Teachers often find it difficult to monitor the frequency of problem student behaviors. In this clever behavior-management strategy, the teacher uses keeps track of student behaviors using rubber-bands placed around the wrist.
Rubber-bands
Simple student self-monitoring chart (see attachment at the bottom of this page)
Develop a reward menu for the individual selected for this intervention. Decide how many points that you will require the student to earn to 'buy' specific rewards.
Review with the student the kinds of disruptive classroom behaviors (e.g., talking out, out of seat, approaching other students at inappropriate times, etc.) that you are targeting to be reduced. Give the student clear examples of each problem behavior.
Introduce the rubber-band monitoring intervention (described below), making sure that the student fully understands the procedures and criteria for success.
Step 1: During the period of the day that monitoring is in effect, put up to 6 rubber-bands around one wrist at the start of each half-hour. Each time that you must verbally remind or prompt the student about his or her behavior, transfer a rubber-band from one wrist to the other.
Step 2: At the end of each half-hour, count up the number of rubber-bands remaining on the original wrist. If at least one rubber-band remains, your student earns a '+' rating for that half-hour.
Step 3: Briefly approach the student at the end of each half-hour to review his or her behavioral performance and (if earned) to have the student add a '+' to a simple monitoring chart (see attachment at the bottom of this page) taped to the student's desk.
Step 4: When the student has earned a sufficient number of '+' points, allow the student to redeem those points for a reward.
Step 5: As your student's classroom behaviors improve, gradually reduce the number of rubber-bands that you place on your wrist at the start of each monitoring period-until you have only 1-2. At that point, you can consider discontinuing this strategy or using it only intermittently.
The behavior contract is a simple positive-reinforcement intervention that is widely used by teachers to change student behavior. The behavior contract spells out in detail the expectations of student and teacher (and sometimes parents) in carrying out the intervention plan, making it a useful planning document. Also, because the student usually has input into the conditions that are established within the contract for earning rewards, the student is more likely to be motivated to abide by the terms of the behavior contract than if those terms had been imposed by someone else. (NOTE: View a sample behavior contract as an attachment at the bottom of this page.)
The teacher decides which specific behaviors to select for the behavior contract. When possible, teachers should define behavior targets for the contract in the form of positive, pro-academic or pro-social behaviors. For example, an instructor may be concerned that a student frequently calls out answers during lecture periods without first getting permission from the teacher to speak. For the contract, the teacher's concern that the student talks out may be restated positively as "The student will participate in class lecture and discussion, raising his hand and being recognized by the teacher before offering an answer or comment." In many instances, the student can take part in selecting positive goals to increase the child's involvement in, and motivation toward, the behavioral contract.
The teacher meets with the student to draw up a behavior contract. (If appropriate, other school staff members and perhaps the student's parent(s) are invited to participate as well.) The teacher next meets with the student to draw up a behavior contract. The contract should include:
a listing of student behaviors that are to be reduced or increased. As stated above, the student's behavioral goals should usually be stated in positive, goal-oriented terms. Also, behavioral definitions should be described in sufficient detail to prevent disagreement about student compliance. The teacher should also select target behaviors that are easy to observe and verify. For instance completion of class assignments is a behavioral goal that can be readily evaluated. If the teacher selects the goal that a child "will not steal pens from other students", though, this goal will be very difficult to observe and confirm.
a statement or section that explains the minimum conditions under which the student will earn a point, sticker, or other token for showing appropriate behaviors. For example, a contract may state that "Johnny will add a point to his Good Behavior Chart each time he arrives at school on time and hands in his completed homework assignment to the teacher."
the conditions under which the student will be able to redeem collected stickers, points, or other tokens to redeem for specific rewards. A contract may state, for instance, that "When Johnny has earned 5 points on his Good Behavior Chart, he may select a friend, choose a game from the play-materials shelf, and spend 10 minutes during free time at the end of the day playing the game."
bonus and penalty clauses (optional). Although not required, bonus and penalty clauses can provide extra incentives for the student to follow the contract. A bonus clause usually offers the student some type of additional 'pay-off' for consistently reaching behavioral targets. A penalty clause may prescribe a penalty for serious problem behaviors; e.g., the student disrupts the class or endanger the safety of self or of others.
areas for signature. The behavior contract should include spaces for both teacher and student signatures, as a sign that both parties agree to adhere to their responsibilities in the contract. Additionally, the instructor may want to include signature blocks for other staff members (e.g., a school administrator) and/or the student's parent(s).
Q: What do I do if I find that the behavior contract fails to work?
There may be several possible explanations why a behavior contract is ineffective:
Students may not be invested in abiding by the terms of the contract because they did not have a significant role in its creation. If this is the case, students should be consulted and their input should be incorporated into a revised contract.
The rewards that can be earned through the contract may not sufficiently motivate students to cause them to change their behavior. The teacher should review the list of rewards with students, note those rewards that students indicate they would find most appealing, and revise the reward list to include choices selected by the students.
Points and rewards may not be awarded frequently enough to motivate the student. Each person reacts in his or her own way to reward systems such as behavior contracts; some must have rewards delivered at a frequent rate in order for those rewards to have power sufficient to shape these students' behavior. The instructor can try altering the contract to increase the rate at which points and rewards are given to see if these changes increase student motivation to follow the behavior contract. (NOTE: Once the behavior contract proves effective, the teacher can gradually cut back the rate of rewards to a level that is more easily managed.)
Q: How do I respond if the student starts to argue with me about the terms of the contract?
It is not unusual--especially when a behavior contract is first introduced--for the teacher and student to have honest disagreements about the interpretation of its terms. If this occurs, the teacher will probably want to have a conference with the student to clarify the contract's language and meaning. Occasionally, though, students may continue to argue with the instructor about alleged unfairness in how the teacher enforces the contract--even after the teacher has attempted to clarify the contract's terms. If the student becomes overly antagonistic, the teacher may simply decide to suspend the contract because it is not improving the student's behavior. Or the instructor may instead add a behavioral goal or penalty clause to the contract that the student will not argue with the teacher about the terms or enforcement of the contract.
Teachers skilled in classroom management are able to respond appropriately to just about any behavior that a student brings through the classroom door. While having a toolkit of specific behavioral strategies is important, the real secret of educators who maintain smoothly running classrooms with minimal behavioral disruptions is that they are able to view problem student behaviors through the lens of these seven '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, the intervention that the teacher selects should address the student's academic deficit.
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. For example, if a teacher decides that a student's call-outs in class are sustained by the function of adult attention, that instructor may respond by shifting the flow of that attention-e.g., interacting minimally with the student during call-outs but boosting adult attention during times when the student shows appropriate behavior.
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).
