ED 491 Student Reflective Journal

The Positive Classroom Introduction SJR

Quote 1: “Many of you have probably seen classrooms in which children are unhappy,
frightened, or even humiliated” (page 1).
What this means for me as a person: As a person, I relate to this quote because I had a few
experiences of my own where the classroom was not a happy, safe place. I struggled during those
experiences because I loved school so much. I hated going to school anxious and afraid, and I
remember starting to despise school. As a person, it made me stronger because I learned how to
move past those experiences onto better ones, but as a student this changed my outlook. I still
remember what that anxiety felt like and I always thought it was because I was doing something
wrong. Now, I know that the environment did not support my learning techniques which is why I
was feeling the way I was!
What this means for me as an educator: As an educator, I have already witnessed a classroom
full of students who are unhappy, frightened, and humiliated. During my senior year, I worked in
as a cadet teacher in a first-grade classroom, and I had the opportunity to work with an amazing
class. The students came into the room smiling and ready to learn whatever the teacher threw at
them. I never saw the students unhappy or frightened, but then last year I went back to the same
school to sub. The students moved onto second grade, during a pandemic, and the classroom
environment was anything but positive. Students were afraid to explore, ask questions, and try
new things. Honestly, seeing the difference in those students broke my heart because second
grade is way too young to hate school. As an educator, I never want to see students lose their
love for learning, so I am looking forward to learning new techniques for creating a positive
classroom environment.
Quote 2: “Children who use inappropriate behavior need instruction not punishment” (page 1).
What this means for me as a person: Personally, I think everyone should hear this quote.
People within the education field need to understand just as much as someone outside the
education field. Punishment does not help those that are acting out because the children are
acting out for a certain reason whether they know that reason or not! If we could teach people
everywhere this fact, I think children would develop in a much more positive environment.
What this means for me as an educator: As an educator, this is something I will need to
remind myself every day. Handling students who are acting inappropriately can be exhausting,
but those students are asking for help in the only way they can. I think as educators, we all need
to understand that inappropriate behavior always has a deeper meaning, and when we start to
dive deeper into those relationships, we are going to start uncovering the truth about the actions.
It is our job to instruct students on how to handle those feelings and needs in a healthy, proper
way, but we cannot do that if we punish them!
Quote 3: “One important thing to keep in mind is that young children’s bodies are still
physically developing and as a result they have a physiological need to be active in a way that
adults do not” (page 5).
What this means for me as a person: As a person, this reminds me of when I am sitting at my
desk in my dorm room and get the sudden urge to stand up or walk around. I do not hesitate to do
what my body is telling me it needs, but students in schools would usually be punished for this
movement.
What this means for me as an educator: As an educator, this means I need to be more
conscious of the physical needs that my students have. Some students may need to stand or walk
around for a few minutes so they can focus back in on their assignments. This is not something
that my young students can control because they cannot control how their body develops. As a
teacher, I will strive to be understanding and adjust my teaching methods to accommodate those
needs.
Quote 4: “Children do not learn that they are capable or competent just from being told they are;
they learn it from experiencing their own successes and mastery” (page 6).
What this means for me as a person: As a person, I find it important to show myself I am
capable and competent. I am an adult, but occasionally I still need to bring attention to my
capabilities. I am capable of more than I might think, but people telling me that does not change
my mindset. Once I prove to myself that I can accomplish what I set my mind to, I feel more
capable.
What this means for me as an educator: As an educator, I need to remember that actions mean
more than words. Sometimes, I want to tell students that they can complete a task, but until each
one can complete a task on their own, they might still feel like they are not good enough. As a
teacher, I will strive to give students plenty of opportunities to complete tasks on their own, and
afterwards I will make sure they know how proud they should be!

The Positive Classroom Chapter One

Quote 1: “Teachers with the smoothest running classrooms spend the first six weeks of the
school year focusing primarily on teaching procedures and developing routines. This time is
more than made up for in academic learning by a more efficient use of time later in the year”
(page 13).
What this means for me as a person: As a person, procedures are always important. I enjoy
knowing the routine and what is expected of me, so working on building this into my everyday
life is important.
What this means for me as an educator: As an educator this means setting up a classroom that
students feel confident and safe in. By making the procedures and routines obvious, students will
be more confident in what to expect every day. Structure is extremely important, so I will strive
to make sure that students know the procedures and routines I set up for the classroom.
Quote 2: “…try to get across the message that this is important, but be light-hearted in teaching
the children how to respond so they begin to associate good feelings with the quiet signal” (page
16).
What this means for me as a person: As a person, I always assume the worst. For example, I
read texts and assume that they are using an upset tone when nothing is wrong. By associating
good feelings with classroom management techniques, I knew that my teachers were not upset
with the class but rather just transitioning to a new topic. In elementary school, this was
important in reducing stress and increasing my comfort.
What this means for me as an educator: As an educator, I need to remember that students
want to feel safe and comfortable. By finding a calm way to bring the attention back to me, I will
help students understand that no one is being yelled at or punished, rather just transitioning to a
new topic or lesson. The calm tone is important for setting the classroom up to be a safe and
stress-free environment.
Quote 3: “When children are rushed, everyone’s anxiety level goes up (including the teacher’s)
and children are less cooperative” (page 19).
What this means for me as a person: I am naturally a very stressed person. I stress about
everything, whether I should or not, so when people around me are anxious I am even more
anxious. In school, I did not like when teachers rushed between topics or lessons. I struggled to
feel calm when everyone around me was running around. As a person, I like situations to be well
planned and organized!
What this means for me as an educator: As an educator, I realize that I am the person who sets
the tone and speed of every activity in my classroom. Many students like to know exactly what is
going to happen and feel like they have plenty of time to accomplish a task. So, I plan to make
sure students have plenty of time to transition and finish projects. As we all know, things come
up, but if I can make the classroom as organized as possible most of the time, students should
feel safer. When students feel like they know exactly what is going on most of the time, they also
feel safer during the crazy times that inevitably happen in life.
Quote 4: “Do not spend time trying to correct children. Instead point out who is walking
properly or behaving as they should” (page 20).
What this means for me as a person: As a person, I relate to this on a deep level. I was a rule
follower in school, so I was rarely getting yelled at. This also meant I was not always getting
positive attention in school. I struggled because I felt like all the students who were acting out
were receiving more attention than the group of students who were following the rules and
procedures. If teachers would have pointed out the few of us who were following the rules, we
would have felt more empowered to continue making good decisions.
What this means for me as an educator: As an educator, I need to make a conscious effort to
point out the students who are behaving as they should. Often, it is easier to pay attention to
those students who are acting out or not following the rules/procedures, but if I try to point out
the ones that are well behaved, those students will feel more confident and other students might
strive to gain the same recognition. This is important in making children feel capable and
confident (like what I focused on in the introduction) and helping other students see what the
proper behavior is.
Quote 5: “It is very important for children’s moral development that they understand these
reasons rather than follow the rules because of a fear of getting in trouble” (page 30).
What this means for me as a person: As a person, this is something I think should be
emphasized to all children. Children should know exactly why they are required to follow a rule
because they have a better chance of remembering and following the rule if they understand the
meaning. I know as a child I was more apt to following rules when there was a valid reason
behind them.
What this means for me as an educator: As an educator, this means making sure children
know why the rules and procedures I make are in place. Starting from the beginning, I will teach
students the importance behind each rule, so they feel like they are doing something for the
greater good of our classroom. Students who feel like they play a part in the community have a
greater chance of making good choices, and I will do everything in my power to ensure they
know what those good choices may look like.

The Positive Classroom Chapter 2 SJR

Quote 1: “Children who are relationship ‘starved’ will not be able to learn how to socialize or
emotionally regulate themselves. The paradox here is that the children who present challenging
behaviors are often difficult to build relationships with” (page 34).
What this means for me as a person: As a person, my mind immediately moves towards the
pandemic. For the last year and a half many students have been relationship starved because
schools have shut down, quarantines have happened, masks have covered our faces, etc. These
children may struggle to socialize with other people later in life because they lost out on those
important life lessons in the early childhood classrooms. The children may also struggle to
emotionally regulate themselves because they have not had any practice. I think we will continue
to see the effects of the pandemic for many years if we do not help these children catch up.
What this means for me as an educator: As an educator, I think about the pandemic also. I
think we need to make sure that teachers of these students in the future understand the position
the students were put in. Some students may still be learning to emotionally regulate themselves
by the time they get to middle school, which is very uncommon. As an educational community, I
think we should all be prepared to pick up the slack that many students encountered without any
ability to avoid it. We can help these students catch up emotionally and socially, but it will take
some extra work and extra determination especially from some of our middle/secondary
teachers!
Quote 2: “My experience leads me to believe the most important elements for success are that a
teacher believes that she can create a positive environment and that she has a clear image of what
that environment would be” (page 39).
What this means for me as a person: As a person, I think back to all the times that I was in a
classroom with a positive environment. Those are the classrooms that I felt safe and confident in.
This is an important thing to notice because I want my students to feel safe and confident.
What this means for me as an educator: As I was reading this quote in the chapter, I was
drawn to the idea that I need to have a clear image of what I want my classroom environment to
be. Obviously, we need to know what we are aiming for to make it happen, but I never truly took
the time to notice how important it is to have a clear image. I need to have all the details worked
out before any student walks through the door, and I need to believe that I can do this.
Quote 3: “Although many teachers use praise as a way of motivating children, research shows
that in many instances praise can decrease a child’s desire to do something” (page 41).
What this means for me as a person: As a person, I have mixed feelings about this quote.
When I was in school, I strived to be the student that my teacher pointed out to demonstrate what
behavior she was expecting, but the author mentions that this could be an ineffective way to gain
children’s compliance. As I am looking back, I could see how this would be an ineffective way
for some students, but it pushed me to work harder to be the person he/she used as an example. I
do agree that mentioning how smart a student is, is an ineffective strategy because many times
comments like this make other students feel like they are not smart enough. If teachers could
focus on how hard I was working, I think this would have been a more positive way of telling me
I was doing a good job.
What this means for me as an educator: As an educator, I am realizing that this is going to be
hard to balance. As a sub, I have struggled with the balance between positive and negative
feedback because I am not apart of the classroom culture, but in my own classroom that is
entirely on me. As I am reading this chapter, I am thinking about all the ways to use positive
feedback to help guide the children to make good decisions, but then this paragraph is making
me wonder how I will find the balance. I do not want students’ desires to decrease, but I also
need to have control over the behaviors in my classroom. The first thought I had after reading
this was that I need to find ways to draw attention to a student’s positive behavior without
discussing intelligence or making it seem like I am using the student as an example for other
children. I really liked the chart on page 41 because it showed examples of language, I could use
to help find that balance. For example, I need to focus on how hard a student is working, rather
than how smart a student seems. Another example would be to anonymously mention the good
behavior I am seeing, so saying “I see some people with their books open” rather than “I see that
Megan has her book open.”
Quote 4: “It takes more thinking and more work, which is why it’s more valuable to children.
But with practice over time and a commitment to helping children grow, it can be learned and
become natural for you” (page 42).
What this means for me as a person: As a person, I appreciate that the author included this in
the text because it reminds me that most people do not have this ability naturally. Often, I will
compare myself to others and convince myself that I am not good enough, but the truth is, we all
must work hard to make these things happen. If I make a conscious effort to make sure the
feedback, I give is specific and detailed, the people around me will find more value. I will also
prove to myself that I can give this type of feedback if I work hard at it!
What this means for me as an educator: As an educator, I will need to put in the time and
effort to fill students with the nutritious feedback, not the empty feedback. I will try to do this
consistently for a long period of time, so it becomes a habit. Most importantly, I will work hard
to make sure I do not get overwhelmed and resort back to negative or empty feedback.

The Positive Classroom Chapter 3 SJR

Quote 1: “In one recent study, students’ self-discipline and control was a stronger predictor of
academic success than other measures of intelligence” (page 53).
What this means for me as a person: As a person, this means that self-discipline and control
should be an important focus at home. Parents focus on teaching students how to count or how to
read before they start school, but studies are showing self-discipline and control are more
important in the long run.
What this means for me as an educator: As an educator, this means that I need to dedicate
time to teaching the students how to have self-discipline and control. Many times, I expect
children to enter schools with these skills, but the truth is not every home brings attention to this
area. My job is to give students all the lessons necessary to succeeding in this world, so if self-
discipline and control is one of those, I will need to incorporate this into my teaching.
Quote 2: “A photo of how a child should be sitting can be laminated and held in the child’s hand
during group time” (page 55).
What this means for me as a person: As a person, I think about the constant reminders I need
every day. I need reminders to take my vitamins, send an email, submit an assignment, and so
much more. Students are no different, so if we can adapt those reminders to a way that makes
sense to them, we are helping make learning more efficient.
What this means for me as an educator: As an educator, I love this. We think about using
visuals for almost every aspect of the school environment, but I have never thought about how
important a single card with an image on it could be for regulating classroom behavior. By
putting a picture of the expectation on a card, students would have a reminder anytime they
needed it. As teachers, we would spend more time educating and less time reminding students of
expectations if they have their own reminder in their hand.
Quote 3: “We should never criticize or demean children for their feelings, or else they will learn
that their feelings don’t matter or that they are not really feeling what they think they are feeling”
(page 58).
What this means for me as a person: As a person, this is an important thing to mention. The
moment we start to tell people that their feelings are invalid or that they emotions are wrong, is
the moment that people start to hide how they are feeling. As a society, we need to focus on
making sure people have the freedom to feel all their feelings. Mental health has become such a
large focus of our communities and without people sharing their emotions, we would not be able
to help those that are struggling.
What this means for me as an educator: As an educator, this means that I need to give
students room to express their feelings, even if it is during “bad” times. Students are going to
have emotions throughout the day that might not fit into the schedule, but that is exactly the time
we should let them express their feelings and then teach them how to regulate the emotions.
Starting at a young age, we should be teaching students that feelings are valid and productive, so
that when they are older, they know that hiding emotions does not make you stronger. If we can
teach students the importance of letting those emotions shine through and not pushing them
away, we will have a safer community.
Quote 4: “In the beginning you might need to firmly suggest to children that they should go to
the Quiet Spot to relax for a few moments, however, try to let each child make the choice about
when he or she is calm enough to the leave the space…” (page 65).
What this means for me as a person: As a person, I can relate to this technique. Somedays, I
need time to regulate my own emotions, so I will sit in my room by myself to reground myself. I
am the only person who truly knows when I am feeling better, so I need to remember this in the
future. Each person must be given the right to decide for himself/herself when the correct amount
of time to cool down has happened.
What this means for me as an educator: As an educator, I am worried about students taking
advantage of this space in the classroom. There are times in the day that students will miss
valuable information by spending too much time in the Quiet Spot. To try to help students
understand this and use the space in the intended way, I will make it obvious to students what the
purpose of the space is. I may do this by demonstrating a proper amount of time to sit in the
Quiet Spot or setting a timer in the area so students can accurately measure how much time they
are spending.

