- Students with special educational needs
- instructional choices or strategies that frustrate learning—including restricting students’ choices unduly,
giving instructions that are unclear, choosing activities that are too difficult or too long, or preventing
students from asking questions when they need help
By identifying the specific variables often associated with disruptive behaviors, it is easier to devise ways to
prevent the behaviors, either by avoiding the triggers if this is possible, or by teaching the student alternative but
quite specific ways of responding to the triggering circumstance.
- instructional choices or strategies that frustrate learning—including restricting students’ choices unduly,
Teaching interpersonal skills explicitly
Because of their history and behavior, some students with behavior disorders have had little opportunity to learn
appropriate social skills. Simple courtesies (like remembering to say please or thanks) may not be totally unknown,
but may be unpracticed and seem unimportant to the student, as might body language (like eye contact or sitting up
to listen to a teacher rather than slouching and looking away). These skills can be taught in ways that do not make
them part of punishment, make them seem “preachy”, or put a student to shame in front of classmates. Depending
on the age or grade-level of the class, one way is by reading or assigning books and stories in which the characters
model good social skills. Another is through games that require courteous language to succeed; one that I recall
from my own school days, for example, was called “Mother, May I?” (Sullivan & Strang, 2002). Still another is
through programs that link an older student or adult from the community as a partner to the student at risk for
behavior problems; a prominent example of such a program in the United States is Big Brothers Big Sisters of
America, which arranges for older individuals to act as mentors for younger boys and girls (Tierney, Grossman, &
Resch, 1995; Newburn & Shiner, 2006).
In addition, strategies based on behaviorist theory have proved effective for many students, especially if the
student needs opportunities simply to practice social skills that he has learned only recently and may still feel
awkward or self-conscious in using (Algozzine & Ysseldyke, 2006). Several behaviorist techniques were discussed in
Chapter 2, including the use of positive reinforcement, extinction, generalization, and the like. In addition to these,
teachers can arrange for contingency contracts, which are agreements between the teacher and a student about
exactly what work the student will do, how it will be rewarded, and what the consequences will be if the agreement
is not fulfilled (Wilkinson, 2003). An advantage of all such behaviorist techniques is their precision and clarity:
there is little room for misunderstanding about just what your expectations are as the teacher. The precision and
clarity in turn makes it less tempting or necessary for you, as teacher, to become angry about infractions of rules or
a student’s failure to fulfill contracts or agreements, since the consequences tend already to be relatively obvious
and clear. “Keeping your cool” can be especially helpful when dealing with behavior that is by nature annoying or
disrupting.
Fairness in disciplining
Many strategies for helping a student with a behavior disorder may be spelled out in the student’s individual
educational plan, such as discussed earlier in this chapter. The plan can (and indeed is supposed to) serve as a
guide in devising daily activities and approaches with the student. Keep in mind, however, that since an IEP is akin
to a legal agreement among a teacher, other professionals, a student and the student’s parents, departures from it
should be made only cautiously and carefully, if ever. Although such departures may seem unlikely, a student with a
behavior disorder may sometimes be exasperating enough to make it tempting to use stronger or more sweeping