Transcript Slide 1

UNIVERSAL STRATEGIES
IN THE CLASSROOM
North Carolina Department of Public Instruction
Exceptional Children Division
Universal Strategies in the Classroom
• Teach Attention Signal
• Establish Behavioral Expectations/Rules
• Develop Schedule
• Teach Routines
• Give Precorrects
• Encourage Expected Behavior
• Correct Student Behavior Errors
Teach Attention Signal
• Always use a simple portable cue to
prompt students to listen.
• Avoid starting instruction until all
students are attending
• Reinforce students who attend
immediately
• Provide specific verbal praise to peers
to redirect students
• Consistency, consistency, consistency!
Establish Behavioral Expectations & Rules
• Use School-wide Expectations as Basis for
Classroom Rules
• Clearly and Positively Stated
• State in Observable Terms
• Posted and Referred to Frequently
• Teach Explicitly to FLUENCY
• Reinforce Consistently
Teaching Effective Rules
• Tell-Show-Practice
• Give Positive Reinforcement for
Appropriate Student Use
• Consider Consequences for Errors
– re-teach
– redirect
– time to “Cool Down”
• Reflect! Are the Rules Working? Why or
Why Not?
Teaching Lessons on
Expectations
Teach your
expectations
before the
activity or
transition begins.
Monitor student
behavior
by circulating
and visually
scanning.
Provide feedback
during the
activity and
at the conclusion
of the activity.
Begin the cycle again for
the next activity.
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Develop Classroom Schedule
• Establish predictable schedules
– illustrate with icons, time, etc.
• Schedule non-instruction time
– administration time
– personal time
• Evaluate the variety and time for each
activity.
Sample Schedule
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5 Min
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10 Min
10 Min
25 Min
10 Min
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5 Min
Teacher Directed Review of
Previous Concepts
Teacher Directed New Concepts
Teacher Directed Guided Practice
Independent Work
Teacher Directed Guided Practice
and Review
Homework Review
Effective Routines - Rationale
•The number one problem in the
classroom is not discipline; it is
the lack of procedures and
routines. A vast majority of the
behavior
problems
in
the
classroom are caused by the
failure of students to follow
procedures and routines.
•-Harry Wong
Teach Routines
• Think through and establish procedures
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for transition times and basic regularly
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scheduled activities
• Establish clear expectations for student
behavior and clear expectations for adult
behavior
• Plan, Post and Teach!
– Tell-Show-Practice-Feedback loop
– Consistently teach all day, every day
• Reflect: Are routines working? Why or why not?
Give Precorrects
• Precorrects function as reminders
• Opportunities to practice
• Prompt for expected behavior
• Especially helpful before teacher
anticipates behavior learning errors
Precorrect Examples
• “ Remember, before you leave
class, collect all your materials,
put your papers in the bin, and
quietly walk out of the room.”
• “ Sam, show us how to be
respectful and line up quietly for
gym.”
Encourage Expected Behaviors
• Providing praise for correct academic
• responses and appropriate social
behavior
• leads to:
– Increases in student correct responses
– Increases in on task behavior
– Decreases in disruptive behaviors
• -Sutherland, 2000
Positive Feedback
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Feedback should be:
Accurate
Specific and descriptive
Contingent
Age-appropriate
Given in a manner that fits your style
Ratio of Interactions
•Teachers should strive to keep a 4:1
ratio of positive-to-negative statements
– Each time you have a negative interaction
with a student, tell yourself you owe that
student 4 positive interactions
– Identify specific times during the day you
will give positive feedback
– Schedule individual conference time
– Scan the room searching for appropriate
behaviors
– Engage in frequent positive interactions
with all students
Examples of Non-Verbal Feedback
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Wink
Nod
Thumbs-up
Pat on the back
High-five
Hug (when and where
appropriate)
Effective Reinforcement Strategies
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Behavior(s) are determined and taught
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Reinforcement is contingent upon appropriate
behavior
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Be generous with reinforcers at the beginning
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Reward class when:
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Students who have not exhibited behavior in the past
are exhibiting the behavior now.
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Students who have exhibited behaviors in the past
continue to exhibit them.
Components of An Effective
Teaching Plan
• Define classroom rules based on school-wide
expectations
• Outline routines (attention signal, etc)
• Establish schedule for teaching routines and
procedures
• Decide strategies for encouraging
appropriate student behavior and
discouraging problem behavior
• Plan a variety of instructional strategies
• Establish effective classroom environment
Correct Student Behavior Errors
• “Emotion Free” response
• More effective if students have been
taught expected behaviors
• Minimize attention other than signal of
error
• Praise for appropriate behavior
Correct Student Behavior Errors
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Steps to Take
1. Signal that an error has occurred
Refer to rules: "We respect others in this
room and that means not using put downs.”
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2. Ask for an alternative appropriate
response
"How can you show respect and
still get your point across?"
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3. Provide an opportunity to practice the
skill and provide verbal feedback
"That's much better, thank you for showing
respect toward others.”
Classroom Management Strategies
• Physical arrangement of classroom
• Positive teacher-student interactions
• More reinforcement strategies
• Techniques to improve compliance
• Active participation
• Increasing Positive Interactions
• Based on the concept that most students
want and need adult attention.
• Leads students to feel like valued
members of the learning community
Do Problem Students Deserve
Positive Attention?
• Students are not equal.
• Some have received a lot of attention from
infancy.
• Some have received very little attention.
• Many have only received negative
attention.
What Do You Do When You Just
Don’t Like the Student?
• Be professional!
Who’s In Charge of the Mood
of the Classroom?
Lottery Tickets
• Determine the behavior(s) you want to
reinforce
• Teach the behavior to the students
• Give the student a ticket when you see the
behavior.
• Have student write his/her name on ticket
• and put ticket in box/bin.
• At a designated time, draw a ticket out of
the bin and present a reinforcer to the
student whose name is on the ticket.
Techniques to Improve Compliance
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Do not use a question format
Get up close
Use a quiet voice
Look ‘em in the eyes
Give them time
Don’t give multiple requests
Make more start requests
Verbally reinforce compliance
Get up and move
Increasing Opportunities to
Respond ~ Active Participation
• Encourages everyone to become
involved in learning
• Increases rate of responses of all
learners
• Increases attainment of material
presented
• Allows reluctant learners a secure
environment to practice
• Decreases inappropriate or off task
behavior
Practice Time!
• Students should be reinforced at a rate of
_____ to ______.
– Everyone.
• Universal strategies used in classroom
management are to teach rules and
_________.
– Everyone.
• PBS stands for_________________.
– Everyone.
Sustaining and Maintaining
Effective Classroom Practices
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Ongoing staff development
Effective teaching plan
Peer coaching
Mentoring
Supportive environment
Team based problem solving
• Positive parent contact
Effective Instruction
Effective instruction
increases the likelihood
of correct student
responses
Correct responding is
correlated with positive
teacher interactions
Leading to increased academic achievement
of students and positive behavioral exchanges
between students and teachers
Gunter, Hummel, & Venn, 1998