Teaching Social Skills
Running head: Best Practices in Adaptive Behavior: Teaching Social Behavior Skills
Best Practices in Adaptive Behavior: Teaching Social Behavior Skills in the Classroom to Improve Peer Relationships and Academic Achievement
Kyna D. Monroe, M.Ed.
Capella University
Abstract
This paper delves into utilizing best practices in adaptive behavior through social skills training. This study shows that teaching social skills in the classrooms plays a very important role in students’ academic performance and peer interactions. Implications foresee that social skills training will heighten the classroom ecology thereby minimizing negative student interactive behaviors and failure.
Best Practices in Adaptive Behavior: Teaching Social Behavior Skills in the Classroom to Improve Peer Relationships and Academic Achievement
School psychologists have devoted almost exclusive attention to the assessment of and intervention recommendations for cognitive, perceptual-motor, and academic achievement difficulties of students. Studies addressing behaviors necessary for success in the classroom environment have focused upon variables such as overall school climate (Wolf, 2001) and individual student characteristics (Gresham, 1990). A student’s characteristics is an important variable in a student’s environment to enhance his chances for success because some students succeed in a given situation while others do not, and many behavior characteristics can be modified by educating students in specific skill areas. Outcomes in this research study indicate that specific behavioral competencies such as academic achievement and peer interactions are clearly linked to social skills training lessons taught to students. For this reason, it is believed that social skills is an intricate component to the classroom curriculum and is an important focus in school settings. The definition of social skills that seems to make the most sense has been termed by Gresham (1990) as the
Best Practices in Adaptive Behavior: Teaching Social Behavior Skills in the Classroom to Improve Peer Relationships and Academic Achievement
Kyna D. Monroe, M.Ed.
Capella University
Abstract
This paper delves into utilizing best practices in adaptive behavior through social skills training. This study shows that teaching social skills in the classrooms plays a very important role in students’ academic performance and peer interactions. Implications foresee that social skills training will heighten the classroom ecology thereby minimizing negative student interactive behaviors and failure.
Best Practices in Adaptive Behavior: Teaching Social Behavior Skills in the Classroom to Improve Peer Relationships and Academic Achievement
School psychologists have devoted almost exclusive attention to the assessment of and intervention recommendations for cognitive, perceptual-motor, and academic achievement difficulties of students. Studies addressing behaviors necessary for success in the classroom environment have focused upon variables such as overall school climate (Wolf, 2001) and individual student characteristics (Gresham, 1990). A student’s characteristics is an important variable in a student’s environment to enhance his chances for success because some students succeed in a given situation while others do not, and many behavior characteristics can be modified by educating students in specific skill areas. Outcomes in this research study indicate that specific behavioral competencies such as academic achievement and peer interactions are clearly linked to social skills training lessons taught to students. For this reason, it is believed that social skills is an intricate component to the classroom curriculum and is an important focus in school settings. The definition of social skills that seems to make the most sense has been termed by Gresham (1990) as the
References: Achenbach, T., McConaughy, S., and Howell, C. (2007). Child/adolescent behavioral and emotional problems: Implications of cross-informant correlations for situational specificity. Psychological Bulletin, 101, p. 213-232. Gresham, F.M. (1990). Social validity in the assessment of children’s social skills: Establishing standards for social competency. Journal of Psychoeducational Assessment, 1, p. 297-307 Hazel, S. and Shumaker,k J. (1998). Social skills deficits. In J Kavanagh and T.Truss, Learning disabilities: Proceedings of the National Conference p. 293-366. Parktown, MD: York Press Stephens, T. (1987). Social skills in the classroom. Columbus, OH: Cedars Press Wolf, M.(2001). Social validity: The case for subjective measurement or how applied behavior analysis is finding its heart. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 11, 203-214.