response to intervention classroom strategies for helping the struggling high school student jim...

Response to Intervention

www.interventioncentral.org

Classroom Strategies for Helping theStruggling High School Student

Jim Wrightwww.interventioncentral.org



Workshop Goals…Review of research on student motivation

Sampling of classroom intervention strategies

Case examples of high school classroom interventions



http://www.jimwrightonline.com/pittsford.php


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Secondary Students: Unique Challenges…

Struggling learners in middle and high school may:• Have significant deficits in basic academic skills• Lack higher-level problem-solving strategies and

concepts• Present with issues of school motivation• Show social/emotional concerns that interfere with

academics• Have difficulty with attendance• Are often in a process of disengaging from learning

even as adults in school expect that those students will move toward being ‘self-managing’ learners…



Student Motivation: A Systems-Level Problem



“ ”A journey of a thousand miles must begin with a single step.Lao Tzu, Chinese Taoist (600 BC-531 BC)



Childhood and Beyond Longitudinal Project

• 3 cohorts of children (about 250 children per cohort) were followed across elementary, middle and high school. (Children were recruited from 4 middle-class school districts in the midwest.)

• In the subject areas of math, language arts, and sports, students were asked each year to rate their competence in the subject and their valuing of it.

Source: Jacobs, J. E., Lanza, S., Osgood, D. W., Eccles, J. S., & Wigfield, A. (2002). Changes in children’s self-competence and values: Gender and domain differences across grades one through twelve. Child Development, 73, 509-527.



Childhood and Beyond Longitudinal Project: Some Findings

• Ratings of both competence and value declined for all 3 subject areas (math, language arts, and sports) for boys and girls as they grew older.

• Girls rated themselves lower in competence in math throughout school—until grade 12, when boys and girls converged in their ratings (because boys’ ratings declined faster than did girls’ ratings).

• Across all grade levels, boys rated themselves significantly less competent than did girls in language arts.

• Not surprisingly, boys’ and girls’ valuing (enjoyment, liking) of a subject area correlated with perceived ability. Generally, boys and girls who rated themselves as lowest in ability also rated their valuing of the subject area as lowest.

Source: Jacobs, J. E., Lanza, S., Osgood, D. W., Eccles, J. S., & Wigfield, A. (2002). Changes in children’s self-competence and values: Gender and domain differences across grades one through twelve. Child Development, 73, 509-527.



Five Strands of Mathematical Proficiency (NRC, 2002)

1. Understanding: Comprehending mathematical concepts, operations, and relations--knowing what mathematical symbols, diagrams, and procedures mean.

2. Computing: Carrying out mathematical procedures, such as adding, subtracting, multiplying, and dividing numbers flexibly, accurately, efficiently, and appropriately.

3. Applying: Being able to formulate problems mathematically and to devise strategies for solving them using concepts and procedures appropriately.

4. Reasoning: Using logic to explain and justify a solution to a problem or to extend from something known to something less known.

5. Engaging: Seeing mathematics as sensible, useful, and doable—if you work at it—and being willing to do the work.

Source: National Research Council. (2002). Helping children learn mathematics. Mathematics Learning Study Committee, J. Kilpatrick & J. Swafford, Editors, Center for Education, Division of Behavioral and Social Sciences and Education. Washington, DC: National Academy Press.



School Dropout as a Process, Not an Event

“It is increasingly accepted that dropout is best conceptualized as a long-term process, not an instantaneous event; however, most interventions are administered at a middle or high school level after problems are severe.”

Source: Jimerson, S., Reschly, A.L., & Hess, R. (2008). Best practices in increasing the likelihood of school completion. In A. Thomas & J. Grimes (Eds). Best Practices in School Psychology - 5th Ed (pp. 1085-1097). Bethesda, MD: National Association of School Psychologists.. p.1090



Student Motivation & The Need for Intervention“A common response to students who struggle in sixth grade is to wait and hope they grow out of it or adapt, to attribute early struggles to the natural commotion of early adolescence and to temporary difficulties in adapting to new organizational structures of schooling, more challenging curricula and assessment, and less personalized attention. Our evidence clearly indicates that, at least in high-poverty urban schools, sixth graders who are missing 20% or more of the days, exhibiting poor behavior, or failing math or English do not recover. On the contrary, they drop out. This says that early intervention is not only productive but absolutely essential.”

Source: Balfanz, R., Herzog, L., MacIver, D. J. (2007). Preventing student disengagement and keeping students on the graduation path in urban middle grades schools: Early identification and effective interventions. Educational Psychologist,42, 223–235. .



What Are the ‘Early Warning Flags’ of Student Drop-Out?

A sample of 13,000 students in Philadelphia were tracked for 8 years. These early warning indicators were found to predict student drop-out in the sixth-grade year:

• Failure in English• Failure in math• Missing at least 20% of school days• Receiving an ‘unsatisfactory’ behavior rating from at

least one teacher




What is the Predictive Power of These Early Warning Flags?


Number of ‘Early Warning Flags’ in Student Record

Probability That Student Would Graduate

None 56%

1 36%

2 21%

3 13%

4 7%



Understanding and Analyzing Student Motivation Problems:

Key Concepts



Big Ideas: Similar Behaviors May Stem from Very Different ‘Root’ Causes

(Kratochwill, Elliott, & Carrington Rotto, 1990)

• Behavior is not random but follows purposeful patterns.

Students who present with the same apparent ‘surface’ behaviors may have very different ‘drivers’ (underlying reasons) that explain why those behaviors occur.

A student’s problem behaviors must be carefully identified and analyzed to determine the drivers that support them.

Source: Kratochwill, T. R., Elliott, S. N., & Carrington Rotto, P. (1990). Best practices in behavioral consultation. In A. Thomas and J. Grimes (Eds.). Best practices in school psychology-II (pp. 147=169). Silver Spring, MD: National Association of School Psychologists..



Inference: Moving Beyond the Margins of the ‘Known’

“An inference is a tentative conclusion without direct or conclusive support from available data. All hypotheses are, by definition, inferences. It is critical that problem analysts make distinctions between what is known and what is inferred or hypothesized….Low-level inferences should be exhausted prior to the use of high-level inferences.” p. 161

Source: Christ, T. (2008). Best practices in problem analysis. In A. Thomas & J. Grimes (Eds.), Best practices in school psychology V (pp. 159-176).



Examples of High vs. Low Inference Hypotheses

High-Inference Hypothesis. The student is ‘just lazy’ and would do better if he would only apply himself.

Known

Unknown

Low-Inference Hypothesis. The student has gaps in academic skills that require (a) mapping out those skill gaps, and (b) providing the student with remedial instruction as needed.

Known

Unknown

An 11th-grade student does poorly on tests and quizzes in math. Homework is often incomplete. He frequently shows up late for class and does not readily participate in group discussions.



Student Motivation Levels Are Strongly Influenced by the Instructional Setting (Lentz & Shapiro, 1986)

• Students with learning or motivation problems do not exist in isolation. Rather, their instructional environment plays an enormously important role in these students’ degree of academic engagement.

Source: Lentz, F. E. & Shapiro, E. S. (1986). Functional assessment of the academic environment. School Psychology Review, 15, 346-57.



Student academic problems cause many school behavior problems.

“Whether [a student’s] problem is a behavior problem or an academic one, we recommend starting with a functional academic assessment, since often behavior problems occur when students cannot or will not do required academic work.”

Big Ideas: Academic Delays Can Be a Potent Cause of Behavior

Problems (Witt, Daly, & Noell, 2000)

Source: Witt, J. C., Daly, E. M., & Noell, G. (2000). Functional assessments: A step-by-step guide to solving academic and behavior problems. Longmont, CO: Sopris West, p. 13



Motivation: The Construct



Definitions of ‘Motivation’“…motivation refers to the initiation, direction, intensity and persistence of behavior.”

Source: Motivation. (2007). Wikipedia. Retrieved March 13, 2007, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Motivation

“Motivation is typically defined as the forces that account for the arousal, selection, direction, and continuation of behavior.”

Source: Excerpted from Chapter 11 of Biehler/Snowman, PSYCHOLOGY APPLIED TO TEACHING, 8/e, Houghton Mifflin, 1997.



