Response to Intervention RTI and the Teacher as 'First Responder': Tools for Classroom Intervention Jim Wright

Response to Intervention

www.interventioncentral.org

RTI and the Teacher as 'First Responder': Tools for Classroom Intervention

Jim Wrightwww.interventioncentral.org



Access PPTs and other materials from this workshop at:

http://www.interventioncentral.org/winneconne



Intervention Centralwww.interventioncentral.org




www.interventioncentral.orgSource: Grosche, M., & Volpe, R. J. (2013). Response-to-intervention (RTI) as a model to facilitate inclusion for students with learning and behaviour problems. European Journal of Special Needs Education, 28, 254-269. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/08856257.2013.768452



The Strong Classroom Behavior Manager: A Mosaic

Key Principles of Behavior Management

Proactive Classwide Management Skills

Individual Classroom Behavior Intervention Plans

Group Management Strategies



Managing Student Behaviors byPlaying the Odds: The Vegas Approach• On any given day, teachers cannot know

with certainty what behavioral challenges will walk through their classroom door.

• However, by adopting sound, research-based behavior-management practices, teachers increase the odds that they will be able to handle unexpected behavioral incidents—in a way that enhances authority and promotes student success.

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Activity: Behavior Management in Your Classroom

In your groups:• Discuss the behavioral challenges that

you currently face in your classroom.• Record your TOP 2-3 challenges.• Be prepared to report out!

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Behavioral ‘Big Ideas’. What are big ideas that can help teachers to more effectively manage challenging student behaviors?



Big Ideas in Behavior Management

pp. 2-3



Identifying the Big Ideas That Guide Effective Behavior Management

These ‘big ideas’ can promote positive behavior change in students:1. Check for academic problems.

2. Identify the underlying function of the behavior.

3. Eliminate behavioral triggers.

4. Redefine the behavioral goal as a replacement behavior.

5. Focus on factors within the school’s control.

6. Be flexible in responding to misbehavior.

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‘Big Ideas’ in Behavior Management…

Check for academic problems. The correlation between classroom misbehavior and deficient academic skills is high (Witt, Daly, & Noell, 2000). Teachers should, therefore, routinely assess a student's academic skills as a first step when attempting to explain why a particular behavior is occurring. And it logically follows that, when poor academics appear to drive problem behaviors, at least some of the intervention ideas that the teacher selects should address the student's academic deficit.

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Identify the underlying function of the behavior. Problem behaviors occur for a reason. Such behaviors serve a function for the student (Witt, Daly, & Noell, 2000). The most commonly observed behavioral functions in classrooms are escape/avoidance and peer or adult attention (Packenham, Shute, & Reid, 2004). When an educator can identify the probable function sustaining a particular set of behaviors, the teacher has confidence that interventions selected to match the function will be correctly targeted and therefore likely to be effective.

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Behavior Function Peer attention Adult attention Escape or avoidance of a situation or activity (e.g., because the

student lacks the skills to do the academic work)

Acceptance/ affiliation with individuals or peer group(s) Power/control in interactions with peer(s) Power/control in interactions with adult(s)

Fulfillment of physical needs: e.g., sleep




Eliminate behavioral triggers. Problem behaviors are often set off by events or conditions within the instructional setting (Kern, Choutka, & Sokol, 2002). Sitting next to a distracting classmate or being handed an academic task that is too difficult to complete are two examples of events that might trigger student misbehavior. When the instructor is able to identify and eliminate triggers of negative conduct, such actions tend to work quickly and--by preventing class disruptions--result in more time available for instruction (Kern & Clemens, 2007).

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ABC Time-line

The ABC (Antecedent-Behavior-Consequence) timeline shows the elements that contribute to student behaviors: (a) the Antecedent, or trigger; (b) the student Behavior; and (c) the Consequence of that behavior.

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ABC Timeline

A CB



ABC: The Core of Behavior Management“....at the core of behavioral interventions is the three-term contingency consisting of an antecedent, behavior, and consequence.”

Source: Kern, L., Choutka, C. M., & Sokol, N. G. (2002). Assessment-based antecedent interventions used in natural settings to reduce challenging behaviors: An analysis of the literature. Education & Treatment of Children, 25, 113-130. p. 113.

A B C

“That is, most behavior is believed to occur…”

“… subsequent to some type of environmental event (i.e., an antecedent) …”

“…which then may be maintained if it is followed by an event that is pleasurable or reinforcing (i.e., consequence).”



ABC: Events as Antecedents

A B C

The student stares at the paper for a moment—then

tears it up.Example: A student is given

a worksheet to complete.The student is sent to the

office-allowing escape from the task.

Source: Kern, L., Choutka, C. M., & Sokol, N. G. (2002). Assessment-based antecedent interventions used in natural settings to reduce challenging behaviors: An analysis of the literature. Education & Treatment of Children, 25, 113-130. p. 113.

‘Discriminative Stimulus’: An antecedent can become associated with certain desired outcomes and thus ‘trigger’ problem behaviors.

If the consequence associated with the behavior is reinforcing for the student, then the antecedent or trigger can serve to signal (discriminate) that reinforcement is coming.




Redefine the behavioral goal as a replacement behavior. By selecting a positive behavioral goal that is an appropriate replacement for the student’s original problem behavior, the teacher reframes the student concern in a manner that allows for more effective intervention planning (Batsche, Castillo, Dixon, & Forde, 2008). For example, an instructor who is concerned that a student is talking with peers about non-instructional topics during independent seatwork might select as a replacement behavior that the student will engage in "active, accurate academic responding".

