Running head: OFF TASK BEHAVIOR.

Off Task Behavior in an Elementary Unit Classroom

Mira Jones

University of Utah

Running head: OFF TASK BEHAVIOR. 2

Off Task Behavior in an Elementary Unit Classroom

In a 5th/6th grade unit classroom for mild to moderate disabilities, four children were

identified as having consistent off task behavior in a variety of both interactive and independent

activities. The off task behavior was operationally defined as behavior that is other than what is

being asked, including being out of seat, talking to peers, playing with objects, starring, looking

at the schedule, and using the restroom, sharpening pencils, or getting water repeatedly. Off task

behavior observed did not include raising hands to ask a question, interacting with peers in a

learning activity where interaction is required, using the restroom once during the period, or

sharpening pencils once. It was found through classroom observation that the percentage of off-

task behavior for these four students was higher on average than that of their classmates.

Problem Analysis

The off task behavior of four students in the unit class of fourteen, Ron, Lani, Anne, and

Christian were first observed to be consistently off-task by the lead teacher in this classroom.

These four were observed individually in both interactive and independent work periods. Their

behaviors were compared to that of the other students in the class using two separate forms for

observation. Second, in order to support the data collected, teacher and staff interviews were

conducted regarding each student, and finally, each student's parents were contacted and

interviewed, as well as the other important members of each student's support team. These

members included therapists, speech therapists, and behavior specialists.

Whole Class and Individual Observations

During initial whole class observations of both interactive and independent learning

activities, it was determined that the four students were off task an average of35% of the time

compared to a class average of 17% off task behavior during these work periods. Observations

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during interactive class activities showed significant decrease in the off task behavior of two of

the four students, Ron and Anne. Their percentage of off task time decreased to 25% with a

whole class average of 22% off task behavior.

During individual observations, it was determined that the same two students who were

consistently off task in all of the whole class observations, Christian and Lani, were off task an

average of37% of the time, compared to a class average of2% during this time. These two

students were therefore concluded to have the most severe off task behavior of the four students

that were off task in the class. It was decided that the focus for the first part of this problem

solving method would be aimed at these two, since their off task behaviors were the most severe.

Teacher and Staff Interviews

Ron

Ron was seen to have shown improvement in classroom behavior overall in a period of

years, as was observed by a classroom aide that had been working in his classroom for more than

four years. The head teacher in his current classroom suggested that his most pressing problem

was a diagnosis of ADHD that was going un-medicated as per his parents' wishes. This teacher

observed that his behavior in class over the period of the current school year had progressively

gotten worse and that his skills in both writing and reading had decreased, as evidenced by

weekly progress monitoring in both areas.

Lani

Teacher's of Lani expressed concern mostly about Lani's current reading ability level.

They reported that he had been mainstreamed into a grade level math class up until this current

year but his lack of progress in developing reading skills had hindered his progress in math

enough that he struggled to keep up with his math work due to being unable to read the problems

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and text. He was therefore placed into a unit classroom in math, which is much beneath his skill

level, but that has simpler text which he can decode easily.

Anne

It was reported by her teachers in the past that Anne has struggled with severe temper

tantrums when asked to complete an un-preferred activity. She would cry and argue with

teachers and require constant attention to maintain on task behavior. This behavior has led her

into severe deficiencies in math, reading, and writing skills. She has otherwise positive social

behaviors and gets along well with her peers. She is also responsible in other ways, such as,

following rules, being on time, and being a good listener. When asked to do unpreferred tasks

she often sits and stares, gets up to use the bathroom or sharpen her pencil repeatedly, or does

things to make it appear as though she is working.

Christian

Christian has the most severe reading deficit of the classroom. This affects all of his other

skills. Currently, he is reading at a beginning first grade level. He also has the most severe

problem behavior at home and requires intensive psychotherapy. His behaviors include

tantruming and anger management problems. He throws things, yells and often argues with both

peers and teachers over minor issues such as changing the rules in a game. In class, during

lessons, he often wiggles around, plays with objects, or sits and stares.

Support Team Interviews

Ron

Conferences with both Ron's parents and his school counselor revealed that he is

currently having extreme arguments at home with his older teenage brother. These arguments

frequently escalate to yelling and power struggles that have not been mediated by his parents.

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The parents expressed a feeling of powerlessness over the arguing and preferred the approach of

dealing with the fallout, rather than jumping in to help manage the conflicts.

Secondly, it was revealed that Ron has had access to a lot of media including computer

videos and T.V. that were highly inappropriate for his age. Some of the media were graphic

images of deaths and violence. His counselor expressed concern for his severe anxiety level and

pointed to these two issues as the main contributors to the problem.

Lani

Lani has a diagnosis of Asperger's and his parents revealed that their main concern was

his self stimulation behavior, "stimming." This behavior manifests mainly with rocking, making

faces, and pacing. He is able to communicate effectively, otherwise, and shows skill at quick

concept comprehension. His parents communicated that they are extremely busy at home with

three younger siblings that require constant attention. They expressed desire to help Lani

improve but could not commit to any concrete plans to helping Lani in improving his reading

and writing skills.

Anne

Anne's mother reported that, at home, she has always struggled with doing un-preferred

tasks such as chores and laundry. Her resolutions have included list making which she stated to

have alleviated some of the problem. Also, she mentioned that helping Anne has kept her more

focused and able to complete tasks. She was otherwise unsure of any reasons why Anne would

continue to be so unproductive in her schoolwork when she was so responsible in other ways.

