UNIVERSAL STRATEGIES IN THE CLASSROOM North Carolina Department of Public Instruction Exceptional Children Division.

UNIVERSAL UNIVERSAL STRATEGIES IN THE STRATEGIES IN THE

CLASSROOMCLASSROOM

North Carolina Department of Public Instruction

Exceptional Children Division

• Teach Attention Signal

• Establish Behavioral Expectations/Rules

• Develop Schedule

• Teach Routines

• Give Precorrects

• Encourage Expected Behavior

• Correct Student Behavior Errors

Universal Strategies in the Classroom

• Always use a simple portable cue to prompt students to listen.

• Avoid starting instruction until all students are attending

• Reinforce students who attend immediately

• Provide specific verbal praise to peers to redirect students

• Consistency, consistency, consistency!

Teach Attention Signal

• Use School-wide Expectations as Basis for Classroom Rules

• Clearly and Positively Stated

• State in Observable Terms

• Posted and Referred to Frequently

• Teach Explicitly to FLUENCY

• Reinforce Consistently

Establish Behavioral Expectations & Rules

Teaching Effective Rules

• Tell-Show-Practice

• Give Positive Reinforcement for Appropriate Student Use

• Consider Consequences for Errors– re-teach– redirect– time to “Cool Down”

• Reflect! Are the Rules Working? Why or Why Not?

Teach your expectations

before theactivity or

transition begins.

Teach your expectations

before theactivity or

transition begins.

Monitor studentbehavior

by circulatingand visually

scanning.

Monitor studentbehavior

by circulatingand visually

scanning.

Provide feedbackduring the activity and

at the conclusionof the activity.

Provide feedbackduring the activity and

at the conclusionof the activity.

Begin the cycle again forthe next activity.

Teaching Lessons on Teaching Lessons on ExpectationsExpectations

6

• Establish predictable schedules– illustrate with icons, time, etc.

• Schedule non-instruction time– administration time– personal time

• Evaluate the variety and time for each activity.

Develop Classroom Schedule

• 5 Min Teacher Directed Review of Previous Concepts

• 10 Min Teacher Directed New Concepts• 10 Min Teacher Directed Guided Practice• 25 Min Independent Work• 10 Min Teacher Directed Guided Practice

and Review• 5 Min Homework Review

Sample Schedule

•The number one problem in the The number one problem in the classroom is not discipline; it is the classroom is not discipline; it is the lack of procedures and routines. A lack of procedures and routines. A vast majority of the behavior vast majority of the behavior problems in the classroom are problems in the classroom are caused by the failure of students to caused by the failure of students to follow procedures and routines.follow procedures and routines.•-Harry Wong-Harry Wong

Effective Routines - Rationale

• Think through and establish procedures• for transition times and basic regularly• scheduled activities

• Establish clear expectations for student behavior and clear expectations for adult behavior

• Plan, Post and Teach!– Tell-Show-Practice-Feedback loop– Consistently teach all day, every day

• Reflect: Are routines working? Why or why not?

Teach Routines

• Precorrects function as reminders

• Opportunities to practice

• Prompt for expected behavior

• Especially helpful before teacher anticipates behavior learning errors

Give Precorrects

• “ Remember, before you leave class, collect all your materials, put your papers in the bin, and quietly walk out of the room.”

• “ Sam, show us how to be respectful and line up quietly for gym.”

Precorrect Examples

• Providing praise for correct academic

• responses and appropriate social behavior

• leads to:– Increases in student correct responses– Increases in on task behavior– Decreases in disruptive behaviors

• -Sutherland, 2000

Encourage Expected Behaviors

Positive Feedback

• Feedback should be:

• Accurate

• Specific and descriptive

• Contingent

• Age-appropriate

• Given in a manner that fits your style

•Teachers should strive to keep a 4:1 ratio of positive-to-negative statements

– Each time you have a negative interaction with a student, tell yourself you owe that student 4 positive interactions

– Identify specific times during the day you will give positive feedback

– Schedule individual conference time– Scan the room searching for appropriate behaviors– Engage in frequent positive interactions with all

students

Ratio of Interactions

• Wink• Nod• Thumbs-up• Pat on the back• High-five• Hug (when and where

appropriate)

Examples of Non-Verbal Feedback

Behavior(s) are determined and taught

Reinforcement is contingent upon appropriate behavior

Be generous with reinforcers at the beginning

Reward class when:

Students who have not exhibited behavior in the past are exhibiting the behavior now.

Students who have exhibited behaviors in the past continue to exhibit them.

Effective Reinforcement Strategies

• Define classroom rules based on school-wide expectations

• Outline routines (attention signal, etc)

• Establish schedule for teaching routines and procedures

• Decide strategies for encouraging appropriate student behavior and discouraging problem behavior

• Plan a variety of instructional strategies

• Establish effective classroom environment

Components of An Effective Teaching Plan

• “Emotion Free” response

• More effective if students have been taught expected behaviors

• Minimize attention other than signal of error

• Praise for appropriate behavior

Correct Student Behavior Errors

• Steps to Take

• 1. Signal that an error has occurred

Refer to rules: "We respect others in this room and that means not using put downs.”

• 2. Ask for an alternative appropriate response "How can you show respect and still get your point across?"

• 3. Provide an opportunity to practice the skill and provide verbal feedback

"That's much better, thank you for showing respect toward others.”

Correct Student Behavior Errors

Classroom Management Strategies

• Physical arrangement of classroom

• Positive teacher-student interactions

• More reinforcement strategies

• Techniques to improve compliance

• Active participation

• Increasing Positive Interactions

• Based on the concept that most students want and need adult attention.

• Leads students to feel like valued members of the learning community

Do Problem Students Deserve Positive Attention?

• Students are not equal.

• Some have received a lot of attention from infancy.

• Some have received very little attention.

• Many have only received negative attention.

What Do You Do When You Just Don’t Like the Student?

• Be professional!

Who’s In Charge of the Mood of the Classroom?

Lottery Tickets• Determine the behavior(s) you want to

reinforce• Teach the behavior to the students• Give the student a ticket when you see the

behavior. • Have student write his/her name on ticket • and put ticket in box/bin.• At a designated time, draw a ticket out of the

bin and present a reinforcer to the student whose name is on the ticket.

Techniques to Improve Compliance

• Do not use a question format• Get up close• Use a quiet voice• Look ‘em in the eyes• Give them time• Don’t give multiple requests• Make more start requests• Verbally reinforce compliance• Get up and move

Increasing Opportunities to Respond ~ Active Participation

• Encourages everyone to become involved in learning

• Increases rate of responses of all learners• Increases attainment of material presented• Allows reluctant learners a secure

environment to practice• Decreases inappropriate or off task

behavior

Practice Time!

• Students should be reinforced at a rate of _____ to ______.– Everyone.

• Universal strategies used in classroom management are to teach rules and _________.– Everyone.

• PBS stands for_________________.– Everyone.

Sustaining and Maintaining Effective Classroom Practices

• Ongoing staff development

• Effective teaching plan

• Peer coaching

• Mentoring

• Supportive environmentTeam based problem solving

• Positive parent contact

Effective Instruction

Effective instructionincreases the likelihood

of correct student responses

Correct responding is correlated with positive

teacher interactions

Leading to increased academic achievement of students and positive behavioral exchanges

between students and teachers

Gunter, Hummel, & Venn, 1998