If I could use one word to describe last week it would be a simple choice: CRAZY! This was fueled by new students, substitute teachers/aids, meetings, field trips, parents, and illness.
Monday was the most frantic and frustrating day of the week. I had a sick student who was sent to school, even though her illness was known. I called home at 9:00, and was told that she would be picked up soon. By 10:00, the office Secretary called home again, and was told that my student would be picked up soon. Finally, at 11:15, she was picked up. My entire classroom had been contaminated with deification. Midway through our calendar/circle time at 10:30 I was left with the option to have all of my non-ill students chauffeured outside in an effort to reduce the risk of contamination and/or spread of the sickness.
At approximately 11:00 on Monday, I had the opportunity to meet and talk with a new student and her mother. This student does not have an IEP and has never been to school before. I am currently working with the General Education Kindergarten Teacher to create a program that allows her to be in the classroom, and supervised by an assistant. Her first day of school was Thursday, and although she appeared to be overwhelmed, she adjusted well and (I was recently told) enjoys coming to school each day! The first three days of the student's school year we were allowed to pay a substitute to take the place of an assistant, who then shadowed the new student offering support and/or direction when needed.
Also on Monday, I had a student's mom show up (unannounced) to observe her son on the playground. Not a problem, I would just like to be made aware in advance so that I can prompt the parent on how to properly "observe" with no interference...
Tuesday was a better day, I attended a CDS Networking meeting with fellow CD teachers (see blog titled "Positive Attitude").
Wednesday was a little off because I had two assistant subs., and some of my students felt the need to manipulate and take advantage of the sub.'s naivety to their abilities. I felt very motivated to remain positive all day long, and worked on not saying "no" to my students. When working to not use the word no, I have found that it helps you to remain positive and sets a good example for students (especially students who overuse the word in an inappropriate fashion).
Thursday was a better day! New student did well, despite being very inexperienced socially, and when faced with situations of structure. Instituted a "Chance Card" reward system earlier in the week with one of my students who has trouble controlling his body and words. The chance card system requires him to carry a clipboard with three chance cards and a description as to what the student is working toward and how they can achieve this goal. Any adult that comes into contact with the student and/or observes inappropriate behavior has the option to turn a chance card over. If one chance card remains flipped up at the end of a specific amount of time the student gets their reward. It acts as a visual reminder for the student (they must ALWAYS have their clipboard with them), and a motivational tool. My student has been WONDERFUL this week! I love the chance card system!
Friday was a no-pressure theme day. We talked about pumpkins, looked at pictures of their various stages of growth, created a pumpkin/jack-o-lantern craft, and ate pumpkin torte. We also popped popcorn in a stir crazy machine, and ate popcorn while watching Winne the Pooh's Boo To You movie at the end of the day. The kids appeared to love all of the experiences and lessons as they were presented in a very sensory diet manner.
Overall, a good week :)
Monday, October 18, 2010
Tuesday, October 12, 2010
Positive Attitude!
I went to a CDS Networking Meeting today, and learned some things about challenging behaviors and children with developmental disabilities. There are three parts to addressing and solving behavior issues amongst students with CD, LD, or EBD.
Part one: Attitude Attitude Attitude
Contrary to what you may have initially thought, this section refers to the teacher's attitude, and not the student's "problem" attitude. When dealing with challenging behaviors hour after hour, day after day, we have to remember that our attitudes as educators is a contributor to the actions and reactions our students may display. Here are some strategies that may be helpful in achieving this goal:
-Focus on the future, rather than the past
-Focus on solution, rather than the problem
-Use humor to boost morale
-Address issue then create a diversion for yourself
-Take a time out
-Exercise
-Eat foods that are good for you
-Get enough sleep at night
-Remember to be thankful :)
Avoid saying "no." When possible, turn each no into a positive comment or reaction. Let the student know that you hear them, but redirect to help them accomplish the task before them.
Example: Student runs through the halls. Instead of saying "NO, we do not run in school!" say, "I love to see you using your legs like that, but it is not appropriate or safe when we are in school. Please show me how you can walk." Sounds easy...but is it? This is something that I will be trying in my own classroom, and I will let you know how it goes!