The Positive Classroom Chapter 4 SJR

Quote 1: “Children who continue to be overwhelmed or unchallenged may start to shut down or
act out with aggression — teasing, causing distractions, and other behaviors stemming from their
frustration with school” (page 75).
What this means for me as a person: As a person, I can remember being in classrooms that
were overwhelming and those that were not challenging enough. I remember finding it very
challenging to stay engaged and learn when I did not feel like the learning matched my abilities.
What this means for me as an educator: As an educator, I plan to use my experiences from the
past and lessons I am learning now to make sure all the students in my classroom feel challenged
and are not overwhelmed. This will be hard because all students learn at different paces and I
will not always have time to work one on one or in small groups, but I will strive to plan and
make sure all students have work that matches their learning levels. I will do this by using less
whole class teaching and more group teaching as well as planning lessons that can be modified to
fit different learning levels.
Quote 2: “It is helpful to also have picture prompts for directions that are given often, such as
washing hands, hanging up coats, getting books out for lessons, or pushing in chairs” (page 81).
What this means for me as a person: As a person, I can relate to the need for visuals. I use
visuals to help aid in my every day for life. For example, I prefer the road signs with visuals over
the signs with words. I need to remember that visuals are easier for the brain to absorb, so if I can
incorporate visuals into the classroom, I am helping students learn in the easiest way possible.
What this means for me as an educator: As an educator, I am drawn to the importance of
visuals. Throughout The Positive Classroom chapters that we have read so far, visuals have been
brought up in multiple occasions. Students all learn in different ways, so if we can verbally give
directions as well as show images, we are accommodating to more students. I am starting to
think of all the ways that I could use visuals in the classroom. For example, I could give students
visuals for the book I need them to find or visuals for the yoga pose we are doing during a group
calming activity.
Quote 3: “Whether or not the children have a successful learning experience in cooperative
groups depends on the children’s social skills in working together, such as listening to others and
the ability to express their ideas, their motivation to stay engaged, their ability to resolve
conflicts, and their knowledge and skills related to the content of the group work” (page 83).
What this means for me as a person: As a person, I am reminded of group work in school.
During school, I struggled with group work because I am a perfectionist and other people were
not. Group work can be challenging because everyone is taught social skills differently. Every
child needs to be taught social skills, but we need to remember that each child is taught social
skills differently!
What this means for me as an educator: As an educator, this means that I need to teach
students the social skills necessary to succeed in group work. If I expect students to succeed in
group work, I need to make sure they each have the skills that they need to work and learn
together. At the beginning of the year, I will teach students the social skills they need so that
group time can be productive in my classroom.
Quote 4: “Lesson plans or activity plans are not designed to torture you, but rather to help you
learn to think through both the learning goals and the management of the activity” (page 86).
What this means for me as a person: As a person, I think it is important for non-educators to
realize how much time and effort teachers put in for their students. If parents and community
members can appreciate the time and effort that teachers put in, I think it will make teachers
more willing to put in the long hours.
What this means for me as an educator: As an educator, this is an amazing reminder.
Teaching is hard work and takes a lot of time, but the important thing to remember is that the
work will pay off for our students. If we take the time to plan our activities, students are going to
learn so much more than if we throw stuff together at the last minute. I will need to remind
myself of this when the lesson planning seems overwhelming!

The Positive Classroom Chapter 5 SJR

Quote 1: “However for some children, it may seem strange and even inappropriate to not help
each other” (page 89).
What this means for me as a person: As a person, I think about how each culture values
different things and how this is obvious in the government and workforce. I also think about how
the culture and values I was raised with seem “right” to me because that is all I know. I am
working to understand and recognize the important values that other cultures have in place.
What this means for me as an educator: As an educator, I realize that all students are raised in
different ways and with different values. To make a classroom safe, I need to know each student
on a deep level and respect his/her way of living. For example, I cannot expect someone to speak
out in class if their culture values quietness. I am working on understanding the different cultures
and values that my students will bring to my classroom, so I can make a more positive
environment for all students and families.
Quote 2: “This requires patience, understanding, and a basic assumption that children are trying
to behave in an appropriate way, in order to adapt to each other’s communication styles” (page
91).
What this means for me as a person: As a person, this means that I should start working to
approach situations calmly now, so I am more prepared to be an educator in the future. I can
make this a habit in my life if I approach every conversation with patience and understanding.
What this means for me as an educator: As an educator, this means going in with a positive
mindset. We have talked a lot about choosing our attitudes wisely, and I think that relates to this
quote perfectly. If teachers can go into every conversation with the mindset that students are
trying to behave in the most appropriate way and that they can improve, we are creating a more
welcoming environment for all students. Teaching requires a positive mindset and a lot of
patience to be successful, and I am working on approaching every situation in this way!
Quote 3: “They build relationships deliberately with the children in a way that convinces the
children they are cared about, while holding them to high expectations for academic
achievement” (page 96).
What this means for me as a person: As a person, I think back to the teachers in school that
used this method of classroom management. I never questioned if I was cared about, but I also
never questioned what the expectations were for me. I also think back to how unsuccessful
classrooms were that the teacher tried to be best friends with students or tried to be overly harsh.
What this means for me as an educator: As an educator, I think I may struggle to find this
balance for the first couple years. I need to make sure that I show students the high expectations I
have and let them know that I am the authority figure in the classroom, but I also need to let
them know that they are cared about and valued as a person. I will strive to do this by building
relationships early so they can trust me and feel comfortable in our classroom.
Quote 4: “An effective way to start exposing children to diversity and opening conversations is
with books which offer multicultural themes, pictures of diverse ethnic and racial groups, a
variety of different languages, different family structures, and non-stereotyped portrayals of
elderly, disabled, or poor people” (page 102).
What this means for me as a person: As a white female, I never worried about fitting in during
my educational career because most of my teachers looked like me. Becoming a teacher was
never hard to imagine either because I compared myself to the teachers that I had in school. I
need to keep in mind that not everyone feels this way or had the same experiences growing up,
and that effects everyone differently.
What this means for me as an educator: As an educator, I need to make a conscious effort to
let all my students see people like them in the classroom and school environment. I can do this in
many ways. I can use diverse images throughout my room. I can read books that highlight
diversity. I can bring in guest speakers that might look like students in my room who are not
usually represented. Being comfortable in a classroom means that you feel valued, and one of the
biggest ways to make sure students feel valued is by making sure they see other people like
them.

The Positive Classroom Chapter 6: Guiding Children’s Behavior SJR

Quote 1: Therefore, when children misbehave, a constructivist approach is to help children
figure out how they can make things right, rather than punish them… Punishing them does not
teach them why they were wrong, or what strategies they could have used instead” (page 112).
What this means for me as a person: As a person, I am reminded of my elementary school
days when teachers would yell at the class or a group of us for something, but we did not know
what we were doing wrong. When these things happened, I felt humiliated because I was being
punished for something I did not understand.
What this means for me as an educator: As an educator, this means that I need to make sure
students know what the misbehavior was rather than just punishing. To me, the misbehavior
might be obvious, but if I do not make it obvious to the students, they might be confused and feel
shameful. To teach social and emotional skills, I need to make sure that the students know what
they did wrong and what the better choice would have been.
Quote 2: “Much misbehavior is the result of children not having the skills or knowledge to get
their needs met in a socially safe and acceptable way” (page 118).
What this means for me as a person: As a person, this reminds me of the times that I have
been babysitting and the children are trying to get my attention by misbehaving. Sometimes
children do not know a better way to act, so they misbehave instead.
What this means for me as an educator: As an educator, this reminds me that not all students
come to school with the knowledge or skills necessary to succeed. We must teach them the social
skills that they need to survive in an academic setting. For example, students must know how to
get attention in a positive way before they can succeed in a general education classroom where
many students are fighting for the same attention. This connects with another COE class because
we have been talking about never assuming that students are coming to school with the social
and emotional skills they need. We should assume that students are trying to do their best with
the knowledge and skills they have, and it is our job to continue to teach those skills.
Quote 3: “In your feedback, focus on the good job they did with the process, rather than the
good idea itself. We want to teach children that the problem-solving process is the important
issue” (page 124).
What this means for me as a person: As a person, I am connecting this to grades on homework
or tests. Sometimes I study hard and put hours into my work just to get a grade that was lower
than I had expected. These are the times that I need to value the process and not the final
product. I think this connects to the quote because if we can teach students to value the process,
this will bleed into all aspects of their lives for years to come.
What this means for me as an educator: As an educator, this means emphasizing the process
not the product. Students may work hard to problem-solve but come up with a solution that does
not work well. These are the times that students need to know the importance of the process. As
an educator, I will need to make sure that students understand how well they performed a process
even if the product was not as good as they expected.
Quote 4: “For consequences to be effective, the child must value the social bond with you and
her peers and want to restore it” (page 125).
What this means for me as a person: As a person, I am thinking back to those teachers that
took the time to build a positive relationship with me. I wanted to work harder and behave better
for the teachers that I had a positive connection with, which goes to show how important
building those relationships is in the field of education.
What this means for me as an educator: In the college of education, we hear about the
importance of relationships almost daily. We talk about how we should nurture relationships
with students as well as between students. By connecting relationships with consequences,
relationship building is at the foundation of all other aspects of education. As an educator, I will
want to build positive relationships, so students want to restore the bond when things go wrong.
The Positive Classroom Chapter 7: Understanding Challenging Behavior
Quote 1: “Just like children, when our brains are flooded with the hormones released when we
are anxious, we have less ability to think clearly and make good decisions” (page 135).
What this means for me as a person: As a person, I think about this all the time. When I am
very stressed and overwhelmed, I cannot think clearly or make good decisions. This is when I
know I need to take a deep breath and calm down before doing or saying anything. This can be
hard, even as an adult, but it is important to realize that our brains cannot work properly when we
are flooded with hormones.
What this means for me as an educator: As an educator, it is important to remember that
students do not know what is going on when they are flooded with hormones. This can be scary
and overwhelming when students cannot think clearly or make good decisions because they may
feel like they are spiraling out of control. As an educator, we need to remember that students
want to do good and want to make good decisions. I think we should teach students how to self-
regulate starting at a young age, so they are ready when hormones overwhelm them.
Quote 2: “Calming a child in the agitation phase can be as simple as moving your body close by,
giving some focused attention on the child, or redirecting the child toward a different activity”
(page 139).
What this means for me as a person: As a person, I am thinking about one time when I was
panicking about taking a standardized test. I was crying, and when my teacher noticed she took
me on a walk down to the office and back. We talked on the way, and she calmed my anxiety
down. The only reason this worked was because I trusted her. She took the time to build a
relationship with me previously, so I trusted the words she spoke to me. As a person and as an
educator the biggest takeaway is that relationships are the key to success in the education field.
What this means for me as an educator: As an educator, I am reminded that students should
see me as a safe place. When students are going through something, my presence should make
them feel more comfortable and calmer. This also relates to relationship building because I need
to build a nurturing relationship before I can expect students to trust me. It is my job as an
educator to help students calm down and learn to self-regulate, and building relationships is one
way to teach students these lessons.
Quote 3: “When children begin to realize that you are not interested in finding blame and
sentencing them to a punishment, they will more likely open up to you” (page 143).
What this means for me as a person: As a person, this means that we should work to make a
society where punishment is not the first reaction. We live in a world where people are
constantly punished for making mistakes and saying the wrong things. As a community we
should build a supportive environment where students are given the opportunity to make
mistakes and learn from them.
What this means for me as an educator: As an educator, this relates to Maslow’s hierarchy of
needs. Students need to feel safe and supported before they can learn, so as educators we need to
do everything, we can to make sure their safety needs are met. This means not scaring students
and making them think we are always going to punish them. Mistakes are part of learning, but if
we are always punishing students for behavior mistakes, they will be less likely to take any risks
at school. We should be there to support students and teach them the positive behaviors we are
expecting.
Quote 4: “Using the same strategies with all children is like giving all children the same
medicine for a fever” (page 145).
What this means for me as a person: As a person, this is important in all walks of life. Every
human is unique and needs different things in life. It is necessary to remember that everyone
wants their needs to be met so they can feel successful in society. If we can focus on the
strengths of each individual and make sure that their specific needs are met, we will all feel more
accepted.
What this means for me as an educator: As an educator, this reminds me that all students need
different strategies and interventions to be successful in schools. I think this relates back to
relationship building because educators need to know each student on a deep level to understand
what works for them and what does not work for them. I will strive to individualize education
and behavior management so each student feels accepted and successful in my classroom.

