FTCE ESE Behavior Intervention and Positive Behavior Support 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Which behavior management strategy involves ignoring a minor problem behavior to reduce its frequency by withholding reinforcement?
- Positive reinforcement
- Negative punishment
- Extinction (Correct answer)
- Response cost
Correct answer: Extinction
Extinction involves withholding the reinforcer that has been maintaining a behavior, leading to a gradual decrease in the behavior over time.
Extinction is effective when the reinforcer maintaining the behavior can be identified and consistently withheld. For example, if a student calls out for teacher attention (attention-maintained behavior), consistently ignoring the call-outs (withholding attention) should decrease the behavior. However, teachers should anticipate an 'extinction burst' — a temporary increase in the behavior before it decreases. Extinction should be used alongside reinforcing alternative, appropriate behaviors.
Question 2: A student with emotional/behavioral disorder frequently disrupts class when given independent work. An FBA reveals the behavior is escape-motivated. Which intervention is MOST function-matched?
- Sending the student to the principal's office when disruptions occur
- Teaching the student to request a break using an appropriate communication strategy (Correct answer)
- Increasing the difficulty of independent work assignments
- Ignoring all disruptive behavior during independent work
Correct answer: Teaching the student to request a break using an appropriate communication strategy
Since the behavior functions to escape work, teaching an appropriate escape request (asking for a break) meets the same need through an acceptable behavior.
Function-matched interventions are the gold standard in behavior intervention planning. If a behavior is escape-motivated, sending the student to the office actually reinforces the behavior by providing escape. Teaching the student to appropriately request a break provides a functionally equivalent replacement behavior — one that meets the same need (escape) in an acceptable way. This approach is grounded in FBA results and is required for effective BIPs.
Question 3: Which of the following is an example of an 'antecedent intervention' in a behavior support plan?
- Praising the student after they complete their work quietly
- Removing distracting materials from the student's desk before instruction begins (Correct answer)
- Giving the student a token when they raise their hand
- Implementing a response cost system for off-task behavior
Correct answer: Removing distracting materials from the student's desk before instruction begins
Removing distractions before instruction changes the antecedent conditions, reducing the likelihood that the challenging behavior will be triggered.
Antecedent interventions modify environmental conditions, tasks, or interactions that precede and trigger challenging behavior. Examples include: adjusting seating, simplifying task demands, offering choice, providing visual schedules, pre-teaching expectations, and reducing sensory triggers. Antecedent strategies are preventative and are part of a comprehensive BIP. Consequence-based strategies (reinforcement, response cost) occur AFTER the behavior and are distinct from antecedent modifications.
Question 4: Under IDEA, when must a school conduct a Functional Behavior Assessment (FBA)?
- Only when a student is initially identified for special education
- When a student with a disability faces a disciplinary change of placement of more than 10 school days (Correct answer)
- Any time a student with a disability receives an office referral
- When a parent requests one in writing
Correct answer: When a student with a disability faces a disciplinary change of placement of more than 10 school days
IDEA requires an FBA when a student with a disability faces a disciplinary change of placement exceeding 10 school days, to inform the development of a BIP.
Under IDEA 2004, when a student with a disability is subject to a disciplinary change of placement (e.g., suspension for more than 10 school days, alternative placement), the school must conduct a manifestation determination review. If the behavior is determined to be a manifestation of the disability, the school must conduct or review an FBA and develop/revise a BIP. This protection ensures students are not simply removed without addressing the behavioral and educational root causes.
Question 5: A teacher uses 'differential reinforcement of alternative behavior' (DRA). What does this involve?
- Reinforcing any behavior except the target problem behavior
- Reinforcing a specific alternative behavior that is incompatible with or replaces the problem behavior (Correct answer)
- Reinforcing the problem behavior on an intermittent schedule to reduce it gradually
- Providing reinforcement on a fixed-ratio schedule for all on-task behaviors
Correct answer: Reinforcing a specific alternative behavior that is incompatible with or replaces the problem behavior
DRA involves reinforcing a specific, appropriate alternative behavior that can replace the problem behavior, ideally one that serves the same function.
Differential reinforcement strategies are important FTCE ESE content. DRA (Differential Reinforcement of Alternative behavior) reinforces a specific alternative behavior. DRI (Differential Reinforcement of Incompatible behavior) reinforces a behavior that physically cannot co-occur with the problem behavior. DRO (Differential Reinforcement of Other behavior) reinforces the absence of the target behavior during a specified interval. DRA is most effective when the alternative behavior is functionally equivalent to the problem behavior.
Question 6: Which of the following BEST describes 'social stories' as a behavioral support strategy?
- Fictional stories used to entertain students during transitions
- Short, personalized narratives that describe social situations and appropriate responses to help students understand expected behavior (Correct answer)
- Group activities where students role-play social scenarios
- Written behavior contracts between teacher and student
Correct answer: Short, personalized narratives that describe social situations and appropriate responses to help students understand expected behavior
Social stories, developed by Carol Gray, are individualized narratives that describe a social situation, cues, and appropriate responses to help students — particularly those with autism — understand social expectations.
Social stories are an evidence-based intervention developed by Carol Gray in 1991, primarily used with students with autism spectrum disorder. They describe a specific social situation from the student's perspective, explain social cues, and model appropriate behavioral responses. They are written to be descriptive (what happens), perspective (how others feel), and directive (what the student should do). They help build social understanding and reduce anxiety in unfamiliar or challenging situations.
FTCE ESE Behavior Intervention and Positive Behavior Support 2
Which behavior management strategy involves ignoring a minor problem behavior to reduce its frequency by withholding reinforcement?