Strategies For Supporting Students With Challenging Behaviors

7 Strategies That Support Students With Behavioral Concerns

Strategy 1: Visual Schedules. Visual schedules are typically an intervention that helps students with autism follow a routine, transition between activities, and complete tasks; however, they are helpful to students that do not have autism as well. They are made with various pictures that represent a task, subject, or reward. As the students complete tasks or subjects the schedule will need to be adjusted to show new tasks, goals, and rewards. These allow the students to focus on one to two tasks at a time, along with a clear idea of what they need to do. Including rewards such as; 10 minute reading break, 10 minute computer break, sensory time, time for a hug, go for a walk (with staff), etc. This not only helps them in understanding the tasks to complete or subjects to work through, but also what they are working toward.

Strategy 2: Empathy. When faced with challenging behavior, teachers should try their best to start from a place of empathy. In fact, expert of the compassionate approach for behavior, Dr. Ross Greene, states:

“Kids do well if they can. This statement is foundational to supporting students from a place of empathy. Said another way, children use the skills they possess, and when a situation asks them to use more skills than they possess, they compensate through strategies that may not work well for themselves or others…[Adults do the same, although in less obvious ways, perhaps.] ...Kids do well if they can. And they can, when we teach them how. [We need to skill-build emotional awareness and regulation skills, for example.]  When we operate from belief in this, we develop a strengths-based stance in which we believe that every student can succeed.” (Venet, 2014)

“Kids can do well if they can”  is a phrase adapted from Dr. Ross Greene’s work.   Dr. Greene is best known for his books:  The Explosive Child, Lost at School,  and Raising and Human Beings.  He is an advocate for compassionate understanding of behaviorally challenging children.  He believes that challenging behavior is the result of a skill delay or deficit and advocates solving problems collaboratively.  His research-based approach is known as the Collaborative & Proactive Solutions (CPS) approach. In this video, in his own words, he explains how adults can be more empathetic when facing challenging behaviors: 

Strategy 3: A Strength-Based Approach. Dr. Ned Hallowell, a leading expert on ADHD, advocates using a strength-based approach vs a disability-based approach.  He believes that a disability-based model feeds fear, shame, broken dreams and loss of hope, whereas a strength-based model, feeds hope, motivation and creates the best outcome. The following is a short video with Dr. Hallowell explaining strength-based model:

Here are Dr. Hallowell’s tips for ADHD in the Classroom: ADHD for Teachers. For further insight into Ned Hallowell’s strategies, you can watch his interview with well-known ADHD blogger Jessica McCabe How to live with ADHD. In addition, her compelling Ted Talk can be watched here Living with ADHD. Also attached is Jessica McCabe’s Interview with Dr. Ned Hallowell: McCabe & Hallowell Interview.

Strategy 4: Whole-Brain Strategies that Promote Brain Integration. Dr. Daniel Siegel is a clinical professor of psychiatry at the UCLA School of Medicine and the founding co-director of the Mindful Awareness Research Center at UCLA. His well-respected works include: 

Mindsight: The New Science of Personal Transformation; The Whole Brain Child: 12 Revolutionary Strategies to Nurture Your Child's Developing Mind, Survive Everyday Parenting Struggles and Help Your Family Thrive;  and The Yes Brain would help a teacher to understand how brain integration promotes emotional regulation and thereby learning. 

In the following two videos, Dr. Siegal explains how understanding “whole-brain strategies” can help you be a better teacher and/or parent: Dr. Daniel Siegel’s Hand Model of the Brain: Video Link. An Animation of “The Adolescent Brain” can be seen in the following video:

Strategy 5: Game Play To Build Positive Relationships With Students. Games can be used to nurture positive relationships with the students and teachers, as well as between the students themselves and their classmates. This strategy can be especially effective in breaking down social barriers that promote cliques and social groups in the class. These cliques make it difficult for new students or reserved students to have a sense of belonging and be a part of the class as a whole. These games should be non-competitive and incorporate cooperative learning for all students to feel they are a part of the class. Games can also promote a positive learning environment since they help the student to stay engaged with the topics that are required of them (Erwin, 2016).

