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  • "Practical Classroom Management: Class-wide and Individual Strategies"

  • Consider the following two scenarios:

  • The first is Ella, a 4th grade student who has been having behavior problems in class

  • - she is frequently leaving her seat, which on occasion escalates into talking to or bothering

  • other students. She shows non-compliance and occasional disobedience when asked to return

  • to her seat. Ignoring Ella doesn't workShe simply seems to escalate from wandering, to

  • talking, to bothering. On the other hand, paying attention to her behavior and especially

  • reprimanding her will cause Ella to resist and engage in power struggles with the teacher.

  • Ella's academic skills are generally below averageher reading skills are well below

  • the other students and she is clearly embarrassed by reading aloud in class. Her math skills

  • are stronger, but as word problems are becoming more common, her reading skills get in the

  • way. Ella has good social skills, so you suspect that she can fool you and the others into

  • thinking she knows an assignment she really doesn't understand. Recently, you've noticed

  • that Ella's become more vocal in her defiance when asked to return to her seat and you worry

  • that she could become a real behavior problem. Ella's parents are strong supporters of the

  • school and are happy to be involved with working with you on Ella's problems.

  • The second scenario is Mr. Jones, a 6th grade teacher who finished his student teaching

  • a year ago. He is approaching the end of this first year of teaching and is concerned about

  • the general state of chaos in his classroom. It seems as if he has to send a constant stream

  • of students to the office despite repeated harsh warnings to them. He is worried about

  • making it through his probationary period. His principal has visited his room twice and

  • both were days that students seemed disinterested and disengaged with his lessons. The principal

  • observed that the majority of students were off-task, passing notes, talking with each

  • other, and making hand gestures when Mr. Jones was looking at the his overhead presentation

  • on the screen. It was also observed that at least 60 percent of the students did not have

  • the math text on their desk. The problems were more common in the back of the room where

  • the principal was observing. The principal asked Mr. Jones what he thought the reasons

  • were that students who were successful in previous classes were suddenly having problems

  • with his class. Mr. Jones is searching for answers to improve the behavior in his classroom.

  • Analysis

  • Although the goal of teaching is to establish an environment in which children can learn,

  • as the two scenarios have shown, students often engage in behavior that distracts themselves

  • and others from that task. Mild or serious disruptions can range from simply failing

  • to do assigned work through bothering or bullying others, to severe aggression towards classmates

  • and the teacher. The case of Ella is fairly typical of the types of mild student disruptions

  • a teacher is likely to encounter in class; however, there is rarely only one problem

  • when a child is misbehaving. Understanding how these problems fit together and what causes

  • them can ultimately provide insights into how to intervene.

  • Think about the case of Mr. Jones. Here is a situation where the teacher contributes

  • to the chaotic state of the classroom. A conversation with Mr. Jones quickly reveals that he is

  • questioning his competence to teach. Fortunately, classroom management, the ability to handle

  • and reduce student misbehavior, is a skill that can be learned by Mr. Jones or any other

  • teacher.

  • Classrooms are complex environments. When students enter a new classroom at the beginning

  • of the year, they bring with them varied previous school experiences and widely differing home

  • histories. Likewise, as the teacher, you enter the classroom with a set of expectations and

  • a history of experience working with children.

  • Even the most skilled teachers struggle sometimes with classroom management. Clearly, there

  • are some students whose behavior would pose a problem in any classroom. For the majority

  • of students, however, behavior can be shaped by appropriate and skilled classroom management.

  • The purpose of this module is to introduce a set of skills that enable teachers to establish

  • and maintain a classroom in which the amount of time students spend actively engaged in

  • learning is maximized, while disruptions are minimized.

  • Overview

  • This module will provide an introduction to ways of identifying and understanding classroom

  • management problems. We will begin by looking at Mr. Jones's whole class situation first

  • because understanding how classroom management affects the entire class is critical before

  • one can hope to make sense of an individual case such as Ella's. By examining Mr. Jones's

  • situation we will illustrate various aspects of instructional and management strategies

  • that set the context for student behaviors. Then we will look at Ella's case to provide

  • strategies in defining the problem(s) when the problem is primarily an individual one.

  • That section will begin with a review of some strategies that have shown to be counterproductive

  • in dealing with student behavior problems and then will follow up with considerations

  • of teacher attention, Functional Behavior Assessment and Individual Behavior Plansstrategies

  • that can be used when an individual level of intervention is necessary. Ultimately,

  • in order to be effective, teachers need both an understanding of how to structure their

  • class to maximize learning for all students and specific skills to deal with individual

  • students.

  • Classroom Management Defined

  • Classroom management can be defined as a collection of teaching strategies that promote the self-regulation

  • of behavior by students, in order to enable them to take maximum advantage of the available

  • learning time. Our ultimate goal is to encourage and motivate each student to be fully engaged

  • in the learning task, not to focus on misbehavior. If the focus is on misbehavior, a behavior

  • vacuum is created - the targeted problem may decrease, but is often replaced by another

  • undesirable behavior. However, by increasing appropriate behaviors, simultaneously problem

  • behaviors decrease. When students are fully engaged in learning they are not distracting

  • others from learning or causing the teacher to stop teaching.

  • A note on self-regulation. Ideally, teachers should not have to spend their time telling

  • students what they should be doing, but rather students need to internalize teachers' expectations

  • so they can be independent learners. The overall focus of this module is on moving from reacting

  • to student misbehavior to preventing student misbehavior.

  • Part 1: Classroom management strategies for preventing misbehavior

  • What could Mr. Jones have done differently to improve his classroom situation? There

  • are a variety of well-tested strategies that can increase most students' engagement with

  • learning tasks while reducing the likelihood of problem behaviors.

  • This section of the module begins with a description of the physical layout and instructional and

  • curricular strategies that set a context for a well-managed classroom. The next section

  • examines strategies for communicating expectations for classroom behavior through rules and procedures.

