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Working with Children with Challenging Behavior
Summer Institute August 2012
RCSD Department of Early Childhood
PP Slide 1
Community Agreement
5 minutes
- Please silence all cell phones.
- Take all texts and emergency phone calls into the hall.
- Please respect your colleagues, thoughts and suggestions
- Additional…
PP Slide 2 – Workshop Title
PP Slide 3 - Welcome
Welcome statement and introductions
- morning break and afternoon break
- 1 hour for lunch, we will break around 11:30 for lunch
- bathrooms are (find out locations)
PP Slide 4
Ice Breaker:
5 minutes - 10
Please introduce yourself to the people at your table and share something you enjoy about your job.
PP Slide 5
Objectives:
Review workshop objectives: (PP slide)
5 minutes - 15
1. Discuss brain development as it relates to children who have experienced trauma.
2. Understand how High/Scope supports children with challenging behavior.
3. Review positive behavioral strategies that can be used in the classroom.
PP Slide 6
Opening Activity:
10 minutes total- 25
Draw a picture of your most memorable pre-school age child.
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Directions: There is some paper and markers on your tables. Please take a few minutes to draw a
picture of your most memorable pre-school aged child, also write down some characteristics of this
child. (6 minutes)
Materials:
paper, markers for participants
chart paper, markers for presenters
Follow Up Large Group Activity: Ask participants to share some of the characteristics of their
students
What are some of the characteristics of the student you drew?
- write down on poster paper some of the characteristics shared by participants
What made these children memorable for you?
The connection to the child
PP Slide 7
Meet James: (Segue into content)
10 minutes – 35
You have all shared a child. I (we) would like to tell you about another child. James. He
came up to the teacher with a book in his mouth.
Follow Up Questions as Large Group:
Was there a behavior problem?
o depends on the overall level of the child
Was there communication?
o yes…what was he communicating?
What would early literacy look like for him?
- He is in the sensorimotor stage.
- It is going to be sensory for him. He will be exploring how the book feels and how it
tastes. He is not going to be able to sit and listen to the story of “The Three Bears”.
- What would you do to support him in your classroom?
PP Slide 8
Video - Piaget’s Stages of Development
Content (PP slides)
******* Disclaimer to say prior to video……
30 minutes – 65
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Facilitator note: Remember….initially Piaget associated the stages with particular ages of children.
We now know that the age of child is not tied to a particular stage.
As you watch the video, note what the child is doing and saying at each stage.
Facilitator Prompt:
- this is where scaffolding comes into play with lesson planning
- When talk about lesson planning and scaffolding this is what we are talking about. Piaget’s
stages…where they are today, not where we want them to be
- if you are not paying attention to a child’s developmental level, you may plan an activity too high
for them/ too hard for them. And that will lead to frustration and challenging behaviors…….
PP Slide 10
Piaget’s Four Stages of Cognitive Development
With each slide, ask follow up questions….
Include slides for the 4 stages (ask participants to read each slide)
- for each stage….
o What are some of the characteristics of a child for a child in the…..?
o What would the play of a child in the ……… look like?
 Sensorimotor Stage
 Pre-operational Stage
 Concrete Operational Stage
 Formal Operational Stage
PP Slide 11
Sensorimotor Stage
Characterized by:
- child can differentiate ‘self’ from object
- manipulates objects by recognizing self as an agent of action
- explores the worlds through senses
- develops motor skills and learns to use limbs for movement
Facilitator note:
o modify behavior by using senses (frown, tone of voice)
PP Slide 12
Preoperational Stage
Characterized by:
- illogical words and symbols
- ego-centric thought process
- classifies objects by single and irreversible thought process
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-
learns to use language
can represent objects through features
Facilitator Note:
Teaching must take into account the child's vivid fantasies and undeveloped sense of time.
Using neutral words, body outlines and equipment a child can touch gives him an active role in
learning.
PP Slide 13
Concrete Operational Stage
Characterized by:
- logical, operational, and rational thought process
- classifies objects by multiple features
- can view things from another perspective
- are more imaginative and less ego-centric
- achieve better understanding of time and space
Facilitator Note:
In teaching this child, giving him the opportunity to ask questions and to explain
things back to you allows him to mentally manipulate information.
