Improve Student Behaviour by Improving Student Mood

(Today's post is a guest post from Rob Plevin, the creator of Needs-Focused Teaching His bio is at the end of this article. Thanks so much, Rob for a thought-provoking article! - Pat)

Did you know that there’s a simple way to improve behaviour in your classroom? It’s a little counter-intuitive to be honest and I must confess, as both a teacher and a parent, it took me quite a while to discover it. Like most adults I was usually concerned with achieving a particular aim – getting my students to work, my teenage son to remember where he lived at bedtime, and my young daughter to throw her tantrums at home instead of supermarket checkouts. So much so, that it almost did NOT dawn upon me that there is an inextricable link between mood and behaviour.

Think about this: how often have you seen a genuinely happy student causing mayhem in your lesson? I know your answer already. When kids are in a contented, relaxed mood, happily engaged and with their needs being met, they have neither reason nor inclination to reduce your lesson to chaos.

In some classrooms scenes of diligent students seem to be the norm; their teachers manage to draw the very best behaviour – textbook, you might say – from the most challenging, resistant kids in school. So how, you ask, is that?

Well, as one who has spent many years in schools as teacher, manager, coach, and trainer, I used to ask it too. I witnessed some incredible teachers and was always fascinated by the spells they seemed to cast – yes, at times it really did seem to be magic. What on earth was it these brilliant teachers do to get even the most challenging students on side?

The solution is absurdly simple: they make kids feel good. They make them laugh. They make them feel empowered. They make them feel capable. They make them feel understood, wanted, and valued. Most important of all, I think, they make them feel good about themselves.

The good news for you is that any teacher prepared to spend time tending to the emotional and social factors that influence learning can weave this magic. One way to achieve this is through certain classroom activities… ‘mood changers’, I call them. These can quickly help you create a classroom environment in which students feel safe, supported, and eager to participate. And, of course, non-disruptive.

High-energy activities, for example, generate movement, action, laughter, fun, excitement and interest. They can be used to start a session, to introduce a new topic or idea, or to invigorate a flagging group. The right high-energy activity can change the mood in a room very quickly and help instill a sense of excitement, engagement and focus.

Calming activities have the opposite effect, lowering the energy in your classroom by inviting students to settle down and quieten the ‘busyness’ of their minds a little. Brain scans show that the pattern of alpha waves generated when we are in a calm, relaxed state (as opposed to normal waking state beta waves) enhances learning, retention and recall.

Creative thinking activities bring bright ideas and challenges into the classroom, encouraging students to think creatively and help them develop skills that will be essential for success in both their personal and professional lives. Creative thinking helps students become more innovative and ‘think outside the box’. It allows them to approach tasks with a different perspective, thereby helping to boost their confidence and self-esteem.

Connection activities can be used to develop a sense of inclusion and community in your classroom. Students feeling that they are part of a safe, supportive and inclusive community are less likely to feel overwhelmed and isolated, more likely to participate and contribute in class, and to feel comfortable when asking for help. Connection also leads to improved social skills and helps develop a culture of respect and understanding. Students who feel valued and respected are more likely to treat their peers and teachers with the same kindness and respect.

Finally, we have focus activities. These help students concentrate on their work and avoid distractions. They promote the learning and retention of information, leading to improved test scores and overall academic performance. Perhaps the greatest benefit of helping students learn to focus is that it promotes the development of a ‘growth’ mindset. Students able to immerse themselves in a task and concentrate fully on their work can more easily embrace challenges and put in the effort to learn. Many studies have revealed that growth mindset has significant positive effects on behaviour, motivation and academic performance.

If I’ve done my job right, by now you’re thinking, ‘this all makes perfect sense, Rob, but where do I find such activities?’ Well, I’ve got you covered. My latest book ‘Change the Mood of the Noisy Class’ is jam-packed with 102 tried and tested activities to improve students’ mood and boost creativity, connection, and focus in your classroom; it also includes a bonus suite of downloadable resources and printables.

Get your copy by searching for ‘Change the Mood of the Noisy Class’ by Rob Plevin on Amazon and start transforming your classroom into a place where students love to learn!

