Classroom Strategies for Helping the Struggling High School Student Jim Wright www.interventioncentral.org

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Classroom Strategies for Helping theStruggling
High School StudentJim Wrightwww.interventionce
ntral.org
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Workshop Goals
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http//www.jimwrightonline.com/pittsford.php
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Secondary Students Unique Challenges

• Struggling learners in middle and high school
  may
• Have significant deficits in basic academic
  skills
• Lack higher-level problem-solving strategies and
  concepts
• Present with issues of school motivation
• Show social/emotional concerns that interfere
  with academics
• Have difficulty with attendance
• Are often in a process of disengaging from
  learning even as adults in school expect that
  those students will move toward being
  self-managing learners

5
Student Motivation A Systems-Level Problem
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A journey of a thousand miles must begin with a
single step.Lao Tzu, Chinese Taoist (600 BC-531
BC)


7
Childhood and Beyond Longitudinal Project

• 3 cohorts of children (about 250 children per
  cohort) were followed across elementary, middle
  and high school. (Children were recruited from 4
  middle-class school districts in the midwest.)
• In the subject areas of math, language arts, and
  sports, students were asked each year to rate
  their competence in the subject and their valuing
  of it.

Source Jacobs, J. E., Lanza, S., Osgood, D. W.,
Eccles, J. S., Wigfield, A. (2002). Changes in
childrens self-competence and values Gender and
domain differences across grades one through
twelve. Child Development, 73, 509-527.
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Childhood and Beyond Longitudinal Project Some
Findings

• Ratings of both competence and value declined for
  all 3 subject areas (math, language arts, and
  sports) for boys and girls as they grew older.
• Girls rated themselves lower in competence in
  math throughout schooluntil grade 12, when boys
  and girls converged in their ratings (because
  boys ratings declined faster than did girls
  ratings).
• Across all grade levels, boys rated themselves
  significantly less competent than did girls in
  language arts.
• Not surprisingly, boys and girls valuing
  (enjoyment, liking) of a subject area correlated
  with perceived ability. Generally, boys and girls
  who rated themselves as lowest in ability also
  rated their valuing of the subject area as
  lowest.

Source Jacobs, J. E., Lanza, S., Osgood, D. W.,
Eccles, J. S., Wigfield, A. (2002). Changes in
childrens self-competence and values Gender and
domain differences across grades one through
twelve. Child Development, 73, 509-527.
9
Five Strands of Mathematical Proficiency (NRC,
2002)

• Understanding Comprehending mathematical
  concepts, operations, and relations--knowing what
  mathematical symbols, diagrams, and procedures
  mean.
• Computing Carrying out mathematical procedures,
  such as adding, subtracting, multiplying, and
  dividing numbers flexibly, accurately,
  efficiently, and appropriately.
• Applying Being able to formulate problems
  mathematically and to devise strategies for
  solving them using concepts and procedures
  appropriately.
• Reasoning Using logic to explain and justify a
  solution to a problem or to extend from something
  known to something less known.
• Engaging Seeing mathematics as sensible, useful,
  and doableif you work at itand being willing to
  do the work.

Source National Research Council. (2002).
Helping children learn mathematics. Mathematics
Learning Study Committee, J. Kilpatrick J.
Swafford, Editors, Center for Education, Division
of Behavioral and Social Sciences and Education.
Washington, DC National Academy Press.
10
School Dropout as a Process, Not an Event

• It is increasingly accepted that dropout is
  best conceptualized as a long-term process, not
  an instantaneous event however, most
  interventions are administered at a middle or
  high school level after problems are severe.

Source Jimerson, S., Reschly, A.L., Hess, R.
(2008). Best practices in increasing the
likelihood of school completion. In A. Thomas
J. Grimes (Eds). Best Practices in School
Psychology - 5th Ed (pp. 1085-1097). Bethesda,
MD National Association of School
Psychologists.. p.1090
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Student Motivation The Need for Intervention

• A common response to students who struggle in
  sixth grade is to wait and hope they grow out of
  it or adapt, to attribute early struggles to the
  natural commotion of early adolescence and to
  temporary difficulties in adapting to new
  organizational structures of schooling, more
  challenging curricula and assessment, and less
  personalized attention. Our evidence clearly
  indicates that, at least in high-poverty urban
  schools, sixth graders who are missing 20 or
  more of the days, exhibiting poor behavior, or
  failing math or English do not recover. On the
  contrary, they drop out. This says that early
  intervention is not only productive but
  absolutely essential.

