1 Anecdotal Record: Name of Observer: Jessica Williams Date and Time of Observation: October 2, 5, 16, 26, 2009 10:50 11:39 November 2, 9, 16, 2009 9:08 9:51 and 10:50 11:39 Length of Observation: 12 hours total Person and/or Event Observed: Charlie Brown Grade Level and/or Subject: 9 th grade Math Lab and Earth Science Objective of Observation: To see different types of behavior difficulties Charlie Brown is experiencing in the classroom setting. Charlie Brown is a 15 year old freshman this year. He looks like an average freshman, he is around 5 5, has short brown hair, and freckles. He generally wears t shirts, sweat pants, and tennis shoes. He is on the football team and wears jeans and his jersey on game days. By just looking at Charlie, a person would most likely not think he has any behavior or social problems at all. By obtaining knowledge from his teachers I have discovered that he was in public school from kindergarten through sixth grade. He then was home schooled for the seventh and eighth grade, and is now back at public school for ninth grade. He was taken out of the public school for a few years because he had, and still does have a major problem with wetting his pants during class. He is capable of using the restroom himself, and he has been given a permanent pass to get out of class and use the restroom whenever he needs to. The resource teacher is not sure if he just feels he is too busy to go, or if like someone being potty trained for the first time, he forgets to go when other things are going on. His parents told his teacher We don t know what to do with him, and that is why they put him back in public school. The teacher notified me that his parents set very few rules or guidelines for Charlie to follow which may be part of his problems. Charlie s pant wetting is becoming a big problem. His peers are constantly complaining of the smell he has when he wets his pants. The teacher is not sure if he changes his clothes in the morning before school or even after he has an accident. I have smelt urine on Charlie several times while observing. I have also smelt body odor on
2 several occasions leaving me to wonder if he puts on deodorant or even if he showers or changes his clothes on a daily basis. Parents claim Charlie is shy and that is why pant wetting occurs. The teacher believes that is not the problem as Charlie has no great trouble socializing with peers or his teachers. In fact, Charlie often asks if he can pass out papers for the teacher. He also talks and communicates fairly well with peers. Past teachers have brought up the thought that Charlie may be anxious, and that is what causes the accidents. Again, the current teacher does not think this is the case because he has no anxious tendencies such as touching face, excessive fidgeting, or off task behavior. Charlie does, however, have very limited background knowledge which restricts him from successfully completing his assignments along with everyday life tasks. For instance, the teacher told me after football practice one day Charlie s parents forgot to pick him up so his football coach and vice principal offered to call his parents. Charlie did not know his phone number, so the coach then told him he would drive him to his house. After getting in the car, Charlie did not know his house address. His coach then had to drive around until something looked familiar. In science class, the students were told to label different volcanoes they have learned about, two in particular were called dome and shield volcanoes because of their shapes resembling a dome or shield. Charlie was struggling to label the volcanoes, so the teacher came to help and asked him what object the volcano looked like, a dome or a shield. Charlie had a confused look, and the teacher followed by asking him if he knew what domes or shields were. Charlie shook his head no. He was lacking that particular background knowledge and the teacher had to print off pictures of those items. Occasionally, Charlie cannot figure out how to sharpen his pencil, and the teacher has to help him. Charlie also does not color in the lines or have the handwriting of a ninth grade student. I have also observed Charlie struggling to use a ruler he is quoted as saying I don t like measuring, even though they should have been fairly simple measurements for a 15 year old. Charlie often turns to his peers or teachers for help on the assignments because he does not know what is going on even though most times he was paying attention to the lecture in class. The special educator believes Charlie may be Mi or Mo. Charlie does pay attention most of the time in class. He rarely stops and talks to peers or space out at inappropriate times.
3 But when it comes time to do individual work, group work, or taking tests Charlie usually has no idea what is going on and either asks peers or the teacher for help, stares blankly at his paper, or finds some object such as markers, or a sucker to fiddle around with. From observations, Charlie does not have many discipline problems except for a few things like being told to get back on task during individual work, fiddling, occasionally bringing inappropriate items to class such as candy and other food, and sitting on the table or back of chair on a daily basis when told not to. I observed Charlie in two classes, one being a Math Lab class which is 3 rd period, and the other being a team taught Earth science class which is forth period. I have observed him at the beginning of the week and at the end of the week. Between the classes and the days I have generally noticed a consistency in Charlie s behavior. The only real exception was one particular Monday when he stared at his math homework and did not attempt to complete the work or ask questions almost as if he had given up before even starting. Overall, Charlie seems to continually struggle with the same few things. One big struggle is his pants wetting. He also struggles with real life situations and is lacking background knowledge which causes him to be unsuccessful in school. Charlie also asks continuous questions rather than thinking through things himself. Charlie does however, get along well with peers, pays attention to teacher s lectures, volunteers to do tasks for the teachers such as pass out papers, does not have any outbursts, and rarely has any discipline problems.
