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Challenging Behaviour and Applied Behavioural Analysis. Andy Miller 26th February 2007. Key text. Miller, A (2003) Teachers, Parents and Classroom Behaviour. A Psychosocial Approach . Maidenhead. Open University Press. Definitions. What is challenging behaviour (in schools)? … and - PowerPoint PPT Presentation
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Challenging Behaviour and Applied Behavioural Analysis
Andy Miller
26th February 2007
Key text
Miller, A (2003) Teachers, Parents and Classroom Behaviour. A Psychosocial Approach. Maidenhead. Open University Press.
Definitions
What is challenging behaviour (in schools)?
… and
What is Applied Behaviour Analysis?
Questions, questions ….
Is it getting worse?
Questions, questions ….
Is it getting worse? Is what exactly getting worse?
Questions, questions ….
Is it getting worse? Is what getting worse? Is it certain types of kids?
Questions, questions ….
Is it getting worse? Is what getting worse? Is it certain types of kids? Is it certain types of parents?
Questions, questions ….
Is it getting worse? Is what getting worse? Is it certain types of kids? Is it certain types of parents? Is it certain types of schools?
Questions, questions ….
Is it getting worse? Is what getting worse? Is it certain types of kids? Is it certain types of parents? Is it certain types of schools? Is there anything anybody can do?
Questions, questions ….
Is it getting worse? Is what getting worse? Is it certain types of kids? Is it certain types of parents? Is it certain types of schools? Is there anything anybody can do?
…. and most importantly for us …..
Questions, questions ….
Is it getting worse? Is what getting worse? Is it certain types of kids? Is it certain types of parents? Is it certain types of schools? Is there anything anybody can do?
…. and most importantly for us …..
What does psychology have to offer?
Nature and severity (… then)
“Few teachers in our survey reported physical aggression towards themselves. Most of these did not rate it as the most difficult behaviour with which they had to deal. Teachers in our survey were most concerned about the cumulative effects of disruption to their lessons caused by relatively trivial but persistent misbehaviour”
The Elton Report (1989)
Nature and severity (… and now)
“The most common forms of misbehaviour are incessant chatter, calling out, inattention and other forms of nuisance that irritate staff and interrupt learning.”
Ofsted, The Annual Report of HM’s Chief Inspector of Schools 2003/2004, (February
2005)
Forms of challenging behaviour
These large scale studies regularly identify ‘talking out of turn’ (TOOT) and ‘hindering other children’ (HOC) as the major concern of teachers.
But, of course, there are other lower incidence types of challenging behaviour: bullying, violence, self injury, mental health
problems, some autistic behaviour etc.
Identifying ‘problem behaviour’
standardised questionnaires completed by teachers and parents of over 2,000 children
proved extremely effective in screening out children with ‘psychiatric disorders’.
surprisingly little overlap between the two sources (teachers and parents)
only one child in every 6 or 7 in the ‘deviant group’ identified by both parties
Isle of Wight survey (Rutter et al 1970)
Identifying ‘problem behaviour’ (2)
Similar lack of overlap in London study of 343 7-8yr olds:
30% of those seen by teachers as a problem at school also identified by parents as a problem at home
34% of those identified by parents were similarly perceived as difficult by teachers
Tizard et al (1988)
Implications
Either
some forms of behaviour are context- specific (e.g. lack of concentration at school)
some are more likely to occur at home or at school
some have far more salience for teachers and others for parents
Rationale for Applied Behavioural Analysis in educational settings
First published study was carried out by Madsen et al in 1968 in the USA sought to demonstrate that:
behaviour is learned thus pupils can learn acceptable and productive
classroom behaviour changing the environment can create the conditions for
new behaviour to be learned
Studied the effects of praise; ignoring; clear statements of rules on inappropriate behaviour
Inappropriate behaviour of one problem child as a function of experimental conditions (from Madsen et al 1968)
Distinctive features of ABA approaches
concern with demonstrating the effects of alterations to antecedents and consequences upon behaviour
precise descriptions of ‘behaviour’
careful records in graphical form
record taken during baseline period
Basic types of strategy
Rewarding students for being ‘good’ (Differential reinforcement of Alternative Response - ALT R)
Rewarding students for not being ‘naughty’ (Differential Reinforcement of the Omission of a Response - DRO)
Rewarding students for being ‘naughty’ less and less often (Differential Reinforcement of Lower Rates of Responding - DRL)
DRO
The most effective technique for severe and challenging behaviour
Can appear ‘negative’ so should always be counter-balanced by a direct teaching programme that is teaching the child positive alternatives to problem behaviour
Problems with generalisation improved behaviour of child to other
settings?