Christian

Christian's parents and counselor expressed that they are overwhelmed with Christian's

behavior at home and that it has escalated to a point of requiring a second counselor for his sister

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who is being so affected by it. Both of these family counselors attended this meeting. They

reported that among his many other undesired behaviors, that Christian has been getting up in the

middle of the night to watch T.V. When asked ifthey could lock the room they said that

Christian's tantrums are so bad that it has included property destruction so they have been sitting

up at night to guard the T.V. themselves.

Plan Development and Implementation

It was determined that each student's off task behavior was the result of very individual

circumstances and each behavior, although similar in expression, served a very different function

for each student. A Functional Behavior Analysis (FBA) was conducted for each student in order

to determine the maintaining consequences and establish alternative, preferred behaviors for each

one. Also, a self monitoring tool was used to introduce the overall concept of differences

between on and off-task behaviors. In this activity, the class made a list of each type of behavior

in order to classify it. They were then asked to keep a record at random intervals of whether they

were on or off task.

Ron's FBA

ALTER NATIVE BEHAVIO~

/

Taking a time-out. -,Using a stress ball. ~

SETTING EVENTS --+ ANTECEDENTS ~Unmediated friction None noted.with brother. "'"Watching adult media. ~

CURRENT BEHAVIO~ --. MAINTAININGHyperactivity/work avoidance. CONSE~UENCES

Relieves stress.

DESI~ED BEHAVIO~Timely work completion.

.:

It was decided that Ron would benefit from weekly therapy sessions to learn effective

skills at resolving conflict and that he would also be given a stress ball to use in class to help him

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relieve a little of his tension. Finally, he was taught how to ask for and use an appropriate time

out in order to be able to focus a little more during his work periods. His parents were instructed

to use planning and scheduling to help mediate his conflicts. Also, they were told of the necessity

of both limiting and monitoring Ron's time with all visual media.

Lani's FBA

.:

SElliNG EVENTS -+ ANTECEDENTS ~Difficulty sleeping. Reading/writing

assignments, ~

ALTERNATIVE BEHAVIORAsk for help.

CURJ~ENT BEHAVIORWork avoidance in bothreading and writing tasks.

--+ MAINTAININGCONSEQUENCESNot working at frustrationlevel.

DESIRED BEHAVIOR /Timely work completionwith reading and writing tasks.

Lani was given lessons in how to ask for help when needed and the importance of a good night's

rest. He was also given more intensive 1:1 reading help along with assignments in preferred

topics which included animals and history. Finally, his writing assignments were lowered by one

grade level so that he could master some more of the basics.

Anne's FBA

.:SElliNG EVENTS ---+ ANTECEDENTS-----.None noted. Un-preferred \

class work activit! .

ALTERNATIVE BEHAVIOR.Making a to-do list.

CURJtENT BEHAVIOR. --+ MAINTAININCWork avoidance at un-preferred CONSEOUENCEStasks, some tantruming. Not overly challenged.

DESIRED BEHAVIOR /Timely work completion.

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Anne was given a list of assignments in priority with boxes to check at completion.

Slowly, she will be given less and less guidance with making these lists so that she will be able

to construct them and prioritize them herself. She was also given an interspersal of preferred

activities so that she could gain success while starting out in her work completion. She was also

given intermittent time to work with a para one on one, but being careful not to cater to attention-

seeking or victim behaviors.

Christian's FBA

ALTERNATIVE BEHAVIOR

/

Takinga time-out. -,Using a stress ball. ~

SEITING EVENTS ~ ANTECEDENTS--.Not sleeping, No pattern not'd~

CLIRRENT BEHAVIOR ~ MAINTAININGWork avoidance, tantruming. CONSEOUENCES

Relieves stress, not overchallenged.

DESIR£D RfHAVIOR /Timelywork completion.

Christian was given a stress ball and taught the importance of getting a good night's

sleep. He was also taught how to take appropriate timeouts when he notices that he is beginning

to feel angry. His reading lessons were also changed into a l:llesson at a 1st grade level.

Plan Evaluation

The self monitoring technique was ineffective as many students still struggled to

recognize the differences between on and off-task behavior so they marked incorrect boxes

thereby making the results inconclusive. The off-task behavior was monitored using the same

method used in data collection in order to compare the results in a before and after perspective.

The following chart illustrates the off-task behavior both before and after the interventions were

administered.

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PERCENT OF OFF-TASK BEHAVIOR---_ __ _-_ _--_ .._----_._--_ __ _-- __ __ _-----

• Before Intervention

• After Intervention

50

45

40

35

30

2520

1510

5

oLani Anne ChristianRon

The results of the interventions were effective and each student's percentage of off-task

behavior was decreased significantly. The interventions will continue to be administered and will

also be scaffolded as each student continues to progress with their skill level ability in individual

areas. As a final note, it was observed in one of the final data collection periods that the two

students, Ron and Christian, who were given a stress ball as a coping skill in their intervention

had them in their hands at the time of that observation. These two students had the highest

decrease in off-task behavior, maybe as a result of focus in their interventions on stress reduction

techniques. Observations will continue to be monitored to ensure that these students' progress in

decreasing off task behavior will continue. Blaustein and Kinniburgh write that every child has

layers of possibilities: developmental pathways waiting to unfold and that during the elementary

school years there are limitations in a growing child's skill set, (2010). These limitations can be

expanded by trying new and innovative interventions that are individualized to suit each student.

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References

Alberto, P. & Troutman, A. (2009) Applied behavior analysis for teachers. Upper Saddle River,

NJ: Prentice Hall.

Blaustein, M. & Kinniburgh, K. (2010). Treating traumatic stress in children and adolescents.

New York, NY: The Guilford Press.

Roemer, Fred (2011). Whole class self-monitoring. Retreived from

http://www.pb5th.comlselfmoni.shtml.