After collecting qualitative and quantitative data from various sources, I analyzed each piece of data and synthesized findings to improve instruction and support student success. Data sources included behavior cards, daily check-in and check-out (CICO), Verbal Behavior cold probes, and anecdotal notes.

Data Collection

Daily behavior card data (Quantitative)

Daily behavior card data was averaged each week to determine trends in expected behaviors. The red line shows 100% expected behaviors. The blue line was Student 1 and Student 2's baseline behavior. The yellow line indicates daily and weekly behavior card data collected for Student 1 and Student 2.

When VB and Zones was started with Student 1 and data was collected on January 8th, I noticed that he was having a difficult time adding something new into his routine. He was very confused with me asking him what zone he is in. He felt very hesitate to participate with the new strategy of independently self-regulating. Student 1 was used to handling stressful situations with anger, spitting, throwing objects, and yelling loudly. After making the zone language a part of his every day routine, Student 1 gradually started to be able to independently use this language and work through his anger and/or sillies. The first part of January, he was demonstrating appropriate behavior in the 70 percent range. This shows me that he was not able to independently self-regulate and became frustrated and irritable easily. By the first part of February, Student 1 was able to identify and advocate for himself by using self-regulating tools that helped him to get back into the "ready to learn" zone. This took time but with consistency and the use of the Zones language throughout the school day, Student 1 was able to take a break for five minutes and get back to what he was doing. In February, his appropriate behavior now has increased to being in the average 80 percent range. This demonstrates the increase of his ability to self-regulate and refrain from inappropriate interactions with both peers and adults (such as kicking, spitting, hitting, or throwing objects). The ability to self-regulate with little to no adult prompting not only helped him succeed with his academics, he gained more friends in the process, and added additional mainstreaming classes. At the end of February, Student 1 was able to have an average of 95 percent which was an awesome change from the beginning of January! He is currently mainstreaming for 3 out of the 5 classes. Student 1 was very successful with this research strategy of teaching and using Verbal Behavior and Zones of Regulation together.

Student 2, like Student 1, did not like the change of combining Verbal Behavior and Zones of Regulation together. With this change, I would prompt and ask Student 2 to identify a zone, feeling word, and strategy to get back into the "green" zone. He was very hesitant to talk about his feelings at the beginning of this study and when I started collecting data on January 8th. Coming back from winter break was very difficult for this student. They had a hard time adjusting back into the school routine and the ability to sit down and do work. His appropriate interactions behavior data was at an average of 79 percent. As the days in January went by, Student 2 grew to understand that if he was to do work, he could earn a reward. When work was presented to him and he would become frustrated, at first he would rip the paper, scream, throw objects, and try to hit staff. These inappropriate behaviors are shown on the first part of the graph. As the intervention Verbal Behavior and Zones of Regulation continued through both cold probing him, during social skills, and teaching them together, Student 2 grew to understand how to self-regulate and advocate for himself. This natural conversation happened throughout the middle of January. The end of January to the beginning of February happened and Student 2 no longer wanted to talk about his feelings. This intervention became "old" to Student 2 and he was unmotivated by the ability to self-regulate and earn plusses on his behavior card. After putting in place some strategies such as prompting him with "real life" questions during his Verbal Behavior and Zones teaching, Student 2 was able to independently self-regulate and advocate when he becomes upset. The remainder of the month, Student 2 demonstrated expected and appropriate behaviors that allowed him to gain a mainstreaming class and earn additional rewards which was very motivating for him. From February 8th to February 28th, his average behavior data was a 95 percent. He continues to self-regulate and use the Zones language to increase his ability to monitor and regulate his feelings and emotions.

Data Analysis

Verbal Behavior Data (Quantitative)

This is Student 1's data from the different operants in the program, Verbal Behavior. He began in January and February being able to tact or label all four Zones: blue, green, red, and yellow. Once he demonstrated this, I was able to move him into sorting different emotion pictures and words into the correct Zones. Student 1 sorted 33 pictures in January and then increased his photos in February by identifying 44 additional photos. This allowed him to both identify and label the photo when showing him the picture or word. For example, I would show him a picture of a boy who had a mean face and was shaking his fist. He would have to sort the photo into the "red zone" and then tell me that the boy was mad and he was in the "red zone". Student 1 increased his intraverbals from 6 to 12 in the months of January and February. An example of an intraverbal is, "You are playing with your friends out at recess and you fall and scrap your knee, you are feeling in the ____ Zone?" Student 1 would have to identify that he would feel in the "blue zone" because he was hurt after scrapping his knee. This increase and ability to answer intraverbals allowed Student 1 to be able to identify how he would feel in certain situations and then ably them to real-life situations. For example, when he was in the "red zone" because he could not find his pencil in the classroom, the teacher stated, "If I am in the red zone and can't find my pencil, I can ____?" Student 1 answered correctly with "ask a teacher for help". Listening Response (LR) improved from starting at zero and adding 8 LR's to his data. An Listener Response question would be, "Point to someone who is aggravated". Student 1 was able to identify and apply these types of questions when he was in the classroom or playing out at recess with other students. He could tell when someone was in a different zone other than green zone. He was able to tell me one day out at recess that his classmate was hurt because she was crying over by the playground. These are all examples of how Student 1 was able to identify different emotions and feelings and apply them to real-life situations throughout the school day.

