Student Name: Brent Seager

Artifact #3
SPED 743-FABI Assignment

Purpose

The purpose of this assignment was to design a functional behavioral assessment (FBA),

select a target behavior, replacement behavior, and an intervention(s) to support a struggling

student. This was a five-step assignment designed to conduct, develop, and implement an FBA,

intervention(s), and determine the validity of the intervention. The five steps were completed

using information and ideas learned in the content taught in the early weeks of the course, which

included factors affecting behavior, reinforcement, punishment, interventions, and social validity

of the intervention. Once a target and replacement behaviors were selected, I observed and

monitored the intervention to determine the effectiveness and validity. While this was an

entailed assignment, it was great learning how to implement the FBA process from start to finish.

Addressing the assignment requirements

In step one of this assignment, I selected a student and obtained permission from the

student and their parents to participate in the assignment. In steps two through four,

questionnaires, data, observations, reinforcement, punishment, and other factors were

implemented and evaluated by myself and other selected educators. In step five, I evaluated all

the data and the validity of the intervention and then put the information together in graphs and a

final paper. The big purpose of the assignment was to acquaint the educator with FBA’s,

interventions, and how to determine the validity of these interventions.

Revisions

On the original assignment, I received a deduction of five points. The instructor did not

indicate the reason(s) for the deductions on the final assignment. However, after reviewing

requirements from the course and for this course, I suspect that it could be formatting. To
Student Name: Brent Seager

Artifact #3
SPED 743-FABI Assignment

address these concerns, I have added a title page and listed the five steps as appendices. I have

also reviewed the assignment for grammar and spelling errors.

Things learned and how it contributes to development as a special educator

The FABI assignment was one of my most memorable assignments in the program, as it

was a very thorough evaluation of the selected student, and selecting an intervention to best

support the student. The assignment and course materials allowed me to explore factors that

influence behavior (i.e. environmental and biological), and how to identify and select a target

and replacement behavior for the student. I also learned how to implement reinforcement and

punishment to promote replacement behaviors or extinguish target behaviors (i.e. positive

reinforcement, negative reinforcement, positive punishment, and negative punishment). In my

current position at the special day school, I help write functional behavior assessments, and use

the information, concepts, and ideas taught in this course daily when writing functional behavior

assessments, implementing these, or using punishment or reinforcement. Looking back at this

assignment has allowed me to see the growth that I have made over the past two years with

identifying target behaviors, replacement behaviors, designing and selecting interventions, and

monitoring these interventions.

While the functional behavior assessments that I work on in my current position are not

as detailed as the one in this assignment, this assignment has shown me that being concise and

selecting the appropriate interventions are essential when working with students that have severe

emotional or behavioral concerns. Even though I have a great deal of experience with writing

functional behavior assessments using the skills and concepts taught in this course and

demonstrated in the assignment, I remember that monitoring and observing the intervention is
Student Name: Brent Seager

Artifact #3
SPED 743-FABI Assignment

another vital component. Perhaps one of the most important lessons that I learned from the

FABI assignments is that while one replacement behavior can improve the learning environment

for the student, it can create other behaviors, as I noticed last school year with the selected

student from the FABI assignment. I used the ideas and concepts taught in this course to design

two other interventions for this student last school year, which allowed the student to improve

their behavior and improved all school and learning environments for the student. Therefore, I

monitor and track interventions, behavior data, and goals daily and weekly and graph these. The

team meets twice each month to review and discuss the data, which has allowed me to better

support my students and their learning in all school environments.