The Positive Classroom Chapter 8 SJR

Quote 1: “We need to know the function of the behavior, and then plan steps to help reach new,
more appropriate behaviors” (page 152).
What this means to me as a person: As a person, this reminds me of how I act during certain
times or in certain situations. For example, when I am hungry, I can get an attitude. As an adult, I
can control that attitude, but children have not yet learned how to monitor their own attitudes and
feelings. Keeping in mind my own feelings and actions will make it easier to relate to students
who are acting out.
What this means to me as an educator: As an educator, this means that I will need to observe
what happens around the time that a behavior occurs, and I need to make sure that all the
student’s needs are met. We have learned that without our basic needs met, we do not have the
ability to learn, so I will need to observe and know why my students are acting out in the
classroom. If I know the function of the behavior, I am more likely to prevent the same trigger
from causing the behavior repeatedly. This quote connects directly to relationship building with
our students.
Quote 2: “Plan ways to give the child positive attention throughout the day so that the child will
get all he or she needs” (page 156).
What this means to me as a person: As a person, I am reminded that we all need positive
attention to survive. I need positive attention just as much as students, but I know the proper
ways to receive that attention. Not all children know how to properly receive that attention, so it
is important to remember that to learn our needs to be met, and attention is one of those needs.
What this means to me as an educator: As an educator, I need to be deliberate in the way I
give students attention throughout the day. I should plan times that students can receive my full
attention, so they do not have to act out in the classroom. For example, during free time, I could
walk around the room and interact with students, or when they enter the room in the morning, I
could spend time talking about their personal lives. It is important to give student positive
attention, so they know that I care about them and want what is best for them, and the only way
this happens is if I deliberately plan times to give this type of attention.
Quote 3: “In a sense, high-probability requests got the child jump-started and then she was more
likely to continue the appropriate behavior” (page 157).
What this means to me as a person: As a person, I am thinking about how I accomplish tasks
on my own. I will often start with a task I know I can accomplish, and then complete the more
challenging tasks. These high-probability requests work for children and adults.
What this means to me as an educator: As an educator, this means I should be proactive and
deliberate in my requests with students. If I start with easy requests, students are more willing to
perform the challenging task that I request next. Being strategic in the way I ask students to
complete tasks will make it more likely that they follow my directions.
Quote 4: “Second, remember how much time you are currently spending focusing on the
challenging behavior. Take this same amount of time each day to focus on teaching one of these
skills and in a few weeks, you will see improvement” (page 161).
What this means to me as a person: As a person, I am reminded of trying to build healthy
habits. It takes a few weeks before I can start to see the difference, but if I stick to it, I can see
progress and improvement.
What this means to me as an educator: As an educator, this means that I should take the time
to teach the positive behavior because in the end, it will pay off. For example, if I spend 15
minutes a day punishing students for misbehavior, I should spend at least 15 minutes teaching
the positive behaviors I am expecting to see. The time I spend teaching behaviors will pay off
because later in the year I can catch up on the academic loses when students are well behaved
and following procedures.

The Positive Classroom Chapter 9 SJR

Quote 1: “By having children talk in the open about ‘bad’ words and people’s reactions to them,
you take away some of the mystery and power that the words have for young children” (page
173).
What this means to me as a person: As a child, foul language was not allowed in my
household. I was raised in an environment where the words were not used, so I did not even
know many of the common swear words. As moved throughout school, I heard more of the
words and started to wonder about them. Foul language was such a mysterious topic because
adults would just say, “We do not use that language,” but I had no idea what they were talking
about or why we were not allowed to. I was more curious about foul language since it was a
secretive topic in school. In high school, I felt like I did not fit in because I did not use foul
language, so this was a tricky topic for me.
What this means to me as an educator: As an educator, I need to remember what it felt like to
be the child who did not know the swear words or did not understand what was wrong with that
type of language. Students are curious, and it is our jobs as educators to help the students explore
their curiosities. We should strive to make a positive classroom culture where we have an open
line of communication about the swear words. I could explain to students that their peers may be
hurt by those words. This is the technique my parents used with me, and it removed some of the
mystery behind the words. Communicating with students is important because if we do not teach
the students, they will learn in other, unhealthy ways.
Quote 2: “However, children lie primarily to protect themselves” (page 176).
What this means to me as a person: I believe that everyone has told a lie at some point in their
lives. Some people have told big lies and other people have told small lies, but we have all done
it. The important thing to remember is that we had a reason behind the lie.
What this means to me as an educator: As an educator, I must remember that students will do
anything they can to protect themselves from punishment. Therefore, I need to ensure that my
classroom culture is not associated with punishment. Students should feel comfortable telling the
truth, knowing that if the truth is not the correct behavior they will be taught not punished.
Students who feel safe in the classroom are more willing to make mistakes in the process of
learning and less likely to lie.
Quote 3: “Do not stop your lesson to ask for children’s attention. By the time you do this,
you’ve broken the pace of the activity and you’ll likely lose the attention of the other children”
(page 184).
What this means to me as a person: As a child, I remember constantly stopping lessons to
regain children’s attention. This hurt my engagement because the activity was stopping and
starting so often it was hard to follow. I can also relate to this when I am distracted by my phone
when I am supposed to be studying. It is hard to stay focused and engaged when I have constant
interruptions.
What this means to me as an educator: As an educator, this means that I need to teach
expectations and procedures early and often. If students know the expectations and procedures, I
should have less behavior issues during the lessons. I also need to understand the reasons behind
the constant need to ask for attention. Have the students been sitting for too long? Is the work too
hard or too easy? Is it almost lunch time? Students have the capability to focus if we give them
the right environment to do it. The most important thing to remember is that by stopping a lesson
to gain a student’s attention, we are losing the rest of the students’ attention in the process.
Quote 4: “Do not make demands, because the fear of having to give up the habit will cause more
stress and the child will need the thumb-sucking more” (page 191).
What this means to me as a person: As a person, I know how hard it can be to break bad
habits. Habits are tricky because building the bad ones can happen quickly but breaking them can
take a long time. We should remember how long and hard of a process this truly is when we see
people around us who have bad habits.
What this means to me as an educator: As an educator, this demonstrates the importance of
working with all our students’ needs. We cannot teach the academic materials until we fill the
basic needs of our students. Breaking habits like thumb-sucking or nail biting might seem out of
our job description, but those might be the things our students need from us. We must adopt a
slow, caring role in helping break these habits because we want students to feel supported not
more stressed.

The Positive Classroom Chapter 10 SJR

Quote 1: “If you are in a school in which the open house is not well-attended, this is a clear
message to you that the needs of the families are not being met” (page 198).
What this means to me as a person: I am thinking back to the open houses that I attended in
school. The same families would show up every year, so this felt normal to me. Now, I am
realizing that other families may not have had their needs met, so they did not have the
opportunity to attend.
What this means to me as an educator: As an educator, this means that I will need to be
deliberate in observing which families have their needs met and which may need other
accommodations. For example, if I notice the same families showing up to the school events, I
could reach out to the other families and see what they need. Do they need more support from
me? Do they not feel welcomed at the school? Do they not have childcare? If I want the best for
my students, I need to build relationships with their families and make sure that everyone has an
equal opportunity to attend the school events.
Quote 2: “Greet family members at the door and have adult-size seating available” (page 204).
What this means to me as a person: As a person, adult-size seating is extremely important.
Everyone wants to be comfortable and fit in their seats, so only having small chairs available is
not welcoming or inclusive.
What this means to me as an educator: As an educator, I am reminded of the importance of
making adults feel welcome in my room. We always talk about making our classroom
environment welcome to students, but we should also focus on making the environment
welcoming to adults. I am also reminded of the parents with disabilities who might not feel
comfortable sitting on the floor or in small chairs. I should focus on being inclusive and making
sure parents feel safe and welcomed in my classroom because this is the first step to building a
positive relationship.
Quote 3: “We all tell stories to ourselves about why parents are the way they are. Our stories
might not be accurate, and they will color the way we interact with the families” (page 211).
What this means to me as a person: It is so easy to judge parents and families, especially in our
blame culture today. We all have biases and we put those biases onto families and parents
because that is how our minds work. To be successful in the “people industry” we must learn
how to put those biases aside and observe the facts. We should always act professionally and
respectfully because we have no idea what other people are going through.
What this means to me as an educator: As an educator, this means avoiding the stories that we
are creating on our own and trusting the facts we are given. We should always try to see the good
in the people around us because if we see the good, we get the good. It is important to support
families and care for families despite what we might feel about their values, cultures, and
parenting styles. The best way to do this is to assume that everybody is trying their best for their
students’ best interests.
Quote 4: “Understanding and agreeing are two different things” (page 215).
What this means to me as a person: As a person, I think that everyone can benefit from
hearing this quote. Understanding is seeing the other person’s points as valid and listening to
everything they have to say but agreeing is taking the same side and feeling the same way. We
do not have to agree with everyone, but we should strive to understand everyone.
What this means to me as an educator: As an educator, this means making a deliberate attempt
to listen closely and understand the points that parents make and then deciding to agree or
disagree. Working to understand the parents is the best way to remain respectful and
professional. In the future, I will work to understand rather than agree with the parents and
students in my classroom.

The Positive Classroom Chapter 11 SJR

Quote 1: “On the other hand, when you and your paraprofessional are very different from one
another, it is an excellent opportunity for the classroom as a whole, since you will grow and learn
more from your different perspectives and understandings” (page 226).
What this means to me as a person: As a person, I have witnessed the reality of this statement
throughout the past two years in the COE. I have learned a great deal from my peers and
professors that have differing perspectives and understandings because they have opened my
eyes to information I did not even know existed. Differing perspectives and understandings are
making me more inclusive and welcoming to people from different backgrounds than me!
What this means to me as an educator: As an educator, this means that I should welcome
paraprofessionals and volunteers with different perspectives and understandings so we can
expose students to new ideas. There is no such thing as learning too much, and I think that an
inclusive environment is more welcoming than an environment with one understanding.
Quote 2: “Don’t assume that another teacher sees what you do, or can intuit what you want”
(page 226).
What this means to me as a person: Sometimes I assume that everyone thinks the same way as
I do and has the same values, but this is not true. For example, everyone is raised differently
which means that we all have different morals and values. I need to remember that no one thinks
the same way as I do, so I should communicate with those around me to ensure they know what I
am thinking and what I am expecting.
What this means to me as an educator: As an educator, this means that I will need to make my
expectations clear for both the adults and students in my classroom. To make sure that things are
done the proper way, or the way I want them to be done, I need to communicate about what I am
expecting to see. Remembering that we all think differently, and no one can read my mind is
important in working with other people. Communication will be the key to success when
collaborating with other professionals and with students.
Quote 3: “The more specific and detailed you can be in your planning and instructional
guidance, the more smoothly things will go” (page 231).
What this means to me as a person: As a person, this reminds me of how much smoother
things go when there is a detailed plan in place. For example, I volunteered at my local library’s
petting zoo this summer, and the leader had a clear vision for the day. The plans were very clear
and specific, so as volunteers we knew exactly what was expected of us. This made everything
go smoother, even after a few mishaps. Detailed planning makes everyone’s lives easier!
What this means to me as an educator: As an educator, this means making my procedures and
expectations as clear as possible. For students, I could post the procedures and expectations
around the room and enhance them with visuals. For the adults in my room, I could have
meetings or leave notes about what I am expecting. The important thing to remember is that I am
the person responsible to making sure that everyone knows the specific details that will make my
classroom run smoothly.

