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 implemented. This will ensure that all team members are on the same page as far as the behavior they are trying to change, how/when the intervention will be used, and how often. When all team members have been involved in the planning process and have written the plan together, the intervention is more likely to be carried out consistently.

Hamlett, Tiffany. (Course Lecturer). (2020). Primary Reasons for Challenging Student Behavior: Module 2. American College of Education. Retrieved from http://ace.edu


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