Rob Plevin was a special-ed teacher and deputy head and has spent the last 15 years helping teachers, lecturers, parents, carers and youth workers to connect better with children. He provides free training and downloadable resources from his website at www.needsfocusedteaching.com.

A Fed Bear

“The NVIV (Next Vista Inspiring Video) series of posts are written by Rushton Hurley and designed to provide students and teachers with fascinating discussion prompts.”

In A Fed Bear, Rushton features large grizzlies to test bear-resistant products.

Rushton gives the following prompts to accompany this video:

“The bears in this video were lucky. Can you explain why it usually ends badly for the bear?

Have you ever seen someone do something that they thought would be something kind, but it turned into a kind of problem? How might you lessen the chance that something you do will have harmful unintended consequences?”

Many students don’t think about behaviors and their consequences. This is a great video to bring up this discussion. There are consequences to all of our actions but sometimes we don’t think about the unintended consequences.

Please check out the video and think of other prompts you might come up with. Please share.

Parental Controls

In Who is the better parent? From Blue Skunk Blog, Doug Johnson asks,

“Why does it seem that both sides of the political spectrum have lost faith in the ability of parents to raise children who are good people?”

My answer is - because we let them control us.

I remember years ago, an 18-year-old student in my class kept falling asleep. When my students sleep in my class, they have to stand up during class. When I called him, his grandmother (who was the one raising him) told me that she could not get him to go to bed and he played games all night long. She said that he listened to me and asked that I called him up every night and tell him to go to bed. Even though I was skeptical, I did call him up for a week at 10pm and told him to go to bed and go to sleep. His grandmother said that he listened to me. After that, I had a heart-to-heart talk with this young man and told him that he was an adult now and he needed to be responsible for himself. He knew what he was responsible for and didn’t need me to tell him when to go to bed. I never had a problem with him after that.

Years ago, teachers would get paid once a month for 12 months of the year, even though we didn’t work the summer months. Then the school district allowed teachers to get their summer pay early in a lump sum. I would take my money and buy a 30-day CD and a 60-day CD so that when they matured, I would pay myself and earn interest on the money I saved. Some teachers told me that there was no way they were going to get their money early because they would spend it all and then couldn’t pay their bills. I never understood that reasoning from a person who is teaching our young people how to be independent citizens in society! These teachers would rather let the district control their money rather than control it themselves.

We need to teach students to take control of their own lives and be responsible for their decisions. As long as people think it is easier to let others control everything, more of our freedoms will be taken away.

Noticing the Overlooked

Recently I read this statement (and I apologize because I can’t remember where):

"Always make the effort to notice what everyone else has overlooked or taken for granted. It’s the beginning of all creativity and innovation."

Sometimes it is the overlooked or the ones who were taken for granted who surprise us.

It is easy to pay attention to the noisy ones or the ones who are most disruptive. The saying, “the squeaky wheel gets the grease” is true but sometimes the quiet ones get overlooked.

My parents brought me up in a culture where it was important to be quiet and work hard to not be noticed. I went through all the years of public school and college trying to be this way.

When I became a teacher, I realized that this was not the best way to be. I started working hard to help students be self-advocates. It is during this time that I learned how creative and innovative the quiet ones can be. When some of the “noisy” ones needed help, I encouraged the “quiet” ones to be helpers.

I encouraged students to speak up and share ideas that they had. Brainstorming was encouraged and all students had an equal opportunity to share ideas without worry of ridicule. When everyone was able to work together, the students were more successful with their assignments and even seemed to feel happier.

I wanted to help all of my students be the “squeaky wheel” and get attention from me. It is too easy to put all my energy into the more disruptive students and be thankful that the quiet students aren’t sapping my energy. Instead, I tried to change the cycle and give more attention to the students acting appropriately. Eventually, the disruptive students started changing their behavior so that they could get my attention. By the end of the year, I like to think that all of my students felt comfortable speaking out, sharing ideas, and asking for help when needed.

How do you deal with students who are being overlooked? Please share.

