Developing a Classroom Management Plan Using a Tiered Approach

1. Developing a Classroom Management Plan Using a Tiered Approach

2. Classroom Management – Why a Tiered Approach? • Based on Response to Intervention (RTI) educational approach where: • students in need of of support are identified • their progress is monitored • adjustments are made to the levels and/or types of interventions. • This same tiered approach can be applied to effective behavioral supports in a classroom based on the needs of each individual student. • There are 3 main Tiers of Classroom Management: • Preventative Classroom Management • First-line Interventions • Intensive, Individualized Interventions

3. Tier 1 Preventative Classroom Management • In general, Preventative Classroom Management incorporates: • High Teacher expectations • Stimulating instruction with high levels of student engagement • Clearly communicated rules and norms • Established routines and procedures • Positive teacher-student rapport • Efficient use of classroom time

4. Tier 1Preventative Classroom Management (continued) • To develop a core curriculum of behavioral supports, teachers need: • Good instructional practices where students are occupied in the instruction (response cards, peer tutoring, graphic organizers) • Well-designed and clearly communicated rules and procedures that set the stage for effective student behavior • Behavioral Pairs can be effective: Teacher first defines the behavior of concern then identifies an incompatible desired behavior for the student to learn as a replacement behavior • A classroom climate with positive relationships with students and strong teacher guidance that is: • Calm and confident • Reinforces rules • Redirects misbehavior • Uses proximity, eye contact, and calling student by name

5. Tier 2 First Line Interventions • When challenging behaviors appear, teachers should provide additional supports: • Surface Management Techniques: • Planned Ignoring – sometimes behavior stops if not recognized • Signal Interference – nonverbal signals such as rining of chimes or flickering lights can signal students to change behavior • Proximity and Touch Control – presence of a nearby teacher can remind students to refocus, refrain, and reengage • Engaging Students’ interest • “Hypodermic” Affection – deliberate delivery of kindness of individualized attention • Humor – defuse tense situations and redirect • Hurdle Help – provide instructional support rather than a reprimand • Regrouping – move students around • Direct Appeal – a reminder of the rules • Antiseptic Bouncing – non-punitive removal from the classroom • Interpretation as Interference – help student develop a more rational view of a situation which might help them calm down

6. Tier 2 First Line Interventions • Reinforcement Systems can provide consistent consequences to specific behaviors for the purpose of increasing target behaviors: • Token economies – students earn tokens for desired behavior that can be used to obtain an item or preferred activity • Behavior Contracts – specify contingent relationships among behaviors. They work best when they focus on the desired behavior. When student adheres to contract, they are given a reinforcer. Benefits include: • Clear goals for both student and teacher • Development of a tracking system • Shift in responsibility from teacher to student in terms of daily management

7. Tier 3Intensive, Individualized Interventions • Begins with Functional Behavioral Assessment (FBA) • Why is student behaving like this? • What socially acceptable behavior can we teach to address the same need? • Social Skills Instruction – appropriate, adaptive behaviors can be taught and learned by all students • Social skills instruction should be customized to meet individual students’ communications and behavioral needs • Social skills instruction can’t be considered successful until the skills is generalized to new settings • Self-monitoring Instruction • Identify target behavior • Buy in from student on advantages of self-monitoring • Define method for monitoring and collect data on behavior • Teach student to self-monitor • Implement system with reinforcement • Work to fade the teacher monitoring

8. Conclusion • An RTI model provides a framework for teachers to evaluate classroom practices and make decisions about the level of intervention or support needed. • Effective instruction and clear expectations can go a long way in many classrooms • Without a solid “core” of behavioral support in the classroom, students do not have the guideposts necessary to learn, practice and develop desirable skills. • The tiered behavior framework allows teachers to clearly communicate with administrators, parents and colleagues how they are providing behavioral supports for students in their classrooms.

9. Checkpoint What are the 3 tiers of a classroom management plan? Briefly describe each tier. • Tier 1 – Preventative Classroom Mangement – anything a teacher does that proactively establishes positive behavioral expectations in a classroom. • Tier 2 - First-Line Interventions – Additional supports a teacher provides when challenging behaviors appear. • Tier 3 – Intensive, Individualized Interventions – a personalized behavior plan designed to address students specific behavioral support needs.