Christina's Blog!

Case study reflection April 12, 2010

So far my thumbs up plan has worked. I saw great improvements the first week. Then even better improvements the next week. Coming back from Spring Break threw my case study student a little off, but its okay. We had a little chit-chat as a reminder of expectations and his rewards for his positive behavior. Last week he got his reward (extra 15 minute recess with buddy of his choice) and he was so excited! I can tell this is a reward that he is really glad that HE picked. The thumbs up, thumbs okay plan is so simple, yet has been pretty effective so far. Making this plan has made me think of my own all class behavior management plans. I have started a “good job checklist” for my students. Everyday at morning meeting i announce students that have made my checklist from the previous day. These students didn’t have to be called on a lot, modeled exemplary behavior for their classmates and so forth. I give compliments to students i saw that were really on task or that did something extra sweet and helpful for another classmate or teacher. This has been so wonderful. Students really want to get on my good job checklist!

April reading* time-out April 5, 2010

I chose this article because we use a time-out in my classroom. We use it after we have told our student(s) to reset atleast twice. After this, we ask students to take a time-out. This article puts time-out into perspective. It shouldn’t be seen as something that is necessarily a “punishment”. When i was growing up, i remember seeing time-out as something really horrible and terrible. I didn’t think of it as a “cool-off” time to help myself, but more as a place to go if you’re a troublemaker. This article talks a lot about the benefits of time-out and the proper ways to use it to help students succeed. I believe it’s so important to address the situation later then to try to talk about it right then. This way students can have their own time to reflect on what rules were more appropriate at that time and we don’t spend our teaching time focused on negative behavior. I also like the quote in the story, “I like you. I dont like that behavior.” This reassures students of their acceptance even when rules are broken. I believe it’s so essential to go over the rules of time-out at the beginning of the year. Students need to understand the purpose of time-out. The mistake that a lot of teachers make is not really explaining what certain logical consequences are, such as time-out. Time-out is something i will use in my classroom, but it will be seen as something more as a “chill out-get yourself together time” instead of something so negative.

case study- behavior management plan March 22, 2010

So far my intervention plan has been going well. Everyday i give my student a thumbs up or thumbs sideways. There is no such thing as a thumbs down for this system. If my student gets a thumbs up every day for that week, he will get an extra 20 minutes recess time with a friend of his choice. Today i noticed that he was behaving really well and making an extra effort to behave during times at the carpet, when he had in the past had a problem with. My TA even made a comment that he was very well-behaved today. I am hoping that this keeps up. I am happy with the results so far.

Chapter 3 reading- logical consequences March 8, 2010

I really liked this month’s chapter 3 reading. We had a great discussion on logical consequences at our seminar this past week. I really think this is kind of common sense stuff, but a lot of teachers don’t really do it. Teachers take away and punish students for things that are totally not related to the rules that they’ve broken. I thought a lot about this week and had one student i thought about this with. She was being very disruptive during guided reading time and i thought about what a consequence would be for it. I took her to the side the next morning and told her that since she took away learning from others by her playing and disruptive behavior, that we would have guided reading together during PU (Polliwog University) time, with her and the rest of the group. We talked about things that she could do differently during GR time and i modeled for her the appropriate behavior for GR time. Her group was of course upset with her and she seemed to understand that her disruptive behavior is not acceptable. It was a good logical consequence because it was relevant to the situation and reasonable in scale. Polliwog University is not recess time, but a half hour block for students to catch up on any work they need to.  The rest of the week she stayed on task and participated so much better in guided reading time. I was so happy and was excited that this worked.

Case Study February 22, 2010

For my case study i chose a student in my class that is having problems following behavior instructions and expectations. He is so bright & has honestly improved already so much this year in his academics. However, his behavior could definitely use some help. I was doing a Abraham Lincoln writing lesson with him this past week and he tried to make it a competition by seeing if he could finish the booklet/project first. My CT and I have told him countless times that finishing work before anyone else isn’t getting you anywhere. This is an issue because although he is very bright, he is not getting as much out of his work &  progressing like he should be. He has problems focusing when we meet at the carpet and gets others in trouble because he always wants all the attention on himself. I still am wondering what would be the best behavior plan for him. I was thinking about making a behavior contract with him for one thing. Any suggestions on what to do?

