Learning and Challenging Behaviors

Learning and behavior problems result from
interaction between the child and his or her
environment and those in the environment

Instructional focus:
 Identifying child’s needs
 Identify environmental supports
required to meet needs
Problem behaviors are often a result of
the child not knowing HOW to do the
task or perform skill (social
competence).
Poor student relationships can lead to:





problems with classroom adjustment
acting out or withdrawing
low involvement in school activities
poor academic performance
school failure
An Educational Approach to
Behavior Support

Because behavior problems are often a
reflection of skill deficits…

…teaching is often the best
intervention.
Think, Pair, Share
Think about the social behavioral
challenges in your CBO
 Share these with your partner

Positive Behavior Support
Historically
1. Reaction to the use of aversive
2. No tolerance for interventions that are
insulting, degrading, or aversive
3. Person-centered
4. Increase in quality of life
Characteristics of
Positive Behavior Support
Uses assessment to develop plan
 Comprehensive
 Proactive, involving teaching alternative
skills
 Emphasizes lifestyle enhancement
 Based on inclusive settings

What has discipline focused on in the past?

Waiting for behavior to occur and
reacting to specific inappropriate student
behavior

Reprimands, lost of privileges, suspensions

MYTH: All students know what is
expected, they just choose to not do it.
Necessary steps to school-wide behavior
support
1.
Establish a school-wide leadership or behavior support team to guide and
direct the process. This team should be made up of an administrator,
grade level representatives, support staff, and parents.
2.
Secure administrator agreement of active support and participation.
3.
Secure a commitment and agreement from at least 80% of the staff for
active support and participation.
4.
Conduct a self assessment of the current school-wide discipline system.
5.
Create an implementation action plan that is based data based decision
making.
6.
Establish a way to collect office referral and other data on a regular basis
to evaluate the effectiveness of school-wide PBS efforts.
Major components of a school-wide
system

an agreed upon and common approach to discipline,

a positive statement of purpose,

a small number of positively stated expectations for all students and
staff,

procedures for teaching these expectations to students,

a continuum of procedures for encouraging displays and maintenance
of these expectations,

a continuum of procedures for discouraging displays of rule-violating
behavior, and

procedures for monitoring and evaluating the effects of the discipline
system on student behavior a regular and frequent basis
School-wide PBS Objectives






School-wide program posted throughout school
School-wide expectations taught throughout school
(classroom & nonclassroom settings)
Procedures developed to discourage problem
behaviors
Staff development emphasizes use of these and
other effective approaches
Data based decision-making for student/staff
behavior:
School-wide program evaluated frequently for
effectiveness
Primary Interventions
Those interventions that create a stable
“host” environments.
 Consists of:
 Rules
 Procedures
 Physical arrangement of environment
and supervisors

Primary Interventions
School-wide
Classwide
Why is it necessary to create stable
“host” environments?

Reduces behavior issues for up to 80% of the
students in school.

More intensive interventions are less likely to
work in a chaotic environment.
Secondary Interventions
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
Continuous availability.
Rapid access (72 hr).
Very low effort by teachers.
Consistent with school-wide expectations.
Implemented by all staff/faculty in a school.
Flexible intervention based on assessment.
Functional assessment.
Adequate resources (admin, team), weekly meeting, plus 10
hours a week.
Student chooses to participate.
Continuous monitoring of student behavior for decision-making
Tertiary Interventions
Direct toward individuals
 Based on functional assessments
 Monitored closely,
 May consist of: arranging the
environment, using proactive
interventions to remove the likelihood
that problem behavior occurred.

Challenging Behaviors Serves a Purpose

Obtaining
 Attention
 Tangible
 Sensory

Escaping
 Task, event, activity
 Attention
Name that function?





Zoe is asked to wait for snack, while waiting she
takes the snack of another child.
Joe lays his head on his paper when asked to write
in his journal.
Rahem pushes his paper to the floor when asked to
do a math worksheet.
After working alone in the in the writing center,
Mazie throws a pencil at another child on her way to
the waste basket.
When the class begins to line up for art, Lizzie
begins to scream and push.
Set conditions to ensure appropriate
behavior

What does it mean to set the conditions for
appropriate behavior?

What would it look like to give feedback for
correct performance?
Once the inappropriate behavior has
occurred what does it mean to:

Modify the conditions?
 Organizationally
 Physically
 Instructionally
What makes an effective small
group?
Rules and procedures are taught explicitly
 Teach how to participate in group.
 Teach each individual small group or center.
 Teach each new center or group as they are
adjusted and changed.
 Teach one group or center at a time.
Students need to know procedures
for?
What to do when something does not work.
 What to do when they do not understand
what they are supposed to be doing.
 What to do when they complete an activity
at a center or in a group.
 How to access help.

Students need to know procedures
for?
When and how to interrupt your small
group instruction.
 How to clean up or transition to another
activity.
 How to decide who goes first when engaged
in a par or group activity.

Teaching Rules and Procedures
State the context
 Tell the students what it is you want them to
do
 Show them what you want
 Model
 Coach
 Provide feedback

Take the time NOW

Think about the group or student you will be
working with in your placement

Identify what you will want them to do (what is
the context)

Identify the expectations or procedures for getting
that done

Script out how you will teach them

Script out how you will provide feedback
Management of Others

Make sure your center or small group is
where you can see the whole room

Make sure you attend to others not in the
small group you are conducting so they
know what they are doing is important
What will you teach?
 How will your teach it?
 How will you provide feedback for
expected behaviors?
 How will you provide feedback for
behavior that is undesirable?
 How will you know when it has been
taught?

Acknowledge
Pay attention to what you want the students
to continue to do
 Acknowledge what students do right

I noticed that many of you got ready
quickly
 I see Mikala already has her book open
and is reading

Remind
PREteach. Be proactive, teach and rehearse
expected behavior
 Give boosters.

Show me what you will do when you
finish your work
 Tell me what you will do if you need help

Redirect (give feedback)
When you see or hear behavior that is not
desirable, redirect students to the correct
behavior.
 Redirect the student using a “do” request
rather than a “don’t” request.”
 I hear a lot of talking. This is the time for
…
 I see lots of students out of their seats. You
need to be sitting and …

If problems arise, ask yourself:






Did I do an effective job explicitly teaching the
activity?
Did I acknowledge appropriate behavior and provide
corrective feedback for inappropriate behavior?
Is the activity interesting to the student?
Have the students mastered the skill and need to
move on?
Is this activity too difficult for students to do
independently?
Did I introduce too many new centers/activity areas
at once?