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Focus on factors within the school’s control. Teachers recognize that students often face significant factors outside of the school setting--e.g., limited parental support -- that can place them at heightened risk for academic failure and problem behaviors.

Schools can best counteract the influence of negative outside factors and promote student resilience by providing supports within the educational setting such as skills instruction, tutoring, mentoring, and use of positive behavior management strategies (Hosp, 2008).

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Be flexible in responding to misbehavior. Teachers have greater success in managing the full spectrum of student misbehaviors when they respond flexibly--evaluating each individual case and applying strategies that logically address the likely cause(s) of that student's problem conduct (Marzano, Marzano, & Pickering, 2003).

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Activity: Which Big Idea is the Most Important?• At your tables, discuss

the big ideas in behavior management presented here.

• Select the 1-2 ideas that that you believe are most important for any teacher to keep in mind when working with challenging students.

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‘Big Ideas’ in Behavior Management

1. Check for academic problems.2. Identify the underlying function

of the behavior.3. Eliminate behavioral triggers.4. Redefine the behavioral goal as

a replacement behavior.5. Focus on factors within the

school’s control.6. Be flexible in responding to

misbehavior.



Classroom Management: Intervention Pathways. How can teachers set up behavior management in their classrooms to get the greatest benefit for the least effort?



Classroom Management:

Intervention Pathwayspp. 4-7



Classroom Management: Intervention PathwaysBehavior Management Components: Well-managed classrooms are built on a foundation that includes:1. teaching behavioral expectations to students; 2. providing strong instruction; 3. using proactive strategies to manage group

behaviors; 4. building connections with students; and 5. responding flexibly and appropriately when

individual behavior problems occur.

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1. Behavioral Expectations. Students receive explicit training and guidance in expected classroom behaviors.

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Classroom Management: Intervention Pathways



Teaching Behavioral Expectations. Students have been explicitly taught classroom behavioral expectations. Those positive behaviors are acknowledged and reinforced on an ongoing basis (Fairbanks, Sugai, Guardino, & Lathrop, 2007).

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1. Teaching Behavioral Expectations



Posting Positive Classroom Rules. The classroom has a set of 3-8 rules or behavioral expectations posted. When possible, those rules are stated in positive terms as ‘goal’ behaviors (e.g. ‘Students participate in learning activities without distracting others from learning’). The rules are frequently reviewed (Simonsen, Fairbanks, Briesch, Myers, & Sugai, 2008).

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• Training Students in Basic Class Routines. The teacher has clearly established routines to deal with common classroom activities (Fairbanks, Sugai, Guardino, & Lathrop, 2007; Marzano, Marzano, & Pickering, 2003; Sprick, Borgmeier, & Nolet, 2002). These routines include but are not limited to:– Engaging students in meaningful academic activities at the start of

class (e.g., using bell-ringer activities)– Assigning and collecting homework and classwork– Transitioning students efficiently between activities– Independent seatwork and cooperative learning groups– Students leaving and reentering the classroom– Dismissing students at the end of the period 33




Self-Check Behavior Checklist Maker. This online tool allows teachers to define student behavior during classroom routines and transitions – a great way to clearly define behavioral expectations.

1. Teaching Behavioral Expectations: Additional Resources



2. Instruction That Motivates. Academic instruction holds student attention and promotes engagement.

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• Delivering Effective Instruction. The teacher’s lesson and instructional activities include these components (Burns, VanDerHeyden, & Boice, 2008):– Instructional match. Students are placed in work that provides them with

an appropriate level of challenge (not too easy and not too difficult).– Explicit instruction. The teacher delivers instruction using modeling,

demonstration, supervised student practice, etc. – High rate of student responding & engagement. There are sufficient

opportunities during the lesson for students to be actively engaged and ‘show what they know’.

– Timely performance feedback. Students receive feedback about their performance on independent seatwork, as well as whole-group and small-group activities. 44

2. Strong Instruction That Motivates



• Maintaining Brisk Pace of Instruction. The teacher presents an organized lesson, with instruction moving briskly.

There are no significant periods of ‘dead time’ (e.g., during roll-taking or transitioning between activities) when student misbehavior can start (Carnine, 1976; Gettinger & Ball, 2008).

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• Giving Clear Directions. When delivering directions to the class, the teacher uses strategies that increase the likelihood that all students hear and clearly understand them (Ford, Olmi, Edwards, & Tingstrom, 2001).

For large groups, such strategies might include using a general alerting cue (e.g., ‘Eyes and ears on me’) and ensuring general group focus before giving directions. Multi-step directions are posted for later student review. For individual students, the teacher may make eye contact with the student before giving directions and ask the student to repeat those directions before starting the assignment. 66




• Offering Student Choice. The teacher provides the class or individual students with appropriate choice-opportunities when completing in-class academic tasks (Jolivette, Wehby, Canale, & Massey, 2001)

Offering choice options to students can increase academic motivation and focus while reducing problem behaviors. Examples include allowing students to choose (1) an assignment from among two or more alternative, equivalent offerings; (2) what books or other materials are to be used to complete an assignment; (3) who to work with on a collaborative task.

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Direct Instruction Checklist. Teachers can use this checklist to evaluate lesson plans to ensure that they provide appropriate direct-instruction support for struggling learners.

