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The Time-Out Process

Teaching preschoolers with disabilities, I've seen my fair share of negative and inappropriate behaviors. One of the behavioral interventions that I implement in my classroom is time-out. However, I don't use the term "time- out." I refer to my designated break area as "safe space." When I have students go to safe space, I am implementing inclusion time-out. This means, I am removing the student from the reinforcement area, but he/she is not being removed from the classroom setting. Despite the controversy and the theories that time-out "doesn't work," in my experience, this type of behavioral intervention has been beneficial and effective in my classroom. Sending students to a designated area to calm down has taught many of my students self-regulation skills. It has also taught my students that the classroom is a safe place for them, and they should feel comfortable to work through their feelings in the educational setting. Many teachers do no...
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Get to Know Your Students

Let's face it, not all of our students are engaging in appropriate classroom behaviors. Creating a safe a comfortable learning environment for students will decrease the likelihood for challenging behaviors. Consistency is also key. Being consistent in behavior management, classroom routine, and being clear about student expectations will increase positive behaviors in the classroom. However, there are circumstances in which no matter how consistent and comfortable your classroom is, inappropriate behaviors will continue to occur. In these cases, behaviors will require research-based behavioral interventions. Before implementing an intervention plan, the classroom teacher must take data and ask questions. What is the behavior? How often is the behavior occurring? What is happening before and after the behavior? Is the student being held accountable for behavior? It is also crucial that all members of the problem-solving team make an effort to get to know the student as an individua...
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There's Always a Reason

It is essential that educators investigate the reasons for challenging behavior in the classroom. Without knowing the underlying reason, it will be difficult for the team to come up with appropriate interventions. In order to determine why a student is engaging in challenging behavior, there are questions that educators can ask themselves in order to help them assess the cause for the behavior. These questions include:  1. Is this a skill problem?  2. Is this a motivational issue? 3. Is does the student's accountability system look like? 4. Is the problem situational?  One should not underestimate the power of consistency. In order for a classroom to run successfully, consistency is key. Along with time management and pre-planning. It is also important to remember that dealing with challenging behaviors and deciding what behavioral interventions to implement is a team effort. Team members should discuss data and have a formal plan in place before the intervention is imple...
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RtI2 Systems

Response to instruction and intervention is extremely important in the fact that it is a process in which students are assisted that may be falling behind in the general education classroom. This is a frequent occurrence, and is something that schools need to be prepared for. Most school districts follow a two tiered approach when it come to problem-solving and implementing RtI services for students. In order for students to be successful, there needs to be effective collaboration and planning by a dedicated problem-solving team, proper evaluations of student skills, organized data collection, and the use of data-based interventions. It is essential that the team be made up of a variety of professionals from different backgrounds of study. For example: teachers, school psychologists, behavior intervention specialists, administrators, and parents. All of these members will have something unique and valuable to offer to the team based upon their knowledge, personal experiences, and areas...
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