Problem Behavior in My Classroom: What Can I Do?

Behavior Support in Early Childhood

Lena StearnsIdaho AEYC 2015 Fall Conference 9/12/15

Introductions

Lena Stearns:

Clinical Supervisor, Ready-Set-Go Developmental Preschool: 29 years teaching preschoolers with autism and other developmental delays, working with preschool teachers on implementing positive behavior support within their classrooms, and teaching parents to appropriately support their child’s behavior.

Goals of Session

• Improved understanding of social emotional development at the early childhood level.

• Develop knowledge of the problems occurring when children have not learned appropriate social emotional skills.

• Learn how to implement a classroom positive behavior system and teach the social emotional skills necessary for your students to maintain appropriate behavior.

What is Social Emotional

Development?

My Definition

An increase in the ability to use a variety of skills necessary for success in interacting with others.

What skills do preschoolers need to be successful interacting with

others?

Essential Social Skills

• Getting along with others • Following directions• Identifying and regulating one’s emotions

and behavior• Thinking of appropriate solutions to conflict• Persisting on task • Engaging in social conversation and

cooperative play• Correctly interpreting other’s behavior

and emotions• Feeling good about oneself and others

www.challengingbehavior.org

What do children do when they don’thave each of these

skills?

How do adults generally react to

a child who displays these

behaviors?

Why do you believe problem

behaviors in preschool are an

issue?

Challenging Behavior in Young Children

Young children with challenging

behavior are more likely to experience

• Early and persistent peer rejection,

• Mostly punitive contacts with teachers,

• Family interaction patterns that are unpleasant

• School failure

(Center for Evidence-Based Practice: Young Children with Challenging Behavior, 2003)

Challenging behaviors during the preschool years constitute one of the strongest predictors of later, more serious problem behaviors including delinquency, aggression, antisocial behavior, and substance abuse.

(National Institute for Early Education Research)

The ability to regulate emotions in preschool and elementary school predicts classroom productivity and academic scores in literacy and math, even after controlling for IQ and family background.

http://nieer.org/resources/policyreports/report7.pdf;,2005

Kindergarten teachers say that about 20 percent of children entering kindergarten do not yet have the necessary social and emotional skills to be “ready” for school.

http://nieer.org/resources/policyreports/report7.pdf;2005

“Preschoolers were expelled at three times the rate of students in K-12 settings. Such a process, though, was rarely called "expulsion" by school personnel. Instead, families were often just told that a preschool was not the right fit and that they should look elsewhere.”

(Education Week, 33, 27;6)

Why Do Preschoolers Misbehave?

• Problem behavior is generally an attempt to communicate. It could be anything from “I’m sad”, “I’m bored”, or “I want some attention”.

• Problem behavior is what a child does when they don’t have the social or communication skills they need for more appropriate interactions.

• Behavior that continues over time is usually working for the child.

What Can I do?

Step #1: Prevention:

• Evidence based practices

• High quality supportive environment

• Nurturing and responsive environment – Consistent positive

acknowledgement/Classroom system– Precorrections

Definition of Praise

verb \ˈprāz\: express warm approval or admiration ofSynonyms: commend, express admiration for, applaud, pay tribute to, speak highly of, eulogize, compliment, congratulate, sing the praises of, rave about, go into raptures about, heap praise on, wax lyrical about, make much of, pat on the back, take one’s hat off to, lionize, admire, hail, ballyhoo; formal, laud. Antonyms: knock, pan, slam

Definition of Encourage

verb en·cour·age \in-ˈkər-ij, -ˈkə-rij, en-\: to make (someone) more determined, hopeful, or confident: to make (something) more appealing or more likely to happen: to make (someone) more likely to do something : to tell or advise (someone)to do somethingSynonyms:bear up, buck up, buoy (up), cheer (up), chirk (up), embolden, hearten, inspire, inspirit, steelAntonyms:daunt, discourage, dishearten, dispirit

Why Encourage Rather Than Praise

•Fosters continual growth and effort.•Does not create comparison or competition about who is smarter, prettier, faster, etc.•Fosters independence •Emphasizes effort, progress, and improvement rather than results.•Recognizes contribution rather than completion or quality over quantity.•Promotes perseverance rather than giving up •Allows children to learn about, rather than measure, themselves.•Prepares children for real-world challenges where they will be expected to do much more than show up to earn recognition.•Doesn't build false self-esteem; instead builds determination and confidence.

www.brighthorizons.com/family-resources

Praise EncourageYou look so beautiful! That’s a cool combination of

patterns you chose to wear today!

Great job! You really worked hard on that and it shows!

Wow, you’re smart! I can tell you’re working hard on reading because you can read more words!

What a pretty picture!.

You used a lot of different colors on your picture!

You’re the strongest kid I know! That was the first time you’ve made it across the monkey bars by yourself!

You are so organized! The way you organized the toy bins makes it easier to find everything!

I am so proud of you! You look so proud of yourself! You proved you can do it!

Principles of Using Encouragement

• Attend to appropriate behavior• Be descriptive• Be enthusiastic• Base on effort rather than

outcome

Remember, children know when you are not sincere.

Ensuring Positive Feedback

• Monitor adult behavior to ensure that we are using much more positive descriptive language than directions or corrections. (Should be at least 4:1).

• Create a classroom acknowledgement system.

Classroom Acknowledgement System

• Allows teachers to track how often they are acknowledging children’s appropriate behaviors.