PP Slide 14
Formal Operational Stage
Characterized by:
- logical thinking about abstract propositions
- can test the hypothesis systematically
- improved analytical ability
- can deal with ideological problems well
Facilitator Note:
Teaching for the adolescent may be wide-ranging because he'll be able to consider many
possibilities from several perspectives.
PP Slide 15
Important to Note
• These are general and there is some overlap.
• All children move through these stages and they move through them at their own pace. So,
if you have a child in the sensorimotor stage, having the expectation for him to succeed at
activities at the concrete operational stage will only frustrate him.
Anything can be a toy to a child or a learning tool
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Facilitator note: Remember….initially Piaget associated the stages with particular ages of children.
We now know that the age of child is not tied to a particular stage.
PP Slide 16
Table Activity:
5 minutes – 70 (this section might run long…)
Now go back to the students you drew earlier. What is the stage of development is your student?
Why? Share with your table mates.
o Sensorimotor stage
o Pre operational stage
o Concrete operational stage
o Formal operational stage
 directions of activity listed on slide
Facilitator Note: Sometimes children still will mouth items and not be in the sensorimotor stage.
Cognitive skills also play a role in determining stage.
Follow up question:
Were there any aha moments when you did this work?
Closing Facilitator Note:
All children move through these stages and they move through them at their
own pace.
So if you have a child in the sensorimotor stage, having the expectation for
him to succeed at activities at the concrete operational stage will only
frustrate him.
They are general stages and there is some overlap between the stages.
PP Slide 17
Brain Development
10 minutes – 80
Video from Harvard Medical
As you view the following video consider how this information relates to your work with the
children in your classroom.
After watch video:
Table Group Activity: Discuss the video with your table mates.
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Large Group Activity: Would anyone like to share their impressions about the video?
Facilitator Note: (if participants don’t make connection….share……)
The most powerful thing for me is that every thought, interaction, and/or
experience is processed through the emotion center of the brain. Everything is
filtered through your emotions.
PP Slide 19
Build a Brain (Yarn Toss)
15 minutes -95
Application Activity – Large Group Activity
Materials:
-
yarn, scissors
Divide group in half (figure out method with co-presenter)
ask participants to stand in a circle (1 presenter in each group)
We are going to build a brain using yarn. Hold on end of yarn and toss the yarn ball to someone not
standing next to you. When you catch it, hold on to yarn and throw it again. (similar to making a
yarn spider web).
Facilitator Hint: Start using just one color, do several times. For example…this yarn represents
the nursery rhyme “Jack and Jill”….with repetition of skills/action the number of connections
increases and becomes stronger. Things that strengthen the connections….humor, exercise, human
connection, positive encouragement, empathy, social connections, success in activities, intrinsic
motivation.
The more we do something, the greater number of connections/dendrites are established in the
brain. Stronger pathways are created. There are things that happen in our lives that ‘cut’ these
connections
Facilitator note: neurons in brain have axons, nucleus, and dendrites. Impulses travel from axon
thru nucleus to dendrites. Impulses have to cross synapse in order to reach axon of next neuron.
Each ball/color of yarn is a different skill set developing in the brain….
- science, math, problem solving, dancing, singing, painting, running, cutting, letter
awareness, holding a pencil, walking , climbing, humor, exercise……….
Possible examples of when dendrites are ‘cut’ in brain, what things may deplete the brain…… (add
more examples)
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-
someone dies
family member incarcerated
move to new home
loss of pet
abuse
feeling threatened
yelled at before school
interrupted sleep
fell on the way to school
friend stops coming to school
ripped shirt on playground
shaming
“Stop your crying!” (do with tone of voice)
“Be a big boy” (tone of voice)
“Do you want me to call your mother?” (tone of voice)
“What were you thinking!!!!” (do with tone of voice for shaming)
“Oh, that was real smart!” (do with sarcastic tone of voice)
Are there any other examples of things that might ‘cut’ or destroy these connections?
******* do “I love you ritual” ****************************
need to add – look up a ritual….
BREAK
15 minutes 110
We will be starting in 15 minutes. Please be back in the room.
PP Slide 20
The brains main purpose is………………..survival
(have slide up when return from break)
PP Slide 21
Definition of Challenging Behavior
10 minutes 120
At your table, come up with a definition of Challenging Behavior.
