Carrie’s teacher realizes her off-task behavior is probably her way of saying, “I want attention.” Carrie’s teacher decides to give her extra attention prior to seated classroom activities by letting her pass out papers or materials as the “teacher helper” (preventive strategy), and letting her work with a partner for the last 5 minutes of the activity if she does the first part on her own (reactive strategy).
Carrie’s teacher tried to prevent the behavior by giving her some of the attention she wants before the activities that do not involve much interaction with others, and to react to the desired behavior (working quietly on her own) with attention from a classmate through a partnership. She used both preventive and reactive strategies to reduce Carrie’s challenging behavior.
In the next article we will introduce you to Positive Behavior Videos, a free, online resource for families, educators, and community service providers focusing on using the positive behavior support model for dealing with challenging behavior. www.positivebehaviorvideos.org
Dana Rooks, MEd, worked as the Positive Behavior Support Associate for the Center for Leadership in Disability at Georgia State University. She has 10 years of experience in special education, in both instruction and identification of children with learning differences.