2. Strong Instruction That Motivates: Additional Resources



3. Group Behavior Management. The teacher uses active, positive techniques to manage the classroom.

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• Employing Effective Verbal Commands. The teacher delivers clear directives to students that (1) are delivered calmly, (2) are brief, (3) are stated when possible as DO statements rather than as DON'T statements, (4) use clear, simple language, and (5) are delivered one directive at a time and appropriately paced to avoid confusing or overloading students (Kern & Clemens, 2007; Matheson & Shriver, 2005).

These directives are positive or neutral in tone, avoiding sarcasm or hostility and over-lengthy explanations that can distract or confuse students.

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3. Group Behavior Management



• Providing Active Supervision. The teacher frequently moves through the classroom--strategically recognizing positive behaviors while redirecting students who are off-task (De Pry & Sugai, 2002).

As needed, the instructor gives behavioral reminders or prompts, teaches or reteaches expected behaviors , and praises examples of appropriate student behavior.

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• Using Group Prompts to Hold Attention. The teacher gives brief reminders of expected behaviors at the 'point of performance'—the time when students will most benefit from them (DuPaul & Stoner, 2002).

To prevent student call-outs, for example, a teacher may use a structured prompt such as: "When I ask this question, I will give the class 10 seconds to think of your best answer. Then I will call on one student."

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Assorted Classroom Management ‘Packages’. Teachers can assert classroom control using one or more of these classwide packages: Zone Defense System, Teacher-Student Learning Game, Good Behavior Game, Color Wheel, and Defense Management.

3. Group Behavior Management: Additional Resources



4. Student Relationships. The teacher uses strategies to promote in students a sense of classroom connection and belonging.

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• Greeting Students at the Classroom Door. A personalized greeting at the start of a class period can boost class levels of academic engagement (Allday & Pakurar, 2007).

The teacher spends a few seconds greeting each student by name at the classroom door at the beginning of class.

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4. Student Relationships



• Shaping Behavior Through Praise. To increase desired behavior, the teacher praises the student in specific terms whenever the student engages in that behavior (Kern & Clemens, 2007). The teacher uses praise statements at a rate sufficient to motivate and guide the student toward the behavioral goal: – The teacher selects the specific desired behavior(s) to encourage through

praise; – The teacher sets a goal for how frequently to deliver praise (e.g., to praise

a student at least 3 times per class period for working on in-class assignments).

– The teacher makes sure that any praise statements given are behavior-specific. 1212




• Maintaining a High Rate of Positive Interactions. Teachers promote a positive relationship with any student by maintaining a ratio of at least three positive teacher-student interactions (e.g., greeting, positive conversation, high-five) for every negative (disciplinary) interaction (e.g., reprimand) (Sprick, Borgmeier, & Nolet, 2002).

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• Providing Attention With the ‘Two by Ten’. The professor makes a commitment to have a 2-minute conversation with the student across 10 consecutive school days (20 minutes of cumulative positive contact) (Mendler, 2000). This strategy (‘non-contingent attention’) can be helpful with students who lack a positive connection with the instructor.

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Praise (Teacher Handout). Teachers can strengthen their use of classroom praise by reviewing ‘best practices’ for praising students.

4. Student Relationships: Additional Resources



5. Individual Behavior Management. The teacher uses flexible, positive techniques to manage behaviors of particular students.

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• Preparing a Range of Appropriate Classroom Consequences for Misbehavior. The teacher has a continuum of classroom-based consequences for misbehavior (e.g., redirect the student; have a brief private conference with the student; remove classroom privileges; send the student to another classroom for a brief timeout) that are used before the teacher considers administrative removal of the student from the classroom (Sprick, Borgmeier, & Nolet, 2002).

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• Giving Pre-Corrections as Behavioral Reminders. The teacher heads off a problem behavior by proactively prompting or reminding student to show appropriate behaviors (De Pry & Sugai, 2002). Just before a time, situation or setting when problem behaviors are most likely to occur, the teacher 'pre-corrects' by reminding the student of appropriate behavioral expectations.

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5. Individual Behavior Management



• Emphasizing the Positive in Teacher Requests. Whenever possible, the teacher states requests to individual students in positive terms (e.g., "I will be over to help you on the assignment just as soon as you return to your seat") rather than with a negative spin (e.g., "I won’t help you with your assignment until you return to your seat."). When an instructor's request has a positive 'spin', that teacher is less likely to trigger a power struggle and more likely to gain student compliance (Braithwaite, 2001).

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• Asking Open-Ended Questions. The teacher asks neutral, open-ended questions to collect more information before responding to a student who is upset or appears confrontational (Lanceley, 1999). The teacher can pose ‘who’, ‘what’, ‘where’, ‘when’, and ‘how’ questions to more fully understand the problem situation and identify possible solutions (e.g., "What do you think made you angry when you were talking with Billy?"). Teachers should avoid asking ‘why" questions because they can imply that the teacher is blaming the student.

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• Keeping Responses Calm and Brief. The teacher responds to provocative or confrontational students in a 'neutral', business-like, calm voice and keeps responses brief (Sprick, Borgmeier, & Nolet, 2002; Walker & Walker, 1991). The teacher avoids getting 'hooked' into a discussion or argument with that student. Instead the teacher repeats the request calmly and—if necessary-- imposes a pre-determined consequence for noncompliance.

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• Selecting Behavior Management Strategies Matched to Student Need. The teacher is able flexibly to select different behavior management strategies for use with different students, demonstrating their understanding that one type of intervention strategy cannot be expected to work with all students. (Marzano, Marzano, & Pickering, 2003).

