The Behavior Home Page

The Kentucky Department of Education (KDE) and the Department of Special Education and Rehabilitation Counseling at the University of Kentucky (SERC) have collaborated on a Web page devoted to student behavior. The purpose is to provide a format that allows school personnel, parents, and other professionals to gain access to information, to share effective practices, and to receive ongoing consultation and technical assistance concerning the full range of behavior problems and challenges displayed by children and youth in school and community settings, as well as other behavioral issues that may affect their success in school.

After spending a couple of hours studying the material put together by the KDE, we were so impressed that we wanted to share it with other school professionals. The material is not only valuable for teachers and administrators alike, but it is also accessible and well organized.

As a school administrator, if you want to share some classroom management techniques with a new teacher, this material might provide an excellent starting point.

As a teacher, if you have a class with potential behavioral issues, you may find an idea or two to keep your students on the right track.

The web site recognizes that the goal for most educators, parents, and other professionals is for ALL students to be successful in school and in life. To reach that goal, many have adopted a three-tiered model of behavioral support. Interventions are developed at Universal (school-wide), Targeted (small groups or individual students), and Intensive (wraparound) levels to teach ALL students what they must do to be successful.

In the "Universal" Intervention section of the Behavior Home Page, you will find links to Positive Behavior Intervention and Support (PBIS), Kentucky Instructional Discipline and Support (KIDS) Project, Safe and Civil School materials available from Sopris West, Safe and Responsive Schools, Office of Special Education Programs, the Regional Intervention Program (RIP), The Kentucky Center for School Safety, School Violence and Prevention, Social Skill Resources, Anger Resources, Bullying Resources, and Peer Mediation.

In the "Targeted" Intervention section of the Behavior Home Page, you will find links to The Teacher's Encyclopedia of Behavior Management, Preventing Your Rules from Falling Apart, Safe and Civil Schools Resources from Sopris West, Facilitator's Guide to Positive Behavior Support, Time Out Procedures, Understanding Behavior: An Interactive Tutorial, and Functional Behavioral Assessment and Behavior Intervention Plan Resources.

In the "Intensive" Intervention section of the Behavior Home Page, you will find links to the Kentucky-EBD Technical Assistance Manual, The National Center on Education, Disability, and Juvenile Justice (EDJJ), Center for Effective Collaboration and Practice: Mental Health, and Wraparound resources.

A quick look at how it works.

The user can select one of the thee three types of interventions (Universal, Targeted or Intensive). For our example we'll choose the Targeted section.

It is assumed that the Universal interventions at the school-wide level have not worked perfectly with all students. We need to target some new ideas toward a few misbehaving students. By definition, students who are at-risk for school failure, or display a chronic pattern of inappropriate behavior do not respond to universal interventions (5% to 15%). An indicator that more specially designed behavior supports are required is when some students continue to engage in inappropriate behavior despite a sound and clear school-wide discipline program. Group interventions are needed for these students who are at-risk for school failure or developing more chronic behavior patterns.

This section of the interactive site provides us with 15 different choices for tools in working through our problem. For this example we'll choose The Teacher's Encyclopedia of Behavior Management.

Here, the user can focus on one of two choices - "Verbal Aggression" or "Classroom Out of Control."

Working one's way into the site, by selecting situations and/or behaviors you wish to target, one comes to specific plans and ideas for solving a particular behavior problem. This particular instance uses the model of Randall S. Sprick and Lisa M. Howard to help formulate teacher actions to correct student behavior problems. These include suggested steps for implementing a plan of action in the classroom. If, for example, you have a student who is physically and/or verbally aggressive toward adults or peers, you will want to set a goal:

GOAL:The student will learn to respect the physical and emotional safety of others.

And next, you will want to select a plan:

PLAN: For a situation in which the problem has just begun and/or occurs sporadically.

And finally, you will study the recommended steps toward achieving that goal:

• Define "being aggressive."
• Respond consistently to the inappropriate behavior.
• Use reinforcement to encourage appropriate behavior.

For each step, specific suggestions are provided.

An easy to use, well researched tool for teachers and administrators alike. Try it at the Behavior Home Page.