Introduction
The goal and activities of the Individual Behavior Learning Packets are focused on a proactive instructional approach to behavior management as proposed by Colvin, Kameenui and Sugai. This focus conceptualizes the management of social behavior problems in much the same way as the management of instructional problems. Most often, educators approach social behavior problems differently than instructional problems. For example, when a student makes an error in academic subjects (e.g., decoding, math computation, concept application), a correction procedure is implemented and the student is provided with more practice and review. If the errors become persistent or chronic, teachers diagnose the problem (i.e., identify the misrule), rearrange the presentation, and provide more practice and review. Clearly, such a proactive emphasis enhances the student’s opportunities to make the correct academic response.
In contrast, the occurrence of social behavior problems frequently elicits very different reactions When a social behavior error occurs, the student typically is given a reminder of the rule or expected behavior, told what s/he should not do, and give a penalty for exhibiting the inappropriate behavior. For example, when a student comes late to class, talks without raising a hand, or gets out of his/her seat without permission, a common response is to describe the problem behavior (“You’re late to class”), react negatively to the behavior (“That’s rude and it disrupts others”), and give a negative consequence (“Don’t ever do that again”). This practice of managing social behavior problems is different from how educators tend to approach academic problems as described previously. Although academic problems are ‘remediated’ by applying instructional principles, problem social behaviors are ‘punished’ by applying negative consequences. A need exists to develop and validate a model in which instructional principles are employed to manage and remediate chronic social behavioral problems.
Colvin, Kameenui and Sugai provide a five step comparison of procedures to remediate chronic academic problems and chronic behavior problems
Step Chronic Academic Problem Chronic Behavior Problem
- Identify the error pattern or misrule Identify functional relationship between behavior and environment
- Identify skill, concept, rule, operation or form of knowledge Identify expected or acceptable behaviors
- Modify examples and presentation to provide clearer focus on rule and provide less opportunity for practice of misrule Modify environment to allow practice of expected behaviors and remove stimuli that are likely to occasion the inappropriate behavior
- Provide differential feedback so that more accurate responses are more strongly reinforced Provide differential reinforcement so that direction of correct responding is reinforced
- Shape context towards target context, provide review and integrate skill with other skills Move towards least restrictive environment program for generalization and maintenance
When teaching academic skills, teachers generally complete a number of preparatory steps before students are required to demonstrate a skill independently. The preparatory steps usually involve clarifying the goals and objectives of the instruction, specifying the content to be targeted, selecting examples, explaining the skills to be learned, modeling the skills, providing supervised practice, providing corrective feedback and furnishing opportunities for independent practice.
Background
The Individual Behavior Learning System is a formal method to implement the remedial process for social behavior in learning situations. It provides constructive, positive learning experiences for students serving consequences for violating a school standard for behavior. The System consists of three notebooks, each with twelve [12] packets keyed to thirty-six [36] different school or attitude problems.
Minor Packets target particular forms of unacceptable behavior that usually occur within the classroom and are typically annoying and non-threatening. Students demonstrating these behaviors often serve classroom detentions or are held out of class for a day or two.
Major Packets target those behaviors that are more serious in nature and may be of a threatening nature. These behaviors may extend to situations outside of the classroom and perhaps even outside the school itself. Students committing such infractions often are assigned an in-school or out-of-school suspensions. Some of these violations may also involve the police (for offenses involving drugs, gang behavior, alcohol, etc.).
Attitude Packets focus on the student’s state of mind when s/he made the decision to break a school rule. These packets are much more general in scope and can easily be used in conjunction with either Minor or Major Packets to complement the remediation process. For example, a student who is caught smoking might be given both the Smoking Packet from the Major series and the Making Changes Packet from the Attitude series. Attitude packets can also be assigned to students who commit the same offense more than twice. For example, a student late to class will be given the Late to Class Packet twice and if he is disciplined a third time for being late to class you may want to give him the attitude packet on Learning From Mistakes or Being Responsible.