Redefine the behavioral goal as a replacement behavior. When a student displays challenging behaviors, it can be easy to fall into the trap of simply wishing that those misbehaviors would go away. The point of a behavioral intervention, however, should be to expand the student's repertoire of pro-social, pro-academic behaviors--rather than just extinguishing aberrant behaviors. 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".
Rule out the most likely causes for misbehavior first. Teachers can access a wealth of information sources when attempting to identify the cause of misbehavior: e.g., student work products, direct observation; interviews (with the student, other teachers, parents), etc. However, when trying to understand misbehavior, educators may be too quick to choose global explanations that fit preconceptions of the student--but are not supported by the data. For example, a teacher may describe a student who is non-compliant and fails to complete classwork as 'apathetic', 'unmotivated', or 'lazy'. However, students are rarely so sealed off from the world that their behavioral problems are determined solely by their own attitudes or work ethic. It is far more likely that a student displays challenging behavior because of significant interactions with elements of his or her environment (e.g., attempting to escape work that is too difficult; seeking the attention of peers in the classroom). Instructors should first collect and analyze information on the student from several sources and rule out the most common ('low-inference') explanations for misbehavior (Christ, 2008) before considering whether students' internal levels of motivation could be the primary cause of the problem behavior.
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). An instructor may choose to respond to a non-compliant student with a warning and additional disciplinary consequences, for example, if evidence suggests that the misbehavior stems from his seeking peer attention and approval. However, that same teacher may respond to non-compliance with a behavioral conference and use of defusing strategies if the misbehavior appears to have been triggered by a negative peer comment.
Manage behaviors through strong instruction. A powerful method to prevent misbehavior is to keep students actively engaged in academic responding (Lewis, Hudson, Richter, & Johnson, 2004). A teacher is most likely to 'capture' a student's behavior for academic purposes when the instructor ensures that the student has the necessary academic skills to do the assigned classwork, is given explicit instruction to master difficult material, and receives timely feedback about his or her academic performance (Burns, VanDerHeyden, & Boice, 2008).
Some students misbehave because they are trying to attract teacher attention. Surprisingly, many students who value adult attention don't really care if it is positive (praise) or negative attention (reprimands)--they just want attention!
Unfortunately, instructors with students who thrive on teacher attention can easily fall into a 'reprimand trap.' The scenario might unfold much like this: First, the student misbehaves. Then the teacher approaches the student and reprimands him or her for misbehaving. Because the student finds the negative teacher attention to be reinforcing, he or she continues to misbehave-and the teacher naturally responds by reprimanding the student more often! An escalating, predictable cycle is established, with the student repeatedly acting-out and teacher reprimanding him or her.
Teachers can break out of this cycle, though, by using 'random positive attention' with students. Essentially, the instructor starts to ignore student attention-seeking behaviors, while at the same time 'randomly' giving the student positive attention. That is, the student receives regular positive teacher attention but at times unconnected to misbehavior. So the student still gets the adult attention that he or she craves. More importantly, the link between student misbehavior and resulting negative teacher attention is broken.
Step 1: Select How the Teacher Will Show Positive Attention to the Student. The key to this intervention strategy is that the teacher will be giving the student regular positive attention at times of his or her choosing. It is important, then, for the teacher to put together a list of ways to deliver positive attention that (a) can be done quickly, without disrupting classroom instruction, and (b) the student actually finds rewarding. Here are just a few ideas for giving positive attention:
Pat the student on the shoulder
Make eye contact and smile at the student
Check in with the student about how he or she is progressing with an assignment
Call on the student in class (when you are pretty sure that he or she knows the answer!)
Pass the student a note with a cheerful comment, specific praise, or compliment
Give brief, specific praise about the student's work or behavior (e.g., "I really like to see how carefully you are drawing that map, Joanna!")
Give the student a few words of encouragement
Invite the student to summarize for the group the main points of a classroom discussion
Converse briefly with the student
Select the student to carry out a classroom task (e.g., passing out papers) that he or she likes
Step 2: Decide How Frequently the Teacher Will Give 'Random' Positive Attention to the Student During a Class. The teacher now needs to figure out how often during a class period he or she will approach the student to give positive attention. Generally, this intervention works best if the teacher is able to give the student a fairly high level of positive attention, at least at the outset.
One good way for the teacher to estimate how frequently to provide positive attention is to observe a student across several class periods. The instructor keeps track of how frequently (e.g., once every 5 minutes) the student tries to capture the teacher's attention with problem behaviors. When the teacher has a good idea of how often the student typically seeks attention, he or she can plan to counter the misbehavior by giving the student 'random positive attention' at the same rate. Note: A teacher can simply estimate the student's rate of attention-getting behavior based on past experience with him or her.
Step 3: The Teacher Chooses the Time(s) and Setting(s) in Which to Use Random Positive Attention. If the target student engages in attention-seeking during only certain times of the day or in particular locations (e.g., just after lunch in math class), the teacher can limit this intervention to just those time periods. If the student seems to be attention-seeking most of the time and in most locations, however, the teacher may want to use the random attention strategy across a greater part of the school day.
Step 4: Start the Random Attention Intervention. Unlike some intervention ideas, random teacher attention does not require that the student be formally trained in its use. Just start the intervention! There are just two simple rules:
Rule 1: Whenever the student inappropriately tries to get the teacher's attention, the instructor either (a) ignores the student or (b) in a neutral manner, quietly and briefly redirects the child to task. The teacher then continues teaching..
Rule 2: During a given class session, whenever the student is 'due' for positive teacher attention, the teacher observes the student. If the student is not engaged in attention-seeking behavior when the teacher glances at him or her, the instructor immediately approaches the student and briefly delivers positive attention (using a choice from the list developed in Step 1). Then continue teaching. Otherwise, the teacher simply ignores the student's attention-seeking behavior and continues teaching.
Step 5: Fade the Successful Intervention Over Time. Once the teacher finds that random positive attention has significantly reduced or eliminated the student's attention-seeking behavior, the instructor can gradually 'fade' the intervention. Each week, the instructor reduces the number of times that he or she approaches the student with positive attention--until the teacher is only occasionally providing that attention. If at any point in the fading process, the teacher discovers that the student begins again to act in an attention-seeking manner, the teacher can temporarily increase the rate of random positive attention until the student's behavior improves. Then the teacher continues fading the attention.
The student's behavior does not significantly improve when the teacher uses this intervention. If you discover that random positive teacher attention is not effective in 'turning around' a student's misbehavior, there are several possible explanations:
The student is not receiving enough random teacher attention. If possible, try increasing the rate (number of times) that you give the student random positive attention during a class session. (See Step 4: Rule 2 above.) Boosting the rate of positive teacher attention may be all that is needed for the student to act more appropriately.
