Managing Supportive Learning Environments Mode of Enrolment:

¶ … Managing Supportive Learning Environments Mode of Enrolment: ONC (Toowoomba) or WEB (Highlight one). A central message from this advancement is that successful behaviour change requires identification of the events that predict and maintain problem behaviours. Historically, the problem behaviours have been seen as inherent in the child, behaviours which must be controlled and managed. The idea of support proactively focuses on prevention and educating students in different, more appropriate forms of behaviour.

The challenge is to teach that poor behaviour goes beyond breaking rules and getting caught -- that it deprives others of their right to feel safe and respected, and to learn without distractions (Rogers, 2007). In practice, behaviour support involves "interventions that consider the contexts within which the behaviour occurs. that address the functionality of the problem behaviour. that can be justified by the outcomes. [and] that are acceptable to the individual, the family, and the supportive community" (Haring and De Vault 1996).

Implication 2: The other challenge to teachers is redesign of the environment and their own behaviour. It is much more difficult to see what is wrong with you and your methods than it is to see what is wrong with your students (Sugai, Horner, Dunlap, et al., 2000). Question 2 1. The two most important things to establish are the rules of expected behaviour (and the disciplinary measures for breaking them) and the routines for efficient and respectful movement through the day (Rogers & McPherson, 2008). 2. I would add to this the idea of follow-through.

When a teacher effectively establishes rules and routines, the children will expect them in the specified situations, and to omit them undermines the discipline you worked so hard to establish in the first place (Rogers, 2006). Question 3 Negative outcome: According to Levin (2007), food, safety, belonging, and security are prerequisites for appropriate classroom behaviour (pg. 42). Belonging specifically is the feeling of being a welcome, worthwhile contributor. The degree of sense of school membership can inhibit or support academic participation (Goodenow, 1992).

One consequence of not feeling a sense of community is the crippling fear of failure. Instead of risking failure, a student may refuse to do anything, preferring to appear lazy rather than stupid. Achieving a sense of belonging: The first thing a teacher can do in this situation is make mistakes okay -- to exhibit a degree of warmth that says the student is still a worthwhile person even when they give the wrong answer.

Then the teacher can draw on Gardner's (1983) multiple intelligences and alter his/her way of teaching a concept to suit the student's learning style. The teacher can also focus on past achievements and emphasize the value of hard work over success (Charles, 2002). There are two further ideas that Linda Albert suggests in Charles (2002) that I particularly like: accomplishment portfolios and talks about yesterday, today, and tomorrow. Students can have tangible evidence of what they're capable of and can see themselves progressing (pg. 73).

Question 4 Finding 1: An effective teacher would identify the lulls in disruptive behaviour and take advantage of them to encourage defiant students -- smother them with positive reinforcement and compassion. The longer you can maintain the calm phase, the better (Walker, 1995). Finding 2: Secondly, a teacher would do well to examine their own teaching whenever encountering low level disruptive behaviour. It is neither fair nor reasonable to expect students to be engaged in the classroom if the instruction is not engaging.

Teaching to the students' skill level and learning style, as well as incorporating their interests will go far toward grabbing their attention (Walker, 1995). Question 5 1. Beginning of the lesson: The first thing a teacher can do to manage low-level disruptive behaviour is to establish a routine. Routines give a security to students with emotional problems, and previewing the daily routine at the beginning of each lesson will reorient problem students to safe expectations. 2. Group work: During group work, a teacher can take advantage of physical proximity to discourage off-task behaviour.

The teacher can linger for as long as it takes for the student to focus without saying a single confrontational word. 3. Question & Answer session: During whole class discussions, a teacher can use a disruptive student's name -- whether by asking the student a question, to do something, or using the student's name in a scenario (Walker, 1995). The important thing here is to NOT embarrass the student, which will only aggravate the situation. Asking distracted students questions they cannot answer is a classic tactic that is also very detrimental.

Question 6 My response to the behaviour: I would catch the student's eye -- and only the student's eye -- give a small smile but shake my head. The smile would be to show that I'm not angry and the shake to say that what the student is doing is not appropriate. I would make sure only the student in question can see my expression so as not to embarrass the student.

Comment on 'intrusion': The smile, eye contact, and head shake are the least intrusive I could be because I'm not inserting myself into the scenario, pulling the student away, or disrupting the group work in any way. Comment on 'confrontation': Taking care not to make the rebuke public is the least confrontational because the student should not feel threatened (Levin & Nolan, 2007).

Question 7 Strategy 1 descriptor: Proximity and body language I would say: Walk over, stand close, and say, "Robert." Strategy 2 descriptor: Redirect I would say: "Angela makes a very good point." Strategy 3 descriptor: Reflection time I would say: "Robert, follow me over here for a moment?" Question 8 Key point 1: A School Wide Positive Behaviour Support system can be a challenge to adopt, especially since we teachers value our independence in determining what goes on in our classrooms, but the benefits are measurably extensive.

Classroom management practices are informed by empirically sound methods, and teachers who were previously at odds with how to deal with a situation may find that they can in fact deal with it. Key point 2: It also increases accountability for teachers and students. The behavioural standards are the same across the school, so students know what to expect from their teachers and will expect it. Key point 3: Moreover, teachers receive support and reinforcement from other teachers employing the same methods. The consistency of such a system is its biggest strength.

Research shows that behaviour is best in a school with a SWPBS program (Ministerial Advisory Committee for Educational Renewal 2005). References: Charles, C. (2002). Linda Albert's cooperative discipline. In Building classroom discipline (7th ed., pp. 67-84). Boston, MASS: Allyn and Bacon. Goodenow, C. (1992). Issues in the creation and coordination of an academic computing help desk. American Educational Research Association: Paper presented at the AERA annual meeting, San Francisco, CA. Retrieved from.