A Functioning Functional Approach

Why didn't we think of this sooner, that's what went through my mind when we began learning more about the functional approach, its like the title states, a functioning approach. Who hasn't been in situations where they are frustrated beyond themselves but don't know how to deal with it. As a teacher we will see outbursts, that's a guarantee, but what we as teachers can change is the way that student will react in the future. The functional approach looks at the why, the what, and the how to go from there now and in the future. Compared to operant conditioning which looks at the visible behaviors, the functional approach looks at possible reasons why that behavior happened, maybe the student had been bullied all day and couldn't take it anymore, maybe he didn't have lunch which made him irritable, you never now until you ask,there are endless reason why someone acts out. We are all different and have different levels to which we can handle scenarios.  It is not wrong for someone to get frustrated, but what can be wrong, but CAN BE CHANGED, is how they go forward from there.

From Google Images

Positive Behavior Support is a very interesting and although I haven't tried it knowing all of this yet, but I'm guessing it is very effective as well, and aim to incorporate it into my future classrooms. It looks at the function that the behavior is in response to, but aims to meet the same function but change the reaction or the response. The basis of this I think is caring. What I mean by that is for a teacher to help a student through this positive behavior support is that they have to care about the student, the situation and how their classroom is managed. When a teacher truly and genuinely cares, the evidence trickles out  and is proved quickly. For a teacher to want to ask what happened, why it happened, it takes their time and effort as well as emotional strength. When a teacher cares, its obvious pretty quickly. I find that the functional approach aims higher than the method of operant conditioning, and also achieves higher from what I have heard.  

From Google Images