Source Balfanz, R., Herzog, L., MacIver, D. J.
(2007). Preventing student disengagement and
keeping students on the graduation path in urban
middle grades schools Early identification and
effective interventions. Educational
Psychologist,42, 223235. .
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What Are the Early Warning Flags of Student
Drop-Out?

• A sample of 13,000 students in Philadelphia were
  tracked for 8 years. These early warning
  indicators were found to predict student drop-out
  in the sixth-grade year
• Failure in English
• Failure in math
• Missing at least 20 of school days
• Receiving an unsatisfactory behavior rating
  from at least one teacher

Source Balfanz, R., Herzog, L., MacIver, D. J.
(2007). Preventing student disengagement and
keeping students on the graduation path in urban
middle grades schools Early identification and
effective interventions. Educational
Psychologist,42, 223235. .
13
What is the Predictive Power of These Early
Warning Flags?
Number of Early Warning Flags in Student Record Probability That Student Would Graduate
None 56
1 36
2 21
3 13
4 7
Source Balfanz, R., Herzog, L., MacIver, D. J.
(2007). Preventing student disengagement and
keeping students on the graduation path in urban
middle grades schools Early identification and
effective interventions. Educational
Psychologist,42, 223235. .
14
Understanding and Analyzing Student Motivation
Problems Key Concepts
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Big Ideas Similar Behaviors May Stem from Very
Different Root Causes (Kratochwill, Elliott,
Carrington Rotto, 1990)

• Behavior is not random but follows purposeful
  patterns.Students who present with the same
  apparent surface behaviors may have very
  different drivers (underlying reasons) that
  explain why those behaviors occur.A students
  problem behaviors must be carefully identified
  and analyzed to determine the drivers that
  support them.

Source Kratochwill, T. R., Elliott, S. N.,
Carrington Rotto, P. (1990). Best practices in
behavioral consultation. In A. Thomas and J.
Grimes (Eds.). Best practices in school
psychology-II (pp. 147169). Silver Spring, MD
National Association of School Psychologists..
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Inference Moving Beyond the Margins of the
Known

• An inference is a tentative conclusion without
  direct or conclusive support from available data.
  All hypotheses are, by definition, inferences. It
  is critical that problem analysts make
  distinctions between what is known and what is
  inferred or hypothesized.Low-level inferences
  should be exhausted prior to the use of
  high-level inferences. p. 161

Source Christ, T. (2008). Best practices in
problem analysis. In A. Thomas J. Grimes
(Eds.), Best practices in school psychology V
(pp. 159-176).
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Examples of High vs. Low Inference Hypotheses
An 11th-grade student does poorly on tests and
quizzes in math. Homework is often incomplete.
He frequently shows up late for class and does
not readily participate in group discussions.
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Student Motivation Levels Are Strongly Influenced
by the Instructional Setting (Lentz Shapiro,
1986)

• Students with learning or motivation problems do
  not exist in isolation. Rather, their
  instructional environment plays an enormously
  important role in these students degree of
  academic engagement.

Source Lentz, F. E. Shapiro, E. S. (1986).
Functional assessment of the academic
environment. School Psychology Review, 15, 346-57.
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Big Ideas Academic Delays Can Be a Potent Cause
of Behavior Problems (Witt, Daly, Noell, 2000)

• Student academic problems cause many school
  behavior problems.
• Whether a students problem is a behavior
  problem or an academic one, we recommend starting
  with a functional academic assessment, since
  often behavior problems occur when students
  cannot or will not do required academic work.

Source Witt, J. C., Daly, E. M., Noell, G.
(2000). Functional assessments A step-by-step
guide to solving academic and behavior problems.
Longmont, CO Sopris West, p. 13
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Motivation The Construct
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Definitions of Motivation

• motivation refers to the initiation,
  direction, intensity and persistence of behavior.

Source Motivation. (2007). Wikipedia. Retrieved
March 13, 2007, from http//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/
Motivation
Motivation is typically defined as the forces
that account for the arousal, selection,
direction, and continuation of behavior.
Source Excerpted from Chapter 11 of
Biehler/Snowman, PSYCHOLOGY APPLIED TO TEACHING,
8/e, Houghton Mifflin, 1997.
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Unmotivated Students What Works
Motivation can be thought of as having two
dimensions

1. the students expectation of success on the task

Multiplied by

1. the value that the student places on achieving
   success on that learning task

• The relationship between the two factors is
  multiplicative. If EITHER of these factors (the
  students expectation of success on the task OR
  the students valuing of that success) is zero,
  then the motivation product will also be zero.