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Behavior Report Cards. Teachers can use BRCs to help students to internalize classroom behavioral expectations, set individual behavior goals, and self-monitor behavior.

5. Individual Behavior Management: Additional Resources



Activity: Classroom Management:Intervention PathwaysIn your groups:• Look over the ‘Intervention

Pathways’ handout pp. 4-7).

• Select one item from that handout that you believe might be most challenging to make work in your classroom.

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Behavior Management ‘Buckets’::1. teaching behavioral

expectations to students;

2. providing strong instruction;

3. using proactive strategies to manage group behaviors;

4. building connections with students; and

5. responding flexibly and appropriately when individual behavior problems occur.



Group Behavior Management. What are examples of behavior management that can improve on-task behavior for a group or entire class?


www.interventioncentral.orgSource: Grosche, M., & Volpe, R. J. (2013). Response-to-intervention (RTI) as a model to facilitate inclusion for students with learning and behaviour problems. European Journal of Special Needs Education, 28, 254-269. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/08856257.2013.768452



Good Behavior Game

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The Good Behavior Game is a whole-class intervention to improve student attending and academic engagement. It is best used during structured class time: for example, whole-group instruction or periods of independent seatwork

The Game is not suitable for less-structured activities such as cooperative learning groups, where students are expected to interact with each other as part of the work assignment.

Sample Classroom Management Strategy: Good Behavior Game (Barrish, Saunders, & Wold, 1969)



1. The instructor decides when to schedule the Game. (NOTE: Generally, the Good Behavior Game should be used for no more than 45 to 60 minutes per day to maintain its effectiveness.)

2. The instructor defines the 2-3 negative behaviors that will be scored during the Game. Most teachers use these 3 categories:

• Talking Out: The student talks, calls out, or otherwise verbalizes without teacher permission.

• Out of Seat: The student’s posterior is not on the seat.• Disruptive Behavior: The student engages in any other

behavior that the instructor finds distracting or problematic.

Good Behavior Game: Steps



3. The instructor selects a daily reward to be awarded to each member of successful student teams. (HINT: Try to select rewards that are inexpensive or free. For example, student winners might be given a coupon permitting them to skip one homework item that night.)

4. The instructor divides the class into 2 or more teams. 5. The instructor selects a daily cut-off level that

represents the maximum number of points that a team is allowed (e.g., 5 points).




6. When the Game is being played, the instructor teaches in the usual manner. Whenever the instructor observes student misbehavior during the lesson, the instructor silently assigns a point to that student’s team (e.g., as a tally mark on the board) and continues to teach.




7. When the Game period is over, the teacher tallies each team’s points. Here are the rules for deciding the winner(s) of the Game:

• Any team whose point total is at or below the pre-determined cut-off earns the daily reward. (NOTE: This means that more than one team can win!)

• If one team’s point total is above the cut-off level, that team does not earn a reward.

• If ALL teams have point totals that EXCEED the cut-off level for that day, only the team with the LOWEST number of points wins.




Here are some tips for using the Good Behavior Game:• Avoid the temptation to overuse the Game. Limit its use to no more

than 45 minutes to an hour per day.• If a student engages in repeated bad behavior to sabotage a team

and cause it to lose, you can create an additional ‘team of one’ that has only one member--the misbehaving student. This student can still participate in the Game but is no longer able to spoil the Game for peers!

• If the Game appears to be losing effectiveness, check to be sure it is being implemented with care and that you are:

– Assigning points consistently when you observe misbehavior.– Not allowing yourself to be pulled into arguments with students

when you assign points for misbehavior.– Reliably giving rewards to Game winners. – Not overusing the Game.

Good Behavior Game: Troubleshooting



Team 1 Team 2

Good Behavior Game Cut-Off=2

[Out of Seat] [Call Out]

[Disruptive]

Game Over

Question: Which team won this Game?Answer: Both teams won the Game, as both teams’ point totals fell BELOW the cut-off of 5 points.



The Color Wheel

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How To: Improve Classroom Management Through Flexible Rules: The Color Wheel

• The Color Wheel enforces uniform group expectations for conduct and responds flexibly to the differing behavioral demands of diverse learning activities.

• This classwide intervention divides all activities into 3 categories, linking each category to a color and behavioral rules: – green for free time/ low-structure activities– yellow for large- or small-group

instruction/independent work– red for brief transitions between activities.

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How To: Improve Classroom Management Through Flexible Rules: The Color Wheel (Cont.)

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Color Wheel: Additional Considerations:1. Give advance warning. The instructor gives a 30-second

warning when the Color Wheel is about the change. (An additional 2-minute warning may be added as well.)

2. Praise rule-following. The teacher frequently praises students for following posted behaviors. Classwide praise should be intermixed with praise to small groups and individuals. Praise should be 'labeled', clearly describing the praise-worthy behaviors (e.g., "This reading group transitioned quickly and quietly to the math lesson. Nice work!").

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Color Wheel: Additional Considerations:3. Keep the Color Wheel 'red' periods short. Teachers should

keep students on the red phase only long enough complete the transition to a new green or yellow activity (e.g., 3-5 minutes).

4. Do not use the 'red' Color Wheel setting as punishment. The rules for the red (transitions) Color Wheel condition are the most restrictive. However, teachers should never set the classroom color condition to red to punish students for misbehavior—as students may fail to comply with the red behavioral rules because they are seen as punitive.

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‘Learned Helplessness’. How can teachers address the needs of students who are unmotivated because they lack confidence in their own abilities?