Fidgeting

Another question, on an education forum that I participate in, was asked:

“Hi, I am a student teacher in a kindergarten classroom. A student in my classroom struggles with focusing and sitting still during class and tries to seek my and my cooperating teacher's attention during instructional times. She will call out in class and is unable to keep her body still, such as whipping her head around and stretching her legs and arms on the carpet. She also will touch anything around her such as her pencil box, basket, chairs around her, the carpet, and more. This is also a problem when the class goes to specials, as well as walking in the hallway. My teacher and I have tried providing her with a fidget tool however she did not use it properly so it was taken away from her. She distracts the students around her with her behaviors and her disruptions deprive the other students of their learning. We try to keep her seating close to us and use positive reinforcement with her as well. If anyone has any suggestions please let me know, thanks!”

As I’ve mentioned before, I think a token economy for the class would work effectively with this student and others. At first, you may have to really look hard to catch her acting appropriately but that is the time to reward her. Giving her frequent rewards at first may help her show appropriate behavior more often and then she can be weaned to more infrequent rewards. I would give all the students a blank index card with their names on it at the beginning of each day. I carry a hole puncher and each time I catch the students acting appropriately, they get a hole punched in their card. If students are acting inappropriately, I can decide to ignore it or circle one of the holes with a red pen. At the end of the day, we count how many holes are punched and subtract any circled hole to get the total reward points.

I would have a prize box set up so students can buy items with their points.

I would also try different fidget tools because not all of the tools are a one-size-fits-all type tool.

I have also used wobble stools that have helped active children. These were extremely helpful during whole-group instruction. I just made sure the stools were at the back of the group so they didn’t distract others.

Last, I would call the parents/caregivers to see if they see this behavior at home. If so, they may use strategies or tools that would also work in the classroom.

What advice would you give this teacher? Please share.

Out of Seat Behavior

Another question, on an education forum that I participate in, was asked:

“I am a secondary teacher in the EC setting. I have a student who is constantly displaying behaviors that are interrupting my class daily. He also find a reason to get out of his seat and also talk across the room during instruction. He has a BIP in place but nothing is really working for him. We have even modified his day due to all the major incidents that has happened. Some of the things I have tried is to give him choices, allow him to work then break for 10 mins, allowed him to access YouTube to listen to music, and choice of chips/drink/candy at the end of each week if he does well with his behavior cart. He also receives social skills during class time. Do you all have anymore suggestions on what I can do to help him be successful?”

Has a conference been held with this student to ask him why he is doing this? Has he had input into what would help him not exhibit this behavior? Has he given input into what rewards he would be willing to work for?

Many times I see teachers create a behavior plan that works for the teacher but not the student. At this age, the student should have input into a behavior plan and work towards self-monitoring his own behavior.

He might be getting out of his seat because he is anxious about the assignment. Is there a way to give him a visual schedule of what to expect during class? In my class, we had a regular routine and if the student knew what was going to happen, this helped lower his level of anxiety.

Also, I would start off with a more frequent reward rather than once a week. A daily goal and reward would help the student get into the habit of appropriate behavior. Eventually, he could be weaned to weekly rewards. If he starts off with a weekly reward and never earns it, he is set up for failure.

What advice would you give this teacher? Please share.

Dealing with Distractions

Recently on an education forum that I participate in, this question was asked:

“I am currently student teaching in a 2nd grade classroom with students who are easily distracted by any stimulus that is in or around the classroom. Adults coming into the room, students outside at recess, or noise in the hall are common distractions. I feel like I verbally redirect the students often, and depending on the day, it sometimes works and other times it does not. I am looking for non verbal cues or signals that might help redirect the students to get back on task. When the volume of the classroom is too loud from ongoing conversations, I am trying to not add to the chaos, instead find a calm manner to redirect the students.”

I have used a token economy where each student is given an index card with their name on it. Each time the students act appropriately, I would use a hole punch to mark their cards. You could also just use a pen and make a star or an initial instead. At the end of the day, students turn in their cards for a daily reward. Eventually, I would wean students off daily rewards and go to weekly rewards. This was a very effective technique and was successful with most of my students.

Another tool I use is headphones. These are available for all students. They can wear them so they don't hear a lot of noise to distract them. 

I also played a lot of soft music in the classroom while the students worked on assignments at their seats. This helped keep them from being distracted by other things happening around the room or other interruptions during class.   

What advice would you give this student teacher? Please share.

