2011 Illinois CCBD Drive-In Conference

1. 2011 Illinois CCBD Drive-In Conference “What Strategies Do Teachers of Students with E/BD Use In Their Classrooms” Edward J. Cancio The University of Toledo Jesse (Woody) Johnson & Erika Blood Northern Illinois University

2. Physical Environment of A Classroom The physical layout of the classroom can impact both behavior & instruction. Teachers identify crowded rooms as a setting event for problem behaviors (McGill, Teer, Rye, & Hugues, 2003). Teachers do not have power over the number of students in a room, they do have control over the way the classroom is organized. Students & teachers need to move around the room without bumping into objects, each other or interrupting each others work (Jones & Jones, 2007; Stichter et al., 2004). Teachers need to continuously assess the classroom space in their classroom.

3. Daily Classroom Schedule • A daily schedule should be developed & clearly visible for all to see. • Unstructured time in the schedule is an open invitation for disruptive behavior. • Having a schedule helps teachers maintain order & provides teachers a mechanism to ensure most of the day is scheduled for academic activity (Trussell, 2008). • Effective instruction is a key component of behavior management.

4. Classroom Rules • Lack of clarity of rules has pointed to difficulty in avoiding anti-social behavior in schools (Mayer, 1995). • A classroom with unclear rules becomes a setting for problem behaviors. • A cycle develops between lack of following rules and punitive actions by adults (Trussell, 2008). • An environment in which there are high rates of punitive practices between student & adults becomes a setting for problem behavior (Mayer, 1995). • To create a classroom environment in which there are clear & consistent rules & expectations, a critical 1st step is to have the rules of the classroom clearly posted and visible for all students.

5. Praise • Student-teacher interactions for students with problem behaviors are limited & characterized as less than positive & often coercive (Gunther, Denny, Jack, Shores, & Nelson, 19993; Nelson & Roberts, 2000). • Sutherland (2000) concluded from his review of the literature that students with E/BD receive extremely rates of reinforcement. • Teachers who have students with challenging behavior in their classrooms provide infrequent positive reinforcement & often impose noncontingent reprimands (Reinke & Herman, 2002)

6. Effective Praise • Conroy, Sutherland, Snyder, Al-Hendawi, & Vo (2009) define effective praise as teacher-initiated statements that convey to students the specific behaviors in which teachers would like to see students to continue to engage in the future. • Teachers who provide high rates of positive feedback create a climate in which student’s are routinely & consistently recognized & their positive skills are strengthened. • Researchers have identified praise as a research-supported practice for students with E/BD (Lewis, Hudson, Richter, & Johnson, 2004).

7. Precorrection • Precorrection is a proactive strategy. • Precorrection is associated with what happens directly before an expected behavior occurs. • Precorrection decreases the amount of time teachers spend in redirection & correction after mistakes & inappropriate behavior has occurred (Lampi, Fenty, & Beaunae, 2005). • Precorrection prevents repetition of the wrong behavior. • Precorrection sets up situations in which teachers can use praise to reinforce the appropriate behaviors (Colvin, Sugai, & Patching, 1993). • Precorrection creates a more positive climate in the classroom because less punitive strategies are required (Lampi, Fenty, & Beaunae, 2005).

8. Token Economy/Level Systems • Most programs for students with E/BD have implemented token economies, point systems, or level systems (Reitz, 1994). • Limited research on level systems has been conducted. • Much controversy over level systems has surfaced. • When used appropriately level systems are valuable tools to manage behavior in E/BD classrooms.

9. Rationale for Level/Point Systems • When implemented effectively they provide fair & consistent order. • Provide teachers & staff with a clear structure for effectively utilizing descriptive instructional praise & corrective teaching. • They assist in generalizing prosocial behavior from special education to inclusive settings. • Restore students lost hope. • Provides opportunities for teachers to evaluate student behavior more frequently.

10. Teaching Social Skills • Review – why the skill important? • Teach skills by breaking them into small steps. • Demonstrate & model the skill. • Have students practice the skill using role playing. • Provide performance feedback & reinforcement for practice. • Provide homework. • Systematically provide a program for generalization of social skills.

11. FBA/BIP’s • With IDEA 2004 functional behavior assessment is required prior to the development of a BIP for students with disabilities that impede functioning in the educational environment (Killu, 2008). • FBA involves using several methods to determine the casual & maintaining factors for a challenging behavior that lead to the development of intervention strategies to meet the individualized needs of a student. • The underlying theme for conducting an FBA is that all behavior has a function & occurs for a reason. • Failure to conduct a comprehensive FBA may result in an ineffective behavioral intervention.

12. Crisis Intervention • Teachers of students with E/BD must be trained & be proficient in de-escalating students disruptive, noncompliant, & aggressive behavior (Colvin, 2004). • There are many programs to train teachers to proactively manage disruptive, noncompliant, & aggressive behavior (Couvillion, Peterson, Ryan, Scherrman, & Stegall, 2010). • We must be very careful in the use of physical restraint & seclusion of students. • We must follow CCBD guidelines for physical restraints & seclusion (CCBD, 2009).

13. Integrating Students Into Inclusive Settings • The reintegration of students with E/BD is one of the weakest links in programming for these students (Huntze & Werner, 1982). • Very little research regarding the reintegration of students with E/BD has been conducted. • Many school districts do not have guidelines for the reintegration of students with E/BD into integrated settings. • The reintegration of students with E/BD should be a major goal of all E/BD programs.

14. Behavioral Intervention Study • Participants • Mailed survey to CCBD members during the 2010-2011 school year. CCBD members were asked to complete the survey if they were currently EBD teachers. • Four mailings were distributed to a sample pool of 1411 participants, 295 responded for a return rate 21%.

15. Instrument development • The questionnaire consisted of 80 items in 10 clusters. The ten clusters ascertained teachers’ responses regarding behavioral interventions they use in their classrooms. The clusters are: • classroom organizations and management strategies; • classroom rules; • proactive strategies; • social skills strategies; • motivational strategies; • consequence strategies; • reintegration strategies; • behavior intervention strategies (BIP); • crisis management strategies; and • demographic information.

16. The development of the survey came from the following sources: • we surveyed varies EBD methods textbooks and selected behavioral interventions that were considered best practice; • we selected behavioral interventions from the literature that were considered best practice; and • we analyzed syllabi from various classes in behavior management and EBD methodology.

17. Draft of questionnaire was pilot tested by a group of 10 EBD teachers at the elementary, middle, and high school levels in northwest Ohio and Wisconsin. Teachers responded to items, provided feedback on the clarity of items, the time it took them to complete the survey, and they made suggestions on how to improve the survey.

18. Gender of Respondents N=273

21. Age of Respondents

24. Number of Students in Classroom

42. Physical Environment of A Classroom

43. Classroom Rules

44. Precorrection Strategies

45. Social Skills

46. Motivation Systems

47. Individualized Behavior Intervention Plans

48. Responding to Problem Behavior

49. Crisis Management Received Training Use Regularly

50. Integration into Inclusive Settings