POSITIVE BEHAVIOR SUPPORT PLAN

Definition of Specific Behavior

Liam intentionally throws his body on the floor during
unstructured times. He lays on the floor next to his desk for
indiscriminate amounts of time. His behavior is disruptive to the
classroom environment but not dangerous. His behavior is
inappropriate for the classroom setting.
Literature Review
Cramer, E.D., & Bennett, K.D. (2015). Implementing culturally
responsive positive behavior interventions and supports in
middle school classrooms. Middle School Journal, 46(3), 18-24.

This article addressed a component of behavior management

that isnt always noted and that is the collaboration between school
and home life. This article stresses the importance of teachers truly
getting to know their students. It also addressed the importance of
using culturally responsive teaching strategies to decrease the chance
of behavior problems. Most importantly it addresses three important
parts of a strong classroom management system: preventing problem
behaviors, teaching appropriate behaviors, and implementing
consequences to increase and decrease behavior.

Fallon, L. M., McCarthy, S. R., & Sanetti, L.H. (2014). School-wide

Positive Behavior Support (SWPBS) in the Classroom: Assessing

POSITIVE BEHAVIOR SUPPORT PLAN

Perceived Challenges to Consistent Implementation in

Connecticut Schools. Education & Treatment Of Children, 37(1),
1-24.

This article discusses the importance of school-wide positive

behavior support. This article reviewed a study that was done on
many schools that implement positive behavior support on a schoolwide level to measure their effectiveness. This study discovered that
some are more effective than others, which seems to be due to the
level of difficulty revolving the program. Some schools behavior
support plans were difficult to implement which made them less
effective. I was particularly interested in this article because the
school where I implemented my plan does not have a school-wide
program. I couldnt help but wonder if Liam had a school-wide
behavior support plan in place, if it would help him be more successful
with his behavior.

Unlu, E., Vuran, S., Erten Akdogan, F., Guven, D., Yonter, S., & Celik, S.
(2014). Class-wide positive behavior support plan on adhering of
classroom rules. Ilkogretim Online, 13(2), 607-621.

This article gives a lot of background on PBS, which I found to be very

insightful. This article states that PBS was developed as an alternative

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to punitive strategies. It goes on to say that PBS is primarily focused

on the function of the behavior, rather than the behavior itself.
Typically, this is done by completing a Functional Behavioral Analysis
(FBA) on the student exhibiting an undesirable behavior. This article
also included a study on third grade students at a public primary
school. After making some initial observations, the researchers and
teacher discovered two students in the class that exhibited worse
behaviors than the rest. The classroom was recorded on video during
four different class sessions. The undesirable behaviors included the
following: speaking without teacher permission, standing without
teacher permission, playing with irrelevant objects, and distracting
friends.
In analyzing the behaviors, the researchers came across some
fitting functions for the behaviors of these students. The key functions
appeared to be attention (from teacher and peers) and avoidance (of
classwork). The researchers informed the teacher about four steps she
can take in order to implement positive behavior. These steps were
prevention, development of classroom rules, developing
classroom routines, and reinforcement. After implementing these
strategies in her classroom, the teacher reported an improvement of
these two students behaviors.

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McClean, B., & Grey, I. (2012). An evaluation of an intervention

sequence outline in positive behaviour support for people with
autism and severe escape-motivated challenging behaviour*.
Journal Of Intellectual & Developmental Disability. 37(3). 209220. doi:10.3109/136668250.2012.704982

I chose to include this article because it focuses on students with

exceptionally challenging behaviors. This article included a study done
on four students over the course of four years. Each of these students
had Autism Spectrum Disorder and some had other disabilities as well.
After making observations on all of these students, individualized
interventions were put in place for each of them focusing on low
arousal, rapport building, predictability, functionally equivalent skills
training and differential reinforcement. I enjoyed reading this article
because each behavioral intervention was specific to the student and
ultimately had a positive effect on their behavior.

Sayeski, K.L., & Brown, M.R. (2014). Developing a Classroom

Management Plan Using a Tiered Approach. Teaching Exceptional
Children. Teaching Exceptional Children, 47(2), 119-127.
doi:10.1177/0040059914553208

POSITIVE BEHAVIOR SUPPORT PLAN

In this article, the authors explore a three-tiered approach to

behavior management in the classroom. The first tier focuses on
prevention of disruptive behaviors, which states that teachers should
have high expectations for their students and they must be clear about
what those expectations are. Tier two focuses on first-line
interventions. These take place when the prevention was unsuccessful
and a little more needs to be done for the student. Included in tier two
are things such as surface management techniques and reinforcement
systems. These could include token systems, behavior contracts, etc.
It also addressed some specific techniques teachers can use at the
second tier such as planned ignoring, proximity control, hypodermic
affection, etc. Lastly, tier three is where intensive, individualized
interventions come into play. These interventions require an FBA and
to determine the function of the problem behavior as well as finding a
positive support to help.

