Behavior Management Strategies for Paraprofessionals

Purpose and Goal To provide information that will help you be more effective and successful with students. To provide you with one idea and/or technique you can use on the first day of school.

CHAMPS A proactive and positive approach to classroom management. The goal of school/classroom management is to develop a school full of students who are: Respectful Responsible Motivated And highly engaged in meaningful tasks.

What the CHAMPS approach is: A guide to the decisions teachers and staff can make to build and implement a proactive and positive approach to classroom management A process of continuous improvement A common language among staff An acronym

The CHAMPS Acronym C—Conversation Can students talk to each other during this activity or transition? H—Help How do students get their questions answered? How do they get your attention? A—Activity What is the task or objective? What is the expected end product? M—Movement Can students move about? (E.g., are they allowed to get up to sharpen a pencil?) P—Participation What does the expected student behavior look and sound like? How do students show they are fully participating? S- Success

CHAMPS 0 = No talking 1 = Quiet whisper 2 = Quiet conversation 3 = Presentational voice whole group 4 = Outside voice

CHAMPS Conversation: Voice level 1. Limit your comments to those near you, keep on topic. Help: Ask individual next to you, raise hand, or wait for a break in discussion. Activity: Listening, taking notes, participating in discussion. Movement: May quietly take a break as needed (take care of your needs). Participation looks like: Looking at speaker, writing or doing what the task requires, actively participating in discussions. Success!

Why CHAMPS? We use CHAMPS to help our days run smoothly and to help students understand our classroom and behavior expectations.

There are techniques and strategies that can improve student behavior, attitude, and motivation.

There are no “simple” solutions, however we do know what doesn’t work: We must accept students as they are, while helping them move to where they need to be. There are no “simple” solutions, however we do know what doesn’t work: Punitive consequences Role-bound power Wishing and hoping

Important Characteristics The following characteristics are important to have when interacting with students who possess a behavioral challenge: Honesty Confidence Openness, care, and empathy Trust Respect (space, feelings=validation)

#1 – Active Listening Very important to listen to what students are saying verbally and non-verbally. Each person has their own truth to what happened (Yours, Mine, Somewhere in the middle) When you realize this it is easier to find common ground and move forward to change behavior.

So what does Active Listening Look Like? Give the student total and complete focus Give eye contact and a friendly/open expression Withholding Judgement The more you engage with them genuinely, the more they feel respected, valued, and their feelings validated. They will respect you more and it will positively impact their behavior and your requests to be followed with higher success.

#2 – Set Clear Limits Students need to know what they’re allowed and not allowed to do. They need predictable limits as a guide for acceptable behavior. You can do this by: Clearly stating specific boundaries, positives, and any corresponding consequences. The consequence needs to be logical or natural, and enforceable. Avoid the Power Struggle The positive reinforcement must be of interest to the student. Something that is predetermined by the adult will not give the student a reason to comply.

#3 – Avoid Power Struggles Establish an agenda or checklist (makes it black and white) Find a common interest and build on it Use as few words as possible (sometimes the more words we use feeds the attention seeking behavior) Provide choice Find a “Win-Win” Planned Discussion and Brainstorm solutions with the student.

#4 – Catch them Being Good! Instead of reinforcing negative behavior, try to catch them being good. The goal is to praise the positive behaviors so that the negative behavior will extinguish. By praising them during the “off” times it will be a lot easier for them to follow your requests when they are engaging in the negative behavior. It is a huge relationship builder!

But how do I catch them being good? The negative/disruptive behavior that you want to see decreased should already be defined/established as the target behavior. The data should show the likely times that student is probable to engage in that behavior (i.e. math time if the student struggles in math) There should be intervals throughout the day for your assessment of the student’s engagement in positive or negative behavior. When the student is not engaging in that negative behavior during the particular interval…Praise them!

#5 – Model Prosocial Behavior Students who have behavior deficits often have not developed strong prosocial skills. Be a positive role model. If they see you being positive they will follow suit. Talk through common social interactions and provide positive feedback when they engage appropriately. Role-playing social interactions and provide feedback when necessary. Teach them how to engage by use of social stories, communication cards, etc.

#6 – Offer Choices…Not Give Orders It elicits their cooperation. Communicates that they are respected and their opinion matters. It gives them the opportunity to build responsibility and feel empowered.

Guidelines for offering choices Provide two positive options (something the student is likely to do but teacher is satisfied with the outcome.) Be clear and specific (limits the power struggle) Make sure that both choices are acceptable to all parties and feasible to accomplish (especially if a student is to complete task in an allotted amount of time)

#7 – Alter Volume/Cadence of Voice The way we react can have huge impact on our students emotional state. When we show that we are angry, aggravated, excited, anxious, or nervous, the students can feed off of that and sometimes enter a state of escalation based on our emotions. When they escalate, they are starting to lose rationality. The way you react will either calm them down or increase their agitation.

Try these techniques to control our emotions! Lower the volume of your voice. When you go quieter, the student has to become quieter to hear you. Alter the cadence of your voice. Decrease the rate of speech and speak slower. Modulate your voice to be calm and supportive. Simplify your vocabulary and give short answer commands as they start to de-escalate. **Remember to speak Low and Slow!!**

#8 – Proximity It can interfere with ownership (teacher sees them as “yours” and NOT theirs) Separate student from classmates (that is not inclusion) Create dependence on adults. Can cause a student to feel like they don’t have personal control or a voice. Interfere with instruction of other students Limit the amount of peer interactions.

Key Points Use proximity Get the student’s attention Use clear and simple language Provide specific directions that result in observable actions Give only one or two directions at a time Do not try to physically force a student to comply

Key Points Discuss situations with your supervisor State a direction positively Provide visual prompts whenever possible Allow a reasonable response time Respond effectively when a student is non-compliant Try humor Ask for cooperation

Key Points Offer the student a choice Let the student know the result of not following directions Do not engage in arguing with the student Keep records/data

CPI Training CPI is a nonviolent Crisis Intervention Training The program focuses on preventative strategies, de-escalation skills, and communication techniques. Self - contained classroom paraprofessionals are highly encouraged to participate in CPI training, however everyone would benefit if they choose to participate.

CPI Training Dates For resource staff and individuals working with high risk students. All training will be held at the Professional Learning Center (PLC).

CPI Training Dates Date Time August 28,29,31 Sept. 25,26,28 Oct. 24, 25 (refresher course) Jan. 22,23,25 Additional classes will be added as needed. 4:30 – 8:00 PM 4:30 – 7:30 PM (refresher course)

To Sum it all up!! You are the only one who can control how you react to a situation. You are in charge during that moment and make the decisions that will determine how the situation will unfold. Be sure to ask questions to the classroom teacher, case manager, and take data to make informed decisions when interacting with students. Don’t be afraid to ask for help before a situation gets out of hand.