Boys Will Be Boys: Thinking Differently About How to Educate Boys in Grade School

Katheryn Rivas, a writer from our friends at online universities blog, submitted this post on early childhood behavior. These classroom management strategies help us understand and work with elementary boys of all ages. I hope you enjoy!

Boys will be boys. So the saying goes — and yet, so many boys in schools all around the country are being punished for being just that: boys. Aggressive, physical, and energetic behavior in school-aged boys has long been a hotly contested topic among child psychologists, teachers, and academics. According to the National Center for Educational Statistics, boys

• are 30% more likely than girls to fail or drop out of the education system
• are up to five times more likely than girls to be diagnosed with ADHD
• under-perform against girls in academics, all the way to graduate school

Schools today increasingly mete out strict consequences for unruly, distractible, and impulsive boys, but are they responding to boys with counter-productive methods? Developmentally, boys are not as mature in grade school as girls, especially in verbal and fine motor capacities. The elementary classroom curriculum is sometimes at least 80% language-based, which puts average boys at a severe disadvantage and worse, doesn't give them the opportunity to become fluent or to practice the language in a safe environment before they are frustrated by expectations that are too high.

Furthermore, with many schools paring down or in some cases completely eliminating recess periods, boys — who learn more quickly by physically playing and socializing — are stifled and stunted by being constricted to the classroom. Joseph Tobin, PhD, a professor of early childhood education, remarks, "The most tiring thing you can ask a boy to do is sit down. It's appropriate to expect for kids to sit still for part of the day, but not all of the day."

The combination of boys' naturally defiant rambunctiousness and schools' intolerance of such behavior often worsens the tendency boys have to act out. Stricter punishments lead to louder resistance. The cycle is unlikely to end unless teachers are prepared to modify their strategies to accommodate their boy students. Here are some ways to compensate for a boy's playfulness and assertiveness in the classroom to both help foster a healthy and positive relationship with learning as well as handle their behavior without snuffing out their spirit:

1. Encourage play. Include as much physical activity for boys as you can in your curriculum, both indoors and out. Children learn by playing, and will expend energy that will otherwise go to aggressiveness or unruliness.
2. Tailor lessons to boys' needs. Balance out your lesson plans with activities that will appeal to boys, such as building things, to keep them engaged and to optimize their learning. Touching, moving, climbing—anything that involves use of their bodies and is "hands-on" will help them learn more effectively.
3. Let them choose reading material. So often schools want students to read material that is not only uninteresting, but that actively bores them. Of course, school shouldn't always cater to the wants of the students, but they (especially boys) will be much more motivated to read independently if they are able to read or write about things that interest them.

Remembering that boys and girls develop differently is a critical part of knowing how to best educate them. Sometimes bad behavior in the classroom is not the result of an overly energetic boy, but an education system that doesn't support a boy's natural growth and tries to shape boys into something other than what they are: boys.

About the Author

This guest post is contributed by Katheryn Rivas, who writes for online universities blog. She welcomes your comments at her email Id: katherynrivas87@gmail.com.

Managing Behavior with Trust: An Assistant Principal Weighs In

Here's a 3-step process and one highly successful assistant principal's experience in helping students resolve their own behavior issues. Curtis Nightingale, assistant principal at Pratt High School in Pratt, Kansas, returns to the School Improvement blog to weigh in on issues faced by administrators and teachers alike. 

I believe the key to handling discipline, i.e. “classroom management,” is all about people skills. Conflict will happen—that is something we cannot control. But how we approach that conflict—that, we can control. Refusing to take it personal and making your students your allies rather than your opponents is the place to start.

Moment Management

photo courtesy of www.bannockcounty.us

If you will approach difficult moments (those moments where you as an educator feel challenged by a student) in very much the same way you approach teachable moments (when things don’t go as planned, yet a good educator will find a way to make even that event a learning experience) you can begin to see them more as a positive challenge rather than a negative one.

