Managing Behaviors

I was asked to work closely with a group of students who were having trouble managing their distractions. Their inability to keep still and maintain their train of thought during lessons started to affect their achievement. I thought that it was important to create a positive environment for the students. I ensured them that they were not in trouble and that I wanted to help them to help themselves. The main goal of the group is to encourage them to be more aware and reflective about their behaviors and to help them to see the relationship between their actions and their progress in class.

 

After observing the students and talking with them about different aspects of their learning I helped them to develop goals for themselves. I made sure that they understood exactly what each of their goals meant. We had group discussions covering ways in which they can manage their distractions, why it's important, and ways that they can help each other to achieve their goals. The stamps are regulated by the students themselves as I wanted this to enforce the fact that they are responsible for their own behaviors. I explained that this would only work if they were honest at the end of the day, that way they could look back at their results and make improvements. Making mistakes can be a positive thing as long as the mistake is reflected upon and the student makes an effort to fix it and not make the mistake again. I encouraged the students in the group to help their peers stay on task and to make this a team effort. 

 

We talked as a group about what types of things they would like to work towards and I developed a system which would allow them to make choices depending on how many stamps they received for the week. If each of them did well, we would all be rewarded by having the opportunity to play a game during our session time. In order to promote honesty I award one student for being reflective and truthful each week. Other rewards include receiving a team point, visiting the headmaster for praise, sitting on a chair during carpet time, and free time on the computer or iPad. 

 

I was thrilled to see the system I set in place making a difference in the students' behaviors.They made immense progress in their academics and improved their sense of self-esteem as well. They were more excited to come to class, participating more during lessons, and producing some great work that we were all really proud of. The students were excited to fill their charts out at the end of the day and to share with me the triumphs and troubles they had during the day while trying to manage their distractions. 

 

I chose to include this artifact because I feel that it is important to make a lasting impact on more than just a students academics. Behaviors and metacognition are just as important and help to develop students as learners, which is why I have linked this artifact to the learner development standard. I have learned through this experience that behaviors can be largely related to a student's progress in class and that behavior intervention plans, when positive and student driven, can have a positive effect on many aspects of a students success.