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AVAILABILITY: 'BIASES OFIMAGINABILITY'. The degree of motivation that a student brings to academic work is influenced by the ease with which that student is able to imagine positive or negative outcomes.

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Source: Tversky, A. & Kahneman, D. (1974) Judgment under uncertainty: Heuristics and biases.. Science, 185, 1124-1131.



EXAMPLE--AVAILABILITY: 'BIASES OFIMAGINABILITY'. A student lacks motivation to put her full effort into a reading/math/writing assignment because – she can vividly imagine failing the assignment (based

on past experience) but – cannot easily picture succeeding on the assignment

(because she has few if any prior examples of success to call to mind).

In this case, the ‘bias of imaginability’ is tilted toward the negative and saps student motivation.

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Tamara & Jack: Contrasting Learners

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Unmotivated Students: What Works

The relationship between the two factors is multiplicative. If EITHER of these factors (the student’s expectation of success on the task OR the student’s valuing of that success) is zero, then the ‘motivation’ product will also be zero.

1. the student’s expectation of success on the task

2. the value that the student places on achieving success on that learning task

Motivation can be thought of as having two dimensions:

Multiplied by

Source: Sprick, R. S., Borgmeier, C., & Nolet, V. (2002). Prevention and management of behavior problems in secondary schools. In M. A. Shinn, H. M. Walker & G. Stoner (Eds.), Interventions for academic and behavior problems II: Preventive and remedial approaches (pp.373-401). Bethesda, MD: National Association of School Psychologists.

………………10X 0...…………

0

……………… 0X 10...…………

0

………………10X 10...…………

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Motivation Deficit: The student is unmotivated because of learned helplessness — a lack of confidence that he or she can do the assigned work.

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• Profile of a Student with This Motivation Problem: The student is passive: he or she does not work quickly, cannot articulate a plan for the assigned work, has a low sense of self-efficacy in the subject area of concern, and does not know what steps to follow to attain academic success.



Learned Helplessness: The Underperforming Student“Learned helplessness exists when individuals believe that their own behavior has no influence on consequent events.”“.…when individuals learn that responding and reinforcement are independent, they are slower to initiate responses or do not respond at all. They also have greater difficulty learning the response–reinforcement contingency even when they have initiated correct responses because the percentage of reinforced responses is so low” (Sutherland & Singh, 2004; p. 171).

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Source: Sutherland, K. S., & Singh, N. N. (2004). Learned helplessness and students with emotional or behavioral disorders: Deprivation in the classroom. Behavioral Disorders, 29(2), 169–181.



Learned Helplessness: The Failure Cycle

Students with a history of school failure are at particular risk of falling into the learned helplessness cycle:

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1. The student experiences repeated academic failures…

2. ...which undermine self-confidence in their intellectual abilities.

3. The student begins to doubt that their efforts will overcome their learning difficulties…

4. …causing that student to reduce efforts toward academic achievement .

5. …resulting in continued failure…

6. …and reinforcing the student’s belief that they lack the ability to learn.



Learned Helplessness: What are the Signs?

Learned helplessness: 3 deficits:

– Reduced motivation to respond in the classroom– Lessened ability to associate responding with

desirable outcomes– Symptoms of depression or anxiety.

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Learned Helplessness: How Should It Be Treated?

Teachers can help a student experiencing learned helplessness to ‘break out’ of this pattern by:– providing frequent ‘process’ feedback and ‘process’ praise

(vs. ‘ability’ feedback and praise) that helps the student to link effort to improved academic outcomes.

– teaching the student step-by-step cognitive strategies, academic fix-up skills, and other techniques (e.g., ‘process checklists’) to use on challenging assignments.

– instructing the student in how to create a work plan for extended assignments.

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How To…Help the Student Develop Work-Planning Skills: Plan, Evaluate, Adjust

(Online)



The student is trained to follow a plan>work>self-evaluate>adjust sequence in work-planning:

• Plan. The student creates a work plan: inventorying a collection of related tasks to be done, setting specific outcome goals that signify success on each task, allocating time sufficient to carry out each task.

• Work. The student completes the work.• Self-Evaluate. The student compares actual work

performance to the outcome goals to evaluate success.• Adjust. The student determines what to do differently in

the future to improve performance and outcomes.86

Source: Martin, J. E., Mithaug, D. E., Cox, P., Peterson, L. Y., Van Dycke, J. L., & Cash, M.E. (2003). Increasing self-determination: Teaching students to plan, work, evaluate, and adjust. Exceptional Children, 69, 431-447.

TUTORIAL: How To…Help the Student Develop Work-Planning Skills: Plan, Evaluate, Adjust






PLANNING: The teacher & student meet prior to the work to create a plan, with 3 phases to the meeting:

1. Task. The student describes each academic task in clear and specific terms (e.g., "Complete first 10 problems on page 48 of math book", "write an outline from notes for history essay").

For this part of the work plan, the teacher may need to model for the student how to divide larger global assignments into component tasks. in the future to improve performance and outcomes.

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2. Time Allocated. The student decides how much time should be reserved to complete each task (e.g., For a math workbook assignment: "20 minutes" or "11:20 to 11:40").

Because students with limited planning skills can make unrealistic time projections for task completion, the teacher may need to provide initial guidance and modeling in time estimation.

