Behavior Course: Module 1 Part 1

Summary

The video script addresses the high attrition rate of new teachers in the U.S., with 50% leaving within five years, often due to lack of training in classroom management and behavior issues. It emphasizes the importance of effective teaching and behavior support for student achievement, outlining the five critical features of classroom management backed by research. The script critiques traditional reactive approaches to student behavior, advocating instead for proactive teaching of appropriate behaviors and a positive classroom environment to foster learning and prevent misconduct.

Takeaways

• 📉 The high attrition rate of teachers in the U.S. is a significant issue, with 12% leaving within their first two years and 50% within the first five years.
• 🏫 Teachers often cite lack of training in pedagogy and classroom management as reasons for leaving the profession early.
• 🌐 The school environment and student motivation problems are significant factors contributing to teacher dissatisfaction and departure.
• 🔑 The importance of focusing on behavior in education is emphasized, as it is closely tied to teacher effectiveness and retention.
• 🌟 The belief that education is a powerful tool for changing the world is a key motivator for educators to persevere through challenges.
• 👩‍🏫 The characteristics of an effective teacher include being inspiring, challenging, a good listener, empowering, and holding students accountable.
• 🤔 The script prompts reflection on personal motivations for teaching and the qualities of the most effective classroom environments experienced.
• 👉 The responsibility for classroom behavior lies with the teacher, and the teacher's response to poor performance is critical.
• 🛡️ Great teachers focus on prevention of misbehavior rather than seeking revenge when it occurs, emphasizing the importance of a positive classroom environment.
• 🤝 The effectiveness of teaching is not about programs but about the people involved; great teachers make a great school.
• 📈 The script outlines the five critical features of classroom management that are supported by research but are often not implemented effectively in classrooms.

Q & A

Why is there a focus on teacher behavior in the United States education system?

The focus on teacher behavior is due to the high attrition rate among beginning public school teachers in the U.S., with 12% leaving within their first two years and 50% within the first five years, which is a significant waste of resources and a challenge for the nation.

What are the common reasons teachers cite for leaving the profession early in their careers?

Teachers often leave due to a lack of necessary training to teach successfully, feeling unsupported in handling classroom management and student behavior, and the perception that the school environment is poor or punitive.

What is the role of education according to the speaker's belief?

The speaker believes that education is the most powerful weapon to change the world, and this belief helps keep them motivated even when the job is hard.

What is the purpose of watching the video about effective teachers?

The purpose is to reflect on what makes a teacher effective, focusing on characteristics of the most effective classroom or teacher one has experienced, and considering the environment and actions that led to significant learning.

Why is it important to control and influence one's own behavior in the classroom?

It is important because the only person's behavior in the classroom that a teacher can directly control and influence is their own, and this self-control can significantly impact the classroom dynamics and student behavior.

What is the difference between the reactions of great teachers and poor teachers when students perform poorly on assignments?

Great teachers focus on prevention and improving their teaching methods, while poor teachers tend to blame external factors such as the students, last year's teachers, or societal issues.

What is the primary goal of the PBIS framework?

The primary goal of PBIS (Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports) is to improve student behavior by creating a supportive classroom environment that encourages positive interactions and reduces inappropriate behaviors.

How does the 'get-tough' approach in classrooms typically play out and what are its short-term effects?

The 'get-tough' approach involves correcting and escalating consequences for misbehavior, often resulting in students being removed from the classroom. In the short term, it may provide temporary relief for the teacher and remove the disruptive student, but it does not address the root causes of the behavior.

What are the long-term consequences of using a 'get-tough' approach in classroom management?

Long-term consequences include fostering an environment of control and compliance rather than learning, reinforcing antisocial behavior, breaking down teacher-student relationships, and not leading to improved student behavior or learning.

What is the key difference between traditional reactive management and the approach suggested in the script?

The key difference is that traditional reactive management focuses on punishment and removal of students from the classroom, while the approach in the script emphasizes teaching and reinforcing positive behaviors, creating a supportive environment, and using data to guide decision-making.