The teacher continues to give the student attention for misbehavior. Sometimes teachers don't realize how much attention they pay (even unwittingly) to students who misbehave for attention-seeking reasons. Reflect on your own classroom interactions with the student. If you discover while you are using random positive attention that you are still giving the student lots of attention for acting out, you should (a) continue to use random positive attention and (b) make an extra effort to respond neutrally to, or simply ignore, the student's attention-seeking behaviors.
The student generally does not find teacher attention to be rewarding. This random-attention strategy will work only if the child misbehaves to seek teacher attention. If, however, the student acts inappropriately for some other reason (e.g., to escape a situation that he or she finds unpleasant or to gain the attention and approval of classmates), you will need to select a different intervention strategy.
Pick several class times when your student is most likely to try to grab your attention. Keep track of the start and end times of these observations (e.g., reading group, 9:30 to 10:10 a.m.) Tally or estimate the number of times during each session that the student attempts to capture your attention (e.g., asking for assistance when not really needed, engaging in attention-seeking misbehavior that forces you to approach him or her to reprimand or redirect).
To figure out how frequently the student seeks your attention on average, add up the total number of minutes from all the observation sessions and divide that figure by the total number of times that the student sought your attention across sessions. For example, if you had observed a student for a total of 120 minutes (across 3 sessions) and the student had sought your attention 10 times during the observations, you would know that the student sought your attention an average of once every 12 minutes (120 minutes / 10 incidents of attention-seeking =one attention-seeking incident every 12 minutes).
Once you have estimated how often the target student is vying for your attention, you can 'match' this attention-seeking behavior by giving the student random teacher attention at the same rate.
Students can be motivated to improve classroom behaviors if they have both a clear roadmap of the teacher's behavioral expectations and incentives to work toward those behavioral goals. This modified version of Check-In/Check-Out (CI/CO) is a simple behavioral intervention package designed for use during a single 30- to 90-minute classroom period (Dart, Cook, Collins, Gresham & Chenier, 2012). The teacher checks in with the student to set behavioral goals at the start of the period, then checks out with the student at the close of the period to rate that student's conduct and award points or other incentives earned for attaining behavioral goal(s).
Preparation. In preparation for using CI/CO, the teacher:
selects 3 to 4 behaviors to be targeted during the intervention. Whenever possible, these should be stated positively as DO behaviors (e.g., "Promptly and quietly follow teacher requests") rather than DON'T behaviors (e.g., "Don't dawdle or talk back when given a teacher request").
creates a Behavior Report Card (BRC) that incorporates the 3-4 target behaviors. A Behavior Report Card is a rating scale that the teacher uses to rate the student's behavior at the end of the class session or other evaluation period. A generic BRC suitable for use in check-in/check-out can be viewed here. Teachers can also create customized BRCs for free at:
http://www.interventioncentral.org/teacher-resources/behavior-rating-scales-report-card-maker
decides on a daily reward/incentive that the student will earn if successful in displaying positive behaviors (e.g., 5 minutes of free time; 3 'positive behavior points' to be redeemed in future for rewards from a prize box; parent phone call praising student). NOTE: Teachers can find a listing of potential reward ideas at:
http://www.interventioncentral.org/teacher-resources/student-rewards-finder
Procedure. During any class session or other evaluation period when CI/CO is in effect, the teacher follows these 3 steps:
Check-In. At the start of the class session, the teacher meets briefly with the student to review the behavioral goals on the Behavior Report Card and to provide encouragement. The teacher also prompts the student to set a behavioral goal on at least one of the target behaviors (e.g., "Today I will not leave my seat once without permission.").
Monitoring/Evaluation. During the session, the teacher observes the student's behaviors. At the end of the session, the teacher rates the student's behaviors on the Behavior Report Card.
Check-Out. At the end of the class session, the teacher again meets briefly with the student. The student reports out on whether he or she was able to attain the behavioral goal(s) discussed at check-in. The teacher then shares the BRC ratings. If the student has earned a reward/incentive, the teacher awards that reward and praises the student. If the student fails to earn the reward, the teacher provides encouragement about success in a future session.
Here is a scenario that commonly unfolds in many schools: A student behaves in a way that disrupts the class. The teacher publicly reprimands the student for misbehaving. The student makes a disrespectful comment in return. The teacher approaches the student and in a loud voice tells the student that he "had better shape up" or "be kicked out of the class." The student responds by standing up and verbally abusing the teacher. The instructor calls for an administrator, who comes to the room and escorts the angry student to the office to be disciplined.
In this power-struggle, neither the teacher nor the student wins. While the teacher may get some short-term relief by ejecting the student from the room, she has lost valuable teaching time because of the confrontation. The student may be happy to escape the class---but he is certainly not learning anything while sitting in the principal's office.
Teachers who want to dodge the 'power-struggle' trap can use several sets of techniques to avert confrontations with students and still maintain classroom discipline. The instructor first makes sure to disengage from the power struggle and then uses tactics to interrupt the student's escalating anger and to deescalate the potential confrontation.
The teacher's most important objective when faced with a defiant or non-compliant student is to remain outwardly calm. Educators who react to defiant behavior by becoming visibly angry, raising their voices, or attempting to intimidate the student may actually succeed only in making the student's oppositional behavior worse! While the strategies listed here may calm an oppositional student, their main purpose is to help the teacher to keep his or her cool. Remember: any conflict requires at least two people. A power struggle can be avoided if the instructor does not choose to take part in that struggle.
The teacher's most important objective when faced with a defiant or non-compliant student is to remain outwardly calm. Educators who react to defiant behavior by becoming visibly angry, raising their voices, or attempting to intimidate the student may actually succeed only in making the student's oppositional behavior worse! While the strategies listed here may calm an oppositional student, their main purpose is to help the teacher to keep his or her cool. Remember: any conflict requires at least two people. A power struggle can be avoided if the instructor does not choose to take part in that struggle.
Disengaging tactics are those that allow the teacher to keep his or her cool in order to manage the conflict situation in a professional manner. However, these tactics are not an excuse for educators to look the other way and refuse to get involved when students are misbehaving.
To disengage from potential power struggles, the teacher can:
Use a brief, simple stress-reduction technique before responding to a provocative remark or behavior (Braithwaite, 2001). For example, a teacher may relax in a stressful situation by taking a deeper-than-normal breath and releasing it slowly. As an added benefit, this technique allows the educator an additional moment to plan an appropriate response--rather than simply reacting to the student's behavior.
Respond to the student in a 'neutral', business-like, calm voice (Mayer, 2000). Surprisingly, people often interpret their emotional states from their own behavioral cues. If a person speaks calmly, that individual is more likely to believe that he or she really is calm-even when dealing with a stressful situation.