Would any table like to share their definition?
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PP Slide 22
At what exact point does a behavior cease to be irritating and become challenging? Who makes
this judgment and how? What criteria are used to make this judgment? (David J Carey)
PP Slide 23
It is well recognized in schools that a child who is described as challenging by one teacher is
perceived as a typical youngster by another. (David J Carey)
PP Slide 24
We all interpret behavior through our own lens.
Issues in Identifying Challenging Behaviour (DavidJCarey.com
- psychologist)
Since there is no generally agreed definition of what constitutes challenging behaviour
it follows that there can be great variation in what is identified as challenging, by whom
it is identified, and from whom it is manifested. All behaviour is relative to a context be it
social, environmental, cultural, or historical. What is challenging in one context can be
perceived as quite normal in another. The contextual nature of human behaviour
makes it difficult to be certain what is appropriate or inappropriate.
Another difficulty in ascertaining whether or not behaviour is challenging is the fact that
we cannot be definitive as to whether what we call challenging is a continuum of
behaviour or is a distinct category of behaviour. At what exact point does a behaviour
cease to be irritating and become challenging? Who makes this judgment and how?
What criteria are used to make this judgment? It is well recognised in schools that a
child who is described as challenging by one teacher is perceived as a typical
youngster by another. All teachers, like all parents and all adults, have differing
thresholds of tolerance for behavioural variations. We must exercise caution before we
conclude that a child is exhibiting challenging behaviour. As hard as it may be to
consider there are times when the problem is within us, not the child.
Researchers continue to tease out biological versus environmental factors as causal
agents in challenging behaviour. The old question of nature or nurture has been
answered definitively now. It is neither one or the other but both; it is how our nature is
nurtured that largely determines our behavioural repertoire. There are however,
biological factors that put an individual at greater risk for development challenging
behaviour. Among these are a strong family history of mental health problems or
delinquency and temperament. More will be said about this later.
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There are gender related issues involved in challenging behaviour as well. In the West,
as in most countries, girls are socialised differently from boys. Right from infancy males
are played with more vigorously than girls, are allowed to engage in more active play,
and have behavioural patterns that are tolerated differently when they occur than if
they occur in females. Research seems to indicate that only one factor accounts for
the difference in how fathers parent children as opposed to mothers-the amount of
physical play then engage with in their children. Fathers tend to play more vigorously
with children than mothers, and play more vigorously with their male children then their
female children. There is research that seems to indicate that the male sex hormone
plays a role in aggressive behaviour in boys. A definitive answer to some of these
gender issues has yet to be arrived at.
Ethical issues will always raise their head when attempting to create interventions,
programme, and policies for children with challenging behaviour. What sorts of
measures are appropriate? What is the role of punishment? Are sanctions appropriate?
What behaviours will we attempt to change and what cost will the child pay if we are
successful in changing them. Children who live in a violent and aggressive environment
in their community may pay a price if their own aggressive responses are totally
eliminated in school. There are certain survival factors that have to be taken into
account when we begin to change children’s behaviour in significant ways. I am not
making a case for the tolerance of aggression in school but attempting to raise the
ethical issues involved in placing an obsessive focus on individual behaviour rather than
on behaviour and school structures.
PP Slide 25
ALL BEHAVIOR IS A FORM OF COMMUNICATION WITH AND WITHOUT WORDS
PP Slide 26
Define Stress vs. Trauma
5 minute - 125
Stress occurs in our lives and in the lives of our children.
What do you think is the difference between Stress and Trauma?
Stress is any force that pulls or pushes on us mentally or physically. It is a neurological process.
PP Slide 27:
Traumatic stress follows events that are unexpected and physically threatening (or perceived as
physically threatening) to children or loved ones. It can be a single event, recurring, or chronic.
(Jan Dowling)
Facilitator Note: Cortisol is produced in brain in stressful situations.
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PP Slide 28
The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly
Application Activity for Table Groups
Materials:
15 minutes - 140
Chart Paper, markers
Assign tables as ‘good’ ‘bad’ or ‘ugly’
PP Slide 29
Directions:
Good – write down all we do in our classrooms to support and help our children
Bad – write down some examples of trauma that children might have experienced.
