So far I have implemented a behavior intervention plan with my case study student. The BIP we have been using is based on a conversation my Ct and I had with our resource specialist. My case study student needs constant everything (reminders, redirection, prompting, etc.) He also tends to not respond to oral directions or reprimands. We decided to create strips of smilie faces. Each strip has 32 smilies and he gets one strip per hour. We staple all 7 strips together and write the times and subjects on each strip. Then for every redirection, prompt, take away, etc. that we have to do we use a hole punch to get rid of one smilie face. Somethings such as reading during the pledge of allegiance or fighting on the playground get more smilies punched or taken away. Our resource specialist told me that it is good that he sees the happy faces disappear, but there are some left as positive reinforcement.
It is definitely hard to explain when you can’t see how we do it. When we decided to implement this plan we had a conversation with the student about what would be a motivator. We wanted something keyed towards his interests like extra drawing time, extra reading time, lego play, but instead he chose the money we use in our classroom behavior system. He gets a penny for each smilie left. The total amount possible is $3.08. Usually he gets around 2.00.
This behavior plan has been in place for about 2 weeks. So far his most successful day earned him 2.50. Although it seems like a lot of work it really isn’t. It has helped us to determine better areas of the day and worse areas. He loves reading so usually the reading hour is good with the exception of guided reading. However, I can’t say that the behavior is improving overall. I do think that it has helped him to view me as a teacher also and not just my CT. I’ve seen glimmers of hope, but I think the issues are bigger than a behavior plan can handle. We send home the smilie strips home so that his parents can see and we try to make notes why we took the smilies.
We decided on Friday to introduce a halved system – since he no longer needs 32, but should try 16 smilies per hour. Therefore, he can still earn money just needs to behave better. Thus improving behavior. However, Friday him and another student kicked each other on the playground and spend the second part of the day in the assistant principal’s office. We explained that fighting on the playground made the payoff zero for the entire day.
Obviously, because of what happened Friday I am writing this from a slightly unsuccessful perspective. If I’d written this before I think I would have focused more on the slight improvements.
We’ll see what happens next week!
I think you BIP sounds really good! This system may be good for my student. It’s something that I can see him taking onwership of. Way to go! I can’t wait to hear more about how it’s going!
Your BIP seems really great and truly tailored to your student’s individual needs. I know you have several challenging behaviors in your class this year, so I am interested to see how this BIP works as time goes on. I like how you balanced positive and negative reinforcement, and also provide your student with a constant visual cue throughout the day.