Acting Out Behaviors

Recently someone asked the following questions on an education forum that I participate in. I thought I would share my answer here.

“I am currently student teaching in a Kindergarten classroom. I have a student who often acts out for my attention, my mentors attention, our teacher assistants attention, and more often than not his peers attention. Often when the student acts out for his peers attention it takes away from the lesson that is being taught and it takes a while to regain everyones focus. The teacher assistant often pulls the student aside to complete a simple task when he starts acting out. However, he often yells across the room to get the students attention as well. How do I prevent these acting out behaviors from taking away from a lesson and the whole classes attention?”

I would start doing a functional behavior analysis and collect data on this behavior. Is it only happening when a new skill is being taught? Does it happen during other activities? Does the student gain attention which could be rewarding the behavior instead of diminishing it?

I would also contact the parents to see if the student has experienced any changes in his routine or life. Is the child acting out at home as well as in school? How do the parents handle his acting-out behaviors? Sometimes parents can give suggestions that might work in the school situation also.

Look for what may be causing the behavior and that might give you a clue on how to handle it. Maybe the student is anxious about learning a new skill. Maybe pairing the student with a buddy could help this anxiety if he knows he can ask a buddy for help.

Is there a behavior system implemented in the class? If not, one should be created for all of the students so that they are rewarded for appropriate behavior as well as consequences for inappropriate behavior. If there is one, is it being implemented consistently? I find that one of the hardest things for new teachers to follow through with because it is very time-consuming at the beginning but the pay off is worth it in the end.

Photo by CDC on Unsplash

H.A.L.T.

Recently on a knitting podcast, the host talked about using the acronym HALT when making decisions. You shouldn’t make decisions when you are Hungry (H), Angry (A), Lonely (L), or Tired (T). You might run into obstacles if you feel this way also.

Usually, when I keep making the same mistakes over and over which results in frustration, the cause is usually tiredness (T). I know my husband tends to overdo a task because he wants to get it done but his blood sugar drops when he misses a meal (H). This causes mistakes and/or frustration with whatever he is working on. We always laugh and say he is hangry (hungry + angry). It’s a real thing!

This can happen with my students. Some of them don’t eat breakfast so by mid-morning they can’t concentrate and tend to make a lot of mistakes. When this happens, I try to get them to take a break and have a cookie and some water. You would be amazed at how this little thing can make a difference. Sometimes I make them go on to a different task and come back to the one that frustrated them later. They usually can accomplish things easier then.

Sometimes they are so afraid of making a mistake, that they are paralyzed with fear. Then I try to find them a buddy to help them. This usually works better than if I try to help them. When I help them, they see it as a sign of failure or weakness.

Many students come from dysfunctional homes and may not get enough sleep the night before. If they are really tired, I may let them put their heads down for 10 minutes. There is no use in trying to badger them into working on assignments when they are too exhausted to focus. If this occurs so much that it interferes a lot with their progress, I have to call home or set up a meeting.

Sometimes just these little adjustments can make a world of difference!

How do you handle situations like this? Please share.

Photo by Artur Kornakov on Unsplash

Global Forgiveness Day

Today is Global Forgiveness Day.

Forgiveness is one of the things that I struggle with. I think because I’m not sure what forgiveness actually is. I’ve heard people say that they could forgive but not forget. Does forgiveness mean that you continue to let the other person hurt you? If I avoid this person in the future, does that mean that I really don’t forgive them?

When I try to find a concrete definition for forgiveness, there seem to be many different interpretations.

According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, forgiveness means “to cease to feel resentment against (an offender)”

According to the Mayo Clinic, “Forgiveness means different things to different people. Generally, however, it involves a decision to let go of resentment and thoughts of revenge.”

According to Dr. Ned Hallowell, there are 4 steps to forgiveness:

• Pain and Hurt - acknowledging what happened.
• Relive and reflect - free yourself from the poison of hatred.
• Working it out - analyze your anger and put your life back into perspective.
• Renounce your anger and resentment

There have been people that have hurt me and I believe that I’ve put it behind me. I don’t feel resentment or revenge against the person so is that forgiveness? But if I never want to be around them again or trust them, have I really forgiven them? Do I have to allow them in my life in order for it to be considered forgiveness?