Ugly – write down the behaviors you might see as the result of the trauma - what we may see in our
classrooms.
When done, ask groups to share lists. (stroke all the positives that are already in place)
- suggest to participants to add any additional notes that comes up in discussion in a
different color
Facilitator Note::: following 2 slides may be done quickly or omitted if running short on time
PP Slide 30
Factors that influence the effects of trauma:
5 minutes - 145
- age of child (particularly infants and toddlers)
- gender
- etiology (cause of trauma) (add p 2 bottom L – type in)
- functioning prior to event
- personality style
- change in living situation as result of event
- support network
- multiple losses or traumas
(Jan Dowling)
PP Slide 31
5 minutes - 150
More Factors that influence the effects of trauma:
- when affected by stress or trauma, it affects the past, present, and future
- trauma impacts on the way you think, feel, and interact
- for people who have been exposed to traumatic events, even so called normal events can
be traumatizing.
- coping mechanisms decrease when stressed (Paul Boyle)
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PP Slide 32
5 minutes - 155
“Safety is about thoughts and feelings, not about physical surroundings”
(Paul Boyle)
Large Group or Small Group Discussion:
What kinds of feelings does this generate for you?
PP Slide 33
Traits of Teachers
15 minutes - 170
Teacher Traits that support children’s healing following Trauma
- a nurturing nature
- protective
- reassuring
- tolerant: a teacher must be ready to tolerate a child’s response to something that fills
him with terror even if it seems insignificant to us.
- Provide a ‘social reference’. Children look to adults for emotional cues of how to
respond. They learn a range of emotions, when and how to respond.
(Jan Dowling)
Facilitator Note: (may or may not share following statement…depends upon group)
Being tolerant is hard. If we can place blame we can protect ourselves. If we are empathic, we are
vulnerable.
PP Slide 34
Application Activity at Tables
Think about the things you are doing now to support the students in your classroom.
they look like?
What do
Talk about it at your tables. (may note new ideas or affirm something that you are doing)
What are some things you do to take care of yourself?
Facilitator Note:
PP Slide 35
Would any one like to share their thoughts?
Did anything new come up for you?
LUNCH….. 11:30-12:30 (approximate time)
Facilitator Note: No slide for immediately after lunch…move right into energizer
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Energizer: Wright Family Story
10 minutes - 10
Stand in a large circle, shoulder to shoulder.
Make sure everyone as an object to pass.
I am going to tell you a story. Every time you hear any word that sounds like ‘right’, pass the
object in your hand to the person on your right, and every time you hear the word ‘left’ pass the
object in your hand to the person on your left.
Facilitator Note:
- start out slowly so people can figure out how to do the activity. If people have more
than one item, redistribute
- as move thru story, go faster
One day the Wright family decided to take a vacation. The first thing they had to
decide was who would be left at home since there was not enough room in the Wright
family car for all of them. Mr. Wright decided that Aunt Linda Wright would be the
one left at home. Of course this made Aunt Linda Wright so mad that she left the
house immediately yelling "It will be a right cold day before I return".
The Wright family now bundled up the children, Tommy Wright, Susan Wright, Timmy
Wright and Shelly Wright and got in the car and left. Unfortunately, as they turned
out of the driveway someone had left a trash can in the street so they had to turn
right around and stop the car. They told Tommy Wright to get out of the car and
move the trash can so they could get going. Tommy took so long that they almost left
him in the street. Once the Wright family got on the road, Mother Wright wondered
if she had left the stove on. Father Wright told her not to worry he had checked
the stove and she had not left it on. As they turned right at the corner, everyone
started to think about other things that they might have left undone.
No need to worry now, they were off on a right fine vacation. When they arrived at
the gas station, Father Wright put gas in the car and then discovered that he had
left his wallet at home. So Timmy Wright ran home to get the money that was left
behind. After Timmy had left, Susan Wright started to feel sick. She left the car
saying that she had to throw up. This of course got Mother Wright's attention and
she left the car in a hurry. Shelly Wright wanted to watch Susan get sick, so she
left the car too. Father Wright was left with Tommy Wright who was playing a game
in the backseat.
