Defining the Behaviour and Thinking Functionally
The next step requires you to answer questions about the behaviour of concern so that strategy suggestions can be made, prior to answering these questions it is important that you have a clear description of the behaviour and an understanding of the purpose it serves for the student.
Defining the Behaviour of Concern
Behaviour is an action or event that can be observed and counted by the teacher and repeated by the student. When addressing a behaviour of concern that hinders learning of a student or their peers, it is essential that there is agreement between those addressing the behaviour about what the behaviour is and is, not so that the same behaviour is addressed by all and data collected is consistent. An effective behavioural definition comprises a general descriptor for the behaviour (e.g., verbal aggression) as well as specific, repeatable examples that can be observed and counted (e.g., telling the teacher to “f**k off”, telling peers that they will punch them, threatening to fight peers).
Students with behaviours of concern may engage in more than one behaviour that hinders their own or others learning. If that is the case for your student, you will need to prioritise which behaviour you define and subsequently address. When prioritising which behaviour to address consider: (a) which behaviour occurs before/is a trigger for a more impactful behaviour/s; (b) which behaviour has the greater impact on the student and/or their peers’ learning; and (c) which behaviour has greatest potential for harm to occur because of it. For example, if a student always calls out before they become verbally aggressive towards the teacher then addressing the calling out may be the way to go. On the other hand, if a student is consistently leaving the classroom which places them at greater risk of harm, then that may be the behaviour to address first as it is one with the highest risk attached. Collection of data on the frequency, intensity and duration of the behaviours of concern will assist with the prioritisation process. For more information and resources see PBIS World’s Data Tracking page.
To describe the behaviour of concern displayed by your student. First, list as many presentations of the behaviour as possibly ensuring that the examples are observable, measurable, and repeatable. Focus on what the behaviour looks like, sounds like, and feels like. Then, think of a general descriptor that covers all the examples. If there is only one presentation of the behaviour, then you will not need this element. Conversely, if there is a lot of examples you may need to divide into categories before determining a general descriptor for each one. Once you have both the general descriptor and the specific examples combine them to form the definition of the behaviour. For example, the behaviour of concern is aggression towards others which includes telling the teacher to “f**k off”, telling peers that they will punch them, and threatening to fight peers. If you would like to learn more about defining behaviours of concern consider completing The IRIS Centre’s module on Functional Behaviour Assessment.
Use the description of your student’s behaviour to inform which checklist you choose to complete in the next step. Keep the description of behaviour and use it when monitoring if the strategy you choose to implement is working.
Thinking Functionally about the Behaviour of Concern
When completing your chosen checklist, you will need to think functionally about your student’s behaviour of concern. Thinking functionally involves careful observation of or reflection on the events that occur before and after the behaviour of concern in order to understand what purpose it serves for the student. You can use an ABC (Antecedent – Behaviour – Consequence) Chart to support your observation and reflection. It is important that observations are described in a clear, objective manner.
When observing what occurred immediately prior to the behaviour of concern (i.e., the antecedent), you will need to look beyond what the student was doing to what was happening in the environment around them. Examples of antecedents include an instruction or reprimand being given to the student, the teacher or teacher aide working with another student, unstructured time, being along, being with peers, being with a specific peer, transitioning to a non-preferred activity, change in activity, or being told no as well as many, many more events specific to the student and your classroom.
When reflecting on the response of others including yourself to the behaviour of concern (i.e., the consequence), you will again need to look beyond what you as the teacher did in response to the behaviour as outlined in the school’s consequence set to what happened in the environment around the student when the behaviour occurred to reinforce it. Examples of consequences when thinking functionally include adult or peer attention or lack thereof, continued engagement in a preferred activity, avoidance of a non-preferred activity, avoidance of a specific sensory sensation and so on.
Observation of antecedents and consequences associated with a behaviour of concern provides the information you need to reflect on the purpose the behaviour serves for the student (i.e., the function). The function of the behaviour may be to avoid/escape or access/initiate a specific sensory stimulation or sensation, activity or item, or social interaction with an adult or peer. Your student may also use their behaviour to express a big emotion or to cope with one. When reflecting on your student’s ABC data look for patterns. Does the behaviour always occur on the way to music, when the band starts practising, or they are asked to work with a specific peer? After the behaviour occurs does the student get to keep doing what they are doing, spend time with a safe adult, leave the art room? The checklist you choose in the next step will ask you to think about those patterns and identify if they apply to your student. Your responses to these questions will informs the strategy suggestions.