Understanding Collaboration: Making Data-Based Decisions for Effective Behavior Management

1. Behavior Management Section III: Collaboration

2. Personnel DeAnn Lechtenberger — Principle Investigator Nora Griffin-Shirley — Project Coordinator Doug Hamman — Project Evaluator Tonya Hettler—Grant Manager Project IDEALis funded through a grant from the Texas Council for Developmental Disabilities ($599,247) with match from Texas Tech University for ($218,725) The views contained herein do not necessarily reflect the position or policy of the funding agency[s]. No official endorsement should be inferred.

3. Understanding Collaboration The learner will: • understand the importance of making data-based decisions during collaboration • be aware of the roles of teachers, administrators, family, and peers in the collaboration process • evaluate the progress of the student with disabilities and his IEP team

4. Background • Behavior is a dynamic interactive process that occurs between a student and the environment. • The same student can behave differently in various environments. • Inclusive environments often have greater numbers of transitions which can lead to increases in behavioral problems for some students.

5. Data-based Decisions • It is important to describe and quantify challenging behaviors in a variety of environments. • It is also important to describe factors in the environments where the behaviors occur most and least often.

6. Data-based Decisions • The “function” of a particular behavior in a particular environment is assessed through observation and data collection. • Identifying the function of a behavior helps the team to determine strategies that match the student’s specific problem behaviors.

7. Role of Teachers • Children may interact with many educators throughout the school day. • All members of the educational team need to be involved in developing, supporting and sustaining the positive behaviors of children with behavioral challenges. • Team responses should be pre-planned, coordinated, and based upon effective practices. • Team responses to frequent challenging behavior should be governed by the outcomes of a functional behavioral assessment (FBA).

8. Role of Administrators • Training sponsored by administrators on the “team” problem solving approach can “set the tone” for practice on the school campus. • When administrators budget for release time for educational teams to plan on behalf of students with behavioral challenges, higher levels of collaboration are possible.

9. Role of Families • Family involvement and participation must be facilitated by school teams as recommended by “best practice” and as required by law. • Family members and parents are critical to collaborating effectively and to building student success.

10. Role of Peers • Aggressive behavior is affiliated with peer rejection (Rubin, Bukowski, & Parker, 1998). • Peer rejection due to severe behavioral problems may predict higher rates of academic failure (McDougall, Hymel, Vaillancourt & Mercer, 2001). • It is critical to develop activities where peers develop supportive relationships with students with problem behaviors.

11. Role of Peers(continued) • Structured activities with typical peers and students with behavioral challenges allow for positive modeling of appropriate behaviors. • Friendship clubs can offer students with behavioral challenges the chances to form stronger relationships with peers. • Video-modeling is a practice where peers can record and demonstrate appropriate behaviors to some students with behavioral challenges.

12. Tools for Collaboration • Allotted time for team discussion and data sharing • Team based functional assessments (Chandler, Dahlquist, Repp & Feltz, 1999) • Person-Centered Planning (PCP) (Artesani, & Mallar, 1998)

13. EvaluatingStudent Progress Reviewing and analyzing student data on progress towards IEP goals is: • Required by the law • Considered to be “best practice” for teaching • Used to systematically determine if the team’s intervention is working • Allows for continued collaboration to create and refine the most effective interventions for students

14. EvaluatingTeam Progress • It is also important to gather data on the team’s behavioral changes. • Evaluating the team’s changes may involve: • Video analysis of teachers using the strategies • Documenting practices used in team meetings (times of day, note-taking, etc.) • Team reflections on how the team perceives an intervention for a student

15. Evaluating Team Progress (continued) • As student’s behavior changes, so do the roles and responses of team members. • It is important to evaluate the changes in student’s behaviors and to adapt to new roles to meet the student’s needs.

16. Evaluating and Sharing Progress • Documentation from successful collaborations with students can foster success for other teams. • It is important for teams to share success with others to replicate what worked.

17. Contact Information DeAnn Lechtenberger, Ph.D. Principle Investigator deann.lechtenberger@ttu.edu Tonya Hettler, Grant Manager tonya.hettler@ttu.edu Webpage: www.projectidealonline.org Phone: (806) 742-1997, ext. 302 The views contained herein do not necessarily reflect the position or policy of the funding agency[s]. No official endorsement should be inferred.