Wednesday, March 29, 2017

Guidance Lesson: Behavior Management at the High School Level

Behavior Management: High School

Evan Kruschke & Lindsey Earl


Typical High School Classroom Behaviors

                 Socializing (note passing, chatting)
                 Grouping (Cliques)
                 Cell phone use (texting, social media)
                 Interruption
                 Not prepared for class (reading, materials, etc)
                 Excessive movement
                 Lack of concentration (daydreaming)
                 Disrespecting you or other classmates
                 Sleeping in class
                 Cheating

Warning Signs and High-Risk Behaviors*
                 Persistent and excessive disruption
                 Violent and aggressive behavior towards peers or   teacher
                 Excessive sleeping in class
                 Consistent failure to complete homework
                 Any drastic change to usual behavior
                 Testing difficulties
*When you see these behaviors, call in the school counselor!
Developmentally Typical Behaviors For High School Students
                 Socializing with peers
                 Attention to and dependence to social media and technology
                 Experimentation with “off limit” boundaries
                 Discovering who they want to be - curiosity & turmoil
                 Changing from concrete to formal operational thinking can cause differences in coping skills
                 Growing and developing moral reasoning
                 Engaging in power struggles
 Strategies we can use now!
        Personalization of Homework
         Integrate the interests of the student into homework assignments and tasks.
        Make simple changes to math problems, such as the adding of personal names or community activities and locations.

        Group Contingency to Manage Disruptive Behavior
        Create a class wide behavior goal.
        Find a way to track this for the whole class to see
        Classmates must work together, holding each other accountable for their behavior.
        Examples we have seen: adding points to the white board, make it a competition between classes, using a jar and marbles or another small object (when the jar is full or students have met the set amount of points they get a reward). This works best if you let the students in on the planning of the reward.

        Self-Assessment and Goal Setting
        At midterms, students complete a self-assessment in which they rate themselves on aspects of their performance (i.e. attendance, homework completion, attention in class).
        Students then rate how important each of the aspects are, and create steps they think will help them score higher on the next assessment.
        Teachers then check in with students a week later.

        Managed Goal and Contingency Plans
        Identify students struggling, and work with them to create personalized goals, with weekly check ins.
        Contingencies may also be used, in which the student is rewarded for the meeting of a goal.

        Adjusting of Task Difficulty
        If a student is continually causing disruption before or after work in cass, there may be a chance the task was too hard or too easy.
        Find activities or intentionally difficult, interesting worksheets that will challenge the student.
How can WE encourage a healthy school climate?
Teachers, administration, and staff can work together to improve management and support students.
                 Multiple Intelligence
                                           Create engaging classrooms where all students can be successful
                 Connecting with students
                                           In classrooms, hallways, at lunch, during extracurricular activities
                 System Support
                                           Make changes visible and collaborate.
                                           Have discussions about what we see working. How can we keep using what works?


School Counselors are here to support you!
                 Communication! If we have any insight that we think would be beneficial to a student's learning, we will share!
                 Guidance Lessons (i.e.“How to be a Successful High School Student”)
                 Offer observation opportunities
                 Resources are our thing, and our door is always open. If you are having difficulty with a particular student in the classroom, let us know and we will do some brainstorming to find a solution together!
What is Our Behavior Management Philosophy?
                 BUILD RELATIONSHIPS!
                 Be Consistent
                 Be Positive & Acknowledge Good Behavior (be specific!)
                 Don’t engage in power struggles
                 Use Humor
                 Give individual attention
                 Give students freedom to be themselves (it’s not all about business)
Why Behavior Management is Important for School Counselors
                 Relationship building increases your awareness of your student’s needs.
                 Good management skills allows for a smoother and more effective presentation of information.
                 When a classroom is on task, learning is taking place!
We are here to help you support your students

No comments:

Post a Comment