Behavior Intervention Plan

Jessica Allen
St. Bonaventure University

Literature Review
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Classroom Management in Inclusive Settings

This article emphasized a large shift in support of positive behavioral supports used in all
classrooms. To help implement these ideas into the classroom setting, a school-wide adaptation
and support is necessary. The author addressed four major components of community-building
management that would guide teachers, administrators, and other school faculty into developing
an inclusive school environment. These four components include friendship, membership,
collaboration, and parent involvement. With a mixture of these components and the use of
research based strategies, educators will be more successful in creating and managing a
classroom of diverse learners.
Promoting membership in the classroom, or making every child feel welcome, safe, and
appreciated in the classroom provides the student with a sense of meaning and stability. Students
will be more willing to work with teachers and other students on correcting problem behaviors if
they feel that they are accepted by their peers and elders and recognize that they are there to help.
Inclusive school and classroom communities focus greatly on the relationships among
students. Friendships provide students with the overall ability to enhance quality of life for not
only the child, but for the families as well (Soodak, 2003). Teachers can help facilitate positive
relationships among students with opportunities of collaboration and cooperation with peers.
This also leads into the collaboration aspect of this inclusive school-wide plan. Collaboration
between teachers and other school faculty impacts the results of this plan just as much as the
interactions that the teacher has with the students in the classroom. Schools can offer a time
throughout the school week set aside for teachers to collaborate and plan for co-teaching
opportunities that will support this theory of an inclusive school building.

Finally, parent involvement is crucial in order to help students reach their highest
potential. Soodak mentions that when interviewing parents, she cannot stress enough how
important they believe trust is when it comes to having a positive relationship with their childs
teacher. By having an open-door policy, parents are more likely to be involved in their childs
education (Soodak, 2003). This will greatly benefit the parents, teachers, and most importantly
the student.
Soodak also discusses the importance of supporting positive behavior in all students and
different strategies that teachers and administrators can implement. Educators should be using
strategies that achieve important and meaningful behavior change (Soodak, 2003, p.331). A
major theme that Soodak mentions throughout the article is finding an intervention plan that
avoids punishment because it does not typically have a long-lasting effect on the students
behavior. It is more beneficial for teachers to be proactive with alternate solutions to the
behaviors rather than penalizing the student. Keeping this in mind, teachers will become more
effective in managing a diverse classroom.
The student that I have chosen to do my BIP on is a student I have worked with before.
While student teaching at my first placement, I had this student for 40 minutes two or three times
a week during a literacy or math block. I had heard stories of the students violent behavior and I
have also witnessed the student displaying these unwanted behaviors from time to time. When
discussing the requirements for the course with my teacher, he mentioned that this student has
some intervention type strategies already in place which have seemed to greatly decrease his
violent behaviors although the student does act out on occasion. The main focus with this
students behavior now is that he calls out frequently during lessons and activities which distract
his fellow peers. In the past when this student has acted out, he has either been sent to talk with
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the principal or guidance counselor has been able to leave the classroom and come back when he
was ready. I agree with Soodaks theory to eliminate using punishment as an intervention to
problem behaviors (Soodak, 2003). This student is defiant and displays behaviors that he knows
are inappropriate in order to get out of the classroom. Instead of allowing the student to leave the
classroom when he acts out, my teacher has been using a daily log organized period by period in
which the students behavior is recorded and is sent home with the student every day along with
comments from the teacher so that the parents are always informed of how the student is doing.
This article provided some great strategies to use to reduce problem behaviors that with a little
tweaking I may use when creating my intervention plan for this student.

