Transcript Effective Strategies to Address Disruptive Behaviors

Effective Strategies to Address
Disruptive Behaviors
Developed by Faculty and Staff of
The University of Maryland
School of Medicine
Department of Psychiatry
Center for School Mental Health
Addressing Disruptive
Students
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Talk to student in private
Use a calm voice
Clearly explain the problem
Remain focused on the behavior
State the consequences
Identify student’s strengths
Acknowledge improvements in behavior
Giving Effective Commands
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Say what you mean, and mean what
you say
Be prepared with consequence for
noncompliance
A command should not be a question
Focus on what student should do,
instead of what he/she shouldn’t
Be careful with multi-step commands
Strategies for Behavioral Change
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Praise student when positive behaviors
are displayed
Praise student for absence of
misbehavior
Consequences should be specific,
immediate, and well-balanced
Be consistent
Acting Out Cycle
Peak
Acceleration
De-escalation
Agitation
Trigger
Recovery
Calm
Adapted from The Iris Center: http://iris.peabody.vanderbilt.edu
Calm Phase
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In the Calm Phase, students are:
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Compliant
Cooperative
Engaged
Responsive to Praise
Maintain the Calm Phase
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Provide structure in the classroom
Teach social and behavioral
expectations
Provide positive attention
Trigger Phase
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School-based Triggers
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Difficult task
Making transitions
Teasing by peers
Negative interaction with teacher
Non-school-based Triggers
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Financial hardship
Family conflict
Hunger
Agitation Phase
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Student is not focused
Student displays agitation
Student becomes disengaged from the
learning process
Interventions for Agitation
Phase
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Need to be implemented early
Provide suggestions to shift task
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Work with a partner
Ask if student needs assistance
Change instruction style
Acceleration Phase
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Attempts are made to engage the
teacher in an argument
Student behavior interferes with the
instructional process
Student behavior is often first
recognized here
Interventions for Acceleration
Phase
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Acknowledge feeling
Make a request
Give student time to respond
Provide reinforcement immediately after
student begins to respond
Peak Phase
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Student behavior is out of control
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Physical aggression
Harming self
Property destruction
Uncontrollable crying
Typically a short phase
Interventions for Peak Phase
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Maintain safety of student and others
School-specific responses
Be aware that removing child from
learning environment may reinforce
inappropriate behavior
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Respond quickly
Get student re-engaged in learning as
soon as possible
De-escalation Phase
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Provide a work area that is separate from
other students
Provide independent activity for them to work
on
Provides time to get other students on task
Should only last a few minutes
Goal: Classroom is calm and disruptive
student has de-escalated
Recovery Phase
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Debrief with student
Identify trigger
Develop a future plan
Debrief the class
What’s Not Effective?
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Humiliating or making fun of student
Asking student why they are
misbehaving
Making negative comments about
student’s future
Comparing students
Yelling at student
Self-Assessment
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What are your expectations of the
students?
Are the teaching methods appropriate?
What kind of mood are you in?
Are you stressed out/ experiencing
burnout?
Self-Care
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Seek support from colleagues and
friends
Make time for yourself
Maintain a sense of humor
Get plenty of rest
Healthy eating habits
Exercise
Maintain a practical perspective
THE TEACHER’S ROLE IN
SHAPING SELF-IMAGE
“I
have come to a frightening conclusion. I am the decisive element in the
classroom.
It is my personal approach that creates the climate. It is my daily mood
that makes the weather.
As a teacher I possess tremendous power to make a child’s life miserable
or joyous.
I can be a tool of torture or an instrument of inspiration. I can humiliate
or humor, hurt or heal.
In all situations, it is my response that decides whether a crisis will be
escalated or de-escalated, and a child humanized or dehumanized.”
Haim Ginott
Between Teacher and Child