How can teachers ensure their classroom management practices are contextually and culturally relevant?

Teachers can ensure relevance by adjusting their implementation of classroom management practices to match the needs of the particular students in their classroom, considering factors such as age, culture, and individual learning needs.

What are the five critical features of classroom management mentioned in the script?

The script does not explicitly list the five critical features but implies they include maximizing structure, teaching expectations, actively engaging students, having a continuum of strategies for both appropriate and inappropriate behavior, and acknowledging students who are doing the right thing.

Outlines

00:00

🏫 Teacher Retention and Classroom Management

The script begins by addressing the issue of teacher retention, particularly in the United States, where a significant percentage of new teachers leave the profession within their first few years. This turnover is not only a personal loss for the teachers who have invested time and effort into becoming certified but also a waste of national resources. The main reasons cited for teachers leaving the profession include a lack of training in pedagogy and classroom management, leading to frustration and a feeling of ineffectiveness. The script emphasizes the importance of focusing on behavior in the classroom, as it is closely tied to teacher retention and student success. The speaker encourages the audience to reflect on why they chose to teach and to consider the characteristics of an effective teacher, such as inspiring and challenging students while also holding them accountable.

05:04

👩‍🏫 The Role of Teachers in School Success

This paragraph emphasizes the critical role of teachers in determining the success of a school. It argues that great teachers make a school great, while the absence of them prevents a school from achieving its potential. The speaker critiques the common belief that programs are the solution to educational challenges, asserting that it is the quality of teachers that truly matters. The paragraph also discusses the need to break down lofty educational goals into concrete, actionable skills that teachers can employ in their classrooms. The focus is on creating an environment that is inspiring, challenging, and motivating, which requires both good pedagogical skills and effective classroom management. The speaker highlights the importance of engaging students in meaningful learning and using evidence-based practices to support student achievement.

10:04

📈 The Importance of Evidence-Based Classroom Management

The speaker discusses the five critical features of effective classroom management, which include maximizing structure, teaching expectations, actively engaging students, and having a continuum of strategies to respond to both appropriate and inappropriate behavior. Despite the research supporting these practices, the speaker notes that they are not commonly implemented in classrooms. The lack of training in research-based strategies is identified as a major issue, with many states not requiring such instruction for teacher certification. The paragraph also addresses the challenges in implementing classroom management practices, emphasizing the need for support and coaching to help teachers effectively use these strategies. The speaker calls for a shift from traditional reactive approaches to a more proactive, evidence-based model of classroom management.

15:08

🚫 The Flaws of the 'Get-Tough' Approach to Behavior

This paragraph critiques the traditional 'get-tough' approach to student behavior, which often involves punitive measures such as suspensions and expulsions. The speaker explains how this approach can lead to a cycle of control and compliance, rather than fostering a positive learning environment. The focus is on the short-term effectiveness of this method, which allows teachers to continue teaching by removing disruptive students from the classroom. However, the long-term consequences are highlighted, including the reinforcement of antisocial behavior and the breakdown of teacher-student relationships. The speaker argues for a shift towards teaching and reinforcing appropriate behaviors, rather than merely punishing inappropriate ones.

20:08

🌟 The Power of Teaching and Positive Reinforcement

The speaker clarifies a common misconception about Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS), emphasizing that the framework is not solely about rewards but about teaching students new, socially appropriate behaviors. The power lies in the teaching process and providing positive feedback, rather than merely in the rewards themselves. The paragraph outlines the PBIS framework, which is data-driven and focuses on changing the classroom environment to support student behavior. The speaker explains that effective classroom management practices can lead to improved student behavior and academic outcomes, and that these practices need to be implemented in a way that is relevant to the specific context and culture of the classroom. The paragraph concludes with an invitation for the audience to discuss their experiences with the 'get-tough' approach and their initial impressions of the PBIS logic.

Keywords

💡Classroom Management

Classroom management refers to the strategies and behaviors a teacher uses to create a learning environment that is conducive to teaching and learning. In the video, it is highlighted as a critical component for teacher success and student achievement, with the speaker emphasizing that without effective classroom management, teachers struggle to deliver quality instruction and students are unable to engage in meaningful learning.

