FTCE ESE - FTCE Exceptional Student Education K-12 Behavior Management 1 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A student with an emotional behavioral disorder frequently disrupts class by calling out answers without raising her hand. The teacher begins ignoring the call-outs while immediately praising students who raise their hands. Which behavioral principle is the teacher applying?
- Negative reinforcement
- Differential reinforcement of other behavior (DRO)
- Differential reinforcement of incompatible behavior (DRI) (Correct answer)
- Extinction paired with positive reinforcement
Correct answer: Differential reinforcement of incompatible behavior (DRI)
DRI involves reinforcing a behavior that is physically incompatible with the problem behavior. Raising a hand cannot occur simultaneously with calling out, making it a true incompatible alternative. Extinction is also present, but the defining strategy being applied is DRI.
Question 2: During a Functional Behavior Assessment (FBA), a special education teacher collects ABC data. What does the 'B' in ABC data represent?
- Background history of the student
- Behavior — the specific observable and measurable act (Correct answer)
- Benchmark level of academic performance
- Baseline score on a standardized assessment
Correct answer: Behavior — the specific observable and measurable act
ABC stands for Antecedent, Behavior, Consequence. The 'B' refers to the specific, observable, and measurable behavior exhibited by the student. Defining the behavior in concrete terms is essential to a valid FBA.
Question 3: Which self-management strategy teaches students to observe and record their own conduct at designated intervals throughout the school day?
- Token economy
- Self-monitoring (Correct answer)
- Response cost
- Overcorrection
Correct answer: Self-monitoring
Self-monitoring involves students observing and recording whether they exhibited a target behavior during specified time intervals. It builds metacognitive awareness and reduces dependence on external adult monitoring.
Question 4: A teacher removes a student's earned tokens whenever the student engages in aggressive behavior. Which behavior management procedure is being used?
- Extinction
- Negative punishment (response cost) (Correct answer)
- Positive punishment
- Time-out from reinforcement
Correct answer: Negative punishment (response cost)
Response cost is a form of negative punishment in which a specified amount of a previously earned reinforcer is removed contingent on problem behavior. Removing tokens decreases the likelihood of the behavior recurring.
Question 5: According to PBIS (Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports), what percentage of a school's student population should respond positively to Tier 1 universal supports alone?
- Approximately 50–60%
- Approximately 65–70%
- Approximately 80–85% (Correct answer)
- Approximately 95–100%
Correct answer: Approximately 80–85%
The three-tier PBIS model predicts that roughly 80–85% of students will have their behavioral needs met through school-wide Tier 1 universal strategies. Students who do not respond move to more intensive Tier 2 or Tier 3 supports.
Question 6: A student engages in head-banging behavior that is maintained by sensory stimulation (automatic reinforcement). Which intervention is most functionally appropriate based on the FBA findings?
- Implement a token economy contingent on academic performance
- Provide a sensory alternative such as a weighted vest or fidget tool (Correct answer)
- Use a verbal reprimand immediately after each incident of head-banging
- Remove the student from the classroom each time the behavior occurs
Correct answer: Provide a sensory alternative such as a weighted vest or fidget tool
When a behavior is maintained by automatic (sensory) reinforcement, the most function-based intervention is to provide an appropriate sensory alternative that fulfills the same need. Reprimands and removal do not address the sensory function and may be ineffective or counterproductive.
FTCE ESE - FTCE Exceptional Student Education K-12 Behavior Management 1
A student with an emotional behavioral disorder frequently disrupts class by calling out answers without raising her hand.
The teacher begins ignoring the call-outs while immediately praising students who raise their hands.
Which behavioral principle is the teacher applying?