The Positive Classroom Chapter 12 SJR

Quote 1: “However, a gap between teacher’s expectations of what teaching will be like and the
reality of the classroom experience can lead to stress and burnout” (page 244).
What this means to me as a person: I think improper expectations can lead to stress and
burnout in many areas of our lives. I have learned throughout this semester that I need to set
more realistic expectations on which assignments I will finish throughout the day. Often, I will
set very high expectations and will go to bed defeated because I did not meet them even though I
was still very successful. Setting realistic expectations is important in all aspects of life.
What this means to me as an educator: As an educator, this means that I should be prepared
for the crazy and unexpected parts of teaching. I might have an idea what teaching is like, but
until I am in the classroom every day, I cannot fully grasp the concept. The COE is preparing
me, but I will still feel the gap between my expectations and what teaching is like so I should be
prepared for this reality.
Quote 2: “It is often hard for us to let go of responsibilities because we might believe that
someone else will not do them as well as we would. Focus instead on the benefits of letting go of
some responsibilities” (page 247).
What this means to me as a person: As a person, this is one thing I need to work on in my life.
I am a perfectionist, so I always think I need to do everything on my own or it won’t be good
enough. Sometimes this leads to me feeling overwhelmed with the amount of work and
responsibilities I have. Instead, I need to learn to see the benefits of letting go and letting
someone help me!
What this means to me as an educator: As an educator, I will need to be okay with letting
people help me because it is a challenging and overwhelming profession. Learning to accept help
will prevent burnout! Letting go of some responsibilities and seeing the benefits will be the most
successful strategy when times get busy.
Quote 3: “Practice labeling the emotions of the children (or adults) whom you find most
challenging” (page 249).
What this means to me as a person: As a person, this means trying to see the “why” behind the
behavior that is challenging. It is easier to blame or assume why people are acting a certain way,
but it can be beneficial to try to understand why people are acting the way they are. I will be able
to handle challenging situations better if I take the time to understand why they are happening.
What this means to me as an educator: As an educator, this means trying to understand and
label the emotions my students are feeling, even if they do not know what they are feeling. If I
can restate how I think my students are feeling, they might feel more understood and trust me
more. I also think it is important to try to see the good in every student because it might be easier
to deal with the challenging behavior. Instead of jumping to conclusions, I should strive to
understand the emotions behind the behavior so I can empathize more.
Quote 4: “Work on getting past the feeling that others won’t approve of you or will be
disappointed if you say no” (page 250).
What this means to me as a person: Saying no has always been a challenge for me, so I tend to
stretch myself thin. I am working on saying no to people when I cannot handle adding anything
else to my plate. The first step is to believe that no one is judging me or disappointed in me for
taking care of myself. I can care about others and work in a caring profession while still saying
no and taking care of myself when I need to.
What this means to me as an educator: As an educator, saying no will be an important part in
preventing burnout. I need to learn to say no so that I have time for myself. If I want to give my
students the best education possible, I need to have time to fill my four circles, and a large part of
this is saying no to things I cannot handle. Saying no is hard but being a teacher and not having
time for myself will be harder.
Module One
Quote 1: “The multi-tiered structure is an intentional framework that provides for the delivery of
high-quality, flexible, and differentiated instruction based on students’ academic readiness,
strengths, needs, interests, and learning preferences.”
What this means for me as a person: As a person, I appreciate this framework because I
understand that everyone learns differently and enjoys different things. Even now, as a college
student, I can understand better and learn more in the classes that I am interested in and the
classes that support my learning style.
What this means for me as an educator: As an educator, this means that I will need to plan
lessons that can be modified for the many ways that students will learn. To be successful in using
the multi-tiered framework, I will need to know students well. I will need to know about where
they are academically, socially, and emotionally as well as what their interests and learning
preferences are. Building meaningful connections and planning lessons that are flexible and
differentiated will take time, but my students will benefit in the long run.
Quote 2: “UDL allows for accommodations in materials or procedures to help students learn. At
the same time, UDL recognizes that these accommodations do not alter the standards that all
students need to achieve.”
What this means for me as a person: As a person, I appreciate the clarification. I am a firm
believer in making sure all students are well equipped for college or the next phase of their life.
By having the same expectations, I know that we are all as prepared as possible.
What this means for me as an educator: As an educator, this means that I will need to find
ways to accommodate students while not changing the end goal or standard. Students can learn
the same standards but some need to learn in different ways. As an educator, I will need to be
flexible in how I present the information to ensure that they all learn everything they need to in
the way that best suits each individual learning style.
Quote 3: “This framework of evidence-based, differentiated instruction and early intervention
has the potential to minimize the severity of learning or behavioral problems and prevent
negative impacts on a student’s self-esteem that can result from sustained school failure.”
What this means for me as a person: As a person, this means that as a society we can prevent
the negative impacts that result from school failure by addressing learning or behavioral
problems early. In my mind, if we can catch children before they enter schools, we can minimize
the need for accommodations in the classroom.
What this means for me as an educator: As an educator, especially looking to teach in a
kindergarten classroom, this means I need to be looking for students who are struggling
academically or socially/emotionally. If I can catch students early, I can help prevent negative
impacts which may occur if failure is a common theme in the classroom. This will help students
be more confident, feel safer, and enjoy school more, which in turn will increase their ability to
learn.
Quote 4: “Monitoring is important because it allows educators to make data-based decisions
about changing their strategy if the original intervention is not effective for the student.”
What this means for me as a person: As a person, I think it is extremely important to
understand why assessments are so important. In school, I hated taking tests because they gave
me anxiety. I am a perfectionist, so I felt like I needed to get an A every time. The truth is that
this is not possible. By knowing why I was forced to take the assessments, I am more
understanding. I think if I would have known why earlier in my educational career, I would have
felt more comfortable taking tests.
What this means for me as an educator: As an educator, I am going to try to make sure
students understand why they are taking the tests they are taking. I can teach students better if I
have the data from those assessments, but students also need to understand that the tests are
going to benefit them in the long run. As I am learning in another COE class, there are many
misunderstandings about standardized tests, and the results are being used to measure the wrong
thing. If I can educate people about what standardized tests are supposed to measure, I think we
can start changing tests back to the original meaning. Testing is used to help teachers make sure
all students are receiving the best education, so I will work to make sure my students understand
that importance!
Quote 5: “It is essential for educators to emphasize, model, and practice the idea that ‘different’
doesn’t mean ‘wrong’ and that our unique qualities can be our strengths.”
What this means for me as a person: As a person, it is extremely important for everyone to
know that different does not mean wrong. Many people try to change who they are to fit in with
what society deems “normal,” but the problem is no one really knows what normal should look
like. We should be teaching children from a young age that they can be exactly who they are, so
that they are confident in the person they grow to be.
What this means for me as an educator: As an educator, this means I will need to model what
it means to be completely confident in who I am. If students see me being confident in who I am,
they will be more confident in being who they are. We each have unique qualities that make us
who we are, and if we embrace them, they can be strengths but if we deny them, they can
become weaknesses. I will strive to show off my unique qualities, so every student feels
confident in who they are!

Module 2: Prevention SJR

Quote 1: (Summary from the video) Maslow’s hierarchy of needs is like climbing Mount
Everest. Each level of the pyramid is like a checkpoint on a mountain where the Sherpa checks to
make sure you are getting all your needs met.
What this means for me as a person: As a person, I think about how true each of these levels
on the pyramid are true. I cannot focus until I have slept, had food and water, and feel safe. I am
reminded that we all have important needs that should be filled before focusing on the higher
order thinking.
What this means for me as an educator: As an educator this means that I will need to make
sure that my students have their basic needs met before I ask for anything from them. For
example, some students may not be able to do homework because they are so hungry that is all
they can think about. As an educator, I should do everything in my power to fill that need.
Another example that is extremely important in a classroom is safety. All my students should
feel safe in the classroom and feel like they are a part of the classroom community. I will need to
build that classroom community with my students, so they feel safe. It might not be in my job
description but filling the basic needs of my students is the first step to educating them.
Quote 2: (Summary from Multiple Intelligences Theory by Gardner) All human beings have
many different intelligences, and each person has some that are stronger than others. Multiple
intelligences are different from learning styles.
What this means for me as a person: As a person, I had never thought about having different
intelligences. I always assumed that I was just not as interested in science or history, but the truth
is I might have a different strength when it comes to my intelligences. Everyone has strengths,
and the important thing that I drew from this is that as hard as you may work, some are just
easier than others.
What this means for me as an educator: As an educator, this theory is extremely important.
We are taught that students are diverse, but we are not taught about the different intelligences out
there. Instead of just diversifying the way students are assessed, we could diversify how students
are taught information. For example, we could lecture some students while other students are
reading a textbook or researching online. As teachers, we need to get to know our students so we
can support those intelligences better.
Quote 3: “ACEs are common. About 61% of adults surveyed across 25 states reported that they
had experienced at least one type of ACE, and nearly 1 in 6 reported they had experienced four
or more types of ACEs.”
What this means for me as a person: As a person this is scary and mind blowing. Over half of
the adults surveyed have experienced an adverse event in their lifetime. The scariest part is that I
hear stories like this all the time on the news, but I never think it is happening in my
neighborhood. The truth is people I am very close to could have had an experience like this in
their past. As a person, seeing that 61% makes me realize how many people have gone through a
terrible situation that changed their lives.
What this means for me as an educator: As an educator this means that I am going to need to
watch and listen to my students closely. I might be the person that students confide in about a
certain adverse event, so I need to take the time to make sure all my students are getting the
support they need outside of the classroom. I relate this back Maslow’s theory because students
who are going through an adverse event will not be ready to learn. A large portion of my
students might be going through something challenging, so I need to make sure that I am ready
to handle some of those situations.
Quote 4: (Summary from “Culturally and Linguistically Responsive Teaching and Learning”
video) The importance of culturally responsive pedagogy is that teachers think about who each
student is, where they come from, and what they can bring to the table. CRP helps build student-
teacher relationships as well as relationships between the students.
What this means for me as a person: As a person this means I need to take time to immerse
myself in more cultures. I need to learn about the cultures that others come from, so I am ready
to make those people feel more comfortable around me. My hometown is not diverse at all, so I
need to try to learn about the diverse cultures that are all around me here at Butler.
What this means for me as an educator: As an educator this means taking the time to make all
students feel like they are a part of our community. I need to make sure that every hand motion
and statement is culturally appropriate for the students in my classroom and their families. This
will take some time and some learning, but to make my students feel safe I must know where
they come from. I also need to make sure I consider what they each bring to the table. My
students can teach their peers and myself about their cultures, so if I give them a chance, we
could all learn from each other.

Module 3 SJR
Prevention Part B
Quote 1: “The idea that students should always be motivated intrinsically simply is not possible.
Activities that are intrinsically motivating are those that in and of themselves are reinforcing to
the individual (Ryan & Deci, 2000).”
What this means to me as a person: As a person, I think this is extremely important to point
out. Not every aspect of school is intrinsically motivating to me. I do not find as much joy in
science or social studies, so often it was harder for me to motivate myself. I needed the extrinsic
motivation, like positive feedback, to help push me to do my best.
What this means to me as an educator: As an educator, this means that I need to know my
students on a deep level so I can understand which students have intrinsic motivation and which
might need more feedback from me. I also need to understand that motivation can vary daily, so
adjusting my amount of feedback will be a constant necessity. Overall, students need to be
motivated in ways that help them in the best way possible.
Quote 2: “Feedback should be ‘corrective,’ meaning that the educator explains what the student
is doing correctly or incorrectly, not just provide affirmations” (Marzano, Pickering, and
Pollock).
What this means to me as a person: As a person, this reminds me of times that I needed more
than a pat on the back. The teachers that I appreciated and learned the most from were the ones
that found the balance between positive affirmations and corrective feedback. These were the
teachers that could help push me out of my box but also show me that I am taking steps in the
right direction.
What this means to me as an educator: As an educator, this means that I need to focus on
constructive feedback. I need to say things to students that make them feel like they are
succeeding in a way that makes me proud, but I also need to make sure they know what is going
wrong. To do this, I will make sure that I am focusing on their individual goals and helping them
see the progress they are making.
Quote 3:

What this means to me as a person: As a person, I relate to all three types of instruction. I
needed the whole-class instruction so I could hear other students’ questions, but I also needed
small group and individual times. The classes that worked best for me were the ones that had a
mixture of all three. I preferred a whole-class instruction with time to work with my peers and
discuss, and then finish the day off with time to work individually on my homework.
What this means to me as an educator: As an educator, this means that I need to differentiate
my instruction to match the needs of my students. Again, this relates to building meaningful
relationships with the students in my classroom. If I can get to know each student, I can learn
what method of instruction works best, and I can differentiate my lessons to match that as close
as possible.
Quote 4: “Plan on spending a lot of time teaching your classroom procedures, practicing them
with your students, and reinforcing them during the first few weeks of school” (The New
Teacher's Complete Sourcebook: Middle School).
What this means to me as a person: As a person, this reminds me of the classroom I did my
cadet teaching in. The kindergarten teacher spent most of the first week teaching procedures,
knowing that in the end the time would pay off. She spent time explaining how students should
enter the classroom, start their day, behave during free time, etc. She also repeated the
expectations multiple times a day, and after her students learned, she would ask them to repeat
the expectations she was looking for. After a long break from school, like fall break, she would
reteach the procedures and expectations to ensure that student knew what was expected of them.
By teaching students the expectations extensively within the first few weeks, she gained more
time during the academic school day because she had more control and less behavior issues.
What this means to me as an educator: As an educator, this means building time into my
school day to teach students the procedures and expectations. I will need to plan to give students
the expectations, and then give students the chance to practice those procedures. Again, I relate
this to feedback because students will need positive and corrective feedback to know how close
they are to meeting my expectations. Another important thing this reminds me of is the
importance of knowing the procedures and expectations I will have before students walk into my
classroom. Students will have an easier time learning and following the procedures if I start
teaching them on the first day. I plan to spend time planning my procedures before the first day
of school and teaching those procedures to students as early as possible.

