The past few weeks I have been implementing a BIP for my case study student and I have already been encouraged by the results (while subtle) that I am seeing.  As prior posts state, my case study student struggles with defiance behaviors.  It is difficult for him to stay on task and complete work, particularly if it requires writing.  He is very capable of the work and likes to work independently but has difficulty completing assignments right when they are given.

To help monitor his behavior and ability to complete assignments throughout the school day, I created a chart that we have been filling out together at the end of each school day that asks the question:  what was I able to accomplish during this time?  (each subject/daily activity is listed)  He verbally tells me what he was able to do during each subject and activity, as I dictate for him, and then I tell him what I saw throughout the day (write down in comments section of the chart).  I offer praise and also constructive criticism on behaviors that I saw throughout the day.  I ask him about the behaviors I saw and we discuss what happened in these situations and how  we can improve upon them.

As incentive and reward for improve behavior and increased work completion, my case study student has the opportunity to receive more independent contract work that he completes on his own and turns in altogether on a certain day.  He also is given small rewards including being able to hold the door for everyone (one of his favorite things to do).

Just in the few weeks of implementation, I have seen a much happier side of my student shine through.  He has been smiling and laughing more and accomplishing more things concerning his schoolwork.  There is still much more progress to be made, but I am encouraged by what I already see.

No Post for the week of March 29-April 4th due to Spring Break

As I begin to implement a BIP for my case study student, I am anxious to see how effective it is going to be.  My student struggles with completing work due to a defiant attitude and demeanor most of the time.  He is a very capable student with a great reading ability.  However, he struggles to complete assignments when asked to by a teacher or any other adult, especially if they involve writing, which he dislikes greatly.  To help with his motivation and desire to be in the highest reading group that is on independent contract, I have been giving him an independent contract of his own to complete during guided reading time.  During this time he is allowed to work independently, reading a set number of pages, responding in writing to questions about the book, and defining terms found throughout the book.  So far, this has shown to be very beneficial and supports his desire to read and work on his own.  One day in particular, I was overwhelmed with how much he had written in response to the questions for that day and praised him immediately for his good work.

In addition to providing an independent contract for reading I have also begun to have him fill out a daily agenda, where he is asked to monitor each part of the day, asking himself: what was I able to accomplish during this time?, filling it in and then have a teacher initial it.  This chart allows him to tangible see what he was able to accomplish that day and areas that he needs to work in.  However, I think I need to provide an extra motivation (besides filling out the chart) to help him continue to improve, but I’m not sure what to provide.  Maybe a few extra minutes of recess or another important privilege?

While reading this article I found myself frequently nodding my head in recognition of my own students displaying many of these types of behaviors including my own case study student.

I am in an inclusion classroom with many students who have particular learning struggles and behavior problems.   One of the biggest behavior problems in the class is simply “disruptive behavior” that disrupts the ongoing learning process in the classroom.  Students in my classroom are so capable yet there is an almost constant disruption in the learning environment that keeps many of the students from making even greater strides in learning.  Based on this article I think I need to make even greater strides in preventing reinforcement of disruptive behavior in the classroom.

As for my case study student, I think this article pinpointed his biggest struggle with behavior and that is noncompliance.  My case study strongly dislikes to write.  When asked to write something down, he usually immediately shuts down and crosses his arms and gives the teacher a mean glance.  As the adult, I can’t make him do anything, but I desire to understand what causes such a distaste of writing.  In the past week or so I have developed an independent contract for my case study student during reading and word study time.  We have also talked briefly as to why writing is so frustrating for him.  A small celebration has been that he wrote the longest reading response letter to me this week without being asked multiple times!  I hope to further uncover ways to help him succeed and break this fear of writing and noncompliance!

To be honest, the past week has been difficult for me to make and record observations on my student’s behavior considering the fact that she was absent 2 days and I’m not sure what kind of record I should use to make observations.

I would love to hear what others are doing and using to record observations and how often they are making observations.  Are you only focusing on one target behavior or more than one?  At this point I’m just interested in how to best organize and gather information on my student.  I would love to hear what’s working for others.

Behavior that needs improvement for my student includes daydreaming or off task behavior during whole group instruction and anger issues/retaliation when other students’ call her a name or do something she doesn’t like. Any ideas as to the best form to record this kind of behavior and ways to improve it?