Unmotivated Students: What Works

The relationship between the two factors is multiplicative. If EITHER of these factors (the student’s expectation of success on the task OR the student’s valuing of that success) is zero, then the ‘motivation’ product will also be zero.

1. the student’s expectation of success on the task

2. the value that the student places on achieving success on that learning task

Motivation can be thought of as having two dimensions:

Multiplied by

Source: Sprick, R. S., Borgmeier, C., & Nolet, V. (2002). Prevention and management of behavior problems in secondary schools. In M. A. Shinn, H. M. Walker & G. Stoner (Eds.), Interventions for academic and behavior problems II: Preventive and remedial approaches (pp.373-401). Bethesda, MD: National Association of School Psychologists.

………………10X 0...…………

0

……………… 0X 10...…………

0

………………10X 10...…………

100



Big Ideas: The Four Stages of Learning Can Be Summed Up in the ‘Instructional Hierarchy

(Haring et al., 1978)

Student learning can be thought of as a multi-stage process. The universal stages of learning include:

• Acquisition: The student is just acquiring the skill.• Fluency: The student can perform the skill but

must make that skill ‘automatic’.• Generalization: The student must perform the skill

across situations or settings.• Adaptation: The student confronts novel task

demands that require that the student adapt a current skill to meet new requirements.

Source: Haring, N.G., Lovitt, T.C., Eaton, M.D., & Hansen, C.L. (1978). The fourth R: Research in the classroom. Columbus, OH: Charles E. Merrill Publishing Co.



Motivation in Action: ‘Flow’



Definition of the ‘Flow’ State

“Being completely involved in an activity for its own sake. The ego falls away. Time flies. Every action, movement, and thought follows inevitably from the previous one, like playing jazz. Your whole being is involved, and you're using your skills to the utmost.”--Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi

Source: Geirland, J. (Septermber, 1996). Go with the flow. Wired Magazine. Retrieved March 19, 2007, from http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/4.09/czik_pr.html



Qualities of Activities that May Elicit a ‘Flow’ State

• The activity is challenging and requires skill to complete• Goals are clear• Feedback is immediate• There is a ‘merging of action and awareness’. ‘All the attention

is concentrated on the relevant stimuli’ so that individuals are no longer aware of themselves as ‘separate from the actions they are performing’

• The sense of time’s passing is altered: Time may seem slowed or pass very quickly

• ‘Flow’ is not static. As one acquires mastery over an activity, he or she must move to more challenging experiences to continue to achieve ‘flow’Source: Csikszentmihalyi, M. (1990). Flow: The psychology of optimal experience. New York: Harper & Row



Flow Channel

Source: Csikszentmihalyi, M. (1990). Flow: The psychology of optimal experience. New York: Harper & Row

Anxiety

Boredom

(High)

(Low)(High)(Low)

• Student A: Low Skills, Low Challenge

A

• Student B: High Skills, Low Challenge

B

• Student C: Low Skills, High Challenge

C

• Student D: High Skills, High Challenge

D

Chal

leng

es

Skills



Student Motivation: Two Steps to Reframing the Issue and Empowering Schools

Step 1: Redefine ‘motivation’ as academic engagement: e.g., The student chooses “to engage in active accurate academic responding” (Skinner, Pappas, & Davis, 2005).

Step 2: Build staff support for this mission statement: “When a student appears unmotivated, it is the school’s job to figure out why the student is unmotivated and to find a way to get that student motivated.”

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Source: Skinner, C. H., Pappas, D. N., & Davis, K. A. (2005). Enhancing academic engagement: Providing opportunities for responding and influencing students to choose to respond. Psychology in the Schools, 42, 389-403.



The Unmotivated Student: Possible ReasonsThe student is unmotivated because he or she cannot do the assigned work. The student is unmotivated because the ‘response effort’ needed to complete the assigned work seems too great. The student is unmotivated because classroom instruction does not engage.The student is unmotivated because he or she fails to see an adequate pay-off to doing the assigned work.The student is unmotivated because of low self-efficacy—lack of confidence that he or she can do the assigned work.The student is unmotivated because he or she lacks a positive relationship with the teacher.

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The student is unmotivated because he or she cannot do the assigned work.

Recommended Response. The school should:• Inventory the student’s academic skills• Provide support in core instruction to address

the student deficits• Provide supplemental (intervention) instruction

as needed to address the student deficits

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Verifying Instructional MatchBe sure that assigned work is not too easy and not too difficult. It is surprising how often classroom behavior problems occur simply because students find the assigned work too difficult or too easy. As a significant mismatch between the assignment and the student’s abilities can trigger misbehavior, teachers should inventory each student’s academic skills and adjust assignments as needed to ensure that the student is appropriately challenged but not overwhelmed by the work.

Source: Gettinger, M., & Seibert, J.K. (2002). Best practices in increasing academic learning time. In A. Thomas (Ed.), Best practices in school psychology IV: Volume I (4th ed., pp. 773-787). Bethesda, MD: National Association of School Psychologists.



The student is unmotivated because the ‘response effort’ needed to complete the

assigned work seems too great.

Recommended Response. • The teacher can use strategies that reduce the

apparent effort required of a task. However, the instructor should avoid using strategies that hold the student to a lower standard of academic performance than peers.

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‘Chunking’ the AssignmentBreak a larger assignment into smaller segments. If a single, larger assignment appears too overwhelming for the student, the instructor can break that assignment into smaller segments, or ‘chunks’. The student completes each segment, gets performance feedback on the work, and takes on the next segment.

For example, a teacher can take a math computation worksheet of 20 problems and cut it into four strips of 5 problems each. The student completes each strip, gets performance feedback, and moves onto the next collection of problems until the entire assignment is done.

Source: Skinner, C. H., Pappas, D. N., & Davis, K. A. (2005).Enhancing academic engagement: Providing opportunities for responding and influencing students to choose to respond. Psychology in the Schools, 42, 389-403.



The student is unmotivated because classroom instruction does not engage.

Recommended Response. The teacher can:• Reduce distractions that draw student attention

away from instruction• Increase the engaging qualities of instruction

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Providing Student ChoiceOffer frequent opportunities for choice (empowerment). Teachers who allow students a degree of choice in structuring their learning activities typically have fewer behavior problems in their classrooms than teachers who do not. One efficient way to promote choice in the classroom is for the teacher to create a master menu of options that students can select from in various learning situations. For example, during independent assignment, students might be allowed to (1) choose from at least 2 assignment options, (2) sit where they want in the classroom, and (3) select a peer-buddy to check their work. Student choice then becomes integrated seamlessly into the classroom routine.

Source: Skinner, C. H., Pappas, D. N., & Davis, K. A. (2005).Enhancing academic engagement: Providing opportunities for responding and influencing students to choose to respond. Psychology in the Schools, 42, 389-403.



The student is unmotivated because he or she fails to see an adequate pay-off for doing the

assigned work.Recommended Response. The teacher can:• Use reinforcers/rewards as a temporary means to provide

the student the incentive to put effort into academic work—then fade use of artificial reinforcers as other ‘natural reinforcers’ (e.g., teacher praise, improved grades, peer acceptance) take hold

• Show the student how the skill(s) or content being taught can help the student to accomplish ‘functional’ goals (e.g., improving writing skills as a means to land a preferred summer job)

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The student is unmotivated because of low self-efficacy—lack of confidence that he or she can do

the assigned work.

Recommended Response. The teacher can:• Provide support and encouragement to reduce

student anxiety and reluctance• Challenge examples of faulty attribution through

disconfirming evidence

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Challenging ‘Faulty’ Student AttributionsUnderstand student self-talk (attributions) that give evidence of sense of self-efficacy. When students provide evidence of a low sense of self-efficacy in a subject area, activity, or academic task, the teacher can respond by questioning students to better understand what attributions they make that ‘explain’ their academic difficulties. Then the teacher can find appropriate ways to challenge any student’s faulty thinking, often through use of disconfirming evidence—and ultimately to have the student reframe their view of their abilities in more adaptive and positive ways.A framework supplied by Linnenbrink and Pintrich (2002) is helpful. Attributions often explain events as falling into these categories: unstable/stable, internal/external, uncontrollable/controllable.

