One of my classroom assistants loved fluency. She requested working that station at the start of every year! I was happy to honor that request. My station always ran smoothly!
In this training time, the take home point is all behavior is communication. If you can accomplish this shift in perspective, a lot of other changes will follow. Some teachers have used a page or two in Paraprofessional Training Guide for each team meeting to highlight a different strategies and concepts. Also use this time to explain the rationale behind different interventions. Acknowledge the short term vs. long term consequences of how we respond to students behavior. Yes, it is easier in the moment to tell a child to stop yelling but in the long term if we teach him yell doesn’t get our attention we won’t have to keep saying it. This process takes time. Allow for discussion, open questions, and real-life scenarios.
Behavior Plan Flow Charts are my favorite strategy for explain behavior plans. Helps get everyone on the same page and be much more consistent with following through!
Sometimes some of our strategies may be on the ‘tough love’ bandwagon. Again, this may not be everyone’s first instinct. Believe me – I’ve never had a problem with this – I guess I’m mean. But for some people it’s harder. Explain the rationale behind challenging and pushing our kids towards independence. Constantly be highlighting that long term goal and talking about how this student will survive as an adult without his parents around. Provide loads and loads of praise for your staff (and student!) when they fade prompts and let kids do things themselves.
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5 Responses
Hi Sasha!
I LOVE the flowcharts and appreciate you making them available to purchase. My problem is that my staff feel like they are still “too much,” and that, in the heat of the moment, won’t be able to use them to support the behavior. I’ve gone to a leveling system where I determine student behavior at each level (from level 1 to level 5) and staff response. That was easier for my staff to follow, but doesn’t give the options like your flowcharts do. Any thoughts or suggestions on this? Thanks!
Great question. Yea – the leveling wouldn’t allow for individualization of plans and would take most of the function based component out of the interventions. I would say that maybe focus on only 1 or 2 students at a time on implementing a specific plan. Use the flowcharts for staff training, so some role play, modeling, etc. Have them review the flowcharts on a regular basis (i.e. weekly). Maybe if you upped the training component, in the moment they would be better at implementing the right intervention. Hope this helps!
Do you have a Tpt product or data sheet for documenting para behavior? How do you suggest recording when you have had meetings with them, protocols/behavior plans that need to be followed, and behavior they are continuing to display? I need a form to organize it all! 🙂
My question is how you handle or comments about kids behavior, disability culture differences from other students or other staff members?
Great question! I would use some of the same data sheets (frequency etc.) and maybe track times they pulled out their cell phone or something objective and concrete like that. I like the idea of a form for meetings – I will work on that!