Part 1: Field Interview
Conduct an interview with a school psychologist, behavior interventionist, board certified behavior analyst, or another interviewee approved by the instructor. When scheduling the interview, confirm that there is an FBA process in the school or district that you can discuss, and indicate that you would like to review actual documentation used during an FBA. Conduct the interview in person or via phone or video conference. Your interview notes will be submitted as part of the assignment deliverable. Discuss the following regarding functional behavioral assessments and behavioral data collection:
- How you collaborate with colleagues in creating and administering behavioral assessments. Include discussion of the key individuals involved in their process and the roles and responsibilities of each.
- The FBA process used in your district/school, including timelines.
- The components of an FBA and the tools used to collect data during the FBA process.
- The average number of FBAs completed annually in your district, your school, and in your more severe special education classrooms for students with disabilities.
- Circumstances where you would not use an FBA. Including what you would do instead to collect data on exhibited student behaviors.
Part 2: Identifying Targeted Behavior Observation
While assisting in your field experience classroom, observe the students and their behaviors. Select a student and identify a behavior that is interfering and impeding the opportunity for learning and could be targeted for improvement. This does not need to be a new target behavior; it may be something already identified by the mentor teacher.
- Identify the cause or function of the behavior for the student.
- Identify how you could collect data on that behavior, including the method and time frame.
- Discuss your observations and thoughts about how the behavior could be changed and/or improved with your mentor teacher to receive feedback on your ideas and strategies.
Use any remaining time to observe and/or assist your mentor teacher or another teacher and work with an individual or a small group of students on instruction in the classroom.
In a 250-500 word reflection:
- Discuss what you learned about the functional behavioral assessment process during the field interview. This should include explanation of the data collection tools used, staff roles/responsibilities, collaboration required to create and administer assessments, and data analysis.
- Describe your observations of the selected student’s targeted behavior and ideas about how the behavior can be improved or changed. Honor confidentiality when writing about the student by using pseudo names.
APA format is not required, but solid academic writing is expected.