Without a doubt, creating a classroom environment that promotes positive behavior is one of the most important goals as a classroom teacher, yet it can be one of the hardest things to accomplish.  However, there are several strategies, based on research that teachers and students alike can use to create a positive learning environment.

One of the biggest things a teacher can do to help promote positive behavior is to help develop students’ self esteem by “listening to them and showing them that you value their ideas, opinions, interests, and skills by involving them in the decision-making process and given them choices.”  Also, by acknowledging and praising students for specific behavior can also booster their self-esteem.

The use of frequent classroom meetings can also be beneficial in promoting positive behavior because it provides a safe environment for students to share their opinions and concerns and problem solve as a class how to solve them.  I have found this to be very beneficial in the student teaching placement, especially when students are given a chance to talk through their feelings about certain situations and role play.

To help monitor behavior, constantly moving around the classroom as you teach can be helpful as well as using cues to prompt immediate group or individual responses like raising your hand when you need students’ attention.

Allowing students to have a say in developing class rules from the beginning as well as the consequences for violating them can also be a beneficial tool in encouraging and motivating students to follow the rules because they helped create them.

When a student is struggling with behavior, the first beneficial thing the teacher can do is observe the child, recording when the behavior occurs, the number of times the behavior occurs in a given amount of time (event recording), and how long the behavior lasts (duration recording).  Through these informal observations the teacher can learn a lot about what causes the behavior and what changes might be made immediately to help prevent the behavior and a behavioral intervention plan can be implemented. Students can also be required to monitor their behavior throughout the day.

My Cooperating Teacher’s Classroom Management is based upon Dr. Marvin Marshall’s Discipline Without Stress Punishments or Rewards which focuses on positivity, choice, and reflection.  In this system, teachers promote responsibility and learning by replacing negatives with positives as much as possible, by saying “Eagles walk in the hall” rather than, “no running”.  Also, teachers provide their students with choices in order to encourage students to take responsibility for their own actions because when they have the freedom to choose their response to certain situations, they are responsible for their choices.  Finally, in using this system of Classroom Management, teachers require students to reflect on choices and behavior through both oral questions and written reflections completed by the students.  In my classroom, the use of these reflections is very prominent when a student makes a poor decision in the behavior.  The student is sent to the back of the room to fill out a written reflection form identifying the inappropriate behavior, the level that they acted on, and three alternative solutions/choices that could be made in the future. While in theory these reflections seem like a beneficial experience for students to learn from their mistakes, I often find that because they are used too much and students struggle to write efficiently they loose their power and purpose.  I wish there were a few more internal and external motivators used in the classroom such as rewards for students to strive towards.

Throughout this article, I couldn’t help but think about my own student teaching placement in a 5th grade classroom.  My classroom is an inclusion classroom with several EC students and ESL students.  Several teachers including the classroom teacher, reading teacher, and EC teachers collaborate together to help meet the needs of not only the students with disabilities but all students.  For example, my class often works in small groups instead of receiving whole group instruction which allows all students to receive extra individual help with their learning.

With this only being the second year of having an inclusion classroom, my cooperating teacher is learning quite a bit of what is required and effective for the inclusion classroom.  This article presented several factors vital to a successful inclusion environment including creating a sense of community for all members, facilitating friendships, and collaborating.

I believe that my teacher has done a great job of creating a sense of community within the classroom and this can only continue to improve as we have classroom meetings and encourage students to collaborate with one another regularly.   I look forward to reading and learning more about behavior management techniques to improve the sense of community in my classroom.

From reading Collins book and having the opportunity to model our own literacy unit after one of hers has really been beneficial and eye opening to see the many important elements a teacher should be aware of and address in a successful unit of study.  Not only should the teacher set goals, objectives and assessments to focus on and be used in a unit, but they must also consider tangible ways to support struggling readers and strong readers, use the classroom library to highlight what students are learning during a unit, and identify ways progress will be celebrated throughout the unit.

As a future teacher, I want to remember to include all these elements when I write a literacy unit, but in particular I want to include celebrations throughout and at the end of each unit as Collins does.  Providing an authentic way to celebrate, not only provides the students with an opportunity to showcase and demonstrate what they have learned throughout a unit but it also serves as yet another assessment for the teacher to see the goals that were reached.  Giving students an opportunity to shine and be the experts, showing what they know, is an incredible motivation  to them to work hard.   I only wished I had had more celebration events when I was in school!