Keep responses brief when addressing the non-compliant student (Sprick, et al., 2002). Teachers frequently make the mistake of showering defiant students with irrelevant comments (e.g., nagging or reprimanding them, asking unhelpful questions such as 'Why do you always interrupt my math lessons?'). Unfortunately, these educators may then become even more frustrated when the student gives a disrespectful answer or refuses to respond. Short teacher responses give the defiant student less control over the interaction and can also prevent instructors from inadvertently 'rewarding' misbehaving students with lots of negative adult attention.
Avoid reacting in a confrontational manner to 'baiting' student remarks that are deliberately intended to draw you into a power struggle (Walker, 1997). If a student comment is merely mildly annoying, ignore it. If the negative comment is serious enough to require that you respond (e.g., insult, challenge to authority), briefly state in a neutral manner why the student's remark was inappropriate and impose a pre-selected consequence. Then move on.
When students become upset, they may not be able to control the headlong rush of their own anger. In such situations, the teacher can use interrupting tactics--well-timed, supportive techniques that 'interrupt' the escalation of student anger. These 'interrupters' sometimes have the potential to rechannel a potential teacher-student confrontation into a productive conversation. As described here, interrupting tactics are positive and respectful in nature: a teacher who tries to shout down or talk over a defiant student is more likely to inflame the confrontation than to calm it.
To interrupt the escalation of student anger, the teacher can:
Divert the student's attention from the conflict. If the student is showing only low-level defiant or non-compliant behavior, the teacher may be able to redirect that student's attention to a more positive topic. The instructor may, for example, engage the student in reading a high-interest book or allow that student to play an educational computer game.
Remove the student briefly from the setting. If the teacher notices that a student is becoming argumentative with classroom peers or acting defiantly toward adults, the educator may want to briefly remove the student from the room ('antiseptic bounce') to prevent the student's behavior from escalating into a full-fledged confrontation (Long, Morse, & Newman, 1980). One strategy to remove the student is to send him or her to the office on an errand, with the expectation that-by the time the child returns to the classroom-he or she will have calmed down.
Allow the student a 'cool down' break. Select a corner of the room (or area outside the classroom with adult supervision) where the target student can take a brief 'respite break' whenever he or she feels angry or upset. Be sure to make cool-down breaks available to all students in the classroom, to avoid singling out only those children with anger-control issues. Whenever a student becomes upset and defiant, the teacher offers to talk the situation over with that student once he or she has calmed down and then directs the student to the cool-down corner. (E.g., "Angelo, I want to talk with you about what is upsetting you, but first you need to calm down. Take five minutes in the cool-down corner and then come over to my desk so we can talk.") Teachers sometimes find success in having the student engage in a reflective exercise while taking a cool-down break. For example, one instructor likes to give students the option of writing or tape-recording a private message to the teacher to explain the incident that made them angry.
Paraphrase the essential points of the student's concerns (Lanceley, 1999). Many students lack effective negotiation skills in dealing with adults. As a result, these students may become angry and defensive when they try to express a complaint to the teacher-even when that complaint is well founded. The instructor can show that he or she wants to understand the student's concern by summing up the crucial points of that concern (paraphrasing) in his or her own words. Examples of paraphrase comments include 'Let me be sure that I understand you correctly…', 'Are you telling me that…?', 'It sounds to me like these are your concerns:…' When teachers engage in 'active listening' by using paraphrasing, they demonstrate a respect for the student's point of view and can also improve their own understanding of the student's problem.
Ask open-ended questions to better understand the problem situation and find possible solutions (Lanceley, 2001). The instructor may pose who, what, where, when, and how questions. Some sample questions are "What do you think made you angry when you were talking with Billy?" and "Where were you when you realized that you had misplaced your science book?" One caution: Avoid asking "why" questions (Lanceley, 2001) because they can imply that you are blaming the student (e.g., "Why did you get into that fight with Jerry?"). Also, the student may become even more frustrated when asked a 'why' question, because he or she may not be able to answer it!
When a person is very angry or upset, that individual frequently will demonstrate poor judgment and make impulsive decisions (Lanceley, 1999). One important objective for the teacher is to know strategies to help a confrontational student to reduce his or her anger level and reestablish self-control. Deescalating tactics are those that reduce the sense of acute threat or defensiveness that the student may be experiencing and lower the emotional tension in the interaction between teacher and student. Teachers who use these calming tactics, however, do not allow students to escape appropriate disciplinary consequences for their behavior. An instructor might decide, for example, to postpone disciplining an aggressive or confrontational student until he or she manages to lower that student's level of anger. After the behavioral outburst is over, though, that teacher should arrange a conference with the student to debrief about the incident and impose any disciplinary steps that seem warranted.
To reduce the student's anger level and calm him or her, the teacher can:
Replace negative words in teacher requests with positive words (Braithwaite, 2001). When an instructor's request has a positive 'spin', that teacher is more likely to have students comply. Notice, for instance, how the sentence "If you don't return to your seat, I won't help you with your assignment" (negative phrasing) seems much friendlier when stated as "I can give you some help on the assignment just as soon as you return to your seat" (positive phrasing). Yet these two sentences otherwise convey exactly the same information!
Use non-verbal strategies to defuse the confrontation. When people get into arguments, they often unconsciously mirror the emotional posturing of the other (Braithwaite, 2001; Long, et al., 1980)--for example, pointing when the other points, standing when the other person stands, etc. The teacher can use non-verbal techniques to lower the tension when confronted by a student. For example, if a student is visibly agitated, the teacher may decide to sit down next to the student (a less threatening posture) rather than standing over that student. Or the teacher may insert a very brief 'wait time' before each response to the student, as these micro-pauses tend to slow a conversation down and can help to prevent it from escalating into an argument.
A note of caution: The non-verbal defusing strategies discussed here are not appropriate if the teacher feels that he or she may be in imminent danger of attack or assault. Instead, that instructor should immediately take those steps necessary to preserve his or her physical safety (Braithwaite, 2001).
Acknowledge that the student is in control and must make his or her own behavioral choices. Sometimes students defy adult requests because they want to demonstrate their own autonomy and independence. When a student's confrontational behavior appears to be driven by a need for control, the teacher can frankly acknowledge that the student is free to choose whether or not to comply with the instructor's request. Of course, the teacher also presents to the student the likely consequences for non-compliance (e.g., poor grades, office disciplinary referral, etc.). Walker (1997) recommends framing choices for uncooperative students in a two-part statement. The teacher first states the negative, or non-compliant, choice and its consequences (e.g., the student loses free time at the end of the day if a seatwork assignment is not completed). The teacher then states the positive behavioral choice that he or she would like the student to select (e.g., the student can complete the seatwork assignment within the allotted work time and not lose free time).