Helping them to break down the conflict in terms they can understand and the ability to see the other side is key to moment management. Many teachers do this through norm setting exercises, tribal councils, etc. The principle is the same. Helping them to recognize the roles in the room--the staff’s and theirs--can help them better understand the conflict. In other words, basic citizenship.

Building Relationships on Trust

I will admit, I rarely had discipline issues in my class. In fact, I am not sure I ever sent a student to the office—short of a fight in the hallway, of course. Now, that may be due to the fact that at 6’2” and 245 pounds I had a “calming effect” on my students, but I like to believe it had more to do with the relationship I developed with them.

I attempted to foster a “we” atmosphere in my room. “We” were going to attack the subject at hand and “we” were going to figure it out. At times I may have pretended not to know the answers, and quite frankly there were times I did not have to pretend, but I was attempting to foster a trench mentality…us against the world, the computers, the textbook, the test…you get the idea.

Many of my potential discipline issues were solved within the first few weeks of school just through the development of an actual relationship with my students. Through our give and take they didn’t want to let me down, thus there was never an issue of disrespect, defiance, or refusal to do what I asked. Did I have kids that failed my class? Yes. Did I have kids who served detentions for me? You bet. Did kids get mad at me? I am sure they did, but I also had to bar kids from eating lunch in my room with me…some of those same kids! I am a firm believer that there are days where the only positive adult contact some of our kids will have is that contact they have with us educators. Sad, yes; sobering, even more so.

How I Help Students Get Over It

As an assistant principal, I will get kids in my office for various defiance issues, and these are the steps I would follow:

1. I always ask them their side first. I validate their viewpoint and then ask them what they believe he teacher’s issues to be.
2. I may then read them the teacher’s comments and we then begin discussing the issue as if they are watching another student involved in the same situation. As we talk through it, I take away emotion, I take away personal viewpoint because of course we can’t know what a stranger is thinking or feeling. As we move through the exercise, they begin to recognize how the teacher/sub/staff member saw their behavior.
3. We then look at the policy and I quote them the worst-case scenario consequence. I ask them how they would apply this to our subject in question.

The next time I deal with this student, the exercise is much more concise, because I have built both trust and a relationship already. And I have done this with one visit of most often less than 5 – 10 minutes. As a teacher I had them for 85 minutes every other day, all year/semester long.

If handled appropriately, imagine the relationship that could be developed with that amount of time!

Tier Two Supports: Interventions for At-Risk Students

Emaley McCulloch from Autism Training Solutions will be giving a free webinar on February 29 as part of the monthly free PD theme here at School Improvement Network. Emaley is writing a few blog posts to help you understand her webinar topic, Positive Behavior Intervention and Supports. 

And here's a hint for ya--it's not just for children with autism, and it's essential for classroom management. Enjoy!

image courtesy of fabianramirez.com

Do you usually have students in your class that need that extra nudge, reminder or encouragement? You know, those students that you usually put right in from of your desk so you can keep a good eye on them? These students often fall into the category of tier two on the Positive Behavior Intervention and Supports (PBIS) continuum.

As you may recall, the continuum of positive behavior supports has three tiers. PBIS expects 90% of students to respond effectively to tier-three interventions but about 10-15% of students will fall into an at-risk category that may need additional support and intervention. So if you have a class of 20 students, two or three of your students may need tier-two interventions. These interventions are often delivered in small groups (e.g. group speech sessions, small group reading instruction, ESL groups, social skills groups etc.).  The purpose of tier- two interventions is to be proactive and to prevent the student from falling further behind his peers academically, behaviorally and socially. 

Here are some evidenced-based tier-two interventions.

Cuing and Group Social Skills Instruction

Students who have difficulty learning in a group setting (e.g. students who talk out of turn, don’t pay attention, disrupt others) can work on appropriate classroom behaviors in a small group. The small group sessions focus on enhancing listening skills and impulse control. The student’s goals are clearly given and stated in positive terms (e.g. raise your hand to talk). The teacher uses a cueing procedure that requires the group to self evaluate their progress on reaching the goals. Students receive positive reinforcement for performing identified behavior.