With all of this going on Father Wright decided that this was not the right time to
take a vacation, so he gathered up all of the family and left the gas station as
quickly as he could. When he arrived home, he turned left into the driveway and said
"I wish the Wright family had never left the house today! Right?”
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Follow up Questions:
How much of the story can you remember?
What does this activity tell us about communication?
What does this activity tell us about teamwork?
What does this activity tell us about listening skills?
Facilitator Note:
- purpose of activity = team work
- idea was not to get too distracted by left and right, and to stay focused on what was
happening in the story.
- everyday there are numerous issues/events that pull us in many different directions.
The important thing is to stay focused on the children
PP Slide 36
Emotion Curve
5 minutes - 15
How are you supporting the child when their emotions are high?
- Respond with empathy
How are you supporting yourself when you are working with a child at the top of the emotion curve?
-
Keep in mind when we think about this, the optimal time when to engage the child
PP Slide 37
What Pushes Your Buttons
Materials:
10 minutes – 25
Buttons (put buttons on table at lunch time)
Take several buttons from the center of the table. Imagine each represents something that stirs
your emotions or feelings.
Share with your group what pushes your “buttons”.
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o
Reference the emotion curve….when your buttons are pushed, can you take in new
information? Are you able to learn?
o
Ask participants what you do to take of yourself when your buttons are pushed?
PP Slide 38
What are the buttons for children?
How do you support children when their buttons are pushed?
Think about the children on the table. What pushes that child’s button?
Facilitator Note: We know one of the most powerful things we can do with children is to be
empathic.
Definition of Empathy: Identifying with the feelings, thoughts, or attitudes of another.
- Ability to understand how another feels (You can’t come to my b-day party)
- Capacity to feel what another person feels and to act with their feelings in mind (You,
Me, Us)
- Begins to appear at the end of the second year of life (you can’t come to my b-day party)
Do we need to add facilitator questions to prompt discussion
- do you want to add a question of how this looks in your classroom or do you want to
wait till after the next 4 slides???
Facilitator Note…… next 5 slides related to empathy
PP Slide 39
Ways to promote Empathy
-
20 minutes - 45
Help children recognize their own feelings
Help children label what they are feeling
Discuss physical reactions accompanying emotions
Provide opportunities for children to talk about their feelings
PP Slide 40
More Ways to Promote Empathy
- Help children to recognize the feeling of others
o Discuss facial expressions
o Talk about associated body language
o As you read books look at the faces and body language of the characters and talk
about how they might be feeling
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PP Slide 41
Still More Ways to Promote Empathy
• Use a problem solving approach
• Provide an environment of warmth and safety
• Provide a consistent daily routine
• Be a role model for appropriate emotional responses.
PP Slide 42
The Most important help we can give is in our interactions with children:
- When a child feels that someone knows and understand them they can develop empathy
- Lack of empathic care affects the frontal lobe (higher functions). It impairs the child’s
ability to tap into their own cognitive skills.
- So we have to first be the empathic caregiver and then help them think about their
choices.
PP Slide 43
In Summary
The brain learns best in a threat-free environment
The brain functions best from intrinsic motivation
The body and mind work together and are inseparable
Threat and high stress inhibit learning
Threat impairs the ability to prioritize
Threat increases rote behavior
Threat impairs creativity
Threatening environments trigger chemical imbalances in the brain which lead to impulsive,
aggressive behavior
Early and consistent threat in childhood make a person highly likely to be aggressive and easily
provoked
Lets stand up and do something active
PP Slide 44
Activity
10 minutes 55
Keep Your Eye On The Target – Ball Toss
Materials:
will divide group in half…need 2 of each
soft ball, book, pine cone, box like thing, wet diaper – icky thing
Directions:
Make a circle. Toss ball to a person who is not standing next to you. Keep tossing the ball in the
same sequence.
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Slowly add more items to toss, always keep it tossing objects in same sequence (catch and toss
from and to the same people)
Follow Up Question: (once return to seats)
What happened when added new items into the mix?
o communicate more
o more support, fun
o adaptation
o As got more stressed trying to keep balls in air….changed focused
o Routine…always the same
o In classroom, many things are always coming at us
Facilitator Note:
When a new situation comes up in our classrooms, it can throw us off balance. We need to do some
adapting to our routine. We don’t throw out all we have been doing.
