Classroom Management Critique

Running head: Research Analysis and Article Critique

Research Analysis and Article Critique
Kellee Holland
EDD/711

Student discipline and classroom management are among the highest concerns of teachers, administrators, and community members. Classroom management defeat is one of the most common reasons that teachers change professions. The School wide Positive Behavioral Support program is an approach that schools are implementing to prevent behavioral problems. About 7,500 schools across 40 states are now implementing variations of school wide PBS (Sugai, G. 2008). The school wide Positive Behavioral Supports approach is a three tiered program implemented by schools to improve or prevent behavioral challenges. In the first tier, students are taught a social skills curriculum that is positive, formal, and in support of the academic school mission. This strategy is implemented in every aspect of the school community including areas outside of the classroom. Only about twenty to thirty percent of students will need a more intensified approach if the school does an excellent job with school wide social skills. These students typically have trouble socially, break rules, and have difficulty following directions. The second tier is a more intense approach and is usually used in a small group setting. The session includes social skill instruction, counseling, and conflict management. At the tier three level students receive individualized counseling. Prompting, positive reinforcement, and counseling are among the strategies used to improve behavior. Students move throughout the tiers based on their individual needs. The distinguishing factors of the tiers include size of grouping, frequency of interaction, and adult supervision. When it comes to discipline, schools should model positive behavior and spend less time reacting to negative behavior. For students who are academically and socially successful, the code of conduct provides boundaries for rule breaking behaviors. Tier two and tier three would be used for those students who are noncompliant and have trouble cooperating with adults. Positive Behavioral Support is implemented in schools by first establishing a leadership team. The school creates a mission statement by teaching students positive social skills, respect, responsibility and safety. Students will receive positive feedback for emulating positive behavior. Consequences are established in the form of a discipline handbook or code of conduct. Schools monitor the effect of this approach by keeping records of office referrals. A survey is given to the staff and students to determine how the school climate is perceived from various viewpoints. I have found this information to be very helpful. Many times as an educator, I have students who are defiant or insist on breaking school and classroom rules. Through productive research, I have found that these students need a modified approach. Intervention is often used for students who are struggling academically. After reading this article, I can begin implementing strategies and modeling specific behaviors that can ensure an increase in positive behavior in the classroom.

Reference
Sugai, George. Beyond the Discipline Handbook: How Schools Can Implement a Positive Approach to Managing Student Behavior | | . (2009). Education Digest: Essential Readings Quick Review, v75 n3 p37-41 Nov 2009 , 75(3), 37-41.