Classroom Management and Positive Behavior Practices

EDUC 621
Kristina J. Anderson
This past school year was the first official year that I spent in a special education classroom. It
was a unique situation, in which I interviewed for the position that I ended up being a
paraprofessional for. This position, I was told was the toughest classroom in our district. What
an exciting new challenge this would be! My classroom is a cross categorical special education
room that houses all of the CD students in the district from kindergarten age 21. We had
seven students on our caseload ages: 18, 17, 16, 14, 10, 8, and 7, six boys and one girl. The two
oldest boys are primarily non-verbal. The three middle boys spend most of their days in the
regular education classroom. Our eight year old has Williams Syndrome and was a
kindergartener this past school year. Our only girl has Down Syndrome. She is also bi-lingual,
and came to our district in the middle of April. Luckily with the diverse age group and high
needs of children our classroom consists of two separate rooms, a bathroom, and small sensory
room. This set up works well for this type of situation. One room is set up like a traditional
classroom, and the other room is called the apartment.
In contemplating the problem behaviors that we have faced over the course of last school year,
I will outline each one of our students and behaviors we have encountered together. Sam is
eighteen and autistic. He is non-verbal and can become aggressive at the drop of a hat. Sam
used a daily visual schedule, as well as a First/Then visual. When Sams behavior is escalating,
the staff will redirect him to a room by himself. He has come after other students and teachers
with rage. Our administration is fully supportive of our zero tolerance policy if Sam were to
harm someone. This had happened on a few occasions last year, and Sam would be sent home.
A daily communication notebook with Sams parents helps to monitor his behavior and lets us
know what to expect behaviorally from him that day. Cole is a seventeen year old with Autism.
He heavily relies on his written daily schedule and gets upset if it is adjusted in any way. If Cole
is introduced to a subject matter that does not interest him he yells loudly and will bite the
palm of his hand. When he is in regular education classes, (chorus and Phy. Ed.), he will often
times get upset there as well. One way of handling this situation is to remove him from the
classroom, as it disrupts the entire class. Cole enjoys having a sensory room break after many
of his classes or subjects. If he is interrupting in any negative way, he will lose his sensory
break. This was quite upsetting to him at first, but after time passed, he knew what was
expected of him and would be able to calm himself. The reason that I feel he began to
understand, was because we had high expectations for him. Jared is a sweet sixteen year old
boy with cognitive disabilities. He did not have any severe behavioral issues. Every so often
Jared would have somewhat of a tantrum if Cole was loud, or if he was asked to perform a task
that was hard for him. At the end of the school year we were still working on this with Jared.
Once he started his tantrum, it was hard for him to de-escalate. Tyler is fourteen, and his little
brother, Colton is ten. Both boys have cognitive disabilities, and struggle with attention issues.
One intervention that I have tried with both boys is a study carol. It seems to help their
concentration immensely. I have also recommended that the regular education teachers who
work with these boys try this as well. Colton needs to be removed completely from any type of
distractions, especially other students playing outside on the playground. Christopher is an
eight year old kindergarten student with Williams Syndrome. He has had aggressive behavior,
but I have been told that it has improved from previous years. Christopher loves phy ed., and
recess. If he has an episode in his regular classroom he is sent to the resource room to think
about his behaviors. He will lose I-pad time and will then have to apologize for his actions.
Christopher too made great strides with his behavior by the end of the school year.
Expectations were set high for him, and he knew what we expected of him. By the end of the
school year he would apologize for his actions without being prompted to do so. Madeline was
a seven year old girl with Down Syndrome. She was only with us for a short time, but made a
large impact in our lives. Madeline was quite stubborn. She was bi-lingual and often times led
people to believe English, when she indeed did. Madeline used a daily visual schedule as well
as a First/Then to aid with transitions. If we need to transport Madeline to regular classes by
wagon, that is what we did. Food and treats worked wonderfully when helping Madeline
transition from place to place. When all of the teaching staff and paraprofessionals worked
together in our classroom, things ran smoothly, even in the midst of challenging moments. The
fact that we work cooperatively and respect each other is evident and helps create a positive
learning environment for our students.
The main building support that we have in our district is that the entire special education staff,
and all administrators work closely to ensure a safe environment for all students. Last school
year, our district began the process of implementing PBIS. This type of program will not be
effective unless is it used cooperatively, school wide. It is important that the entire staff be
properly trained on how to implement it in their classrooms, in the halls, on the playground, in
the lunch room, and anywhere else in the school that the students may be.
One barrier to a program like PBIS is if it is not used consistently. Some teachers may feel that
need that their specific behavioral approach will be more effective. This type of program needs
to start in 4K and continue through high school years. Another barrier to this program may be
teachers being resistant to change. Change is hard, and if they do not fully understand what is
expected of them, it may be easier to do what they have always done.
There are about six staff member that have been attending trainings on PBIS and working
together to get this program started within our district. They will start to introduce the
program in depth during the first few days of inservice this August.
In closing, I would like to say that in all of my courses taken at Viterbo, I have been extremely
impressed with the wonderful networking that takes place between classmates and professors.
The amount of useful resources that have been shared has also been amazing. The
Confidentiality From a Mothers Point a View hand out is fresh in my mind. I plan to share
this with my building principal in hopes that he shares it with our staff. The Dan Habib videos
were also informational. The teacher in Thaysas story was remarkable. The model regular
education teacher!
It has been wonderful to listen to other educators personal stories on classroom management.
My new school year will be enlightened by Eight Things Skilled Teachers Think, Say and Do.
We all need to remember that each of our students is an individual with different and unique
needs. It is our job to meet the needs of all of our students.