4 Jessica Williams Dr. Gust Education 315 12 November 2009 Functional Behavior Analysis Summary From observation, one of the main behaviors Charlie is struggling with is continually asking peers and teachers for help on individual and group assignments. What is affecting these behaviors may be Charlie s lack of background knowledge, and his inability to do the already modified assignments. While observing I have noticed that Charlie pays attention and listens to the teacher lecture in class. However, I have also observed that when it is time for Charlie to do the work on his own, he frequently asks teachers and peers for help, and cannot seem to do the work by himself or in some cases does not even attempt to do the work. Using the behavior frequency form, I observed and then marked every time Charlie turned to his neighbor or asked his teacher for help on his individual work in class. The first time on November 2 nd I started at 9:20 and ended at 9:50 to see how often Charlie would ask for help on his math. Within the 30 minutes Charlie asked for help the 4 th, 9 th, 14 th, 22 nd, and 30 th minute. There was an average of 6.5 minutes in between each ask. The same day in Earth Science, Charlie asked for help on the 9 th, 11 th, 13 th, 14 th, 16 th, 19 th, and 24 th minute when clocked from 11:10 to 11:35. This is an average of 2.5 minutes between each ask. This data shows Charlie tends to ask for help quite consistently and often in both of his classes. I clocked him again in math on November 9 th, and he only asked the teacher for help two times within a 30 minute period. During that time, however, I clocked Charlie blankly staring at his math paper for 10 minutes until finally the teacher asked him if he needed help. This leads me to believe that although he needed help on his math that day he might have been tired of constantly asking for help, so he instead just gave up for that particular assignment. After observing Charlie using a profile card I noted how Charlie pays attention to the teacher when she is speaking and responds appropriately when she asks questions to the class
5 as a whole. He did lay his head on the table a couple times, drop his pencil, and fidget his leg, but not to the extremes. When the teacher hands out worksheets over the lecture she just gave, Charlie reads the directions, then looks to the marker board of notes for help, then looks back at his paper, he does this several times. After doing this process for awhile, Charlie turned to his neighbor for help, and then attempts to answer the questions. When his teacher makes her way over to the table she checks Charlie s answers. He gets most of them wrong, but does have some right answers on his paper. She then asks him to finish. He then turns to neighboring student to ask for help, and then another student a few minutes later. The teacher comes over again, and has to walk him through the rest of the worksheet. When the class comes back together as a whole to review worksheet, Charlie actively and correctly answers questions out loud with the rest of the group. Charlie seems unable to grasp concepts the teacher is saying and/or retain information. This is shown by his lack of ability to complete individual assignments correctly. The reason for this inability may have a lot to do with his lack of background knowledge. To address these learning problems, I might see if Charlie could receive a peer tutor to help him along with the assignments. Another solution might be to give Charlie lecture notes before the lecture with some additional background knowledge concepts written in such as a picture or definition of a shield when learning about shield volcanoes. Charlie could also write down questions he has on the notes while the teacher is lecturing, then have a resource teacher go through them with Charlie and define or clarify anything that does not make sense to him. It would also be beneficial if Charlie is told to attempt to complete at least part of the assignments by using notes and other resources before asking anyone for help.
6 Manchester College Functional Behavioral Analysis EDUC 315 Name: Jessica Williams Due Date: Criteria Points 1 2 3 4 Observation Methods Student does not complete at least two different observation methods plus an anecdotal report. Student completes at two different observation methods plus an anecdotal report, but some inaccuracies are present. Student completes at two different observation methods plus an anecdotal report with accuracy. Student completes more than two different observation methods plus an anecdotal report accurately and with attention to detail. _4 Data collection Data was not collected accurately and/or adequately explained. Data was collected but collection process not adequately explained. Data was collected, and collection process explained. Data was collected, and collection process explained in detail. 3_ Function of Behavior Identified The function of the problem behavior was not identified. The function of the problem behavior was hypothesized, but data does not support hypothesis. The function of the problem behavior was accurately hypothesized based on the data collected. The problem behavior is clearly defined with more than adequate support by the data collected. 4 Anecdotal Report The anecdotal report is missing significant information. The anecdotal report is missing some helpful information. The anecdotal report is complete. The anecdotal report is exemplary containing personal information, environmental information, and a narrative summary... 4_ Objective and Factual Report contains numerous items of subjective information not supported by data collection methods. Report contains items of subjective information not supported by data collection methods. Report contains no items of subjective information not supported by data collection methods. Report is factual and objective throughout the anecdotal report and other methods used. 3
7 Grammar and Spelling More than 5 grammar and spelling errors are present in the functional behavioral analysis 4 5 grammar and spelling errors are present in the functional behavioral analysis 1 3 grammar and spelling errors are present in the functional behavioral analysis No grammar and spelling errors are present in the functional behavioral analysis. Total > 4 22_/24 Teacher Comments: Your report is very thorough and detailed. Great work!