Helping a Student Learn When Behavior Impedes Learning
Haleigh A. Dykes
ABSTRACT
One of the first things I noticed upon
entering into my final internship in a
second-grade classroom was how far
behind, academically, one of my
students was. I began observing him
from the beginning to see if I could
pinpoint what was causing him to fall
so behind. After a while, I realized
that because of his behaviors he was
struggling to complete his work and
often was needing to be sent out of
the classroom to a buddy room due
to these behaviors. I decided to
conduct research to try to problem
solve this so that my student would
no longer be falling behind
academically due to his behavior.
One of the biggest things I have done
while trying to problem solve this
has been working alongside the
school’s ESE coach and speech
pathologist to try to pinpoint what
has been a struggle for this student
since the beginning of his schooling
experience. I was given access to
this student’s individualized
educational plan (IEP) and have used
the information on there as a
method for problem solving.
According to his IEP his goal is to
remain in his area for a minimum
three minutes with no more than
two teacher redirections. I decided
that this would be a good place to
start when working with my student.
CONTACT
Haleigh Dykes
University of South Florida
hdykes@mail.usf.edu
(813) 469-1452
INTRODUCTION RESULTS
My name is Haleigh Dykes. I am an Elementary One thing I noticed upon analyzing the yes/no charts
Education major at the University of South Florida. was that the results were dependent on which teacher
was in charge of him at the time. For example, when he
For my final internship I was lucky enough to be was with me and my CT he would leave his area more
interning in a 2nd grade math and science classroom often than he would when he was next door with the
in a Title I school in Pasco County Florida. In my language arts teacher.
school we use a positive based intervention system
and we believe that all students can achieve, we call However, the amount of time he spends in his area has
this the J curve because unlike the bell curve it now drastically increased. Prior to implementing the
doesn’t come back down. yes/no chart, the student would elope from the
classroom almost daily. But now this does not happen
In my classroom I noticed one student that was really anymore.
struggling academically and so I began observing him
to see how I could help him to grow his brain. During
In addition, I’ve noticed improvement on the quantity of
this time I found that a lot of the reasons that
work that is completed as well as the quality of the work
Michael (pseudonym) was struggling was because of
that is completed.
his behavior. Because of this I wanted to find out
how can I help a student learn when behavior
impedes their learning?
Table 1. Yes or No Chart
Yes
When I was in school, there were times where I let
behavior interfere with my academics. Most of the March 6th 26
time that behavior was only because of something March 6th 26
that was going on at home. I believe that if a teacher
had taken the time to help me learn through it, I March 8th 14
would have done much better in school.
March 9th 29
March 12th 13
METHODS AND MATERIALS
March 13th 12
With my CT, the ESE coach, and speech pathologist,
we came up with a strategy to try to help Michael
to start staying in his area. We decided to try Time Spent in Area
taping a square where he sits and setting a timer 100%
Percent of Time in Area
for two-minutes after which we circled yes or no on
whether he stayed in his area for the full time or 80%
not. If he received a yes, he got one goldfish,
60%
pretzel, or animal cracker.
40%
20%
0%
3/6 3/7 3/8 3/9
Sample Data Dates
Figure 1. Yes/No Data Figure 2. Yes/No Data
Chart 1. Time Spent in Area
NEXT STEPS
With This Particular Student
• Build up our teacher-student relationship.
• Find a way to relate this procedure to an intrinsic
motivator instead of an extrinsic motivator.
• Instead of resetting the timer every so often, tell
him that in a set period of time he will be given x
number of opportunity to earn his snack of
choice. Then give him a no each time he moves
from his area.
With Other Students
Since this was not my classroom, I was not able to
try all of the strategies I wanted to try. So, here is a
short list of some other strategies that I would like
to try should I ever have a similar student in my
own classroom.
• Engaging students in conversation about a topic
of their choice when they walk into the door.
No
• Have lunch bunch, or something similar, with
students to build up relationships.
4
8
CONCLUSIONS
8
• When students remain in their area for the
6 majority of the day, the quantity and quality of
their work improves.
8
• Some students don’t immediately respond to
0 intrinsic motivation and require something
tangible in order to be motivated.
• All students are able to learn if they are given the
appropriate learning environment and area to
learn in.
REFERENCES
1. Gage, N. g., Scott, T., Hirn, R., & MacSuga-Gage, A. S. (2018). The Relationship Between Teachers’
Implementation of Classroom Management Practices and Student Behavior in Elementary School.
Behavioral Disorders, 43(2), 302-315. doi:10.1177/0198742917714809
2. Lemov, D. (2015). Teach Like a Champion 2.0: 62 Techniques that put Students on the Path to College. San
Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass, a Wiley brand.
3. Roorda, D. D., Jak, S., Zee, M., Oort, F. J., & Koomen, H. Y. (2017). Affective Teacher-Student Relationships
and Students' Engagement and Achievement: A Meta-Analytic Update and Test of the Mediating Role of
Engagement. School Psychology Review, 46(3), 239-261. doi:10.17105/SPR-2017-0035.V46-3
4. Steven T., P. (2009). The Effects of Teacher-Student Small Talk on Out-of-Seat Behavior. Education And
3/12 3/13 Treatment Of Children, (1), 167.
5. Wolf, M. M. (1970). Timer-game: a variable interval contingency for the management of out-of-seat
behavior. Exceptional Children, 37(2), 113-117.