Module 4: Positive Behavior Intervention SJR

Quote 1: Oppositional defiant disorder is characterized by, “a pattern, in multiple settings
over time, of consistent negative and hostile behavior that can include  deliberately
annoying or upsetting others, explosions of anger and hostility, defiance or frequent
arguing with adults, and then blaming others for misbehavior.”
https://www.edutopia.org/article/addressing-persistent-defiance
What this means for me as a person: As a person, I should keep in mind that some people have
a disorder that prohibits them from acting appropriately in public places or stressful situations. It
is important to keep this in mind when dealing with people on an everyday basis because this
disorder will affect how people respond in certain situations.
What this means for me as an educator: As an educator, this describes a disorder that I will
run into throughout my career. I should be prepared to handle students with this disorder, and I
should have a plan in place for how I will deal with situations that might trigger misbehavior in
students. This plan is one I will develop throughout my experience in classroom settings. All
teachers handle situations their own way, so I will need to determine what my procedures are.
Quote 2: “One strategy for preventing serious problem behaviors from occurring is to intervene
early in the acting-out cycle. In essence, the goal is to interrupt the acting-out cycle by
intervening when behavior problems are less serious and when students are more amenable to
intervention efforts.”
https://iris.peabody.vanderbilt.edu/module/bi1/cresource/q2/p05/#content
What this means for me as a person: As a person, I am relating this to my own life because
when I start to act out or have a breakdown, I need someone to interrupt me early before I get out
of control. For me, this means that when I am starting to stress myself out or panic about my
homework, I need someone to talk to me and calm me down before I get too far into my own
head. The acting out cycle looks different for everyone, and not everyone gets aggressive at the
peak stage, but I think we can all think of a time that we got to that peak stage because no one
was there to help calm us down.
What this means for me as an educator: As an educator, this means that I need to watch for
signs that a student is starting to move past the “calm” phase of the acting out cycle. By looking
for small behaviors, like fidgeting or tapping a pencil, I might be able to stop the acting out cycle
from advancing to the “peak” phase. The importance is that if I can stop the acting out cycle
from progressing, I will have an easier time keeping students on task and keeping everyone safe.
I think this ties directly into building relationships with our students because we must know our
students well before we can catch those little changes in their behavior. As teachers, we need to
build relationships so when outbursts happen, the student respects our relationship and we can
try to stop the acting out cycle early.
Quote 3: https://iris.peabody.vanderbilt.edu/module/bi2/cresource/q3/p03/#content

DRO: Eliminate unwanted behavior.

DRL: Limit behavior that might be disrupted but still necessary such as taking a drink of water.
DRI: Substitute a behavior.
What this means for me as a person: As a person, I am thinking about how I enjoy making
choices for myself and young children do too. All children should be able to make choices for
themselves because I believe they work harder and enjoy the work more when they are able to
choose what they are doing. As parents, I think we should give students choices in their lives so
when they get to school, they are more capable of making decisions when given the chance.
What this means for me as an educator: As an educator, this chart will be extremely
important. I believe that schools are the first chance for students to practice making wise choices,
and as educators it is our job to give students this opportunity. All decision making can be used
as a teachable moment for students. I also think that differential reinforcement is important
because these are strategies that we can use to helps students learn what behavior is expected of
them instead of putting attention on the negative behaviors in our classrooms. We are always told
not to give attention to the negative behaviors, but I struggled to understand how I would have
control over my classroom without punishing students. This is one way to focus on the positive
behaviors we want to see in our classroom rather than bringing attention to the negative
behaviors. One example that I have observed a school use was a DRO method of using tickets to
reinforce the behaviors the staff wanted to see. Students were given tickets for behaving
appropriately and at the end of the quarter, students who had a certain number of tickets received
a reward. This worked to eliminate negative behavior in the classroom by focusing on the
positive behaviors seen throughout the day.

Module 5 SJR
Quote 1: “Learning to use ‘I statements’ helped me immensely in working with students with
difficult behavior. When a student is noncompliant, often our first impulse as teachers is to point
out the behavior by using a statement that begins with ‘You’ and gives a command.”
What this means to me as a person: As a person, I appreciate when people do not make
general assumptions about me, so I can only expect that students would feel the same way. I
prefer to speak for myself and answer on my own, so when people assume things about me this
can feel disrespectful. I believe that everyone deserves to speak for themselves!
What this means to me as an educator: As an educator this means remaining neutral in
situations. Instead of assuming I know exactly why a student is behaving a certain way, I could
state the facts. I could try to state the behaviors I want to see instead of stating the behaviors I do
not want to see. This relates to classroom management because stating the behaviors we are
expecting puts good ideas in our students’ minds rather than reminding them of the behaviors we
do not want to see.
Quote 2: “Key to successful plans is to conduct a functional behavioral assessment (FBA) any
time behavior is chronic, intense, or impedes learning.”
What this means to me as a person: As a person, I am reminded that certain behaviors are
related to development and should be expected. For example, students will act out during their
twos and threes and teenage years as part of their development. I should be prepared for these
stages in their lives and not assume they need more behavior supports.
What this means to me as an educator: As an educator this means that the behavior should last
for a long time, be intense, and affect the learning of that student. Many times, students need to
be taught what the proper behavior is before we can assume that the student needs an FBA. I will
strive to teach students the proper behavior before assuming a student needs more intensive
measures.
Quote 3: “A BIP can be a single page or many pages and has three key parts. The plan:

 Lists the problem behavior

 Describes why it’s happening
 Puts in place strategies or supports to help.”
What this means to me as a person: As a person, this means that I should be aware of the parts
of a BIP so if any child in my future has one, I can understand it. For example, one of my family
members or children could have a BIP, so I should have a basic understanding.
What this means to me as an educator: As an educator, this means that the BIP will tell me
what the behavior is, why it is happening, and the strategies and supports that will help the
student succeed. If a student moves from another school or district, this document will help me
prepare to help the child successfully entire my classroom environment. It is important that I read
and understand my students’ BIPs so I can help them feel safe and supported in my classroom.

Module 6: Collaboration SJR

Quote 1: “When students think about something they already know, neurons in their brain
become active. These neurons make it easier for other neurons to fire and form new neural
pathways. The pathways literally connect new information with old in the brain.”
What this means to me as a person: As a person, this means that I need to focus on connecting
my learning to things I already know. If I can make connections between previous knowledge
and current learning, I have a better chance of learning the new information.
What this means to me as an educator: In the COE, we hear about connections all the time,
but I had never heard it in this context. As educators, we must make connections to the things
that students know and enjoy if we want any new knowledge to be remembered. This relates
directly to relationship building because we need to have relationships with our students and
their families so we can learn about their interests. Effective learning happens when the
information is presented with connections to interests and prior knowledge, so we need to build
relationships to gain this information.
Quote 2: “The five models of co-teaching are: a) complementary teaching, b) station teaching, c)
parallel teaching, d) alternative teaching, and e) shared teaching.”
What this means to me as a person: As a person, I remember seeing some of these teaching
strategies in school. We had paraprofessionals who would assist in teaching our class, but this
was usually in the complementary teaching context. I also had the opportunity to co-teach during
the cadet teaching program my junior and senior year. My teacher and I did a form of parallel
teaching, so I took half the class, and she took the other half. We split the class based on skill
level which helped keep students on track. She had students in her class who were very low
academically as well as students who were very high academically. By splitting up the students,
we were able to scaffold the lesson to their specific needs. This gave me a great taste of what co-
teaching was like.
What this means to me as an educator: As an educator, I am excited to see what resources I
will have in the school I work in. For example, will I have access to a special education teacher
or paraprofessional who could co-teach with me? I think co-teaching can be a very powerful tool
if you have enough resources to make it successful.
Quote 3: “Shared teaching involves both co-teachers having content knowledge of the subject
matter and the determination that students will benefit from observing their high level of
collaboration.”
What this means to me as a person: I am reminded of the importance of working together with
the other teacher in a collaborative manner. Kids can sense tension, so teachers need to make
sure that the relationship between co-teachers is positive. Creating a safe environment means
ensuring that there is no tension between adults.
What this means to me as an educator: One important aspect of co-teaching is showing
students how collaboration works. If we want co-teaching to be successful, we need to show
students the importance of teamwork and communication. I think that co-teaching is an excellent
way to teach materials to students and teach social-emotional skills.

PBIS Module SJR

Quote 1: “PBIS isn’t a curriculum you purchase or something you learn during a one-day
professional development training. It is a commitment to addressing student behavior through
systems change.”
What this means to me as a person: As a person, this means that teachers and schools who
commit to PBIS must take the extra time and energy to learn about implementing these evidence-
based practices.
What this means to me as an educator: As an educator, this means that I will need to be a
lifelong learner in the field of behavior management strategies. If I want to be successful in
implementing PBIS, I will need to take the extra time to commit to this type of behavior
management strategy.
Quote 2: “Tier 1 systems, data, and practices impact everyone across all settings. They establish
the foundation for delivering regular, proactive support and preventing unwanted behaviors.”
What this means to me as a person: As a person, I am remembering how my teachers in the
past have handled behavior issues. The teachers that were upfront about their expectations had an
easier time dealing with issues than those who did not explicitly tell us what they were
expecting.
What this means to me as an educator: As an educator, this means that all students receive
regular, proactive support to prevent unwanted behaviors. I will need to provide students with
direct instruction on behavior expectations and procedures if I expect students to behave
appropriately.
Quote 3: “Key to improving outcomes are the strategies to support students at every level. In
PBIS, these interventions and strategies are backed by research to target the outcomes schools
want to see.”
What this means to me as a person: As a person, I am looking forward to learning more about
those interventions and strategies because I think this knowledge base will help me during my
teaching career.
What this means to me as an educator: As an educator, this means that the strategies and
interventions have been researched and proven to be successful. At the beginning, it might be
challenging for me because this is a commitment, but in the end, the strategies and interventions
should help me handle behavior management in my classroom.

Race with Girls

Video 1: Why black girls are targeted for punishment at school — and how to change that
 Culture tells young girls to be silent about the issues around sexual assault and abuse
 Schools are locations for marginalization and punishment for black girls
 Black girls are seven times more likely than while girls to be suspended from schools
 Black girls are seen more adult-like, more independent, need less nurturing, and know
more about sex than their white peers
 Leads the girl to think something is wrong with her and not the conditions that she finds
herself in.
 “Where can black girls be black without reprimand or punishment?”
 “Disconnection and the internalization of harm grow stronger in isolation.”
o Bring girls in closer when they get in trouble.
 Schools should be locations for safety and healing, so girls are doing less resisting and
more learning
 Give students a safe place to explore their identities
 “Education is freedom work.”
 Help nurture relationships with students but also within themselves
o Allow students to heal so they can learn
Video 2: The Criminalization of Black Girls in Schools
 “Black girls be natural born earthquakes.”
 Each suspension raises the probability that the child will end up in jail
 Expressions of femininity can be taken as sassy and loud, but it is a manifestation of their
critical thinking skills
 Black girls are truant because of victimization, but we do not look at the root cause.
o Young black girls need someone to walk them through school and life.
 Girls who are vulnerable to pushout are disproportionately the girls who have had
negative relationships in schools.
 Everyone wants to be seen for who they are.
o Not where/how they grew up or the situations around them.
 Everyone needs a community of people who truly care!
o We need to see what students and children cannot see themselves and activate
those things!
 There are so many people out there that are willing to hurt you, but the secret is there are
more people out there that are willing to help you.
Video 3: Trailer
 Overly represented in school discipline:
o Corporal punishment
o Referrals to law enforcement
o Expulsions
o Suspensions
o Arrests
o Restraints
 There is an absence of conversation around black girls which makes it seem like it is not
a crisis
 People refuse to see black girls as people that can be harmed
 Some of these categories that people put black girls in impede upon their learning
 Push a girl out of school and you push her into the streets, into trauma, etc.
Black girls are strong, beautiful, vulnerable, and worth protecting.