Student 2 shows similar data as Student 1 with an increase in January to February and being able to identify and know different questions in the four Verbal Behavior Operants. Student 2 came in knowing the four different Zones: green, blue, yellow, and red. In January, Student 2 was not able to answer any intraverbal questions such as, "When a student knocks down your tower, you are in the ____ Zone?" Student 2 was not able to understand what it was that I was asking and then apply it to the different Zones. I would continue to ask him this every day in the month of January. He was able to identify four intraverbal questions in the month of February when I pulled another student in to help me get him to understand what I was asking. I would ask Student 2 the questions and then have a peer model answer the question when he did not know the answer. I would then turn to Student 2 again and have him answer the question himself. This prompting and demonstration showed Student 2 what I was asking him to do while the peer model demonstrated the appropriate answer and skill. Student 2 started with zero Listener Response questions but then increased to knowing two in the month of February. His ability to sort was his strongest. He started identifying 20 in the month of January and then increased and gained an additional 57 emotions and feeling pictures and words in the different Zones. Student 2 was able to know and apply this skill throughout the school day. He was able to demonstrate appropriate interactions with peers and students when telling me he was in the green zone, identify when someone was not in the green zone, and talked to me about other students feeling like they were in the blue, red, yellow, or green zone. On February 14th, Student 2 stated, "Andy is in the red zone because he does not have a cupcake at the Valentine's Day party. He needs a cupcake". This information showed me that his ability to sort and label emotions and pictures was helping him to understand not only his own emotions and feelings but also his peers'.

Anecdotal Data (Qualitative)

At the beginning of the study, my students were very reluctant to start something new. Changes in daily schedules often result in non-compliance, refusal to work, and other unexpected school behaviors. We began by exploring the four different zones and the emotions that are associated with each. The following days resulted in high student engagement and use of the Zones language. When students would become aggressive, I asked them to identify their Zone and a strategy they could use to get back into the green zone. With this simple prompt, the students were successful. This became a natural conversation in our classroom. Anecdotally, I noted, "I have been very impressed with the way that the students are able to handle their emotions and feelings. Now most of my students are able to 'check in' during Morning Meeting [without support] and identify what zone they are in and use a feeling word within that zone. They are able to self-regulate with little to no adult prompts and find a strategy that works for them to calm down."

Data suggests the repetition of the Verbal Behavior intervention consisting of: (1) practicing language in social skills, (2) cold probing Verbal Behavior tacts (an operant), and (3) reinforcement throughout the day was an effective way to grow student understanding of emotions and feelings using the Zones of Regulation. Each student focused on being able to independently calm themselves and return to the ready-to-learn zone. Increased practice resulted in greater student use of language, stronger awareness to other’s feelings, and more accurate identification of emotions. Anecdotal data indicates further instruction surrounding self-regulating and calming strategies would yield greater results.

A Vignette of Study Results

Student 1 made tremendous progress. Initially, this student was unable to identify any emotions in himself or others. Through operants instruction in the Verbal Behavior intervention and practicing the Zones of Regulation language, he was able to generalize and work with other teachers to self-regulate. At the beginning of the study, if he was upset, he would scream, yell, spit, and throw objects. Recently, he was upset because he was not able to find his pencil. Instead of screaming and yelling, he chose to raise his hand and ask for help. When he found his pencil, he smiled ear-to-ear and said, “Thank you. I am happy.” During reading intervention, his teacher poses questions using the Zones language, which aided in reading comprehension. For example, “What Zone is this main character in?” allowed the target student to identify how the character is feeling and pose additional questions. Student 2 made slower progress but continued to grow in his understanding of emotions and self-regulating strategies. Initially, this student would throw objects, hit staff, and hiss at people when he was asked to do work. At the end of the study, he stated his feelings and requested a break. This strategy allowed him to self-regulate and calm himself. When faced with a change in his schedule, he said, “Mrs. T, I am feeling in the red zone because I am mad. I will need to take a little break.” He independently demonstrated the Zones language and picked a strategy to calm down. These examples demonstrate the success and impact of this study.

The connections I have made between Student 1 and Student 2 indicates that using Zones of Regulation and combining and creating it into the Verbal Behavior program was a success. Both of these students were unable to identify feelings, emotions, and strategies to calm themselves down before combining the two programs. At the end of February, both students indicated great growth and awareness of their own emotions as well as their peers'. Another connection I gained was the their ability to sort emotion pictures and words better than any other operant. I believe this is because sorting was used and practiced more throughout the day then any other operant. Sorting tends to be an easier operant than the others due to the fact that you are just sorting a picture or word into the four different Zone colors. This became a natural and fun process for them both.