Specific+Strategies

These are some ideas taken from an [|intervention web site] targeting all kinds of student behaviors, including bullying. They are specific ways that teachers can intervene.
 * **[|Ask Open-Ended Questions] ** //(Lanceley, 2001)//. If a teacher who is faced with a confrontational student does not know what triggered that student’s defiant response, the instructor can ask neutral, open-ended questions to collect more information before responding. You can pose ‘who’, ‘what’, ‘where’, ‘when’, and ‘how’ questions to more fully understand the problem situation and identify possible solutions. Some sample questions are "What do you think made you angry when you were talking with Billy?" and "Where were you when you realized that you had misplaced your science book?" One caution: Avoid asking ‘why"’questions (e.g., "Why did you get into that fight with Jerry?") because they can imply that you are blaming the student.
 * **[|Do Not Get Entangled in Arguments] ** //(Walker & Walker, 1991)//. The careful teacher avoids being dragged into arguments or unnecessary discussion when disciplining students. When you must deliver a command to, confront, or discipline a student who is defiant or confrontational, be careful not to get 'hooked' into a discussion or argument with that student. If you find yourself being drawn into an exchange with the student (e.g., raising your voice, reprimanding the student), immediately use strategies to disengage yourself (e.g., by moving away from the student, repeating your request in a business-like tone of voice, imposing a pre-determined consequence for noncompliance).
 * **[|Give Problem Students Frequent Positive Attention] ** //(Sprick, Borgmeier, & Nolet, 2002)//. Teachers should make an effort to give positive attention or praise to problem students at least three times more frequently than they reprimand them. The teacher gives the student the attention or praise during moments when that student is acting appropriately--and keeps track of how frequently they give positive attention and reprimands to the student. This heavy dosing of positive attention and praise can greatly improve the teacher’s relationship with problem students.
 * **[|Have the Student Participate in Creating a Behavior Plan] ** //(Walker, Colvin, & Ramsey, 1995)//. Students can feel a greater sense of ownership when they are invited to contribute to their behavior management plan. Students also tend to know better than anyone else what triggers will set off their problem behaviors and what strategies they find most effective in calming themselves and avoiding conflicts or other behavioral problems.
 * **[|Proactively Interrupt the Student’s Anger Early in the Escalation Cycle] ** //(Long, Morse, & Newman, 1980; Walker, Colvin, & Ramsey, 1995)//. The teacher may be able to ‘interrupt’ a student’s escalating behaviors by redirecting that student's attention or temporarily removing the student from the setting. If the student is showing only low-level defiant or non-compliant behavior, you might try engaging the student in a high-interest activity such as playing play an educational computer game or acting as a classroom helper. Or you may want to briefly remove the student from the room ('antiseptic bounce') to prevent the student's behavior from escalating into a full-fledged confrontation. For example, you might send the student to the main office on an errand, with the expectation that-by the time the child returns to the classroom-he or she will have calmed down.
 * **[|Project Calmness When Approaching an Escalating Student] ** //(Long, Morse, & Newman, 1980; Mayer, 2000; Walker, Colvin, & Ramsey, 1995)//. A teacher’s chances of defusing a potential confrontation with an angry or defiant student increase greatly if the instructor carefully controls his or her behavior when first approaching the student. Here are important tips: Move toward the student at a slow, deliberate pace, and respect the student’s private space by maintaining a reasonable distance. If possible, speak privately to the student, using a calm and respectful voice. Avoid body language that might provoke the student, such as staring, hands on hips, or finger pointing. Keep your comments brief. If the student’s negative behaviors escalate despite your best efforts, move away from the student and seek additional adult assistance or initiate a crisis-response plan.
 * **[|Use Non-Verbal and Para-Verbal Behaviors to Defuse Potential Confrontations] ** //(Braithwaite, 2001; Long, Morse, & Newman, 1980; Walker, Colvin, & Ramsey, 1995)//. When interacting with defiant or confrontational students, teachers can use non-verbal and para-verbal techniques such as non-threatening body language, soft tone of voice, or strategic pauses during speech, to reduce tensions. For example, if a student is visibly agitated, you may decide to sit down next to the student at eye level (a less threatening posture) rather than standing over that student. Or you might insert a very brief 'wait time' before each response to the student, as these micro-pauses tend to signal calmness, slow a conversation down and help to prevent it from escalating into an argument.
 * **[|Form Behavior Contracts].** The behavior contract is a simple positive-reinforcement intervention that is widely used by teachers to change student behavior. <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica;">The behavior contract spells out in detail the <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica;">expectations of student and teacher (and sometimes parents) in carrying out the intervention plan, making it a useful planning document. Also, because the student usually has input into the conditions <span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);"> that are established within the contract for earning rewards, the student is more likely to be motivated to abide by the terms of the behavior contract than if those terms had been imposed by someone else.

(Wright, Jim.<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> 2009.)