Understanding Behavior: Measurement, Objectives, and Goals in Education
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Presentation Transcript
What is Behavior? • Any observable and measurable act of an individual (also called a response) • Dead Man’s Test • Must be able to see (or hear, feel or smell)
Behavior can also be covert (private or internal) activities that cannot be readily observed • These occur “within one’s skin” • Needs special instruments to detect • If you take a test you might be nervous you might fail. Is this a behavior? • Terms like ‘honest’, ‘carefree’, ‘hardworking’, ‘unreliable’, and ‘unsociable’ Are summary labels for human actions but do not refer to specific behaviors.
Why is it important? • It is important so teachers can measure and verify that behavior is happening • Can see change in a behavior, either increased or decreased • Can document to others • Can be consistent when communicating
Educational Goals(long term objectives) • Are statements of ANNUAL program intent • The big picture for the year • Short-term or behavioral objectives is how are we going to get there
Example • Goal: more general statement • Jerry will master basic division skills at the 4th grade level • Behavioral objective or STO • much more specific • When presented with an math worksheet, Jerry will complete 2-digit division problems with 90% accuracy.
How to set goals • Obtain information from others, teachers, caregivers (don’t forget the student) • Identify level of performance in former and current environments • Assessments • Observation • Probability of achievement
Behavioral Objectives • “short-term goals’ statements of actual instructional intent (usually 3-4 months) • It describes the intended outcomes of instruction not the procedures for accomplishing those outcomes
Why Use Behavioral Obj? • Agreement among school personnel and parents • Better communicate what the goal of learning is • A clearly stated target of instruction facilitates effective programming and the selections of instructional strategies • IDEiA • Help evaluate progress and provide precise evaluation of instruction
Components • Learner • Target behavior • Conditions of intervention • Criteria • Generalization • Aim Date • As judged by… (classroom staff) • As measured by… (checklists, observations) WHO will do WHAT, under what CIRCUMSTANCES, to what SUCCESS
Identify the learner: • Juan will… • Not Juan will be able to.. • Identify the target behavior • Use active, production verbs • Stay away from know, understand, learn • Can you count it and someone else identify it • Directly observable, measurable, and repeatable
Operational Definitions • Need to pinpoint a behavior • For example “on task” behavior • Student is sitting in chair • Eyes on paper • Not engaging in inappropriate conversation with peers around him/her • Students is actively involved in task at hand (i.e. writing on paper, cutting and pasting)
Conditions/Circumstances • Under what conditions will the behavior occur? Where/when will the behavior occur? • Teacher behavior- what will the teacher provide to increase behavior? (e.g., prompts, materials) • Examples: • On a worksheet, when using flashcards • In physical education class • When given a verbal prompt
Criteria • Depends on level of mastery desired • Sets a standard for minimal acceptance • Will be used to evaluate if the goal is met or not • Some tasks require 100% accuracy • 85% of 10 problems in not appropriate • Set ambitious but obtainable goals
How to determine criteria • Consider the minimum level necessary to move on to the next skill • Is this task a prerequisite for another? • Example: a student needs to hold a pencil before he/she can write letters
Consider the minimum level necessary to perform the skill in the real world • Example: • If a dad is in a rush in the morning and is not willing to let their child dress her/himself it takes more than 15 minutes, then 15 mins. Becomes an important criterion to achieve
Consider the minimum level necessary for enjoyment and maintenance of the skill • Example: If reading is a very slow process, the student will be less likely to choose reading as a leisure activity and less likely to read. Minimum level to ensure the skill is useful and enjoyable
Consider peer performance levels • Example: why expect a child who is being mainstreamed to sit in her/his chair quietly for 30 minutes when all the other kindergartners stay for 15 minutes before getting ‘squirrelly’?
Acquisition • Exhibiting the basic requirement of a the new behavior • Initial learning • 80% of opportunities • 90%accuracy • 9 out of 10 times
Fluency • Learning to perform a skill rapidly, at natural rates, or for more extensive periods of time • Appropriateness of the rate at which the student is accurate • Time is a component (RATE) • Important because the acquisition of a behavior or skill may not be sufficient to ensure that the student will use the skill
Maintenance • Perform a response over time without reteaching • Overlearning increases maintenance • Distributed trials increases maintenance • Not necessary to change the behavioral objective to reflect maintenance but need to consider.
Generalization Expansion of a student’s capability of performance beyond those conditions set at initial acquisition -various verbal or written instructions -various materials -various people -various environments
When presented with single digit addition problems with sums to 18 (worksheet, flash cards, verbally), Joseph will provide the correct answer 100% of the opportunities. • Given a map or globe, Quint will name and locate the 7 continents for 8 out of 10 opportunities. • During 10 minute recess period, Sam will initiate a game with a peer at least 2 times for 3 out of 4 days. • When Karri attempts to go outside and is redirected to the work task, she will ask for a break instead of biting 100% of the opportunities.
What is wrong? Given 10 sentences, Kim will copy each, putting spaces between all words, within 3 weeks
When Stan becomes frustrated, he will ask to speak with the school psychologist, instead of becoming verbally aggressive, 2 out of 3 times in one day
Wayne will be able to write the letters of his name 4 out of 5 trials, 100% of the time