I know God expects us to forgive and when I recite the Lord’s Prayer, I say, “forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us…” I know God wants us to turn the other cheek but my self-preservation kicks in and won’t let me.

I don’t have the answers to any of these questions and I’m not sure anyone really does. But I think it is important to think about it and try to forgive others. I hope that I haven’t intentionally hurt anyone for them to feel resentment or revenge but I’m not sure that I would ever know about it. I’m not perfect so I hope that those people I unintentionally hurt have forgiven me.

This makes me think twice when I expect students who are angry with each other to make up and get along. If it is so hard for me, why do I think it will be easier for them. Yet, I need to teach them that when they get into the workplace, they may have to figure out a way to do this in order to work with someone they don't get long with.   

How do you teach forgiveness? Please share. 

Photo by Alex Shute on Unsplash

Working in a System - Why Can’t We Get It Right

Here are my notes from one of the sessions at the Converge Autism Summit. This presentation was: Working in a System - Why Can’t We Get It Right by Dr. Brandon Clark (Director of Autism Clinical Services at Springbrook Autism Behavioral Health in Travelers Rest, South Carolina).

Dyadic vs. Systems Theory

Dyadic: 

• 2 party relationships
• Traditional ABA 
• Focuses on the individual 

Systems Thinking:

• Overall organization and process for execution
• All the factors that contribute to successful outcomes

Weaknesses of Dyadic:

• narrow focus
• undesired effects on the environment
• behavior change may not last
• How to identify? Lack of progress or behavior not generalizing

Levers of Change:

• Behavior - What we want and how to do
• Process - How we are supposed to do
• Organizational Levers - Why we do

Weaknesses of Systems Approach: 

• Too much emphasis on process and not on the human component
• We must learn the art of interaction 

Healthy systems integrate both approaches. 

Behavior change is not sustainable without identifying and addressing barriers. 

Barriers to Implementation - there are 31 of them. 

• Top 3 barriers are managing problem behaviors, remembering to implement, and competing responsibilities. 
• Other barriers are school culture, conflicting beliefs, administrative support, and structure and time. 

Change Resistance:

• Education: The less education an individual has obtained, the less likely a person is to accept change.
• Age: The older someone is, the less likely the person is to accept change.
• Tenure: The longer someone has been employed, the less likely the person is to accept change.
• Role conflict: When expectations of a job are incompatible with a person’s skill set, or willingness to assert additional effort, the person is less likely to accept change. 

Framework for Intervention:

• Organizational level- Funds available, materials, space and equipment, organizational health. External level- District community, government, federal policies, etc. 
• Intervention level- Complexity, time, materials, number of people and resources needed. The more complex it is, the worse the integrity.
• Implementer level- Implementer competency, professional development, competing responsibilities for other tasks/students. 

Strategies to Address: 

• Modify intervention
• Modify timing
• Re-teaching expectations/intervention
• Problem-Most strategies are simply aimed at re-teaching expectations. This doesn’t solve the problem in a non-supportive environment. 

5 Emerging Themes:

• Establishing supportive culture
• Admin leadership and support
• Attending to structure and use of time
• Providing ongoing support for professional development
• Facilitating family and student involvement 

Feedback = Task Engagement: (Variable  leads to Outcome)

• Task significance  leads to Higher task dedication
• Task autonomy leads to Higher task dedication
• Frequent feedback leads to Higher task dedication
• Perception of tasks as unnecessary leads to Job burnout
• Employees prone to burnout leads to Less likely to use critical thinking skills used for problem-solving
• Staff not aligned with company mission leads to Job burnout/failure to thrive 

6 Boxes:

Expectations and Feedback: Information about what to do and produce, how to do it

• Align expectations with consequences. ASK if people know what to do!
• Provide Feedback

Tools & Resources: The environmental and human resources needed to do a job.
Supportive physical space and ergonomics, sufficient time to do the job

Consequences and Incentives: Formal and informal, tangible or intangible results of behavior that increase or decrease its likelihood of occurrence.

