Classroom Behavior
Management
BCIU #22- Summer Induction
Positive Behavioral Support
 New Chapter 14 guidelines
 PBS plans must be based on a functional
assessment of behavior.
 PBS plans must include methods that utilize
positive Rf and other positive techniques to
shape behavior.
 PBS plans range form the use of positive
statements (“I like the way you walked in the
hall”) to specific tangible rewards.
 PBS plans teach strategies or replacement
behaviors
Characteristics of a
Well-Managed Class
 High level of student involvement with work
 Clear student expectations; posted and visual
 Relatively little wasted time, confusion, or
disruption with scheduled and constructive
“down-time”
 Work-oriented, but positive and pleasant
climate.
Activity #1
 Pretend you are a supervisor walking in
to a classroom…
 List five observable red flags that indicate or
signal a mismanaged classroom.
 List Five observable green flags that indicate
a well-managed classroom.
 Share as a group.
 Discuss tips for classroom management
Procedures and Routines: Students
need to know “what” is expected
for good classroom management.
 Procedures are the “what” that teachers
expect.
 Routines are the “how” that will accomplish
this.
THESE NEED TO BE TAUGHT AND
PRACTICED!
…therefore this should be the focus of your
first few weeks of school.
 What are the most important routines for
Class-wide Behavior
Management Systems
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Rules, rewards, consequences
Tools
Reinforcement menus
Motivators/ positive Rf
Student contracts
Checklists, logs
“Classroom cash” rewards
Self and Match System
Jamie S. Salter, ED.S, BCBA, NCSP and Katharine M.
Croce,M.Ed.,BCBA
 At the beginning of the morning and afternoon,
student selects the reward he is working from.
 At the end of the designated time period student
and teacher or IA will answer the questions.
 At the end of morning and afternoon student and
teacher will total points to see if he reached his.
If so, student will receive the pre-determined
reward.
 The list of rewards should be created at the
beginning o f each year and can added to when
ever a new approved reward is determined.
Examples:
Weekly Data Collection
Crisis Prevention and Intervention
“An Ounce Of Prevention is Worth A Pound Of Cure” –
Benjamin Franklin
Why Prevention?
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Focus should be on the prevention of problem behaviors
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Should provide early access to effective behavior support
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Should teach positive replacement behaviors
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“Get tough” punishment does not work.
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Good instruction (behavior; academic) improves student behavior and academic
outcomes.
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Many students present with a host of needs: good luck reacting to them!
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Traditional reactive approaches do not teach skills, and they remove kids from
instruction. We need to foster independence!
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Effective Instruction + Proactive Strategies = Opportunities to Help
(continued)
 Students who have been suspended are
more likely to repeat offenses and drop
out of school.
 Students from minority backgrounds and
students who have low academic skills are
more likely to be suspended/expelled.
 Teachers who rely on punishment and do
not use enough positive reinforcement risk
backlash from students.
(Skiba & Knesting, 2001); Morrissey, Bohanon, & Fenning, 2010)
Focus of Prevention Should
Include…
 Positive Climates
 Positive Relationships
Positive Approaches:
Climates
 Have your school-wide system in place, and make it predictable.
 Make sure to have a backbone behavior system in place, when
students display problematic behaviors.
 Create a culture in which staff members are consistent, communicative,
work collaboratively, and have fun together.
 As a program, focus on the positive!!!
 Make sure the environment/classroom is well organized and inviting.
 Have classroom rules well displayed.
 When students enter the school/classroom each day, interact with
them.
Climates (continued)
 Wait at the door/in the hallway to interact with students.
 Say something positive/funny to each and every student that
enters the room
 Have consistent and visible supervision at all times.
 Set high, but reasonable expectations for both staff and
students.
 Make sure students have a say.
 Work together.
 HAVE FUN!!!
Positive Approaches:
Relationships
Question: What is one of the biggest protective factors for kids?
1 caring adult
Baumrind’s Parenting Styles Applied To the Classroom
High Control/High
Support
(Authoritative)
Low Control/High
Support
(Permissive)
High Control/Low
Support
(Authoritarian)
Low Control/Low
Support
(Neglectful)
(Tomes, 2007)
Relationships (continued)
 Make Five Positive Statements for Every One
Negative Statement You Use!!!
 While building a unique relationship, always keep
in mind that it is a student-teacher relationship;
boundaries!
 Start everyday with a clean slate.
 Take a genuine interest.
 Be an active listener.
 Engage with students outside of the traditional
classroom setting (think outside of the box).
 Be vulnerable and make fun of yourself.
 Be open to making mistakes.
 Model good coping skills, attitude, and work ethic.
Relationships (continued)
 Model good conflict resolution skills.
 Make a point to say something nice to each
student every day.
 It’s not what you say, it’s how you say it.
 Invite students along to problem solve with
you.
 Give options as opposed to telling them what to
do.
 Help students solve problems. If you are not
sure how to help, find people who can.
