Critical Response Journal

A consistent approach to behaviour helps pupils learn right from wrong and to appreciate that rules exist for the good of everyone.

McKevitt, B. C., & Braaksma, A. D. (2008). Best practices in developing a positive behavior support system at the school level. In A. Thomas & J. Grimes (Eds.), Best practices in school psychology (5th ed., pp. 735–747). Bethesda, MD: National Association of School Psychologists.

In this essay, we will identify and describe the seven goals for teaching appropriate social skills. First, helping children develop empathy and to learn to be generous, altruistic, and able to share equipment, experiences, and people with other children. Furthermore, helping children learn that being kind to others feels good and teaching children that everyone has rights and these rights are to be respected by all. While also emphasizing the value of cooperation and compassion rather than stressing competition and winning. Finally, helping children discover the pleasures of friendship and helping children with special needs fit into the life of the group.

Welcome parents and student to Franklin County Elementary. Our superintendent of education has recently decided to implement a school wide positive behavior support. This approach to discipline includes school-wide, targeted, and individualized strategies for achieving social and learning outcomes while preventing problem behavior with all students. It involves modifying our processes and procedures to help decrease problem behaviors. You will see that we have added reminders throughout the school (in the classrooms, hallways, lunchroom, bathrooms, etc.) as a friendly reminder of the rules to encourage good behavior. Our goal is to get more remarks for positive behavior than incident reports for negative behavior every week. The remainder of this paper will outline our School Wide Positive Behavior Support, explaining behavior expectations, rewards, error correction procedures, and data collection procedures.

Response to Intervention (RTI) is a “multi-tier approach to the early identification and support of students with learning and behavior needs” (What is RTI?, http://www.rtinetwork.org /learn/what/whatisrti). RTI generally involves three tiers of increasing intensities of intervention that is designed to help meet students’ needs and to monitor their progress. According to Nelson (2010), RTI has two main purposes, prevention and identification. The aim is to avoid learning failure in children and to identify children who need extra support or services. Response to Intervention is based on individual need and ability. It can be used in general education and it can be used to help determine if special education is needed. The ultimate goals are

The first critical response journal entry for Contemporary Issues in Special Education involves personal insights and reflection on the first two chapters of the text which explore monitoring and teaching for understanding and approaches to learning and teaching.

When thinking of a plan for handling problem behaviors, it is easier to first state the three pro-active tactics for decreasing the probability that the problem behavior will occur. The first pro-active strategy that I will most likely use is the “Tennis Shoe Method.” The Tennis Shoe Method is where the teacher figuratively puts on his or her tennis shoes and walks around the classroom during class. This is also sometimes called proximity control. The second pro-active strategy that I will use is to create appropriate and relevant lessons that students will engage in. With this, it will raise the on task behavior of students, causing less of a chance of them becoming off task, which causes problem behaviors. The third pro-active strategy that I will use is to design a classroom that supports learning outcomes for

In the article “Strategies for Increasing Positive Social Interactions in Children with Autism: A Case Study” shows intervention strategies that can help improve social skills. Use of case study approach; Assessment issues; Individualized education program (IEP); Instruction strategies; Importance of integrated and collaborative effort among group members. This seemed to look at how students interact with one another and what strategies could be used to teach them how to better work with others within a classroom setting. They stressed how important it was to incorporate into the curriculum but also for the teacher to implement it in a way that is beneficial for the student (gave an example of a chart with different strategies the team came

First teachers have to establish a classroom environment that shows they have modeled caring, fairness, respect and enthusiasm for learning and promotes a climate of trust and teamwork in their classroom. Another way teachers can nurture positive socio-emotional development is giving learners responsibilities and allow to accountable for their learning. Cooperative learning is a great way for the learner to show responsibility and be accountable. The teachers have to continually engage students in collaborative and self-directed learning environment where their students are encouraged to take risks and ownership of their own learning behavior. Teachers can also nurture positive socio-emotional development in gifted learners by teaching and reinforcing empathy. The teacher can teach empathy by providing a character education curriculum that is academically challenging and relevant. This will allow learners to engage in conversations, actively participate in conflict resolution and promote behavior such as kindness, honesty and good

 On a piece of lined paper, respond to the prompt: “Most people identify themselves by what they do- athlete, scholar, entrepreneur, accountant, doctor, waiter, etc. Does your vocation (career)- a regular occupation, especially one for which a person is particularly suited or qualified- define you? Is that who you are? How do you decide who you are?”

Educators can model appropriate social skills and assist children with their prosocial skills behaviour and assist problem-solving and help develop the ability to express themselves

The strategies for promoting prosocial skills to young children that I can relate to the most are: modelling prosocial behavior, explaining why limits are set, giving choices and guidance approaches. I have witnessed these strategies work in the classrooms I have been observing. As I read these strategies I could clearly recall examples for each of them. Children model their adults, seeing prosocial behavior by an adult will automatically

If social skills were to be a real subject most children would struggle (Lawson). They would have difficulties because it would be their hardest subject. Gaining social skills isn’t the easiest skill to have especially for children who are shy and quiet. Social skills are skills that children acquire along their way up. It is important that children build friendships with their peers so that they will enjoy and look forward to going to school. There are a variety of students that may have social skills difficulties. For example, “children who have attentional problems, children with memory problems, children with language and communication difficulties, and children with autism” have social skill difficulties (Lawson). Some children differ broadly on how well they are able to build relationships and obtain peer acceptance. Those are the ones that are considered to be popular and also the leaders at school. They are very much “self-confident and influential”

Why is teaching Social Communication important? Social Communication is the basis of how we as human beings interact with each other. Without social skills, the ability to build relationships with others would not exist. School is a social outlet for children and struggling to socialize in school can have an impact on a child’s academic success in the classroom. (Ostmeyer and Scarpa, 2012). Some of the skills that teachers find essential are listening to others, following steps, staying calm, taking responsibility for one’s behavior and doing nice things for others. To others, these skills may seem basic, but to children with social deficits, these skills could be a continuous obstacle. “Thus, an environment that necessitates social communication as a method of learning could lead to academic underperformance” (Ostmeyer, Scarpa, 2012, pp. 933). Social communication is relevant to every aspect of life, it affects student’s relationships and can make it difficult for them to understand the world around them. What can schools do to develop and/or implement programs to help lessen the quantities of deficits these students many experiences and provide them strategies to help them be more productive in the everyday world?

While the presence of certain characteristics in children with behavioral disorders might sometimes seem discouraging but the bottom line is not to give up on any student in any case. Most of the times, children with behavioral and emotional problems might challenge a patience of teachers and cause temporary despair. In this situation, teachers require the support of others in supported students to succeed. The classroom is a learning community; therefore, it is very much significant to create a constructive atmosphere in the classroom. The successful behavior management in classroom can be improved by colleagues as well as by the family of the students. While considering the needs of students with behavioral and emotional problems, the paper aims to develop appropriate strategies for teaching students with behavioral disorders in the classroom.