Social, Emotional, and Behavioral Learning SJR

Quote 1: The five areas of social and emotional competencies are self-awareness, self-
management, social awareness, relationship skills, and responsible decision-making.
What this means to me as a person: As a person, these are the five areas of social
competencies that I need to observe and ensure that I am strong in.
What this means to me as an educator: As an educator, this means that I need to have a high
emotional intelligence so I can help my students increase their own EQ. The most important
thing to remember is that students cannot learn from me if I am unregulated, so I need to make
sure that I am monitoring my own progress in these five areas.
Quote 2: If we continue to do what we have always done, we are always going to get what we
always got. Is that good enough? (Paraphrased from the video “5 Key to Social and Emotional
Learning Success”)
What this means to me as a person: As a person, this relates to all aspects of my life. I do not
always adjust to change well, but it is important to remember that we cannot make progress
without change. Progress and change go hand in hand, and both are extremely important to
making each day better than the last. I am connecting this to my work on the ISTA Aspiring
Educator’s executive board because we are learning about the change that is happening in the
education field, and I have been able to play a small role in some of this change!
What this means to me as an educator: As an educator, this means that I need to be ready to
make the changes that our system needs to see. Change is a slow-moving process, but if we all
just sit back and allow things to work as they have always worked, we are doing a disservice to
our students. As new research emerges, we are learning better practices for schools, and it is our
job to make sure that we use the new research and practices to teach our students at the highest
level possible.
Quote 3: “Acknowledging the connection between feelings and behavior is a key aspect of
behavior management in inclusive classrooms. It is our role as educators to help students build
self-awareness about the connection between how they feel and how they act.”
What this means to me as a person: As a person, I am connecting this to my life. Even to this
day, my feelings affect my behavior. I need to continue to practice regulating those feelings, so
my behavior is not affected. I believe that learning to accept our feelings makes it easier to
regulate their affect on behaviors.
What this means to me as an educator: As an educator, this means that we need to teach
students to accept their feelings and emotions. Feelings and behaviors go hand in hand because
our feelings cause us to act a certain way. If we can teach students how to regulate their feelings,
then we are teaching students how to regulate their behavior. Social, emotional, and behavioral
learning is worth taking the time to teach our students, both for their sake and for our
classroom’s culture.
Quote 4: “If students display performance problems, the appropriate social skill should initially
be taught, then emphasis should shift to prompting the student to use the skill and ensuring the
“appropriate” behavior accesses the same or a similar outcome (i.e., is reinforcing to the student)
as the problem behavior.”
What this means to me as a person: I decided to write this as one of my quotes because I like
the definition behind the sentences. This statement is saying that we should make sure to
reinforce the student for the right behavior just as often, if not more, as we would reinforce a
student for doing the wrong thing in the classroom. People need to be acknowledged, and if we
do not acknowledge them for the good behavior, they will go back to the behavior that got them
the attention they wanted. The Positive Classroom also mentioned the importance of pointing out
the behaviors we like because bringing attention to the student for the negative behaviors draws
attention to the wrong situations.
What this means to me as an educator: As an educator, this means bringing attention to the
students that are behaving well. By reinforcing the good behaviors, students will want to behave
well to receive the attention. Everyone wants to be acknowledged, but as educators we need to be
strategic about when we acknowledge our students.
Quote 5: Ask not what is wrong with the student, but what happened to the student. Trauma and
adversity affect brain architecture which affects learning and emotions. The first role of the brain
is survival. The second is emotional, and the third is cognition. (Paraphrased from the video
“Applied Educational Neuroscience: Framework Overview”)
What this means to me as a person: As a person, this means that I need to be aware of the
trauma that the people around me have been through because those traumatic events affect how
people respond and behave. As I am getting to know my roommates more, I can start to see some
of their triggers. It is important to be aware of those triggers because they play a role in the
emotions and behaviors that I see.
What this means to me as an educator: As an educator, this reminds me of “emotion drives
attention drives learning” because students cannot learn unless they have their basic survival
needs met and are emotionally sound. We should be prepared to help students develop the skills
to regulate their emotions before we can teach them any of the academic material. The trauma
that occurs outside of the school building is directly related to the learning that happens inside
the classroom, so we understand the trauma and triggers of our students is very important.
Quote 6: The way we traditionally discipline with punitive consequences and when the adult is
dysregulated, can retraumatize a child. Behavior management is about the brain state of the
educator. (Paraphrased from the video “Applied Educational Neuroscience: Discipline”)
What this means to me as a person: As a person, I am thinking back to my elementary school
days when teachers would punish children because something went wrong in their life. I
remember one teacher who would get very angry and then would yell and punish the entire class.
Now, I know that this was because she was dysregulated. The way she lashed out made me feel
scared and nervous all the time, and I knew then that I wanted to create a more positive
environment for my students! Now, I know that I need to be emotionally regulated to create a
positive environment.
What this means to me as an educator: The important thing to remember is that teachers
cannot discipline a child appropriately when he/she is dysregulated. We should learn to regulate
ourselves before we can help a child learn how to behave. This might mean learning to take a
deep breath and step away from a situation before working with the child. Whatever it is that
calms us down, we will need to make sure that we have our emotions regulated so we can help
our students learn the social, emotional, and behavioral skills that it takes to be successful in the
world today.
UDL Module SJR
Quote 1: “UDL is a framework that guides the shift from designing learning environments and
lessons with potential barriers to designing barrier-free, instructionally rich learning
environments and lessons” (Nelson, 2014, p.2).
What this means to me as a person: As a person, this means that I should start practicing
making everything I produce accessible to all students. This means that the infographics and
presentations I make for classes now, should have a lens of accessibility.
What this means to me as an educator: As an educator, this means that I need to take the time
to design lessons and experiences that are accessible to all students. This might look different
from year to year, but the important thing to remember is that all students need to have access to
the lessons, materials, and resources that it takes to learn the content.
Quote 2: The three principles are engagement (the why of learning), representation (the what of
learning), and action/expression (the how of learning). These three areas are crucial for learning,
and they are all interconnected in many ways.
What this means to me as a person: As a person, I appreciate when I have some freedom in my
learning. I also like to know why I am learning the material I am learning. If my teachers would
focus on these three aspects, the learning would be as productive as possible in the classrooms.
What this means to me as an educator: As an educator, I need to remember that all three
aspects are interconnected and essential for students’ learning. I need to focus on the why, the
what, and the how of learning when I produce lessons and experiences in my classroom.
Focusing on these three areas will help all students learn the content I am teaching.
Quote 3: Make sure all students have the tools and resources they need to show understanding.
What this means to me as a person: As a person, I am reminded of fellow peers who might
have different tools and resources than me. Sometimes this seems unfair, but the truth is that
those resources and tools are what levels the playing field for all students. I need to keep in mind
that every student has different needs, and no one can learn without all the resources and tools
that are necessary.
What this means to me as an educator: As an educator, I will need to figure out what tools and
resources my students need, and then I will need to find those resources and tools for the
students. I will need to be an advocate for my students because research has proven that
providing the necessary resources and tools can help students succeed despite the challenges they
might face.
Quote 4: There are so many ways that you can bring the UDL framework to life, so start small in
your classroom.
What this means to me as a person: As a person, I know I can get very overwhelmed when
there seem to be an infinite number of choices in front of me, so hearing a professional say to
start small is helpful. For example, I could choose one strategy to start with and then add more as
I continue to perfect my teaching style. I need to remember that this is overwhelming at first, but
the hard work will pay off for my students in the end.
What this means to me as an educator: As an educator, I will need to be a lifelong learner. I
will need to search for new strategies and resources, so I am giving my students the best
education possible. I will have to make many choices about my teaching style and classroom, but
I should always have UDL in mind when I am making those choices. Deciding what works best
for me will take time but designing an accessible classroom will be worth the hard work!

Brain to Brain Teaching

Social and Emotional Learning Tools
Apology Procedure:
 In this video, the student is coached in how to write an apology letter to the teacher after
he interrupted her class. The student created a goal to have more self-control, and the
teacher agreed that this was a good goal for him. The important part was that the teacher
accepted the apology and created a way to communicate with the student when he was
doing a good job meeting that goal. As teachers, I think it is important to explain to
students that when mistakes happen, we must sincerely apologize for the mishap.
Behavior:
 Behavior procedures should be posted where students will see them easily and often. This
means that the behavior procedures should be at eye level. As we learned in ED 299, our
brains need repetition before knowledge is stored. This video mentioned again that we
need to see something 20 times before it moves to short term memory, so reminding
students about procedures can be the difference between them remembering or not.
Finally, we cannot stop after we teach the procedures. We must evaluate how the students
are doing once the procedures are put into place. Behavior procedures take time and
energy, but in the long run, the classroom environment will benefit.
Bring Them Back
 Call and responses are wonderful ways to bring students’ focus back to the front of the
room, but these require attention to shift quickly. The brain needs time to shift from one
focus to another focus, as we learned in Brain Rules, so another idea is to use props.
Props that make noise like maracas or a whistle can be a substitute for call and response
techniques. One way to use the prop is to make the noise, and then give students 15
seconds to focus on you, the teacher. This gives students a chance to finish their thoughts
or collaboration before listening to the announcement the teacher needs to give. We see
this in Professor Knipstein’s classes all the time, and this goes to show the importance of
 giving students a warning that a change is coming. This can be particularly important
when we are working with students with special needs because they often have a hard
time with change. Giving students a warning before the change occurs can help their
brains prepare ahead of time.
Building Assurance Through Your Classroom Design
 Students should always feel safe and welcome in their classrooms, and teachers play an
important role in making sure this happens. There are many ways that teachers can make
the classroom environment positive, and we learned about many different ideas in The
Positive Classroom. This video also explained a few ideas that we can use to create a
positive classroom environment. One example is creating a welcoming sign or morning
message that students can read when they walk into the room. This can be a great way to
build confidence and start the day off on the right note. Another example is to write an
agenda for students. Agendas lessen anxiety because students know exactly what is
expected of them and have no questions about the day. Finally, a “Need to Know” bag is
a great way for students to leave notes for the teacher to read and address when there is
time. When I was subbing at an elementary school back home, the teacher had a “Worry
Monster,” so the students wrote down any worries or concerns and dropped them in the
monster’s stomach. The monster “ate” the worries, so the students did not have to carry
them around anymore. This was a great way to communicate with the teacher about any
worries or concerns without taking time away from the curriculum. These are just a few
ideas that I might want to implement into my classroom in the future.
Building Emotional Intelligence into Your Meetings
 Reflection is an important aspect of building emotional intelligence in teams. Reflections
do not have to be long or time consuming, but they should reflect on the work people
accomplished or the processes they used to accomplish the work. A few examples are
celebration reflection and one word reflection. These two examples are quick ways to
reflect at the end of the meeting or workday. Two other examples are circle in and circle
out, like we used in class, and back-to-back and brain to brain. These two are great ways
to build relationships and collaborate as well as reflect with the team.
Cool Down Strategies for Upset and Disengaged Learners
 A great way to help upset and disengaged learners is to think about the words and
lifelines that we need to hear and use. There are many ways to remind students about the
impact of words and to teach students how to make words work for them. The video
listed a few ideas, but my favorite was the positive thinking cards. I use this to help me
get through the tough times. For example, when I am having a rough week, I will write a
kind message to myself and leave it on my desk. Words truly are powerful, so we must be
diligent in teaching students how to use these words in a positive way.
Helpful Tips on Behavior Procedures and Agendas
  Procedures and agendas can be very helpful for students but adding visuals to these
documents might make them even more useful. Research has proven that visuals are
processed faster and are much more useful to our brains than written text, so if we can
incorporate visuals, we should. The visuals do not need to be complex or time
consuming. They can be simple drawings that will be easier for students to process.
Visuals should be used in the classroom whenever possible!
Lifeline Clip Charts
 Clip charts are used in many classes, but research shows that clipping students up or
down can be unproductive in behavior management. Instead, we could use the lifelines to
create our own clip charts. The chart could be horizontal, so students move their clips
from side to side instead of up and down. The lifelines could be things that students need
to improve on like self-control or perseverance, and they could be used to create goals for
each student. The important thing is that when guests enter the classroom, they have no
idea if the student is doing good or bad at that lifeline, so there is less pressure on the
students. I also love that the teacher mentioned putting his own clip up there to show
students that he still has work to do. Finally, we can turn this back to students by letting
them decide where to put their clip and what goal to write for themselves. This is a great
way to create a positive classroom environment where everyone is working to improve
on their skills!
Positive Behavior Plan for Disruptive Students
 After creating a positive classroom environment with clear procedures and expectations,
many students will be on the right track and treat people appropriately, but there will be a
few students who continue to struggle. It is important that teachers plan and tackle one
goal at a time while working with these students. The first step is prioritizing which
behavior is most distracting to the student, class, and teacher. Tackling one goal at a time
can help scaffold the behavior management and make it more accessible to students.
SEL Vocabulary: Introducing the Life Goals and Lifelines
 Lifelines and life goals should be embedded in everything we do in the school building.
We should have the lifelines posted at the entrance of the school, so parents know what is
expected inside the building. The lifelines should be posted in the office, so
administrators are reminded of how to treat others when dealing with an upset parent or
student. The lifelines should be posted in the hallways, classrooms, bathrooms, cafeterias,
etc., so students are always reminded of their expectations. It is important to post the
lifelines at eye level and embed them in the behavior procedures so that students are
constantly surrounded by the lifelines and goals.
Student Goal Setting Using Lifelines
 Lifelines can be used to create goals for the students in our classrooms. The lifelines that
are posted could be used to display which students are working towards which goals. For
 example, students can put their name on the lifeline that they want to improve on during
that week. Students choose this goal themselves, and then they find strategies to practice
that will help them meet those goals. Then, at the end of the week, they rate themselves to
see how they did at meeting that goal. This is a great way to practice setting and meeting
goals that are related to the lifelines that the school chose.
Student Mindfulness
 We should encourage students to notice when their minds or bodies need to calm down
and setting up a mindfulness area can give us this opportunity. The mindfulness area can
have a comfy seat, a lava lamp, stuffed animals, fidget tools, and more. Many of the
resources for this area can be found at Lakeshore, and they might have other scientifically
based materials to use to help students calm down. This area should be used for students
to escape to for a short period of time, such as five minutes, and calm themselves with no
questions asked. Many teachers might include a timer, so students know when they
should return to class. We have talked about giving students the opportunity to cool down
in many of our classes so far, and I think this video goes on to emphasize the importance
of giving students time to bring their focus back to their learning.
Ten Fun Affirmations for Intrinsic Motivation
 There are many ways to give students simple feedback that pushes them to continue to
work hard. In The Positive Classroom, we learned that students need positive, descriptive
feedback because empty feedback does not push them to work hard. By involving
students in providing an affirmation, we are showing students that we are a community of
learners who are trying our best. This example involves students looking at one student,
holding up a fake camera, and saying, “Looking *chi chi* good.” In my AP English
class, we did an affirmation after someone read their personal writing each morning. I
loved this because it was a fun way to tell each good job without clapping. My favorite
was the basketball one because we pretended to dribble a basketball, shot it, and said,
“Swish.”
The Responsibility Flow Chart
 Students make mistakes and do not always act responsibly because they are human. The
most important thing to teach students is that we all make mistakes, and we all act
irresponsible sometimes. The responsibility flow chart gives students the chance to learn
what to do when they do treat someone incorrectly. As teachers, we need to build genuine
human connections and teach students what to do when they make mistakes.
Developing Behavior Intervention Plans
 The goal is to equip students as best as you can for life past school.
 A Behavior Intervention Plan (BIP) defines how an educational setting will be changed to
improve the behavioral success of the student.
 Developing a BIP is a two-part process
 o Developing a well-informed hypothesis for why a behavior is occurring
o Reshaping a student’s “learning-scape”
 Success build success
o Success in school is necessary for success in the world after schooling ends
 Be very clear in describing the observations:
o Where does the behavior happen?
o Where does the behavior not happen?
o What does it look like?
 Make sure that as a staff team at the school you all have the same definition of the
behavior.
 Think about if the behavior rises to the level of bringing it up to the team or if you can
handle the behavior in a small group setting by teaching some social skills.
 Does the pattern of behavior impede his or her learning or that of others?
o Answering this question with a “no” means that we do not need to act on the
behavior at that moment, but maybe someday we will need to.
o Answering this question with a “yes,” as a team, means that we must act in some
way.
 We must always document what we do and gather data to support.
o If we are going to go to the step of an IEP meeting, we need the data.
 You can have multiple hypotheses about the why behind the behavior.
o As a team, you need to decide what path to go down for the student’s BIP.
 Monitor and document everything you do and how the student responds.
School & Classroom-Based Interventions to Support Children & Adolescents with ADHD
 Medications might help some students and they can be easy to use
 Children will rely on medication and believe they cannot do anything without it
 Difficult to establish an effective dose
o The methods doctors have used for other diseases does not work for ADHD
medication.
 Share information with doctors
o Teachers can observe and collect data that can be helpful in figuring out the
correct dosage for children.
Managing Behavior
 Students with identified behavioral challenges, of the minority, or with a disability
receive less instruction and more negative feedback from teachers despite their behavior
in the classroom
 We all have implicit biases, and you are not going to get rid of them
o Be aware of them
 If you think a student has a problem and you are looking for a problem, you are going to
find them.
  Children behavior is affected by teacher behavior
o Not by what the students look like
 ABC
o A (Students) + B (Teacher behaviors) = C (Outcomes)
 Provide the highest probability of positive outcomes:
o Proximity
o Guided practice
o Consistent routines
o Modeling
o Engagement
o High rates of positive to negative feedback
o Spaced authentic practice
 If all you do is teach and do not worry about environment, it is not going to work. If all
you do is worry about the environment and do not teach, it is not going to work.
o These two must go simultaneously. One helps the other.
 When we do not teach in an organized way, kids cannot find it and lose it very quickly.
 You need three to five big ideas to tie rules together.
o Teach when to do, why to do, and how to do.
 Teacher behavior is the best predictor of student behavior
 Three OTRs per minute lessens disruption from students
 Removal does not change behavior
 Say positive things to the students you walk by on the way to be close to a student with
behavior issues.
 Use student answers to drive instruction.
IRIS Module - Functional Behavioral Assessment: Identifying the Reasons for Problem
Behavior and Developing a Behavior Plan
1. Most student behavior is learned which means consequences can influence which
behaviors continue in the classroom and which behaviors are not as common.
2. Types of consequences:
a. Positive reinforcement: increases the probability that a behavior will occur by
providing something pleasant
b. Negative reinforcement: increase the probability that a behavior will occur by
removing something unpleasant
c. Positive punishment: decrease the probability that a behavior will occur by
providing something that is unpleasant
d. Negative punishment: decrease the probability that a behavior will occur by
removing something pleasant
e. Extinction: withholding something that is pleasant to eliminate the likelihood that
a behavior will occur (withholding laughter)
3. An FBA should be considered when basic classroom interventions are ineffective and
when the behavior:
 a. Could cause injury to the student or others
b. Is intense or occurs frequently
c. Places the student at risk for referral to special education or a more restrictive
placement.
Reflective Practice for FBA/BIP
What do you think is the function of Kira’s behavior?
I think Kira wants to gain the attention of the teacher and her peers, so she can avoid the reading
lesson. Kira seems to want to make her friends laugh because this is a distraction from the
reading lesson. By responding with funny answers, the teacher and students get distracted, so
Kira is gaining the positive attention she wants.
Name the antecedent. Where, when, with whom are the problem behaviors most likely to
occur?
Before the behavior occurs, the teacher starts a lesson about stories. The teacher is at the front of
the classroom and students sit closely around two tables. The problem behaviors are happening
when the teacher is doing a whole group lesson at the front of the room, and the students are
sitting close to each other. The problem behavior occurs most often when Kira is around her
friends in the classroom.
What is the behavior that Kira does?
Kira whistles while the teacher is talking. After the teacher asks a question, Kira raises her hand
and is called on. Instead of giving a serious answer to the question, Kira says something that
students find funny such as, “One that has a girl with blonde hair and blue eyes, like me.” Kira
continues to raise her hand and respond with answers that do not make sense, such as starting a
story with “The end.”
What is the consequence? What usually happens after the problem occurs?
The consequence is the students around Kira laugh. Right after the problem occurs, Kira looks
around the room to see her friends’ reactions, and when they laugh, she continues to act out. The
teacher also points out the problem behavior by telling Kira to stop whistling. By continuing to
call on Kira, the teacher is feeding into the behavior.
Graph and Share BIP Success
As Nigel’s teacher, I would discontinue the intervention because the problem behavior has
increased dramatically while the appropriate interactions have decreased dramatically. Before
intervention started, Nigel’s highest instance of aggression in one observation was ten, but after
the intervention was started, Nigel’s highest instance of aggression was double this. The data
shows that the intervention in place is increasing the problem behavior and decreasing the
appropriate interactions, so as the teacher, I would discontinue the interventions. The appropriate
interactions during the final observation were zero, which shows that the intervention is making
the problem behavior and the appropriate interactions worse. If Nigel was being more aggressive
but also having a higher number of appropriate interactions, I might modify, but since the two
areas are going in opposite directions I would discontinue and try something new.

