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What is the ABC approach?
ABC stands for antecedent (A), behaviour (B) and consequence (C). It is an observation tool that teachers can use to analyse what happened before, during and after a behaviour1.
All behaviour can be thought of as communication. The ABC approach can help you find out what a child is trying to say (e.g. express tiredness or frustration from a task being too hard), as well as what the child gets out of the behaviour (e.g. someone’s attention or an object they want).
Antecedents are all the things that happen leading up to a behaviour. They could be things like tiredness or hunger, which may increase the likelihood of a particular behaviour. It could also be triggers, like being given a difficult task or being asked to do something the child doesn’t want to do, that cause the behaviour.
Why use the ABC approach in a classroom?
The ABC approach can be useful in some classroom situations. It can help understand what leads to a behaviour, and whether a particular response may be increasing or decreasing the likelihood of it happening again. Using evidence-based strategies (like those found on AllPlay Learn) to guide behaviour through addressing the antecedents and consequences can be a helpful approach to reduce challenging behaviour.
Example 1
What happened before the behaviour?
A class has been given some free time to play learning games on iPads. The teacher asks the class to pack up the iPad™ and sit back on the mat.
One student, Sara, becomes agitated, refuses to return the iPad™ and keeps playing with it. This happens regularly and can last between 10-30 minutes. The behaviour is not severe, but disrupts the class and Sara’s learning.
How did people react to the behaviour? What did the child get out of engaging in the behaviour?
By refusing to follow instructions from the teacher, Sara is able to continue to do what she wants, which is play with the iPad™. She is communicating a want.
What strategies can be trialled?
Example 2
What happened before the behaviour?
It’s lunchtime and some Grade 6 students are playing a game of soccer on the oval. Jack touches the ball with his hand (which is against the rules). Another boy, Steve, sees him and says Jack needs to give the ball to the other team for a free kick. Jack doesn’t want to give the ball away and the two have an argument.
Jack gets angry, because Steve continues to tell him to hand over the ball. Jack punches Steve in the stomach and takes the ball away. Jack has been known to get angry with others and has pushed other children over before. This behaviour is severe because Jack has physically hurt another student.
How did people react to the behaviour? What did the child get out of engaging in the behaviour?
The consequence of Jacks’s behaviour is that he was able to keep the ball for himself. His behaviour was his way of communicating that he wanted to keep the ball and that he wanted his team to win.
What strategies can be trialled?
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