Source: Linnenbrink, E. A., & Pintrich, P. R. (2002). Motivation as an enabler for academic success. School Psychology Review, 31, 313-327.



How Attributions About Learning Contribute to Academic Outcomes

Attribution Theory: Dimensions Affecting Student Interpretation of Academic Successes & Failures (Linnenbrink & Pintrich, 2002)

The situation or event is…

Unstable (changes often) Stable (can be counted on to remain relatively unchanged)

Internal (within the student) External (occurring in the surrounding environment)

Uncontrollable (beyond the ability of the student to influence)

Controllable (within the student’s ability to influence)



How Attributions About Learning Contribute to Academic Outcomes

The situation or event is…

Unstable (changes often) Stable (can be counted on to remain relatively unchanged)

Internal (within the student) External (occurring in the surrounding environment)

Uncontrollable (beyond the ability of the student to influence)

Controllable (within the student’s ability to influence)

Some people are born writers. I was born to watch TV.

This teacher always springs pop quizzes on us—and picks questions that are impossible to study for!I can’t get any studying done at home because my brother listens to the radio all the time.

So I did lousy on this one test. That’s OK. Next time, I will study harder and my grades should bounce back.



Challenging ‘Faulty’ Student Attributions: Example A student says ‘I am just not wired to be a writer” (faulty attribution: stable, internal, uncontrollable). The teacher shows the student evidence to disconfirm her attribution: examples of the student’s own writing from a portfolio that are of high quality because the topic had interested the student. The instructor demonstrates that when the student puts effort into her writing, the product is reliably and predictably improved--reframe: unstable/changeable (quality of the writing product depends on student effort), internal (the student has the necessary skill set to produce good writing), controllable (student effort is the key factor in producing a quality writing product).

Source: Linnenbrink, E. A., & Pintrich, P. R. (2002). Motivation as an enabler for academic success. School Psychology Review, 31, 313-327.



The student is unmotivated because he or she lacks a positive relationship with the teacher.Recommended Response. • The teacher can ‘recalibrate’ his or her

interactions with students to ensure that the majority of those interactions are positive in emotional tone.

• The teacher can single out students with whom he or she has a strained relationship and target them for non-contingent (positive) attention.

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Teacher Requests: Adopting a Positive ToneEmphasize the positive in teacher requests. When an instructor's request has a positive 'spin', that teacher is less likely to trigger a power struggle and more likely to gain student compliance. Whenever possible, avoid using negative phrasing (e.g., "If you don't return to your seat, I can’t help you with your assignment"). Instead, restate requests in positive terms (e.g., "I will be over to help you on the assignment just as soon as you return to your seat").

Source: Braithwaite, R. (2001). Managing aggression. New York: Routledge.



Skewing Teacher Interactions Toward the PositiveMaintain a high ratio of positive vs. disciplinary interactions. Teachers should make an effort to give positive attention or praise to problem students at least three times more frequently than they reprimand them. The teacher gives the student the attention or praise during moments when that student is acting appropriately--and keeps track of how frequently they give positive attention and reprimands to the student. This heavy dosing of positive attention and praise can greatly improve the teacher’s relationship with problem students.




Two by Ten: Non-Contingent Teacher Attention Use ‘Two by Ten’ to ‘jump-start’ a connection with the student. The teacher makes the commitment to set aside two minutes per day across ten consecutive school days. During that daily time, the teacher has a two-minute positive conversation with the student, which can focus on current events, a topic of high interest to the student (e.g., NASCAR, fashion), the weather, or other subjects. NOTE: The conversation should not address the student’s problem behaviors, poor grades or other negative topics. The teacher continues to have these 2-minute conversations for 10 school days in a row. At the end of the timespan, both teacher and student are likely to find it more rewarding to interact with one another—and there is an increased probability that the student will comply more readily with teacher requests.

Source: Mendler, A. N. (2000). Motivating students who don’t care. Bloomington, IN: National Educational Service.



The Unmotivated Student: Possible ReasonsThe student is unmotivated because he or she cannot do the assigned work. The student is unmotivated because the ‘response effort’ needed to complete the assigned work seems too great. The student is unmotivated because classroom instruction does not engage.The student is unmotivated because he or she fails to see an adequate pay-off to doing the assigned work.The student is unmotivated because of low self-efficacy—lack of confidence that he or she can do the assigned work.The student is unmotivated because he or she lacks a positive relationship with the teacher.

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Source: Internet Archive. Retrieved September 23, 2007, from http://www.archive.org/details/Maintain1947

Maintaining Classroom Discipline (1947): Pt. 1 of 3 (4:12)



Team Activity: VideoAt your table:

• View the video of Mr. Grimes, math teacher, and his class.

• Review the reasons that students may be unmotivated in the classroom.

• What are ideas that you would recommend to this teacher to motivate his students?

The student is unmotivated because he or she cannot do the assigned work. The student is unmotivated because the ‘response effort’ needed to complete the assigned work seems too great. The student is unmotivated because classroom instruction does not engage.The student is unmotivated because he or she fails to see an adequate pay-off to doing the assigned work.The student is unmotivated because of low self-efficacy—lack of confidence that he or she can do the assigned work.The student is unmotivated because he or she lacks a positive relationship with the teacher.



RTI & Intervention: Key Concepts



Core Instruction, Interventions, Accommodations & Modifications: Sorting Them Out

• Core Instruction. Those instructional strategies that are used routinely with all students in a general-education setting are considered ‘core instruction’. High-quality instruction is essential and forms the foundation of RTI academic support. NOTE: While it is important to verify that good core instructional practices are in place for a struggling student, those routine practices do not ‘count’ as individual student interventions.




• Intervention. An academic intervention is a strategy used to teach a new skill, build fluency in a skill, or encourage a child to apply an existing skill to new situations or settings. An intervention can be thought of as “a set of actions that, when taken, have demonstrated ability to change a fixed educational trajectory” (Methe & Riley-Tillman, 2008; p. 37).




• Accommodation. An accommodation is intended to help the student to fully access and participate in the general-education curriculum without changing the instructional content and without reducing the student’s rate of learning (Skinner, Pappas & Davis, 2005). An accommodation is intended to remove barriers to learning while still expecting that students will master the same instructional content as their typical peers. – Accommodation example 1: Students are allowed to supplement silent

reading of a novel by listening to the book on tape. – Accommodation example 2: For unmotivated students, the instructor

breaks larger assignments into smaller ‘chunks’ and providing students with performance feedback and praise for each completed ‘chunk’ of assigned work (Skinner, Pappas & Davis, 2005).



“ ”“Teaching is giving; it isn’t taking away.” (Howell, Hosp & Kurns, 2008; p. 356).

Source: Howell, K. W., Hosp, J. L., & Kurns, S. (2008). Best practices in curriculum-based evaluation. In A. Thomas & J. Grimes (Eds.), Best practices in school psychology V (pp.349-362). Bethesda, MD: National Association of School Psychologists..




• Modification. A modification changes the expectations of what a student is expected to know or do—typically by lowering the academic standards against which the student is to be evaluated.

Examples of modifications:– Giving a student five math computation problems for practice

instead of the 20 problems assigned to the rest of the class– Letting the student consult course notes during a test when peers

are not permitted to do so



Team Activity: Core Instruction, Intervention, Accommodation, Modification

At your table:

• Discuss the definitions presented today on core instruction, intervention, accommodation, and modification.

• In your classrooms, what are strategies that you use to accommodate learners without modifying core instruction?



‘Academic Enabler’ Observational Checklists: Measuring Students’ Ability to Manage Their

Own Learning

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‘Academic Enabler’ Skills: Why Are They Important?

Student academic success requires more than content knowledge or mastery of a collection of cognitive strategies. Academic accomplishment depends also on a set of ancillary skills and attributes called ‘academic enablers’ (DiPerna, 2006). Examples of academic enablers include:– Study skills– Homework completion– Cooperative learning skills– Organization– Independent seatwork

Source: DiPerna, J. C. (2006). Academic enablers and student achievement: Implications for assessment and intervention services in the schools. Psychology in the Schools, 43, 7-17.



‘Academic Enabler’ Skills: Why Are They Important? (Cont.)