• Provides a visual reminder of classroom expectations and class goals.

• Encourages teamwork.

• Goals do not need to be major, time consuming, or expensive. It just needs to be meaningful enough that the children will work toward it.

Important Aspects of an Acknowledgement

System

• Preparation of Materials

• Preparation of Reinforcers

• Preparation of Students

• Plans for fading

Acknowledgement Systems

Pre-corrections• Pre-corrections are procedures that

are used prior to an anticipated situation where students are likely to make learning or behavioral errors.

• Pre-corrections are designed to increase the likelihood that students perform the desired learning or behavioral response without making the anticipated error.

Muscott (2007)

To Use a Pre-correction

• Identify the Context and Predictable Problem Behavior

• Define Expected Behaviors• Conduct Behavior Rehearsals• Provide Strong Reinforcement

for Expected Behaviors• Prompt Expected Behaviors• Monitor the Plan/Fade Prompts

What Can I do?

Step #2: Teaching

• Direct Instruction

• Incidental Teaching

• Providing Supports for Appropriate Behavior

• Providing Consistent and Appropriate Consequences for Problem Behavior

Direct Instruction: Emotions

• Teach feeling words: both positive and negative

• Teach faces, body language, and tone of voice attached to feelings

• Teach, using examples, when each emotion may occur and how we can appropriately deal with it.

• Make it fun!

Ideas for Direct Instruction

Adult Modeling-Modeling with Puppets/Dolls-Photos-Children’s Acting-Songs-Fingerplays-Flannel Board Activities-Games- Children’s Literature-Social Stories-Art Projects-Plus...

http://challengingbehavior.fmhi.usf.edu/do/resources/teaching_tools/

Direct Instruction: Self-Calming

• Turtle Technique• Exercise, like running around, jumping up and

down• Counting to ten• Taking deep breaths• Going to a quiet place• Imagining a favorite place• Squeezing hands and arms, then releasing• Getting away from the person/people with whom

we're angry• "Putting your brakes on" – child holds or pushes

his hands together to keep them from hitting someone or breaking something.

http://challengingbehavior.fmhi.usf.edu/do/resources/teaching_tools/

Direct Instruction: Conflict Resolution

• What is the problem?

• What are our options?

• Choose an option

• Follow through

http://challengingbehavior.fmhi.usf.edu/do/resources/teaching_tools/

Possible Solutions

Get a Teacher-Ask Nicely-Ignore-Play-Say, “Please Stop.”-Say, “Please.”-Tell Them What You Would Like Them to Do-Share-Trade Toys/Item-Wait-Take Turns-Find Another One-What Else Would Work?

Stages of Learning

•Acquisition: Learning the selected new skill•Fluency: Using the selected skill faster or better•Maintenance: Using the selected skill routinely•Generalization: Using the selected skill in different places whenever it is needed

http://www.projectidealonline.org/v/teaching-appropriate-behavior/

Identifying Teachable Moments

Generalization Strategies BEFORE/DURING•Modifying Setting Factors

• Seating arrangements, location of materials, # of children or materials, supervision, etc.

•Proximity•Prompts/Cues

• Visual prompts can also be used to remind staff and students of specific routines/expectations

•Verbal FeedbackAFTER•Reinforcers•Review Often

“If a child doesn’t know how to read, we teach”

“If a child doesn’t know how to swim, we teach”

“If a child doesn’t know how to multiply, we teach”

“If a child doesn’t know how to drive, we teach”

“If a child doesn’t know how to behave, we……. teach?……….punish?”

“Why can’t we finish the last sentence as automatically as we do the others?”

(Tom Herner (NASDE President) Counterpoint, 1998, p. 2)

Consistent Consequences

• Decide in advance the consequences for broken rules

• Attend to the intent of behavior and assure the consequence does not match the intent

• Use natural consequences when possible

• State the consequences and give the rationale when you teach students the rules

• Follow through consistently (do not use “threats”)

Teaching Pyramid

Primary Prevention (Universal, Tier One)

All Children(~80%)

Secondary Prevention(Targeted, Tier Two)

Children At-Risk (~15%)

Children with persistent challenges

(~5%)

Tertiary Prevention(Intensive, Tier Three)

(Csefel.vanderbilt.edu)

Recap• The first and most important thing we can do to

reduce problem behavior in our classroom is to assure that our students are getting positive acknowledgement for appropriate behavior and are not gaining attention for inappropriate behaviors.

• Another way to prevent problem behaviors is to use pre-correction.

• We must directly teach children the skills necessary to replace their problem behavior and then work to generalize their use.

• Each child will move through several stages of learning before their new skills will be thoroughly known, so incidental teaching for generalization is key to success.

• Though consequences are the last thing to focus on (prevention and teaching come first), you must consistently apply consequences.

Questions or Comments?

Resources

• Center for Evidence-Based Practice: Young Children with Challenging Behavior• www.challengingbehavior.org.fmhi.us

f.edu/

• Center on the Social and Emotional Foundations for Early Learning• www.vanderbilt.edu/csefel

For Children with More Intense Needs

• Heineman, M., Childs, K., & Sergay, J. (2006). Parenting with positive behavior support. Baltimore, Maryland: Paul H. Brookes.

• Stormont, M., Lewis, T. J., Beckner, R., & Johnson, N. W. (2008). Implementing positive behavior support systems in early childhood and elementary settings. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.