Transcript Helping Children who have Behavioral and Attention Issues

Helping Children Who Have
Behavioral and Attention Issues in
the Classroom
Dr. David B. Ross
Nova Southeastern University
Agenda and Disclaimer
• Cover important issues with today’s classroom
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first days
prevention, intervention & strategies
power
principles of behavior management
five rules
time and space
four-to-one
beginning
• Open discussion format
– share thoughts and experiences
• Session topics based on research and application
– success rate can vary
The “First Days” Are Critical
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How you plan your “first days” of school will
determine your success or failure as you
proceed through the school year.
You will either win or lose your class on the first
days of school:
- An effective teacher establishes power of influence
rather than control (100% rule)
- Condition the students
- Manage your class effectively: (a) how you plan, (b)
design your classroom procedures, and (c) apply
your professional responsibilities.
Prevention (proactive approach)
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Present interesting and lively lessons
Make class rules and procedures clear
Keep students busy on meaningful tasks
Use various materials and approaches in your
lesson (MI, learning styles, brain dominance)
Display humor and enthusiasm
Use cooperative learning
Break long assignments into smaller steps
Efficient use of class time (allow short breaks)
Interventions and Strategies
 Promote positive interaction with others
 Teach problem solving skills
 Provide social skills training – teach “please”
 Teach positive self talk – thoughts influence one’s
feelings
 Praise and approve positive behavior such as selfconfidence or humor and try to ignore depressed
behavior as much as possible
 Have the child help others - Often doing something
special for others, helps them feel better about
themselves
Interventions and Strategies
 Conflict resolution
 Positive Reinforcement: Reward positive behaviors
 Replacement: Teach appropriate behaviors to
substitute for inappropriate ones
 Ignoring: Not recognizing disruptive behaviors in an
attempt to avoid reinforcing them…as long as you can
control your classroom
 Time-Out: Elementary only…starting at 3 years old
(minute a year)…concepts of time and space
 Overcorrecting: Requiring restitution beyond the
damaging effects of the immediate behavior…keep it
within the realm
Power of Influence versus
Power of Control
• Powers
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legitimate
coercive
reward
referent
charismatic
expertise
situational
informational
• When students feel
empowered – you both
win
• Gain or Lose Control
– Yourself
– Students
• When you allow conflict…
you lose
• Do not try to be one of
the students
– If you want to be 8 years
old again, argue with an 8
year old…
Let the Children Have Input
• Research: organizations that promote input, recognition, achievement,
and growth are productive
• They feel part of the class environment
• Include students in the design and implementation of set rules
– “I am not doing anything to you, you are breaking your own rules”
– student to student – they will control each other
• not the bad teacher coming after them, they did it themselves
• OUR class - not mine, not yours
• The more they think they are empowered of the structure of the class, the
more compliance you will have
• Chrysler and Lee Iacocca
– company owed the company…he told the employees “our company”
– major compliance because employees would turn in others if they went
against policies
• Southwest Airlines
• Home Depot at one time
The Principles of Behavior
Management (negotiating jiu-jitsu / verbal judo)
• Consequences
– positive or negative
– give options - nothing is 100 percent
• Must be swift
– avoid unnecessary disruption of the lesson
– must deliver the consequences [positive or negative]
immediately after the behavior
• ex: wait till your father gets home [hours later, the kid forgot
the behavior]
– Referrals (when to write or not)
The Principles of Behavior
Management (negotiating jiu-jitsu / verbal judo)
• Appropriate
– teachers should focus on the behavior, not on the
student
– match the level of intervention with the severity of
the infraction
– use the simplest intervention that will work
– “I am taking away your ___ forever” “you will never
go in the playground again”
– must be enough to aggravate the child
– gain compliance...time frame should be enough to get
their attention
The Principles of Behavior
Management (negotiating jiu-jitsu / verbal judo)
• Doable
– must be able to deliver the positive and negative
consequence every time the behavior is demonstrated
– or, do not do it at all…must be consistent (referent power)
• Learning Experience
– must be able to sit with the student [at a later time] to
explore ways to maintain good behavior and extinguish
bad behavior
– After applying a consequence, the teacher should not
mention the incident
– Give the student a fresh start
Maximum of Five* Rules in the
Classroom
• Neither Negative or Positive: prepare for real-world
– research : 70% are not socialized [latchkey, home life]
– half the children are raising themselves
– most teachers come from middle class with middle class
values while a great majority of students come to class
without middle class values…they do not comprehend the
word “please”
– values should be taught at home, community or
church...so we have to teach them
– goal to have them internalize middle class values...they do
not have them, so start them off with simple rules
– but we can work towards a “please” mentality
Maximum of Five* Rules in the
Classroom
• Just make a statement (what is appropriate for your class)
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stay on task
stay in your seat
raise your hand
ask permission
place assignments in the class folder
sharpen your pencil
• Example:
– please share your crayons with Harry…the non-socialized child says, “no, I
don’t want to.”
– you should ask, “I need you to share your crayons”
• once they do it, then show a great amount of emotions and enthusiasm when the
comply
– emotions will help them internalize, so next time you can begin with the word
“please”
Setting Class Rules
1. Class rules should be
few in number
2. They should make
sense and be seen as
fair by the students
3. They should be clearly
explained and
deliberately taught to
students
1. Be courteous to
others
2. Respect others
property
3. Be on-task.
4. Raise hands to be
recognized
How many times should you go over
your classroom rules?
• As many times as you have to depending on their
ages
• Review rules like you review assignments and
new lessons
• Ex: most teachers say “how many times do I have
to tell you?”
• Ex: when you change assignments, review new
rules…what are the rules for reading, what are
the rules for vocabulary…
• “What are the rules that YOU helped us [class and
teacher] develop”
Concepts of Time and Space
• Never say “we will see”
• Never say “I will decide when you will stop the
punishment”
• Never say “never” or “always” …be concise
because they know their rights to get back in
the game/class.
• Different between adults and children
• Children have no patience, that is why you should
not lose yours
Four to One and Make it Fun:
Vicarious reinforcement
• Four positives to one negative
– reinforce four other students who are exhibiting
good behavior
– catch students doing something right to
encourage the correct behavior
– let the child vicariously see the point that is being
made to others
– applies to elementary, middle or high school
• Try to ignore bad behavior when you can
The Beginning
• You are always going to learn new things
• Have your concept in your mind of how you
want to structure your classroom [over
summer]
– The next year is a new beginning
• When behavior is controlled/influenced, you
have their attention
• You cannot teach unless behavior is under
control/influence
Thank you for sharing your thoughts
and experience