Offer the student a face-saving path out of a potential conflict. Students sometimes blunder into confrontations with their teachers and then are unwilling or unable to back down from those show-down situations. In such instances, the teacher may want to engineer a way out for the student that allows that student to avoid a full-blown conflict while saving face.
Here is one example of a face-saving de-escalation tactic: When a teacher finds that he or she is in a tense standoff with a student and is running out of options, the instructor may want to ask the student, "Is there anything that we can work out at this time to earn your cooperation?" (adapted from Thompson & Jenkins, 1993). Such a statement treats the student with dignity, models negotiation as a positive means for resolving conflict, and demonstrates that the instructor wants to keep the student in the classroom. It also provides the student with a final chance to resolve the conflict with the teacher and avoid other, more serious disciplinary consequences. Teachers who use this verbal tactic should be prepared for the possibility that the student will initially give a sarcastic or unrealistic response (e.g., "Yeah, you can leave me alone and stop trying to get me to do classwork!"). The teacher ignores this student attempt to hook the adult into a power struggle and simply asks again whether there is any reasonable way to engage the student's cooperation. When asked a second time, students will often come up with good ideas for resolving the problem.
Use humor to defuse a confrontation. By responding with humor to a defiant student, the teacher signals to that student in a face-saving manner that his or her behavior is not yet so disruptive or confrontational as to be a violation of the behavior code. The student can join the teacher in laughing off the event and return to participation in class activities. Instructors should exercise caution, though, when using humor to defuse confrontations. First, teachers should never use humor in a sarcastic or teasing manner, as the student is quite likely to feel disrespected and become even angrier as a result (Walker, 1997). Second, if an instructor employs humor successfully to defuse a tense situation with a student, the adult should still make it a point to meet with the student privately later to talk about the incident and to ensure that the student understands the inappropriateness of his or her confrontational behavior (Braithwaite, 2001). Above all, the teacher does not want the student to feel 'rewarded' with humor for confronting the adult, as this response may actually make the student more likely to react aggressively toward the teacher in the future.
Label the emotion that the student's behavior appears to convey. A teacher, for example, who observes a student slamming her books down on her desk and muttering to herself after returning from gym class might say, "Angelina, you seem angry. Could you tell me what is wrong?" 'Emotion labeling' (Lanceley, 1999) can be a helpful tactic in deescalating classroom confrontations because it prompts the student to acknowledge his or her current feeling-state directly rather than broadcasting it indirectly through acting-out behavior. Once a powerful emotion such as anger is labeled, the teacher and student can then talk about it, figure out what may have triggered it, and jointly find solutions that will mitigate it. Emotion labeling should generally be done in a tentative manner ("John, you sound nervous…", "Alice, you appear frustrated…"), since one can never know with complete certainty what feelings another person is experiencing.
Consider the 'communicative function' of the confrontational behavior. Students may not feel comfortable telling the teacher that they don't like a class assignment, have forgotten their study materials for the fourth time this week, or do not know how to do the math problem that they have been asked to solve on the board. So they convey the message instead through disruptive and defiant behavior. When the instructor is able to 'read' the message that the defiant student is trying to send through his or her behavior, that teacher can sometimes restructure the assignment or otherwise modify the activity or classroom setting to defuse the confrontation with the student. For example, a teacher who calls on a student to solve a math problem on the board may interpret that student's resulting disruptive behavior as sending the message, "I don't want to show my ignorance on this math problem with all of my friends watching". This instructor may decide to skip over that student and instead meet with him individually later to check his mastery of the math item. When teachers make instructional modifications to reduce problem behaviors, they should of course continue to hold the student accountable for all classwork, even as they allow flexibility in how that work is done.
Description. Students who display frequent disruptive behaviors can show greater levels of control and compliance after they have engaged in at least 30 minutes of sustained physical exercise. This technique is called ‘antecedent exercise’ because the physical activity precedes—and therefore prevents—problem behaviors (Folino, Ducharme, & Greenwald, 2014). The positive effects of antecedent exercise have been found to last up to 90 minutes.
Procedure. The essentials of antecedent exercise are taken from Folino, Ducharme, & Greenwald, 2014.The student engages in sustained moderate exercise for at least 30 minutes. Any mix of activities is acceptable (e.g., having students rotate among a series of exercise ‘circuits’ such as jumping jacks and sprints), so long as it achieves this steady rate of physical activity. Of course, activities are always supervised by an adult.The goal is for the student to achieve a ‘target heart rate’ through most of the activity period, a rate equaling 50 to 70 percent of that individual’s maximum heart rate (Folino, Ducharme, & Greenwald, 2014). While not required, the school may want to use inexpensive electronic devices such as wristwatch heart monitors to track heart rate.
Tips for Use. Here are suggestions when designing a plan that includes antecedent exercise:
Clear the student for sustained exercise. Antecedent exercise should be no more strenuous than activities that students routinely engage in during physical education. However, the school should verify that the student has no interfering physical limitations or medical conditions before starting an antecedent-exercise program.
Consult a physical-education teacher. The physical-education instructor is a helpful source for exercise ideas that will engage students—and can also provide guidance on how to monitor the student’s activity level to ensure that it falls within the moderate range.
Schedule strategically. While antecedent exercise can show follow-up positive effects on behavior for up to 90 minutes, the impact is greatest during the first half-hour. If possible, schedule demanding academic work such as reading instruction as soon as possible after an exercise period to reap maximum benefits.
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This response-cost strategy is appropriate for younger students who are verbally defiant and non-compliant with the teacher. (See the related Hints for Using... column for tips on how to tailor this intervention idea for older students.)
Two coffee cans with lids
Point tokens (e.g., poker chips, pennies, etc.)
Student Chart (see attachment at the bottom of this page)
Obtain two coffee cans with plastic lids. Cut a slot into the lids of both coffee cans. Decorate one can with the name of the target student. (You may want to invite the student to decorate his or her coffee can with drawings or other artwork to personalize it.) Label the other coffee can "Grumpy." (You can embellish the "Grumpy" can with pictures of frowning faces or other symbols of irritation.)
Step 1: Create a menu of rewards for the student. For each reward, decide how many good behavior points the student must earn to get the reward.
Step 2: Tell the student that he or she can earn points for readily and politely following adult requests. Introduce the "Points for Grumpy Program":
At the start of each monitoring period, you will put 10 "good behavior" tokens (poker chips or pennies) into your pocket.
Each time that you have to approach or address the student because he or she is verbally defiant or non-compliant, you will take one of the "good behavior" points and drop it into "Grumpy's" coffee can.
At the end of the period, you will give the student any tokens that remain in your pocket and let the student drop these tokens into his or her coffee can. The student will be able to 'cash in' these tokens or points rewards according to the reward system that you have set up.