Baseline Data Collection

According to observations, Liam exhibits the undesirable
behavior of throwing himself on the floor during unstructured or
transition times. Each time the undesired behavior occurred, Liam was
not preoccupied with another task. He never threw himself on the floor
in the middle of instruction or when directly given a task. His behavior
seemed to occur when he was waiting for instruction. In order to

POSITIVE BEHAVIOR SUPPORT PLAN

collect this data, I created my own chart that described the date, class
period and behavior exhibited.
Hypothesis of Functional Intention
I believe the function of Liams behavior is attention. Liam has
experienced people giving him attention for this behavior before.
Because his behavior is throwing himself on the floor, people have
acted concerned in the past and I believe that this is the reaction that
Liam is looking for. He also receives a one-on-one assistance in all of
his classes, thus receiving attention all day long. There are few times
throughout the day that he is not receiving attention, including
transition periods and this is when the behavior typically occurs.
Replacement Behavior
The replacement behavior that was implemented was coloring.
Coloring is a preferred activity of Liams and it seemed appropriate.
When Liam arrived at school in the morning, instead of allowing him
the unstructured time of just sitting at his desk waiting for the day to
begin, we provided him with a coloring page. This was intended to
keep Liam occupied in the morning, and reduce the likelihood of him
throwing himself on the floor. Because Liams bus usually arrived
early, we taught this replacement behavior at the beginning of the day.
We informed him that this was now a part of his morning routine. We
told him that when he arrives at school, he must unpack his backpack
and then immediately sit down and receive his coloring page. We told

POSITIVE BEHAVIOR SUPPORT PLAN

him that he can only have the coloring page if his behavior is
appropriate and he remains in his seat.
Positive Behavior Supports
Prior to my arrival to Ridgely Middle School, Liam was already on
a positive behavior support plan in the form of a sticker sheet. The
sticker sheet was broken down into two categories: Following
Directions and Staying in Seat. Even further, the sheet was broken
down into each Mod of the day. Each day, Liam received this sheet at
the beginning of his day and his adult aide would fill out the sheet
according to his behavior after each class. Liam would earn a sticker
for behavior that warranted it and an X when his behavior did not
warrant a sticker.
Because Liam is in middle school, I felt strongly that he should be
held accountable for his own actions. That being said, I made the
decision to have Liam start filling out his own chart. I believed it would
have more of an effect on his behavior if Liam was immediately
manipulating his own consequences. This seemed to work both ways
he would feel the reward of providing himself with stickers as well as
the consequence of giving himself an X after inappropriate behavior.
Teachers and aids would have the final say, but Liam was made
responsible for his actions.
Another positive behavior support I implemented was rewarding
good behavior with computer time. This student really enjoys being on

POSITIVE BEHAVIOR SUPPORT PLAN

the computer and playing online video games so this seemed like an
appropriate support for this student. If Liam was following directions
as well as remaining in his seat for the entire mod, I allowed the
student to stop working five minutes before class was over in order to
play on the computer. His appropriate behavior was being immediately
reinforced as this happened consistently throughout his day.
Another positive support I implemented was allowing Liam to
choose a prize if he successfully earned all of his stickers for the day.
There is a prize box kept in the classroom but is not regularly accessed.
I made the decision to take advantage of this prize box that was
already in place and allow Liam to choose a prize of his choice if he
had a day with no inappropriate behavior whatsoever.

Data Collection and Visual Representation:

Number of times out of seat

5
4
3
Number of times out of seat
2
1
0

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Number of times out of seat

5
4
3

Number of times out of seat

2
1
0
3/12/15

3/17/15

3/22/15

3/27/15

4/1/15

4/6/15

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Data Summary and Interpretation