Because academic enablers are often described as broad skill sets, however, they can be challenging to define in clear, specific, measureable terms. A useful method for defining a global academic enabling skill is to break it down into a checklist of component sub-skills--a process known as ‘discrete categorization’ (Kazdin, 1989). An observer can then use the checklist to note whether a student successfully displays each of the sub-skills.

Source: Kazdin, A. E. (1989). Behavior modification in applied settings (4th ed.). Pacific Gove, CA: Brooks/Cole.



‘Academic Enabler’ Skills: Why Are They Important? (Cont.)

Observational checklists that define academic enabling skills have several uses in Response to Intervention:– Classroom teachers can use these skills checklists as convenient tools to

assess whether a student possesses the minimum ‘starter set’ of academic enabling skills needed for classroom success.

– Teachers or tutors can share examples of academic-enabler skills checklists with students, training them in each of the sub-skills and encouraging them to use the checklists independently to take greater responsibility for their own learning.

– Teachers or other observers can use the academic enabler checklists periodically to monitor student progress during interventions--assessing formatively whether the student is using more of the sub-skills.

Source: Kazdin, A. E. (1989). Behavior modification in applied settings (4th ed.). Pacific Gove, CA: Brooks/Cole.



‘Academic Enabler’ Skills: Sample Observational Checklists



Interventions to Help Study Skills



Study Skills/Test

Preparation: Case Study

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Intended Purpose:Students may become anxious in testing situations because they have never learned effective note-taking, study, and test-taking skills. This package maps out a comprehensive strategy for any student to follow when preparing for an important examination.

Managing Test Anxiety: Ideas for Students



Doing well on a test starts with careful preparation. Students should have the essential skills to:• Study effectively. • Memorize instructional content.• Reduce test anxiety.• Adopt a ‘smart’ approach to test-taking.

Managing Test Anxiety: Ideas for Students



Student Tips: Effective Study Habits

It is not enough just to schedule lots of study time. You also need to make sure that you use effective study techniques. Some smart study tips are to:• Create a quiet, neat study area.• Study from good notes. • Use bits of unexpected free time to study.• Make a study schedule to avoid ‘time-drains’. • Take advantage of your peak energy levels.



Student Tips: Effective Study Habits (Cont.)

• Create a study group. • Teach content as a ‘learning check’. • Recite information aloud. • Pose difficult questions. • Don’t forget to review previously learned material.• Avoid cram sessions. • Reward yourself.



Student Tips: Tips to Memorize Content

The best way to remember information from your notes or reading is to set aside enough time to study it well. Some tips for memorizing information are to:• Read and review using SQ3R : (1) Survey the chapter, (2)

Create Questions based on chapter headings(3) Read through the chapter (4) Recite the questions and answer aloud; (5) Review your answers.

• Make up flashcards.



Student Tips: Tips to Memorize Content (Cont.)

• Create acronyms or acrostics: e.g.,Red-Orange-Yellow-Green-Blue-Indigo-Violet =ROY G. BIV.

• Use visualization tricks: Chaining. • Use visualization tricks: Familiar places.



Student Tips: Reducing Test Anxiety

A little nervousness before a test can be good—but when we become too anxious that anxiety can undermine our confidence and interfere with our ability to solve problems. Some tips to reduce test anxiety are to:• Remember to take care of yourself first. • Take practice exams. • Come prepared.



Student Tips: Reducing Test Anxiety (Cont.)

• Make an effort to relax periodically during the test.

1. Take several deep breaths.

2. Tense your muscles, hold, relax.

3. Think of a peaceful, quiet setting (e.g., the beach). • Engage in positive self-talk.



Student Tips: Test-Taking Strategies

Become familiar with the test that you are about to take and have a mental plan for how you will spend your time most productively during the examination. Here are some useful test-taking strategies: • Listen carefully to directions. • Perform a ‘brain dump’. • Preview the test. • Multiple-choice: Don’t get sidetracked looking for patterns of

answers.



Student Tips: Test-Taking Strategies (Cont.)

• Multiple-choice: Don’t rush. • Essay questions: Underline key terms. • Essay questions: Outline your answer before you write it. • When in doubt…guess! • Skip difficult items until last. • Use leftover time to check answers.



1. Brainstorm with students their best ideas for (a) studying, (b) memorizing course content, (c) handling test anxiety, and (d) savvy test-taking. Write down these ideas.

2. Using class-generated ideas and test-tips handout, have students write up their own ‘test-readiness’ plan.

3. When a test is coming up, remind the students to use their personal test-prep strategies. Debrief after the test about the effectiveness of various approaches.

Teacher Ideas for Introducing ‘Managing Test Anxiety: Ideas for Students’



Homework Contract Intended Purpose:

This homework contract intervention (adapted from Miller & Kelly, 1994) uses goal-setting, a written contract, and rewards to boost student completion (and accuracy) of homework. Students also learn the valuable skills of breaking down academic assignments into smaller, more manageable subtasks and setting priorities for work completion.



Homework Contract: Form



Homework Contract

1. Parents are trained to be supportive ‘homework coaches’.

2. The parent creates a homework reward system for the child.

3. The parent negotiates the homework contract program with the child.

4. The parent and child fill out the Daily Homework Contract.

5. The parent checks the child’s homework completion, delivers nightly & weekly rewards.



Homework Contract: Tips & Troubleshooting

• If the parent finds the Homework Contract program difficult to implement, have an afterschool program implement it.

• The teacher may choose to monitor homework completion and send a note home to the parent, who provides the reward.



‘Defensive Behavior Management’: The Power of Teacher Preparation




ABC: The Core of Behavior Management“....at the core of behavioral interventions is the three-term contingency consisting of an antecedent, behavior, and consequence.”

Source: Kern, L., Choutka, C. M., & Sokol, N. G. (2002). Assessment-based antecedent interventions used in natural settings to reduce challenging behaviors: An analysis of the literature. Education & Treatment of Children, 25, 113-130. p. 113.

A B C

“That is, most behavior is believed to occur…”

“… subsequent to some type of environmental event (i.e., an antecedent) …”

“…which then may be maintained if it is followed by an event that is pleasurable or reinforcing (i.e., consequence).”



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ABC: Events as Antecedents

A B C

The student stares at the paper for a moment—then

tears it up.Example: A student is given

a math computation worksheet to complete.

The student is sent to the office-allowing escape from

the task.


‘Discriminative Stimulus’: An antecedent can become associated with certain desired outcomes and thus ‘trigger’ problem behaviors.

If the consequence associated with the behavior is reinforcing for the student, then the antecedent or trigger can serve to signal (discriminate) that reinforcement is coming.



Advantages of Antecedent Strategies vs. ‘Reactive Approaches’

1. Can prevent behavior problems from occurring2. Are typically ‘quick acting’3. Can result in an instructional environment that

better promotes student learning

Source: Kern, L. & Clemens, N. H. (2007). Antecedent strategies to promote appropriate classroom behavior. Psychology in the Schools, 44, 65-75.



Defensive Management: A Method to Avoid Power Struggles

‘Defensive management’ (Fields, 2004) is a teacher-friendly six-step approach to avert student-teacher power struggles that emphasizes providing proactive instructional support to the student, elimination of behavioral triggers in the classroom setting, relationship-building, strategic application of defusing techniques when needed, and use of a ‘reconnection’ conference after behavioral incidents to promote student reflection and positive behavior change.

Source: Fields, B. (2004). Breaking the cycle of office referrals and suspensions: Defensive management. Educational Psychology in Practice, 20, 103-115.



Defensive Management: Six Steps1. Understanding the Student Problem and Using

Proactive Strategies to Prevent ‘Triggers’. The teacher collects information--through direct observation and perhaps other means--about specific instances of student problem behavior and the instructional components and other factors surrounding them. The teacher analyzes this information to discover specific ‘trigger’ events that seem to set off the problem behavior(s) (e.g., lack of skills; failure to understand directions).

The instructor then adjusts instruction to provide appropriate student support (e.g., providing the student with additional instruction in a skill; repeating directions and writing them on the board).