💡Pedagogical Training

Pedagogical training is the education and preparation teachers receive in teaching methods and techniques. The script points out that many teachers leave the profession because they feel they lack the necessary pedagogical training to effectively break down content and teach it to their students, which is a significant factor contributing to the high attrition rate among new teachers.

💡Behavioral Support

Behavioral support in the context of the video refers to the practices and systems put in place to help students exhibit appropriate behaviors in the classroom. The script discusses the importance of behavioral support in creating a positive learning environment and how it can lead to increased student engagement and academic achievement.

💡Effective Teaching

Effective teaching is the process of teaching that results in student learning and academic achievement. The video emphasizes that effective teaching is not just about content delivery but also about engaging students in the learning process and ensuring they are actively participating in the classroom activities.

💡Student Misbehavior

Student misbehavior is any action or behavior exhibited by a student that disrupts the learning environment or goes against the classroom rules. The script discusses how a lack of training in classroom management often leads to issues with student misbehavior, which can be a significant source of frustration for teachers and can impede the learning process.

💡Prevention

In the context of the video, prevention refers to the goal of great teachers to stop misbehavior from happening again in the classroom. The speaker contrasts this with the 'revenge' approach of poor teachers, highlighting that effective classroom management is about teaching students appropriate behaviors and preventing future incidents rather than simply punishing past ones.

💡Accountability

Accountability in the video script refers to the responsibility teachers have for their actions and the outcomes in their classrooms. It is mentioned in the context of a great teacher's characteristics, where they hold themselves accountable for creating an inspiring and challenging environment that fosters learning and appropriate behavior.

💡Engagement

Engagement, as discussed in the script, is the level of involvement and interest students show in the learning process. The speaker notes that when students are engaged in the lesson, they are less likely to exhibit problem behaviors, emphasizing the role of engaging instruction in both preventing misbehavior and promoting academic achievement.

💡Pro-social Behavior

Pro-social behavior is any behavior that is beneficial to others or the community. The script mentions that effective behavior support leads to an increase in pro-social interactions among students, which is an important aspect of creating a positive and supportive classroom environment.

💡Reactive Management

Reactive management is a traditional approach to dealing with student misbehavior, where actions are taken in response to a problem after it has occurred. The video criticizes this approach for not teaching students new behaviors and for potentially reinforcing negative behaviors, suggesting a shift towards proactive and preventative strategies.

💡Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS)

PBIS is a framework that is discussed in the video as a data-driven approach to behavior support in education. It focuses on teaching and reinforcing positive behaviors rather than just punishing negative ones. The script clarifies that the effectiveness of PBIS lies in the teaching of appropriate behaviors and the provision of positive feedback, not just in the rewards system.

Highlights

12% of beginning public school teachers in the United States leave within their first two years, with this rate increasing to 50% within the first five years.

The high teacher turnover rate is a significant challenge and waste of resources, both individually and nationally.

Teachers often leave due to lack of training in classroom management and handling student behavior.

The importance of education as a tool for changing the world is emphasized as a motivation for enduring the challenges of teaching.

Effective teachers are characterized by their ability to inspire, challenge, and hold students accountable while creating an engaging learning environment.

The behavior of teachers, particularly their responses to student performance, is a crucial factor in classroom dynamics.

Great teachers focus on prevention and constructive responses to student misbehavior, unlike poor teachers who may seek revenge.

The role of the teacher in influencing student behavior and the classroom environment is highlighted, emphasizing personal responsibility.

The importance of teachers being nice to students is underscored, as it has a profound impact on their development.

Great teachers understand that it is people, not programs, that make a school great, emphasizing the human element in education.

The ineffectiveness of traditional reactive management approaches in schools is critiqued, highlighting the need for evidence-based practices.

The cycle of the 'get-tough' approach in classrooms is described, showing its short-term effectiveness but long-term negative impacts.

The need for a shift from managing student behavior to creating an environment that supports appropriate behavior is discussed.