Strategy 6: Task Duration. To better accommodate a student with a short attention span or ADHD, the duration of classroom assignments and activities should be brief and feedback regarding accuracy should be provided to the student right away. Longer projects should be broken up into smaller parts for the student over a period of time. Short time limits for task completion should be addressed by the teacher and supported by clocks and timers (LD Online, 2020).

Strategy 7: Physical Movement. Students, especially those that struggle with ADHD, will have issues not being able to move around throughout the school day. A teacher should provide her class with ample chances to move around throughout lessons. Opportunities for children to move about can be given to them with trips to the bathroom, taking notes to the office or other classes, allowing them to get up and sharpen pencils or throw out trash, and giving them the opportunity to simply stand at or next to their desk if they can't sit still. (LD Online, 2020).

7 Strategies For Aligning A PLC In The Development Of A Positive Classroom Environment

Strategy 1: Establishing Guidelines. Clear guidelines need to be set and agreed upon by all parties to ensure strategies are rolled out in the same timeframe and have the same projected outcome. A positive classroom may mean something different to each PLC member, so a clear focus will need to be discussed prior to moving forward with strategy development.

Strategy 2: Exchanging Ideas With Your PLC. Creating a positive classroom environment can be achieved by discussing ideas and tips with your fellow PLC in order to discover ways others have succeeded or failed. Using PLC time to strategize and exchange suggestions can be a great step in creating an ideal classroom environment.

Strategy 3: 7 Norms of Collaborative Work. One strategy for building a positive and supportive PLC environment is to use the 7 Norms of Collaborative Work that was put forth in The Adaptive School. These seven norms provide a framework which helps "groups to develop shared meaning and gracefully reach decisions" leading to trust and ultimately a positive PLC culture and climate. 

Strategy 4: Focus On Examining Outcomes To Improve Student Learning. PLCs promote results-oriented thinking that is focused on continuous improvement and student learning (Reichstetter, 2006). The focus goes beyond a team getting together to look at data. In PLCs, teachers respond to data that require mutual accountability and changing classroom practices. Data help motivate teachers to see what is happening and what they need to do collectively (White & McIntosh, 2007).

Strategy 5: Supportive And Shared Leadership. PLCs often are viewed as a foundation for developing teacher leaders (Caine & Caine, 2000). Administrators are committed to sharing decision making with teachers and providing opportunities for them to serve as leaders (Hargreaves & Fink, 2006; McREL, 2003). Leadership is shared and distributed among formal and informal leaders (Phillips, 2003; Reichstetter, 2006). The purposes and goals of a PLC grow from among the participants, based on their values, beliefs, and individual and shared experiences (Thompson, Gregg, & Niska, 2004). Teacher leadership capacity sustains PLCs. Sharing power and authority with teachers through decision making and shared leadership increases leadership capacity and builds a belief in the school’s collective ability to affect student teaching (Olivier & Hipp, 2006).

Strategy 6: Four Critical Questions To Guide PLC Meetings. There are four questions that every PLC should set aside time to address. The first is our expectations for our students and what we want them to learn. This will involve clarifying and adding meaning to standards. The Second is how will we know when they have learned the material. This will involve quick checks for understanding and the use of formative assessments.Thirdly, PLC time should address how teachers will respond when students are not learning. This involves differentiated instruction, MTSS meetings and problem-solving. The fourth question is creating a plan of action for those students who already know the material. This will encompass the incorporation of options that add enrichment to the curriculum. (Pascagoula-Gautier School District, 2020)

Strategy 7: Reflect on Instructional Practices & Student Outcomes. Taking ownership of every child's education comes as a result of meeting with PLCs, sharing student progress, and examining data across grade levels within a school. Making the time to do this shared reflection directs PLC's efforts to student success and a positive learning environment for all. "When PLC’s come together, they must focus their efforts on questions related to learning and create products with the end result of answering questions that lead to student achievement" (Serviss, 2020). PLCs' emphasis on sharing ways to create positive learning environments ensures that everyone benefits. Being open to collaboration creates such a positive learning environment in our classrooms and our schools.