  • Finally, a three tiered model of prevention will be highlighted as a framework to conceptualize

  • efforts to promote an effective learning community.

  • Aspects of Classroom Management

  • There are a number of ways in which effective teachers structure their classrooms, their

  • instruction, their curriculum, and their rules and procedures to maximize the likelihood

  • of a positive and effective learning climate. In this section, we will review those findings

  • in the areas of:

  • 1. Physical Arrangement of the Classroom 2. Characteristics of Instruction

  • 3. Student Interaction with Curriculum

  • For each area, we provide a set of questions that can help you in evaluating and perhaps

  • restructuring your own classroom to create the optimum environment for learning.

  • Classroom Physical Arrangements

  • Imagine a classroom where it is difficult for students and teachers to find assignments,

  • desks and tables are haphazardly arrayed, and traffic does not flow smoothly. It is

  • easy to see how inappropriate behavior could be generated as students wander around in

  • confusion or bump into each other.

  • Mr. Jones for instance, agreed with the principal that the problems were worse in the part of

  • the classroom that was furthest from his desk. Simply restructuring the room can be very

  • beneficial. Relative to the physical arrangement of the room, we could ask the following questions:

  • How does the seating arrangement promote or inhibit classroom interaction? Can the students

  • see the teacher or do they have to move their chairs or turn their desks in order to do

  • so?

  • How does the seating arrangement promote or inhibit students' interaction with each other?

  • How does the arrangement of students' desks and work space accommodate normal traffic

  • patterns? When they turn in homework/seatwork? When they gather and put away materials that

  • are used frequently?

  • What is displayed on the walls of the classroom? Do the materials displayed contribute to a

  • sense of community in the class? Are class rules posted?

  • The layout that seems to be most functional is one where all the students face the teacher.

  • This arrangement will be best for classroom flow in most situations. However in some cases,

  • small clusters of desks facing each other can be useful if the students are working

  • collaboratively in small groups. It is up to the teacher to determine the most productive

  • classroom design based upon their individual teaching style and instructional activities

  • – a teachers who regularly employs group work may prefer clusters while a teacher who

  • favors individualized instruction may find the separate desks most dynamic.

  • Characteristics of Instruction

  • Imagine looking out at your class and seeing nothing but glazed over eyes, blank stares

  • out the window or fidgety movements in chairs. That image is something teachers dread. Mr.

  • Jones experienced this during his math lessons when the majority of students were off-task,

  • passing notes, socializing with each other, and making hand gestures when they thought

  • he could not see. What suggestions would you make for Mr. Jones that would help him engage

  • his students?

  • Questions to consider concerning the characteristics of instruction that predict better student

  • attention are:

  • How are lessons introduced? Are students given a "preview" of what is to be covered through

  • advanced organizers? Are prerequisite concepts or previously covered material reviewed?

  • Did the teacher capture and keep student attention with humor and enthusiasm?

  • Does the pace of the lesson provide appropriate challenge for all students?

  • Is there a high level of student response in the lesson? How were the students motivated

  • to become engaged in the lesson?

  • Are there smooth transitions between activities?

  • This knowledge comes from hundreds of observed classroom teachers who promoted the highest

  • levels of achievement and the lowest levels of disruption in their classroom. The teachers

  • that best kept their students on track exhibited behaviors such as clearly telling students

  • what they were about to cover and reviewing previous concepts as they introduced their

  • lesson. Those teachers also worked to capture and keep student attention through enthusiasm,

  • the use of humor, and a well-paced lesson. Among the most important discoveries from

  • this research was that the more students were actively engaged in a lessonthrough the

  • pacing of questions and answers or through hands-on learningthe more they actually

  • learned from the lesson. You may have noticed that from your own classroom experiences.

  • Have you experienced disturbances in classroom flow when changing from one topic or activity

  • to the next? Studies have shown that more than 30 transitions can occur in a day in

  • a classroom, accounting for approximately 15% of classroom time. Making transitions

  • planned and organized can be an important aspect to creating a smoothly functioning

  • learning environment.

  • Student Interaction with Curriculum

  • Children and youth are by nature active and energetic. If they cannot understand the academic

  • material put in front of them, a natural response will be to put their energy and attention

  • elsewhere. Each teacher can recall students who get frustrated with their school work

  • and end up distracting themselves or others.

  • Thus, it is important to find out if the material being presented is at a level that students

  • can understand. Due to a range of abilities and skills among students, this understanding

  • is highly specific to the individual. It is very valuable to ask students how much of

  • their assignments they clearly understand. The answers may surprise you and can often

  • provide a key to better instruction for students who are having difficulty. Potential questions

  • to ask students are:

  • What was the assignment?

  • What materials/books were you supposed to have for this assignment?

  • What are the rules that the teacher wants you to follow?

  • If you are working in groups, what is each person's role?

  • On this particular problem, how did you get that answer?

  • Where do you turn in your assignment?

  • What are you supposed to do after you finish this assignment?

  • Do you think this work is something you can do? Is it too hard? Too easy?

  • If you can't do it, what kind of help do you need?

  • What happens after math each day?

  • We know that students learn best when work is appropriately challenging. Asking students,

  • especially those who are having difficulty, how well they understand what their assignment

  • was, what materials they need to complete it, or how they need to complete it, can provide

  • insights into any breakdowns in their learning. Asking specific questions, such as how they

  • got an answer or if they understand what the question is asking, provides an opportunity

  • to assess their comprehension of classroom processes.

  • There is a strong relationship between academic failure and misbehavior. Constantly monitoring

  • the extent to which assignments and instruction are understood is an important method of preventing

  • classroom disruption. Although it may be unrealistic to assess all students' understanding on a

  • frequent basis, a sample of students can be interviewed to make sure most students understand

  • the material.

