Best practices for supporting social behavior involve prevention as a first course of action. This may involve the adults in the building examining beliefs and practices about student social behavior. Predictable, preventative, and positive learning environments are critical considerations for fostering academic and social behavior success.

 

Research

Preventative practices are much easier to implement and manage than figuring out what to do with problematic behavior that has increased or escalated into greater challenges (Colvin, 2010). Best practices for supporting social behavior involve prevention as a first course of action (Simonsen et al.,2008). Whether approaching student social behavior at the schoolwide, classroom, or individual student level, educators must consider the possibility of moving from a reactive approach to a preventative approach. This may involve the adults in the building examining beliefs and practices about student social behavior. Predictable, preventative, and positive learning environments are critical considerations for fostering academic and social behavior success (Hattie, 2009).

Research

Preventative practices are much easier to implement and manage than figuring out what to do with problematic behavior that has increased or escalated into greater challenges (Colvin, 2010). Best practices for supporting social behavior involve prevention as a first course of action (Simonsen et al.,2008). Whether approaching student social behavior at the schoolwide, classroom, or individual student level, educators must consider the possibility of moving from a reactive approach to a preventative approach. This may involve the adults in the building examining beliefs and practices about student social behavior. Predictable, preventative, and positive learning environments are critical considerations for fostering academic and social behavior success (Hattie, 2009).

Application

Shifting to a preventative approach to student social behavior as a first course of action may require educators to engage in self-reflection, collaborative dialogue, or rethinking disciplinary practices. Implementing a preventative approach may look like collaborative planning with colleagues to plan for effective and engaging instruction for both academic and social behaviors. Below is a resource titled “Rethinking Discipline” that can be used to begin the conversation about “making the shift” either as a school community, individual teacher, grade level, or a team of co-teachers. Additional resources include a wealth of preventative approaches to “practice” within your educational setting.

Resources

• Rethinking Discipline (refer to pages 11-13 of this resource)

(broken link) http://pbismissouri.org/wp(broken link) content/uploads/2013/04/Tier-1-Ch-1.pdf?9d7bd4

• Classroom Management: Preventive Strategies

(broken link) http://www.nasponline.org/educators/HCHSII_PreventiveStrategies.pdf

• Preventing Challenging Behavior in Young Children: Effective practices

http://www.challengingbehavior.org/do/resources/documents/rph_preventing_challenging_behavior.pdf

References

Colvin, G. (2010). Defusing disruptive behavior in the classroom. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin.

Hattie, J. (2009). Visible learning. New York, NY: Routledge Taylor & Francis Group.

Simonsen, B., Fairbanks, S., Briesch, A., Myers, D., & Sugai, G. (2008). Evidence‐based practices in classroom management: Considerations for research to practice. Education and Treatment of Children, 31(3), 351-380.