Behavior Education Program

The Behavior Education Program (BEP) is a behavioral intervention for at risk students that requires that they monitor their behaviors by doing a daily check-in, checkout systems. Students attend daily meetings with an adult before and after school to review goals and monitor their progress. Students are also required to check-in with teachers immediately after class to receive immediate feedback and a daily performance report from the teacher. The report is sent home for the parent to sign and the student receives positive reinforcement for appropriate social skills.

BEP Overview:
http://www.nhcebis.seresc.net/document/filename/61/NHBEPTraining.Hawken.pdf

BEP Forms:
http://www.nhcebis.seresc.net/behavior_education_program(bep)

Practical Functional Behavior Assessments (FBA)

The primary goal of an FBA is to guide the development of effective positive interventions based on the functions of behavior (e.g. escape, attention, access to items, access to self stimulation) (Horner, 1994) Interventions based on the FBA result in significant change in student behavior (Carr et al.., 1999; Ingram, Lewis-Palmer, & Sugai, 2005) Practical FBAs involve simple and realistic team-driven assessment and intervention strategies. Trained school-based personnel can do it.
The steps of a Practical FBA are:

• Identify that an FBA needs to be done
• Make an observable and measurable definition of the problem behavior
• Gather information on the behavior
• Prioritize what behavior needs attention first
• Collect data on the antecedents and consequences of the problem behavior in several environments
• Make a functional hypothesis of what the function(s) is/are, the triggers and what is supporting the behavior.
• Last BUT NOT LEAST, create a plan that utilizes proactive procedures, teaches replacement behavior and outlines how everyone will respond to the behavior.

Here is a video about an FBA and what steps it takes to do one.

http://www.autismtrainingsolutions.com/fba-toolkit-excercise-1

Here is an FBA Toolkit
http://www.autismtrainingsolutions.com/content/fba-tool-kit

Learn more about positive behavior intervention and supports (PBIS) at Emaley's free webinar on February 29!

The Continuum of Positive Behavior Intervention and Support: Tier One Supports

Emaley McCulloch from Autism Training Solutions will be giving a free webinar on February 29 as part of the monthly free PD theme here at School Improvement Network. Emaley is writing a few blog posts to help you understand her webinar topic, Positive Behavior Intervention and Supports. 

And here's a hint for ya--it's not just for children with autism, and it's essential for classroom management. Enjoy!

The Continuum of Positive Behavior Intervention and Support: Tier One Supports

PBIS is organized into a continuum in which students receive levels of support based on their social and behavioral responsiveness to intervention. Not all students will respond the way we may want or expect them to when using school wide or classroom management strategies. Additional interventions and supports may need to be in place for some individuals.  For example, the ability to earn a star on a chart may not be sufficient reinforcement for Emily to finish or remember her homework. She may need a more individualized incentive program.

A three-tiered prevention logic lends the flexibility to provide broad interventions for most students, provide additional supports for some and, intensive and highly individualized supports for few. PBIS is related to Response to Intervention (RtI) in this way.  Literacy and numeracy implementation frameworks are examples of the application of RtI for academic behavior, and PBIS is an example of the application of RtI for social behavior (PBIS Center, 2009).

PBIS is about improving classroom and school climate by making it positive, strengths focused and maximizing academic achievement by nurturing behaviors that support learning. 

What are some PBIS Practices that work for most students?