  • In order for a student to benefit from your instruction, three things must occur. First,

  • as just noted, the student must have the prerequisite skills and knowledge to complete the lesson.

  • Second, the student must be motivated to accomplish the task. Finally, there must be adequate

  • time allocated for the student to complete the task successfully. A breakdown at any

  • of these three points can lead to student disengagement from academic tasks, and increase

  • the probability of inappropriate or disruptive behavior.

  • Teaching the Social Curriculum: Expectations, Rules, and Procedures

  • In every school and classroom an implicit social curriculum acts as a guide for student

  • behavior throughout the school day. The details of that social curriculum are unique to each

  • teacher and classroom: from the way each teacher chooses to decorate the classroom, to the

  • schedule of the day.

  • How do you introduce your social curriculum to your new students? Teachers present their

  • own social curriculum to students in the form of hundreds of interactions per day, and in

  • their verbal explanations, rules, and associated consequences. Thoroughly explaining your rules

  • and expectations is very important for students and it is beneficial to the classroom to spend

  • a lot of time on it at the beginning of the year. Classroom and school rules, especially

  • when written, function as an explicit outline for students of classroom expectations. Students

  • also learn about teacher expectations on a daily basis through the responses they receive

  • for positive and inappropriate behavior. In a well-run classroom, these three components

  • work together to teach students how they should behave in order to succeed in the classroom.

  • In less well-managed classrooms and schools, inconsistency among expectations, rules, and

  • consequences makes figuring out the social curriculum more difficult, and may even give

  • students conflicting messages about the appropriate way to behave in a given classroom or school

  • situation. Disciplinary responses that are inconsistent with written rules or unfair

  • to certain students may give students the message that they do not need to pay attention

  • to posted rules, since what the teacher says is not the same as what she does.

  • For example, one of the authors of this module once observed a resource room with the posted

  • rule: "Raise hand before speaking." Yet the teacher in that room also appreciated spontaneous

  • discussion, and as the discussion became more animated she would allow students to speak

  • freely without first raising their hands. When the teacher noticed the discussion becoming

  • unruly, she reminded students of the rule, at which point they returned to raising their

  • hands. In contrast to the written rule, then, the implicit rule that students had apparently

  • learned was: "Raise hand before speaking, unless we are having a really good discussion."

  • In the following sections, we will explore setting and following through on expectations,

  • rules, and procedures, so that students receive a consistent message about the social curriculum.

  • The Importance of Setting Expectations Early

  • Wong emphasizes the importance for teachers to establish expectations for students in

  • the classroom, especially at the beginning of the year. The first week of class is essential

  • to molding the group of individuals who make up a class into a cohesive learning community.

  • Establishing a set of rules is a critical step toward creating a classroom where students

  • respect each other and pursue learning. During the first days and weeks of class the students

  • do a great deal of observational learning: watching how the teacher responds to students,

  • learning what the teacher pays attention to and what is ignored. Based on their observations

  • they make judgments about how they will behave.

  • Number and Form of Rules

  • What should you consider when creating rules for your classroom? How many do you usually

  • have? Most classroom management experts recommend not more than three to six general rules.

  • If the list is longer, the students will have difficulty learning and integrating the rules.

  • The rules should be clearly and positively stated', e.g., Respect others, Be on time,

  • and Be prepared. There is a difference between "Respect others" and "Do not interrupt the

  • teacher or a student when speaking." All students regardless of education level will benefit

  • from clearly stated and posted positive rules.

  • The Importance of Teaching Classroom rules

  • It is also important to explain the rules of the classroom to your students. All students

  • have different experiences and histories and as a result might not understand how to behave

  • in the new class or might come from a home or community where rules are inconsistently

  • enforced or regularly changed. Likewise each teacher enters the classroom with a different

  • set of expectations and experiences. It is the teacher's responsibility to make sure

  • the students understand the rules in his or her classroom. This often means repeating

  • rules for students, working with students to clarify their understanding, and perhaps

  • even using some type of formal or informal assessment to see if students' understanding

  • of classroom rules matches that of the teacher.

  • How to Establish Rules

  • There are different schools of thought regarding how one should go about establishing classroom

  • rules. Marshall prefers to use the term, "expectations" instead of rules because it has more of a

  • positive connotation. Marshall believes that student-teacher and student-student interactions

  • should promote internal self-discipline, not just compliance.

  • Marshall lists six expectations he used in his classroom.

  • 1. Do my tasks 2. Have materials

  • 3. Be where I belong 4. Control myself

  • 5. Follow directions 6. Speak considerately

  • These are good expectations (or rules) because they are brief, there are not too many, and

  • they cover many classroom situations.

  • Rules vs. Procedures

  • What is the difference between rules and procedures? Marshall suggests that "procedures" have more

  • specificity than expectations or rules. For example, a science teacher would teach procedures

  • for handling materials in a lab. Procedures refer to routines that occur on a daily or

  • frequent basis. Consider the following examples of procedures.

  • Homework is always deposited in the basket on the right corner of the teacher's desk.

  • Each day's assignments are written on the whiteboard to the left of the teacher's desk.

  • Students that are absent may consult the 3-ring notebook next to the homework basket on the

  • teacher's desk.

  • Each homework assignment is dated and placed in the homework binder. (More technologically

  • advanced schools/teachers also post homework assignments on the Internet so they may be

  • easily retrieved from home).

  • One person may go to the restroom at a time. The wooden pass is kept by the coat rack and

  • must be returned to that spot when the student returns to the classroom.

  • Once the students learn the procedures, you won't need to give instructions for each occurrence.

  • Primary Prevention Model: Preventing Classroom Behavior Problems

  • Prevention is the key to developing classroom management systems that maximize student engagement

  • and minimize student misbehavior. The more we can prevent misbehavior from occurring,

  • the less inappropriate or disruptive behavior we will have to react to. However, determining

  • which prevention techniques to use can be difficult due to the varying degrees of behavioral

  • problems.

