Introduction:

I decided to implement Lee Canter’s Assertive Discipline procedure, positive praise and recognition.  My students are between 3 and 4 years old.  I find that my students are usually very eager to please me and get very upset when I am disappointed, however, getting all 24 students on-task, quiet and attentive during circle time is very difficult.

Problem:
Circle time is the most structured part of our day.  It is the time of day when the most ‘teaching’ takes place.  It is also a very structured period of time.  The length of circle time varies, but usually lasts about thirty minutes.  Many students get antsy within the first ten minutes and start fidgeting.  These distractions can be very disruptive to me and to the other students who are paying attention.

Goal:
My main goal is to have the students become good listeners and active participants during circle time.  I understand that it can be tiresome for these students to sit for long periods of time.  Therefore, my short-term goal will be to have the students actively listening and participating for half of circle time or fifteen minutes.  Eventually, I would progress to the full thirty minutes.
Implementation:
Once circle time started, I began praising the children who were able to find their letters without help.  I would say things like, “Griffin, I’m so happy you found the big ‘X’ so quickly.”  I would continue saying similar things to the other students.  I would also tell students, “Thank you for trying”; even if they couldn’t find their letters.  Next, because sitting with their legs crisscrossed seems to be so difficult, I praised the students who were sitting nicely.  I would say things like, “I love the way Gaby is sitting,” or “Anna is sitting so nicely”.  I noticed that one particular student, Jackson, would fix the way he was sitting if he didn’t hear his name and then say, “Ms. Dana, I’m sitting nicely too.”  It was great to see he was listening and really wanted the recognition as well.  I continued to praise students throughout our circle time.  If one student did or said something that was disruptive, I would right away praise someone who was doing the right thing.  My assistant teachers were using nonverbal praise.  The ‘thumbs up’ works great at this age level.  If I was busy teaching and an assistant caught someone being good, they would give them a thumbs up.  I would often see the student then give a 'thumbs up' back at the teacher!

Outcome/Result:

Overall, the constant praising and encouraging worked well.  I was able to reach my goal of having my students sit quietly for fifteen minutes, with a few exceptions.  I think it will definitely take a few more tries before I start seeing the true effectiveness of this technique.

What happened?:
(Effective/ineffective?  What would I do in the future?)

I have continued to use this technique in other areas as well.  Now, it’s not enough that one teacher praises them when they are doing the right thing, my students want praise from all three of us!  In the future, I am going to try some tangible rewards in addition to the praise and recognition.  Stickers are great at this age and they love them.

Thanks Dana!
 
 

Author: Dana Mangieri
 

Introduction:
Jackson is a new student in our class.  Up until now he has been at home with his mother.  His mother admits catering to his every need.  If she saw that he was having trouble doing something, she took it upon herself to do it for him.  This included simple tasks, such as putting on a coat.  Jackson is not used to having to do things for himself.  In school, one of our objectives is teaching these children independence.  So, the simple task of putting a coat on proves to be a difficult one for Jackson

Problem:
We take the children outside two times a day, weather permitting.  Now that winter is here, the process of getting all 24 students ready becomes extremely tedious.  Therefore, it really saves a lot of time if the students are capable of dressing themselves for the cold weather.  The ‘coat flip’ is a simple way of allowing students to successfully put their coats on without the help of an adult.  Jackson has trouble putting his coat on and instead of trying, he immediately runs to an adult for help.

Goal:
My goal in this situation is to have Jackson successfully ‘flip’ his coat, putting it on all by himself.  He is expected to put his coat on twice a day.  For this experiment, one successful completion will be sufficient.  His “success” can be measured by looking to see if both arms are in their perspective places and the zipper or buttons are on the front side of his body, facing out.

Implementation:
I will use total chaining in implementing this technique.  If necessary, I will be standing next to Jackson offering assistance and prompting him through the sequence of ‘flipping’ his coat.

The Coat “Flip”
-Locate his coat from the hooks in the hall.
-Bring the coat inside the classroom.
-Lay the coat down on the floor.
-Make sure the zipper/buttons are facing up.
-Locate the top of the coat.
    (There is usually a tag at the top.  If there is no tag, suggest a hood if there is a hood.)
-Stand with the tips of your toes touching the top of the coat.
-Squat down.
-Place your arms out in front of you, palms facing down.
-Do not crisscross your arms.
-Slide one hand part way into the sleeve on the same side.
-Slide your other hand part way into the other empty sleeve.
-Leaving your hands inside the sleeves, slowly start to stand up.
-Raise your arms, with the coat, slowly in front of you.
-“Flip” the coat over your head.
-Slide your hands the rest of the way through the sleeves.

Outcome:
Jackson had no problem finding his coat and bringing it inside the classroom.  It was a little difficult for him to figure out where the ‘top’ of the coat was.  I had to point out the tag on the inside and show him where to stand.  Once he got past this part, he was able to ‘flip’ the coat on all by himself.  When we went outside for the second time that day, I watched Jackson trying to ‘flip’ his coat.  He was able to ‘flip’ it over his head, but it was upside down.  He had forgotten to make sure that his toes were touching the top of the coat.  He took his coat off and tried again, successfully ‘flipping’ his coat.

What happened?  (Effective/ineffective?  What might I try differently?)
I stayed with Jackson for the next few days to guide him through the steps.  By the end of the week, he was able to put his coat on without my assistance.  The next step will be to teach him how to zip his coat.  I will use task analysis to teach him the process of zipping his coat.  Before long, Jackson will be one of the first students ready to go outside instead of the last.

