Course number and title: 6321 Students with Special Behavior Problems
Submission date: 3/05/08
Submitted by: Clarence Rohrbaugh
SPED 6321 STUDENTS WITH SPECIAL BEHAVIOR PROBLEMS
COURSE GOALS:
Module 1:
Students will be able to:
1. explain the state and federal definitions of emotional/behavioral disorders.
2. apply the definition to a case study and discuss eligibility issues.
3. state current demographic characteristics of students with emotional/behavioral
disorders.
4. discuss current issues in the field in the context of historical trends.
Chapter 1, 2, and 3 Assignment Directions
This assignment is worth 50 points. When you have completed your written assignment,
attach it to the Turnitin assignment dropbox.
1. At the end of chapter 1, there is a case study titled “Allan Zook.” Please read this case
study and respond to the first part of Question 1: Does Allan fit the definition of
emotional disturbance in IDEA? There is not enough information to make a formal
decision. However, if you discuss each point of the definition, you should be able to
develop an opinion regarding the question. Since there is no one correct response to the
question, grading will be based on the detail of your response. 25 points
2. Please use the web address to the West Virginia Department of Education website
(provided below). There you will be able to find Policy 2419 which details state policies
for special education programs. Please find the definition for Emotional/Behavior
Disorders then briefly discuss whether the WV definition of Behavior Disorders matches
the definition of Emotional Disturbance contained in IDEA. If you do not live or work in
WV, you may locate the equivalent definition for your state. 10 points
http://wvde.state.wv.us/ose/policy2419.html
3. Do a Google search for a newspaper article relating to the issues of
emotional/behavioral disorders. When entering search terms you may need to experiment
a little but you should be able to find articles if you enter something like the following:
behavior disorders New York Times prevalence
or
behavior disorders West Virginia Times public school
You may search any newspaper including local papers. Write a paragraph which
describes the topic of the article and how it relates to chapters 2 and/or 3.
Once you have completed your assignment in a .doc document (Micrososft word) or
an .rtf or .text file, please ATTACH it to the assignment dropbox. 15 points
Module 2:
Students will be able to:
1. define the psychodynamic, biophysical, behavioral, ecological, and social systems
perspectives of behavior.
2. discuss the biological and temperamental contributions to behavior.
Chapter 4 Behaviorism Written Assignment Directions
1. Think of two (2) behaviors in your own life or that you observe in someone around you
and describe it in behavioral terms: antecedent, the behavior, and the consequences which
reinforce the occurrence of the behavior. For example:
Antecedent: Need to support self and family
Behavior: Going to work each day
Consequence: Getting paid
Be sure to visit some of the websites listed in the Reading Assignments in addition to
reading the text before you answer. Remember that the word "consequence", when used
by a behaviorist, is any event that follows a behavior and increases the likelihood of that
behavior occurring again. Our common use of the word suggests the negative: There will
be consequences, mister! Please use the word in the behavioral sense which includes both
positive and negative events.10 points
2. Explain the student's behavior in this vignette from the psycho-dynamic, behavioral,
ecological and social-cognitive perspectives. There is limited information here, so you
will need to speculate on some aspects of her behavior and possible causes. Please use a
heading for each of the conceptual models. You do not need to provide any intervention
information. Please concentrate on explaining the possible source of the behavior from
each of the 4 perspectives.
It is Monday morning and Marney is late for class. As she enters the room, she holds up
the palm of her hand in your direction and yells, "Don't even talk to me!" As she makes
her way to her seat, another student sticks his foot out and Marney trips. She catches
herself, swears at the student, and hits him in the head with a notebook. For the rest of the
class period Marney sits with her head on her desk occasionally mumbling to herself. If
she catches anyone looking at her, she yells at them. A few minutes before class is over,
you ask Marney a question about the assigned reading. She jumps up, yells " I don't have
to take this s***", walks out of the room, and slams the door hard enough to crack the
wooden door jam.
Psychodynamic perspective - 10 points
Behavioral perspective - 10 points
Ecological Perspective - 10 points
Social-Cognitive - 10
Chapter 7 Biological Factors Written Assignment Instructions
The case study on page 37 of the case book describes a child named Peter. After careful
reading the case study, please respond to the following questions:
1. What biological risk factors are evident in this case? 10 points
2. What reason's would you have for suggesting that Peter's problems were reactive to the
circumstance, not biological in origin? 10 points
3. If you were Peter's teacher, what could you do to help address the problems most
effectively? 10 points
4. As Peter's teacher, what would your role be in relation to his medications? Your
answer should address the information from the text and from the weblink to the state
policies regarding medication. 20 points
Module 3:
Students will be able to:
1 discuss the role of the family in the development, prevention, and intervention in
behavior problems.