  • In the field of mental health and school violence prevention, a framework known as the primary

  • prevention model has been widely accepted as a means of organizing our interventions.

  • The model deals with a range of problems and attends to them at three levels simultaneously:

  • the universal, selected and intensive levels. At the primary prevention or universal level,

  • interventions are targeted at all students. An example is conflict resolution, where students

  • learn how to avoid conflict and violence. At the secondary prevention or selected level,

  • we attempt to identify students who may be at-risk for emotional or behavioral problems

  • and involve them in programs such as mentoring in order to re-engage them in schooling. Tertiary

  • prevention or intensive level interventions are directed at students who are already engaged

  • in disruptive or violent behavior.

  • Universal prevention

  • Establishing appropriate expectations and consistent routines is a universal prevention

  • strategy that will substantially decrease classroom management problems. The effort

  • is directed at all of the class members, making the prevention universal. All students benefit

  • from clear presentation and occasional reminders of the classroom rules and expectations.

  • Secondary/selected prevention strategies

  • At this level, students at risk of behavior problems are identified individually so that

  • they can be administered assistance before a problem occurs. Response to Intervention

  • (RTI) is a strategy designed to identify students who are at risk for falling behind in reading,

  • written language or mathematics. For example, frequent assessment with Curriculum-Based

  • Measurement is used to identify 15-20 percent of class members who are struggling with reading.

  • If you recall the case of Ella, the disruption that she caused in class was mainly due to

  • her inability to do the work because of her low reading level. As reading is one of the

  • foundational skills for children's success in most subject areas, targeting those students

  • who are struggling in reading permits them to receive the needed additional instruction.

  • As noted above, although one may not think of academic interventions as "classroom management,"

  • providing curricular materials that are neither too easy nor too difficult clearly contributes

  • to a classroom in which students are engaged in learning.

  • Other secondary prevention strategies include those described by Jacob Kounin for catching

  • classroom problems before they develop into larger more difficult confrontations. Have

  • you ever experienced a class situation that escalated very quickly, such as a disruptive

  • student who gets other students involved in the disruption? Kounin believed that in order

  • to prevent those situations, the problems should be stopped at the source. He analyzed

  • videotapes of classrooms to identify strategies used by teachers who experienced minimal behavior

  • difficulties while teaching.

  • Kounin used the term "withitness" to describe teachers that had a hypersensitive awareness

  • of what was going on in their classrooms. These teachers were constantly monitoring

  • the behavior of all their students.

  • "Overlapping," or doing two things at once while teaching, was another behavior that

  • was characteristic of those teachers with the fewest behavior problems. Through the

  • use of overlapping, these teachers were able to continue whole-class instruction while

  • simultaneously noticing when and where students were beginning to show signs of a struggle.

  • The teacher's physical proximity to the students would inconspicuously calm the situation.

  • Suppose your class was divided into a few smaller groups for a group project. In order

  • to still have control over the class, you would always have your eye on the rest of

  • the class even when working with an individual group.

  • Tertiary/Intensive Intervention

  • Despite the presence of the most extensive primary and secondary prevention strategies

  • however, there will always be some students who will engage in inappropriate or disruptive

  • classroom behavior. It is important to have a set of tertiary or intensive intervention

  • strategies available for coping with classroom disruptions that may arise unexpectedly. In

  • the second half of this presentation, Interventions for Individual Student Behavior Problems,

  • we will present a variety of such tertiary strategies.

  • Part II: Inteventions for Individual Student Behavior Problems

  • The first half of this module presented a set of management skills. Now we will discuss

  • some intervention techniques you can use in your classroom.

  • Through appropriate use of physical space, engaging instruction, curriculum matched to

  • student abilities, and setting rules and expectations, you can alleviate a large proportion of classroom

  • misbehavior.

  • What happens, though, when misbehavior does not go away? What can you do? Classroom behavior

  • management involves being prepared to deal with any disruption and misbehavior at the

  • classroom level and promoting self-regulation for each student. We will now discuss teacher

  • attention strategies, functional behavioral assessment, and individual interventions for

  • students exhibiting more consistent or serious behavior problems.

  • What Does NOT Work for Improving Classroom Behavior

  • Depending on your teaching style, classroom management strategies will vary. Some approaches

  • are more successful than others. We start here with some of the unsuccessful ways to

  • handle misbehavior such as: the use of extinction (or ignoring inappropriate behavior), reliance

  • on harsh or punitive disciplinary approaches, and intense emotional responses to student

  • behaviors.

  • One ineffective strategy that is attempting to completely ignore inappropriate classroom

  • behavior, the technical term is extinction. For many students, especially older students,

  • attention from peers can be more rewarding than attention from the teacher. Because of

  • this, many students might be disruptive in order to test the limits. If a student continues

  • to engage in behavior that violates the rules, procedures, and expectations of the classroom

  • without a response from the teacher, both that student and other students in the class

  • will pick up on that. Just as you notice your students' behavior, they will notice yours.

  • Another unsuccessful approach stems from the belief that student behavior can be controlled

  • at the classroom or school level solely by "getting tough." Many schools and school districts

  • in the past 10 to 15 years have adopted zero tolerance strategies, using increasingly harsh

  • consequences like suspension and expulsion for increasingly minor misbehavior in order

  • to send a message that misbehavior of any kind will not be tolerated. The data, however,

  • have shown that such procedures are for the most part ineffective and often lead to over-representation

  • of students of color in school punishments. Similarly, at the classroom level, a teacher

  • may believe he or she can "send a message" to students by responding to misbehavior with

  • harsh disciplinary tactics (e.g., sarcasm, calling a student out in front of peers) or

  • overuse of office referrals. Although such tactics may appear to work in the short term,

  • in the long term they can backfire. Harsh interpersonal tactics may lead students to

  • lose respect for the teacher and discourage cooperation. In addition, the overuse of office

  • referrals shifts the responsibility for managing the classroom to the office, ultimately sending

  • the message to students that the teacher is not in control of the classroom.