Problems with generalisation improved behaviour of child to other
settings? improved behaviour of child influences
other children?
Problems with generalisation improved behaviour of child to other
settings? improved behaviour of child influences
other children? changed teacher behaviour extends
beyond the intervention?
Problems with generalisation improved behaviour of child to other
settings? improved behaviour of child influences
other children? changed teacher behaviour extends
beyond the intervention? changed teacher behaviour extends to
other pupils?
Problems with generalisation improved behaviour of child to other settings? improved behaviour of child influences other
children? changed teacher behaviour extends beyond
the intervention? changed teacher behaviour extends to other
pupils? teacher influences the behaviour of teacher
colleagues?
A word about reinforcers …
‘The dangers of behavioural overkill’ (Wheldall 1981) - the use of very powerful reinforcers where a more ‘natural’ reinforcer would suffice:
A word about reinforcers …
‘The dangers of behavioural overkill’ (Wheldall 1981) - the use of very powerful reinforcers where a more ‘natural’ reinforcer would suffice:
intrinsic
A word about reinforcers …
‘The dangers of behavioural overkill’ (Wheldall 1981) - the use of very powerful reinforcers where a more ‘natural’ reinforcer would suffice:
intrinsic
social
A word about reinforcers …
‘The dangers of behavioural overkill’ (Wheldall 1981) - the use of very powerful reinforcers where a more ‘natural’ reinforcer would suffice:
intrinsic
social
activity
A word about reinforcers …
‘The dangers of behavioural overkill’ (Wheldall 1981) - the use of very powerful reinforcers where a more ‘natural’ reinforcer would suffice:
intrinsic
social
activity
token
A word about reinforcers …
‘The dangers of behavioural overkill’ (Wheldall 1981) - the use of very powerful reinforcers where a more ‘natural’ reinforcer would suffice:
intrinsic
social
activity
token
material
A word about reinforcers …
‘The dangers of behavioural overkill’ (Wheldall 1981) - the use of very powerful reinforcers where a more ‘natural’ reinforcer would suffice:
intrinsic
social
activity
token
material
(Goodwin & Coates 1976)
A word about punishment….. Research has shown ABA strategies can be successful
without the inclusion of punishments
People usually react badly to punishments (e.g. traffic warden) - can lead to ‘punishment-elicited aggression’
Society’s tolerance for the punishment of children is steadily decreasing (with some exceptions)
In an increasingly litigious society where there is research evidence that non-aversive approaches work, staff will become increasingly vulnerable if they advocate the use of punishments
Developments in British practice from consequences to antecedents
Developments in British practice from consequences to antecedents from on-task behaviour to socially
useful outcomes
Developments in British practice from consequences to antecedents from on-task behaviour to socially
useful outcomes from primary-, to secondary-level
applications
Developments in British practice from consequences to antecedents from on-task behaviour to socially
useful outcomes from primary- to secondary level
applications from external control to self-control
Developments in British practice from consequences to antecedents from on-task behaviour to socially
useful outcomes from primary- to secondary level
applications from external control to self-control from individual pupils to whole-class
approaches
Developments in British practice from consequences to antecedents from on-task behaviour to socially useful
outcomes from primary- to secondary level
applications from external control to self-control from individual pupils to whole-class
approaches from reactive strategies to preventative
approaches
From consequences to antecedents
although Madsen et al (1968) gave prominence to classroom rules, many early subsequent studies(and popular perceptions) became bound up with rewards and punishments
don’t forget ‘the curriculum’ (Harrop & McNamara 1979)
‘rows or tables’- rows had the greatest effect on the children with low initial on-task behaviour ( Wheldall et al 1981; Hastings and Wood 2002)
From on-task behaviour to socially useful outcomes
“Be still, be quiet, be docile” (Winnet & Winkler 1972)
the need to teach skills instead - pupils who were likely to succeed academically more likely to receive ‘naturally occurring’ praise and encouragement
