Teaching Toolbox, Research Paper Example

Classroom Behavior Management Toolbox

Introduction

The present portfolio assessment is aimed at showing my personal progress in achieving the coursework objectives, and the provision of personal reflection on the knowledge I have managed to receive within the course on working with EBD students in the classroom settings. Therefore, the topic I have chosen for the present teacher toolbox presentation is classroom behavior management. The work conducted by me illustrates the necessity of choosing appropriate strategies of meeting and anticipating problem behavior in which EBD students frequently engage, and identifying the core fields of interest for students, parents, educators and administrators. The issue of importance here involves joint effort of educators and school policy-makers, i.e. administrators, to achieve the formation of the positive, supportive classroom environment, and adopting proactive classroom management strategies to fit the unique needs of EBD students as well as regular students in the educational process. Therefore, the presentation is mainly targeted at the educators. Students with EBD are known to have problems with encoding and interpreting information, thus responding to classroom activities negatively and inappropriately (Lane, Kalberg, & Menzies, 2009). Hence, it is the task of educators to adequately interpret their behavior, its causes, and respond to them in an effective and potentially constructive manner.

Instructional Content and Achievement of Results

It is evident that there are numerous reasons for inability to create the supportive, positive environment in the school settings that prevents both EBD students and regular students to achieve their instructional goals and objectives. The reasons deriving from the side of EBD students include their failure to follow the educator’s directions, unruly and problem behavior, low self-esteem resulting in aggression, low motivation and social skills (Yell, Meadows, Drasgow, & Shriner, 2009). However, the problems arise not only from the student activity, but the pitfalls of teachers resulting in ineffective classroom management, e.g. stress, dissatisfaction, burn out, lack of preparation and classroom interaction with students (Yell et al., 2009). Consequently, the necessity of developing adequate intervention and classroom management strategies is being recognized. It is clear that schools need to be able to prevent, anticipate and successfully manage problem behaviors of EBD students.

As a result of the present work, the following guidelines for creating a successful classroom management strategy have been identified: first of all, both educators and school administrators have to take a proper account of the IEP recommendations that form the basis for work with EBD students. Then, the eligibility for special education should be addressed, with the renewal of IEP and/or placement. Extended school year eligibility (ESY), re-evaluation needs, disciplinary actions concerning the child’s disability and occurrence of problem behavior should be investigated to make the adequate decisions on classroom management strategy choice. Finally, the need for functional behavior assessment (FBA) has to be considered, as it is the effective tool for evaluating the EBD student’s specific abilities and needs.

Evidence of Achievement

Foundations and Models for Classroom Management of EBD, Assessment of EBD. The central model chosen for the substantiation of the presently chosen areas of intervention is the Positive Behavior Support (PBS) framework that has to be implemented on the school-wide basis. Its foundation is the intervention model because the PBS initiative is mainly focused on addressing both academic and behavior domains of the educational process. Its framework contains three levels of intervention: the primary level of intervention is aimed at preventing problem behavior (Yell et al., 2009). The methods used to achieve that goal include defining school-wide learning and behavior expectations, teaching students the expected behaviors, identifying those students who adhere to the established rules, and adopting record-keeping on their progress (Yell et al., 2009). The example of successful primary level intervention is my work with a 7-year-old student whose behavior was highly disruptive and disobedient. Once I introduced the morning rules, adopted a positive tone in classroom behavior and practiced collaborative problem solving with him, I found that his anxiety level reduced, and he began to attend to the classroom work much more actively.

The secondary level of intervention is addressed at both reinforcing the achieved results, and adding the supplemental ways of intervention for those students who did not respond to the primary intervention. I practiced secondary intervention with a 10-year old student who behaved aggressively in the classroom and did not respond to the created positive environment. Thus, I included a calm approach to his highly aggressive behavior, but also introduced reprimands in private to make the student realize the negative impact of his behavior, and to acquire enough information on the causes of his behavior to alter my approach to classroom management in response to them.