  • Have you ever felt like completely breaking down after a long, frustrating day of teaching?

  • If so, then you know that disruptive behavior can be very upsetting. However, it is important

  • to avoid personalizing classroom management responses through drawn-out emotional interactions.

  • However tempting it is, venting emotions in your classroom will only leave you more frustrated.

  • It takes away time and energy from the lesson at hand, and can create personal power struggles

  • with individual students. Instead, directions and corrections to students should be delivered

  • in as brief, unemotional, and consistent a manner as possible. In the long term, depersonalizing

  • behavior management interactions directs students away from a personal power struggle with the

  • teacher and focuses their attention on learning the posted expectations, rules, and procedures.

  • In the following sections, the module describes more effective approaches to intervening with

  • student behavior problems, including shifting teacher attention, functional behavioral assessment,

  • and strategies for intervention with more intensive behavior problems.

  • The Importance of Teacher Attention

  • Can you think back to a class you either taught or were in where the students excessively

  • needed the teacher's attention? There are a variety of reasons for seeking attention

  • in the classroom. Some students have learned that the only method for getting such attention

  • is through negative behaviors. Bringing this experience with them, such students may well

  • attempt to get teacher attention primarily through negative behavior.

  • The Importance of Positive Teacher Attention

  • Imagine one of your students was misbehaving. Would you find it difficult to avoid focusing

  • your attention on that student? Can you think of some problems that might result from giving

  • that student your attention? Vance Hall, a researcher on classroom management, found

  • that it is not uncommon (and is perhaps "natural") to pay increased attention to students who

  • are misbehaving, in an attempt to get them to stop. The trouble with such an approach

  • is that students may be reinforced by such attention, learning that they can get their

  • teacher's attention through negative behavior. If such a pattern continues, other students

  • will likely learn that they too can get the teacher's attention by calling out, getting

  • out of their chairs, or bothering each other. Over time, paying attention only to misbehavior

  • and disruption can spiral into chaos, as a teacher spends a greater and greater percentage

  • of time "putting out fires." Allowing such a pattern to escalate can destroy the classroom

  • dynamic.

  • How can we break this cycle? One of the best ways to change this pattern is to shift the

  • focus to noticing or rewarding those students who are doing the task they were assigned.

  • Such attention should be as specific as possible, "I like the way Joan has her book open and

  • her eyes on me." Such an approach, termed "praise and ignore" or differential reinforcement,

  • can be extremely effective in general classroom settings.

  • A Continuum of Teacher Responses

  • For some students, however, stronger messages may be necessary. These slides present a continuum

  • of strategies for preventing behavioral escalation in the classroom. At the top are strategies

  • covered in the first half of the module, such as effective instruction and teacher awareness.

  • As misbehavior continues, unaffected by prevention, the list presents a continuum of progressively

  • more intrusive options. Since more intrusive strategies will disrupt the lesson to a greater

  • extent, however, the goal is to choose the least intrusive option that will be effective

  • in re-engaging the offending student. As the teacher, you can begin with the use of praise

  • for appropriate behavior or praise coupled with ignoring.

  • Prevention through Effective Instruction

  • Develop engaging instructional activities Make rules and procedures clear

  • Generate meaningful tasks geared to students' instructional level

  • Use humor and enthusiasm

  • Nonverbal Cues and Teacher Awareness

  • Clearing one's throat immediately following the misbehavior, without looking at the offending

  • student Changing tone, inflection, and volume of the

  • "teacher" voice slightly Making eye contact

  • Teacher withitness and overlapping Proximity (moving close to a student)

  • Placing light hand on shoulder of student misbehaving

  • Praising Correct Behavior Incompatible with Misbehavior

  • "Catching 'em being good

  • Praising Other Students

  • Ignoring misbehavior and praise appropriate behavior

  • Praising the behavior you're hoping for Praising others whose behavior changes positively

  • Verbal Reminders

  • Saying the student's name while continuing with instruction

  • Giving reminders about appropriate behavior immediately after misbehavior  

  • Stating what students should do  Focusing on the behavior rather than on the

  • student 

  • Repeated Reminders

  • Response to "testing" "Broken record strategy"

  • Avoid argument

  • Applying Consequences

  • Removing misbehaving student from activity he or she likes, lose a privilege

  • Consequences should be mildly unpleasant, short in duration, immediate

  • Certainty of consequences is more important than severity 

  • Follow through on ensuring that consequences are received, but then it is important to

  • let go of any grudge

  • What is the next step if prevention strategies or positive teacher attention fail to engage

  • the students who are misbehaving? You would move to the use of verbal reminders, such

  • as saying the student's name or direct reminders. Such reminders should focus on the directions

  • being given ("Josh, please open your book") rather than on an emotional confrontation

  • with the student ("Josh, you never listen! How many times do I need to tell you to open

  • your book?").

  • Have you ever witnessed a student who appears to be non-compliant just to be difficult?

  • A useful strategy for students who may appear to be "testing the limits" is giving repeated

  • reminders, sometimes called the "broken record strategy." In this case, the teacher simply

  • repeats the request, in the same non-emotional tone, in the face of student non-compliance

  • or verbal resistance:

  • Teacher: Josh, please open your math book to page 43.

  • Josh: Yeah, wait a minute, I've just gotta do one thing.

  • Teacher: Josh, please open your math book to page 43.

  • Josh: Yeah, yeah, geez you're so impatient! Teacher: Josh, please open your math book

  • to page 43. Josh: OK, OK. (Pulls out math book and finds

  • page 43).

  • Through the judicious use of this strategy, the teacher shows Josh that non-compliance

  • or resistance will not make the request disappear, and that eventually - he will have to respond.