Chapter 7- Creating a classroom environment that promotes positive behavior February 8, 2010

I really loved this chapter. It has SO much great information and ideas for the classroom. It reminded me a lot of last week’s seminar when we were talking about Sarah’s situation. One of the suggestions that Jessica gave us for this situation would be make a behavior contract with the student. This chapter talks some about this & even gave an example of one. I like the fact that it’s something the teacher AND student come up with together. Also, instead of deciding what reinforcer to give the student, it is a good idea to let them give ideas on it & work with them. This way they are getting something that actually appeals to them & will help them actually want to behave. I also think self-assessments are also great for teachers to use. Students can reflect for a few minutes at the end of the day about how they behaved, what they could’ve done better in a particular situation and so on. I believe this is great because students are reflecting on their behavior and starting to really think about what they are doing and why they are doing it. This is also teaching them to be more self-reliant and independent, which in turn makes them feel more responsible for their own behavior and consequences. In the chapter i also enjoyed reading the section on how the classroom is set up and how it can affect teaching and students. My CT also said that another good way to help students with behavior problems is to find what is really important to them.  For instance, the student i’m working with for this project really cares what his mom thinks. My teacher knows he will keep behaving well when she mentions “i’m going to tell your mom you got a thumbs up today if you keep up the good work.” It’s important to find what really matters to that child and use it to your advantage to help them. In this chapter it talks a lot about being consistent with your daily routine and rules. I believe this is one of the TOP most important things to do. In my classroom I want to have my schedule and rules placed in several places of the room. At the beginning of the year i want to come up with rules together as a class and be sure to use the ”stay on task” cues that i will be using all year. My CT uses “reset” when students seem to get off task and it really works because she has been consistent with it throughout the year. Great Chapter!

Ms. P’s classroom climate-Nurtured Heart! February 1, 2010

My teacher Ms. P uses our School-wide behavioral approach called Nurtured Heart to create a wonderful classroom climate. Nurtured heart is all about focusing on the positive behaviors that students bring to the class instead of focusing all your energy into the bad behaviors. Students get rewarded for their positive behaviors and showing outstanding character traits that they sometimes don’t even know they possess. Ms. P definitely does this in my class! There is barely any negativity in my classroom. When a student does misbehave she will tell them to “reset” and that will remind them to get back on task. This usually works! When this doesn’t she will pull them to the side and talk about positive behaviors they could use in place of the behavior they used and doesn’t make a big fuss about this. Nurtured Heart is a great program and I can see why Mary Scroggs is using this approach! Our classroom climate is so positive! Students usually remain on task and the classroom is barely ever chaotic.

“It is simple and quick to implement and as you get better at fueling the inner wealth of your child you will see your child begin to speak to you and their friends in a more emotionally mature manner and no longer giving energy to negativity.”

Classroom Management In Inclusive Settings January 25, 2010

I really enjoyed reading this article. It reminded me a lot of classrooms I’ve been in when I was growing up and how they handled behavior problems. It also made me think a lot about some of the discussions I’ve had with my CT about inclusion and behavioral management problems. In the article it talks about positive behavioral support and it made me think of the PBS meetings we have at Mary Scroggs. I believe it is so much better to treat behavioral problems with positive support as opposed to punishment.  This is a much better approach because punishment doesn’t really teach positive behaviors or civility. At Mary Scroggs the whole entire school does a program called Nurtured Heart which is a positive behavior programs with lots of different interventions. Learning about this program and seeing my CT use it in the classroom has made me think a lot more about the kinds of schools I’d really like to teach at and about my own behavioral management philosophy. Using these approaches in an inclusion classroom is extremely important so that everyone feels that they are being treated fair, especially when students with a disadvantage already feel that things aren’t always fair for them. Inclusive classroom can really help you as a teacher learn to appreciate diversity and use students strengths and weaknesses to your advantage. I believe students as well as teachers learn so much from others that are different from themselves.

January 11, 2010

Wonderful book!!

Flint- Chapter 11 December 5, 2009

I really enjoyed this chapter. I have always enjoyed reading nonfiction texts and had tons of these books at my home. I always read nonfiction books on animals and that’s one reason i have developed such a love and interest in learning about animals. I’ve noticed how interested and engaged students in my placement are when reading nonfiction texts. They like to share new facts they’ve learned from these texts and say that they can’t wait to share this information with their parents. I really liked the lists on P. 338 that show fiction texts for young readers and samples of nonfiction books you could use to go along with it or by itself. In my own classroom i’m going to have tons of nonfiction books on animals and all kinds of things!   The section on inquiry-based curriculum reminded me a lot of our science class and the things we’ve learned in there. Asking questions and getting students to start asking their own questions is so important. Yes or no questions are not letting their mind go very far. Teachers need to expand students thinking and havem them listen to others ideas too!