Finally, the tertiary level of intervention, as the most complex and individualized one, is applied to highly non-responsive students with EBD. I had only one case of tertiary intervention, applying both FBA techniques, involving parents in the design of the intervention strategy etc. The student had a severe form of autism and behaved in a mostly depressed way, not responding to any interventions. Therefore, upon comprehensive assessment and active involvement of his home special education specialist we have finally found the proactive approach that enabled the student to obtain basic social skills and start his active participation in the educational process.

Causes of EBD. Any intervention strategy should be based on the assessment of EBD causes because of the need for the individual, informed approach to addressing problem behavior. According to the widespread theoretical opinion of specialists researching EBD and problem behaviors of EBD students, four major causes thereof are identified. They include the family risk factors (poor conditions for up-bringing, discipline, or socially deviant behaviors of parents), school risk factors (zero tolerance policies, double standards without the consideration of EBD students’ unique needs), community risk factors (low-income neighborhoods, high crime and delinquency rates), and peer-related ones (rejection by peers, bullying etc.) (Yell et al., 2009).

Facets of EBD. Understanding characteristics of EBD students is impossible without realizing the facets of EBD reflected in their behavior and patterns of communication with peers. The EBD is affecting all domains of students’ life, shaping the deficit of academic, social and motivational skills and making them less perceptive of educational processes, goals, and outcomes. The EBD students have been found out to have behavior and learning problems in the school settings; moreover, they are the most frequent candidates for the drop-out of schools, which leads to subsequent criminal behaviors in adulthood, most probable unemployment, and as a result in the maladaptation features in social life (Rutherford, Quinn, & Mathur, 2004).

Interventions and Teaching Strategies. In the light of EBD specificity and peculiarities of problem behavior evident in the EBD students’ conduct, one can assume that the cognitive behavior therapy is one of the most successful variants for the choice of intervention. The CBT approach takes into consideration the thought processes that the EBD student has while making a decision to involve in problem behavior. His/her behavior is thus based on the interpretation of events, and the choice of reinforcement should depend on the cognitive appraisal he/she has of the situation (Legge & Harari, 2000). The example of CBT implemented in the classroom may be my effort to address the aggressive behavior of an 8-year-old student; after two months of unsuccessful interventions based on praises, reprimands and instruction on positive behavior patterns, I applied the cognitive behavior intervention and realized that his aggressive behavior was based on his false belief that the group, and I as a teacher, hated him. Changing the interpretation of our words and activities enabled him to realize that there was no hatred towards him, and he learned constructive behaviors very quickly.

Reflective Evaluation

Reflecting on the experience I have in the classroom and the instructional materials I grasped within the present course, I realize how differential the approach to teaching EBD students should be. The hardest task is to identify the hidden causes of the problem behavior, to give the correct assessment of the student’s abilities and deficits, and to arrange the work of the special education team in order to fit that student’s unique needs. It is true that in reality resources are scarce for treating each student individually, which often results into a generalized approach that proves ineffective in most cases. The task of an educator is therefore to attribute effort, to examine theory and practice on handling EBD, in order to design a positive environment for each student to feel comfortable and to accomplish his or her educational goals.

One more reflection I have come across when thinking of the course, is that the role of teacher is more significant than I used to think before the training. It is true that at times the teacher is only the implementer of policies coming from upside down. However, the teacher should also be the generator of ideas, the change agent in the classroom because he/she possesses the first-hand knowledge about practical implications of student behavior, problems and interventions with varying responses. Since there is a great body of knowledge on EBD interventions, it is the task of the teacher to sort the theory and practice out to choose the most applicable and suitable approaches and to move towards proactive classroom management with their help.

References

Lane, K.L., Kalberg, J.R., & Menzies, H.M. (2009). Developing schoolwide programs to prevent and manage problem behaviors: a step-by-step approach. New York: Guilford Press.

Legge, K., & Harari, P. (2000). Psychology and Education. Oxford: Heinemann.

Rutherford, R.B., Quinn, M.M., & Mathur, S.R. (2004). Handbook of research in emotional and behavioral disorders. New York: Guilford Press.

Yell, M.L., Meadows, N.B., Drasgow, E., & Shriner, J.G. (2009). Evidence-Based Practices for Educating Students with Emotional and Behavioral Disorders. New York: Pearson Education.