Creative Behavior Management

1. Creative Behavior Management Presented by Terri R. Vest, NBCT NEA ESP Conference March 2013

2. Goals By the end of this presentation, the learner will: • Learn about sensory memory. • Understand how educators can use unconscious responses and sensory stimuli to help students control their behavior. • Create examples of good behavior management systems. • Differentiate between an aversion system and a rewards system.

3. Who’s Here? SWITCH STOP 1 Find someone born in the same month as you. Each partner will tell two TRUTHS and one LIE. The other partner tries to guess the LIE. After 1 minute, switch partners.

4. Who’s in Control? Hot!!!

5. The Brain Cortisol! • Memory in the amygdala is hard-wired and direct. • It is sensory memory. • It responds to stimuli in a physical way; for example, releasing stress hormones. • It will respond to stimuli associated with the original stimuli.

6. How does this image make you FEEL?

7. Is There Hope? Deal with AUTOMATIC BEHAVIORS appropriately. Provide consistent, long-term pairing of sensory input with desired behaviors.

8. Electric Sheep • Set screen saver for 10 minutes. • Every time screen saver comes on, students stop and take 2 deep breaths, breathing out more slowly than breathing in. • AMYGDALA: When you breathe out, your physical responses all slow. This is an automatic response. Students’ amygdala “learns” to pair the screen saver visual with this automatic response. • When the screen saver comes on, everyone in the class calms down.

9. Review • Brain research tells us that some behavior management issues with children are due to “learned” behavior from the amygdala. • The amygdala is not connected with the conscious system. It gets direct sensory information that it stores to control emotional responses. • The responses are “hardwired.” The amygdala doesn’t need to learn the responses, but it does learn which sensory stimuli to connect to those responses. • The amygdala can be “retaught” through long-term, consistent pairing of stimulus-response.

10. Changing Our Responses Because we are also providing sensory stimuli to our students, we have to think carefully about what stimuli we provide and how it pairs with behavior. For example, if every time a student is too loud in the classroom, the educator claps her hands and then gives him a detention, the student ‘s amygdala may “learn” to associate clapping sounds with the negative feelings of punishment. By learning to differentiate between automatic behaviors and conscious behaviors, educators can become more effective at behavior management. By allowing students time to “decompress” from automatic responses, educators can more effectively help students understand their own behaviors and how to control them. (time-out) By using positive “learned” signals to control unwanted behavior, educators can avoid many disciplinary actions and unwanted conflicts with students.

11. What Do You Do? Runyon: “I hate this f____ing school, & you’re a dumb f_____.” Adult: “That is disrespectful language. I’m sending you to the office so you’ll learn never to say those words again….starting now!”

12. Immediate & Seductive Solution “Get Tough!” • Clamp down & increase monitoring • Re-re-re-review rules • Extend continuum & consistency of consequences • Establish “bottom line”... Predictable individual response

13. Reactive Responses Are Predictable In an aversive situation, we select interventions that produce immediate relief. . . • Remove student • Remove ourselves • Modify physical environment • Assign responsibility for change to student &/or others

14. Behavior Doesn’t Improve “Get Tougher!” • Zero tolerance policies • Increased surveillance • Increased suspension & expulsion • Alternative programming

15. Erroneous Assumption that Student • Is inherently “bad” • Will learn more appropriate behavior through increased use of “aversives” • Will be better tomorrow…….

16. Aversion System • Fosters environments of control • Triggers & reinforces antisocial behavior • Shifts accountabilityaway from school • Devalues child-adult relationship • Weakens relationship between academic & social behavior programming

17. Behavioral Science Says Students • Are NOT born with “bad behaviors” • Do NOT learn when presented contingent aversive consequences • Do learn better ways of behaving by being taught directly & receiving positive feedback

18. Behavior Management System • It’s always a system---formal or informal • What’s important: • Student participation • Clarity of expectations • Consistency • Keep system consistent over time • Enforce system consistently with each student and among students • Positive reinforcement

19. Systemic Behavior Management • Redirections for minor, infrequent behavior errors • Active supervision by all staff----scan, move, interact • Precorrections & reminders for chronic errors • Effective academic instruction & curriculum • Social cues taught & reinforced

20. Teach Social Behaviors Like Academic Skills

21. Teaching Matrix Activity

22. Teaching Matrix Activity Keep the behaviors POSITIVE. Tell them what to DO, not what NOT TO DO. Let’s talk about this. What types of activities could you write in the blanks? Brainstorm at your table for 30 seconds, then we’re going to shout out suggestions.

23. Teaching Matrix Activity

24. Strategies for Positive Non-classroom Time Whisper While You Walk Adopt-A-Bathroom Neighborhood Watch 1-Way Cones in Hallways Stop Light! On Playground

25. Your Turn 3 2 1 STOP • Take a number. • Form groups according to your number. • Choose a recorder and a reporter. • Create a game or activity to promote a positive atmosphere in a problem area or time at school. • Be prepared to report your group’s ideas. • You have 3 minutes from the time the groups are formed.

26. Review • Many behaviors by students are the result of automatic responses, not conscious responses. • Educators can use automatic responses and sensory stimuli to help students control their behavior. • A good behavior management system should have: • Student participation • Clarity of expectations • Consistency • Positive reinforcement • A system of rewards works better than an aversion system in shaping student behavior.

27. Brought to you by Terri Vest National Board Certified Teacher Vermont NEA terri_vest@hotmail.com www.terrivest.com (I have business cards at the front if you’d like to contact me.) Any questions or comments?