Nicole Sahlin
November 28, 2012
EDU-536
Canter’s Disruptive Behavior Case Study

Every teacher has had that one student who talks out during class, students who do not raise their hand and just carries on when you are trying to teach a lesson. You spend most of your lesson time trying to bring the class back on track rather than teaching. Canter’s has come up with a behavioral management cycle to help teacher’s rectify the bad behavior. Background on Kirra Kirra is 12 and a 5th grader at Manchester Township Elementary School her teacher is Mrs. Mills. Kirra lives with her mother, father, younger brother, and an older sister. Kirra’s home life is unfortunately anything but peaceful and calm. Her mother and father are constantly fighting with each other about money and the children. Kirra’s older sister Christina is the root of several of the family drama as well. Christina sneaks out and does not come home until three in the morning; she also sneaks people in and usually is very loud at night when Kirra is trying to sleep. Kirra also suffers from several health conditions, such as cyst in her ovaries and high blood pressure. Every month it seems that she is in and out of the hospital trying to discover what is causing the high blood pressure. On top of Kirra’s toxic home life and also her health issues Kirra does not have it easy at school either, when she was in fourth grade she had a teacher call her stupid and worthless and told her she would never amount to anything. hurt Kirra because she is nowhere near a straight A student. She constantly studies for test and come test time she fails the test. During class she has a hard time staying focused and following along with the class notes. She always complains that the teacher goes to fast, which makes her miss the important information. Kirra has becoming severely depressed and discouraged with life in general and has unfortunately, started to cut herself. Her anything but healthy life has caused her to act out and be disruptive in class. She calls out, talks during lessons, screams at Mrs. Mills and flips out when she does not get her way. Mrs. Mills has tried everything to help Kirra and always tries to instill confidence in Kirra and always reminds her to never give up and to believe in herself. Mrs. Mills understands how tough this poor girl’s life has been and that teacher calling her stupid did not help the situation. Mrs. Mills has decided to imply Canter’s behavioral management cycle in hope to correct the disruptive behavior that takes place in her class. First step in the cycle Kirra failed her science test, and she complained to Mrs. Mills that the she failed was because it was too noisy in the classroom. Mrs. Mills explains to Kirra that the class was not to noisy and maybe she needs some extra help with the new material. Mrs. Mills tries to explain to Kirra that she did very well on the previous test and that everyone is entitle to fail a test here, and there. Kirra lashes out on Mrs. Mills and starts hysterically crying. Mrs. Mills tries to walk away and ignore Kirra and continues passing out the test and teaching. Mrs. Mills knows Kirra is upset and does not want to make a big deal of it so she lets her be. Kirra continues to be disruptive to the class by calling out and carrying on. Mrs. Mills finally has had enough and uses Mrs. Canter’s first step of the behavioral method and tells Kirra; “we do not scream and carry on like you are right now. You are to stop immediately and focus on the lesson. That is your warning” Second step in the cycle After Mrs. Mills tells Kirra how it is unacceptable how she is acting Kirra finally calms down, and the class begins their math lesson. Kirra enjoys math it is one of her favorite subjects she has been doing very well in math so far this year, and it helps with herself confidence. Today they are starting fractions, immediately beginning the lesson Kirra has a confused and discouraged look on her face. Mrs. Mills notices this and says to her; “Kirra, you did so well on your last math test you must be excited to start something new. I know you can do this stay positive and believe in yourself. After the lesson Mrs. Mills hands out a lesson for the class to complete. Kirra raises her hand immediately asking for help and becoming discouraged and frustrated at herself and also Mrs. Mills for not being their right away to help her. Mrs. Mills sees Kirra’s frustration and explains to her that she has to wait for her turn and that there are other students that need assistance as well. Kirra becomes irate and starts screaming at Mrs. Mills and throws her book across the class just missing a student. Mrs. Mills gives her second warning to Kirra using Canter’s behavioral method. “We don’t scream in class. This is your second warning and you chose to sit by me for ten minutes during recess.” Even though Mrs. Mills is angry with Kirra she is feeling bad for her and does not know what to do. She makes note of Kirra’s actions in class today and also to speak to her parents. Fourth and fifth step Kirra sits with Mrs. Mills during recess and Mrs. Mills talks to her trying to get some information on perhaps why she is acting the way she is. Kirra opens up to Mrs. Mills and tells her about the problems at home and also how she started to cut herself to release some of the anger that she is feeling. Mrs. Mills is shock and does not know what to say, unfourtantley recess is over, and it is time to go inside. Mrs. Mills instantly writes down everything Kirra confided in her. She is worried more than ever and knows it is time to sit down with the school board and also her parents. Kirra is becoming in a bad mood because she knows English is next, and she has detestation for English. Kirra does not like English because she states how she has a hard time understanding the topic and what the teacher wants. She explains that sometimes what she thinks the teacher wants is not always the case and in most cases she has to re write the essay. Mrs. Mills writes a topic on the board and Kirra shouts out right away how she does not understand the topic and needs help. Again, Mrs. Mills explains to Kirra that she has to wait her turn and to remember there are other students in the class that need direction to. Kirra follows the behavior she has been exhibiting all day and starts to yell and curse at Mrs. Mills and throws the book again. Kirra is clearly beyond angry and frustrated screams out; “I do not care about school I give up I am stupid anyway. Mrs. Mills directs Kirra to cool down in the principal’s office, and she will be down there soon to talk to her. Mrs. Mills meets Kirra at the principal’s office, and they speak and they call Kirra’s parents. They schedule a parent teacher meeting to further discuss the actions to take with the behavior Kirra is exhibiting. Parent-Teacher Meeting During the meeting it is discuss how Kirra may suffer from a learning disorder because of all the symptoms that she demonstrates. Kirra is a good girl who deep down wants to do well but is quickly becoming discouraged by her ability because she spends all this time studying but fails. She also has a hard time keeping up with the class and always complains that the noise in the room is a distraction. Kirra’s mom agrees to take her to get tested. A couple of weeks go by and Kirra is diagnosed with Central Auditory Processing Disorder. CAPD is a person has hard time comprehending information and does not understand as quickly as others. When the class is on step five this person who has CAPD is still trying to grasp step two. Noise sounds different to individuals who have CAPD and concentrate fully they need extreme quiet or they will become distracted. Conclusion Due to her diagnosis Kirra was given special accommodations to succeed in school. She has to sit in front in her class, has a personal aide who helps her with note taking and explaining work that she does not understand and can sit in a private room with no distractions to take test. It has been a couple months from the time when her diagnosis and Kirra has made a remarkable in school and her outburst in class have come to a halt to. Kirra also began counseling to discuss her family problems, and we are hoping that can improve as well. Due to Mrs. Mills persistence and faith in Kirra and also knowing how to use Canter’s behavioral management Kirra is on the right track to succeeding.

References
Building Classroom Discipline, Ninth Edition, by C. M. Charles and Gail W. Senter. Published by Allyn and Bacon. Copyright © 2008 by Pearson Education, Inc.