Part two: Support Teams
Support teams are people who work with the student with challenging behaviors. The members of the support team can include, but is not limited to, special education teacher, aids, general education teacher, therapists, and parents. The job of the team is to observe the antecedent and reaction and to learn how to better support the student. At times, the team may develop support plans which remove stimulus that could be causing or harmful to the acting out student. Once a team is developed, meetings are generally held to discuss observations and found successes. It is important to, again, keep morale among the support team positive and child-centered.
Part three: Considerations
There are many considerations we need to keep in mind when addressing challenging behaviors. One of them is how the child's disability affects his/her behavior. Take the time to research (even if it's not indepth) the child's disability and what teaching strategies are proven to work. You may then want to share this information with team members. Another consideration is a child's environment (school, daycare, home, etc.), and how this may effect their success when in the classroom. Questions you may want to ask yourself when a child is acting out include:
-What has the child eaten today?
-Is the child tired?
-Has the child been exposed to inappropriate behavior?
-Does the child have structure/discipline in other environments?
These topics need to be addressed before considering behavior modification because if the behavior stems from it, EASY FIX! If not, the team needs to be informed and jump on the behavior modification band wagon. In order to make behaivor mod. work, support team members need to be open minded, creative, and positive Positive, POSITIVE. Also, always remember that behavior modification needs to be realistic and reward positive behaviors.
Remember that there are no quick fixes when dealing with challenging behaviors, and change is slow.
I feel as though I learned a lot at this meeting, and the wheels are already turning as to how I can incorporate these strategies into my every day teaching. The information I rehashed here is from Paul White of the Waisman Center located out of Madison.
Part one: Attitude Attitude Attitude
Contrary to what you may have initially thought, this section refers to the teacher's attitude, and not the student's "problem" attitude. When dealing with challenging behaviors hour after hour, day after day, we have to remember that our attitudes as educators is a contributor to the actions and reactions our students may display. Here are some strategies that may be helpful in achieving this goal:
-Focus on the future, rather than the past
-Focus on solution, rather than the problem
-Use humor to boost morale
-Address issue then create a diversion for yourself
-Take a time out
-Exercise
-Eat foods that are good for you
-Get enough sleep at night
-Remember to be thankful :)
Avoid saying "no." When possible, turn each no into a positive comment or reaction. Let the student know that you hear them, but redirect to help them accomplish the task before them.
Example: Student runs through the halls. Instead of saying "NO, we do not run in school!" say, "I love to see you using your legs like that, but it is not appropriate or safe when we are in school. Please show me how you can walk." Sounds easy...but is it? This is something that I will be trying in my own classroom, and I will let you know how it goes!
Part two: Support Teams
Support teams are people who work with the student with challenging behaviors. The members of the support team can include, but is not limited to, special education teacher, aids, general education teacher, therapists, and parents. The job of the team is to observe the antecedent and reaction and to learn how to better support the student. At times, the team may develop support plans which remove stimulus that could be causing or harmful to the acting out student. Once a team is developed, meetings are generally held to discuss observations and found successes. It is important to, again, keep morale among the support team positive and child-centered.
Part three: Considerations
There are many considerations we need to keep in mind when addressing challenging behaviors. One of them is how the child's disability affects his/her behavior. Take the time to research (even if it's not indepth) the child's disability and what teaching strategies are proven to work. You may then want to share this information with team members. Another consideration is a child's environment (school, daycare, home, etc.), and how this may effect their success when in the classroom. Questions you may want to ask yourself when a child is acting out include:
-What has the child eaten today?
-Is the child tired?
-Has the child been exposed to inappropriate behavior?
-Does the child have structure/discipline in other environments?
These topics need to be addressed before considering behavior modification because if the behavior stems from it, EASY FIX! If not, the team needs to be informed and jump on the behavior modification band wagon. In order to make behaivor mod. work, support team members need to be open minded, creative, and positive Positive, POSITIVE. Also, always remember that behavior modification needs to be realistic and reward positive behaviors.
Remember that there are no quick fixes when dealing with challenging behaviors, and change is slow.
I feel as though I learned a lot at this meeting, and the wheels are already turning as to how I can incorporate these strategies into my every day teaching. The information I rehashed here is from Paul White of the Waisman Center located out of Madison.
Thursday, October 7, 2010
Ahh...
I have received an idea from a friend and fellow teacher to allow my student who cannot keep his hands to himself feel the success of earning a star for a short period of time. Using this success as fuel to help him get through the rest of the day, hopefully he will be able to make good choices. I will try this tomorrow if he is in school (was out sick today).