Step 3: Tell the student what your behavioral expectations for ready and polite compliance. The child will lose a point if you have to approach him or her for:
Talking back to you.
Using a disrespectful gesture or facial expression (e.g., eye-rolling)
Muttering
Failing to comply within 60 seconds of your making a request
Inform the child that if he or she complains about your taking a point, you will deduct additional good behavior points.
Step 4: Start the program. Use the Student Chart for 'Points for Grumpy' (attachment at the bottom of this page) to record any good behavior points that the child earns each day.
Q: How should I respond if the student becomes angry and confrontational when I take away a 'good behavior point' for misbehavior?
Students will frequently test the limits of a behavioral program when it is first introduced. If a child becomes belligerent or uncooperative with you deduct a point, you should remain calm and avoid addressing the student in a confrontational manner. If the student continues to be disrespectful and violates the behavioral expectations that you have set up, deduct additional 'good behavior' points. Keep in mind also that this intervention does not replace your existing disciplinary code. You may decide to impose other appropriate consequences (e.g., phone call to parent) if the child's behavior does not correct itself within a reasonable amount of time.
Teachers should also be aware that a small number of students are not able to adapt to response-cost programs because they become very upset whenever points, tokens, or privileges are taken away from them. If you suspect that a student is temperamentally ill-suited to a program like "Points for Grumpy", you should probably not use it with that child.
The amount of effort that a person must put forth to successfully complete a specific behavior has a direct impact on the frequency that the person will engage in that behavior. As the 'response effort' required to carry out a behavior increases, a person is generally less likely to show that behavior; conversely, as the response effort decreases, a person will be more likely to engage in that behavior. To use one example, a student will probably read more frequently if a book is stored in his or her school desk than if the child must walk to a different floor of the school building and get access to a locked cabinet whenever the student wants to read a book.
As a behavior-management tool, response effort seems like simple common sense: We engage less in behaviors that we find hard to accomplish. Teachers often forget, however, that response effort can be a useful part of a larger intervention plan. To put it simply, teachers can boost the chances that a student will take part in desired behaviors (e.g., completing homework or interacting appropriately with peers) by making these behaviors easy and convenient to take part in. However, if teachers want to reduce the frequency of a behavior (e.g., a child's running from the classroom), they can accomplish this by making the behavior more difficult to achieve (e.g., seating the child at the rear of the room, far from the classroom door).
The teacher selects either an undesirable behavior to decrease or a desirable behavior to increase. By varying response effort required to complete a behavior, the teacher can influence the frequency of a child's targeted behavior, making it likely to appear more often or less often. First, however, the teacher must select a behavioral target to increase or decrease.
(Optional) If necessary, the teacher breaks the behavioral target into more manageable sub-steps. Some school behavioral goals are global and consist of many sub-steps. For instance, a goal that "the student will complete all school assignments during seatwork time" could be further sub-divided into: (1) The student will organized her work materials prior to starting seatwork, (2) If she encounters a work item that she does not understand, the student will use independent problem-solving skills prior to approaching the teacher for help; and several other key sub-steps. Breaking larger behavior goals into smaller steps will make it easier for the teacher to decide how to manipulate the response effort required to carry out each sub-step.
The teacher chooses ways to alter the response effort required to complete each selected behavior or behavior sub-step. This final step is best demonstrated through examples:
Increasing response effort to reduce the rate of an undesirable behavior. Putting a physical barrier between a student and an activity, imposing a wait-time before a student can take part in an activity are examples of an increase in response effort.
Example: A teacher finds that one of her students sits down at a computer in her room whenever he can find an opportunity to use a spelling-word program that presents lessons in a game-like format. While the teacher is happy to see that the student enjoys using the academic software, she finds that his frequent use of the computer interferes with his completion of other important school work. She has already broken down the student's behavior, "using the computer", into two sub-steps, "sitting down at the computer" and "starting the spelling software program". While observing the student, though, the teacher notes that the computer is left on in the classroom during the entire school day, making it very convenient for the student to use it at inappropriate times. The teacher decides to increase the response effort needed to use the computer by leaving it turned off when not in use. The student must now switch on the computer and wait for it to boot up before he can use it, a procedure that takes about 2 minutes. Several days later, the teacher notes that the student's rate of unauthorized computer use has dropped significantly because the 'effort' (increased wait-time) to use the computer has increased.
Reducing response effort to increase the rate of a desirable behavior. Putting instructional supplies within convenient reach and having an older peer help a child to organize study materials are examples of a decrease in response effort.
Example: The instructor wants to encourage children in his classroom to read more. After analyzing the current opportunities that children have for getting and reading books in school, the instructor realizes both that students do not have comfortable places to read in the classroom and that, with the current schedule they can get the the school library only once per week. The teacher creates a reading corner in his room, with an old but serviceable couch, reading lamps, and a shelf with paperback titles popular with his class. The teacher also arranges with the school's library media specialist to allow his students to drop by daily to check out books. By creating both a more comfortable reading location and easier access to books, the teacher is able to lower the threshold of effort needed to read. As a result, his students read more in the classroom.
Q: I like the concept of response effort as a behavior management approach, but I am not sure just how it would fit into my classroom routine. Is response effort only used alone or can it be combined with other intervention ideas?
Creative teachers will probably find many uses for response effort, both alone and in combination with other interventions. Here is one idea: A teacher might identify an activity that she wants to reduce (e.g., student playing with small toys stored in his desk). If the teacher already has a token/reward system in place for this student, she may forbid the student from playing with toys during the school day but allow the student to redeem a certain number of points or tokens to buy opportunities to play with his toys during free periods. By redefining the undesirable activity to the status of a reward that must be purchased, the teacher has increased the response effort needed for the student to access the activity. It is likely that the student's frequency of playing with toys will drop as a result.
Designed to be time effective for teachers, this strategy can be used with individual students or small groups.
Index card, tape
Colored slips of paper (different color for each student)
Develop a reward menu for each student targeted for this intervention. (NOTE: For suggestions on how to create a reward menu, see Creating Reward Menus that Motivate: Tips for Teachers.)
Select 1-3 behaviors that you wish to reduce in the targeted student(s) and write out concrete definitions for each.
Decide on a time period during the instructional day that the Response Cost Lottery program will be in effect (e.g., 30 minutes during math class). NOTE: You may want to limit the length of the monitoring period at the start of the intervention, to increase the odds of student success. As the intervention proves successful, you can extend the monitoring period.
Decide how many points (i.e., paper slips) you will award to students at the outset of each monitoring period. (NOTE: For short monitoring periods, you may want to start with 4-5 points/paper slips.)
