This past Monday I took over the classroom full-time. It’s been a crazy week, but a good one. Throughout the day I find myself always busy with something, never even having time to sit down. Because I was so busy last week, I didn’t eat lunch once. I was always calling parents, working one-on-one with kids, etc. That being said, my behavior plan was not at the forefront of my mind. I chose my student and did my best to observe him, but I have no idea when I will have time to actually take notes on him. The few times I did notice something, I went to write them down but was sidetracked with student questions and never made it to my desk to write down the note. I am really struggling with when I am going to have the time to take notes. I have actually already implemented a behavior system with this child, with four students actually. I started them on a point system, where each week they have a goal number of ‘points’. If they reach the goal, they receive a reward of some-sort (5 min computer time, eat lunch with me, etc). The goal is always something that they choose. It seems to be working. However, this system is not one of the options mentioned in the book for the BIP, so I will have to implement another one for my case study, based on the notes I will take…assuming I find the time to do so! Is anyone else struggling with finding the time to take observation notes? It’s just so hard to focus on one student when you have to teach 24 students and need to focus on all 24 equally. Especially when four of those 24 are already on individualized behavior systems!
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Michelle,
I am having exactly the same problem. I have selected a student and have been trying to alter some of his behavior concerns, like him not taking notes or not paying attention in class. I have been working with him as much as possible and his note taking has improved drastically during math. However, he still quickly loses interest and does not pay attention, especially during literacy.
There is very little time to take actual notes during class. I have yet to begin full-time teaching and I still cannot find the time need to conduct this BIP case study. I have talked with Kat which helped a lot. She explained that you can use one of the forms she provided us or alter one of the forms she gave us to fit our classroom. She does not expect us to have a slew of notes, however, she would like us to develop and implement a BIP that fits with our student.
It sounds to me that you have an excellent grasp of the situation and that you should continue doing what you are doing. My suggestion would be to make mental notes of when their behavior issues occur like during math, literacy, science, etc., at the end of the day as best you can. Write only a sentence or two about the specific student. Tell if they behaved that day or not and what was their reward or punishment. At the end of the week write a short paragraph on whether the student’s behavior has improved or any triggers that may have caused the behavior issue.
I hope this helps. If you have any other issues, I would suggest scheduling a time with Kat to discuss what you are doing. Do not forget that this case study will be no longer than 5 pages total. That is honestly not much.
Nic
Michelle, I also think that if you have a general grasp on what occurred with the student by the end of the day, or the end of the week, that this observation should be more than sufficient. The fact that this student is in the forefront of your mind, and you are observing their behaviors and actions throughout the day, the immediate writing down of specific thoughts, sentences or actions isn’t completely necessary. Good luck!