The concept of PBIS (Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports) is introduced as a data-driven framework for improving classroom management.

PBIS is distinguished from a simple rewards system, emphasizing the importance of teaching and reinforcing appropriate behaviors.

The connection between individual student behavior and the overall classroom and school climate is explored, suggesting a holistic approach to behavior management.

The importance of implementing classroom management practices that are both effective and research-based is stressed.

A call to action for teachers to reflect on their experiences with the 'get-tough' approach and consider the PBIS logic is issued.

Transcripts

Alright so part one. Why focus on behavior anyway? Why do we need to focus

on this? Well there's a variety of different reasons. First of all in the

United States we have a bit of a problem. 12% of beginning public school teachers

leave within their first two years. That climbs though to 50% within the first

five years and this is a real, this is a challenge for our nation. It's a

waste of resources on an individual level for students who are in

pre-service—who spend years becoming certified to teach and then end up

leaving the field within just a couple of years after getting

certified. It's also kind of a waste of resources for us on an on a national

level as we think about investing in our teaching force. When we think about why

teachers leave—for those of you that are in the classroom already this may not be

a surprise to you, but when we talk about why teachers leave and we ask them why

are you leaving the classroom most frequently teachers say

the same basic things. They don't have the training that they need to teach

successfully. They don't have the pedagogical training to break down their

content area and feel like they're being effective, but then beyond that the rest

of these really have to do with behavior. The school environment feels poor or

punitive. There's student behavior and motivation problems. They weren't trained

in classroom management and in their current school they aren't getting

support for handling behaviors and so they don't feel like they even have time

to teach and so that gets to be frustrating and and once people realize

how hard this job is, a lot of people are bailing on the job in general, as opposed

to really thinking about how we can improve teachers classroom management

skills and hopefully keep some people in the classroom who have been through all

of this training. So teaching is hard and before we really dive into the specifics

of behavior, I want you to pause for a minute. I find it helpful to step back

and think a little bit about why we continue to do this hard job and this is

my answer. I truly believe education is the most powerful weapon that we have to

change the world and it keeps me motivated when it's hard and I want you

to just to think a little bit about— despite the fact that this is a hard job,

why do you do it every day or why do you want to do it, if you're in a pre-service

class situation right now? Alright so as you're thinking

about why you teach, use this video, watch this video about what makes an effective

teacher and think specifically about a classroom that you were in as a student

that you would describe as the most effective classroom or the most

effective teacher you've ever had. And note the word effective here, not the

teacher you necessarily liked the most or who is the most fun, but think about

somebody who taught you the most over the course of your educational career.

Think about what were the characteristics that were in place in

that classroom and what kinds of things did that teacher do that really led to a

lot of learning for you. So use this video, think a little bit about what the

the environment of the most effective teacher you've had is and jot down some

ideas in your workbook. Who's the one person's behavior in the classroom you

actually have the ability to control and influence? Your own. That's why you're

all so good. The worst teachers, when they give a quiz

or a test or homework assignment and the students do poorly on—the students doing

poorly is not the variable. Happens to every one of us doesn't it. It's the

response to the students doing poorly that's the variable. The worst teacher,

when they give the quiz or a test or a homework assignment and the students do

poorly on it ,who they blame? The kids, last year's teachers, the parents,

hip-hop music, MTV, drugs, cable, society. Today the kids all drive. The kids all

have jobs. Divorce rate. I've learned if we're waiting for the divorce rate to

fall to zero before we start teaching these kids, we're gonna be waiting quite a while,

aren't we? And it's that willingness to accept responsibility—great teachers

and poor teachers want very different things when kids misbehave. Also, did you

know when a student misbehaves in a great teachers classroom, do you know

what that great teacher wants? Prevention. They want it not to happen again and

when a student misbehaves in a poor teacher's classroom, you know what that

poor teacher wants? Revenge. They want a public bloodletting. Did you know, great

teachers and poor teachers want very different things when students are sent

to the office? Did you know, I know you won't believe this but I promise it's

true. In some of the surrounding school districts, did you know that poor

teachers want students leaving the office mad. I had to teach my teachers

hey folks we don't want kids leaving the office mad. Can I let you in on a secret?

