Positive Behavior Modifications and Data Representation

Abstract

One of the most important aspects to learn and understand when teaching is that no two students are alike. Whole class procedures and teaching methods will not work for every student, and when classroom procedures are not working for certain students, a teacher must develop and conduct behavior modification plans to assist these students in learning to their best ability. Within the classroom, undesired behaviors are bound to arise, and rather than ignoring the behavior or punishing the student it is best practice to create a plan in which the undesired behavior can be modified and replaced with a positive behavior. Best practice can be defined as the act in designing a learning community for a group of learners that works well with the course curriculum, attends to students' needs, and conveys insights and expertise in all subject areas (Price, 2010). Along with undesired behaviors and behavior modification plans comes student data and how it is represented. Within the education system, data is crucial. In meeting with parents or faculty members, data provides support to the observations made. When representing data, it is imperative that the data is represented as positive as possible, while still illustrating the downfalls. The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, known as IDEA, is a federal law that requires schools to provide all eligible students with disabilities with the educational services need. According to IDEA, schools are required to evaluate students suspected of having disabilities, including learning disabilities (Lee, 2014). IDEA requires the IEP team to consider the use of Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS) for any student whose behavior interferes with his or her learning abilities or the learning of others (Ravensberg, 2008). The use of a PBIS enhances a schools ability to provide effective learning environments, inducing best practice (Durlak, 2010). For this University Honors Senior Capstone, a behavior modification plan has been developed, conducted, and analyzed. With this behavior modification plan, the data has been represented in the most valid way possible while using research and law to support the reasoning. Before exploring the data that has been collected, it is necessary to first explain the theories that contribute to behavior within the education system and how it relates to the special education system. The theories and research to be explained have helped shape the behavior modification plan developed for this capstone.