0Behavioral Support Plans Behavioral Support Plans ECE 201 Debra Lawrence Jan. 14, 2013 Behavior management plays an important role in early childhood education. Behavior management is important in early childhood education setting in order to develop and/or maintain some sort of order in the classroom. However, the most important reason to have behavior management and/or rules in the early childhood education setting is the safety of the students and yourself as well.

A child’s behavior not only frustrates their teacher but their parents as well. That’s when behavior management steps in because the teacher or parent has to find a way to manage the child’s behavior. Communication between home and school keeps the focus on what the child needs in order to be successful in life. When dealing with behavior management with a troubled child you have to be consistent.

In this paper I will describe the purpose of behavior management in early childhood education setting, discuss three strategies teachers may use to determine the function of challenging behaviors and design an individual support plan for each of the challenging behaviors, and summarize the role of the teacher in designing and implementing a classroom behavior plan. The purpose of the behavior management system is to provide teachers with a plan to keep order in their classrooms.

Discipline, communication skills, and social skills are basis of an effective management system. An effective behavior management system provides an organized learning environment for students and reduces stress and burnout among teachers. Working with kids you have to keep a positive mind at all times. You can never take your mind off your students and teaching at no times. Behavior management provides children with assistance and tools they need in order to learn how to appropriately behave at home and in a classroom setting.

Behavior management is there for the purpose of assisting children display proper behaviors that is needed in learning environment. Teachers do this by teaching children appropriate behaviors and social behaviors that are expected and acceptable, children will learn these behaviors and exercise them at home and school. Behavior management include all of the actions and conscious inactions to enhance the probability people, individually and in groups, choose behaviors which are personally fulfilling, productive, and socially acceptable (Wikipedia. org).

The overall purpose of behavior management is to assist young children in displaying behaviors that are conducive to learning and to teach social behaviors that are appropriate for home and school settings. Positive behavior training starts at home. If you began to train your kids at home from right and wrong then it affectively takes place at school. Sometimes it doesn’t always happen like that but if you let your children know that there will be repercussion then it will not be as bad. Developing strong behavior management skills in classroom skills is very important to bring forth to prevent burnout in the classroom.

Most of the time student misconduct and teacher frustration with behavior issues often lead to work stress, job dissatisfaction, and loss of teachers as well as behavior problems with the students. Having behavior management in a classroom can keep teachers and their students on the same page. Behavior management has a huge impact on students along with their achievements and their will to learn. When a student has challenging behavior, it is the teacher’s role to help execute strategies to change and improve that behavior.

Teachers should conduct a functional behavior assessment (FBA) as a first step in trying to understand why a student may be engaging in challenging behaviors. A FBA enables you to figure out the functions or purposes of the challenging behavior and to identify events in the environment that trigger and maintain it (Kaiser & Raminsky, 2012). Three strategies that teachers may use to determine the functions of challenging by is providing. A functional behavioral assessment looks at problem behaviors by analyzing behaviors and the interventions of these behaviors.

Functional behavior assessment is 1) understanding the nature and the causes of problem behaviors and 2) developing cost effective interventions for changing and/or reducing that behavior. Performing a functional behavioral assessment is done eight steps: The A-B-C paradigm of behavior analysis can be very useful in determining behaviors that need to be modified in young children. A- Is the conditions of stimulus before the behavior occurs, also known as the antecedent. B- is the behavior or response to the stimulus. C- is the result for the behavior.

Together A-B-C forms an approach to behavior management called A-B-A which stands for applied behavior analysis. A-B-A focuses on changing/modifying behaviors that are operationally defined and observable. Behaviors are formed through manipulation of the environmental factors. They can be changed by altering the environment. They can also be changed by altering the response to the behavior. The antecedent sets the stage for a specific response to occur, while the consequence changes the probablility that the behavior will increase and/or decrease in the future. Alberto and Troutman, 1999). A functional behavioral assessment looks at problem behaviors by analyzing behaviors and the interventions of these behaviors. Functional behavior assessment is 1) understanding the nature and the causes of problem behaviors and 2) developing cost effective interventions for changing and/or reducing that behavior (Walker,1995). Performing a functional behavioral assessment is done eight steps: Define the challenging behaviors. Identify the problem and/or challenging behavior(s) and define it in observable terms.

