan make up the contingency contract which Doug and I will
agree to. The ways rewards and punishments will be assigned will be agreed upon
by Doug and I so that we both agree on which behaviors Doug should exhibit. This
allows Doug to gain something he wants and avoid the experiences he dislikes while
be conscious about the behavior decisions he makes.

Bibliography
Weinstein, C., & Novodvorsky, I. (2011). Responding Effectively to Problem
Behaviors. In Middle and Secondary Classroom Management (Fourth ed., pp. 347352). New York: McGraw-Hill.