Value-Based Living Lecture

 “Attitude” by Chuck Swindoll

o Leave the outside stuff at the door
 Human beings have things going on, but we cannot take that out on each
other and especially on our students
o Kids are still learning how to regulate their emotions, so we need to demonstrate
proper ways to control our emotions
 We need to teach children to social regulate
 Emotion drives attention drives learning
o We cannot gain attention without taking care of the emotional piece
o We must take care of the emotional side, then gain their attention, THEN we can
start the learning.
 Four circles: the circles are not perfect (Stephen Covey)
o Fire within stays lit if you are in the middle of the four circles
o The four circles are:
 Spiritual: Bible study with friends, yoga, meditation, spending time
outside, church, calmness
 Emotional: crying, mental health, relationships
 Physical: water, sleep, food, exercise, and time to heal after illnesses
 Find some balance and take care of yourself
 Mental: brain breaks, separating home and work, classwork
o The more the four circles intertwine, the more the fire within stays lit
o You must take care of yourself before you can care for others properly
o Take care of those four circles before you try to take care of others
 Students might have bigger issues going on
o Do not put that student with other children until he has handled his own problems
 He needed different support
  Event control
o There are things going on that you cannot control
 But you can control how you handle those situations

After listening to the value-based living lecture, I took many of the points to heart. First, I need
to prioritize myself and my relationships with family and close friends over schoolwork. Last
year, I would refuse to take breaks until the work was done, but the problem is that the work is
never done. I have done a better job this semester at allowing myself to take breaks and attend
social gatherings. I also think about what is controllable and what is uncontrollable before I
stress now. I learned that some things cannot be controlled, and it is important to let those go
instead of letting them eat me up inside. I still have a long way to go, but I think that being
conscious of the growth that I need to do is the first step to making progress!

Social Emotional Learning Guest Speaker

 Three-Tiered Model of Positive Behavioral Interventions and Support
o Tier one: All kids, all teachers, schoolwide
 Most of our kids
 Do most of the things you ask of them
 80% of our kids
o Tier two:
 More attention
 15% of our kids
o Tier three:
 5% of our kids
 Not the norm, but they take up a lot of time in the classroom
 Can be the aggressive student or the student who sits there and does not do
anything
 Schools with PBIS must come up with schoolwide expectations
o Might look at referrals when creating these expectations
 Usually, three to five expectations
 Students need to have a voice
o Give students a chance to tell you what happened
o Sometimes students realize that what they did was wrong
 As teachers, we need to acknowledge when students are doing something wrong, even
after they make a mistake earlier in the day
o Do not hold grudges against students
 Teaching social skills
 o Universal language
o Two-street
 Students respect teachers and teachers respect students
 Honor your special area teachers
 You are only as productive as your class and your students are
o Teach students to respect everyone
 Show children how to follow the procedures
o Have them reenact them and practice
 It takes over 30 repetitions before something is in your memory.
 Pbisworld.com
o Website full of resources!
o Recommendations and suggestions for dealing with a particular behavior
o Forms for keeping data.
 How do teachers advocate for a schoolwide plan?
o Talk to your principal
o Talk with your grade level team
o Talk at professional development meetings
 Try to find out about the school during the interview!
 What if there is not a schoolwide PBIS in place?
o You can put it into practice in your classroom!
 Boys Town
o A school for boys who have been left on their own.
o Another great resource
o Believes we can teach kids social skills in a very easy way
 Learn how to disagree appropriately and how to take no for an answer
 Make a list of the students in your room and decide where you think each student is.
 We need to train students well.
o Do not let students believe that misbehavior is rewarded.
 A student might be acting out because they are not trained well, it does not always mean
the student has a disability.
o Do not put students through the testing process until you have done the work.
 Observe and collect data!
 General education teachers need to observe and collect data.
 Collaborate with the special education teachers.
 Special education teachers are resource, not a solution!!!
 If the class is organized how it should be, you should have approximately 80% of your
students in tier one.
 Do not hesitate to collaborate with the people in your building!
I think the biggest takeaway for me as a person is the tremendous number of resources that the
guest speaker gave us. In the future, I might need to look back on these resources when I hit a
roadblock or need extra ideas. I also really appreciated that the speaker gave us suggestions on
how teachers can be advocates when trying to implement a schoolwide PBIS plan. Overall, the
guest speaker helped advance the resources that I have in my toolbelt for the years to come.

Why do people do what they do?

1. There are many reasons that people do what they do every day. One important part in
what people do is how they were raised and how they developed. Students who have their
basic needs met will develop and act differently than students who are struggling to fill
those basic needs. For example, a student who does not have food at home may try to
steal food from the school to fill his needs. Another example would be a child who does
not have a safe place to sleep. This student may try to sleep during the school day.
Parents/caretakers also play a large role in why people do things that they do. Students
watch and listen to their parents, and they may try to act or say similar things because that
is the only thing they know. The way our brains develop plays another important role in
why we do the things we do. We have learned many theories about the way we develop,
and that effects the way we act at any stage. For example, babies cry because they need
something but cannot yet communicate. In my opinion, we do what we do because of
where we are in development, the number of needs that we have met, and the people who
raised us.
2. Personally, I agree with this statement because a positive classroom environment means
that students have their basic needs met and feel ready/able to learn. As teachers, we must
understand our learners and what drives their behavior before we can create a positive
classroom environment. For example, if a student’s strongest intelligence is linguistic but
we only teach spatially, we are not creating a positive classroom environment for that
student. If we know the student learns linguistically, we can adapt our teaching methods
to suit that student’s intelligence. Teachers also must understand what drives their
behaviors because that will be important in setting up the proper learning space for those
students. For example, if a student works better individually, but we do not give him/her
any space to work alone, we are not supporting a positive classroom environment.
Another important part in getting to know students is that every behavior has a reason
and if we can get to know a student, we might be able to prevent the disrupting behaviors
before they occur. Often, misbehavior is a signal that something is not working well for
the student, so educators should try to know students well enough, so they understand
exactly what the root of the issue is. In my opinion, knowing our students, how they
learn, and what drives their behavior is one of the most important aspects in creating a
positive classroom environment. If we can understand how students learn, how their
bodies and brains develop, and what keeps them going, we can set up a classroom that
feels safe for every student. I believe that teachers must adapt their classroom
environment every year when new students walk into a classroom because each class has
a different dynamic.