Skills and Knowledge: Specific capabilities or expertise that the individual must use to perform a job. “Never assume that training is the solution. Training without a foundation in the “first three boxes” will probably not work or be cost-effective” 

Selection and Assignment: Having the right people for specific jobs, based on their social skills, personality, willingness to learn, etc.

Motives and Preferences: What types of incentives, work, and other job factors people prefer.

• Check to see if the person is inherently interested in the work.
• The success of a behavior plan is mostly dependent on someone’s willpower. And that load is much lighter when shared by many people.

Spring Season

Spring has started and clocks have been changed.

I can’t seem to get my feet back on the ground. I used to have a rhythm that kept me being productive during the day but lately I can’t seem to find it.

My body still hasn’t gotten used to the time change. I find myself noticing the time and saying what time it would have been. My body is still working on that time which throws me off of everything else.

Spring also brings allergies with it so while my body hasn’t adapted to the new time, my sinuses and head feel like I’m foggy. I feel like I’m moving through a thick gelatinous fog. Everything about me is moving in slow motion while the whole world is going fast forward. I try to take a few minutes every day to just stop and relax. I feel that when I do that, it give my body and the world time to get synced back together again.

I try to remember how I’m feeling so I can understand how my students are feeling.

Many teenagers are feeling the same way and then they have teenage hormones going at the same time. Their whole world is chaotic.

It is during this time that I think having a visual schedule available for all students is helpful. Knowing what to expect and what is expected of them is a helpful reminder. Allowing some downtime to regroup is also useful during this time.

How do you help students adapt to these changes? Please share.

Photo by nikko macaspac on Unsplash

Effective Design

“The NVIV (Next Vista Inspiring Video) series of posts are written by Rushton Hurley and designed to provide students and teachers with fascinating discussion prompts.”

In Effective Design, Rushton features a video showing a robotic dog

He gives the following prompts to accompany this video:

“Try making a note of each thing the designers of the robotic dog added to make the robot successful. How many different things were you able to identify? What else intrigues you about the robot?

To make this work, the designers engaged in a lot of planning. What is something you’d like to make happen, and how many details can you explore in trying to give yourself the best chance for success?”

I’m always fascinated by robots and to see a robotic dog was even more exciting! I sometimes think that this is something that some people with special needs go through every day. They are different and trying to fit in with the majority of society. As a teacher, I try to find the little nuances that will help them fit in with their peers. This would be a great video to show some of these students to help them realize what they need to do in everyday life in order to fit in with people their own age.

Please check out the video and think of other prompts you might come up with. Please share.

Having a Heart

“The NVIV (Next Vista Inspiring Video) series of posts are written by Rushton Hurley and designed to provide students and teachers with fascinating discussion prompts.”

In Acting on Your Heart, Rushton features a man named David who was on a cruise when he finds a malnourished abandoned dog on a deserted island.

He gives the following prompts to accompany this video:

“Can you imagine ways that acting on your heart could get you into trouble? Or perhaps cause problems for the person, dog, etc., you want to help?”

When I saw this video, it almost had me in tears. I hate seeing any abused animal and I can’t imagine how scared and hungry it must have been. I’m not sure I would have done all that this man did to save this dog and I feel guilty for feeling this way. This would be a great introduction for a discussion with students on things they wish they had done but had not or things they can do in the future if given the opportunity.

Please check out the video and think of other prompts you might come up with. Please share.

Conducting an FBA

Here is another question posted on my special education forum. I shared the question and my answer.

Question:

Hello everyone! I am a K-2 self-contained special education teacher. And I need to do a FBA on a student in my classroom. I am familiar with the parts of a FBA (Indirect, descriptive, functional analysis). And I have 'book knowledge' of the functional analysis part of the FBA. But I have never conducted one. I cannot find a great youtube video on how to do one in a busy classroom. Btw, leaving the room and doing it elsewhere is not really an option. Can anyone share how they are doing this in their classrooms? Thanks!

My answer:

I'm a visual learner so when I start in a new district, I asked for a sample copy of an FBA that a teacher in that district has completed and used as a guide. You might ask another special ed teacher in your school if you can see a copy of one that they did. I always found this helpful. Usually, the district I was in had a specific form that they wanted us to use. When conducting a meeting, I basically followed the form and went through each item during the meeting.