Thanks Dana!
 
 

Background
 As the end of each school day approaches, the students in my class are expected to pack up all of the items in their cubbies, and take these items home with them. Over the course of the day the cubbies become extremely full, with homework, assorted papers, notes for parents and whatever toys or playthings the students have accumulated. As the cubbies are visible from all parts of the classroom, I encourage the students to keep their cubbies as neat as possible. While most students comply with my request and take home the contents of their cubbies each day, there are two students, A and G, who routinely do not clean their cubbies. If I notice that their cubbies are still full, it is often as the class is exiting, so A and G are required to quickly pack up their belongings while the class waits, which makes a tricky end of the day transition even more difficult.

 I have tried several different tactics in getting A and G to bring home the contents of their cubbies every day. Most recently I tried an approach that involved giving the two students information about why it is important for them to bring home their papers and other belongings at the end of the day. While this approach did seem to make them realize the importance of cleaning out their cubbies, it had no effect on their tendency to forget to pack up until the very last second of the day. Therefore, the class was still in the position of waiting for these two students to remember their responsibilities, and pack up their belongings.

Goal
 In order to ensure that A and G’s belongings are sent home with them every day, I needed to utilize a plan that would remind these two students to pack up their belongings, yet would not be distracting or time consuming for the rest of the class. After learning about the “Short Statement” approach in class, I decided to use this technique in solving the problem of the cluttered cubbies.

Implementation
 I began to use the technique on a Monday afternoon. As we finished our last lesson of the day and the students began to prepare for dismissal, I said “A,G, cubbies!”. Both boys immediately looked at me, with rather blank expressions on their faces. I repeated “Cubbies!”, and they seemed to register the meaning of the word. They both went right to their cubbies and began to gather their belongings. Over the course of the week I continued to use this approach, generally only using the word “Cubbies” to remind the boys of their responsibility. On occasions when one or both of the boys seemed to be delaying the cleaning of a cubby, I changed my statement to “Cubbies, now!”, and the boy(s) got right to work.

Outcome
 This behavior intervention was extremely successful. By eliminating the wordy explanations that I was providing prior to this intervention, I was able to convey a message to the two involved students without losing their attention, or involving the rest of the class. Most importantly, giving a short statement reminder enabled me to continue paying attention to the rest of the class, while ensuring that A and G both did, in fact, clean their cubbies. With the short statement approach, both boys were more quickly able to clean their cubbies and join the rest of the class in waiting for dismissal.

Analysis
 I believe that this approach was so successful partly because of the behavior that I was trying to change. At no point did it seem that the boys were deliberately ignoring their responsibilities in cleaning their cubbies. Rather, the message had not been conveyed to them in a way that resulted in any permanent change in behavior. By giving short statements, the boys were reminded of the job at hand, and quickly went about doing this job.

 Having been so encouraged by the results of this behavior intervention, I have started to use the short statement technique in many different classroom situations. It seems to be a useful alternative to taking time out of the day to explain situations that can actually be addressed in one or two words. While I do still believe in the idea of providing information and describing the problem, I will continue, in the future, to also use the short statement approach in my teaching.

Thanks Katrina!

There is a boy named Marc that I work with at home.  Marc is a high-functioning autistic six year old boy.  When I arrive at his home he usually sees me and immediately runs away.   Getting Marc to sit down and work can be difficult.  He usually tries to touch everything, does not stay still, and sometimes during his programs may show some non-compliance.  Marc is very aware and related to the world around him.  Usually if he notices that I am upset enough with him, he will then start to behave.  By this time, so much time has been wasted that our session time is up.   I thought maybe if I tried “Catch’em being good” technique, maybe make more productive use of our time and save me a lot of headaches.

One day at Marc’s house, I walked in, Marc did his usual thing and ran into the bedroom.  I did not try to redirect him.  I just sat next to him on the floor.  He was playing with his toy trains.  I started playing with him.  Every time Marc would look at me I would praise him, I would say “Good looking Marc” or “That’s nice looking”.   At first he looked at me a little puzzled.  Then he started smiling, and I also noticed him looking at me more frequently.  I kept encouraging him while he was playing with the trains.  I would say things like, “Nice playing with Thomas Train”, and “Great building the track”.  Marc continued to respond positively to my positive praises.

I began to ask Marc some social questions and we worked on his sight words program.  He responded correctly, and I kept praising and encouraging his “great eye contact”, “nice listening”, and “great answering questions”.   I tried to keep the session as positive as I could encourage and praising every single thing he did.  Marc was definitely much happier to be working with me than I had ever seen him.  He kept smiling and laughing.  Marc then spontaneously said “Melissa helps me make number eight”.  He wanted me to help him make the figure eight with his train tracks.  I praised him for asking nicely.  It was the first time that I can remember Marc had ever asked me to take part in his playing.  I realized that I never really took the time to play and try to establish a relationship with him.  Usually I just come in and try to make him work.    When I asked Marc to sit at the table, he just got up and complied.   I was in shock.   The rest of the session went great.  He did try to touch materials on desks but I ignored it and was able to redirect him easily back to work.  I also continued to praise and encourage him every step of the way.

I think that the “ Catch’em being good” technique can work wonderfully.  It can certainly turn around a frustrating situation into a positive one.  I certainly do look forward to working with Marc more than ever.  He certainly feels the same now when I walk in his house Marc will no longer runaway.  He greets me at the door and says “Let’s play with train” or “Let’s read a book.  I have started implementing this technique with some of my other students and it really works.

Thanks Melissa!