Begin Charting Your Course

1. Who is someone I have taught or mentored and someone that teaches me or mentors me?
 a. During high school, I mentored a student during her kindergarten and first grade
school years. I enjoyed building a relationship with this student, and I felt like I
played a large role in her learning. I tutored her throughout the summer, which
helped keep her at the appropriate grade level. One person that has mentored me
is the teacher who hosted me as a cadet teacher, and one person that is currently
mentoring me is Dr. Hochman. I have many people in my life who teach me and
mentor me, and I am very thankful for all the opportunities and experiences that I
have because of these people!
2. Who is someone I have encouraged or inspired and who is someone I look up to and feel
encouraged/inspired by?
a. One person I have encouraged is my roommate. She is a health sciences major, so
we have very different classes, but we encourage each other every day. For
example, when we are stressed, we will take a dance break or talk about our
concerns. This is a great way to relieve some stress and encourage each other
during the most overwhelming days of the semester. One person I look up to is
my agriculture teacher from high school. He taught us more than the curriculum
by teaching us valuable life skills. I looked forward to walking into his classroom
every day, and whenever something went wrong, he was the first person I went to.
I strive to teach and inspire students in the way that this teacher helped me.
3. Who is going to be my cheerleader in my years of teaching/clinic work?
a. During my years of student teaching and then the following years of teaching, I
think I will have many cheerleaders. I have my roommate, my parents, my sisters,
my boyfriend, my peers in my education classes (especially Ellie and Ashley),
and the teachers I have had throughout my educational career. The teachers that
hosted me as a cadet teacher have been great cheerleaders throughout the years,
and I do not think that will change anytime soon. I also know my professors here
at Butler will be excellent cheerleaders during my teaching career.
Behaviors and Neurodiversity
1. “If a student feels misunderstood because the teacher cannot connect with the way the
student learnings, the student may become isolated.” (Brain Rules, 2008John Medina)
a. Building relationships is essential because we must know and understand how our
students learn. We need to teach to our students’ strengths if we want our students
to succeed.
2. “As a teacher, I possess a tremendous power to make a child’s life miserable or joyous. I
can be a tool of torture or an instrument of inspiration…” (Haim Ganott)
a. As an aspiring teacher, I can feel the amount of power this holds. Teachers are the
decisive factor in the classroom, so I need to be prepared to control my emotions
before I work with my students. The teachers I have had in the past have played a
large role in the way I view my life and success, so I know how valuable a good
experience with a teacher can be.
3. A few examples of elements of brain learning for ALL learners are knowing your
students, creating a safe environment, giving choices, and building a community.
 a. In this class, we have talked about these four things quite often. I think the
number of times that we talk about these four strategies shows how important
they are in the classroom!
Child Abuse Prevention Training
 Child sexual abuse is any sexual activity involving a child
 Most of the time the abuse comes from a family member or friend
o Children might love the person but hate the actions of the person.
o Children might need someone to help them grieve.
 Many times, it is the people in our own home that we need to fear or worry about.
 Children might be more open to sharing with a stranger because the strangers do not have
an emotional connection
 Two ways that conversations around child sexual abuse might evolve:
o When the incident occurs
o In our day to day lives
 Open conversations keep children safe
 Conversation Tips:
o Babies: Using proper names for body parts (Normalize the proper words for body
parts)
 Talk to children about everything you are doing to normalize it, so if it
does not feel normal the children recognize that.
o Toddlers: Define private parts and respect the word “No!”
 It is okay to say no to giving people hugs
o Young children: Implement safety rules about gifts and secrets (Help them
understand what secrets are not meant to be kept as secrets)
 Help them understand the difference between a secret and a surprise
o Pre-Teens: Ask “What if” questions to practice decision-making
o Teens: Develop open communication
 Most of the kids they see are four years old.
o Sexual abuse starts at a young age, so the conversations about safety should too.
 Eliminate skin to skin contact
o Use a glove, tissue, or cotton swab to put on cream in the baby’s private areas
 Kids know skin to skin contact is wrong.
o Talk to children about everything you are doing. That way if someone is not
talking to them, they know something is wrong.
 It does not have to be uncomfortable to be inappropriate.
 “My dad ate my cookie last night.”
o Teach them the appropriate name of body parts, so we know exactly what the
child is referring to.
 Never promise a child you will not tell anyone and never promise that it will never
happen again.
 o You can promise to do everything you can to keep that student safe.
 Grooming
o Gaining their trust
o Slowly touching them so they are more comfortable with hands on their bodies
o Some strategies are secrecy, confusion, threats, creating normalcy, intimidation,
etc.
 Assume that every child has been abused and treat them accordingly so you can make
sure all children stay comfortable.
 Signs of abuse are things you can see, but shifts in behavior might be more important
when noticing sexual abuse
o Know your child and students so you can see the signs and shifts
 When it comes to safety, we need to have a plan!
o Create a safety plan (Have students agree to things to keep students safe).
o Create a safety map: Write down the safe people that students can go to in
different locations).
 Use tricky people instead of strangers because it is often the people closest to the child
that will hurt him/her.
 It is not your job to be sure that sexual abuse occurred because that meant you performed
an inappropriate interview.
o We want children to tell their story as minimal as possible.
o Severing relationships with the families does not matter if the child is safe.
 Give kids a voice and follow their voice.
 Help kids understand that adults might not always want to be touched.
o Model that it is okay to say no to touch.
 Before reporting, collect your thoughts and write them down.
 Our job is reporting. It is not a judgement…it is reporting the observations we make and
the data we collect.
As a teacher, knowing how to handle and report sexual abuse is extremely important. We need to
be prepared to see events like this one in our classrooms because they happen more than we
know. I appreciated this training because I feel more prepared to deal with the situations that
might arise in my future career. I think the training was also beneficial for my life because things
like this might be happening around me, and I am more prepared to help people now!

ED 491 Students with Emotional Disabilities and/or Challenging Behaviors with Kris Baker
Question:
How do you focus on the positive behaviors in the classroom while also making sure that the
negative behaviors do not continue?
Class Notes:
 Always sit down and ask for help because two minds are always better than one
o New teachers should not worry about looking bad by asking for help
 Negative consequence and punishment will not change behavior
 You cannot discipline a student into better behavior
 Think about how to shape the behavior and encourage the positive behavior
 Most of our students are coming to us with at least one ACE (adverse childhood
experiences
o What can be some underlying things that are going on?
o How can I meet unmet needs with compassion?
 Do not only look at the behavior, look at the underlying situations
o Meet where the student is
 If my needs are not met, it is going to be hard for me to meet the needs of other people
o If you can meet their basic needs, they are going to work harder for you!
 SEAT (Four reasons for behavior)
o Sensory: The behavior feels good or meets a sensory need
o Escape: From a person, task, environment, etc.
o Attention: Desire for attention from others
o Tangible: Desire for a specific item or activity
 Behaviors are symptoms of what is going on underneath
o It is not easy to figure out what is going on underneath because we might have a
bias. Asking other people for help and processing through things with other
people can be especially beneficial
 “Help for Billy” by Heather Forbes
 Window of stress
o Kids who are securely attached have a low window of stress, so it takes more
things to go wrong before their breaking point
o Kids who are not securely attached have a high window of stress, so it takes small
things to go wrong for that student to meet their breaking point
 Precipitating factors: Things the students might come in with before we see them
o Sleep
o Healthy food
o Shelter
o Friendships
o Peer pressure
o Medication
 The minute students leave you, the playing field is much less level
 We need to learn when to react and when to teach
o When things start going wrong and the student gets frustrated their cognition goes
wrong
o As teachers, our cognition goes down too
o We cannot talk students out of the behavior when they are in the peak stages
 We cannot teach the student at that time
  You can talk to students and teach students when they are calm
o If you start talking to students during the de-escalation time, you might throw
them right back to the crisis point
 Sometimes we should just not do anything (No talking because your speaking stirs the
pot)
 Design your classroom for the students who struggle the most because all students will
benefit
 Student misbehavior is a miscommunication between a student and teacher
Strategies
 Design your classroom, but know you might need to change based on the students you
receive
 Keep all your procedures consistent
o Predictability reduces anxiety
 Have backup materials for students
 Chaos breeds chaos
o Keep your classroom organized
 Maintain order by using routines and agendas
o The classroom schedule will change
o Refer to your classroom schedule
 Limit visual distractions
 Plan your room, but then change it when you need to
o Think about high traffic areas, who is seated by who, how easily you can move
around the room
 Proximity and how easily you can move around the room, the better
 Remove open space
 The younger or more immature the group = the tighter the structure
o Start strict because you can loosen up
 Typical expectations and rules can be respective
o For example:
 Be kind
 Be responsible
 Be respectful
 Be safe
 Raise your hand to speak
Three things to think about:
 Schedule/Agenda:
o Review your agenda everyday
o Do not use times
 Expectations:
o These change depending on the activity or task
 o How the teacher expects the student to behave for the various activities
 Routines:
o Things that take place on a regular basis in the classroom
o These do not change
If you have these three things in place, the students should always be more behaved. Even when
you are gone.
You are a teacher!
 The schedules, expectations, and routines must be taught explicitly
 Practiced and reviewed routinely
 Allow for correction
 Do not give students all the instructions at one time!
o Visuals can show students what to do after you say the instructions.
 Think about what you are having students do
o Meet them where they are
 Think about a voice level and move it when students are allowed to be at different levels
 Review and update expectations
 If you can teach students what the expectations are, then it reduces behavior drastically
Ratio of interaction
 Students with behavior issues have a negative self-image
 The students might not listen because they are so used to hearing the negativity
 The behavior you address is the behavior you get
 Make more deposits than withdrawals
Consider the consequences
 Positive consequences
o Reward effort
When things go wrong:
 Be calm and set the example
 “When behavior gets big, get small.”
 Speak slowly
 Speak calmly
 Give the child time to calm themselves down
 Approach the child slowly
 Be willing to let someone else try
 Watch your vocabulary
 Watch your body language
o Get on their level
 Respect children’s needs to have their moments
If you have the control, it is going to be easier to control the challenging behaviors!
Consider what your students wants and meet them where they are.
Let your student experience the reward at least once so they know how good it is!
 Sink the hook
Make the behavior management personal!
Balancing the behavior issues with the other children
 Teach the students
o Give one student a band aid and then the other kids are like we don’t need the
band aids. Exactly, some kids need that, and you do not.
 Let all the students try, and those that do not need the resource will get tired of it.
When students do not respond, that is not failure, it is data.
Kris Baker
kebaker@shelbycs.org

1. As teachers, we must let our students experience the reward at least once, so they know
how good it is. If we never let the students experience the reward, they will not know
what they are working towards. “Sink the hook!”
2. “When behavior gets big, get small.” We must adopt a calm, quiet, and slow tone with
students so they have a chance to de-escalate themselves. This might mean that we stop
talking or walk away from the student because we never want to stir the pot. Basically, let
students have their moment and teach later.
3. Agendas should be reviewed and updated daily, and they should not include times. The
key to success is giving students access to the agenda so they know what to expect. This
helps reduce anxiety that the students might feel in the classroom. No day looks the same
as another, so these agendas should be updated daily.

One thing that connected to our learning from class was the “Acting Out Cycle.” We have talked
about this cycle a few separate times in this class, but she added the visual that shows the levels
of cognition that the teacher and student have during the acting out cycle. The number of times
we have seen this visual and talked about the cycle proves how important it truly is in the
classroom.
Karly Keiper
Disability Specialist at Butler University
 Behavior serves a function
 o The five major functions
 Attention
 Access to items/activities
 Escape
 Pain attenuation
 Sensory stimulation
 Adaptive behavior
o We can make changes and modify plans to produce the proper outcome
o Do not interfere with class
 Maladaptive behavior
o An attempt to adapt to the situation and navigate a change in a way that is not
socially appropriate or safe
o Ineffective in achieving the desired outcome
 We must change us first during behavior management
o How? Be very reflective and aware to watch your actions and words.
 Body language
 Word choice
 Controlling responses
 Intentional use of attention
 Allowing opportunities to respond
 Praise
 Body language
o Open body language so you are approachable
o Avoid intimidating body language
o Watch the student’s body language too
 Adapt how you respond to each student
 If a student tenses up, you might need to back up
 For students with ADHD, you might need to sit across from them to keep
their focus
 Students cannot look around the room
 Give yourself grace because we all mess it up sometimes
 Know your students and what they need/value
 Word choice
o That much more important with masks during the pandemic
o Statements should not be phrased as questions if they are not questions!
 Be confident in how you state your requests
o Only give choices you are okay with
 Choices are a great way to give students some control, but only give the
choices you are okay with
 Praise
o Use it generously
o Identify the behavior you want to see more of and praise that
 o You can praise them for following the expectations!
o Be specific with your words
o Don’t be afraid to use novelty
 Use new words because it makes it more meaningful and even more fun
o “Thank you” is not a praise, it is a confirmation
 You need to give them praise not just thank them
 Attention with intention
o If a student wants attention, they are going to do everything they can to get it.
o Plan to ignore with replacement behavior
 Turn your body away from the student
 Sit on the floor
 “We can talk when your body is calm.”
 The student will continue, but eventually they will realize that they
are not getting anywhere, and they will stop.
o Pick your battles
o Acknowledge the feelings and causes of the behavior first. Then, talk about the
actual behavior later.
 For example, if the student is cussing at you. Give the student some
options. Then, when the student is calmer, you can talk to them about why
the behavior is wrong.
 Opportunity to respond
o A lack of opportunity to respond/participate may lead to student distraction or
lack of attendance
o Give each student the opportunity to respond
o Do not only call on the students closest to you
o We need to make sure everyone feels included
 The best learning environments are ones where everyone can try, fail, and then try again
safely
o Failure is part of the learning process
Classroom Do’s
 See learning as an exploration
o We learn by when we see all parts, good and bad
 Acknowledge the skill behind the error
o Acknowledge the failures gently and praise the attempt
 Attempt to understand their perspective
o Understand where the students are
 Be vulnerable
o Show your students that it is not just them who fail sometimes
Classroom Don’ts
 Point out errors or humiliate students
 o Even to use humor
 Make the environment only right and wrong with no room for
exploration/experimentation
 Using a lot of sarcasm
The notes above connect to my learning because they give me concrete strategies to use with
students who are using challenging behavior. We have been talking about handling behavior in
our classrooms all semester, and this was a great way to conclude the learning I have done with
gaining real life strategies.