I think you might be asking how to do data collection for your student. I found this great resource from https://www.pattan.net/ that I use in my graduate classes. You might find it helpful. https://www.pattan.net/getmedia/bc85494c-4fed-42e5-a846-2cab9984ea7d/funcassessobs0109How would you have answered this question? Please share.

Photo by CDC on Unsplash

Changing Behavior

Here is another question that was posed to my special education group:

“I teach an LLD self-contained class in high school. The last two years I had about 6 students. This year it is 14, most of whom are typical LLD. One of my students I had for the past two years is the one I am asking for ideas for. She is 16 and was placed in my room for ADHD and her Learning Disabilities. She always had some behavior issues such as: talking back, or calling out in class. This year though the behaviors have escalated 110 %. She is extremely disrespectful to me, my paras etc. The students try to ignore her and at lunch do not want to even sit with her. I have had a reinforcement program in place to earn pts toward watching a movie, or a game day. She did not earn this for the past two weeks. I also try to ignore the behavior and redirect. I have spoken with CST and they said to revamp my reinforcement program. I am an 18yr veteran of teaching and have taught BD before but I am at a point where I am frustrated and not sure what else to do. My BD students were easier than this along with students I had that had ODD as well. Can anyone offer ideas for me to implement in my classroom so my other students do not lose out on learning?”

Here was my answer:

• Have you done an FBA to see what is happening that causes this behavior?
• Have you talked to the student to find out if she can give you some insight into her behavior?
• Have you asked her what would help her to behave more appropriately?
• Did something happen this summer that may have caused this change in behavior?
• Have you talked with the parents to help you find some answers?

I don't think that just revamping your reinforcement program will help change her behavior. I think you need to investigate more into what is causing this drastic increase in inappropriate behavior. It seems like she is pushing everyone away from her for a reason and it may be a defense mechanism. Maybe have her keep a journal about her day and her feelings which could help her in the long run. She could either write about it or record it orally and she could share it with you or keep it totally private but it might be an outlet for her.

What advice would you give this teacher? Please share.

Photo by Julien L on Unsplash

Is It Working?

In “But how will you know?” from Seth Godin's Blog, Seth Godin shares,

"So the question: “How will we know if it’s working?” is a powerful one."

I have helped a few teachers set up behavior management plans for their classes. Each one was different because each one involves various amounts of time and energy required by the individual teacher. Different plans work for different teachers. Some involve extensive planning before implementation and may involve a lot of record-keeping during the implementation. That is just the first part though. Just because a plan is manageable for the teacher to implement, it doesn’t mean that it works.

I also advise teachers that they may attempt one plan but it doesn’t work so they should be willing to try something else if needed.

Of course, how do you know if it is working or not?

I had one teacher that tried a plan for two days and scrapped it saying that it didn’t work. Then she’d try something different for two more days and be frustrated when that didn’t work.

Whatever you chose to try, you need to try it for more than two days! I would give a plan at least two weeks before evaluating it for effectiveness. During these two weeks, students will test you to see if you really will follow through with the plan. It is important that you be fair and consistent with all of the students while implementing your plan. Students will want to see if you let someone else get away with something but enforce it with them. If this happens, your plan will never work.

During these two weeks, keep a daily frequency chart of the negative behaviors that you want to get rid of. At the end of the two weeks, this will help you decide if the plan is working or not.

At the end of two weeks, you can look at the frequency charts to determine if your plan is effective. You may need to do some adjustments to your plan but make sure your students know about these changes before implementing them.

What else would you do to see if a behavior plan is working? Please share.

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Talking Out Behavior

Recently I was asked this question”

“I need some advice about a second grade student that is very talkative during instruction. The student sometimes tries to chat with neighbors and distracts a few friends around him. However, the student has increasingly become more distracting to the entire class during instruction. The student often likes to provide his insight or input on certain topics and blurts out his thoughts when myself or my cooperating teacher is speaking. We are very happy that he is engaged and interested in new concepts, but he becomes a distraction and confuses classmates when he yells out information he believes to be accurate or when he wants to add to the conversation. The student is very respectful, and I do not think he means to be distracting or disruptive. However, we have to consistently pause instruction to tell the student he should not call out and if he has something to say he needs to raise his hand. Instead of targeting the undesirable behavior or punishing the student, I am curious if anyone has advice as to how I could handle this situation now and if it were to happen in the future.”