Defensive Management: Six Steps

2. Promoting Positive Teacher-Student Interactions. Early in each class session, the teacher has at least one positive verbal interaction with the student. Throughout the class period, the teacher continues to interact in positive ways with the student (e.g., brief conversation, smile, thumbs up, praise comment after a student remark in large-group discussion, etc.). In each interaction, the teacher adopts a genuinely accepting, polite, respectful tone.





3. Scanning for Warning Indicators. During the class session, the teacher monitors the target student’s behavior for any behavioral indicators suggesting that the student is becoming frustrated or angry. Examples of behaviors that precede non-compliance or open defiance may include stopping work; muttering or complaining; becoming argumentative; interrupting others; leaving his or her seat; throwing objects, etc.).





4. Exercising Emotional Restraint. Whenever the student begins to display problematic behaviors, the teacher makes an active effort to remain calm. To actively monitor his or her emotional state, the teacher tracks physiological cues such as increased muscle tension and heart rate, as well as fear, annoyance, anger, or other negative emotions. The teacher also adopts calming or relaxation strategies that work for him or her in the face of provocative student behavior, such as taking a deep breath or counting to 10 before responding.





5. Using Defusing Tactics. If the student begins to escalate to non-compliant, defiant, or confrontational behavior (e.g., arguing, threatening, other intentional verbal interruptions), the teacher draws from a range of possible descalating strategies to defuse the situation. Such strategies can include private conversation with the student while maintaining a calm voice, open-ended questions, paraphrasing the student’s concerns, acknowledging the student’s emotions, etc.





6. Conducting a ‘Reconnection’ Conference. Soon after any in-class incident of student non-compliance, defiance, or confrontation, the teacher makes a point to meet with the student to discuss the behavioral incident, identify the triggers in the classroom environment that led to the problem, and brainstorm with the student to create a written plan to prevent the reoccurrence of such an incident. Throughout this conference, the teacher maintains a supportive, positive, polite, and respectful tone.




Promoting Student Reading Comprehension ‘Fix-Up’ Skills




Reading Comprehension ‘Fix-Up’ Skills: A Toolkit

Good readers continuously monitor their understanding of informational text. When necessary, they also take steps to improve their understanding of text through use of reading comprehension ‘fix-up’ skills. Presented here are a series of fix-up skill strategies that can help struggling students to better understand difficult reading assignments…

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Reading Comprehension ‘Fix-Up’ Skills: A Toolkit (Cont.)• [Core Instruction] Providing Main Idea Practice through

‘Partner Retell’ (Carnine & Carnine, 2004). Students in a group or class are assigned a text selection to read silently. Students are then paired off, with one student assigned the role of ‘reteller’ and the other appointed as ‘listener’. The reteller recounts the main idea to the listener, who can comment or ask questions. The teacher then states the main idea to the class. Next, the reteller locates two key details from the reading that support the main idea and shares these with the listener. At the end of the activity, the teacher does a spot check by randomly calling on one or more students in the listener role and asking them to recap what information was shared by the reteller.

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Reading Comprehension ‘Fix-Up’ Skills: A Toolkit (Cont.)• [Accommodation] Developing a Bank of Multiple Passages

to Present Challenging Concepts (Hedin & Conderman, 2010; Kamil et al., 2008; Texas Reading Initiative, 2002). The teacher notes which course concepts, cognitive strategies, or other information will likely present the greatest challenge to students. For these ‘challenge’ topics, the teacher selects alternative readings that present the same general information and review the same key vocabulary as the course text but that are more accessible to struggling readers (e.g., with selections written at an easier reading level or that use graphics to visually illustrate concepts). These alternative selections are organized into a bank that students can access as a source of ‘wide reading’ material.

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Reading Comprehension ‘Fix-Up’ Skills: A Toolkit (Cont.)• [Student Strategy] Promoting Understanding & Building

Endurance through Reading-Reflection Pauses (Hedin & Conderman, 2010). The student decides on a reading interval (e.g., every four sentences; every 3 minutes; at the end of each paragraph). At the end of each interval, the student pauses briefly to recall the main points of the reading. If the student has questions or is uncertain about the content, the student rereads part or all of the section just read. This strategy is useful both for students who need to monitor their understanding as well as those who benefit from brief breaks when engaging in intensive reading as a means to build up endurance as attentive readers.

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Reading Comprehension ‘Fix-Up’ Skills: A Toolkit (Cont.)• [Student Strategy] Identifying or Constructing Main Idea

Sentences (Davey & McBride, 1986; Rosenshine, Meister & Chapman, 1996). For each paragraph in an assigned reading, the student either (a) highlights the main idea sentence or (b) highlights key details and uses them to write a ‘gist’ sentence. The student then writes the main idea of that paragraph on an index card. On the other side of the card, the student writes a question whose answer is that paragraph’s main idea sentence. This stack of ‘main idea’ cards becomes a useful tool to review assigned readings.

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Reading Comprehension ‘Fix-Up’ Skills: A Toolkit (Cont.)• [Student Strategy] Restructuring Paragraphs with

Main Idea First to Strengthen ‘Rereads’ (Hedin & Conderman, 2010). The student highlights or creates a main idea sentence for each paragraph in the assigned reading. When rereading each paragraph of the selection, the student (1) reads the main idea sentence or student-generated ‘gist’ sentence first (irrespective of where that sentence actually falls in the paragraph); (2) reads the remainder of the paragraph, and (3) reflects on how the main idea relates to the paragraph content.

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Reading Comprehension ‘Fix-Up’ Skills: A Toolkit (Cont.)• [Student Strategy] Summarizing Readings

(Boardman et al., 2008). The student is taught to summarize readings into main ideas and essential details--stripped of superfluous content. The act of summarizing longer readings can promote understanding and retention of content while the summarized text itself can be a useful study tool.

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Reading Comprehension ‘Fix-Up’ Skills: A Toolkit (Cont.)• [Student Strategy] Linking Pronouns to Referents (Hedin &

Conderman, 2010). Some readers lose the connection between pronouns and the nouns that they refer to (known as ‘referents’)—especially when reading challenging text. The student is encouraged to circle pronouns in the reading, to explicitly identify each pronoun’s referent, and (optionally) to write next to the pronoun the name of its referent. For example, the student may add the referent to a pronoun in this sentence from a biology text: “The Cambrian Period is the first geological age that has large numbers of multi-celled organisms associated with it Cambrian Period.”

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Reading Comprehension ‘Fix-Up’ Skills: A Toolkit (Cont.)• Student Strategy] Apply Vocabulary ‘Fix-Up’ Skills

for Unknown Words (Klingner & Vaughn, 1999). When confronting an unknown word in a reading selection, the student applies the following vocabulary ‘fix-up’ skills:1. Read the sentence again. 2. Read the sentences before and after the problem

sentence for clues to the word’s meaning.3. See if there are prefixes or suffixes in the word that can

give clues to meaning. 4. Break the word up by syllables and look for ‘smaller words’

within.104



Reading Comprehension ‘Fix-Up’ Skills: A Toolkit (Cont.)• [Student Strategy] Compiling a Vocabulary Journal from

Course Readings (Hedin & Conderman, 2010). The student highlights new or unfamiliar vocabulary from course readings. The student writes each term into a vocabulary journal, using a standard ‘sentence-stem’ format: e.g., “Mitosis means…” or “A chloroplast is…”. If the student is unable to generate a definition for a vocabulary term based on the course reading, he or she writes the term into the vocabulary journal without definition and then applies other strategies to define the term: e.g., look up the term in a dictionary; use Google to locate two examples of the term being used correctly in context; ask the instructor, etc.).

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Reading Comprehension ‘Fix-Up’ Skills: A Toolkit (Cont.)• [Student Strategy] Encouraging Student Use of Text

Enhancements (Hedin & Conderman, 2010). Text enhancements can be used to tag important vocabulary terms, key ideas, or other reading content. If working with photocopied material, the student can use a highlighter to note key ideas or vocabulary. Another enhancement strategy is the ‘lasso and rope’ technique—using a pen or pencil to circle a vocabulary term and then drawing a line that connects that term to its underlined definition. If working from a textbook, the student can cut sticky notes into strips. These strips can be inserted in the book as pointers to text of interest. They can also be used as temporary labels—e.g., for writing a vocabulary term and its definition.