It is useful for you to include examples of the behavior that you will measure. Make sure that when describing the child’s behavior(s) you are clear and specific 1. Define the challenging behaviors. Identify the problem and/or challenging behavior(s) and 2. define it in observable terms. It is useful for you to include examples of the behavior that you will measure. Make sure that when describing the child’s behavior(s) you are clear and specific. 3. Select and describe settings for observation. You should observe the behavior(s) in two or 4. three settings.

The first setting is where the behavior first became a problem, one that is similar, and one that is quite different. Followed by where the behavior starts back up. Doing this will determine what is causing the problem behavior(s). You should always consider the environmental demands and/or the teacher’s expectations in each setting. This information could help provide an intervention plan for the child. (http://www. earlychildhoodnews. com/earlychildhood/article_view. aspx? ArticleID=255 3) Select the observation type, two types of observation are qualitative and quantitative.

Qualitative, is descriptive in nature. The observer begins with ideas about what will be observed and describes the behavior(s) that appears important. Quantitative, can be done only when the observer is watching what is happening. 4) Develop data collection procedures, can be collected using several different techniques. Documenting the frequency of the behavior(s) is important, the duration of the behavior(s), and the intensity of the behavior(s). If the behavior is not frequent a good solution might be event recording. Using a tally sheet helps to observe the child’s behavior continuously.

Time interval is useful if the behavior(s) is done during a specific observation period. 5) Analyze the learning environment as it impacts child behavior(s), careful analysis of the physical environment can unveil information that is necessary to understand the underlying cause of a child’s behavior(s). 6) Interview others, a detailed interview allows individuals who have contact with the child the opportunity to review information about the child in more detail. These individuals can include nurses, other teachers, parents, siblings, and/or friends. ) Hypothesis of the behavior(s) function, the information gathered through child observation and/or interviewing others will be examined in this step to determine possible functions for the identified problem behavior(s). The function of the behavior(s) could be to obtain a desired outcome or to allow the child to avoid an undesirable outcome. http://www. earlychildhoodnews. com/earlychildhood/article_view. aspx? ArticleID=255 8) Develop a behavioral intervention plan, from the data gathered through observation, a clear description of the problem behavior(s) and perhaps patterns of the behavior(s) will form the basis for a plan. ttp://www. earlychildhoodnews. com/earlychildhood/article_view. aspx? ArticleID=255 Positive behavioral support (PBS) helps understand and resolves a behavioral problem that a child might be having that is based on values and research. It offers an approach to develop an understanding of why the child engages in problem behavior and strategies to prevent the occurrence of problem behavior while teaching the child new skills. Positive behavior support offers a holistic approach that considers all factors that have an impact on a child and the child’s behavior.

It can be used to address problem behaviors that range from aggression, tantrums, and property destruction to social withdrawal (challengingbehavior. org). To successfully implement positive behavior supports {PBS), it is essential that each of the of the following six steps is followed in the designated order: Building a Behavior Support Team; Person-Centered Planning; Functional Behavioral Assessment; Hypothesis Development; Behavior Support Plan Development; and Monitoring Outcomes.

Building a Behavior Support Team is getting the parents, teachers and others together to that mostly is involved with the child the most. Person-Centered Planning is responsible for bring everyone together for the best interest of the child. Functional Behavioral Assessment is involving collecting data and observing the behavior. Hypothesis Development is what is known that triggers the said behavior. Behavior Support Plan Development is to summarize the data gathered from the functional assessment process and come up with a plan.

Monitoring Outcomes are monitoring the effectiveness of the behavior support plan. Monitoring includes measurement the changes of the problem behavior and the achievements and outcome. Summarize the role of the teacher in designing and implementing a classroom behavior plan (challengingbehavior. org). Teachers have big responsibilities in taking part in making the Behavior Plan successful. The teacher is the one who has to follow through and implement the plan and make it consistently every day. It is the teacher who has to push forward even when it appears things isn’t going as planned. The