They came to the office mad. Some of those kids came to school mad. They

walked into your class mad. If you want a whole bunch of

kids coming in your class mad, please let me know because I'll take them off and I'll

send them in there. And you know why we never want students leaving the office

mad and we never want students leaving the office embarrassed? Because they'll

get revenge and not on us because we're all such big tough adults, but they'll

get revenge on somebody because hurt people, hurt people. And you know why we

care about great? Because we're in education. See I love it when the clerk

at Walmart is nice to me. That means a great deal to me. I love it, but my kids

teachers had better be nice to them because it's so much more important and

we knew that when we chose education. What does a great teachers do

differently? One thing great teachers do differently is they understand it is

people—it's not programs. Do you all know if you have great teachers, you have a

great school And do you all know if you don't have great teachers, you don't have a

great school and nothing else is ever going to determine that. But isn't that

funny how we think programs are the problem or programs are the solution.

People are the problem and people are the solution. People are always going to

be the problem and people are always going to be the solution. Do you know why

programs come and go in education so much? Because whatever the new program is

the crummy people can't do that one either. That's the reason you tell me

what on earth program you're gonna bring in that's gonna fix the worst teacher

you've ever known. There's no chance in the world it's gonna do it, but you know

what happens when we bring a new program in, the very best teachers get

invested in it. They start to believe in it. They start to bring it in their

classroom. Ineffective people can't do it. So you know what happens? They now yank

the program out and tear the scabs off the good people. It's like block

scheduling at the high school. What's your choice? Do you want an ineffective

teacher every day for 50 minutes or do you want the ineffective teacher every

other day for 90 minutes and we're going block scheduling didn't seem to work, I

don't see what the problem is there. It's the most amazing thing.

Alright, so chances are you jotted down some words like this. You talked about a

teacher who was inspiring to you. Somebody who challenged you, but also

took time to listen. Somebody who empowered you to think big thoughts, but

also held you accountable for hard work. And so as we think about those things, I

like to call some of those—those are fantastic goals and that is absolutely

what we're gonna try to aspire to in every classroom, but these are a little

bit fluffy. I don't really know what it means to inspire somebody or even really

to challenge them. So our job in this course is really to take some of what

these big words, these these big important goals, and break them down into

the concrete skills that teachers use to create an environment that is inspiring

and challenging and motivating all at the same time. So over the course of this

next, the next eight modules, we're really going to dive into the specific actions

that teachers do to create this type of an environment. So think about that

environment as you go through. Think about the specific actions those

teachers when that engaged in that made you feel comfortable and allowed you to

learn in that environment and hopefully that's what will you'll be able to see

us break down for you as we go through this module and the rest of the

modules in this course. So if we think back, the goal of teaching or the goal of

education is student achievement. And I always say this, but I don't mean

student achievement in a a narrow sense like achievement on a state achievement

test or a high-stakes test of some kind. What I mean is is achievement in life. We

want to produce students who are able to participate in their families and in

their communities in meaningful ways and that requires good teaching. That

requires good pedagogical skills to break down content to provide direct

instruction for students, but it also requires classroom management skills and

these two things go hand in hand. We can't have good teaching, if the kids are

off task. And we can have compliance, but if we don't use that time with, to fill

it with good teaching, we aren't gonna actually see student achievement change.

And behavior problems we know disrupt learning and engaging instruction

actually is one of our very, very best strategies to prevent problem behaviors.

If a student is engaged with you in the lesson that you're teaching, by default

there not engaged in problem behaviors. So we

wanted to start this module out and this course out with the message that our

goal is overall student achievement and classroom management and the skills that

we'll talk about in this course are one small piece of that. They're an important

piece, but they they won't impact student achievement alone. We need to make sure

we pair it with the good teaching that you'll learn about in the other modules,

and good curriculum support and things like that that will actually lead to

that the changes in student achievement levels. So we know that when we do

behavior support, well good things happen for kids. When we do effective behavior

support, we see an increase in appropriate behavior. So kids are on task

more. They engage in more pro-social interactions with peers and with adults.

