Be Prepared, Be Patient, Be Consistent…The Golden Rules of Behavior Management in Physical Education

Deb Marcus, NBCT, CAPEMarley Glen SchoolGlen Burnie, Maryland

Introductions Deb Marcus Marley Glen School 15 years!

Experiment… Follow directions..

Discussion What made the 3rd set of directions so

clear? How does this transfer to our Physical

Education classes?

Challenges faced by PE teachers Large group of students with varying

degrees of needs Students with disabilities included in

general PE classes Large space Unstructured environment Down time before, during and after

activities Others?

Managing Behaviors Which types of behaviors cause PE teachers

the most difficulties? Following directions Staying with the group Staying on task Sharing equipment Taking turns appropriately Appropriate language Sportsmanship Accepting NO as an answer

BE PREPARED! Think about the structure of your class,

including routines and your teaching style

Assistants that come with students Skills needed to participate

independently (cues, vocabulary, time on tasks, handling down time)

Distractions – classroom /gym environment

How information is presented Verbal instructions

Stop! Walk and sit in front of me. Get a ball and find personal space. Stand next to a partner Line up

Demonstrations Skills (part/whole) Teacher/student

Visual supports

Communication Spots on floor to mark personal space

(where to sit, stand, line up) Schedules Vocabulary Graphic Organizers

Examples of Visual supports

Communication

“Circle Map” – Graphic Organizer

Social Stories Stories are used to teach:

What to expect in new situations Appropriate behaviors across settings

Examples

Distractions / Structure & Routines Eliminate

distractions Equipment Staff/students

walking through Reinforcement Cues - music

Structure/Routines Know what to

expect Know what comes

next

Schedules

Starting and stopping signals What cues do you use to start/stop your

class? How would they need to change for

student with: Hearing impairment? Autism? Visual impairment?

Time / Duration Time of class

Morning/afternoon Before/after

medication wears off??

Tired in afternoon?

Duration PE classes per

week Amount of time

participating Amount of time

on each activity

Visual Timers Examples

Whose Turn?

What to do with children with behavioral problems? Identify behaviors that the teacher

wants to correct or redirect. Must be measurable, have clear

beginning and end, and able to be defined in objective terms

What is the student doing? How is he acting? When does the behavior occur? Where does it occur? What is happening in the class when it occurs?

Motivation Assessment Scale Scale used to determine the functions of

the behavior – attention, escape /avoidance, tangible or sensory

Filled out by teachers, service providers, parents – anyone who sees the behavior being measured

Sensory Behavior would occur over and over if

person left alone for period of time Person calm and unaware of what is

going on around him Person enjoys performing the behavior Examples – rocking back and forth,

running into padding on walls

Escape/Avoidance Occurs following difficult task When request is made of person Occurs to upset teacher when you are

trying to get him to do what you ask Stops behavior when you stop working

with or placing demands on him

Attention seeking Occurs in response to teacher not

paying attention to him Occurs to get teacher to spend time

with him Occurs to upset teacher in order to get

teacher to spend time with him

Tangible Occurs to get a toy, piece of equipment

or activity he was told he cannot have Occurs when teacher takes away toy,

piece of equipment or activity Stops when toy, piece of equipment or

activity is given back to student

Preference Assessment Checklist of items that the student

and/or family fills out Lists items that are preferred Could eventually be used as reinforcers Helpful when student is non-verbal and

not responding to current reinforcement

Preference Assessment Food items (candy, ice cream, chips,

fruit, beverages) Toys/Sports equipment Electronics (iPod, computer, iPad) Certificates, awards, stickers Recess, extra PE time Time with teacher Group leader

Positive Reinforcement Intrinsic motivation Social praise Physical activity Sensory stimuli Tangibles Group contingencies Token economies Contracts Prompts Shaping

Tangibles Giving a student something to reinforce

behavior Use age appropriate items

Sticker Stamp Certificate Ribbon Edible

Sensory Stimuli Providing auditory, visual, or kinesthetic

stimuli for reinforcement Music Swinging Jumping Fidgets Could be effective for students with

autism

Shaping Reinforcing successive approximations Target behavior – go in the gym and sit on a

shape Student goes into gym and runs around all

the shapes, then sits on shape – teacher rewards student for sitting independently on the shape

Reinforcing small increments of improvement will eventually lead to mastery of skill

Token boards

Behavior Contract At the end of each class, teacher rates

student on whether he met his behavioral goals Circle smiley face or frowny face Point system Student returns contract to classroom

teacher for reward, if earned. Might work if computer time is very

motivating – then he could earn 5 minutes when he returns to class

Premack Principle Recommends making high – frequency

behavior contingent on completing a low-frequency behavior

Example – Jake likes to run laps around the gym. Jake does not like to do stretching exercises. If Jake does his stretching exercises, he is allowed to run 5 laps around the gym.

First – Then Strip

BE PATIENT!!!!! May not work on the first try Pick one positive intervention, teach it

to the student, use it consistently Try another…. Try another… Keep smiling!

Punishment Use only when positive reinforcement is

not working Six types of punishment:

Silent look Verbal reprimand Extinction Time – out Overcorrection Response cost

Verbal reprimand Address the problem behavior not the

student himself. “Do not bounce the ball while I am

talking” NOT – “You can’t do anything right!”

Extinction Ignoring inappropriate behaviors when

seen as attention seeking behaviors Most effective when combined with

positive reinforcement Very difficult because it takes lots of

patience and self control

Time out Removing the student from the activity

for a pre-set amount of time Disadvantage – some students enjoy it

because they got out of an activity they did not want to do

Overcorrection Restoring the environment

Vandalism – need to clean what you did plus all of the other areas that need it

Positive practice overcorrection Running in hallway – need to walk 10

times for allotted distance

Response Cost Penalty box! Loss of minutes of time to perform

activity Loss of points of grade Loss of equipment

Negative Reinforcement CAUTION! Use only when necessary –

negative reinforcement can increase resistance!

Taking away something to maintain or increase a behavior Avoidance procedure Escape procedure

BE CONSISTENT!! First – give it time! Could get worse before

it gets better. DO NOT GIVE UP! (or give in!) Talk to other staff that are having difficulties

with the student to brainstorm for more ideas

Look closely at your intervention and see if you are able to put it into play effectively

If not – what do you need to do to make it effective?

HANG IN THERE!

What to do with the rest of the class??? Ideally the student’s reinforcement

system can be used with everyone… Implementing a positive behavior

reward system for all students – “Catch ‘em being good”

Class rewards Individual rewards Other ideas?

Group Contengencies Class Behavior Chart - When whole class

wears tennis shoes, the football moves up 10 yards. When we score a touchdown, whole class is rewarded with student picked favorite activity class.

Other examples of Group Contengencies Class rewards chart for sportsmanship,

following directions, etc Points given based on criteria created by

teacher or students (3 pts – great teamwork, 2 pts – average sportsmanship, 1 pt – poor sportsmanship)

Reward given after so many points have been obtained