ICEL Factors to Consider for Hypothesis Generation
Remember Focus on Alterable Hypotheses First
To Change Student Behavior you Must Change Adult
Behavior
Instruction (I)
• Instructional approach or method(s) e.g.,
instruction presented in a way that relates to
child’s weaknesses (e.g., lecture/auditory etc.)
• Expectations/objectives
• Clarity of instruction
. Organization of instruction
• Pace (instruction presented too fast for
student’s learning rate)
• Opportunities for practice (insufficient
opportunity to practice skills, lack of teacher
guided practice)
• Duration of continuous instruction (length of
instruction/assignments too long for
attention/concentration skills of the student)
• Nature & frequency of feedback (e.g., feedback to
student not frequent enough)
• Academic engaged time
• Classroom Management
. Expectations too high for the skills of the
student (e.g., reinforcers at the end of the week,
student needs daily).
. Rate of reinforcement too low for student needs
.Other???
Curriculum (C)
Philosophy of the curriculum presented (e.g., too
narrow such as phonics only)
Content of materials
• Difficulty level of materials (too easy or too
difficult)
• Sequencing
• Organization
• Perceived relevance (curriculum not relevant to
child’s experiences/understanding
. Other?
Environment (E)
. Arrangement of the room (e.g., student and
teacher physically too far apart, student too close
to peers, student near window or distractions etc.)
. Temperature
• Furniture/equipment
• Rules (rules/expectations in class/building far
exceed skills of the student to be successful)
. Level of supervision (frequency/rate) too low for
student needs, too many areas in the building that
are not supervised adequately)
• Management plans (e.g., inconsistent discipline
programs/philosophies/differences between staff who
interact with the same student)
• Routines (Schedule of daily activities)
• Expectations
• Peer context-Peers reinforce inappropriate
behavior; Peers do not provide appropriate/adequate
models); Social/Academic skills of peers
significantly higher (lower) than student; Peers
taunt/instigate student to engage in inappropriate
behavior; Expectations/values of peer group
influence student
• Peer (e.g., attention)
. Task pressure
. Bus ride (length, problems on the bus carry over
to school, etc.)
. Family/Neighborhood/Community
Characteristics/Conditions including different
values/expectations between home and school; parent
discipline inadequate/too severe/teaches child
aggression; lack of or low levels of supervision;
parent academic skills too low to assist their
child; reading and related behaviors do not occur
in the home; parent difficulties (substance abuse
etc.) result in inconsistent parenting, low levels
of supervision, negativity; parent unwilling or
unable to reinforce school-related
academic/behavioral strategies in the home; Parent
permits the child to be around inappropriate
adults/peers in the community; parent expectations
too high for child/too much pressure; parent
unwilling/unable to meet health/nutrition/basic
needs of the child resulting in absences, inability
of the child to concentrate on tasks, tardiness
etc.
Other??
Learner (Last Area to Consider) (L)
• Perception of learning environment
• Academic skills (e.g., lacks prerequisite skills
for task)
• Attributions (beliefs-others out to get me,
parents do not want me to do well in school, I
expect to fail, if I do not fight first then I will
be hurt, my parents want me to fight back, etc.)
. Social Skills (e.g., ability to initiate contact,
play behaviors)
• Adaptive behavior skills (e.g., self-help,)
• Motivation
. Organization
. Adequate short and long term memory (auditory and
visual)
. length of attention span
. Self-monitoring skills
. Impulsivity (inability to delay long enough to
think/behave)
. Inability to integrate visual/motor/auditory
tasks
. Other social/behavioral skills
. Health Areas including: Hearing, motor, vision
skills; Specific health conditions related to
problem behaviors/academic concerns; Side effects
of medication; Speech/language difficulties;
Fatigue results in higher activity and less ability
to focus etc., Medication cycle not appropriate for
school day/activities;
. Excessive absences
. Language other than English