Proven Effective Classroom Practices - Florida's Positive Behavior ...

Proven Effective Classroom Practices [1] Over the past 30 years, a clearly defined research-validated literature
base exists on effective classroom management practice (Alberto and
Troutman, 1998; Charles, 1995; Colvin and Lazar, 1997; Kame'enui and Darch,
1995; Kerr and Nelson, 1998; Sugai and Tindal, 1993). The is a small sample
of effective practices that fit classroom systems of positive behavioral
support and have clear empirical evidence of their effectiveness. Provide advance organizers/precorrections. Precorrections function as
reminders by providing students with opportunities to practice or be
prompted about expected behavior before they enter situations in which
displays of problem behaviors are likely (Colvin, Sugai, Patching, 1993).
For example, a teacher states the following: "remember, before you go to
homeroom collect all you materials, put your work on my desk and quietly
line up," or "what are your responsibilities before you go to home room?"
Keep students engaged. During teacher instruction, students go "off-task"
because (a) the instructional activities do not maintain student attention,
(b) insufficient positive reinforcement is being provided, or (c) students
access positive reinforcement from other activities or individuals. The
teacher's task is to maximize academic engagement and success for all
students in order to support appropriate behavior and to compete with
factors that encourage problem behavior (e.g., peer or teacher attention,
task avoidance or escape).
Provide a positive focus. To promote desired student behavior, teachers
should communicate high and positive expectations, have more positive than
negative interactions (e.g., four positive engagements for each negative
interaction), catch problem behavior before it escalates or becomes more
severe, provide high rates of positive reinforcement, etc.
Consistently enforce school/class rules. If all students are expected to
engage in appropriate behavior, rule definitions, positive reinforcement,
rule violation consequences, etc. should be the same for all students at
all times.
Correct rule violations and social behavior errors proactively. The
application of error correction strategies should be conducted in a
"business-like" manner, and attention for the problem behavior should be
minimized. For low frequency and intensity rule violations, teachers should
provide a brief signal that an error has occurred; indicate what the
desired behavior should have been, and follow-up with the established
consequence. Error correction strategies will be more effective if students
first are taught what acceptable and unacceptable behaviors look like and
what consequences are likely to follow each. For chronic rule violations,
strategies should be established to pre-empt future occurrences of the
problem behavior and to increase the probability that the desired or
expected behavior is likely to occur. Teach and plan for smooth transitions. Teachers should never assume
students would know what behaviors are expected during transitions.
Successful transitions are associated with (a) teaching clear expectations
for student behavior, (b) establishing clear expectations for staff
behavior during transitions, (c) preplanning transition implementation, (d)
following transition routines consistently, and (e) providing regular and
frequent acknowledgements for successful transitions. Teach and plan for smooth transitions. Teachers should never assume
students would know what behaviors are expected during transitions.
Successful transitions are associated with (a) teaching clear expectations
for student behavior, (b) establishing clear expectations for staff
behavior during transitions, (c) preplanning transition implementation, (d)
following transition routines consistently, and (e) providing regular and
frequent acknowledgements for successful transitions.
Classroom Routines
(From Temple Teacher's Connection www.temple.edu/CETP/temple_teach) Establishing clear expectations for student behavior is the primary purpose
for setting up classroom routines. If students are familiar with the
processes necessary to get a particular job done, they are more likely to
complete it in an orderly manner. Develop plans for these activities that
work for your physical space and your management style. If a routine is not
effective, you can involve your students in redesigning the routine. |Movement |Develop plans for entering and exiting the classroom |
| |and changing class configurations, such as moving from |
| |whole class to small-group instruction. Also plan for |
| |movement of individual students to meet needs such as |
| |pencil sharpening and getting personal supplies. |
|Non-instruct|This includes activities such as taking attendance, |
|ion |collecting permission slips, making participation |
|tasks |counts (pretzels, extracurricular activities) and |
| |keeping the classroom neat. When allowable, students |
| |can assist with these tasks. Some of these tasks can be|
| |used as instructional activities. |
|Materials |If routines are developed for the distribution, |
|Management |collection and storage of instructional materials, |
| |student helpers will be able to complete them quickly. |
|Transitions |If instructional materials are prepared and organized, |
| |transitions between activities will be smooth and take |
| |little time. Necessary materials might be listed on the|
| |daily schedule so students will know what they need and|
| |can prepare for one activity as materials for the |
| |previous activity are stored or collected. |
|Group Work |Each team member within a group should have a job, and |
| |over time each student should have an opportunity to do|
| |each job. Develop job descriptions and routines for |
| |assigning the jobs. Jobs might be facilitator, |
| |time-keeper, reporter, recorder, encourager, |
| |questioner, materials manager, taskmaster -- make up |
| |your own or use one of the many plans that have been |
| |developed. | Preventing Behavior Problems During Transitions and "Challenging
Times" of the School Day
Contents of this article are excerpted from:
Rief, S. The ADHD Book of Lists. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass
(a Wiley publication), 2003.
Classroom transitions:
. Clearly communicate verbally or with visuals when activities will
begin and when they will end

. Give specific instructions about how they are to switch to the next
activity

. Be sure to clearly teach, model, and have students practice and
rehearse all procedures that will occur in changes of activities.
This includes such things as the students' quick and quiet movement
from their desks to the carpet area, putting away/taking out
materials, and so forth.

. Use signals for transitions (e.g. playing a bar of music on a
keyboard, flashing lights, ringing a bell, beginning a clapping
pattern, prompts such as "1,2,3...eyes on me")

. A signal indicates that an activity is coming to an end and children
need to finish whatever they are doing

. Some teachers signal and tell students they will have a brief amount
of time (3-5 minutes) to finish what they are working on before the
next activity, or to clean up. They then set a timer for that amount
of time.

. Primary grade teachers typically use songs or chants for transitions
(e.g., for cleaning up, moving to the rug)

. Provide direct teacher guidance and prompting to those students who
need it during transitions

. Reward smooth transitions. Many teachers use individual points or
table points to reward students or rows/table clusters of students who
are ready for the next activity. The reward is typically something
simple like being the first row or table to line up for recess

. Be organized in advance with prepared materials for the next activity

Transitioning from out-of-classroom activities back to the classroom:
. It is helpful for teachers to meet their students after lunch, PE,
recess, and other activities outside of the classroom - and walk them
quietly into the classroom

. Set a goal for the class (e.g., everyone enters class after
lunch/recess and is quiet and ready to work by a certain time). On
successful days of meeting that goal, the class is rewarded by a move
on a behavior chart. See Connect the Dots chart as an example in the
Appendix

. Use relaxation and imagery activities or exercises for calming after
recess, lunch, and P.E. Playing music, singing, and/or reading to
students at these times is also often effective
Out-of-classroom school settings:
. Teach, model, and practice appropriate behaviors and expectations for
out-of-classroom activities (e.g., in the cafeteria, passing in
hallways, during assemblies)

. Assign a buddy or peer helper to assist during these transitional
periods and out-of-classroom times

. It is important to have school wide rules/behavioral expectations so
that all staff members calmly and consistently enforce through
positive and negative consequences

. School wide incentives and positive reinforcers (e.g., "caught being
good tickets" redeemable for school prizes) are helpful in teaching
and motivating appropriate behavio