Also, here is a neat article I read:
http://www.cnn.com/2010/OPINION/10/07/hertzog.down.syndrome.son/index.html
Have a happy day :)
Also, here is a neat article I read:
http://www.cnn.com/2010/OPINION/10/07/hertzog.down.syndrome.son/index.html
Have a happy day :)
Sunday, October 3, 2010
What to do?
This week was a l o n g week. I love my job and I love working with my students, however there are those weeks that I am more than willing to wave farewell to. Here's a recap:
Monday: Good day! Students worked hard...overall fab day.
Tuesday: Another good day! I can see that some of the students are getting sick, we had a lot of coughs and noses being blown. One student got sick, and we ended up sending him home just as a precautionary measure. Another student, who had been out of school in the hospital for two weeks returned today! Everyone was so excited to see him again. His spirits seemed to be high as I completed some of the lessons he missed with him in the morning. It was a relief to see him doing well and willing to participate with his teachers and fellow classmates.
Wednesday: Challenging day. Behaviors were abound. One kindergartner went on a field trip the School Forest with an assistant, leaving us with a substitute aid. While I understand and completely appreciate all that the subs in the room do, the entire room (schedule, tone, students, even myself!) gets thrown off when this happens. At about 9:00 a first grader was brought into my room to be disciplined for stubborn, defiant, and inappropriate behavior. The rest of the morning/early afternoon went alright, but at about 1:30 all of that changed. There were many, many things going on at this time so I apologize if it gets confusing, but here it goes...I had two groups going at the time, one was a lower math group consisting of four students, the other was a high math group consisting of two students. Typically, I work with the group of two leaving the other group to one of my aids we attempted this and it did not work out. One of the students in the lower math group was quite grumpy due to lack of sleep, and was only happy when being fed. He joined my higher group and I had to change my plans to letting the two complete a worksheet with my verbal help while I fed my hungry student. As I was working with these kids, I could hear the nurse and the sub instructing and pleading with a student to have good behavior, which was quite obviously a futile cause. At the same time a co-worker of mine came in to ask some questions that ended up distracting me from feeding which resulted in applesauce and chocolate milk all over the table, floor, and surrounding chairs. After my co-worker left, I was being called across the room to retrieve a band-aid for another student and while I was there, to discipline the defiant/stubborn student. When I returned to the aforementioned post, more applesauce and chocolate milk had been spilled and splattered all over. Next thing I knew, I looked up at the clock and saw that it was 2:00, and we needed diapers to be changed, snacks to be eaten, work to be finished, and packing up to be done. At this time in the day I decided it would be best if we stopped the school work, and simply attempt to maintain behaviors and moods until the school day came to and end, which seemed to work out. The tone in the room was changed from one of high stress to one of neutral, and once the kids were on the bus I was able to take one deep breath before cleaning and setting up my room for an IEP meeting. The meeting went well, and all information (although it wasn't all favorable to the parent's ears) was received well, and arrangements were made to encourage success for the student at hand.
Before I go on, I would just like to say how blessed I feel to be working with the general education teachers that I am this year. They are wonderful, and I absolutely love working with them, and seeing them strive to help each one of my students succeed. YAY :)
Thursday: Typical day, some trouble at recess, but overall a good day.
Friday: Honeymoon period for my students is 100% over. Behaviors, Behaviors, BEHAVIORS! One student in particular was being very defiant and inappropriate throughout the day. Toward the end of the day he ended up sitting in the safe place for blurting (after being encouraged and reminded in many ways) answers and silly phrases without raising his hand and waiting quietly. After a few minutes he was able to rejoin the group, but would only last up to 5 minutes before the next outburst. Unfortunately, this student did not receive 5 stars and was then expected to sit on a shape until it was time to pack up. Somehow, he ended up pushing a fellow classmate, which then prompted another student to do the same thing. They were both told to apologize and that they could not pack up to leave until their classmates had finished packing first. I was met with a response of swearing, which then caused the student to wait until all the other classmates were on the bus before packing up.
Here's the issue that I struggle with the most: How do you teach a student the difference between right and wrong behavior when he seemingly feels no remorse for imposing pain and/or discomfort to those around him? Each time I talk to/discipline this student he has a smirk on his face, and does not appear to have any compassion for anyone outside of himself. So, that is the question and I am hoping that I will find the answer soon...maybe even this week!