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Reading Comprehension ‘Fix-Up’ Skills: A Toolkit (Cont.)• [Student Strategy] Reading Actively Through Text

Annotation (Harris, 1990; Sarkisian et al., 2003). Students are likely to increase their retention of information when they interact actively with their reading by jotting comments in the margin of the text. Using photocopies, the student is taught to engage in an ongoing 'conversation' with the writer by recording a running series of brief comments in the margins of the text. The student may write annotations to record opinions about points raised by the writer, questions triggered by the reading, or unknown vocabulary words.

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Managing Difficult Student Behaviors: The “Defensive Management” Approach




‘Big Ideas’ in Student Behavior Management



Big Ideas: Similar Behaviors May Stem from Very Different ‘Root’ Causes

(Kratochwill, Elliott, & Carrington Rotto, 1990)

• Behavior is not random but follows purposeful patterns.

Students who present with the same apparent ‘surface’ behaviors may have very different ‘drivers’ (underlying reasons) that explain why those behaviors occur.

A student’s problem behaviors must be carefully identified and analyzed to determine the drivers that support them.

Source: Kratochwill, T. R., Elliott, S. N., & Carrington Rotto, P. (1990). Best practices in behavioral consultation. In A. Thomas and J. Grimes (Eds.). Best practices in school psychology-II (pp. 147=169). Silver Spring, MD: National Association of School Psychologists..



Common ‘Root Causes’ or ‘Drivers’ for Behaviors Include…

• Power/Control• Protection/Escape/Avoidance• Attention• Acceptance/Affiliation• Expression of Self• Gratification• Justice/Revenge

Source: Witt, J. C., Daly, E. M., & Noell, G. (2000). Functional assessments: A step-by-step guide to solving academic and behavior problems. Longmont, CO: Sopris West..pp. 3-4.



From the Trenches…Office Disciplinary Referral

“

”

Disrespect toward teachers. Yelled at me while I was helping him with his assignment. Told him to cool down and sit in the center and he started up again. Finally, I asked him to leave. Have called home twice and spoke to grandmother about tardiness, attendance, and behavior.




“

”

L. was sleeping in class. I told him twice to wake up and read along with class. He did so, albeit reluctantly. The third time he fell asleep I buzzed the office to tell them he was coming down, with a referral to follow. He cursed and threw his book in the ‘book box’.




“

”

For some reason, R. wants to keep challenging me. Today he was being persistent that he wanted to sit on a table not in his chair. This was after I asked him to stop talking 4-5 times, that’s all. I sent him to the office again, second time.



Inference: Moving Beyond the Margins of the ‘Known’

“An inference is a tentative conclusion without direct or conclusive support from available data. All hypotheses are, by definition, inferences. It is critical that problem analysts make distinctions between what is known and what is inferred or hypothesized….Low-level inferences should be exhausted prior to the use of high-level inferences.” p. 161

Source: Christ, T. (2008). Best practices in problem analysis. In A. Thomas & J. Grimes (Eds.), Best practices in school psychology V (pp. 159-176).



Examples of High vs. Low Inference Hypotheses

High-Inference Hypothesis. The student is ‘just lazy’ and would do better if he would only apply himself.

Known

Unknown

Low-Inference Hypothesis. The student has gaps in academic skills that require (a) mapping out those skill gaps, and (b) providing the student with remedial instruction as needed.

Known

Unknown

An 11th-grade student does poorly on tests and quizzes in math. Homework is often incomplete. He frequently shows up late for class and does not readily participate in group discussions.



• Individuals are always performing SOME type of behavior: watching the instructor, sleeping, talking to a neighbor, completing a worksheet (‘behavior stream’).

• When students are fully engaged in academic behaviors, they are less likely to get off-task and display problem behaviors.

• Academic tasks that are clearly understood, elicit student interest, provide a high rate of student success, and include teacher encouragement and feedback are most likely to effectively ‘capture’ the student’s ‘behavior stream’.

Big Ideas: Behavior is a Continuous ‘Stream’ (Schoenfeld & Farmer, 1970)

Source: Schoenfeld, W. N., & Farmer, J. (1970). Reinforcement schedules and the ‘‘behavior stream.’’ In W. N. Schoenfeld (Ed.), The theory of reinforcement schedules (pp. 215–245). New York: Appleton-Century-Crofts.



Student academic problems cause many school behavior problems.

“Whether [a student’s] problem is a behavior problem or an academic one, we recommend starting with a functional academic assessment, since often behavior problems occur when students cannot or will not do required academic work.”

Big Ideas: Academic Delays Can Be a Potent Cause of Behavior

Problems (Witt, Daly, & Noell, 2000)

Source: Witt, J. C., Daly, E. M., & Noell, G. (2000). Functional assessments: A step-by-step guide to solving academic and behavior problems. Longmont, CO: Sopris West, p. 13



ABC: The Core of Behavior Management“....at the core of behavioral interventions is the three-term contingency consisting of an antecedent, behavior, and consequence.”


A B C

“That is, most behavior is believed to occur…”

“… subsequent to some type of environmental event (i.e., an antecedent) …”

“…which then may be maintained if it is followed by an event that is pleasurable or reinforcing (i.e., consequence).”



120

ABC: Events as Antecedents

A B C

The student stares at the paper for a moment—then

tears it up.Example: A student is given

a math computation worksheet to complete.

The student is sent to the office-allowing escape from

the task.


‘Discriminative Stimulus’: An antecedent can become associated with certain desired outcomes and thus ‘trigger’ problem behaviors.

If the consequence associated with the behavior is reinforcing for the student, then the antecedent or trigger can serve to signal (discriminate) that reinforcement is coming.



Antecedent Strategies to Manage Behavior: Proactive Changes to the Environment

“Antecedent interventions typically involve some type of environmental rearrangement. ”




Advantages of Antecedent Strategies vs. ‘Reactive Approaches’

1. Can prevent behavior problems from occurring2. Are typically ‘quick acting’3. Can result in an instructional environment that

better promotes student learning

Source: Kern, L. & Clemens, N. H. (2007). Antecedent strategies to promote appropriate classroom behavior. Psychology in the Schools, 44, 65-75.



‘Defensive Behavior Management’: The Power of Teacher Preparation




Defensive Management: A Method to Avoid Power Struggles

‘Defensive management’ (Fields, 2004) is a teacher-friendly six-step approach to avert student-teacher power struggles that emphasizes providing proactive instructional support to the student, elimination of behavioral triggers in the classroom setting, relationship-building, strategic application of defusing techniques when needed, and use of a ‘reconnection’ conference after behavioral incidents to promote student reflection and positive behavior change.




Defensive Management: Six Steps1. Understanding the Student Problem and Using

Proactive Strategies to Prevent ‘Triggers’. The teacher collects information--through direct observation and perhaps other means--about specific instances of student problem behavior and the instructional components and other factors surrounding them. The teacher analyzes this information to discover specific ‘trigger’ events that seem to set off the problem behavior(s) (e.g., lack of skills; failure to understand directions).

The instructor then adjusts instruction to provide appropriate student support (e.g., providing the student with additional instruction in a skill; repeating directions and writing them on the board).





2. Promoting Positive Teacher-Student Interactions. Early in each class session, the teacher has at least one positive verbal interaction with the student. Throughout the class period, the teacher continues to interact in positive ways with the student (e.g., brief conversation, smile, thumbs up, praise comment after a student remark in large-group discussion, etc.). In each interaction, the teacher adopts a genuinely accepting, polite, respectful tone.





3. Scanning for Warning Indicators. During the class session, the teacher monitors the target student’s behavior for any behavioral indicators suggesting that the student is becoming frustrated or angry. Examples of behaviors that precede non-compliance or open defiance may include stopping work; muttering or complaining; becoming argumentative; interrupting others; leaving his or her seat; throwing objects, etc.).





4. Exercising Emotional Restraint. Whenever the student begins to display problematic behaviors, the teacher makes an active effort to remain calm. To actively monitor his or her emotional state, the teacher tracks physiological cues such as increased muscle tension and heart rate, as well as fear, annoyance, anger, or other negative emotions. The teacher also adopts calming or relaxation strategies that work for him or her in the face of provocative student behavior, such as taking a deep breath or counting to 10 before responding.