 Operate with the mind frame that you are
Common Preventative
Approaches That Work
 Differentiated and individualized instruction;
Scaffolding.
 Access to preferred activities (i.e., computer time,
ipod, newspaper, gym).
 Allowance to move throughout building
independently.
 “Free” periods.
 Homework passes.
 Time out of class.
 Time with preferred staff member.
 Time to work on specialized assignment of their
choice.
 Tangible items (i.e., food)
Things That Work
(continued)
 Class parties.
 Monthly awards.
Creative Approaches
 Class jobs.
 Service learning projects, with each student
playing to his/her strengths.
 Infuse tasks with interesting, applicable
information—not sure what the interests are–
ask the students. Use movies, music…
 Set up opportunities to be successful; focus on
students’ strengths.
(www.interventioncentral.org)
Creative Approaches
(continued)
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Daily Number.
Order out Friday.
Assemblies
Movie Friday (last 2 periods of day).
Read a book, buy a book.
Delivery of Tickets: Continue to reinforce
acts of kindness or prosocial behavior through
delivering tickets that go into a jar. One ticket
is selected each Friday, and the winning
student gets to select a reinforcer from a list of
three. At end of each month, 2 tickets are
selected from the jar, and winning students get
$25 gift certificate.
Creative Approaches
(continued)
 Social Mapping
 Social Stories
 Mentors
 Journals
 Talk Aloud Problem Solving Skills
 Token Economies
 When- Then Statements
Approaches (continued)
 Providing Choices
 Therapeutic Debriefing
 Verbal Prompts
REACTIVE APPROACHES:
Common Reactive Approaches That Don’t Work
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Yelling
Threatening
Sarcasm
Lecturing
Embarrassing
Berating
Suspending
Expelling
Physically intimidating
Taking things away already earned, without notice
Physically restraining
Zero Tolerance policies
Common Reactive
Approaches That Do Work
 Setting clear and consistent guidelines, and sticking to them.
 Giving students an opportunity to “save face” and/or change
course of behavior.
 Positive verbal and nonverbal prompts.
 When redirecting, using short verbals.
 Students not earning certain reinforcers.
 Noticing warning signs, and intervening then (a proactive,
reactive approach).
 Giving space, pulling student aside, and problem solving with
them.
(continued)
 Giving students options.
 Allowing students to take a “time out”.
 Allowing students to talk with a preferred staff
member.
 Allowing and prompting students to use an
identified coping strategy.
 Alternatives to suspension.
 Counseling and Conflict Resolution
Intervening in Crises
 Crisis: An unexpected and often unpredictable
event that overwhelms ordinary resource for
coping.
 Make sure your school/class/program has
procedures already in place because crises will
happen.
 Provide on-going staff training in prevention and
intervention.
 Work as a team.
 Goal is to ensure everyone’s safety and security.
Crisis (continued)
 Any risk assessments (suicidal/homicidal comments
or behaviors) should be done by a mental health
professional; know who you refer to in your
program (i.e., supervisor, social worker,
counselor, school psychologist, etc.)
 Once engaged, realize that you may be in for the
long haul.
 Crisis will not wait until time is right for you!
 Document everything before you leave work.
Helpful “Oh Sh*!”
Strategies
 Try to defuse before it gets physical
 Avoid power words
 Keep your ego to yourself
 Give verbal respect
 Address the behavior not the student’s
character
 Remove or reduce the audience
 Provide alternatives or a way to “save face”
 Don’t struggle over physical objects
 Be hyper-aware of the physical environment,
entrances, exits, barriers, and objects.
(continued)
 Control your body language and paraverbals: Use
relaxation strategies on yourselves
 Allow venting and give the teen time - verbally
and physically
 LISTEN
 Allow for personal space
 Give teen opportunity to “save face”
 Use short phrases and questions
 Validate what the child says
 Try to distract the teen
 Check yourself out of the situation if you are the
trigger.
 Ask for help from a colleague
A FEW FINAL THOUGHTS:
Students Need Our Help and
Positivity!!!
The following are a few comments that have been made to
me by these students:
 “I just want to be able to read and not be dumb
anymore.”
 “I can’t control it (anger). Thoughts just pop into my
head and I explode.”
 “All I want is for my dad to call me and tell me he loves
me---that is it.”
 “Usually I don’t sleep because my mom comes home
drunk and fights with her boyfriend.”
 “How messed up is it that my mom used to lock me and
my sister in the closet while she messed around with
random guys.”
 “Everyone at school, even the teachers, judged me.”
FINAL THOUGHTS (CON)
 First focus on the things that are easy to
do and that are under our control.
 Realize that you cannot control people, but
you can control the effort you put towards
them.
 These kids need you at your best.
 Have fun and seize the opportunity to help
the kids with which you work!
Take Five Rules
Be there - Be ready
Be Respectful
Be Responsible
Keep hands and feet to self
Follow directions