We see decreases in inappropriate behavior. Kids are off task less and they

engage in fewer disruptive behaviors. And I think this is one of the more

important pieces, when we know that, when we do behavior support well and when we

use that time that we buy back, to fill it with good instruction, we see

increases in academic achievement. Kids are more engaged and their actual

learning levels increase. So behavior support is a really critical foundation

to good instruction and that's why we're gonna spend some time focusing on it in

this course. So bottom line, we're going for student achievement. That's our

ultimate goal and it requires both classroom management and good teaching

in order to get there. The good news is, we really know what good classroom

management looks like. We have decades of research that tell us that these are the

five critical features of classroom management. Maximizing structure in your

classroom, having and teaching expectations, actively engaging kids in

the classroom and in your curriculum, having a continuum of strategies to

respond to appropriate behavior. It acknowledged students who are doing the

right thing and the flip side having a continuum of strategies to respond when

kids are engaged in inappropriate behavior and these are the strategies

that we'll go into in a lot more detail as we move further into this course.

We're going to break down each of these for you and give you specific examples

of how to do these, but this is the five critical features of classroom

management that will be the foundation of everything we do. Unfortunately

despite the fact that we know what those look like, we are really not

doing them very well in classrooms and there have been a number of studies, the

results of which are in this table here, that demonstrate that even though we

know what these practices look like in the majority of classrooms, we are not

engaging in these practices at rates that are anywhere close to levels that

would be effective enough or intensive enough to change students behavior. And

so part of the problem that we need to focus on isn't just teaching people what

to do, it's really supporting the implementation of those practices. And so

that's where, when we talked about setting your own goals and thinking

about how you're going to implement these practices as you go through this,

this is where it becomes really critical. It's not enough to just know what good

classroom management looks like, it really requires that next step. Some

coaching support, some self-management supports to really help you implement

these at a level in your classroom that will lead to student behavior changes.

Part of the problem that we've run into with with teaching and supporting

classroom management is the fact that for the most part teachers have not been

trained in what this looks like. And so we're really starting out with a

situation where teachers don't know what good research-based classroom

management practices look like. We did a quick review of the literature to look

at which states require some kind of classroom management instruction and the

good news is, I don't know why this isn't 50 across the board, but most states

require some level of instruction for new teachers in classroom management. The

problem came in when we asked the question about does that instruction

need to be about research-based strategies and really when we looked at

that we're down to about half of states or just over half of states that

required that in order for a teacher to become certified to teach they needed

instruction in research-based classroom management practices. So what this means

for you is that it's likely that if you went through a pre-service program, you

did not receive training in classroom management or that these specific

research-based strategies may be new to you. It also means that if you're in a

position of coaching or supporting new teachers, we can't assume that teachers

have been taught this content. We need to start by teaching this content

directly and supporting the implementation of this. And I think this

is a big piece of why we don't see the implementation

levels that we would hope to see in classrooms—because we aren't teaching

people to do it and so it's not a big surprise when we, when teachers aren't

doing it. There's a number of challenges with the way that we've handled problem

behaviors historically in schools. I want to just pause and think a little bit

about that. Traditionally behavior was was something

that we reacted to in schools from a reactive stance. A zero tolerance. You

don't deserve to be in this classroom unless your behavior is at a level that

meets my criteria or you can't be in this school unless your behavior meets

the specific criteria and we used a lot of reactive management where we just

kicked kids out, sent them home, suspended and expelled them, and in a lot of cases

this is still the case. We're still doing this. There is a lot of non

evidence-based practices out there with respect to classroom management.

Everybody has a theory about how to improve classroom management, but very

few of them are actually evidence-based and have research to support them.

We've not historically used data to guide our decision making when we

implement classroom management practices. We've just said "try this, figure it out

and if it doesn't work then that that's the kids fault."

