You may have heard the phrase “ABA can save the world!” While Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) works well on an individual basis, I have found that those same techniques and interventions also work well in the classroom. In fact, the use of ABA interventions in the classroom can promote cooperation, increase student attention, decrease disruptive behaviors, and motivate your entire class!
Although we usually hear the term ABA associated with autism, ABA can be applied in any setting or environment where behaviors need to be reduced, managed, or improved. ABA strategies can be successfully implemented in the classroom for any student or group of students exhibiting problem behaviors. Some of these behaviors may include:
Teachers who are equipped to handle these challenging behaviors not only have less stress but also have more control over their classroom and better relationships with their students.
All behavior has a purpose or a function, and before we can change a behavior, we need to understand why it is happening. As a teacher, you may be familiar with the ABCs of applied behavior analysis: the antecedent, the behavior, and the consequence. Before we can try to increase or decrease a behavior, we need to determine the antecedent, or what is causing the behavior. In ABA, we refer to this as the “function” of the behavior. If we do not identify the function, then we are basically guessing.
Two ABA strategies I commonly recommend for classroom use are token economies and group contingencies. Token economies provide tokens, or rewards, for appropriate behaviors that can be exchanged for a desired item or privilege. The teacher provides a token, for example, a coin, a star, or a sticker, each time the student displays a desired behavior. In addition, the teacher may also have a list of undesirable behaviors that cause a student to lose a token. A group contingency is when a teacher sets a common expectation, such as remaining seated and quiet during quiet work, and reinforces a small group of students or an entire class.
There are many different ways to use a token economy in the classroom. Advantages of token economies include:
In a classroom setting, this may include remaining seated or quiet, completing assignments, putting things away, or possibly more severe behaviors, such as yelling or even hitting.
Tokens should be simple, colorful, attractive, inexpensive, reusable, difficult to duplicate, easy to maintain, and simple to secure or transport.
These rewards can be obtained by trading in the tokens, which may include stickers, toys, extra playtime, or other enjoyable activities.
This is an important step because while you want to increase desired behaviors, the optimal goal is to slowly decrease the frequency of the tokens and awards.
This is the number of tokens required to obtain a given reward. The token "pricing" should be appropriate, fair, and attainable to maintain student motivation.
Set rules so that students only exchange tokens at a specified time and place.
This is an optional step, commonly referred to as a response cost component, where a token may be lost, which can be attached to behaviors such as hitting or throwing items.
A group contingency may be independent, dependent, or interdependent. An independent group contingency would be presented to all of the students, but reinforcement, such as extra recess, is only given to the students who meet the requirements of the contingency. A dependent contingency is when reinforcement is given to the entire class but is dependent on one student or a small group. I try to avoid this type of contingency in the classroom because it tends to hinder inclusion, which can cause further disruption. An interdependent group contingency is when all of the students in the class meet the requirements of the contingency before any students receive reinforcement. For example, each student will need to remain quiet during quiet work before any of the students receive extra recess.
There are a few key components when implementing a group contingency strategy in the classroom.