Lecture 4

Cognitive Behavioral Interventions/Social Skills/Collaboration

Introduction

Just as there are many diagnoses of disorders, there are many forms of intervention. It is important that care and concern go into the planning of the most appropriate intervention strategies. According to Yell, Meadows, Drasgow, and Shriner (2009), "When developing programs for students with emotional and behavioral disorders (EBD), the ultimate goal is to teach them more socially appropriate and adaptive forms of behavior that endure after they leave the school setting" (p.127).

Coping Skills

There are a number of skills that educators can help students learn and permanently acquire for a number of stressful situations, including: cognitive restructuring, stress management, and anger management. All of these areas can be taught in a mandatory social skills content area just as the academic areas are taught. This curriculum of social skills instruction should be required of every EBD program. Unfortunately, the immediate teacher may not have the training and education to implement effectively such a program, therefore, additional personnel such as a social worker, psychologist, counselor, and others may be required.

Implementing Cognitive Behavioral Interventions

According to Yell et al. (2009), developing and implementing these interventions requires three components:

1. Functional assessment of the problematic behaviors.

2. Program planning and implementation: choosing the cognitive behavioral intervention (CBI), teaching the procedures, and monitoring student results.

3. Lastly, programming for generalization in that the student will be able to carry on the learned procedures independently.

Cognitive Restructuring

Often, the student with EBD can experience cognitive distortions that place unrealistic demands on them and others, resulting in anxiety, depression, and anger from unrealistic fears. They can minimize or maximize situations and be reacting to experiences, or perceived experiences that are not really happening, due to past experiences. It is how they perceive the current situation due to experiencing their old emotions from past similar experiences. Violent behaviors can result, but students can be educated to recognize these unrealistic thoughts.

Approaches such as a rational emotive behavior therapy (REBT) can teach the student how to discern cognitively the new experiences from the old experience in order to be rational in their emotional and behavioral responses. The assumption is that the EBD person experiences faulty thinking about the events rather than the actual event itself. "In the classroom, REBT is typically implemented in small groups where peers help each other work through misperceptions" (Yell et al., 2009, p.163). REBT does concentrate on the present and conscious; and present day problems are tackled versus the past problems, experiences, or causal factors.

Stress and Anger Management

The ultimate goal in teaching the students with EBD to control their emotions and behaviors is to develop self-regulation and self-management skills. When students have self-management skills, they are able to demonstrate responsible and independent behaviors for the future or be able to use generalization. They will learn to self-monitor and know to check in with themselves when their behaviors may become inappropriate, regardless of whether they are alone or with others. Students can then practice self-evaluation through utilization of the CBI steps they have learned and take corrective steps where required. They will know when and how to change behavior before it becomes a problem and inappropriate.

Group Therapy

Often, programs for students with EBD have a therapeutic element included with the academics. If the teacher is the one delivering this element, the group instruction for behaviors might fall under the social skills area because behaviors affect the social realm.

The therapeutic process and techniques take place within the theoretical perspective of the leader trained in a specific style or philosophy of human behavior, resulting in verbal or physical approaches to therapy. The basic assumption in group therapy is that, with the guidance of the leader, participants learn about their feelings and attitudes from interacting with other group members and, with support of the group, learn appropriate behaviors. Common components found in all the approaches include: "(a) insight or self-understanding, (b) learning from interpersonal interaction, (c) acceptance, (d) self-disclosure, (e) catharsis (a release from tension), (f) guidance, (g) vicarious learning, and (h) altruism" (Newcomer, 1993, p. 445).

Collaboration

It is not only the students who require training in the CBI techniques and strategies; the staff and others involved with the student need to have the same information and to collaborate as a team. These people are the mandated team required by IDEA and may include additional professionals if necessary for the assured success of the student. As defined in the textbook, the team is "... anyone who has a contribution to make and information to share related to the task facing the team should be a member" (Yell, et al., 2009, p. 168).

Collaboration needs to be present between the special education teacher and aides, administrators, and regular teachers, parents, or guardians, and any contributing outside agencies. The more consistent the approach, the more likely the student will experience success. Successful collaboration requires successful communication and frequent monitoring for success. There must be commitment, skills, trust, and respect for all members, and the student needs to be one of those members, as they get older. Transition mandates that the student is included in the planning of their IEP when they are 16 years old. However, considering research has shown that beginning at an earlier age can produce more success; it is pertinent to include them at a younger age.

Conclusion

Lack of successful appropriate behaviors and social skills often accompany lack of academic success. Students with EBD tend to have poor external and internal personal skills and do not always enjoy friendships and positive self-esteem. Through CBI training, self-monitoring, increased success, and continued practice, the student with EBD can reverse all those areas. The long-term outcomes can be more positive and they can be more independent and successful due to the CBI interventions, social skills training, and collaboration of the staff when they were in school.

References

Newcomer, P.L. (2002). Understanding and teaching emotionally disturbed children and adolescents. Pro-ed, Austin, Texas.

Yell, M. L, Meadows, N. B., Drasgow, E., & Shriner, J. G. (2009). Evidence-based

practices for educating students with emotional and behavioral disorders.

Upper Saddle River, NJ: Merrill/Pearson.

2010. Grand Canyon University. All Rights Reserved.

Lecture 5

Classroom Behavior Management Strategies

Introduction

There is a wide variety of mental and emotional health issues present in the classrooms, which often manifest themselves through inappropriate behaviors. Past approaches to classroom management have been mainly designed around punishment. The emphasis was on actions taken after the behavior had happened; discipline and teaching were thought of as separate areas in education. However, from the early 1970s, history has shown that actions taken by teachers prior to incidents of undesired classroom behaviors can be the catalyst for preventing the behaviors from occurring. That is, if teachers understand the need for, and work to create and maintain a proactive environment, the result will be a classroom in which student learning increases and misbehavior decreases (Yell Meadows, Drasgow, & Shriner, 2009).

Proactive Components

There are four components listed in the textbook (Yell et al., 2009) that are involved in a proactive classroom management system. The attitude and behaviors of the teacher are a primary component, the authority the credible teacher carries is also a vital element, as well as the structure of the classroom can play a part in successful management, and lastly, the effectiveness of the instruction or teaching.

Teachers can affect the classroom with their own beliefs and attitudes about children with special needs. Positive attitudes and a high self-efficacy about teaching students with special needs are essential to successful classroom management. Teachers may be insensitive to students' needs or be poor role models. Some instructors may not have realistic expectations for their special needs students and fail to be consistent with consequences.

The teacher needs to be the authority in special needs classrooms and establish this influence at the beginning of the year; credibility comes through the teacher's consistency. Many special needs students may lack adequate structure in their daily lives, therefore consistent schedules, expectations, and consequences can be effective. If there is more than one adult present in the classroom, it is of paramount importance for all staff to work together consistently and establish the same level of expectations and protocols.

According to Yell et al. (2009), the structure of a classroom is defined as the way in which classrooms are organized albeit the physical environment to the rules and expectations, the goal of which is to enhance teaching and learning and lower the incidence of problem misbehaviors. This will entail advanced planning on the teacher's part, and the teacher instructing the students from the beginning of the year in regards to th