There's nothing about checking the implementation or using the the patterns

of behavior that the kids are engaged in to adjust our implementation. So this has

led to a lot of problems in the past. As well as, I've mentioned we haven't really

invested in supporting classroom teachers implementation of these things.

We typically use a trained in hope approach. Where if we do provide training,

we just say to the teacher "here, go do these things. See you later" and and hope

that they are able to engage in those. Alight, so there have been a number of

challenges with our past practices, let's take a close look at this get-tough

approach and maybe think a little bit about why it doesn't work and why we

continue to engage in it. If you're working in a classroom, this is probably

a scenario that's somewhat familiar to you. A student acts out in some way.

They're calling out. They're challenging the teacher, they're not engaging in

their work ,and the teacher then corrects them. "Please stop doing that," gives them

some sort of initial consequence, or a warning at least and says "I need you to

stop doing that and please do your work." In some cases that works, but often what

happens is a student becomes more disrespectful. "Don't tell me what

do." "I want to do it my way." Something like that. When that happens, the teacher then

says "you can't be disrespectful in my classroom."

The situation is escalated. They say "you need to go take a break." You need to

either go out in the hall or go to a partner teacher's classroom or in more

severe cases go to the office and they leave the classroom. So the student is

now no longer in class . So let's take a look at this cycle, because this is

something that that plays itself out in classroom after classroom, day after day,

and it's a really common scenario. Regardless of what the specific student

behavior and the specific teacher response is, the basic cycle plays itself

out. So what does the student learn in this situation? Take a minute and just

think a little bit about what the kid has learned in this situation. Yeah, the

kid has learned how to get out of class. Right, so if the kid is in a situation

where the work is hard or they're in a situation where they don't like the

teacher or they have a challenging peer relationship in the class and they want

to get away with it, away from it, they've learned how to do that. They have

learned how to get away from this work and spend time outside of class. More

importantly though for why we continue to engage in this, what does the teacher

learn in this scenario? Yeah, the teacher learns that they can get this kid out of

their classroom and they can continue to teach. When there's somebody in your

classroom who's disrupting your instruction, that's a really frustrating

situation to be in and getting that kid to leave for a little while allows you

to instruct the rest of the class, which is a really reinforcing thing for us as

teachers, so this is a mutually reinforcing cycle that we engage in on a

regular basis. It works for the kids and it works for the teachers. Unfortunately

though this get-tough approach when we engage in this on a regular basis

doesn't lead to good long-term outcomes. So even though it's working for us both

as teachers and as students in the short term, when we engage in this cycle over

time what we do is we foster an environment of control. Where it's really

about just teacher compliance. We actually trigger and reinforce

antisocial behavior in kids. We give them opportunities to practice inappropriate

behavior and practice challenging the teachers

authority in the classroom. We break down relationships and I think this is a

really key piece. It is really hard to develop a positive relationship with

students when we are engaged in the subversive get-tough cycle and we're

saying you don't get to stay in my classroom because your behavior doesn't

meet a particular standard or you don't get to engage in the instruction that I

think is so important for you because your behavior got in the way. So it

really devalues both your relationship with the kid and your ability to teach

them their academic skills that you're working on. So long term this particular

approach does not lead to good outcomes for either kids or adults, but in the

short term it works, so we continue to engage in it over tim in schools. We

know though from a long science of behavior, that students are not born with

bad behaviors. It may feel like that when there's a student in your classroom

who's acting out, but the kid was not born acting out. They do not learn new

things when they're presented with what we'll call

contingent aversive consequences or punishments. When we just punish a kid,

they don't learn new things. It might stop the behavior in the short term, but

it doesn't teach them what to do instead. It doesn't give them an alternative,

another way to get their needs met. It just shuts down that communication. It

shuts it down and potentially shuts down that behavior, but could also make it

worse. It shuts down the relationship and it shuts down the learning. What we know

from a long history of behavioral science though is that kids do learn new

ways of behaving when we teach them directly and when we give them positive

feedback on that, on that new behavior. And the good news for us as educators is

that that's we know how to do that. We know how to teach and we know how to

provide feedback. It's what we do when we teach reading. That's what we do when we