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3. Performance Goal. The student sets a performance goal to be achieved for each task. Performance goals are dependent on the student and may reference the amount, accuracy, and/or qualitative ratings of the work: (e.g., for a reading assignment: "To read at least 5 pages from assigned text, and to take notes of the content"; for a math assignment: "At least 80% of problems correct"; for a writing assignment: "Rating of 4 or higher on class writing rubric").

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SELF-EVALUATION: The teacher & student meet after the work to evaluate with 2 phases to the meeting:

1. Comparison of Performance Goal to Actual Performance. For each task on the plan, the student compares his or her actual work performance to the original performance goal and notes whether the goal was achieved. In addition to noting whether the performance goal was attained, the student evaluates whether the task was completed within the time allocated.

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SELF-EVALUATION: The teacher & student meet after the work to evaluate with 2 phases to the meeting:

2. Adjustment. For each task that the student failed to reach the performance goal within the time allocated, the student reflects on the experience and decides what adjustments to make on future assignments. For example, a student reviewing a homework work-plan who discovers that she reserved insufficient time to complete math word problems may state that, in future, she should allocate at least 30 minutes for similar tasks.

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Group Activity: Learned Helplessness

At your tables:• Consider the concept of

‘learned helplessness’.• Do you see this problem at

your grade level?• If so, what ideas do you

have to address it?

Learned Helplessness: Classroom Tips:– Provide frequent ‘process’

feedback and ‘process’ praise (vs. ‘ability’ feedback and praise) that helps the student to link effort to improved academic outcomes.

– Teach the student step-by-step cognitive strategies, academic fix-up skills, and other techniques (e.g., ‘process checklists’) to use on challenging assignments.

– Instruct the student in how to create a work plan for extended assignments.



Reward Menus. How can teachers rapidly discover what ‘rewards’ (reinforcers) will motivate a student?



Tutorial: How to Conduct a Reinforcer Survey to Create a ‘Reward Menu’

1. The teacher collects a series of feasible classroom ideas for possible student reinforcers, writing each idea onto a separate index card. This serves as a master ‘reinforcer deck’ that the teacher can reuse.

2. The teacher meets with the student individually to review the reward ideas in the master reinforce deck. The student states whether he or she ‘likes’ each reinforce idea ‘a lot’ , ‘a little’ or ‘not at all’ and the teacher sorts the reinforcer cards accordingly into separate piles. The reinforce ideas that the student selected as ‘liking a lot’ will be used to create a customized reinforcer menu for the student.

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Tutorial: How to Conduct a Reinforcer Survey to Create a ‘Reward Menu’

3. Whenever the student meets teacher-established criteria to earn a reward, that student selects one from the reinforce menu.

4. If the reward menu appears to be losing its reinforcing power, the teacher can repeat the steps above with the student to update and refresh the reward menu.

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Jackpot! Reward Finderhttp://www.interventioncentral.org/tools/jackpot-reward-finder

The Jackpot Reward Finder is a collection of ideas for classroom rewards for both elementary and secondary levels. Teachers can put together their own individualized menus of rewards and even create reinforcer/reward surveys to review with students.



Filling Behavior Intervention-Plan ‘Buckets’. What are the 3 elements that are essential to behavior intervention plans for individual students?

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The Secret Ingredients for Creating a Better Behavior Intervention Plan (Online)



Secret Ingredients for Creating a Better Behavior Intervention Plan: Antecedents, Positive

Consequences, and Extinction ProceduresTeachers will find that their chances of helping a student to engage in positive behaviors increase when they include each of these 3 elements in their classroom behavior intervention plans:

• Antecedents: Strategies to promote positive behaviors and prevent misbehavior

• Positive consequences: Responses that increase positive/goal behaviors

• Extinction procedures: Responses that extinguish problem behaviors

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1. Antecedents: Strategies to Promote Positive Behaviors & Prevent MisbehaviorTeachers have the greatest array of options to influence a student to engage in positive behaviors when they focus on antecedents: actions they take before the student behavior occurs.

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Antecedents: Academic Strategies

Ensure Instructional Match (Burns, VanDerHeyden, & Boice, 2008). Student misbehavior frequently arises from an inability to do the academic task. When the student lacks skills necessary for the academic task, the instructor teaches the necessary skill(s). Additional strategies include adjusting the immediate task to the student's current skill(s) and pairing the student with a helping peer.

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Increase Opportunities to Respond (Partin et al., 2010). The teacher's goal is to capture positive student behaviors by structuring lessons and work assignments to require a high rate of opportunities to respond (OTRs).

An efficient way to boost OTRs classwide is through group responding (Haydon, Borders, Embury, & Clarke, 2009). Strategies for group response include choral responding; show of hands; pre-formatted response cards (e.g., with YES and NO written on opposite faces of the card); and individual white boards.

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Offer Choice Opportunities (Green, Mays, & Jolivette, 2011). Students find it motivating to have opportunities to choose how they structure or carry out their academic tasks.

Teachers can allow choice on any of a variety of dimensions of a classroom activity, such as where the activity takes place; who the child works with; what materials to work with (e.g., choosing a book from several options); when to begin or end the activity; or how long to engage in the activity.

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Provide an Academic-Skills Checklist (Alter, Wyrick, Brown, & Lingo, 2008). When the student must apply several steps to complete a complex academic task, the teacher can give the student a checklist listing each step and instructions for completing it.

Before the activity, the student is prompted to preview the checklist; after the activity, the student uses the checklist to review the work.

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Chunk Larger Assignments (Rosenshine, 2008). If the student balks when faced with a lengthy or time-consuming assignment, the teacher can break the task into shorter, more manageable segments, or 'chunks'.