The data from this intervention is difficult to interpret because it
is
seemingly inconclusive in the short amount of time allotted. The raw
data shows that Liams inappropriate behavior is still an issue. There
were some days where Liam was able to stay in his seat for the entire
day but there were others where he was on the floor a total of three
times. Although his behavior still seems inconsistent, having done this
study, I believe I gained a lot of insight on his behavior and would be
better equipped to proceed if I had more time. If I had more time, I
believe the data would reflect a change in behavior I was able to see
anecdotally.
I believe that the replacement behavior of coloring was effective.
However, there were some environmental factors that were out of my
(and Liams) control. When I began my time at Ridgely, Liams bus
was consistently early. He would arrive at school about fifteen minutes
before the bell rang. This allowed him plenty of time to unpack and
get settled. My intention for the coloring page was to have Liam come
in, unpack and begin coloring until the bell rang. However, as my plan
was progressing, Liams bus began to come later resulting in less time
for Liam to come in and color. He would need to come in, unpack and

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immediately go to class. This resulted in the undesired behavior

occurring in some cases.
I think the environment has a big impact on this students
behavior overall. After some discussion with Liam and his one-on-one
aid about his family, I was able to gain some insight as to some other
reasons why the behavior might be occurring. I became aware that
Liams father travels a lot for his job resulting in a lot of change at
home. I have witnessed this student and can say without a doubt that
he does not like a change in his routine. It became a little bit clearer
why he might be so desperate for attention at school. Taking this into
consideration, I began to try to take some extra time out of my day to
talk to him and give him a lot of positive attention. Because of the
hectic nature of a classroom, it was hard to do this on a consistent
basis. However, on the days that I went out of my way to give him
positive attention his behavior definitely improved.
Reflection
I learned a lot as a result of completing this project. Firstly, I
realized how difficult it is to maintain a consistent behavior support
plan in the hectic world of a classroom. Developing a replacement
behavior and positive supports was a simple task. However, seeing
that they were consistently maintained every day was the difficult part.
By the end of the data collection period, I was able to get into a routine
with the plan but it was not easy at first. My dedication to eliminating

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the behavior kept me motivated to be sure that the plan was being
implemented every day.
I also realized how the environment plays such a big role in
classroom management. The environment is constantly changing
which is difficult for my students. Liam, in particular does not cope
well with a change to his routine. A change to the school day will
undoubtedly change a students behavior. In addition to the school
environment, educators must also consider the environment in the
students home. Although we have no control over what happens at
home, we can control the relationships that the student develops
inside the classroom. This knowledge is something that I know I will
carry with me throughout my teaching career.
In continuing with this plan, I will definitely be making more of an
effort to build a good relationship with the student. I will maintain the
positive behavior supports and definitely add a few more. I wish I had
time to truly find what motivates this student so I could act
accordingly. However, he is a tough person to read. To my dismay,
this plan was not very successful. I am not discouraged because I
have seen moments of great strength in this student and strive to
increase those numbers.
Given the opportunity to do this project again, I would definitely
do a few things differently. I would begin by creating a new behavior
chart. I made the decision to stick with the one he already knew as to

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not confuse him but I dont believe that was the best decision. I was
not there when the present one was designed so Im not entirely sure
what the background is but, in my opinion, it is not very effective. If I
were designing a behavior chart, I would begin by trying to find out
what really motivates Liam. Even if it was just finding stickers of things
he really liked. In addition to this, I would want to make greeting Liam
at the door every morning part of the plan. There were a few days
where I was able to do this and it seemed to have a positive effect on
my relationship with Liam and, as a result, his immediate behavior.
This is a hard thing to maintain but I would definitely commit to doing
this if I were to do this project again.

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References
Cramer, E.D., & Bennett, K.D. (2015). Implementing culturally
responsive positive behavior interventions and supports in
middle school classrooms. Middle School Journal, 46(3), 18-24.
Fallon, L. M., McCarthy, S. R., & Sanetti, L.H. (2014). School-wide
Positive Behavior Support (SWPBS) in the Classroom: Assessing
Perceived Challenges to Consistent Implementation in
Connecticut Schools. Education & Treatment Of Children, 37(1),
1-24.
McClean, B., & Grey, I. (2012). An evaluation of an intervention
sequence outline in positive behaviour support for people with
autism and severe escape-motivated challenging behaviour*.
Journal Of Intellectual & Developmental Disability. 37(3). 209220. doi:10.3109/136668250.2012.704982
Sayeski, K.L., & Brown, M.R. (2014). Developing a Classroom
Management Plan Using a Tiered Approach. Teaching Exceptional
Children. Teaching Exceptional Children, 47(2), 119-127.
doi:10.1177/0040059914553208
Unlu, E., Vuran, S., Erten Akdogan, F., Guven, D., Yonter, S., & Celik, S.
(2014). Class-wide positive behavior support plan on adhering of
classroom rules. Ilkogretim Online, 13(2), 607-621.

POSITIVE BEHAVIOR SUPPORT PLAN

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