Source Sprick, R. S., Borgmeier, C., Nolet, V.
(2002). Prevention and management of behavior
problems in secondary schools. In M. A. Shinn, H.
M. Walker G. Stoner (Eds.), Interventions for
academic and behavior problems II Preventive and
remedial approaches (pp.373-401). Bethesda, MD
National Association of School Psychologists.
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Big Ideas The Four Stages of Learning Can Be
Summed Up in the Instructional Hierarchy(Haring
et al., 1978)

• Student learning can be thought of as a
  multi-stage process. The universal stages of
  learning include
• Acquisition The student is just acquiring the
  skill.
• Fluency The student can perform the skill but
  must make that skill automatic.
• Generalization The student must perform the
  skill across situations or settings.
• Adaptation The student confronts novel task
  demands that require that the student adapt a
  current skill to meet new requirements.

Source Haring, N.G., Lovitt, T.C., Eaton, M.D.,
Hansen, C.L. (1978). The fourth R Research in
the classroom. Columbus, OH Charles E. Merrill
Publishing Co.
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Motivation in Action Flow
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Definition of the Flow State

• Being completely involved in an activity for
  its own sake. The ego falls away. Time flies.
  Every action, movement, and thought follows
  inevitably from the previous one, like playing
  jazz. Your whole being is involved, and you're
  using your skills to the utmost.
• --Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi

Source Geirland, J. (Septermber, 1996). Go with
the flow. Wired Magazine. Retrieved March 19,
2007, from http//www.wired.com/wired/archive/4.09
/czik_pr.html
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Qualities of Activities that May Elicit a Flow
State

• The activity is challenging and requires skill to
  complete
• Goals are clear
• Feedback is immediate
• There is a merging of action and awareness.
  All the attention is concentrated on the
  relevant stimuli so that individuals are no
  longer aware of themselves as separate from the
  actions they are performing
• The sense of times passing is altered Time may
  seem slowed or pass very quickly
• Flow is not static. As one acquires mastery
  over an activity, he or she must move to more
  challenging experiences to continue to achieve
  flow

Source Csikszentmihalyi, M. (1990). Flow The
psychology of optimal experience. New York
Harper Row
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Flow Channel
Challenges
Skills
Source Csikszentmihalyi, M. (1990). Flow The
psychology of optimal experience. New York
Harper Row
28
Student Motivation Two Steps to Reframing the
Issue and Empowering Schools

• Step 1 Redefine motivation as academic
  engagement e.g., The student chooses to engage
  in active accurate academic responding (Skinner,
  Pappas, Davis, 2005).
• Step 2 Build staff support for this mission
  statement When a student appears unmotivated,
  it is the schools job to figure out why the
  student is unmotivated and to find a way to get
  that student motivated.

Source Skinner, C. H., Pappas, D. N., Davis,
K. A. (2005). Enhancing academic engagement
Providing opportunities for responding and
influencing students to choose to respond.
Psychology in the Schools, 42, 389-403.
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The Unmotivated Student Possible Reasons

• The student is unmotivated because he or she
  cannot do the assigned work.
• The student is unmotivated because the response
  effort needed to complete the assigned work
  seems too great.
• The student is unmotivated because classroom
  instruction does not engage.
• The student is unmotivated because he or she
  fails to see an adequate pay-off to doing the
  assigned work.
• The student is unmotivated because of low
  self-efficacylack of confidence that he or she
  can do the assigned work.
• The student is unmotivated because he or she
  lacks a positive relationship with the teacher.

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The student is unmotivated because he or she
cannot do the assigned work.

• Recommended Response. The school should
• Inventory the students academic skills
• Provide support in core instruction to address
  the student deficits
• Provide supplemental (intervention) instruction
  as needed to address the student deficits

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Verifying Instructional Match

• Be sure that assigned work is not too easy and
  not too difficult. It is surprising how often
  classroom behavior problems occur simply because
  students find the assigned work too difficult or
  too easy. As a significant mismatch between the
  assignment and the students abilities can
  trigger misbehavior, teachers should inventory
  each students academic skills and adjust
  assignments as needed to ensure that the student
  is appropriately challenged but not overwhelmed
  by the work.

Source Gettinger, M., Seibert, J.K. (2002).
Best practices in increasing academic learning
time. In A. Thomas (Ed.), Best practices in
school psychology IV Volume I (4th ed., pp.
773-787). Bethesda, MD National Association of
School Psychologists.
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The student is unmotivated because the response
effort needed to complete the assigned work
seems too great.

• Recommended Response.
• The teacher can use strategies that reduce the
  apparent effort required of a task. However, the
  instructor should avoid using strategies that
  hold the student to a lower standard of academic
  performance than peers.

