BEHAVIOR Is Everything! Tips on Establishing Classroom Rules and Managing Resistant Behavior

1. BEHAVIOR Is Everything! Tips on Establishing Classroom Rules and Managing Resistant Behavior New Teacher Boot Camp 2012 Ellen Stokebrand

3. Thoughts as we start the conversation… • TEACH the behavior you expect… • What you expect… you will get. • Re-teach the behavior your expect… • Model the desired behavior you expect… • Re-teach the behavior you expect… • Remember that we are all human… • Tomorrow…

4. Our discussion for this morning… • Classroom/School Behavioral Goals • Classroom Rules • Behavior • Managing Behavior

5. Classroom Goals • Very different than rules • Identifies our expectations • Reflects our values • More global than rules • Analogy • Goal -Drivers should be courteous • Rules – • Speed limit 65 • Stop for pedestrians in cross walk

6. Examples of classroom goals • Respect others • Be responsible • Do your best work • Cooperate with others

7. Teach your expectations for the goals • Identify and teach what ‘respect’ means • Identify and teach what it means to be ‘responsible’ • Identify what ‘best work’ means • Identify and teach what it means to ‘cooperate’ • Never assume…

8. Classroom Rules • Should be few in number • State the desired behavior • Are short and simple • List observable behaviors • Begin with a verb • Clearly define behaviors • SHOULD BE TAUGHT and RETAUGHT!

10. Example Rules • Arrive on time • Bring school materials only • Follow directions immediately • Participate in classroom activities • Work during work sessions • Use language appropriate to school and work-place

11. Making Classroom Rules Effective • Age appropriate: Have students help develop rules • Introduce the rules • Teach lessons on each of the rules • Review the rules • Post the rules • Act as if you expect the desired behaviors

12. Big Idea • In classes where routines and procedures are clearly delineated and taught during the initial weeks of school, appropriate behavior is much more likely to occur. • Not only are you teaching the Rules and what that behavior looks like, you should also be teaching the routines, such as handing in papers, sharpening pencils, lining up, drink/bathroom procedures, etc. • Review as needed.

13. Visual Cue for Routine

14. Quick Write • What do you think your rules might be for this upcoming year? • Share with someone from the other side of the room…

15. Dealing with Resistant Behavior “I’m not gonna and you can’t make me…”

16. Oppositional Defiant Disorder • Loses temper • Argues with adults • Actively defies or refuses to comply with adults’ requests or rules • Deliberately annoys other people • Blames others for his/her mistakes or misbehavior • Touchy or easily annoyed by others • Angry or resentful • Spiteful or vindictive That’s Me????

17. NOT an appropriate intervention!

18. Rules to know… • Behavior is learned and serves a specific purpose • Research indicates that a 9 week old infant knows to fake a cough to gain adult attention; if they know this at 9 weeks, imagine what they know when they get to school! • Behavior is related to the context within which it occurs. • The reason why parents and teachers do not see the same behavior. • True for kids and adults • Some rules for behavior are hidden and not accessible to all children or adults.

19. Two More Thoughts… • It is better to be bad than dumb… • People do not want to be bad • Not all kids can dunk a basketball

20. Complying with the rules… • Kids comply with the rules _____ % of the time. • How often are they complimented for appropriate behavior? _____ % • We can increase appropriate behavior by 80% by recognizing and rewarding appropriate behavior.

21. Purpose of Behavior • Attention-seeking • Occurs when you aren’t paying attention to the student or when you stop paying attention • Escape/avoidance • Occurs when/if you ask student to do something s/he doesn’t want to do; stops after you stop ‘making demands • Getting something • Occurs when you take away a toy, favorite food, activity; stops after you give a toy, food, activity; happens when a student can’t have… • Self-regulation • Tends to be performed over and over again (rhythmic, cyclical); happens when there is a lot or very little going on (noise, movement, people); student can still do other things at the same time • Play • Occurs over and over again; occurs repeatedly when no one is around; the student enjoys the behavior and seems to be in his/her own little world

22. Managing Behavior • Some thoughts as we prepare… • Students are more likely to exhibit desired behaviors when expectations are clear • “Nothing is ever always.” • There are always two perspectives to a behavior… yours and theirs • Kids aren’t looking through our eyes • Be strong enough to bend.