  • Consequences for Behavior

  • What happens if the behavior becomes more severe and keeps escalating? This situation

  • may require consequences for the student's behavior that he or she has never had to deal

  • with before. While it is important not to overuse consequences, it is also important

  • to have responses planned and in place for serious disruption or defiance; otherwise,

  • students learn that rules will not be enforced. To be most effective, a continuum of possible

  • consequences should be available that can be geared to the seriousness of the offense.

  • In general, the severity of the consequence is less important than whether the student

  • learns that failure to follow the rules will result in a certain consequence.

  • A possible continuum might include several options, ranging from least to most intrusive:

  • Name on board. "Time-out" in back of classroom

  • Send student to another classroom Lose free time or recess time

  • Contact parents Send to office for further action (e.g. detention,

  • suspension)

  • Whenever possible, consequences should be planned beforehand, not improvised in the

  • heat of the moment. This will ensure that the consequences are fair, objective, and

  • structured. Behavioral researchers have emphasized that consequences can create side-effects

  • (e.g., anger or desire for escape) in some students, so it is helpful when using consequences

  • to work with colleagues to help define those consequences and the situations under which

  • they will be applied. When a special behavioral program involving consequences is implemented,

  • time should be taken to teach the student exactly what those are. Your students should

  • know what to expect. As noted above, consequences should be delivered in as brief and unemotional

  • manner as possible.

  • Finally, it is important not to hold a grudge in administering consequences. Once a student

  • has received whatever consequence has been administered, it is important to welcome that

  • student back into the classroom community. Such a perspective is difficult to take on

  • with some students, but it helps keep all students engaged and prevents certain students

  • from establishing a reputation with their peers as "bad" or "the troublemaker."

  • Intervention Plan: Functional Behavior Assessment

  • Some students' behavior problems continue over long periods of time, occur in multiple

  • settings, or may escalate into serious disruptions or even violence. For these students, a more

  • comprehensive intervention approach will be necessary. The first step in designing an

  • intervention plan is conducting a Functional Behavior Assessment. Functional Behavior Assessment

  • provides teachers with a technology that addresses the most common question that comes to mind

  • in the face of challenging behavior, "Why is he or she doing that?"

  • Think about the various reasons students misbehave in classrooms. What comes to mind? Some students

  • might misbehave in order to escape work they cannot do. For instance, Ella, whose reading

  • skills are not adequately developed comprehend written math problems, will be unable to solve

  • those problems. Wandering around the room, talking with others, even physically disturbing

  • classmates, may seem like good alternatives to sitting still and completing work he or

  • she "knows" cannot be done.

  • Another rationale for misbehavior is to obtain attention from the teacher and/or peers. Once

  • Ella has started wandering around the room, the attention she gets from the teacher and

  • other students may motivate her to continue that behavior or even accelerate it. When

  • a student is misbehaving in order to get attention, it may be possible to change the misbehavior

  • by making sure a student is rewarded for positive rather than negative behaviors.

  • Functional Behavior Assessment (FBA) provides a vehicle to understand an individual's rationale

  • for misbehavior. The goal of FBA is to develop hypotheses as to the reasons for the behavior.

  • The foundations for FBA are found in the science of applied behavior analysis. The assumptions

  • of FBA include: 1) all behaviors, even misbehavior, serve some purpose for the student; 2) behavior

  • is best understood within its context or situation; and 3) past behavior is a good predictor of

  • future behavior.

  • ABC Analysis

  • The foundation for functional behavior assessment is what is known as the A-B-C analysis, for

  • Antecedent-Behavior-Consequence.

  • Antecedents are also known as setting events, while the consequences that maintain the behavior

  • are often spoken of in terms of the "function" of behavior.

  • Antecedents (Setting Events)

  • In FBA, when and where the behavior occurs and does not occur is very important. Antecedent

  • events may be broken into two categories, slow and fast triggers. Slow triggers or distal

  • setting events are situations that may set the stage for the problem behavior, but do

  • not result in immediate behavioral issues. For example, a troubled family situation with

  • intense marital fighting and multiple separations places a child at-risk for increased emotional

  • and behavioral problems. In this case the antecedent is a slow trigger, because the

  • child's behavioral reactions may or may not be exhibited immediately.

  • Fast triggers, on the other hand, are immediate and are close in time to problem behavior.

  • For example, every time a fifth-grade boy is teased, he hits or kicks a classmate. Since

  • the behavior occurs immediately afterward, we term the antecedent a proximal setting

  • event or a fast trigger. Other antecedents to explore in this portion of the analysis

  • might be type of assignment (e.g., paper-and-pencil, lecture), subject area (e.g., reading, social

  • studies, recess), or social arrangements (e.g., with peers vs. alone).

  • Behavior

  • In order to best understand the behavior, the behavior must be described as specifically

  • as possible. Stating that Thomas is aggressive does not enable one to develop a plan, since

  • the aggression could be physical or verbal or some mixture, and could range in form from

  • angry glares to life threatening assault. Therefore, a number of questions should be

  • answered in describing the behavior: What does it look like? How long does it last?

  • Are there different variations of the behavior (e.g., hitting and kicking)? How intense is

  • the behavior? The more detailed the description of the behavior, the better it can be understood

  • and more easily modified.

  • Consequences (Function of Behavior)

  • The functional assessment paradigm assumes that students engage in behaviors because

  • there is a reinforcement, or payoff, for doing so. Ella may wander around the room because

  • she has learned that it gets her out of work that she perceives as too difficult for her.

  • Josh may act like the class clown because he has learned that he can always get the

  • attention from peers he craves by doing so. Thomas may hit other students because it keeps

  • them afraid of him and keeps him in control. These reinforcers direct our attention to

  • the function of the behavior; that is, what type of payoff does the student receive from

  • maintaining this behavior. What situations have you had or can you imagine that are similar?