Prepare the lottery tickets. Use a different color paper for each student's tickets, so that you can tell them apart from one another. Or type blanks on student tickets onto which the recipient can write in his or her name and the date that the ticket was awarded.
Choose how frequently you will hold lottery-ticket prize drawings. NOTE: Many teachers find that once per week is sufficiently motivating to make the intervention effective. For students with more intense or severe levels of misbehavior, however, you may want initially to hold prize drawings more frequently (e.g., daily) and -as students' behaviors improve-gradually extend intervals between drawings.
Step 1: Introduce the Response Cost Lottery program to targeted students:
Explain that students will have the chance to earn rewards for good behavior.
Review with students the negative behaviors that you would like them to reduce. Use demonstration and modeling to ensure that students clearly know (a) the negative behavior(s) that should be avoided and (b) positive behavior(s) that they can engage in instead. Post the definitions that you have written for behaviors that are to be reduced.
Tape an index card on three sides onto the top of each student's desk. Under the untapped corner of the index card, slip the pieces of paper assigned to that student-so that about half the slip is visible.
Tell students that the slips of paper represent 'behavior points'. Let them know that every time that they show a negative behavior during the monitoring period, you will remove one of the slips of paper from their desk. At the end of the monitoring period, any slips that remain will be placed into a lottery ticket container.
Inform student that at the end of each week, you will hold a drawing for one or more prizes. Emphasize that students who hold onto more tickets through the week stand a greater chance of winning prizes.
Step 2: Start the Response Cost Lottery intervention. Consider reminding students at the start of each day's monitoring period of your positive behavioral expectations (e.g., "We are going to start our lottery game now. Be sure to give me your best attention, raise you hand to get permission to speak, and do your best work!"). If you must remove a student's lottery slip because of misbehavior, do so quietly and without drawing undue attention to him or her. If the student does not appear to understand why you are removing a slip, provide a brief explanation in a neutral voice and move on.
Step 3: At the end of each week (or alternative time interval that you have selected), hold a lottery-ticket drawing and permit students whose colored slips were drawn to select a prize from their reward menu. Empty the tickets from the lottery-ticket container and start over.
The student attempts to cheat. If you discover that a student participating in the Response Cost Lottery program attempts to 'cheat the system' (e.g., or trying to stuff the lottery-ticket container with additional tickets that the student has not earned), you can suspend the student for one or more days from the game. Then hold a conference with the student, secure his or her promise to follow the rules of the program, and reinstate the student.
Teachers seldom have the time to drop everything and talk at length with a student who is upset about an incident that occurred within , or outside of, school. The "Talk Ticket" assures the student that he or she will have a chance to talk through the situation while allowing the teacher to schedule the meeting with the student for a time that does not disrupt classroom instruction. The Talk Ticket intervention is flexible to implement and offers the option of taking the student through a simple, structured problem-solving format.
Copy of the appropriate "Talk Ticket" form (see attachments at the bottom of this page)
If you choose to use the Intermediate or Long Form of the Talk Ticket, which lists several trusted adults that the student might choose to meet with, you will need to check in with these professionals prior to starting the intervention to describe the intervention to them and obtain their permission to be listed as contacts.
Step 1: From the sample forms that accompany this intervention description, choose a version of the Talk Ticket form that best suits your needs.
Step 2: Meet with the student privately to introduce the Talk Ticket intervention. Tell the student that, when an upsetting incident occurs that the teacher cannot immediately meet with the student to discuss, the student will be given a "Talk Ticket." This ticket will guarantee that the student will be able to meet with a trusted adult to debrief about the incident -but at a time that will not interfere with instruction.
Step 3: Whenever you note that the student is upset about an event or issue but you not have time to meet immediately with the student to discuss the situation, write out a Talk Ticket that notes a time and location for the student to meet with a trusted person (e.g., you, school counselor, administrator, teacher) to problem-solve about the issue.
Step 4: Be sure that the student is allowed to 'redeem' his or her Talk Ticket at the time noted! If you have listed several adult contacts in the school whom the student might choose to meet with, you may decide to let the student work down the list, checking in with each of the adults listed until the student finds one who has time to meet with him or her.
Step 5 (Optional): After the student meets with an adult to talk about the upsetting situation, you might choose to have the student complete the "Talk Ticket Reflective Planner" form. Or the student and adult can complete this form together as part of their conference.
Here is a sampling of strategies that teachers can use either to head off or to provide consequences for low- to medium-level student misbehavior:
Break student tasks into manageable 'chunks': Students may misbehave to escape activities that they find too hard or tedious. Consider breaking a larger task into smaller or easier 'chunks' that the student will more willingly undertake. If the student must complete a large number of subtasks, include an occasional 'fun break'.
Increase adult supervision/surveillance: When the student's misbehavior is 'covert' (hidden), increase the adult supervision in the area. Be sure that all adults supervising a particular school setting agree on what behaviors to single out for positive or negative consequences and know how to get additional assistance if student behaviors get out of hand.
Increase 'reinforcement' quality of classroom: If a student is acting out to be ejected from a classroom, it may be that student does not find the classroom setting and/or routine to be very rewarding. The teacher can make the classroom environment more attractive in a number of ways, including by posting interesting instructional materials (e.g., bulletin board displays), boosting the pace of (and degree of student interaction in) class lecture or discussion, and including additional instructional activities of high interest to students.
Offer choice: When students are offered opportunities to make simple but meaningful choices in their classroom routine, their behaviors can improve. Examples of choice include permitting students to select who they work with on a project, negotiate when an assignment will be due, and choose what book to read for an assignment.
Offer help strategies: Misbehavior may occur when students are stuck on a work assignment and do not know how to quickly and appropriately request help without drawing undue attention to themselves. Teachers can address this problem by teaching the entire class how to request assistance in a non-disruptive way. A teacher may, for example, instruct students with questions during seatwork to post a help-signal and continue working on other assignments or approach a peer-helper for assistance.
Preview rules/behavioral expectations: Some students misbehave because they are impulsive and do not always think through the consequences of their misbehavior before they act. These students can benefit from having the teacher briefly review rules and/or behavioral expectations just before the students go into a potentially challenging situation or setting (e.g., passing through the halls; going to an assembly). If the instructor has a classroom reward system in place, he or she can strengthen the rules preview by reminding students that the class can win points for good behavior.
Preview schedule: Having the teacher preview a student's schedule daily (or even more frequently) can help those children who seem to misbehave because they do not respond well to unexpected changes in schedule or cannot remember what their schedule is.
Provide skills instruction: If the teacher determines that a child engages in inappropriate behaviors because the student lacks alternative, 'replacement' skills, the instructor should set up a plan to provide the child with the necessary skills. Any skills instruction should include plenty of examples to illustrate the skill-set being taught, demonstration (e.g., modeling, role-play) and a 'checkup' (e.g., student demonstration and verbal 'walk-through' of steps to skill) to confirm to the teacher's satisfaction that the student has acquired the skill.