For example, an instructor might divide a 20-problem math computation sheet into 4 sections of five problems each. The student is directed to complete each problem-section, check the work against an answer key on the teacher's desk, and then move on to the next five problems—repeating the sequence until the assignment is finished.

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Train in Fix-Up Skills (Rosenshine, 2008). During independent work, the student should know procedures to follow if stuck (e.g., cannot complete an item; does not understand a word in a reading passage).

The teacher creates a routine for the student in how to apply 'fix-up' skills for independent assignments: e.g., "If I don't understand what I have read, I should (1) reread the paragraph; (2) slow my reading;(3) focus my full attention on what I am reading; (4) underline any words that I do not know and try to figure them out from the reading" (McCallum et al., 2010).

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Elicit a Student Outcome Goal (Martin et al., 2003). One tool to increase student motivation to perform an academic task is to have that student choose a specific, measurable outcome goal before starting that task.

At the end of the work session, the student compares the actual outcome to the previously selected goal to judge success. For example, a student about to begin a writing task may choose the goal of locating 3 primary sources for a term paper. Or a student starting an in-class reading assignment might come up with two questions that he would like to have answered from the reading.

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Antecedents: Behavior Strategies

Teach Expected Behaviors (Fairbanks, Sugai, Guardino, & Lathrop, 2007). Students must be explicitly taught behavioral expectations before they can be held accountable for those behaviors.

The teacher should model positive behaviors, give students examples and non-examples of appropriate behaviors to clarify understanding, have students practice those behaviors with instructor feedback; and consistently acknowledge and praise students for successfully displaying positive behaviors.

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Create a Checklist for Difficult Transitions (McCoy, Mathur, & Czoka, 2010). Students often struggle with the complexity of managing multi-step routines such as transitioning between classroom activities or moving to different locations within the school.

Teachers can assist by making up step-by-step checklists that 'walk' the student incrementally through the routine. Instructors can use these checklists as guides to teach and measure student success in navigating transitions. Just as important, the student can use the checklist as a prompt and guide to follow the expected steps.

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Provide Pre-Correction (De Pry & Sugai, 2002). Some students need a timely reminder of expected behaviors just before transitioning into situations or settings in which problem behaviors tend to occur.

At this 'point of performance', the teacher gives the student a timely reminder of goal behaviors, using such prompting strategies as stating goal behaviors, having the student preview a checklist of goal behaviors, asking the student to describe goal behaviors; or praising another student for demonstrating goal behaviors.

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Emphasize the Positive in Teacher Requests (Braithwaite, 2000). Non-compliant students have a pattern of ignoring or defying teacher requests.

However, instructors can increase the likelihood of student compliance by stating their requests in positive terms (e.g., "John, I can help you just as soon as you are back in your seat") rather than in negative terms (e.g., "John, I can't help you unless you are sitting in your seat").

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Select a Student Reward in Advance (De Pry & Sugai, 2002). Just as the student is about to enter a challenging situation or setting in which he or she will need to show appropriate behaviors, the instructor reminds the student of the behavioral expectations and has the student select a possible reward from a menu.

The student is later given that reward if behaviors were appropriate.

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Teach Appropriate Ways to Request a Work Break (Majeika et al., 2011). Sometimes misbehavior is an attempt by the student to engineer a break from an academic task. The teacher can choose an alternative method for the student to use to communicate that he or she would like a brief break, such as requesting that break verbally or pulling out a color-coded break card.

Of course, the student will also require clear guidelines on how long the requested break will last and what activities are acceptable for the student to engage in during that break.

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Say 'No' With Preferred Alternative (Mace, Pratt, Prager, & Pritchard, 2011). For students who will not take ‘no’ for an answer, the teacher can use the 'no with preferred alternative' strategy. The teacher prepares by making a list of activities or items preferred by the student that are allowed during that academic situation or setting. Whenever the student requests an item or activity that is not allowed, the teacher (1) tells the student that he or she cannot access the desired activity or item; (2) provides an explanation of why the requested item or activity is off-limits; and (3) immediately offers the student one or more items or activities from the ‘allowed’ activity/item list.

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2. Positive Consequences: Responses That Increase Positive/Goal Behaviors

Consequences are those events following a student behavior that make it more or less likely that the behavior will occur in the future.

This section looks at positive consequences, ideas that teachers can use to reinforce the student for being on-task and showing pro-social behaviors.

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Positive Consequences

Deliver Prompt Performance Feedback (Conroy et al., 2009). When students receive timely feedback about their academic performance, this information can reinforce academic behavior and reduce misbehavior.

Instructional feedback comes in many forms: e.g., teacher oral or written feedback; class discussion and review of an assignment; oral feedback from class peers; student self-directed completion of a rubric or problem-solving checklist during an independent assignment.

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Positive Consequences

Praise Student Behaviors (Kern & Clemens, N2007). Research suggests that teacher praise is one of the most powerful--yet underused-- of classroom management tools.

When a student, group, or class displays an appropriate pro-social or pro-academic behavior, the teacher reinforces that behavior with a targeted praise statement containing two elements: (1) a specific description of the praiseworthy behavior, and (2) an expression of teacher approval (e.g., "You worked for the full independent-work period. Nice job!"; "I really appreciate the way that our student groups stayed on-task and completed their entire assignment.").

