Taking a Proactive Approach

 A designed intervention will not be effective if teachers on the same teaching team are inconsistent in its implementation. The student in question will not be receiving the proper instruction or support which will allow the misbehavior to continue. To prevent further damage to the plan, it would be best if the teachers all meet to discuss the steps of the plan and how best they can each reinforce it. Perhaps one or both of the teachers feel that they do not have the correct tools to implement the steps correctly, so training would be required. The team designing the intervention plan needs to know all the steps and must be sure that everyone involved understands what is expected of them in order for the plan to be effective. Taking the time to check for understanding before rolling out the plan, would be a proactive step in the process. Lack of communication is often the cause of the inconsistency.

Parental involvement in the development and implementation of intervention plans for challenging students is incredibly important to maintain communication and consistency between school and home. If parents are given the opportunity to help design a plan for their child then they are more likely to commit to that plan at home. “When practitioners listen to parents and show genuine concern, parents and practitioners can begin to build a trusting relationship”(Park, Alber-Morgan, & Fleming, 2011, p. 22). With this relationship established and getting to know them and their unique family, the school learns what may or may not work for that child, which is necessary in designing an effective plan. The parents are now accountable to the whole team at school who are also committed to following the intervention plan. As we know, if a plan is followed with fidelity, it is more likely to be effective.

Collaboration between school, home, and community-based professionals is vital when discussing the plan or devising a plan for a student. As discussed before, communication and consistency are key to making a plan as effective as possible. Having a relationship of trust with every party involved with the student allows for the most information of all parts of the students’ life. With this knowledge, a team can create a plan to best fit the needs of that student. Any adults outside of the school may not know what the day to day life holds for the student within the school and vice versa. Having frequent meetings with all the professionals involved will keep the communication open, maintain correct and consistent practices and allow for conversations should a change be required. Keeping a proactive approach will more likely lead to positive results. 

References

Park, J., Alber-Morgan, S. R., & Fleming, C. (2011, Jan/Feb). Collaborating with parents to implement behavioral interventions for children with challenging behaviors. Teaching Exceptional Children, 43(3), 22-30. Retrieved from https://go.openathens.net/redirector/ace.edu/login?url=https://search.proquest.com/docview/846788053?accountid=31683

Assessing Factors That Influence Behaviors

 Incentives can be useful tools for reinforcing and encouraging appropriate behavior in class, if they are done correctly. What is a meaningful prize to one student may not be for another, so making sure to know the interests of your students is important to developing the most effective incentives plan for your class. In my classroom we have several types of rewards systems in place. After the first month or so, the honeymoon is over and that is when I introduce the incentives. After getting to know the class, with their likes and dislikes, I am able to tailor the rewards to fit what I know will drive their motivation. This is a discussion that we have as a whole class when reviewing the rules and expectations. They all understand what is expected and what they can individually earn if they meet those objectives.

It would be great if they stayed eager to please all year long, and for some of them, that is the case. However, many of them need those incentives as a reminder and motivation to display the appropriate behavior. The incentives, whether they are praise, stickers on their card, or something tangible like a prize, are plentiful at the beginning of the school year and taper off as the months pass. As they mature and learn to better use their social, emotional, and behavioral skills, I make the incentives a bit harder to reach as a reminder to them that they do not need to get a prize for every positive act. This also allows us to change up the incentives plans for the rest of the school year (Hamlett, 2018). Even when I have identified the most motivating incentive for a specific student, it may not always work. In this case, I believe that a consequence is the most appropriate route to take as the rules have already been set, incentives are desirable and available, but the student is still not meeting the behavior expectations. Just like the incentives, the consequence should be meaningful to each student, for example, missing a desired activity or losing time for free choice, chromebooks, etc. 

The peer group, even at this young age, is highly influential. When thought out carefully and used correctly, teachers can use peers as a positive role model for students who are not showing appropriate behaviors. When implementing a behavior plan and the peers are reinforcing inappropriate behaviors, I provide individual and group incentives for the peers who show positive behaviors. Some students may have a specific goal in their behavior plan about staying on task and having that peer group around can help them be successful in meeting their goals if they are motivated to do so. I give verbal praise for the peers who are encouraging the student to stay on task and allow the group as a whole to earn crystals in their jar for overall group behavior. When their jar is filled, the group can earn a tangible reward from the prize box. When the peers are encouraged and rewarded for their positive behavior, it prompts the student to engage in the same positive behaviors. This type of team building activity helps the students to “support each other, develop boundaries, and establish ground rules within their peer relationships” (Hamlett, 2018, p. 1). Providing these opportunities for peer engagement improves their self-confidence and practice of appropriate social skills. 

References

Hamlett, T. (2018). Module 4: Incentives, Peers, and the Educative Time-Out Process Part 1 Transcript: Incentives [Lecture notes]. Retrieved from http://www.ace.edu

Hamlett, T. (2018). Module 4: Incentives, Peers, and the Educative Time-Out Process Part 2 Transcript: Peer Support [Lecture notes]. Retrieved from http://www.ace.edu

Creating an Incentives Program

In order to have a successful incentives program, we need to have a few things in place:

·     Clear, defined expectations

·     Meaningful, student-driven incentives

·     Visuals of the expectations and incentives

·     Teachers/Aides on the same page

·     Consistent and frequent distribution of incentives

·     Parents help reinforce at school and home

“When involved in the design of the system, students are more likely to accept and work within it” (Hamlett, 2018). We know that students work best when they are motivated and have had some say in the process so something as simple as having meaningful incentives for the varying age and interest levels should be something that is high on the priority list when discussing and effective incentives program. All these in place as well as regular meetings for faculty and staff will help us stay on path with our behavior expectations. Our strategies need to be “grounded in defined goals with agreement about sources of data that will be used to monitor progress.” (Wahlstrom & York-Barr, 2019, p. 25). Our focus is to be proactive rather than reactive, consistent and positive, to have an effective incentives program.

References

Hamlett, T. [Course Lecturer]. (2018). Module 1: The Positive Behavioral Support Classroom Part 2 Transcript: The Positive Behavior Interventions and Support Classroom [Video file]. Retrieved from http://ace.edu

Wahlstrom, K. L., & York-Barr, J. (2019, August). Leadership: Support and Structure makes the difference for educators and students. Journal of Staff Development, 32(4), 22-32.