  • Behavior can allow either access to certain outcomes (e.g., attention, control or the

  • situation) or escape from some part of the situation that is perceived as negative (e.g.,

  • classwork, individuals).

  • Conducting a Functional Assessment

  • If a student in your classroom consistently generates classroom problems in a number of

  • situations or settings, and those problems are severe enough to regularly take time away

  • from other students, a functional assessment and development of a behavior plan may be

  • in order. It is likely that some personnel in your building, such as the school psychologist,

  • special education teacher, or behavioral consultant, have been trained in and regularly conduct

  • functional behavioral assessments. In working collaboratively with other professionals,

  • the FBA enables you to better understand the behavior and develop more effective interventions.

  • The following slide summarizes the steps in conducting a functional assessment and designing

  • a behavior plan.

  • 1. Define the behavior.

  • What is the frequency, duration, intensity of the behavior?

  • Where and when do the behaviors occur? What happens before? after?

  • Can we identify "bad days" at the beginning of the day?

  • 2a. Identify the function and context of behavior

  • How does this student see the world? What function/need is being met by this behavior?

  • 2b. Identify replacement behaviors

  • Alternatives that meet the same need Functional for the student; reasonable for

  • the classroom

  • 3. Designing the Plan

  • Proactive instruction/planned consequences guide a transition from negative to pro-social

  • behavior How will opportunities to learn the social

  • curriculum be provided? What types of external structure or consequences

  • will be needed? How will these be faded?

  • Fading involves the reduction of a stimulus as the student's response stays the same.

  • A more familiar example from dog training involves teaching a dog to sit; starting with

  • a loud command and pushing him gently down. Gradually you can fade out the loud command

  • and only use a hand signal without touching the dog.

  • What types of support/staff training will be needed for this plan?

  • FBA Phase 1: Defining the Behavior and Its Context

  • In the first phase of functional assessment, teachers work with a consultant to define

  • the behavior and identify setting events and consequences that may be creating or maintaining

  • the behavior. Three types of measurement strategies are typically employed.

  • First, the school psychologist or consultant will interview the teacher, to gain a better

  • sense of the behavior and its context. Observations of the student's behavior are conducted, often

  • by the psychologist or consultant, but teachers may also wish to write down their own observations.

  • There are a variety of behavior sampling techniques. Third, FBA checklists, such as the Motivation

  • Assessment Scale may help provide a fuller picture of the behavior without a great investment

  • of time and effort.

  • FBA Phase 2: Hypothesis Development and Specification of Replacement Behavior

  • The process of functional assessment is at the core a process of hypothesis generation

  • and testing. Rather than simply reacting to inappropriate or disruptive behavior, we collect

  • data about the behavior and attempt to better understand the gap between what the student

  • is currently doing and what we expect her to do. Typically, data from interview, observation,

  • and checklist are used to generate hypotheses about maintaining causes and conditions in

  • two areas. First, what are the setting events or environmental conditions (e.g., individual

  • seatwork, playground, or classes right after lunch) that make the occurrence of the behavior

  • more likely? Second, what is the student getting out of behaving that way? Understanding the

  • motivation behind the act is essential in choosing the most appropriate intervention.

  • The ultimate goal of this phase is to specify a replacement behavior or behaviors that the

  • student will be taught. In order to be an effective replacement behavior, the behavior

  • should address the setting events, function, or skill identified in data collection. In

  • this phase, it is important to distinguish between instructional goals and replacement

  • behaviors. For a student who is often out of her seat because she frequently approaches

  • the teacher with questions, increased time in seat is an appropriate instructional goal;

  • it does not, however, represent a replacement behavior.

  • An appropriate replacement behavior, such as asking peers for help before approaching

  • the teacher, addresses the instructional and functional needs of the student in attempting

  • to reach the instructional goal. Ultimately, the end result of this phase is to identify

  • environmental and instructional changes needed to help the student better adapt to the classroom

  • environment. Can you think of any other replacement behaviors that you have heard of or have actually

  • used?

  • FBA Phase 3: Developing an Individual Behavior Plan (IBP)

  • Once we have developed hypotheses about the behavior and a replacement behavior, that

  • information is used to create an individual behavior plan to teach the skills and behaviors

  • that will improve student adaptation. If the behavior plan includes a description of consequences

  • for various behaviors (e.g., the first occurrence will result in a checkmark, the second loss

  • of five minutes of recess, the third a trip to the office), that sequence should be clearly

  • spelled out in the behavior plan. Keep in mind that overuse of consequences in dealing

  • with disruptive behavior can lead to fruitless power struggles in the classroom.

  • In addition to specifying consequences, the behavior plan must also specify how the replacement

  • behaviors are to be taught. Just as we use a variety of strategies--overviews, discussion,

  • modeling, practice and feedback - to teach academic subjects, a variety of instructional

  • approaches should be considered in designing an individual behavior plan.

  • If we are teaching a student a new routine to replace call-out behaviors with quietly

  • asking a peer for information, it is important to: a) teach the student the new routine,

  • b) model or practice the new strategy, c) check the student's understanding of the procedure,

  • d) make sure the student practices the strategy, and e) reinforce the student when he or she

  • engages in the new strategy. It is important to re-emphasize that the goal of any behavior

  • plan is not just to stop specific instances of misbehavior, but rather to help the student

  • learn new responses that will enable them to internalize behavioral control.

  • Strategies for Improving Classroom Behavior

  • A number of individual interventions are available for students whose behavior requires more

  • intensive programming. You can work with special education teachers, school psychologists,

  • or behavioral consultants to design such programs; the ultimate aim of such programs is to re-engage

  • disruptive students in classroom activities and curriculum, and assist them in moving

  • towards self-control. A few strategies are suggested on the following slides. These suggestions

  • are illustrative and should not be considered comprehensive. If you are interested in a

  • more extensive list of strategies, you can find an appendix of helpful sources on our

  • website near where you entered this module.