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Chunking the Assignment

• Break a larger assignment into smaller segments.
  If a single, larger assignment appears too
  overwhelming for the student, the instructor can
  break that assignment into smaller segments, or
  chunks. The student completes each segment,
  gets performance feedback on the work, and takes
  on the next segment.For example, a teacher can
  take a math computation worksheet of 20 problems
  and cut it into four strips of 5 problems each.
  The student completes each strip, gets
  performance feedback, and moves onto the next
  collection of problems until the entire
  assignment is done.

Source Skinner, C. H., Pappas, D. N., Davis,
K. A. (2005).Enhancing academic engagement
Providing opportunities for responding and
influencing students to choose to respond.
Psychology in the Schools, 42, 389-403.
34
The student is unmotivated because classroom
instruction does not engage.

• Recommended Response. The teacher can
• Reduce distractions that draw student attention
  away from instruction
• Increase the engaging qualities of instruction

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Providing Student Choice

• Offer frequent opportunities for choice
  (empowerment). Teachers who allow students a
  degree of choice in structuring their learning
  activities typically have fewer behavior problems
  in their classrooms than teachers who do not. One
  efficient way to promote choice in the classroom
  is for the teacher to create a master menu of
  options that students can select from in various
  learning situations. For example, during
  independent assignment, students might be allowed
  to (1) choose from at least 2 assignment options,
  (2) sit where they want in the classroom, and (3)
  select a peer-buddy to check their work. Student
  choice then becomes integrated seamlessly into
  the classroom routine.

Source Skinner, C. H., Pappas, D. N., Davis,
K. A. (2005).Enhancing academic engagement
Providing opportunities for responding and
influencing students to choose to respond.
Psychology in the Schools, 42, 389-403.
36
The student is unmotivated because he or she
fails to see an adequate pay-off for doing the
assigned work.

• Recommended Response. The teacher can
• Use reinforcers/rewards as a temporary means to
  provide the student the incentive to put effort
  into academic workthen fade use of artificial
  reinforcers as other natural reinforcers (e.g.,
  teacher praise, improved grades, peer acceptance)
  take hold
• Show the student how the skill(s) or content
  being taught can help the student to accomplish
  functional goals (e.g., improving writing
  skills as a means to land a preferred summer job)

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The student is unmotivated because of low
self-efficacylack of confidence that he or she
can do the assigned work.

• Recommended Response. The teacher can
• Provide support and encouragement to reduce
  student anxiety and reluctance
• Challenge examples of faulty attribution through
  disconfirming evidence

38
Challenging Faulty Student Attributions

• Understand student self-talk (attributions) that
  give evidence of sense of self-efficacy. When
  students provide evidence of a low sense of
  self-efficacy in a subject area, activity, or
  academic task, the teacher can respond by
  questioning students to better understand what
  attributions they make that explain their
  academic difficulties.
• Then the teacher can find appropriate ways to
  challenge any students faulty thinking, often
  through use of disconfirming evidenceand
  ultimately to have the student reframe their view
  of their abilities in more adaptive and positive
  ways.
• A framework supplied by Linnenbrink and Pintrich
  (2002) is helpful. Attributions often explain
  events as falling into these categories
  unstable/stable, internal/external,
  uncontrollable/controllable.

Source Linnenbrink, E. A., Pintrich, P. R.
(2002). Motivation as an enabler for academic
success. School Psychology Review, 31, 313-327.
39
How Attributions About Learning Contribute to
Academic Outcomes
40
How Attributions About Learning Contribute to
Academic Outcomes
So I did lousy on this one test. Thats OK. Next
time, I will study harder and my grades should
bounce back.
Some people are born writers. I was born to
watch TV.
This teacher always springs pop quizzes on
usand picks questions that are impossible to
study for!
I cant get any studying done at home because my
brother listens to the radio all the time.
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Challenging Faulty Student Attributions Example

• A student says I am just not wired to be a
  writer (faulty attribution stable, internal,
  uncontrollable). The teacher shows the student
  evidence to disconfirm her attribution examples
  of the students own writing from a portfolio
  that are of high quality because the topic had
  interested the student.
• The instructor demonstrates that when the
  student puts effort into her writing, the product
  is reliably and predictably improved--reframe
  unstable/changeable (quality of the writing
  product depends on student effort), internal (the
  student has the necessary skill set to produce
  good writing), controllable (student effort is
  the key factor in producing a quality writing
  product).

