Case Study Noboa 1

Description of Student

Guinevere joined our class a few weeks after school started. Mrs. Delligatti was informed

she was receiving a new student—we were so excited. Guinevere is a foster care child.

She seeks attention, love, and reassurance. She is outgoing, energetic, and caring.

Age: 5
Grade: Kindergarten
Ethnicity: White/ Caucasian

Background Information on Guinevere

I have encountered many behavior issues with Guinevere. We have to monitor her

closely due to her touching other students. She speaks her mind freely and will tell you

when she does not want to do an assignment and/or task. She will roam the room and talk

back to adults. An example of this is when I tell her she needs to do Waterford, she says,

“No I don’t.” I want to get her into a structured routine. She is still adjusting to this new

environment and struggles with a new routine.

I have become firmer with Guinevere to show she is not in control. This is very

difficult for me because most of the time she does not listen. It would be unfair for me to

debate back and forth with her while the other eighteen students are waiting.

The targeted behavior I will be working on with Guinevere is following

instructions and listening to the teacher. By following instructions, Guinevere should

complete the tasks when instructed to do so (for example: come to the carpet for whole

group or get off the iPad when her turn is over), walk in the hallway at level zero with her

hands behind her back, and sit safely in her chair, as well as in the cafeteria.
Case Study Noboa 2

Academics

Guinevere is very intelligent. She knows all of her uppercase letters and she

knows more than seventy percent of her lowercase letters. She can identify the initial

sound in a word, blend a segmented word, and count to 20. Her attention span is short

and she loves working hands on. If she is not chosen to speak or answer a question, she

gets frustrated and her body language depicts this expression. I have incorporated

movement, brain breaks, and other engaging activities to motivate Guinevere to

participate during my lessons. I have attached the parent/student conference form

including her academic progress.

Data Before Implementing Management Strategy

Guinevere is still developing a sense of trust in our classroom. She is in a new

environment and this can be difficult for elementary school students, especially five-year-

olds. She seeks attention and this is most likely the primary reason for her behavior. On

multiple occasions, we have had to call for administration due to her refusal to follow

directions, for example, lining up to go to lunch. She refuses to leave the room for lunch,

which makes our class late for lunch. Guinevere refuses to leave the room to go to special

area, spits food at students during lunch, and interrupts me during whole group

instruction. I want to provide Guinevere with a structured, strict, and fun environment. I

chose Guinevere to be my case study student because I know she thrives off of attention

and I think providing her with support will assist her adjustment to this new environment.
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Baseline Data

Day One:
 Refused to come to carpet, roamed around room until GoNoodle came on.
 Refused to go to small group with Mrs. Delligatti because “it’s boring”.
 Refused to leave the room for P.E. and come back after P.E. (administration
called).

Day Two:
 Refused to complete morning work.
 Refused to get off iPad after timer was set and warnings were given.
 Refused to line up after lunch—ran around courtyard (administration called).

Day Three:

 Refused to complete morning work—“I can’t do it”.

 Signing ABC’s during morning meeting.
 Refused to get off iPad when her turn was finished.
 Roamed the room during math centers because she didn’t want to do Waterford.
 Repeatedly shouted “You are not the boss of me.”
Case Study Noboa 4

Behavior Intervention Plan

Mrs. Delligatti and I reached out to Guinevere’s former teacher at Pathways

Elementary School in Ormond Beach. We asked for suggestions and advice on how to

manage Guinevere’s behavior. She gave us a few ideas and we thought of ways we could

implement them quickly. We wanted to do what was best for Guinevere. Guinevere’s

actions were becoming a major issue because her classmates were getting distracted. It is

unfair to my other students to be disturbed due to a student’s behavior. We tackled this

issue immediately.

Her former teacher stated Guinevere loves stickers. I created a behavior chart with

three faces on it: happy, straight, and sad. I wanted to develop an intervention that

involved stickers because it was affordable and I knew it could be effective. I had our

daily routines planned on the chart; for example, whole group, centers, and lunch were

three of the categories (total of 10). I gave myself a section to document notes of her

behavior. In the notes section, I usually write quick, brief bullet points to describe her

behavior during that part of the day. If Guinevere receives a happy face, I allow her to

choose a sticker to put on her sheet. I give her three seconds to choose so I am not losing

too much instructional time.

The stickers worked well for a couple of weeks, but then I noticed her interest

slowly decline. I added an additional component to this behavior intervention plan—the

treasure box. If Guinevere receives 6 stickers, she is allowed to go to the treasure box at

the end of the day. This is a major privilege because the other students are only allowed

to go to the treasure box weekly.

Case Study Noboa 5

The purpose of the behavior chart was to ensure Guinevere stayed on task and

completed her work when told to do so. Guinevere would stand up or talk out during

whole group instruction. We had a long talk about respect. I wanted her to realize she is

distracting her other classmates from learning when she roams around the room and

refuses to come to the carpet. At the end of each day, I would talk to Guinevere about her

chart and ask her how she can improve her behavior for the next day. I always expressed

high expectations of Guinevere.