5. Using Defusing Tactics. If the student begins to escalate to non-compliant, defiant, or confrontational behavior (e.g., arguing, threatening, other intentional verbal interruptions), the teacher draws from a range of possible descalating strategies to defuse the situation. Such strategies can include private conversation with the student while maintaining a calm voice, open-ended questions, paraphrasing the student’s concerns, acknowledging the student’s emotions, etc.





6. Conducting a ‘Reconnection’ Conference. Soon after any in-class incident of student non-compliance, defiance, or confrontation, the teacher makes a point to meet with the student to discuss the behavioral incident, identify the triggers in the classroom environment that led to the problem, and brainstorm with the student to create a written plan to prevent the reoccurrence of such an incident. Throughout this conference, the teacher maintains a supportive, positive, polite, and respectful tone.




Team Activity: Defensive Behavior Management

At your table:

• Review the six-step Defensive Behavior Management approach described in this workshop.

• What are ideas that your group has for implementing each step of the approach effectively in busy high-school classrooms?



‘Extinguishing the Blaze’: Avoiding Power Struggles and Helping Students to Keep Their Cool




‘Extinguishing the Blaze’: Teacher Tips…

While you can never predict what behaviors your students might bring into your classroom, you will usually achieve the best outcomes by remaining calm, following pre-planned intervention strategies for misbehavior, and acting with consistency and fairness when intervening with or disciplining students.



‘Extinguishing the Blaze’: Selected Ideas…Allow the Student a 'Cool-Down' Break (Long, Morse, & Newman, 1980). Select a corner of the room (or area outside the classroom with adult supervision) where the target student can take a brief 'respite break' whenever he or she feels angry or upset. Be sure to make cool-down breaks available to all students in the classroom, to avoid singling out only those children with anger-control issues. Whenever a student becomes upset and defiant, offer to talk the situation over with that student once he or she has calmed down and then direct the student to the cool-down corner. (E.g., "Thomas, I want to talk with you about what is upsetting you, but first you need to calm down. Take five minutes in the cool-down corner and then come over to my desk so we can talk.")



‘Extinguishing the Blaze’: Selected Ideas…

Emphasize the Positive in Teacher Requests (Braithwaite, 2001). When an instructor's request has a positive 'spin', that teacher is less likely to trigger a power struggle and more likely to gain student compliance. Whenever possible, avoid using negative phrasing (e.g., "If you don't return to your seat, I can’t help you with your assignment"). Instead, restate requests in positive terms (e.g., "I will be over to help you on the assignment just as soon as you return to your seat").




Give Problem Students Frequent Positive Attention (Sprick, Borgmeier, & Nolet, 2002). Teachers should make an effort to give positive attention or praise to problem students at least three times more frequently than they reprimand them. The teacher gives the student the attention or praise during moments when that student is acting appropriately--and keeps track of how frequently they give positive attention and reprimands to the student. This heavy dosing of positive attention and praise can greatly improve the teacher’s relationship with problem students.




Have the Student Participate in Creating a Behavior Plan (Walker, Colvin, & Ramsey, 1995). Students can feel a greater sense of ownership when they are invited to contribute to their behavior management plan. Students also tend to know better than anyone else what triggers will set off their problem behaviors and what strategies they find most effective in calming themselves and avoiding conflicts or other behavioral problems.



‘Extinguishing the Blaze’: Selected Ideas…Proactively Interrupt the Student’s Anger Early in the Escalation Cycle (Long, Morse, & Newman, 1980; Walker, Colvin, & Ramsey, 1995). The teacher may be able to ‘interrupt’ a student’s escalating behaviors by redirecting that student's attention or temporarily removing the student from the setting. For low-level defiant or non-compliant behaviors, you might try engaging the student in a high-interest activity such as playing play an educational computer game or acting as a classroom helper. Or you may want to briefly remove the student from the room ('antiseptic bounce') to calm the student. For example, you might send the student to the main office on an errand, with the expectation that-by the time the child returns to the classroom-he or she will have calmed down.



Building Positive Relationships With Students




Avoiding the ‘Reprimand Trap’When working with students who display challenging behaviors, instructors can easily fall into the ‘reprimand trap’. In this sequence:

1. The student misbehaves.2. The teacher approaches the student to reprimand and

redirect. (But the teacher tends not to give the student attention for positive behaviors, such as paying attention and doing school work.)

3. As the misbehave-reprimand pattern becomes ingrained, both student and teacher experience a strained relationship and negative feelings.



Sample Ideas to Improve Relationships With Students: The Two-By-Ten Intervention (Mendler, 2000)

• Make a commitment to spend 2 minutes per day for 10 consecutive days in building a relationship with the student…by talking about topics of interest to the student.

Avoid discussing problems with the student’s behaviors or schoolwork during these times.




Sample Ideas to Improve Relationships With Students: The Three-to-One Intervention

(Sprick, Borgmeier, & Nolet, 2002)

• Give positive attention or praise to problem students at least three times more frequently than you reprimand them. Give the student the attention or praise during moments when that student is acting appropriately. Keep track of how frequently you give positive attention and reprimands to the student.




Secondary-Level Tier 1 Intervention: Case ExamplesJim Wrightwww.interventioncentral.org



Tier 1 Case Example: Tina: Test Preparation



Test Preparation: Case Study

• Mr. Salzer, a science teacher, was concerned that a student, Tina, was performing poorly on quizzes even though she seemed to have a good understanding of the material.

• He used the Academic Enabler Observational Checklist to analyze the student’s study skills and found that Tina needed help on two items, setting time aside to study for quizzes and having an efficient study strategy.

150



Test Preparation: Case Study• Mr. Salzer had Tina read through a collection of study-skills

recommendations on her own.• He then met with the student and helped Tina to identify

areas of time management and study skills that she would like to improve. Tina said that she was often tired when she studied after school and found much of the science content difficult to remember.

152



Study Skills/Test

Preparation: Case Study

153



Test Preparation: Case Study• Together, the teacher and student decided that Tina would use

these strategies in an attempt to improve her preparation for science quizzes:

Make a study schedule to avoid ‘time-drains’. Take advantage of peak energy levels.Make a point to regularly review previously learned material.Use visual ‘chaining’ to memorize content. Think of an object

to represent each word or term that you must commit to memory. Then construct a mental ‘chain’ that connects the objects in a short sequence.

154



Test Preparation: Case Study• For the first two weeks of the intervention, Mr. Salzer asked

Tina to keep a log of the dates and times that she studied for science. She agreed to do so.

• Mr. Salzer also used quiz grades to measure whether the intervention appeared to benefit the student.

155



Test Preparation: Case Study• After two weeks, her study log showed that Tina was setting

aside sufficient time to study and the student also share that she found her new study habits to be helpful.

• Mr. Salzer found that Tina’s quiz grades improved noticeably with her use of the self-selected study strategies. He also noted that she was participating more in class and seemed to have a better grasp of course material and concepts.

156



Tier 1 Case Example: Patricia: Reading Comprehension



Case Example: Reading ComprehensionThe Problem• A student, Patricia, struggled in her social studies class,

particularly in understanding the course readings. Her teacher, Ms. Cardamone, decided that the problem was significant enough that the student required some individualized support.

159



Case Example: Reading ComprehensionThe Evidence• Student Interview. Ms. Cardamone met with Patricia to ask her

questions about her difficulties with social studies content and assignments. Patricia said that when she reads the course text and other assigned readings, she doesn’t have difficulty with the vocabulary but often realizes after reading half a page that she hasn’t really understood what she has read. Sometimes she has to reread a page several times and that can be frustrating.

160



Case Example: Reading ComprehensionThe Evidence (Cont.)• Review of Records. Past teacher report card comments suggest that

Patricia has had difficulty with reading comprehension tasks in earlier grades. She had received help in middle school in the reading lab, although there was no record of what specific interventions were tried in that setting.

• Input from Other Teachers. Ms. Cardamone checked with other teachers who have Patricia in their classes. All expressed concern about Patricia’s reading comprehension skills. The English teacher noted that Patricia appears to have difficulty pulling the main idea from a passage, which limits her ability to extract key information from texts and to review that information for tests.

