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PLAN C

When a student seems to deliberately plan aggressive acts and/or has been acting aggressively for a long time, ask for help from the school counselor, school psychologist, lead teacher, or a special educator. Collaborating on an intervention will increase the chances that you can obtain additional services--such as parent training or counseling--that a classroom teacher cannot realistically provide.

2. Respond consistently to the inappropriate behavior.

a. Define being aggressive and being cooperative for the student (see PLAN A).

b. Identify and implement appropriate consequences for both mild and severe acts of aggression (see PLAN A).

3. Modify the student's day to reduce the probability that severe aggressive acts will occur.

a. Examine your anecdotal notes (see SUGGESTED STEPS FOR DEVELOPING AND IMPLEMENTING A PLAN) to see if you can identify particular situations that seem to cause the student the most problems. Then develop strategies for dealing with those situations. For example, if the student consistently has trouble on the playground, he may need to be assigned a "modified recess," in which he has a limited as a limited choice of activities and has to stay close to the playground supervisors.

Other examples: If the student has trouble during passing periods between classes, an adult may need to escort him from class to class (e.g. first period teacher escorts him to second period, second period teacher to third period, and so on). If the student has been aggressive when he is supposed to be going to the restroom, you may need to restrict him from using the restroom during class time unless there is an adult to accompany him. If the student has trouble during his lunch period, he may need to eat in an assigned place near a cafeteria supervisor.

b. If any one of the above (or similar) options is implemented, train the adult(s) who will be supervising the student to be pleasant and friendly with him. The goal is to set the student up for success and for positive interactions with adults--not to create autocratic and punitive supervision. In addition, when presenting the procedure to the student and his parent(s) (if applicable), emphasize that the purpose is to increase the probability that the student will behave successfully rather than to punish him.

Aggression Self-Evaluation Name ___________________________ Date__________________________
For each time period, check one category.	Two or more minor aggressive acts and/or one major=0 points	One minor aggressive act = 1 point	No aggressive acts = 2 points	NO aggressive acts/respectful and cooperative = 4 points
8:30 - 8:45		~
8:45 - 9:00				~
9:00 - 9:15		~
9:15 - 9:30			~
(Etc.)			~
|			~
|			~
|				~
|				~
Total Points for the day 22		2	8	12

4. Develop procedures for periodically evaluating the student's behavior.

a. Divide the day into time intervals, at the end of which the student's behavior will be rated for cooperation level during that period. The intervals, which should never be longer than an hour should be short enough that the student has a good chance of being successful. For a middle/junior high school student, this might mean a whole class period, whereas for a student with a severe problem or an elementary age student, the interval might be 15-30 minutes.

b. At the end of each interval, discuss his behavior with the student and record the rating on a form like the sample shown. Gradually transfer the responsibility of making the evaluation from yourself to the student. That is, in the early stages, you should determine the rating and explain why you rated his behavior as you did. Then, as the student's behavior improves, have him self-evaluate, with your role being to agree or disagree. As long as the student is reasonably accurate in his assessments, allow him to do more and more self-evaluation and self reinforcement.

5. Establish a structured system for reinforcing the student's appropriate behavior and providing a consequence for his inappropriate behavior.

a. With the student, create a list of reinforcers that he can earn. Although you might want to have some suggestions in mind, the system will be more effective if the student identifies most of the items or activities himself. (NOTE: A list of additional reinforcement ideas can be found in APPENDIX 1.)

b. Assign "prices" (in points) for each of the rewards on the list and have the student pick the reward he wants to earn first.

The prices should be based on the instructional, personnel, and/or monetary costs of the items. Monetary cost is clear--the more expensive the item, the more points required to earn it. Instructional cost refers to the amount of instructional time lost or interfered with by a particular reward. Thus, an activity which causes the student to miss part of academic instruction should require more points than an activity the student can do on his own recess time. Personnel cost involves the time required by you and/or other staff to fulfill the reinforcer. Having lunch with the principal, therefore, would cost more points than spending five minutes of free time with a friend.

c. Apply the points from the self-evaluation ratings toward the reward. That is, at the end of each day, determine the total daily points and add them to the points the student has earned on previous days.

d. When the student has accumulated enough points to earn the reward he has chosen, he "spends" the points necessary and the system begins again. That is, he picks a new reward to earn and begins with zero points.

However, if the student is immature, and needs more frequent encouragement, you might consider letting him earn several "less expensive" rewards (e.g., 5 minutes of computer time after 20 points) on the way to a bigger reward (e.g., one hour helping you after school for 200 points). That is, the student receives the small rewards without spending his points; the points continue to accumulate toward the selected reward.

6. Use reinforcement to encourage appropriate behavior.

a. Give the student increased praise and attention when he is being cooperative (see PLAN A).

b. Show interest and enthusiasm about how the student is doing on the system.

NOTE:

The following resources may be useful in planning a comprehensive intervention for an aggressive student:

Goldstein, A.P.& Glick, B. (1987). Aggression replacement training. Champaign, IL: Research Press.

Long, N.J.& Brendtro, L.K (Eds.). (1993). Rage and aggression. Journal of Emotional and Behavioral Problems, 2(1).

Morgan, D.P. & Jenson, W.R. (1988). Teaching behaviorally disturbed students. Columbus, OH: Merrill.

Rhode, G., Jenson, WR., & Reavis, H.K (1992). The tough kid book: Practical classroom management strategies. Longmont, CO: Sopris West.

Sprick, R.S., Sprick, M.S., & Garrison, M. (1993). Interventions: Callaborative planning for students at risk. Longmont, CO: Sopris West.

Walker, H. (in press). The acting-out child: Coping with classroom disruption (2nd ed ). Longmont, CO: Sopris West

Aggression-Verbal and/or Physical

If you have a student who is physically and/or verbally aggressive toward adults or peers, you will want to read this chapter (pg. 31 in book).

Chaos/Classroom Out of Control

If you have many students in your class who frequently engage in a variety of misbehaviors, you will want to read this chapter (pg. 175 in book)

Dr. Randall Sprick graciously has given his permission to post two problem behaviors and all plans listed within these two chapters. We sincerely thank him for providing this resource to the teachers of Kentucky so that they may effectively serve students with challenging behaviors. Please visit the The Teacher's Encyclopedia of Behavior Management Web page.