Source Linnenbrink, E. A., Pintrich, P. R.
(2002). Motivation as an enabler for academic
success. School Psychology Review, 31, 313-327.
42
The student is unmotivated because he or she
lacks a positive relationship with the teacher.

• Recommended Response.
• The teacher can recalibrate his or her
  interactions with students to ensure that the
  majority of those interactions are positive in
  emotional tone.
• The teacher can single out students with whom he
  or she has a strained relationship and target
  them for non-contingent (positive) attention.

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Teacher Requests Adopting a Positive Tone

• Emphasize the positive in teacher requests.
  When an instructor's request has a positive
  'spin', that teacher is less likely to trigger a
  power struggle and more likely to gain student
  compliance. Whenever possible, avoid using
  negative phrasing (e.g., "If you don't return to
  your seat, I cant help you with your
  assignment"). Instead, restate requests in
  positive terms (e.g., "I will be over to help you
  on the assignment just as soon as you return to
  your seat").

Source Braithwaite, R. (2001). Managing
aggression. New York Routledge.
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Skewing Teacher Interactions Toward the Positive

• Maintain a high ratio of positive vs.
  disciplinary interactions. Teachers should make
  an effort to give positive attention or praise to
  problem students at least three times more
  frequently than they reprimand them. The teacher
  gives the student the attention or praise during
  moments when that student is acting
  appropriately--and keeps track of how frequently
  they give positive attention and reprimands to
  the student. This heavy dosing of positive
  attention and praise can greatly improve the
  teachers relationship with problem students.

Source Sprick, R. S., Borgmeier, C., Nolet, V.
(2002). Prevention and management of behavior
problems in secondary schools. In M. A. Shinn, H.
M. Walker G. Stoner (Eds.), Interventions for
academic and behavior problems II Preventive and
remedial approaches (pp.373-401). Bethesda, MD
National Association of School Psychologists.
45
Two by Ten Non-Contingent Teacher Attention

• Use Two by Ten to jump-start a connection
  with the student. The teacher makes the
  commitment to set aside two minutes per day
  across ten consecutive school days. During that
  daily time, the teacher has a two-minute positive
  conversation with the student, which can focus on
  current events, a topic of high interest to the
  student (e.g., NASCAR, fashion), the weather, or
  other subjects. NOTE The conversation should not
  address the students problem behaviors, poor
  grades or other negative topics.
• The teacher continues to have these 2-minute
  conversations for 10 school days in a row. At the
  end of the timespan, both teacher and student are
  likely to find it more rewarding to interact with
  one anotherand there is an increased probability
  that the student will comply more readily with
  teacher requests.

Source Mendler, A. N. (2000). Motivating
students who dont care. Bloomington, IN
National Educational Service.
46
The Unmotivated Student Possible Reasons

• The student is unmotivated because he or she
  cannot do the assigned work.
• The student is unmotivated because the response
  effort needed to complete the assigned work
  seems too great.
• The student is unmotivated because classroom
  instruction does not engage.
• The student is unmotivated because he or she
  fails to see an adequate pay-off to doing the
  assigned work.
• The student is unmotivated because of low
  self-efficacylack of confidence that he or she
  can do the assigned work.
• The student is unmotivated because he or she
  lacks a positive relationship with the teacher.

47
Maintaining Classroom Discipline (1947) Pt. 1 of
3 (412)
Source Internet Archive. Retrieved September 23,
2007, from http//www.archive.org/details/Maintain
1947
48
Team Activity Video

• The student is unmotivated because he or she
  cannot do the assigned work.
• The student is unmotivated because the response
  effort needed to complete the assigned work
  seems too great.
• The student is unmotivated because classroom
  instruction does not engage.
• The student is unmotivated because he or she
  fails to see an adequate pay-off to doing the
  assigned work.
• The student is unmotivated because of low
  self-efficacylack of confidence that he or she
  can do the assigned work.
• The student is unmotivated because he or she
  lacks a positive relationship with the teacher.

• At your table
• View the video of Mr. Grimes, math teacher, and
  his class.
• Review the reasons that students may be
  unmotivated in the classroom.
• What are ideas that you would recommend to this
  teacher to motivate his students?

49
RTI Intervention Key Concepts
50
Core Instruction, Interventions, Accommodations
Modifications Sorting Them Out

• Core Instruction. Those instructional strategies
  that are used routinely with all students in a
  general-education setting are considered core
  instruction. High-quality instruction is
  essential and forms the foundation of RTI
  academic support. NOTE While it is important to
  verify that good core instructional practices are
  in place for a struggling student, those routine
  practices do not count as individual student
  interventions.

