To use the site to select an EBI please think of a student in need and ask two questions:
1. Is this primarily an academic problem, a behavior problem or both?
2. What is the most likely reason that the child is having this problem?
- Common academic reasons for problems
- The task is too hard for the student.
- The student has not had enough help doing the task. For example, the student has a high error rate when trying to do the academic task.
- The student has not spent enough time doing the academic activity. For example, the student is slow when doing the academic task.
- The student has not done the academic task that way before.
- The student does not want to do the academic task.
- Common behavioral reasons for problems
- The student needs help learning the appropriate behavior.
- The student can do the correct behavior, but something needs to change to make that happen (attention seeking).
- The student can do the correct behavior, but something needs to change to make that happen (escape something).
- The student needs help doing the behavior in a new setting, time or manner. For example, the student can do the behavior in one class, but not in another class or the lunchroom.
- It is a small group or classwide problem.
With those two basic questions it is possible to find evidence based interventions developed for that specific problem. After you select an intervention to try out there are some key next steps:
- Select a time to do the intervention. Logically this should be when the child displayed the problem behavior.
- Implement the intervention in that time period.
- Continue to collect data for the intervention time period.
- Compare the data collected in the intervention phase to previously collected outcomes to see if the child responds to the intervention techniques. The best manner to do this is to graph out the data.
As you consider intervention options, questions will come up. We have developed a number of resources to support EBI use. Please take some time to look over the following: