Strategies for Maintaining Positive Behavior Change Stemming from Functional Behavioral Assessment in Schools

Nationwide, schools are struggling to prepare IEP teams and other school personnel to conduct functional behavioral assessment and develop positive behavioral intervention plans and supports. While there is a growing evidence that functional behavioral assessment is effective in identifying the reason(s) behind student misbehavior, less is known about producing positive, long-term changes that are both functionally and socially relevant. Drawing upon the available research, we explore an emerging technology for promoting maintenance and generalization of behavior change. We discuss various strategies and procedures and offer recommendations to IEP teams regarding maintaining positive changes in student behavior that stem from functional behavioral assessment in schools. Reprinted by permission of the publisher

Behavioral Problems in Schools: Ways to Encourage Functional Behavior Assessment (FBA) of Discipline-Evoking Behavior of Students with Emotional and/or Behavioral Disorders (EBD)

Functional behavioral assessment (FBA) of aggressive and negative behaviors that lead to suspension and expulsion is mandated for students with disabilities in the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) of 1997. This legal requirement is problematic for many school districts as well as teacher preparation programs in that numerous barriers to effective application of FBA exist within our educational institutions. The present article discusses some of the major challenges school districts personnel face in implementing FBAs. A school improvement initiative, Success4, is presented to illustrate an approach that the state of Iowa is taking to overcome these challenges. Finally, we present arguments for fundamental changes in educational policies and practices in order to enhance school district effectiveness and accountability in conducting functional behavioral assessments. Reprinted by permission of the publisher

Maintaining the Integrity of FBA-Based Interventions in Schools

The best interventions and best laid plans are brought into jeopardy when they are implemented inappropriately or of insufficient duration. Six factors that affect fidelity of treatment in relationship to functional behavioral assessment (FBA) are discussed: a) understanding the function of and the contextual valuables that support target behavior, b) adult knowledge of effective interventions, c) adult acceptance of the intervention, d) selection of suitable replacement behavior, e) selection of the standard to judge behavior change, and f) utilization of procedures to enhance integrity of implementation. Examples and suggestions for improving treatment fidelity in schools are offered

Toward a More Functional Analysis of Aggression

Given the substantial and oftentimes irreversible human loss resulting from aggressive acts, the need for systematic, treatment-linked assessment of aggression in school-aged children and youth cannot be overstated. Based upon recent research, the authors provide a broadly framed model for the functional analysis of aggression in school-age children and youth. Our model incorporates multi-modal data collection and data triangulation to generate credible hypotheses regarding the function(s) of aggression. Three primary data sources—record review and interviews, naturalistic observation, and analogue assessment—form the cornerstone of the model. Key features of our approach to the assessment of aggression include operational definition(s) of target behavior(s), examination of the environmental context(s) of aggression, and discovery of the function(s) of aggressive behaviors for the individual. Samples of several specific, ready-to-use data collection instruments and a basic description of the assessment procedure are presented. The assessment process assumes that a team of individuals participates in data collection, data analysis, and hypothesis generation

Hydrology, Water Chemistry and Ecological Relations in the Raised Mound of Cowles Bog

The Cowles Bog National Natural Landmark and the wetlands between the dunes near the south shore of Lake Michigan, in Indiana, contain plant species that are typical of circum-neutral fens. The distribution of eight, rather sharply delineated, vegetation types correlates most strongly with water level variations resulting from the presence of a 4.1-ha convex peat mound. A network of shallow ground-water wells installed in the wetland has identified an upwelling of water under artesian pressure at sites underlying the mound. The well-buffered water, containing high concentrations of inorganic solutes, is derived from an aquifer that is recharged on an upland moraine and is confined beneath a clay till sheet. A breach in this clay layer beneath the mound allows water to flow upward and radially outward as the hydraulic head is dissipated in the overlying marl and peat. The marl and organic lake sediments in the wetland were formed during the Nipissing level of ancestral Lake Michigan (4000-6000 years ago) when the wetland basin was probably a small bay of the lake. The peat mound developed when the lake level fell from the Algoma through to modern times. This increased the difference in hydraulic head and increased spring flows, which in turn induced peat formation

Can Everyone Make the Grade? Some Thoughts on Student Grading and Contemporary Classrooms

High school officials should consider alternative perspectives on grading in light of increasing student heterogeneity. Their challenge is to consider grading policies and practices that apply equally to students with and without diverse needs or disabilities. Schools should think about incorporating various combinations of percent, criterion-referenced, and norm-referenced grading into a more flexible policy on grading; ensure that student expectations are unambiguously described in writing and in sufficient detail; and subject their policies on grading to periodic review and be prepared to make any necessary modifications. Moreover, schools should collaborate with various stakeholders to develop policies on grading that guarantee objectivity and accountability for a diverse student population. Grading options that accurately and fairly reflect individual student performance are proposed

Functional Assessment as Strategy Assessment for Teaching Academics

Functional assessment of aggressive, aberrant, and challenging behavior has dominated the literature with relatively little attention given to the potential utility of functional assessment in academics. The purpose of this article is to advocate functional strategy assessment as a procedure for acquiring data to support the formulation of intervention hypotheses by school-based personnel with the aim of improving the academic performance of students with emotional and behavioral disorders. A functional strategy assessment model is presented, and two case illustrations are employed to demonstrate the feasibility of this assessment model for use by practitioners. Examples of both an individual and small group functional strategy assessment techniques are proffered as well as tips to the teacher-diagnostician

PSPACE-Completeness of Reversible Deterministic Systems

We prove PSPACE-completeness of several reversible, fully deterministic systems. At the core, we develop a framework for such proofs (building on a result of Tsukiji and Hagiwara and a framework for motion planning through gadgets), showing that any system that can implement three basic gadgets is PSPACE-complete. We then apply this framework to four different systems, showing its versatility. First, we prove that Deterministic Constraint Logic is PSPACE-complete, fixing an error in a previous argument from 2008. Second, we give a new PSPACE-hardness proof for the reversible `billiard ball' model of Fredkin and Toffoli from 40 years ago, newly establishing hardness when only two balls move at once. Third, we prove PSPACE-completeness of zero-player motion planning with any reversible deterministic interacting $k$-tunnel gadget and a `rotate clockwise' gadget (a zero-player analog of branching hallways). Fourth, we give simpler proofs that zero-player motion planning is PSPACE-complete with just a single gadget, the 3-spinner. These results should in turn make it even easier to prove PSPACE-hardness of other reversible deterministic systems.Comment: 20 pages, 15 figure

Integrating Academic and Non-Academic Instruction for Students with Emotional/Behavioral Disorders

Students with emotional/behavioral disorders exhibit a wide range of academic and behavioral problems. Not surprisingly, there is growing support for integrating instruction to address overlapping students\u27 needs in both areas. In this article, we discuss instructional variables that contribute to a positive classroom climate and that serve as setting events for more focused group-individual instructional programs. We draw on the accumulated research to identify common non-academic challenges that should be incorporated into those programs. We examine issues that relate to the efficacy of instruction and also the cultural and chronological age differences among students and how they relate to planning for instruction. Finally, we offer several forms that illustrate ways to combine academics and non-academics into a manageable instructional plan