51
Core Instruction, Interventions, Accommodations
Modifications Sorting Them Out

• Intervention. An academic intervention is a
  strategy used to teach a new skill, build fluency
  in a skill, or encourage a child to apply an
  existing skill to new situations or settings. An
  intervention can be thought of as a set of
  actions that, when taken, have demonstrated
  ability to change a fixed educational trajectory
  (Methe Riley-Tillman, 2008 p. 37).

52
Core Instruction, Interventions, Accommodations
Modifications Sorting Them Out

• Accommodation. An accommodation is intended to
  help the student to fully access and participate
  in the general-education curriculum without
  changing the instructional content and without
  reducing the students rate of learning (Skinner,
  Pappas Davis, 2005). An accommodation is
  intended to remove barriers to learning while
  still expecting that students will master the
  same instructional content as their typical
  peers.
• Accommodation example 1 Students are allowed to
  supplement silent reading of a novel by listening
  to the book on tape.
• Accommodation example 2 For unmotivated
  students, the instructor breaks larger
  assignments into smaller chunks and providing
  students with performance feedback and praise for
  each completed chunk of assigned work (Skinner,
  Pappas Davis, 2005).

53
Teaching is giving it isnt taking away.
(Howell, Hosp Kurns, 2008 p. 356).


Source Howell, K. W., Hosp, J. L., Kurns, S.
(2008). Best practices in curriculum-based
evaluation. In A. Thomas J. Grimes (Eds.), Best
practices in school psychology V (pp.349-362).
Bethesda, MD National Association of School
Psychologists..
54
Core Instruction, Interventions, Accommodations
Modifications Sorting Them Out

• Modification. A modification changes the
  expectations of what a student is expected to
  know or dotypically by lowering the academic
  standards against which the student is to be
  evaluated. Examples of modifications
• Giving a student five math computation problems
  for practice instead of the 20 problems assigned
  to the rest of the class
• Letting the student consult course notes during a
  test when peers are not permitted to do so

55
Team Activity Core Instruction, Intervention,
Accommodation, Modification

• At your table
• Discuss the definitions presented today on core
  instruction, intervention, accommodation, and
  modification.
• In your classrooms, what are strategies that you
  use to accommodate learners without modifying
  core instruction?

56
Academic Enabler Observational Checklists
Measuring Students Ability to Manage Their Own
Learning
57
Academic Enabler Skills Why Are They
Important?

• Student academic success requires more than
  content knowledge or mastery of a collection of
  cognitive strategies. Academic accomplishment
  depends also on a set of ancillary skills and
  attributes called academic enablers (DiPerna,
  2006). Examples of academic enablers include
• Study skills
• Homework completion
• Cooperative learning skills
• Organization
• Independent seatwork

Source DiPerna, J. C. (2006). Academic enablers
and student achievement Implications for
assessment and intervention services in the
schools. Psychology in the Schools, 43, 7-17.
58
Academic Enabler Skills Why Are They
Important? (Cont.)

• Because academic enablers are often described as
  broad skill sets, however, they can be
  challenging to define in clear, specific,
  measureable terms. A useful method for defining a
  global academic enabling skill is to break it
  down into a checklist of component sub-skills--a
  process known as discrete categorization
  (Kazdin, 1989). An observer can then use the
  checklist to note whether a student successfully
  displays each of the sub-skills.

Source Kazdin, A. E. (1989). Behavior
modification in applied settings (4th ed.).
Pacific Gove, CA Brooks/Cole.
59
Academic Enabler Skills Why Are They
Important? (Cont.)

• Observational checklists that define academic
  enabling skills have several uses in Response to
  Intervention
• Classroom teachers can use these skills
  checklists as convenient tools to assess whether
  a student possesses the minimum starter set of
  academic enabling skills needed for classroom
  success.
• Teachers or tutors can share examples of
  academic-enabler skills checklists with students,
  training them in each of the sub-skills and
  encouraging them to use the checklists
  independently to take greater responsibility for
  their own learning.  
• Teachers or other observers can use the academic
  enabler checklists periodically to monitor
  student progress during interventions--assessing
  formatively whether the student is using more of
  the sub-skills.