I am looking forward to a new week with new experiences and a clean fresh slate! See y'all later :)
Monday: Good day! Students worked hard...overall fab day.
Tuesday: Another good day! I can see that some of the students are getting sick, we had a lot of coughs and noses being blown. One student got sick, and we ended up sending him home just as a precautionary measure. Another student, who had been out of school in the hospital for two weeks returned today! Everyone was so excited to see him again. His spirits seemed to be high as I completed some of the lessons he missed with him in the morning. It was a relief to see him doing well and willing to participate with his teachers and fellow classmates.
Wednesday: Challenging day. Behaviors were abound. One kindergartner went on a field trip the School Forest with an assistant, leaving us with a substitute aid. While I understand and completely appreciate all that the subs in the room do, the entire room (schedule, tone, students, even myself!) gets thrown off when this happens. At about 9:00 a first grader was brought into my room to be disciplined for stubborn, defiant, and inappropriate behavior. The rest of the morning/early afternoon went alright, but at about 1:30 all of that changed. There were many, many things going on at this time so I apologize if it gets confusing, but here it goes...I had two groups going at the time, one was a lower math group consisting of four students, the other was a high math group consisting of two students. Typically, I work with the group of two leaving the other group to one of my aids we attempted this and it did not work out. One of the students in the lower math group was quite grumpy due to lack of sleep, and was only happy when being fed. He joined my higher group and I had to change my plans to letting the two complete a worksheet with my verbal help while I fed my hungry student. As I was working with these kids, I could hear the nurse and the sub instructing and pleading with a student to have good behavior, which was quite obviously a futile cause. At the same time a co-worker of mine came in to ask some questions that ended up distracting me from feeding which resulted in applesauce and chocolate milk all over the table, floor, and surrounding chairs. After my co-worker left, I was being called across the room to retrieve a band-aid for another student and while I was there, to discipline the defiant/stubborn student. When I returned to the aforementioned post, more applesauce and chocolate milk had been spilled and splattered all over. Next thing I knew, I looked up at the clock and saw that it was 2:00, and we needed diapers to be changed, snacks to be eaten, work to be finished, and packing up to be done. At this time in the day I decided it would be best if we stopped the school work, and simply attempt to maintain behaviors and moods until the school day came to and end, which seemed to work out. The tone in the room was changed from one of high stress to one of neutral, and once the kids were on the bus I was able to take one deep breath before cleaning and setting up my room for an IEP meeting. The meeting went well, and all information (although it wasn't all favorable to the parent's ears) was received well, and arrangements were made to encourage success for the student at hand.
Before I go on, I would just like to say how blessed I feel to be working with the general education teachers that I am this year. They are wonderful, and I absolutely love working with them, and seeing them strive to help each one of my students succeed. YAY :)
Thursday: Typical day, some trouble at recess, but overall a good day.
Friday: Honeymoon period for my students is 100% over. Behaviors, Behaviors, BEHAVIORS! One student in particular was being very defiant and inappropriate throughout the day. Toward the end of the day he ended up sitting in the safe place for blurting (after being encouraged and reminded in many ways) answers and silly phrases without raising his hand and waiting quietly. After a few minutes he was able to rejoin the group, but would only last up to 5 minutes before the next outburst. Unfortunately, this student did not receive 5 stars and was then expected to sit on a shape until it was time to pack up. Somehow, he ended up pushing a fellow classmate, which then prompted another student to do the same thing. They were both told to apologize and that they could not pack up to leave until their classmates had finished packing first. I was met with a response of swearing, which then caused the student to wait until all the other classmates were on the bus before packing up.
Here's the issue that I struggle with the most: How do you teach a student the difference between right and wrong behavior when he seemingly feels no remorse for imposing pain and/or discomfort to those around him? Each time I talk to/discipline this student he has a smirk on his face, and does not appear to have any compassion for anyone outside of himself. So, that is the question and I am hoping that I will find the answer soon...maybe even this week!
I am looking forward to a new week with new experiences and a clean fresh slate! See y'all later :)
Sunday, September 26, 2010
What to do?
