Consider a student who is disruptively talking to a
neighbor while you are teaching. Develop and list a full continuum of
responses for dealing with the unproductive learning behavior.
There are several steps to take when dealing with students who are misbehaving in class. If I were to develop a full continuum of responses for dealing with a disruptive or unproductive learning behavior there are many strategies offered within the text book that would be useful. Disruptively talking to a neighbor while teaching could be considered a minor infraction, but it defiantly interferes with learning and the behavior is likely to be corrected or improved through subtle reminders the book suggests a strategy of cueing the student. The teacher cueing the student would help the student realize that the behavior was disruptive and unacceptable. If this method did not work, my next course of action would be to discuss the problem privately with the student--by doing this it would be made clear that the action is disruptive and the student may be more aware of his or her actions. If this still did not correct the disruptive action, my next course of action would be to promote a self regulation method. I have some experience with using self regulation with students--for some it works really well to have goals and to try and do better with every day, but for others the method is useless. I think this would be interesting to try within the classroom setting. The next step that the book suggests to take would be conferring with parents. In my experience with parents, they usually are very interested in how their children are doing in school and they want to know the good, bad, and ugly. This step is necessary because chatty disruptive behavior could be a chronic behavior problem that is likely to interfere with long term academic and social success; the textbook suggests that parents are likely to work collaboratively with school and faculty members to bring about behavior change. Finally, in the continuum of responses for dealing with the unproductive learning behavior of this student as a teacher I would conduct a planned and systematic intervention. If none of the previously mentioned methods work to modify the behavior of the student then systematic interventions can be very effective, especially when combined with other methods. Some examples include fostering perspective-taking ability, teaching effective social skills and providing more self regulation theories. The book suggests that cognitive behavioral therapy is a great resort for teachers to use when students are being disruptive within the classroom. Overall, there are many strategies and methods to use within the classroom for students who are displaying disruptive behaviors and I think it is very important for teachers to have backup plans of action when dealing with students who are disruptive within the classroom.
Ciera, I think your method sounds very useful and sufficient in preventing any further class disruptions. Your approach also sounds very similar to the approach I discussed in my post. While it is easy to hope that once will be enough in correcting the disruptive behavior, I fear that it usually takes a few warnings for a child to get the message. Though I wrote on the same scenario, I feel that the best intervention technique would have the teacher, student, and parents involved in a discussion. Sometimes parents are able to correct the behavior at home in a way that specifically addresses the source of the problem, but I feel it is also highly likely that the student won't see the full picture until they are sat down with all of those who care for him or her. This is difficult in that you don't want them to feel intimidated but at the same time you are trying to convey the severity of their chronic misbehavior.
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