Source Kazdin, A. E. (1989). Behavior
modification in applied settings (4th ed.).
Pacific Gove, CA Brooks/Cole.
60
Academic Enabler Skills Sample Observational
Checklists
61
Academic Enabler Skills Sample Observational
Checklists
62
Academic Enabler Skills Sample Observational
Checklists
63
Academic Enabler Skills Sample Observational
Checklists
64
Academic Enabler Skills Sample Observational
Checklists
65
Academic Enabler Skills Sample Observational
Checklists
66
Academic Enabler Skills Sample Observational
Checklists
67
Interventions to Help Study Skills
68
Study Skills/Test Preparation Case Study
69
Managing Test Anxiety Ideas for Students
Intended Purpose
Students may become anxious in testing
situations because they have never learned
effective note-taking, study, and test-taking
skills. This package maps out a comprehensive
strategy for any student to follow when preparing
for an important examination.
70
Managing Test Anxiety Ideas for Students

• Doing well on a test starts with careful
  preparation. Students should have the essential
  skills to
• Study effectively.
• Memorize instructional content.
• Reduce test anxiety.
• Adopt a smart approach to test-taking.

71
Student Tips Effective Study Habits

• It is not enough just to schedule lots of study
  time. You also need to make sure that you use
  effective study techniques. Some smart study
  tips are to
• Create a quiet, neat study area.
• Study from good notes.
• Use bits of unexpected free time to study.
• Make a study schedule to avoid time-drains.
• Take advantage of your peak energy levels.

72
Student Tips Effective Study Habits (Cont.)

• Create a study group.
• Teach content as a learning check.
• Recite information aloud.
• Pose difficult questions.
• Dont forget to review previously learned
  material.
• Avoid cram sessions.
• Reward yourself.

73
Student Tips Tips to Memorize Content

• The best way to remember information from your
  notes or reading is to set aside enough time to
  study it well. Some tips for memorizing
  information are to
• Read and review using SQ3R (1) Survey the
  chapter, (2) Create Questions based on chapter
  headings(3) Read through the chapter (4) Recite
  the questions and answer aloud (5) Review your
  answers.
• Make up flashcards.

74
Student Tips Tips to Memorize Content (Cont.)

• Create acronyms or acrostics e.g.,Red-Orange-Yel
  low-Green-Blue-Indigo-Violet ROY G. BIV.
• Use visualization tricks Chaining.
• Use visualization tricks Familiar places.

75
Student Tips Reducing Test Anxiety

• A little nervousness before a test can be
  goodbut when we become too anxious that anxiety
  can undermine our confidence and interfere with
  our ability to solve problems. Some tips to
  reduce test anxiety are to
• Remember to take care of yourself first.
• Take practice exams.
• Come prepared.

76
Student Tips Reducing Test Anxiety (Cont.)

• Make an effort to relax periodically during the
  test.
• Take several deep breaths.
• Tense your muscles, hold, relax.
• Think of a peaceful, quiet setting (e.g., the
  beach).
• Engage in positive self-talk.

77
Student Tips Test-Taking Strategies

• Become familiar with the test that you are about
  to take and have a mental plan for how you will
  spend your time most productively during the
  examination. Here are some useful test-taking
  strategies
• Listen carefully to directions.
• Perform a brain dump.
• Preview the test.
• Multiple-choice Dont get sidetracked looking
  for patterns of answers.

78
Student Tips Test-Taking Strategies (Cont.)

• Multiple-choice Dont rush.
• Essay questions Underline key terms.
• Essay questions Outline your answer before you
  write it.
• When in doubtguess!
• Skip difficult items until last.
• Use leftover time to check answers.

79
Teacher Ideas for Introducing Managing Test
Anxiety Ideas for Students

• Brainstorm with students their best ideas for (a)
  studying, (b) memorizing course content, (c)
  handling test anxiety, and (d) savvy test-taking.
  Write down these ideas.
• Using class-generated ideas and test-tips
  handout, have students write up their own
  test-readiness plan.
• When a test is coming up, remind the students to
  use their personal test-prep strategies. Debrief
  after the test about the effectiveness of various
  approaches.

80
Homework Contract
Intended Purpose
This homework contract intervention (adapted
from Miller Kelly, 1994) uses goal-setting, a
written contract, and rewards to boost student
completion (and accuracy) of homework. Students
also learn the valuable skills of breaking down
academic assignments into smaller, more
manageable subtasks and setting priorities for
work completion.
81
Homework Contract Form
82
Homework Contract

• Parents are trained to be supportive homework
  coaches.
• The parent creates a homework reward system for
  the child.
• The parent negotiates the homework contract
  program with the child.
• The parent and child fill out the Daily Homework
  Contract.
• The parent checks the childs homework
  completion, delivers nightly weekly rewards.

83
Homework Contract Tips Troubleshooting

• If the parent finds the Homework Contract program
  difficult to implement, have an afterschool
  program implement it.
• The teacher may choose to monitor homework
  completion and send a note home to the parent,
  who provides the reward.