  • Reinforcement through token economies or behavioral contracting

  • Although the ultimate goal in behavioral programming is to encourage self-control, external reinforcers

  • are often helpful in getting students to re-engage if they have learned that schoolwork is something

  • to be avoided. Have you used any kind of external reinforcers to further engage your students?

  • If so, then you have created a token economy in your classroom. In token economies, a student

  • or students earn some kind of symbol (e.g., stickers, points, checkmarks) that can be

  • exchanged at the end of a week for items or activities that they find reinforcing. In

  • behavioral contracting, the teacher and student develop a paper contract specifying a reward

  • (e.g., extra free time, time to visit a favorite school staff member) in exchange for a given

  • amount of behavior (e.g., two chapters completed or four days with less than three call-outs.

  • In a token economy system, reinforcers are defined as those events or activities that

  • increase the likelihood of a behavior. Thus, reinforcers are highly individual-specific

  • and age-related. Although some students might view washing the board as a chore, for others

  • it might be the best reward imaginable, something they might be willing to do a lot of work

  • for. Also, the exchange should be developed with terms that are meaningful for students,

  • yet do not overburden the teacher. Although students may be unrealistic in expecting that

  • they will be able to get 10 minutes of free time for every math problem they complete,

  • it would also be unrealistic to expect students to be willing to work an entire week to receive

  • only 15 minutes of free time.

  • Home-school contracts or folders.

  • A specific form of contracting that involves the parents is called a home school contract

  • or home-school folder. In this intervention, students receive a folder or assignment sheet

  • that contains information on all their assignments. At the secondary school level, students may

  • carry the folder from class to class to help them organize across classes. The student

  • gets each teacher to initial assignments for the evening. At home, the parent or guardian

  • reviews the assignment sheet before the student begins her homework, and then signs off after

  • completion. If desired, the home-school folder can be made into a behavioral contract, stating

  • that a certain amount of completed work will result in a certain reinforcer (e.g., going

  • out to the movies). Depending on how technologically advanced the school is, the teacher also has

  • the option to create a site to do this online by posting assignments, forms and notes for

  • both students and parents to read and refer back to.

  • Self-monitoring.

  • You know how busy the classroom can get and that there is not a lot of time for you to

  • monitor the work completion of every student every day. Therefore self-monitoring is a

  • valuable method of implementing a behavioral intervention that requires less time and attention

  • from teachers. In self-monitoring of academics, students can monitor their own progress on

  • assignments, checking off assignments on a check sheet on their desk or in a folder.

  • In self-monitoring of behavior, students can count the number of times they engaged in

  • a positive or negative behavior on a check sheet or wrist counter. Studies have found

  • that students can be trained to be quite accurate if there is a periodic monitoring of the student's

  • and teacher's counts at the beginning of the program.

  • Again, reinforcers may be provided when a student has completed a certain level of work

  • or reached a certain level of appropriate behavior.

  • Discipline of Students with Disabilities

  • Students served in special education are guaranteed a free and appropriate public education under

  • the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA).

  • Federal and state special education laws define a separate set of procedures for discipline

  • of serious misbehavior of students with disabilities. That law intends to maintain a balance between

  • the need for safe school climates and the need to preserve disabled students' right

  • to an education under IDEA.

  • It is important to note that, up until 10 days of suspension or expulsion, students

  • with disabilities are subject to the same disciplinary procedures as other students.

  • It is a myth that federal and state law does not allow the discipline of special education

  • students. Once a student reaches 10 days of suspension or expulsion, however, certain

  • rules and safeguards apply. Some of IDEA's disciplinary provisions are:

  • Manifestation determination.

  • In order for a student with a disability to be removed from school past the 10 day limit,

  • it must be shown that the behavior in question is not a result of the student's disability.

  • A manifestation determination meeting is held to consider data pertaining to whether or

  • not this is the case. If the behavior in question is not due to the student's disability, that

  • student may be removed from school for the same amount of time that a non-disabled peer

  • would be removed.

  • Functional behavioral assessment/Individual behavior plan.

  • If the behavior in question is determined to be a function of the child's disability

  • and the child is to be removed more than 10 days, the team must conduct a functional behavioral

  • assessment plan and implement a behavioral intervention plan for the student.

  • * Removal to an Interim Alternative Education. For possession of drugs, weapons, or behavior

  • involving serious bodily injury, students with disabilities may be removed to an Interim

  • Alternative Educational Setting for a period up to 45 days.

  • This is not to say, however, that there will not be issues requiring additional attention

  • for students with disabilities. Students with emotional disabilities, will, by the nature

  • of their disability often exhibit a greater frequency and intensity of emotional and behavioral

  • problems. With such students, it is likely that more intensive individual interventions

  • will need to be put in place. Teachers should work with the special education teacher of

  • record, the school psychologists, or other personnel who specialize in behavioral issues,

  • to ensure that a behavioral intervention plan is in place if needed, and the effectiveness

  • of that plan is periodically monitored.

  • Finally, it is important to note that requirements regarding the implementation of a functional

  • behavioral assessment and behavioral intervention plan after 10 days suspension or expulsion

  • are a minimal requirement. For any student exhibiting consistent behavioral problems

  • that interfere with classroom instruction, whether disabled or not and regardless of

  • number of days of days of suspension, it is always a good idea to consult with the school

  • psychologist and other school professionals on whether a functional behavioral assessment

  • would be valuable in better addressing intensive behavioral issues.

  • For basic definitions of event, latency, and duration observation methods, see slides 12

  • to 43 in: http://cecp.air.org/present/ppt/CollectingDataWhileTeaching.ppt (Quinn, 2006).

"Practical Classroom Management: Class-wide and Individual Strategies"

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