PP Slide 45
High/Scope of Wheel of Learning
20 minutes - 75
How does High/Scope supports children with challenging behavior?
PP Slide 46
Blank High/Scope Wheel of Learning
Materials: Chart paper with blank wheel for facilitators only
What are the components of High/Scope’s Wheel of Learning?
o
o
Discuss how High/Scope supports children with challenging behavior. Discuss at
your tables.
Ask if any one would like to share out some of their strategies
 Phrase….that is one way to address that. There may be a more effective
way…..
 As we look at high/scope closer, we may find another way to work with
that…..
 Include blank high/scope wheel of learning
o Center: Active learning
Initiative
Key Developmental Indicators
o assessment – knowing your children, anecdotes
o adult child interaction
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o
o
PP Slide 47
Reframing Statements
Will be on separate sheet
daily routine
learning environment
10 minutes – 85
These are statements that we hear in our classrooms daily. We reframe these statements to help
build resiliency. Take a few moments to reframe the following statements in a positive way.
At snack time you hear a student say: " I always spill something"
At small group time a student loudly complains "I never get to sit next to Maddy"
You hear a child say, "I can't do it"
As children are hanging up their coats you hear a child say, "I hate school"
During large group time Millie stomps her feet crosses her arms and says, "I never get a turn"
You hear a child say, "I'm so stupid"
At small group Millie looks down and quietly comments: "My table always has to use the dumb, old
crayons."
A child on the playground says: "Nobody likes me."
At the easel, a child says, "My picture looks dumb"
When a child is sitting on your lap reading a book with you another child says: "Why don't you like
me?"
(one possible response could be...You'd like a turn,is there a way we can all look at the
book?)
After finish with large group review of statements…follow up question:
- Are there any other statements you hear in your classroom that you could reframe?
Facilitator Note:
**Is this an ongoing thing...does it need to be addressed? this is where your observation tools become very
very important. this is when you become a very intentional teacher.
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PP Slide 48
Strategies for Supporting Children
15 minutes – 100
Facilitator Note:
- may be in packet or separate hand out
Take a few moments to read over the attached list of strategies and discuss at your tables.
Follow Up Questions:
Would anyone like to share what was discussed at your tables?
Are there any things that you do in your classroom that are not included on the list?
BREAK
15
minutes 115
PP Slide 49
Positive Behavior Strategies
10 minutes – 125
- Research suggests that the HighScope Wheel is embedded in the Pyramid Model: Social
Emotional Competence and Addressing Challenging Behavior
- All children are supported by best practices within a high quality preschool program
- Some children need additional targeted social emotional support
PP Slide 50
Positive Behavior Support Pyramid:
(NAEYC website)
Take a moment to review this pyramid.
What are some things that you notice?
How does the High/Scope Wheel of Learning tie in with this model?
Facilitator Note: will find this pyramid in the NAEYC website
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o
All children can be supported by best practices in a high quality preschool
program
o
Blue zone: All children benefit by having all this in place. This is where we do
most of our work. We have a consistent daily routine, transitions, learning
environment, active learning, all your components of a High/scope classroom
problem solving……etc………..
o
Green zone: this is where your intentional teaching occurs. Adult child
interactions, looking in mirror, focus on emotions, building empathy, social stories
– usually a smaller number of kids fall into this range
 Targeted Social Supports:
 This is where you might design a SGT lesson about a particular issue
o
Red zone: this where a smaller number of kids fall.
 Only go here after implementing the foundation of the pyramid.
 Remember some children may be fall in the red level, but are not
appropriate for cpse. They might be struggling due to trauma or loss or…..
 There might be some kids who will eventually be referred to cpse AND it
is not your first step
Instruction is embedded into play and daily routine activities.
A major focus is peer interaction and emotional development as well as concept development.
Instructional activities, whether concepts, social skills or behavioral skills are taught in
developmentally appropriate means
•
•
PBS is a way to reduce challenging behaviors by increasing desirable behaviors thro
ugh prevention, positive consequences, and teaching appropriate behaviors (Conroy, e
t al. 2005).
And it dovetails with the High/Scope Approach
Physical behavior….running, jumping off furniture, head banging on floor..