23. 5 available choices when we don’t want to follow directions • Deny or swallow our feelings and just comply • Refuse it in a rude manner (Most common choice for defiant students) • Withdraw or run away • Say we will do it and then don’t • Avoid complying by use of trickery or manipulation • Make our feelings and decisions known in a respectful manner*

24. Why do people defy directions? • Transitional phases of Life • Ages 2-3 • Adolescence • Senior Years • Newly Married • Defense of assigned personal image (Self-fulfilling prophecy) • Defiance due to conflict between the student and teacher (they hate you because those before you hated them… ) • Fear of failure upon seeing Teacher’s assignments

25. 1. Fair is not equal and equal is not fair! • Dealing with the “It’s not fair” response… • It is physically and emotionally impossible to treat everyone exactly the same way • In many cases, the ‘it’s not fair’ argument will come from adults and not the kids… they get it that some kids need more support

26. 2. “Discipline” and “Punishment” are not synonymous. • Discipline is designed to teach/replace behaviors… • Punishment is designed to extinguish behaviors • Examples…

28. 3. More of the same rarely works. • If a teacher asks a student to do something 100 times, and each time the student refuses and does not comply, then who is really the slow learner? • Focus on compliance… how are you going to change that student’s behavior so that they comply with your request. • Instead of telling the student to do 10 problems, tell them that you don’t want them to do 5… • Remember it’s about getting compliance!

29. 4. Resistant behavior is adult driven behavior 99% of the time. • Never, ever get into a power struggle… • Power struggles WILL happen. • When you do get into a power struggle with a student, recognize it, stop and walk away. • Model some behavior here… tell the student that you need to get control, think a bit, etc. • If you give up a little control, you gain a lot in credibility.

31. 5. Dealing with resistant behavior is more about creating rapport than maintaining power. • Allow yourself to be creative… • Find ways to get compliance… • Make accommodations… • Always let the student save face… • Take the fun out of misbehavior…

32. Perspective…

33. What CAN we do? • Plenty! • Build Compliance Momentum • Praise • Develop Rapport • Embed Instructions • Behavioral Momentum • Visual Supports • Catch Students being Good! • Set up changes in small increments • Avoid labels • Don’t take it personally

34. 1. Praise the Student! • BE POSITIVE… Research shows that the approval to reprimand ration is around 1:6; or students get praised roughly 1.2 to 4.5 times per hour per student • In a research project, when the approval to reprimand ration was at 12:1, on task behavior increased roughly 86%.

35. Praise the Student Strategies • Use a 4:1 ratio of positive comments to criticisms • Strategies to increase praise… • Cueing (timer, phone, etc.) • Self monitoring (tallies, pennies, etc.) • This is not just about 1 kid; it’s about creating the environment in the classroom

36. 2. Building Rapport • Altering your behavior so that it becomes easier to lead the child in the direction of a desired outcome.

37. 3. Building Rapport • The 1 minute plan • Show respect • Be patient • Follow through • Be professional

38. 4. Embed Instructions • Describe a child’s current behavior and link it to a description of the desired behavior. • Example: “Mary, as your shuffling papers, open your book to page 15, and talk to Suzy.”

39. 5. Behavioral Momentum • Identify 2 or 3 behaviors a child likes to do. • Instruct the student to perform the 2 desirable behaviors before asking him to do the undesirable behavior. • Example: “Nate, please help me tack up these pictures. I’d also like you to sharpen these pencils. Please sit down and write out 3 spelling words.”

40. 6. Avoid Labels • Mindset… • Smart, pretty, bright = Teacher’s Pet, nerd, geek • Naughty, bad, stupid = naughty, bad, stupid • Avoid saying “you’re so smart”; “You really worked hard on that project and showed great problem solving skills!” • Keep the compliments and criticisms focused on exactly what they are doing… not on them.

41. Dealing with resistant behavior is similar to riding a dead horse…

42. 7. Teach Social Skills • What do we teach in social skills training? • Manners and positive interactions with others • Appropriate classroom behavior • Better ways to handle frustration/anger • Acceptable ways to resolve conflict with others • Teach social skills like you teach academics • I do it, we do it, you do it…

43. 8. Go Brain Dead • Love and Logic • Okay, okay, okay, okay… • Other phrases… I know, thanks for sharing, that’s an option, I bet it feels that way, I’m not going to argue with you • Difficult to argue with someone who won’t argue back

44. 9. Don’t take yourself too seriously.