Case Study Noboa 6

Data and Anecdotal Notes

Week One:
Day Number of Stickers and Misbehavior Observed
Monday Professional Development Day- No Students
9/17/18
Tuesday  Hands on other students during carpet time.
9/18/18  Refused to come in from playground.
 Played at water fountain.
 Refused to complete center work.
Received 4 stickers
Wednesday  Refused to get off iPad.
9/19/18  Used unkind works to classmate (“_____” is dumb.)
 Refused to come in from playground—administration called.
Received 5 stickers
Thursday  Refused to come to the carpet for morning meeting.
9/20/18  Crying/ screaming about iPad when her turn was over.
 Refused to complete math paper.
 Threw pencils across the room.
Received 3 stickers
Friday Student was absent.
9/21/18

Week Two:
Day Number of Stickers and Misbehavior Observed
Monday Behavior chart has been misplaced for this day. No data can be
9/24/18 documented.
Tuesday Received 6 stars
9/25/18
Wednesday  Roamed the room during whole group ELA/ refused to sit down.
9/26/18 Received 5 stars
Thursday Received 6 stars
9/27/18
Friday Received 8 stars
9/28/18
Case Study Noboa 7

Week Three:
Day Number of Stickers and Misbehavior Observed
Monday  Refused to get off iPad when turn was over.
10/1/18  Ran in hallway/ refused to walk in line.
 Played in bathroom at special area.
Received 3 stars
Tuesday  Completed 2/4 centers/ refused to complete work because it is
10/2/18 “boring”.
 Grabbed teacher’s dress.
 Spit on the table during quiet time.
Received 6 stars
Wednesday  Roamed around the room during center time.
10/3/18  Refused to listen during ELA.
Received 5 stickers
Thursday  Roamed around the room and talked back to Mrs. Delligatti.
10/4/18  Played with toys/ignored teacher.
 Refused to walk to P.E./ refused to line up from P.E.
Received 3 stars
Friday  Refused to come to 1 out of the 4 centers.
10/5/18  Refused to walk back from cafeteria—administration called.
Received 7 stars
Case Study Noboa 8

Post Data to Show Effectiveness of Intervention

Guinevere is going through a lot in her home life. She is currently receiving

counseling services. Her behavior is not consistent and it is obvious that certain things in

her daily life trigger her easily. This intervention has allowed me to learn more about

Guinevere and build a positive relationship with her. She is a challenging student and

needs lots of tender loving care. I learned she likes to be a leader and is more likely to

follow directions when she is given a task (for example: holding my lunchbox or her

behavior clipboard). Small jobs make her feel needed.

I was able to use the information from the intervention to collect more data on her

interests and learning styles. I realized she likes to participate in lessons, so I made sure I

gave her an opportunity to answer a question or turn-and-talk to a shoulder partner.

This intervention did not go perfectly. I was expecting to help correct

misbehaviors, but Guinevere is unique. I am going to continue providing her with a safe,

loving environment at school where she can grow and blossom. I thought I would be able

to correct her misbehaviors more than I did, but I know there is so much going on in her

mind.

This intervention taught me to start every day with a fresh start. Guinevere’s

behaviors varied daily. It was important to start fresh each day and not think of her past

behaviors. I know being consistent and showing I care will make a difference in her life!
Case Study Noboa 9

Data Reflection

This assignment did not go as I planned. Guinevere is a unique child that needs a

lot of attention and redirection. I put a lot of energy to form a positive relationship with

her. I thought this would help her and correct her misbehaviors. It helped her on some

days, and on other days it felt pointless. I had to stay consistent and not give up on her. I

showed her I cared—this is what she really needed.

During my observations, her foster mom had surgery so she stayed with a

different foster family. This really affected Guinevere and her behaviors. Her behavior

and attitude changed by the minute. I spent a lot of time working with her and discussing

ways she could adjust her behavior for the next day.

One of the ladies in the cafeteria continued to report that she was spitting food

and hitting people during lunchtime. I did not know what to do with behaviors like that

since I was not there to correct them. I would take a promise band and talk to her about

behaviors. I decided it would be a good idea to have a kindness award. To receive this

award, I look for students being kind to their friends and teachers. Other students can

nominate their classmates or if I witness a kind act, I can give the award. The winner of

this award gets to get a candy from my basket and eat lunch with me. The student gets to

choose two friends to join, as well. My class has been using kind words and helping their

classmates.

I hope this environment around Guinevere will continue to help her become a

kind, caring citizen. My hope is to have Guinevere receive this award before I leave. I

want her to see how being kind can feel so good!

Case Study Noboa 10

Reflection on Effectiveness

This Behavior Intervention Plan helped Guinevere learn my expectations of her as

a student. Some days this worked really well and when my cooperating teacher and I

would reach out for support, they always reminded us of her home life. I always had this

in my mind and chose my words wisely because I never wanted her to distrust me. It was

unfair to continue to accept her behavior because it interrupted the other students’

learning.

Some days were better than others and I had to be firm with Guinevere and set

high expectations. I had to remind myself daily that she is only five and has gone through

so much. I will never perfect a student, but I think this intervention plan helped her get

her tasks done at school. I will continue to work with Guinevere and give her the love and

support she deserves.

Case Study Noboa 11

Follow-Up Suggestions

I should have involved Guinevere’s foster mom more during this intervention. A

few times Mrs. Delligatti sent pictures of her behavior chart through Class Dojo, but I

should have been more consistent with my communication about Guinevere’s behavior.

Guinevere has a lot going on in her home-life and she has begun counseling. I am hoping

these counseling sessions will allow her to open up and receive effective guidance.

Money is tight for me as a college-student, but I would have loved using her

interests more often to provide rewards. It is difficult to find cheap rewards so most of the

rewards were pencils, stamps, candy, etc. When I have my own classroom, I will use my

student interest surveys to provide rewards that fit my students’ personal interests.

Eventually, I could have just done an overall happy, sad, or straight face for the

day. Next to those faces, I would include comments (positive and negative) to keep

communication open with foster mom.