Minimizing Classroom Interruptions

This article provided strategies and solutions when dealing with every day interruptions
that occur in the classroom. Partin states, success in dealing with interruptions comes from
prevention, when possible, and from minimizing their duration and impact (Partin, 1988, p.29).
Although the majority of this article is dealing with outside interruptions, this statement is still
true when dealing with unwanted student behaviors inside the classroom. Partin (1988) provides
recommendations for observing, recording, and reducing the effect on student learning from
interruptions. He mentions carrying a stop watch throughout the day and recording when and for
how long an interruption occurs. It is important to record the overall time at the end of every day.
Teachers can also tally how frequently the behavior or interruption occurs and again compile a
total for the day. It is also suggested that teachers do their best to help the offender feel less
tempted to execute an unwanted behavior. For example, you may turn a students desk so that
he/she is not distracted by other classmates and also not distracting their classmates. The article
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really stresses the importance of keeping three objectives in mind when it comes to facing
behavior issues or interruptions in the classroom; 1. Keep it as brief as possible 2. Minimize the
impact upon the learning activity and 3. Assure that the same interruption will not occur again
(or this step could relate to reducing an unwanted behavior through the use of a BIP) (Partin,
1988). It is crucial to remain in control of the situation. If a teacher can minimize unwanted
behaviors or interruptions, it will provide them more time to focus on their students and will
show improvement in overall student learning.
A quote from the article reads, Many interruptions occur simply because the offender is
not aware that his or her behavior is disruptive (Partin, 1988, p.31). For my student this is false
because there are times when he will display behaviors because he knows that he will be
removed from the classroom or other setting, and that is exactly what he wants. However, I am
not going to shut this suggestion down completely. I think that my student has always been told
that he would be removed from the classroom because he was distracting his classmates, but I do
not think that anyone has ever told him why or how this affects his peers. Maybe if he actually
understands the impact of his actions it will motivate him to focus on not displaying such
behaviors any longer, or at least try to control them. On the other hand, he may not care at all and
continue to display the behavior. As for the three steps mentioned in the article, I think these are
all great ideas to keep in mind when there is a behavior problem and are definitely things going
through my mind when Im handling an incident that occurs in my classroom.

Students Perceptions of Teachers Instructional and Management Adaptations for

Students with Learning or Behavior Problems

This article was based on a case study conducted by 7 undergraduate and graduate
students from Illinois State University under the supervision of Cindy Fulk and Paula Smith
(n.d.). These researchers were testing the theory that teacher use of accommodations for
individual students is their decision and there should be no room for student input. This case
study proved this theory wrong. Although this study focused on both differentiating academic
work as well as behavioral problems, I focused mainly on the behavior results. Students were
asked two questions regarding behavior management and techniques that their teachers were
using in the classroom. The questions that the students were asked included, Pretend there is a
student in your room who gets in trouble a lot for not following school rules. Would it be OK
with you if this student got special rewards for behaving better that other students did not get?
and Would it be OK with you if the teacher gave this student extra chances or different rules
while he or she learned to behave better? (Fulk and Smith, n.d.). Students in grades 1-6 were
surveyed, and the results concluded that the majority of the students being interviewed were
accepting and answered yes to both questions. The study explained that most students did
support the fact that their teachers currently had a behavior management system set-up in the
classroom in which they were satisfied. This study proves to educators that behavioral
adaptations are not inappropriate because students think they are unfair (Fulk and Smith, n.d.).
Actually, it is the complete opposite. Educators should be more aware and value students views
in order to best adapt in their classroom.
I really enjoyed this article because I thought it was a very interesting case study. I liked
how the researchers went for the student view rather than just interviewing teachers. The
majority of students agreed that differentiating behavior systems for individual students was a
positive idea proving the theory that educators believe that students would find this kind of
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treatment unfair wrong. In the older grades (5th and 6th), students were actually highly supportive
of differentiation and explained that they would get lectured for other students behavior and it
was very distracting in class, but with an individualized system, this was reduced and students
were able to remain on task, complete work in a productive environment, and be able to
communicate with the teacher when possible as long as the teacher was not as occupied with
student behaviors. Since my student is highly disruptive during instruction and insists on
distracting his peers, I think it would be an interesting idea to interview and survey the third
graders that I am working with to see what kind of results they would produce.

Student Behavior
Michael is a ten year old student in a fourth grade inclusion classroom at AlleganyLimestone Elementary School located in Allegany, NY. The school district requires staff to
implement the use of the mathematics Common Core modules as well as a Pearson reading Basal
series. Michaels teacher has structured a well-organized fast pace classroom that allows time for
academic learning as well as social interaction with others.
Michael is a constant distraction in the classroom. Whether it be speaking out of turn,
distracting classmates during lessons, making loud animal noises, or talking back to the teacher,
he finds a way to interrupt a number of academic activities. He often rushes through assignments
in order to say that he has completed the work and can distract his classmates close by, or, he
does not find time to complete assignments because instead of starting his work he distracts his
classmates. Michael is seeking attention and his distracting behavior is the outlet in which he
does so in order to obtain that attention from his peers and teachers.