Here is how I answered:

I've had students who have been like this and successfully changed their behavior by using little bingo chips. Instead of drawing attention to this one student, you might challenge the whole class to sit quietly during your lesson and to only talk after they raise their hand and you call on them. Every few minutes, you can go around the room and give a chip to everyone who is doing this. At first, you will have to do this often so it is an immediate reward. Eventually, you can lengthen the time you give the reward. You might decide to take away a chip from anyone who calls out or disrupts the class.

At the end of the lesson or the end of the day (you decide), the students count up their chips and they can exchange them for a reward or save the amount for the end of the week to get a larger award. You will have to come up with a reward and "pricing" system that would motivate the students.

Students who talk out or disrupt the class will see the other students getting a reward and will work harder so that they can get a reward. Make sure that the main student you are targeting can taste some success. You need to notice when he is showing appropriate behavior and can earn a chip.

This takes time and patience but in the long run, it usually works. It doesn't happen overnight so stick with it and be consistent.

What advice would you give to this teacher? Please share.

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Helping Students with Anxiety

I was recently asked this question:

“I am am currently in a second grade classroom with a student who has anxiety. When anything changes in her normal everyday schedule she is off and extremely worked up. It's to the point that she cannot focus during the day. With COVID, our schedule constantly is changing so this anxiety is there very often. Even when things are different at home,the anxiety carries over into school. She also has expressed that she has had several nightmares and this will carry with her throughout the entire day. She randomly gets anxious over things like change in weather (rain, thunderstorms) , change in schedule, if the school is safe, etc…how can I support this student during the day when she gets anxious over things like this?”

Here is my answer to her question:

I have had many students that dislike changes in their schedules. As I get older, I find myself feeling the same way.

If you know in advance that things will change, you can give her a schedule so she knows what to expect. You can get her to help you plan the schedule for the next day while you are making it. This may give her some control and ease her anxiety.

During transitions, let her know when things are going to change so it doesn't surprise her. You can give a 5-minute and then a 1-minute warning so she can mentally prepare to make the change.

If there are things you cannot control, you might try to distract her from them. What things ease her anxiety? What activity might distract her from feeling anxious? If she likes to draw or read, doing this may help her. If movement helps her, maybe you can do walking or exercise activity.

What advice would you give this teacher? Please share.

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Setting Limits

In The things we go back to from Seth Godin's Blog from Seth Godin states,

“Credit card companies have discovered that if a person carries $2,000 in debt with a $3,000 credit limit, they’ll probably have $4,000 in debt if the credit limit gets raised to $5,000.”

Most people like boundaries. In fact, I believe we need boundaries.

Imagine a world without speed limits or laws. They are essential for our community to work. Imagine our society without any laws!

My students need boundaries. They want to know the limits that a teacher sets. Yes, of course, they will push those boundaries and limits because they want to know if they are real. Will they be enforced? Does the teacher truly mean them or are they just lip service to administration?

When I was young, my parents explained they had rules for me because they loved me. If they didn’t have rules, I would believe they didn’t care and doubt that they loved me.

I believe my students feel the same way.

My classroom rules demonstrate that I care. I want all my students to have a productive learning environment that is safe to make mistakes. I want my students to feel that I will be fair and make all of them follow the same rules and the consequences will be fair for all. They need to know that I care enough about them to enforce the rules.

Without rules, my class would be chaotic. Students would feel they could do anything and not suffer consequences, and it would not feel like a safe learning environment for them. Students would be afraid of making a mistake and being ridiculed by others. Learning would be more difficult.

Students need someone to take a leadership role. If the teacher doesn't establish rules and doesn't establish the role of leader, one of the stronger students will. If this student is not the best-behaved student, the student will encourage disruption and bad behavior.

If I ask my students to write an essay, almost all of them want to know how long it should be. They want to know how many words, or paragraphs, or pages it should be. They want to know what my limits are. I know I felt the same way as a student and I felt very anxious when a teacher responded, “Write enough to answer the question.”

Do you establish limits in your class? Please share.

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