Antecedents, Behavior, and Consequences

From the table above, there seem to be remarkable consistencies between the antecedents and consequences in relation to Ramone’s disruptive behavior. The problem starts when the teacher assistant tells the whole class to repeat the “renaming in subtraction” rule in unison. Ramone does not answer with the group. Secondly, as soon as the assistant teacher mentions that the students will work in groups, Ramone starts to poke his peer and does not stop even after the teacher warns him. When his turn to solve a problem on the board reaches, he drops his learning materials, perhaps a clear sign of protest or reluctance. He does not work on the board, and when the teacher assistance expresses disappointment, Ramone continues to poke the peer. 

Nevertheless, Ramone cooperates when the teacher assistant gives him attention. When the teacher assistant says the subtraction rule and requires him to repeat it, Ramone cooperates and says it. Secondly, when Ramone drops his learning materials and the teacher assistant assists him to pick them up, he collects them. It is clear that Ramone detests working or participating in group activities. He is ready to use any methods to disrupt any group learning activity. He pokes his peer, drops materials, and shouts. He appears to enjoy getting the attention of the teacher alone. Most probably, Ramone is not used to the teaching style of the teacher assistant. The style might have been used without adequately preparing the students. 

Importance of Conducting Assessments Prior To the Implementation of Intervention 

Assessments are akin to diagnosis in the healthcare sector. A healthcare professional cannot administer medication or treatment to a patient without establishing the real illness. Assumptions can result to wrong medication, hence adverse effects. Similarly, assessments are very vital in psychology. Firstly, they seek to establish the genesis of a problem. In the table above, antecedents give a snippet of the causes of Ramone’s disruptive behavior. The cause is not just given superficially, but it can be derived from a conclusive analysis. The table is almost similar to observation and interviewing techniques. For instance, the assistant teacher observed that Ramone did not answer with the group. The person conducting an assessment would place themselves in the perspective of the teacher assistant. The dialogue between the teacher assistant and Ramone can be perceived to be an interview. Ramone cooperates in some instances and refuses in others. The details in the two techniques or perspectives are very important in the assessment. Assessments seek to answer questions such as “what” and “why”. Answering these two questions requires coming up with details from given cases. 

It is not prudent to immediately try to seek a solution to a particular problem without getting sufficient details. Different cases have different details and issues. It is, therefore, important to understand each case sufficiently before any step is taken. An assessment, in a broad perspective, is a break-down of a case or a problem to ensure that every detailed is captured and understood (Ala'i-Rosales & Zeug, 2010). The table above is a good example because it captures the setting of the problem, the antecedents as well as the consequences. From such a break-down, several important relationships can be derived. For example, there seems to be a relationship between group learning activities and Ramone’s disruptive behavior. In this light, an observer would seek to find out why the relationship exists. 

Assessments minimize the risk of errors when implementing intervention strategies. When an assessment is conducted, there is a high accuracy of establishing the true causes of a particular problem (Ala'i-Rosales & Zeug, 2010). For example, to a large extent, the cause of Ramone’s disruptive behavior is group learning. From assessments, the exact behavior can also be identified and defined. In this case, Ramone is aggressive and uncooperative. From these aspects, two interventions could then be applied. Firstly, prevention efforts can be applied such as preparing students for group activities or introducing other fun activities that enhance group work. Alternatively, the teacher assistant can also change the teaching mode. If a proper assessment can be conducted, wastage, in terms of unnecessary costs can be avoided. For instance, without conducting a proper assessment of Ramone’s problem, the school could implement a new system or program that could be designed to solve the problem but in real sense, it could fail. Maybe the student could also be punished for displaying behavior, which could be caused by the teacher assistant’s style of teaching. Evidently, assessments are very vital in ensuring that proper solutions are implemented and errors are minimized. 

Reference  

Ala'i-Rosales, S., & Zeug, N. (2010). Three important things to consider when starting intervention for a child diagnosed with autism.  Behavior analysis in practice ,  3 (2), 54.