Michaels previous classroom teachers have attempted to implement a variety of behavior

plans to correct Michaels behavior. There have been times when Michaels behavior has shown
a decrease in disruption, but no plan has shown a stable positive effect on all of his behaviors. He
continues to distract classmates during lessons and is still aggressive with peers in the
gymnasium locker room. Right now, Michaels teacher and parents have agreed that a daily
journal between the two would be a greatly beneficial way to try and decrease Michaels
behavior. Michaels teacher write down how Michael behaved during every period of the day and
that log is sent home to his parents so that they are aware of what happened in school that day. If
Michael meets his goal for the day, he earns a certain amount of points and when he reaches a
certain amount of points he is able to trade them in for a prize.
Michael enjoys creating PowerPoint presentations and solving math problems. He does
not like reading and writing. However, he enjoys reading to kindergarteners during his speech
sessions. Michael has stated that he is often bored during instruction and does not like to follow
the rules. He would rather do what he wants to do and when he wants to do it. These statements
make me understand Michaels behavior a little better.

Baseline Data and Function

Michael talks out of turn, distracts classmates, rushes to complete assignments or does
not finish assignments, and talks back to his teacher. The function of Michaels behavior is to
gain attention from his teacher and his peers.

In order for me to track Michaels behavior, I used a variety of data collection strategies. I
used a duration weekly data sheet to see how Michaels behavior might have changed from the
beginning of the week to the end of the week. To my shock, Michaels behavior decreased
towards the end of the week. Originally, I had predicted that his behavior would have increased,
especially it being a Friday the second day I observed and recorded his behavior. From these two
days of data, I can conclude that Michael frequently distracts his classmates when they are given
the opportunity to discuss thoughts with one another and working in small groups or with a
partner. Michael is often off task and coerces his peers into inappropriate behavior as well.
I used a 15 minute daily interval data sheet to track how often Michael would distract his
peers and speak out at inappropriate times throughout 15 minutes of instruction. Michael
displayed both behaviors significantly more than the rest of his peers. I observed and recorded
Michaels behavior for an hour and a half both days. On 3/18/15, Michael was very disruptive
during instruction as I had to record unwanted behavior nearly the entire hour. On 4/16/15,
Michaels behavior was very similar. I was constantly recording unwanted behavior that Michael
would display compared to the rest of his peers.
I also used a daily frequency/rate data sheet to record his behavior. Both days I recorded
Michaels behavior using these data sheets, his behavior was extreme. He called out answers and
interrupted instruction several times even after being spoken to. Michael also distracted his
classmates frequently, but not as often as he called out answers.
I have also noticed that Michael will rush through his work so that he has time to distract
peers, or even at times avoids doing his work just to be able to distract his peers. When Michael
seems to become bored with instruction, I notice him begin to move around in his seat, stand up,
and start calling out more frequently. I believe that Michael becomes bored during instruction,
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especially in ELA, and he wants to gain attention from his peers and teachers which is why he
acts in the way that he does.

Data Sheets
Place observation occurred: Michaels general education classroom, ELA lesson
Environmental Conditions: 21 students in the classroom, students are seated at desks, 1 general
education teacher and 1 aide are in the room

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12

Place of observation: Michaels general education classroom, math lesson

Environmental conditions: 21 students in the classroom, students are at desks, 1 general
education teacher and 1 aide are in the room

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This graph represents the data I collected on Michaels behavior (calling out answers and
distracting peers) for both days (3/5 and 3/12) when using the daily frequency/rate data
sheets.

Place of observation: Michaels general education classroom, math lesson

Environmental conditions: 21 students in the classroom, students are at desks, 1 general
education teacher and 1 aide are in the room

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Place of observation: Michaels general education classroom, science lesson

Environmental conditions: 21 students in the classroom, students are at desks, 1 general
education teacher and 1 aide are in the room

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15 Minute Daily Interval Data

7

Frequency
3

Calling Out

Behavior
3/18/2015

4/16/2015

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This graph represents the data I collected on Michaels behavior (calling out answers and
distracting peers) for both days (3/18 and 4/16) when using the 15 minute daily interval
data sheets.

Place of observation: Michaels general education classroom, science lesson

Environmental conditions: 21 students in the classroom, students are at desks, 1 general
education teacher and 1 aide are in the room

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Duration Weekly Data Sheet

8
7
6
5

# of times Michael distracted his peers in 1 hour

4
3
2
1
0
42108

42111

Behavior (distracting peers during instruction)

This graph represents the data I collected on Michaels behavior (distracting peers) on
4/14/15 and 4/17/15. No data was collected on 4/15 and 4/16 which is why no data is
displayed in the graph. This graph shows that Michaels behavior decreased between the
beginning of the week to the end of the week.