2. describe the role of the school environment in the development, prevention, and
intervention in behavior problems.
3. discuss the role of culture and gender in the identification of emotional/behavioral
disorders.
4. discuss recent research regarding the relationship between communication
deficits, learning styles, and behavior problems
Chapters 8, 9, and 10 Assignment Live Chat
Chapters 8 and 9 discuss the contribution to behavior problems that are made by home
and school environments. Chapter 10 addresses the contribution of culture and cultural
misunderstanding. The assignment for these chapters is for you to watch the movie:
Freedom Writers.
This movie is available from Blockbuster and probably from any other video/dvd outlet.
Once you have viewed the movie you will engage in an on-line chat with a small group
of your classmates. Roughly an hour should be enough to cover the topics. This movie is
based on fact and is highly emotional. I feel that it illustrates the interactions of all three
of the topics of home, school, and culture. I will e-mail you with the names of the
classmates I would like you to engage in the discussion with. You may set up a time at
your convenience. Once you have set a date and time, please let me know so that I can
ensure there are no time conflicts. I will participate myself in one of the discussions. The
rest of them will be graded by review of the transcripts.
When discussing the movie, you may of course discuss your emotional response to the
events. However, I will be looking for a serious discussion of the issues as well.
Module 4:
Students will be able to:
1. describe the process of referral, assessment, and diagnosis of
emotional/behavioral disorders.
2. describe the eligibility process, development of an Individualized Education Plan,
and placement of students with emotional/behavioral disorders.
3. describe the use of assessment results in the development of instructional plans.
Chapters 5 and 6 Assignment Directions
For this quiz/assignment, I want to return to the student, Marney, who we discussed in an
earlier assignment. This time, I would like you to think about her as if she is a new
student in school and has not had an IEP in the past. Based on the behavior described,
you think that Marney may be in need of help. Please outline how you would proceed to
collect the information you need to collect to determine if Marney should be referred to
the SAT team.
It is Monday morning and Marney is late for class. As she enters the room, she holds up
the palm of her hand in your direction and yells, "Don't even talk to me!" As she makes
her way to her seat, another student sticks his foot out and Marney trips. She catches
herself, swears at the student, and hits him in the head with a notebook. For the rest of the
class period Marney sits with her head on her desk occasionally mumbling to herself. If
she catches anyone looking at her, she yells at them. A few minutes before class is over,
you ask Marney a question about the assigned reading. She jumps up, yells " I don't have
to take this s***", walks out of the room, and slams the door hard enough to crack the
wooden door jam.
Module 5:
Students will be able to:
1. describe the learning needs and social interaction deficits of individuals with
emotional/behavioral disorders and will be able to write appropriate intervention
strategies for specific types of behaviors.
2. state a variety of strategies designed to prevent emotional/behavioral disorders
3. discuss the effectiveness of group interventions for students with
emotional/behavioral disorders.
Chapters 11, 12, 13 Written Assignment Directions
Please read the following brief student descriptions and then write a short paper in which
you compare and contrast the characteristics and educational needs of each of these
students. Be sure to identify what type of behavior problem each displays.
Ralph is a 15 year old sophomore in high school. He passes most of his classes but he
struggles to keep his grades at a C level in spite of having an IQ of 110. His teachers see
him as disorganized and at times disruptive in class.
Raoul is 17 and a sophomore in high school. He is known to hang out with gang
members, has been expelled 3 times for bullying, and 2 times for threatening a teacher.
Raoul rarely does assigned work and has, unfortunately, made it to this grade through
social promotion.
Haleigh is a 16 year old sophomore in high school. Her grades fluctuate between D’s and
C’s. Haleigh is quiet during class and speaks politely when spoken to. Her teachers have
recently begun to suspect that she is responsible for a series of petty thefts in the
classroom and also suspect her of lying about the thefts as well as making false
accusations against her peers.
Chapter 14 Written Assignment Directions
Please turn to page 77 in your casebook and read the cases for V.K., Scarface, and
Sammy. Then respond to the three (3) questions on page 78. Be sure to provide
supporting arguments for your position. As always, save your work to a word file and
attach it to the appropriate dropbox.
Module 6:
Students will be able to:
1. describe the learning needs and social interaction deficits of individuals with
emotional/behavioral disorders and will be able to write appropriate intervention
strategies for specific types of behaviors.
2. state a variety of strategies designed to prevent emotional/behavioral disorders
3. discuss the effectiveness of group interventions for students with
emotional/behavioral disorders
Chapters 15,16,and 17 Written Assignment Directions.
Compare and contrast the characteristics and educational needs of the individuals
described in these chapters.