juggling and unicycles (Burland 1979)
from primary-, to secondary-level applications
Despite published account of successful work in primary and special schools, much harder in secondary schools
McNamara and Harrop (1979), after attempting to repeat workshops that were successful at primary level with secondary teachers concluded that lack of transfer might be due to either features of adolescence and-or secondary schools
from external control to self control
‘self-recording’ studies (e.g. Merrett & Blundell 1982) attempted to overcome coordination of a large number of teachers and to improve student’s self regulation
time sampling by teacher and student, later with rewarded tallies that agreed (only) increased on-task behaviour from 30% to more than 60%
from individual pupils to whole-class approaches
first British whole class strategy by Tsoi & Yule (1976) used extra break time as a reinforcer and found two types of strategy to be effective:
behaviour of a single child formed the basis for reinforcement
behaviour of whole class required to change
from reactive strategies to preventative approaches
becoming concerned with preventative measures, various educational psychologists developed teacher training materials
for example, Galvin et al (1990), in Building A Better Behaved School addressed:
individual pupil management techniques whole class strategies school-wide behaviour policies
all incorporating rules, praise and sanctions
The Staffordshire Pindown
Experience “The existence of the regime that eventually became
known as “Pindown” first became known to the outside world in 1989, when an adolescent girl was found to have been confined to a barely furnished room for long periods; required to wear night clothes during the day; deprived of contact, education and sensory stimulus; and prevented from communicating with other children or going out…. It eventually emerged that 132 children aged from 9 to 17 had been subjected to Pindown between 1983 and 1989”
from ‘Abuse of Children and Young People in
Residential Care” Scottish Parliament Information Centre Briefing. November 26th, 2004, page 9.
The official inquiry into Pindown
concluded that Pindown
“… is likely to have stemmed initially from an ill-digested understanding of behavioural psychology. The regime had no theoretical framework and no safeguards”
Levy, A and Kahan, B (1991), The Pindown Experience and the Protection of Children. Staffordshire County Council.
Other ABA applications in education
The Education of the Developmentally Young (EDY) Project. Hester Adrian Centre, Manchester University.
Lovaas. Work with children and young people with autism.
Ethics
British Psychological Society Code of Ethics and Conduct
3.1 Standard of General ResponsibilityPsychologists should:(i) Avoid harming clients, but take into account that the
interests of different clients may conflict. The psychologist will need to weigh these interests and the potential harm caused by alternative courses of action or inaction.
Educational Legislation and Guidance
Special Educational Needs Code of Practice Pastoral Support Programmes Home-School Agreements
Employ terms such as ‘plans’, ‘targets’, ‘rewards’, ‘sanctions’, ‘clear explicit rules’ etc
Also SMART (specific, measurable, achievable/attainable, realistic and time-related) targets
Current status of ABA?
Is it common sense (carrots and sticks etc) made overly complicated by psychologists?
Is it theoretically barren and ethically questionable?
Is it an ‘it’ (i.e. one set of commonly agreed techniques or a general term covering important variations?)
Have education professionals abandoned ABA and, if so, why?
Has ABA ‘seeped into the very fabric’ of government thinking about education?
References Evertson, C.M. & Weinstein, C.S. (Eds) (2006) Handbook
of Classroom Management. London. Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. (esp chptrs 2, 3, 9 & 42)
Lavigna, G (2000) Alternatives to Punishment (2000). Irvington Publishers Inc.,U.S.
Miller, A (1996) Pupil Behaviour and Teacher Culture. London. Cassell. (esp chptrs 3 & 4)
Miller, A (2003) Teachers, Parents and Classroom Behaviour. A Psychosocial Approach. Maidenhead. Open Univeristy Press. (esp chptrs 1 & 3)
Porter, L (2007) Behaviour in Schools. Theory and Practice for Teachers. Maidenhead. Open University Press.(esp chptrs 2 & 3)