•

161



Case Example: Reading ComprehensionThe Intervention• Ms. Cardamone decided, based on the evidence collected, that

Patricia would benefit from training in identifying the main idea from a passage, rather than trying to retain all the information presented in the text. She selected two simple interventions: Question Generation and Text Lookback. She arranged to have Patricia meet with her during an open period to review these two strategies. During that meeting, Ms. Cardamone demonstrated how to use these strategies effectively with the social studies course text and other assigned readings.

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QuestionGeneration

Students are taught to boost their comprehension of expository passages by (1) locating the main idea or key ideas in the passage and (2) generating questions based on that information.

http://www.interventioncentral.org/htmdocs/interventions/rdngcompr/qgen.php



Text Lookback

Text lookback is a simple strategy that students can use to boost their recall of expository prose by identifying questions that require information from the text and then looking back in the text in a methodical manner to locate that information.

http://www.interventioncentral.org/htmdocs/interventions/rdngcompr/txtlkbk.php



Case Example: Reading ComprehensionDocumentation and Goal-Setting• Ms Cardamone filled out a Tier 1 intervention plan for the

student. On the plan, she listed interventions to be used, a checkup date (4 instructional weeks), and data to be used to assess student progress.

• Data: Ms. Cardamone decided that she would rate the student’s grasp of text content in two ways: – Student self-rating (1-3 scale; 1=don’t understand; 3 = understand

well)– Quiz grades.

• She collected baseline on both and set a goal for improvement.

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Case Example: Reading ComprehensionThe Outcome• When the intervention had been in place for 4 weeks, Ms.

Cardamone noted that Patricia appeared to have a somewhat better grasp of course content and expressed a greater understanding of material from the text.

• She shared her intervention ideas with other teachers working with Patricia. Because Patricia’s self-ratings of reading comprehension and quiz grades met the goals after 4 weeks, Ms. Cardamone decided to continue the intervention plan with the student without changes.

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Tier 1 Case Example: Justin: Non-Compliance



Case Example: Non-ComplianceThe Problem

• Justin showed a pattern from the start of the school year of not complying with teacher requests in his English class. His teacher, Mr. Steubin, noted that – when given a teacher directive—Justin would sometimes fail to comply. Justin would show no obvious signs of opposition but would sit passively or remain engaged in his current activity, as if ignoring the instructor.

When no task demands were made on him, Justin was typically a quiet and somewhat distant student but otherwise appeared to fit into the class and show appropriate behavior.

169



Case Example: Non-ComplianceThe Evidence• Student Interview. Mr. Steubin felt that he did not have a strong

relationship with the student, so he asked the counselor to talk with Justin about why he might be non-compliant in English class. Justin told the counselor that he was bored in the class and just didn’t like to write. When pressed by the counselor, Justin admitted that he could do the work in the class but chose not to.

• Direct Observation. Mr. Steubin noted that Justin was less likely to comply with writing assignments than other in-class tasks. The likelihood that Justin would be non-compliant tended to go up if Mr. Steubin pushed him to comply in the presence of Justin’s peers. The odds that Justin would comply also appeared to increase when Mr. Steubin stated his request and walked away, rather than continuing to ‘nag’ Justin to comply.

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Case Example: Non-ComplianceThe Evidence (Cont.)• Work Products. Mr. Steubin knew from the assignments that he did

receive from Justin that the student had adequate writing skills. However, Justin’s compositions tended to be short, and ideas were not always as fully developed as they could be—as Justin was doing the minimum to get by.

• Input from Other Teachers. Mr. Steubin checked with other teachers who had Justin in their classes. The Spanish teacher had similar problems in getting Justin to comply but the science teacher generally found Justin to be a compliant and pleasant student. She noted that Justin seemed to really like hands-on activities and that, when potentially non-compliant, he responded well to gentle humor.

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Case Example: Non-ComplianceThe Intervention• Mr. Steubin realized that he tended to focus most of his attention on

Justin’s non-compliance. So the student’s non compliance might be supported by teacher attention. OR the student’s compliant behaviors might be extinguished because Mr. Steubin did not pay attention to them.

• The teacher decided instead that Justin needed to have appropriate consequences for non-compliance, balanced with incentives to engage in learning tasks. Additionally, Mr. Steubin elected to give the student attention at times that were NOT linked to non-compliance.

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Case Example: Non-ComplianceThe Intervention (Cont.)• Appropriate Consequences for Non-Compliance. Mr. Steubin adopted a

new strategy to deal with Justin’s episodes of non-compliance. Mr. Steubin got agreement from Justin’s parents that the student could get access to privileges at home each day only if he had a good report from the teacher about complying with classroom requests.

Whenever the student failed to comply within a reasonable time (1 minute) to a teacher request, Mr. Steubin would approach Justin’s desk and quietly restate the request as a two-part ‘choice’ statement. He kept his verbal interactions brief and neutral in tone. As part of the ‘choice’ statement, the teacher told Justin that if he did not comply, his parents would be emailed a negative report. If Justin still did not comply, Mr. Steubin would follow through later that day in sending the report of non-compliance to the parents.

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Teacher Command Sequence: Two-Part Choice Statement

1. Make the request. Use simple, clear language that the student understands.

If possible, phrase the request as a positive (do) statement, rather than a negative (don’t) statement. (E.g., “Justin, please start your writing assignment now.”) Wait a reasonable time for the student to comply (e.g., 1 minute)




2. [If the student fails to comply] Repeat the request as a 2-part choice. Give the student two clear choices with clear consequences. Order the choices so that the student hears negative consequence as the first choice and the teacher request as the second choice. (E.g., “Justin, I can email your parents to say that you won’t do the class assignment or you can start the assignment now and not have a negative report go home. It’s your choice.”) Give the student a reasonable time to comply (e.g., 1 minute).




3. [If the student fails to comply] Impose the pre-selected negative consequence. As you impose the consequence, ignore student questions or complaints that appear intended to entangle you in a power struggle.



Case Example: Non-ComplianceThe Intervention (Cont.)• Active Student Engagement. Mr. Steubin reasoned that he could probably

better motivate the entire class by making sure that lessons were engaging.

He made an extra effort to build lessons around topics of high interest to students, built in cooperative learning opportunities to engage students, and moved the lesson along at a brisk pace. The teacher also made ‘real-world’ connections whenever he could between what was being taught in a lesson and ways that students could apply that knowledge or skill outside of school or in future situations.

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Case Example: Non-ComplianceThe Intervention (Cont.)• Teacher Attention (Non-Contingent). Mr. Steubin adopted the two-by-ten

intervention (A. Mendler, 2000) as a way to jumpstart a connection with Justin. The total time required for this strategy was 20 minutes across ten school days.

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Sample Ideas to Improve Relationships With Students: The Two-By-Ten Intervention (Mendler, 2000)

• Make a commitment to spend 2 minutes per day for 10 consecutive days in building a relationship with the student…by talking about topics of interest to the student.

Avoid discussing problems with the student’s behaviors or schoolwork during these times.




Sample Ideas to Improve Relationships With Students: The Three-to-One Intervention

(Sprick, Borgmeier, & Nolet, 2002)

• Give positive attention or praise to problem students at least three times more frequently than you reprimand them. Give the student the attention or praise during moments when that student is acting appropriately. Keep track of how frequently you give positive attention and reprimands to the student.




Case Example: Non-ComplianceThe Outcome• The strategies adopted by Mr. Steubin did not improve Justin’s level of

compliance right away. Once the teacher had gone through the full ten days of the ‘two by ten’ intervention, however, Mr. Steubin noticed that Justin made more eye contact with him and even joked occasionally. And the student’s rate of compliance then noticeably improved—but still had a way to go.

• Mr. Steubin kept in regular contact with Justin’s parents, who admitted about 8 days into the intervention that they were not as rigorous as they should be in preventing him from accessing privileges at home when he was non-compliant at school. When the teacher urged them to hold the line at home, they said that they would –and did. Justin’s behavior improved as a result, to the point where his level of compliance was typical for the range of students in Mr. Steubin’s class.

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response to intervention classroom strategies for helping the struggling high school student jim...

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