Track the Data, Change the Behavior!

Track the Data, Change the Behavior! l Miss Rae's Room Teaching Blog

One of the most important factors in behavior management is data tracking!

Without the data, interventions are just an opinion!  How do we know what’s working and what’s not working without the data?

We track the data!  Tracking the data is the way to change the behavior!

Let me give you an example of data tracking with a common classroom issue -
Swearing!

How do you handle a student who swears in your classroom?

For the minor offense (i.e. it slips out in conversation or out of frustration), I acknowledge it and I redirect...
“Let’s watch our language as that is inappropriate for school.”

(As with all redirections of behavior, you want to make sure you explain why you are asking for the behavior to be corrected.  Answer the question: What is the behavior’s negative impact?)

With a major swearing offended, you are going to take a different approach.  A student who chooses to swear or swears multiple times in one period is a major offender.

With these major offenders, DO NOT acknowledge the swear!

And I repeat - DO NOT!

By acknowledging the swear, you are actually reinforcing swearing.

INSTEAD...

start by obtaining a baseline.  You will get this if you have tracked the data or by tracking the data!

Example:  Cam swears 20 times in 60 minutes on average…

Next, have an honest conversation with your student...

"Your goal is to swear less and here’s why we need to reduce your swearing..."
Then, implement the intervention!

AND begin tracking the data!

The intervention is to reinforce the expected behavior.  When the student doesn’t swear...
"Oh good job, Cam!  Here's a merit for not swearing in the last 5 minutes."

Build the time frame of the reinforcer!  Depending on baseline data and continued progress monitoring data, the reinforcer (i.e.merits) can build toward a bigger reinforcer (i.e. lunch with the teacher, homework pass).  The reinforcer should be something reinforcing BUT within reason!

Over time, the reinforcer fades as the behavior is phased out!

Happy Teaching!
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~By Miss Rae