1. Make behavioral expectations for school and classroom positive and clear. (e.g., Say, “Clean up after yourself” instead of “Don’t leave your trash around”)
2. Defining and teaching classroom routines (e.g., establish a signal, such as an auditory cue, for obtaining class attention)
3. Establish self-management routines (e.g., time to fill out a checklist of work tasks to complete)
4. Establish a positive environment (e.g., catch them being good! Five positive comments for every correction)
5. Create a functional, physical layout in the classroom (e.g., classroom activities have locations, teacher has clear view of whole class, traffic patterns/transitions are established)
6. Maximize engagement (e.g., opportunities for student responses 0.5/min)
7. Promote success (e.g., adaptations available to match students ability)
8. Utilize hierarchy of responses to problem behavior (e.g., have specific behavior assessments and plans for individuals whose behavior impedes their learning or the learning of others)
9. Use various modes of instruction
10. Ensure systems are available for educators to request behavioral assistance

A.W. Todd , Rob Horner, George Sugai, University of Oregon May 2004

To what degree is your school implementing Positive Behavior Intervention and Supports (PBIS)?

Emaley McCulloch from Autism Training Solutions will be giving a free webinar on February 29 as part of the monthly free PD theme here at School Improvement Network. Emaley is writing a few blog posts to help you understand her webinar topic, Positive Behavior Intervention and Supports. 

And here's a hint for ya--it's not just for children with autism, and it's essential for classroom management. Enjoy!

The word Positive in Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports (PBIS) encapsulates the whole purpose and aim of PBIS in schools.

Past behavior management models lacked effectiveness because they were –

·    Reactive

·    Focused on punishment

·    Poorly implemented

Through PBIS, team members can take a proactive approach. They can reduce problem behaviors by making pro-social and pro-learning behaviors easy and rewarding for both teachers and students. Thus, teaching positive behavior as relentlessly as we teach reading or other academic content is the ultimate act of prevention, promise, and power underlying PBIS (Algozzine, Wang & Violette, 2011).

Although PBIS is an evidenced-based intervention, it is not a curriculum. PBIS is a framework for ensuring that all students have access to the most effective and accurately implemented instructional and behavior package possible.

The framework consists of three elements to achieve these outcomes:

1. Supporting staff behavior through school-wide systems
2. Supporting student behavior through evidence-based practices and
3. Supporting decision making through data

Framework of PBIS

Systems

The systems that are important in supporting the implementation of PBIS are:

·           Universal screening and assessment (http://www.apbs.org/Archives/Conferences/sixthconference/files/E4%20Breen%20et%20al.pdf, http://www.apbs.org/files/fbapractice.pdf)

·           Commitment to staff training in evidenced-based interventions (http://www.autismtrainingsolutions.com/autism-training-school-benefits)

·           Team-based collaboration (http://www.apbs.org/files/teamingpractice.pdf)

·           Fidelity measures (http://www.apbs.org/Archives/Conferences/8thconference/files/E8-Kelk11.pdf )

·           Progress monitoring (http://www.behaviortrackerpro.com/ )

·           Data-based decisions (http://apbs.org/Archives/Conferences/fourthconference/Files/Riffel_L_no1.pdf )

Evidenced-Based Practices

The practices that are important for supporting the implementation of PBIS are:

·           Functional Behavior Assessment (http://www.autismtrainingsolutions.com/content/fba-tool-kit )

·           Positive Behavior Support Planning (use of reinforcement and teaching meaningful replacement behaviors)

·           Using research-based teaching procedures and curriculum (http://www.nationalautismcenter.org)

·            Establish working conditions that support and promote strengths and talents of staff (http://www.apbs.org/files/systemschange.pdf )

·           Implement practices such as coaching, co-teaching, mentoring and self-assessment to measure fidelity of implementation (http://www.apbs.org/Archives/Conferences/seventhconference/files/F7_Basu.pdf )

Data-Based Decisions

The data that are important for supporting the implementation of PBIS are:

·           Academic assessments and progress monitoring

·           Operational defined behavior is measured over time in multiple settings

·           Quality of life measures (http://www.beachcenter.org/resource_library/beach_resource_detail_page.aspx?intResourceID=2481&Type=Tool )

What stage in the implementation process of PBIS are you in?

Here is a full  step-by-step guide to implementing PBIS in your school

http://www.osepideasthatwork.org/toolkit/pdf/SchoolwideBehaviorSupport.pdf