CTA Behavior Management & Intervention 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A student repeatedly calls out answers without raising his hand. Which strategy is MOST appropriate as a first intervention?
- Send the student to the principal
- Ignore the behavior completely
- Use nonverbal cues such as a finger-to-lips gesture while acknowledging raised hands nearby (Correct answer)
- Remove the student from the classroom
Correct answer: Use nonverbal cues such as a finger-to-lips gesture while acknowledging raised hands nearby
Nonverbal redirection is a low-level, least-intrusive intervention that addresses call-outs without drawing excessive attention or disrupting instruction.
Question 2: What is the primary purpose of a Functional Behavior Assessment (FBA)?
- To punish a student for repeated misbehavior
- To identify the function or cause of a challenging behavior (Correct answer)
- To determine whether a student qualifies for special education
- To create a suspension plan for a student
Correct answer: To identify the function or cause of a challenging behavior
An FBA identifies the triggers, antecedents, and function (purpose) of a behavior so that interventions can address the root cause.
Question 3: During independent work, a student begins tapping her pencil loudly. The teacher assistant redirects her by quietly saying, 'Please work quietly.' This is an example of:
- Planned ignoring
- Proximity control
- Verbal redirection (Correct answer)
- Token economy
Correct answer: Verbal redirection
Verbal redirection involves using a brief, calm verbal prompt to guide a student back to expected behavior.
Question 4: A Behavior Intervention Plan (BIP) should be based on:
- Teacher intuition about what might work
- The results of a Functional Behavior Assessment (Correct answer)
- The student's academic performance only
- The principal's disciplinary record
Correct answer: The results of a Functional Behavior Assessment
A BIP must be grounded in FBA data so that strategies directly address the identified function of the behavior.
Question 5: Which of the following BEST describes 'extinction' in behavioral terms?
- Removing a student from the classroom permanently
- Withholding the reinforcer that maintains a problem behavior (Correct answer)
- Punishing every instance of a target behavior
- Teaching a student a replacement behavior
Correct answer: Withholding the reinforcer that maintains a problem behavior
Extinction involves removing the reinforcement that has been sustaining the behavior, causing the behavior to decrease over time.
Question 6: A student earns stickers for staying on task and trades them for a preferred activity. This is an example of:
- Response cost
- Token economy (Correct answer)
- Negative reinforcement
- Overcorrection
Correct answer: Token economy
A token economy is a system in which students earn tokens for desired behaviors and exchange them for backup reinforcers.
Question 7: When a student's disruptive behavior escalates despite initial redirection, the BEST next step for a teacher assistant is to:
- Physically restrain the student immediately
- Continue repeating the same redirection louder
- Notify the supervising teacher and follow the established behavior plan (Correct answer)
- Ignore the behavior until the student calms down on their own
Correct answer: Notify the supervising teacher and follow the established behavior plan
Teacher assistants should escalate concerns to the supervising teacher and adhere to the student's established behavior plan when initial interventions fail.
CTA Behavior Management & Intervention 2
A student repeatedly calls out answers without raising his hand.
Which strategy is MOST appropriate as a first intervention?