Disruptive behavior in the classroom is one of the most difficult
situations for teachers and students to deal with. An important
component of the student support process is the development of positive
behavior plans for students who present behavioral challenges that
disrupt the class or isolate the student from peers. At least one
team member must have expertise in developing behavioral interventions
for students with behavioral or emotional challenges. We are assuming
that your team has a person with experience working with students
with behavioral challenges who can lead the team through the activities
required to develop a positive behavior plan. If your team does
not have a member with expertise in this area, add such a team member
before attempting to develop a behavior plan for a student. A poorly
constructed plan or a plan that is implemented inconsistently or
incorrectly can make the problem worse instead of better! The information
presented in the curriculum is not sufficient for a team without
such expertise to do an adequate job in this area.
All behavior is meaningful and serves to communicate needs. We
all use behaviors that meet our needs and stop using behaviors that
do not. Most students use hand raising, for example, to communicate
a need for attention. When waiting with hand up consistently gets
attention, students learn that hand raising meets their need for
attention. Some students learn that speaking out in class gains
them more attention than hand raising does. When their talking out
is attended to their need is met and they are likely to speak out
again. The more this happens the less time will be spent waiting
with hand up and the more time spent speaking out since
speaking out works and raised hand does not work as
well.
Our experience working with teams on addressing behavior issues
has taught us that it is helpful to categorize the needs that behavior
communicates into the following areas:
Attention: The behavior serves the need to draw attention
away from others and to oneself.
Avoidance/Escape: The behavior serves the need to end an
event or activity that the student does not like or to avoid an
event.
Control: The behavior serves the need to be in control of
events. Revenge: The behavior serves the need to punish others
for something that was done to the student.
Self-Regulation/Coping: The behavior serves the need to regulate
feelings (e.g., boredom, embarrassment, anger, fear, anxiety), or
energy levels.
Play: The behavior serves the need to have fun.
Inappropriate behaviors such as speaking out in class can serve
to communicate any of the needs listed above. For example, students
might speak out in class:
1. For teacher or peer attention;
2. To escape from or avoid an unpleasant situation (student knows
he will be asked to leave class for speaking out);
3. For revenge (student trying to disrupt the teachers class
to get back at the teacher for a real or imagined grievance);
4. As a self-regulation strategy (student speaks out because he
cannot wait for more than a few seconds or he becomes very anxious);
or
5. For play (it is fun to watch the teacher get upset).
Until we analyze the behavior and the situations in which it occurs,
we do not know the need the behavior communicates, but we do know
that it is communicating a need and it works for the student. The
Supportive Classroom curriculum includes a process, forms and procedures
for helping a team develop positive behavioral plans for students
who present challenging behaviors.
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