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Positive ConsequencesGive Scheduled Attention to Positive Behaviors (Austin & Soeda, 2008). One strategy to increase positive behaviors is to 'catch the student being good' with regular doses of 'scheduled attention': (1) The teacher decides on a fixed-interval schedule to provide attention (e.g., every 8 minutes); (2) At each interval, the teacher observes the student; (3) If the student is engaged in appropriate behaviors at that moment, the teacher provides a dose of positive attention (e.g., verbal praise; non-verbal praise such as thumbs-up; brief positive conversation; encouragement).

If the student is off-task, the teacher briefly redirects the student to task and returns immediately to instruction.

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Positive ConsequencesProvide Escape Breaks (Waller & Higbee, 2010). The teacher can manage a student who uses disruptive behavior to escape or avoid academic work by scheduling 'non-contingent escape breaks'. First the teacher selects a reasonable work interval for the student-- this should be an interval slightly shorter than the average amount of time that student currently will work before misbehaving (e.g. 5 minutes). Next, the teacher decides how long the brief 'escape break' will last (e.g., 2 minutes). Finally, the teacher identifies motivating activities that the student can engage in during escape breaks (e.g., coloring; playing a math application on a computer tablet).

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Positive ConsequencesProvide Escape Breaks (Cont.) (Waller & Higbee, 2010). When the intervention is in effect, the teacher directs the student to begin work and starts a timer. When the student's work interval is done, the teacher directs that student to take a break and again starts the timer. When the break is up, the student is directed to resume work. This process repeats until the work period is over. As the student's behaviors improve, the teacher gradually lengthens the work periods until the student can remain academically engaged for as long as typical peers.

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3. Extinction Procedures: Responses That Extinguish Problem Behaviors

Extinction means the removal of the reinforcing consequences of behaviors to erase an individual's motivation to engage in those behaviors. In effect, extinction procedures 'cut off the oxygen' to problem behaviors.

An explicit extinction plan is an essential part of most student behavior plans (Hester et al., 2009)--because without extinction procedures, educators are far too likely accidentally to continue reinforcing the very behaviors they are trying to eliminate.

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Extinction Procedures

Redirect the Student (Dhaem, 2012; Simonsen et al., 2008). When the teacher observes the student begin to engage in problem behaviors, the instructor redirects that student back to task, either verbally (e.g., "Tom, stop talking and start your assignment") or non-verbally (e.g., giving that student a significant look and negative head shake).

Redirects should be brief and calm in tone. NOTE: Teachers can also redirect without distracting the class by using 'tweets'--brief behavioral reminders written on post-it notes and placed on the student's desk.

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Use If/Then Statements to Shift to Positive Behaviors (Majeika et al., 2011). When the student is engaging in a problem behavior, the teacher can use an 'if/then' statement to prompt that student to engage in the appropriate replacement behavior.

For example, if a student is out of seat without permission, the teacher says, "Shelly, if you return to your seat, then I will come over and answer your question." Of course, when the student responds by displaying the positive behavior, the teacher follows through with the promised action and praises that student for compliance.

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Shut Off Attention Through Planned Ignoring (Colvin, 2009). In planned ignoring, the instructor withholds attention when the student engages in the problem behavior. Ignoring problem behavior can remove the source of its reinforcement and thus help to extinguish it.

Planned ignoring alone is seldom successful. But the tandem efforts of (1) removing teacher attention from misbehavior (planned ignoring) while (2) rechanneling that attention toward positive behaviors is one of the most effective behavior management combinations available.

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Praise Peers for On-Task Behavior (Majeika et al., 2011). Teacher approval can be a powerful motivator .

The teacher can capitalize on this fact by publicly praising on-task peers sitting near the target (misbehaving) student. When the target student then engages in academic work, the teacher makes sure to praise that student as well.

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Address Misbehavior With Response Cost (DuPaul & Stoner, 2002). Response cost is a strategy in which the teacher assigns an incentive (e.g., points, tokens, or classroom privileges such as free time) to the student at the start of the session.

Each time that the student misbehaves during the session, that student loses a point, token, or increment of privilege (e.g., losing 5 minutes of free time). At the end of the session, the student is awarded any points, tokens, or privileges that remain.

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Move the Student's Seat (US Department of Education, 2004). When the student's problem behaviors are triggered or supported by factors in the environment--such as a talkative peer or difficulty hearing or seeing the instructor--the teacher may choose to move the student to another, less-distracting location in the classroom.

A good option is to seat the student within the teacher's 'action zone', close to the instructor and in the region of the room toward which that educator directs most instruction.

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Activity: Filling Behavior Intervention Plan ‘Buckets’

In your groups:• Brainstorm ideas for

using this teacher ‘organizer’ to develop and implement effective behavior intervention plans.

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Secret Ingredients: 3 BucketsTeachers can include each of these 3 elements in their classroom behavior intervention plans:

• Antecedents: Strategies to promote positive behaviors and prevent misbehavior

• Positive consequences: Responses that increase positive/goal behaviors

• Extinction procedures: Responses that extinguish problem behaviors



The Strong Classroom Behavior Manager: A Mosaic

Key Principles of Behavior Management

Proactive Classwide Management Skills

Individual Classroom Behavior Intervention Plans

Group Management Strategies



Activity: ‘Next Steps’ Planning

• Discuss the information about group and individual behavioral interventions discussed at today’s workshop

• Come up with a plan to use 2-3 key workshop ideas, strategies, or tools immediately in your classroom or school.

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Documents

Response to Intervention RTI and the Teacher as 'First Responder': Tools for Classroom Intervention Jim Wright