5 Strategies For Leveraging A PLC In The Support Of Students With Behavioral Concerns

Strategy 1: Data Tracking Tools. An educator and their PLC team can use data tracking tools to document a student’s Individualized Education Program (IEP) and behavior. Educators can share this information with PLC and IEP teams, administration, and parents so that everyone can work together to ensure the student’s needs are being met and the child is achieving emotional, behavioral, and academic growth. Data tracking charts can be found at https://www.pbisworld.com/data-tracking/

Strategy 2: Create Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports.

In his article PBIS: the perfect fit for behavior intervention in a PLC, Duane Graber discusses his school’s experience implementing Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS). A PBIS is a unified behavior plan, so the students have consistent behavioral standards throughout the grade or school depending on the breadth of the PLC. According to Graber, here are the steps to creating a PBIS:

• As a PLC, ask the question, “What do we want our students to know and be able to do when it comes to behavior?”

          and decide on desired behaviors from students

• Let students know the behavioral expectations through teaching and modeling the desired behaviors.
• Have common language for behavior for all students so that no matter what adult is talking to them, they understand 

          what is being asked of them.

• Use behavioral intervention just like academic intervention for students who may need more behavioral support.
• Have celebrations to celebrate positive behaviors.

According to Teachings in Education, some reasons that PBISs are successful include that they help staff have a "unified plan" and discipline is based on data. Watch their comprehensive and informative video to learn more about PBIS:

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Strategy 3:Foster In-Person Collaboration. Unfortunately, nowadays, teachers do most of their lesson planning individually. However, as teachers, we can take the opportunity to leverage PLCs as a means to work on collaborative lesson plans with other teachers & educators, and create joint projects that involve cross-curricular or multidisciplinary work. This will help us learn from each other, boost morale, and eliminate any competitive cultures that may previously exist in the school (Trach, 2019).

By utilizing collaboration, teachers will also learn from each other how to differentiate and help students with learning difficulties & behavior issues. Every day, new research is published regarding a specific behavior or topic, since the amount of data out there can be overwhelming for any teacher, collaboration becomes the most efficient way to exchange knowledge. PLCs can help teachers become up-to-date with the latest techniques in teaching and dealing with behavioral issues, thus serve their students better.

Strategy 4: Create Proactive & Collaborative PLCs. Berg (2018) provides us with a fantastic way to address behavioral concerns in the classroom with the following example: “Spurred by chronic classroom management issues the prior year and inspired by readings that a teacher leader had introduced during common planning time, the team is committed to redesigning their classrooms in a way that will empower students to take greater ownership of their learning—and positively impact classroom climate. They've raided the school's storage closet, scoured thrift shops, and purchased a few items on their own to create areas for student collaboration, offer choice in materials, and provide a comfortable place for students to cool down and practice self-management when needed.” These teachers knew that there were issues in the past so they read, discussed, planned, and redesigned their classrooms to benefit their students, particularly those who struggle with self-management. Collaborating with fellow teachers to address issues like behavioral concerns with creative solutions, such as looking through storage closets and thrift stores to find suitable materials for their students, is an excellent way to leverage a PLC.

Strategy 5: Trusting & Valuing Teachers’ Experiences in PLCs. PLCs composed of teachers can be so effective in terms of supporting students with behavioral concerns. It’s true that we educators know our students in particular ways, including how they behave in class, what upsets them, which students work well together (and those that don’t). “The non-hierarchical relationships teachers tend to have with colleagues mean they may be more open to sharing—and learning from—each other's classroom climate challenges. Thus, teachers have a keen sense of how students and their colleagues might respond to potential new policies and practices” Berg (2018). As we can see, sharing strategies amongst our peers is so important!

References

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