The past week went very well. I feel as though I finally have a schedule that I am able to follow, as well as organization that facilitates academic instruction. I have arranged all of the materials used in the Reading Mastery, Distar Arithmetic, and Early Literacy Skill Builders into bins along with lesson plans for each individual (asistants and myself) to follow.
Since recieving the Smartboard I have discovered, through the help of a coworker, that it works with a projector. The projector has been ordered, but I now realize that I will have to reconfigure the arrangement of my classroom. More details to follow.
Now to address the name of my post: "What to do?" My star behavior management plan has been working well, the students are understanding what they need to do in order to earn a star. We are contantly encouraging and reinforcing the idea of good behavior to the students. Unfortunatley, I have one student who understands the concept, but does not respond well to unstructured activities. Because of this, recess is a very difficult senario for him. Once this week he was sent in from lunch recess early for injuring a fellow student on the playground. My response was to have the student sit down for a chat with the school principal. I listened outside the door as the principal explained in a simple yet firm way correct vs. incorrect behavior when playing with friends. My student was unresponsive, but later apologized to me for his outburst at recess. This student did not recieve five stars for the day, could not play with his friends, and appeared to be motivated the following day to correct his behavior. However, the very next day, once again there was trouble at recess.
After numerous talks, constant encouragement, repremands, and the inability to earn his reward at the end of the day, his behavior is still unchanged. Now, I'm just wondering what I should do. Hopefully working with the students this week will lead me to a solution. I'm thinking the possibility of a check list or social story, but we will have to see!
Since recieving the Smartboard I have discovered, through the help of a coworker, that it works with a projector. The projector has been ordered, but I now realize that I will have to reconfigure the arrangement of my classroom. More details to follow.
Now to address the name of my post: "What to do?" My star behavior management plan has been working well, the students are understanding what they need to do in order to earn a star. We are contantly encouraging and reinforcing the idea of good behavior to the students. Unfortunatley, I have one student who understands the concept, but does not respond well to unstructured activities. Because of this, recess is a very difficult senario for him. Once this week he was sent in from lunch recess early for injuring a fellow student on the playground. My response was to have the student sit down for a chat with the school principal. I listened outside the door as the principal explained in a simple yet firm way correct vs. incorrect behavior when playing with friends. My student was unresponsive, but later apologized to me for his outburst at recess. This student did not recieve five stars for the day, could not play with his friends, and appeared to be motivated the following day to correct his behavior. However, the very next day, once again there was trouble at recess.
After numerous talks, constant encouragement, repremands, and the inability to earn his reward at the end of the day, his behavior is still unchanged. Now, I'm just wondering what I should do. Hopefully working with the students this week will lead me to a solution. I'm thinking the possibility of a check list or social story, but we will have to see!
Sunday, September 19, 2010
Behavior Management
Although the school year so far has had its ups and downs, I feel as though am on the right track to completing IEP goals, and giving all of my students an appropriate and valuable education experience including authentic and academic skills.
The latest addition to the classroom has been a behavior management system in which my students are required to monitor their own behavior, by means of positive reinforcement for a reward of their choosing. I, along with the help of my wonderful assistants, have laminated stars, reward cards, and names (sequenced and glued by the students) in preparation of this new idea. Each student is able to choose their own reward/motivation to have a positive and agreeable attitude throughout the day. The rewards I chose to make available to them were based on my own observation as to level of motivation and interest. Some of the rewards availbale to them include:
-Computer Time
-Educational Movie
-Playdough
-Resistance Tunnel
-Puppets
-Swing
-Blocks
-Ball Maze
Each student is able to earn up to five stars per day for various positive behaviors such as:
-Body Control
-Listening Ears
-Hand to Themselves
-Eyes on the Speaker
-Participation
-Use of Gentle Words
-Completion of Work
Each time a student earns a star they are immediatley rewarded with cheers and hugs (if appropriate) from teachers and fellow students. At the end of the school day, the entire class has a meeting to count the stars each student has earned. If she or he has collected the required five stars, they are then able to complete the activity they chose at the beginning of the day!
As I have seen this tool in use for three days now, I can report that my stduents seem to be responding well and monitoring their own behavior quite well. As teachers, we are constantly encouraging all students to remember what they are working toward (stars) and what the desired behaviors are to earn these reinforcers. I have noted a dramatic change in two of my seven students behaviors just this week, and cannot wait to see more improvement throughout the year!
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