Rearrange student seating or classroom setup: If elements of the classroom setting appear to contribute to the student's behavior problems, consider changing the student's seating or the classroom setup to reduce these problems. For example a student who is distracted by peers may benefit from having his or her seat moved to a more private corner of the room.
Teach student to take 'calm-down' break: Students who frequently become angry at peers or who may be set off by the excitement of large groups may be taught to (1) identify when they are getting too tense, excited, or angry, and (2) take a short break away from the setting or situation until they have calmed down sufficiently.
Apology: Apologies are one way that humans repair the social fabric after a conflict. The student may be asked to apologize to the offended party (e.g., teacher, student, principal) in writing or in person. It is important, though, that the offending student accept blame for the incident and demonstrate authentic regret in offering the apology, or neither party will be satisfied with the outcome.
Behavioral contract: The student and teacher hammer out a written agreement that outlines: specific positive behaviors that the student is to engage in (or specific negative behaviors that he or she is to avoid), the privileges or rewards that the student will earn for complying with the behavioral contract, and the terms by which the student is to earn the rewards (e.g., staying in his or her seat during independent reading period for three consecutive days).
Ignoring: When the student displays a problem behavior, the teacher 'ignores' the behavior (that is, the teacher does not give the student attention for the behavior).
Loss of privileges: The child is informed in advance that he or she can access a series of privileges (e.g., access to games to play, the opportunity to have 5 minutes of free time) if his or her behavior remains appropriate. The instructor instructs the student about what kind and intensity of problem behavior may result in the loss of privileges, and for how long. After this introductory phase, the instructor withdraws privileges as agreed upon whenever the student misbehaves.
Modeling (Vicarious Learning): While the target child is observing, the teacher gives specific public praise to children other than the target student when they show appropriate behaviors. When praising these behaviors, the teacher clearly describes the praiseworthy behaviors. When the target child 'imitates' the same or similar appropriate behaviors, the teacher immediately praises him or her.
Office referral: The instructor writes up a referral documenting the student's misbehavior and sends both the referral and student to the principal's office for intervention.
Over-correction: The student is required repetitively to practice a skill that will 'replace' or improve upon an inappropriate or problem behavior. For example, a student who wanders the halls without permission when taking an unsupervised bathroom break may have to stay after school one afternoon and take multiple 'practice' trips to the school bathroom. In this example, the instructor might accompany the student to monitor how promptly the student walked to, and returned from, the bathroom and to give the student feedback about how much this target behavior has improved.
Parent contact: The teacher calls, sends a note home to, or e-mails the student's parent(s) regarding the behavioral problems. The parent may be asked for advice on how the teacher can better reach and teach the child at school. The teacher may offer suggestions for appropriate parent involvement (e.g., "You may want to talk with your child about this incident, which we view as serious.").
Peer Consequences: If the teacher finds that classmates play (or could play) an important role in influencing a target child's behavior(s), the teacher may try to influence the target child's behaviors indirectly by providing consequences for selected peer behaviors.
For example, if classmates encourage the target student to make inappropriate comments by giving positive social attention (e.g., laughing), the teacher may start a group response-cost program and deduct points from the class total whenever a peer laughs at inappropriate comments. Or a teacher who wants to increase the social interactions that a socially isolated child has with her peers may reward selected peers with praise each time that they approach the isolated child in a positive manner.
Praise: When the student engages in a positive behavior that the teacher has selected to increase, the teacher praises the student for that behavior. Along with positive comments (e.g., "Great job!"), the praise statement should give specifics about the behavior the child demonstrated that is being singled our for praise (e.g., "You really kept your attention focused on me during that last question, even when kids around you were talking!").
Private approach to student: The instructor quietly approaches the student, points out the problem behavior and how it is interfering with classwork or interrupting instruction. The instructor reminds the student of the academic task in which he or she should be engaged. The student is given an opportunity to explain his or her actions. The student is politely offered the choice to improve behavior or accept a negative consequence. Privately approaching a student can help him or her to save face and reduce the likelihood that the student will become defensive or defiant.
Promise: The instructor approaches the misbehaving student and informs him or her that the student has behaved inappropriately. The teacher asks the student to state an appropriate alternative behavior that he or she should have followed. The teacher then requests that the student promise the instructor (verbally or in writing) that he or she will not engage in this misbehavior again.
Redirection: The teacher interrupts problem behavior by calling on the student to answer a question, assigning him or her a task to carry out, or otherwise refocusing the child's attention.
Reflective Essay: The student is required to write and submit to the teacher a brief composition after displaying behaviors. At minimum, the composition would state: (1) what problem behavior the student displayed, (2) how the student could have acted in an alternative, more acceptable manner, and (3) a promise from the student to show appropriate behaviors in similar situations in the future. NOTE: Some teachers use a pre-printed structured questionnaire containing these 3 items for the student to complete.
Reprimand: In the typical reprimand, the instructor approaches the student, states that the student is misbehaving, and instructs the student to stop the misbehavior immediately. Reprimands should be used sparingly, as students may become defiant if confronted by an angry teacher in a public manner. When used, reprimands should be kept short, to avoid arguments with the student.
Response Cost: Usually, response cost programs first award a student a certain number of tokens with no conditions attached. Throughout the monitoring period, the student has a token withdrawn whenever he or she displays a behavior that is inappropriate. (These behaviors would usually have been agreed upon in advance.) The student is permitted to 'cash in' any points that he or she still retains at the end of the monitoring period or may be allowed to 'bank' the points toward a future reward or privilege.
Restitution: The student engages in an activity that actually or symbolically restores the environment, setting, or social situation that his or her misbehavior had damaged. For example, a student who marks up a wall with graffiti may be required to work afterschool under supervision of custodial staff to wash the wall and removing the offending markings.
Rewarding alternative (positive) behaviors: The instructor calls on the student or provides other positive attention or incentives only during those times that the student is showing appropriate social and academic behaviors. The same positive attention or consequences are withheld during times when the student misbehaves or does not engage in academics.
Rules review: The teacher approaches the misbehaving student and (a) has him or her read off the posted class rules, (b) asks the student which of those rules his or her current behavior is violating, and (c) has the student state what positive behavior he or she will engage in instead.
Timeout/Detention/Inschool suspension: The student is removed from the classroom because of a behavioral infraction. In timeout, the student's exclusion from the classroom may be very short (3-5 minutes). With in-school suspension, the student may be removed from instruction for longer periods (e.g., half a day). Detention may require that the student spend time in a non-rewarding setting but that consequence may be deferred until after school to prevent loss of learning.