Intervention
Michael wants to gain attention from his teacher and peers. The target behavior I
identified for Michael states, Michael will speak during instruction at appropriate times and will
refrain from distracting classmates. This target behavior addresses both of Michaels most
severe and reoccurring behaviors.
As of now, Michael is seated next to a classmate in the back of the classroom next to the
teachers desk. This is helpful when students are working independently and the teacher is at his
desk, but is unsupportive during whole group instruction. In order for Michael to discontinue

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disrupting his peers, I think that his desk should be seated by himself and moved closer to the
front of the classroom where the teacher can easily address Michaels disruptive behavior during
instruction. Also, I think Michael might better understand how truly disruptive he is during
instruction if he was responsible for noticing and reflecting upon every time he speaks out of
turn, distracts a classmate, or talks back to the teacher. Michael could have a chart on his desk
and be trained on when to record his disruptive behavior. The teacher could also be collecting
data during instruction and compare and contrast the data he/she has recorded with the data that
the student recorded. I think that the main reason Michaels behavior has not dramatically
decreased, even with his teacher acknowledging and attempting to correct Michaels unwanted
behavior, is because Michael does not always realize when he is being disruptive. This technique
would force him to recognize his disturbance and reflect on how he can change his behavior for
the next lesson.
The intervention I chose to implement addressed the problem behaviors as well as
incorporated student interest. Michael would fill out his data sheet as I or the teacher would fill
out one per lesson as well. If Michael managed to keep his disruptions to under 3 during the
lesson, he would receive a fact card. Since Michael loves insects and reptiles, I have created
index cards with different facts to give to Michael. At the end of the day, Michael is allowed to
share the fact cards he has received for the day with his classmates. This has shown a positive
effect on Michaels behavior as he loves to learn new things about insects and animals and loves
to talk with his peers. Using this technique will allow Michael to acknowledge his unwanted
behavior, give him an opportunity to correct his behavior, and be rewarded for good behavior.
Michael is able to gain the attention he wants from his teacher with the fact cards and the
attention he wants from his peers by being able to share the fun facts with them.
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Before the implementation of this intervention, Michael needs to go through a training

session where different acts of disruptive behavior are stated so that he knows when to record his
unwanted behavior. The teacher can also cue Michael to mark unwanted behavior if he feels that
Michael is not taking appropriate data. Also, the rules of the reward system need to be clarified
for Michael.

Results
Classroom management is one of the most crucial factors that lead to student
organization, focus, and success. Sometimes, students will challenge the classroom management
routines that a teacher has in place with the behavior that he/she displays. A common unwanted
behavior that students tend to display is talking out of turn. Reasoning behind why the student
continues to talk out of turn or at other inappropriate times can be traced to a number of factors,
but it is something that must be corrected as soon as possible. If a student does not learn that this
behavior is disruptive he/she will continue to interrupt instruction for years to come which can
eventually lead to a major problem.
Creating and implementing a Behavior Intervention Plan is an extensive process, but will
be highly beneficial to students. It is a lengthy process as the teacher first has to identify the
behavior, what triggers the behavior, collect data on the behavior, and implement an intervention
strategy, but if the plan is implemented correctly, student behavior will decrease and things will
run more smoothly in the classroom.
The most important aspect of the BIP process was observing the student. From here, I
was able to identify the behavior and the function of said behavior. After collecting data and
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interviewing both the student and the teacher, I can conclude that my student displays unwanted
behavior in order to gain attention from his teachers or peers. Again, I believe that Michael does
not always recognize when his behavior is disruptive, even when he is told that it is, and this is
why I have him reflecting on his own behavior. I believe that the intervention strategies that I
have suggested will decrease the students behavior if it is correctly and consistently
implemented.
Afterdoingresearchonthetopicanddiscussingwithmyteacher,Ihaverealizedthatfindingthe
functionofthebehavioriscrucial.Onceyouunderstandorareabletoidentifywhythestudentis
behavinginthewayinwhichhe/sheis,itissomucheasiertofindstrategiesforcorrectingthebehavior
fromthere.IbelievethatifMichaelcancorrecthisbehaviorandremainmorefocusedduringinstruction,
hisacademicswillimproveandhewillfeelmoreaccomplishedattheendofthedayandhavepositive
experiencestosharewithhisparentsratherthannegative.

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References
Cindy L. Fulk; Paula J., S. (n.d). Students' perceptions of teachers' instructional and management
adaptations for students with learning or behavior problems. The Elementary School
Journal, 95(5), 409-419.
Partin, R. L. (1987). Minimizing classroom interruptions. Clearing House, 61(1), 29-31
Soodak, L. C. (2003). Classroom management in inclusive settings. Theory Into Practice, 42(4),
327-333.

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