These Learning Packets can serve several purposes:
- Give misbehaving students a better understanding of why they misbehave
- Prompt students to set goals that help them improve their behavior
- Serve as a meaningful consequence for misbehaving students.
Each Learning Packet consists of the following:
Narrative text: which identifies the type of misbehavior, tells why such actions are wrong, outlines the consequences of such behavior, and makes suggestions for alternative ways of dealing with problems.
Two illustrative stories: in which fictional characters illustrate various forms of unacceptable behavior.
Two Response Forms: one for the first offense and one for the second. Students are required to complete the forms and answer questions related to the Packet text and to their particular behavioral problems. In some cases, students may need extra paper to complete their answers.
In each instance, the purpose of the packet is to improve the student’s behavior in the future. Themes of respecting the rights and feelings of others, discovering the causes of misbehavior, understanding the short and long-term implications of such behavior, taking responsibility for our actions, and developing goals will enable the student to change for the better.
Central to any student’s growth is the understanding that s/he is part of a learning community that includes other students, teachers and school staff and administration. Cooperating with teachers and fellow students, respecting the rights of other individuals, and dealing constructively with problems is key to being successful in both the school and the larger community. Self-destructive behavior patterns that go unchanged can be debilitating in later life, both emotionally and economically.
The short-term purpose of these lessons is to serve as a negative consequence for the student’s misbehavior. However, the punitive aspect of discipline has been de-emphasized in the packets. Instead, the packets stress the positive learning experience that can come from understanding and reflecting on one’s behavior.
By emphasizing the feelings and rights of others, it is the goal to help students develop a more empathetic and social understanding of the effects that their behavior has on the whole school community. By stressing the discovery of the causes of behavioral problems the packets help students better understand their own motivations.
By showing students where such behavior leads in the development of their own lives, the packets bring to them an awareness of the implications of their actions and the need to accept responsibility for those actions.
Finally, the packets stress setting individual goals for improvement. All of the materials are developed with the following step-by-step agenda for improvement in mind:
- Identifying inappropriate or destructive behavior
- Identifying ethical issues
- Identifying underlying causes of such behavior
- Showing the short- and long-term implications of unacceptable behavior
- Setting goals
Instructions For Use
- Make extra copies of the Learning Packets. Do not allow students to write on the master copies. Save them for making additional copies.
- Each time a student is to be disciplined, select one of the packets for him or her to read. Also give him/her one of the corresponding response forms.
- Note that the Learning Packets have two response forms to handle ‘repeat offenders’. These students should read the learning packet text materials and receive Student Response Packet # 2 the second time. This means, of course, that you will need to track the use of the Packets with individual students.
- A folder should be kept for each student who is disciplined, and all completed response forms should be filed.
- Because the completed response packets may provide insight into how students view themselves, the response sheets might be made available to other teachers, counselors, a school’s Pupil Personnel Team, and others who work with the student. Before this is done, we suggest you inform the student that you may be sharing this material with others.
- If the student got in trouble outside of your classroom area and was referred to you by another staff member, consider giving a copy of the completed response form to that staff member the next day. Keeping the staff informed of steps you are taking to improve a student’s attitude or behavior will prove to be beneficial both to you and to your program.
- The student’s parents can be asked to read and initial the completed response form. This helps promote parent involvement in the remediation process. This might be of particular importance if you are using Student Response Packet # 2.
- An administrator, counselor, or teacher should review with the student his or her answers to the questions. This should be done as soon as possible after the student hands in his or her completed response form. This will help to reinforce an understanding of preventive measures so the problematic behavior does not occur again.
Of course the simple use of the Learning Packets does not in and of itself constitute a change of perspective away from discipline as a verb – children must be disciplined, to a noun – children must learn discipline, but it provides a supportive framework to help teachers change their own perspective and move toward teaching discipline.
The Individual Behavior Learning Packets can be acquired commercially from Advantage Press, Inc., PO Box 3025 Lisle, Illinois, 60532.