Just a reminder: remember and listen to your heart
Traumatize children have experienced confusion, fear, rage, terror, and
grief
When a child is aggressive, don’t jump to conclusions. “read” it as fear
And……….
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Facilitator note: Remember to start at the bottom of the pyramid
PP Slide 51
Test your Awareness Video – video from Jeanne
Directions: How many times is the ball passed?
5 minutes – 130
PP Slide 52
Video (unsure if there is a separate slide in final presentation….not in copy Jeanne sent out
on Tues afternoon – in the one from Sandy’s computer from Monday afternoon)
Follow up question:
Did any of you see the moon walking Bear?
- Watch 2nd time
PP Slide 53:
Observation Worksheet
20 minutes - 155
Here is A tool to help us understand what the behavior is communicating to us. It is a way to help
us be very focal in our observations.
Included as an attachment in packet
Top portion of worksheet is about the child
Facilitator Note:
Trigger:
what comes before the “behavior”…what is happening before the “challenging
behavior” occurs
Could be classroom, could be child standing near the cubby, what having for
breakfast
Behavior:
challenging behavior’ observed
Consequence: what the child is gaining by behavior or avoiding by behavior
Purpose of behavior – it is the function of the behavior. Why is the child
doing this
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Bottom Part of Worksheet is about teaching strategies
Preventions
- what you have put in place to support the child
o If have a child running out the door, put bells on door
o Competing for space in the block area…..make block area bigger
o Fighting over trains…add more trains
New Skills:
- new skills to teach thru out the day to replace the challenging behavior
- what the replacement behavior is going to be
o Instead of running out the door, different way of communicating they need a
break
- Intentional teaching – what are we teaching
Adult Response:
- What adults will do when the challenging behavior occurs to ensure that the behavior is
not maintained and the replacement behavior is maintained
The type of behavior is often not as meaningful as the CONTEXT of the behavior. This is what
this worksheet helps us understand – Jan Dowling quote
Bottom part of worksheet is about the classroom staff’s work
- opportunity for plan do review for classroom staff
- a framework to examine what strategies have tried and the results
clean copy will be posted on RCSD sharepoint
PP Slide 54:
• Behavior Hypotheses – Purpose of the behavior, your best guess about why the behavior
occurs
• Prevention Strategies – Ways to make events and interactions that trigger challenging
behaviors easier for the child to manage
• Replacement Skills - New skills to teach throughout the day to replace the challenging
behavior
• Responses – What adults will do when the challenging behavior occurs to insure that the
behavior is not maintained and that the replacement behavior is learned
Page 22 of 23
PP Slide 55
Your Plan
In your team, choose one of the children in your ‘class’.
Think about one of the challenging behaviors the child has.
Complete the top part of the form. Then….
Come up with a plan that includes:
- strategies to prevent the behavior
- new skills
- adult support
record your plan on the observation sheet
Facilitator Note:
The observations also give staff an opportunity to do “plan do review’ as well. Once you put a plan
in place, you go back and look at how it is going. Are there further changes that would be helpful
or more effective for the child?
1) meet and identify goal of behavior – what is the child accomplishing by doing the behavior?
2) gather information/observe/what is happening, when, how often, what happens right
before the behavior? (this is where the worksheet can be used. A framework for really
examining the behavior)
3) develop hypothesis - your best guesses of why the behavior may be occurring
4) design behavior support plans
- strategies for preventing the behavior
- new skills
- adult support
5) implement, monitor and refine the plan (this where the plan do review comes into play for
staff – this happens more than one time)
PP Slide 56
Watch for Teachable Moments
Page 23 of 23
PP Slide 57
Lesson Plan for a Child
10 minutes – 165
Select a child from your class and make a plan for them for 2 parts of the daily routine.
-
Large group
Small group
Transitions
Worktime
Would anyone like to share their plan?
If one part of the day is not chosen, ask a reflective question ….
“What strategies might you use for ……..(part of day)?
PP Slide 58
Behavior is Communication
Remember to listen with your heart to all the ways adults and children communicate
PP Slide 59
Implementation Plan
15 minutes – 180
Please take a few moments to complete the implementation page
Would anyone like to share something you are taking with you today…..or something you are leaving
here……
Class Evaluation Form ?????????????????????