teach math and we just need to apply that same basic idea to teaching

behaviors and really thinking about how do we teach kids to receive the what

they need in a more socially appropriate way. How do we directly teach that

and how do we provide positive feedback. I do want to correct one big

misperception though that we're coming at this from a positive behavioral

intervention and supports framework and oftentimes people have the misconception

that PBIS is really all about rewards and we will spend some time

talking about reinforcing behaviors and providing rewards for students and that

certainly is a powerful tool we can use, but I want to make it really clear from

the very beginning of this course sequence that the power of what we're

doing is actually in the teaching, not in the rewards. That actually teaching kids

a new way to get their needs met in a more socially appropriate way is the

more powerful part of what we do. The reinforcement is what helps them

continue to do it over time or helps them try out something that's hard in the

first place. But the real power of what we're doing is really in the teaching

not in the rewards. The logic behind what we're doing and the way we'll approach

overall behavioral support, is this and that is that individual student behavior—

so one kid in your classroom, their behavior, is linked to the host

environment or the school climate. So this classroom environment, the school

environment, impacts that individual students behavior and climates and

classrooms that are effective, efficient, relevant, and durable lead to improved

individual student behavior. And so we're really going to focus on changing the

classroom environment to make it more likely that this individual student

who's struggling in your class is going to be able to select and use the

appropriate behaviors in your classroom to get their needs met. It's a little bit

of a shift from the way we sometimes think about behavior. We're really going

to focus on changing the environment and changing the adult behaviors as opposed

to changing the student or I'm trying to manage somebody else's behavior. We're

gonna focus on creating an environment that makes it more likely that kids are

able to be successful. We're going to give you a quick overview of what PBIS

is. PBIS is a data-driven framework. It is not a packaged curriculum. There is a lot

more information that you can learn about the overall school-wide framework,

but we want to give you a sense for how we use this data driven framework big

picture, so that we're going to apply that then to your

individual classroom. So when we're thinking about using the PBIS framework,

it starts by identifying some specific outcomes that are important to you and

to your students in your classroom. So in this case it might be about implementing

effective classroom management practices. It might be about improving the student

behavior in your classroom. Those might be the outcomes that you would select.

Next you're going to think about what data you need to

know whether you reach those outcomes and to guide whether or not you're

making progress. You're gonna select some specific practices these are the things

we do with kids. What are the things we're gonna do to support kid behavior

change and then we're gonna think about what are the supports that teachers need.

Are the systems of support that teachers need to be able to implement those

practices successfully in their classroom. So those are things like

professional development supports, coaching, self-management supports, those

are the things that will help you implement the practices that you're

going to use in your classroom to change student behavior and then the data will

guide your implementation of both of those pieces. All of these things though

need to be done in a way that is contextually and culturally relevant and

so we're going to talk about five critical features of classroom

management as we go through these modules and the critical features don't

change across age groups or across different demographic groups but the way

you implement them will need to change a little bit. You're gonna need to adjust

your implementation to match the needs of the particular kids in your

classroom and we'll spend a little bit of time talking about that as we go

through. But the whole idea here is just to get you thinking about our basic

approach to behavior or thinking about how we're going to select outcomes, use

data practices and systems to make sure we're really supporting equitable

outcomes for all kids and making sure that we're really improving their

behavioral outcomes as well as their academic outcomes. So I want you to pause

for a minute and respond to this discussion board post. This is an

opportunity for you to interact with your colleagues with whom you're taking

this course. Think about a time when you may have seen a get-tough approach used

in a school or a classroom. Maybe you were engaged in it, maybe you saw it in a

classroom that you were observing in. Did it work? Remember we talked about

sometimes it works in the short term. Did it work in the long term to stop that

behavior from happening overall? Was this approach effective? Why or why not and

share your initial impressions of the PBIS logic. Does it make sense to you? Do

you have questions? And then spend some time reading through your colleagues

responses and helping direct them to resources and helping think through

how they can deepen their understanding of the the way this

get-tough approach plays out in classrooms and

what the PBIS logic really looks like.