84
Defensive Behavior Management The Power of
Teacher Preparation Jim Wrightwww.interventionc
entral.org
85
ABC The Core of Behavior Management

• ....at the core of behavioral interventions is
  the three-term contingency consisting of an
  antecedent, behavior, and consequence.

A
C
B
Source Kern, L., Choutka, C. M., Sokol, N. G.
(2002). Assessment-based antecedent interventions
used in natural settings to reduce challenging
behaviors An analysis of the literature.
Education Treatment of Children, 25, 113-130.
p. 113.
86
ABC Events as Antecedents
Discriminative Stimulus An antecedent can
become associated with certain desired outcomes
and thus trigger problem behaviors.
If the consequence associated with the behavior
is reinforcing for the student, then the
antecedent or trigger can serve to signal
(discriminate) that reinforcement is coming.
A
C
B
Source Kern, L., Choutka, C. M., Sokol, N. G.
(2002). Assessment-based antecedent interventions
used in natural settings to reduce challenging
behaviors An analysis of the literature.
Education Treatment of Children, 25, 113-130.
p. 113.
87
Advantages of Antecedent Strategies vs. Reactive
Approaches

1. Can prevent behavior problems from occurring
2. Are typically quick acting
3. Can result in an instructional environment that
   better promotes student learning

Source Kern, L. Clemens, N. H. (2007).
Antecedent strategies to promote appropriate
classroom behavior. Psychology in the Schools,
44, 65-75.
88
Defensive Management A Method to Avoid Power
Struggles

• Defensive management (Fields, 2004) is a
  teacher-friendly six-step approach to avert
  student-teacher power struggles that emphasizes
  providing proactive instructional support to the
  student, elimination of behavioral triggers in
  the classroom setting, relationship-building,
  strategic application of defusing techniques when
  needed, and use of a reconnection conference
  after behavioral incidents to promote student
  reflection and positive behavior change.

Source Fields, B. (2004). Breaking the cycle of
office referrals and suspensions Defensive
management. Educational Psychology in Practice,
20, 103-115.
89
Defensive Management Six Steps

1. Understanding the Student Problem and Using
   Proactive Strategies to Prevent Triggers. The
   teacher collects information--through direct
   observation and perhaps other means--about
   specific instances of student problem behavior
   and the instructional components and other
   factors surrounding them. The teacher analyzes
   this information to discover specific trigger
   events that seem to set off the problem
   behavior(s) (e.g., lack of skills failure to
   understand directions).The instructor then
   adjusts instruction to provide appropriate
   student support (e.g., providing the student with
   additional instruction in a skill repeating
   directions and writing them on the board).

Source Fields, B. (2004). Breaking the cycle of
office referrals and suspensions Defensive
management. Educational Psychology in Practice,
20, 103-115.
90
Defensive Management Six Steps

1. Promoting Positive Teacher-Student Interactions.
   Early in each class session, the teacher has at
   least one positive verbal interaction with the
   student. Throughout the class period, the teacher
   continues to interact in positive ways with the
   student (e.g., brief conversation, smile, thumbs
   up, praise comment after a student remark in
   large-group discussion, etc.). In each
   interaction, the teacher adopts a genuinely
   accepting, polite, respectful tone.

Source Fields, B. (2004). Breaking the cycle of
office referrals and suspensions Defensive
management. Educational Psychology in Practice,
20, 103-115.
91
Defensive Management Six Steps

1. Scanning for Warning Indicators. During the class
   session, the teacher monitors the target
   students behavior for any behavioral indicators
   suggesting that the student is becoming
   frustrated or angry. Examples of behaviors that
   precede non-compliance or open defiance may
   include stopping work muttering or complaining
   becoming argumentative interrupting others
   leaving his or her seat throwing objects, etc.).

Source Fields, B. (2004). Breaking the cycle of
office referrals and suspensions Defensive
management. Educational Psychology in Practice,
20, 103-115.
92
Defensive Management Six Steps

1. Exercising Emotional Restraint. Whenever the
   student begins to display problematic behaviors,
   the teacher makes an active effort to remain
   calm. To actively monitor his or her emotional
   state, the teacher tracks physiological cues such
   as increased muscle tension and heart rate, as
   well as fear, annoyance, anger, or other negative
   emotions. The teacher also adopts calming or
   relaxation strategies that work for him or her in
   the face of provocative student behavior, such as
   taking a deep breath or counting to 10 before
   responding.

Source Fields, B. (2004). Breaking the cycle of
office referrals and suspensions Defensive
management. Educational Psychology in Practice,
20, 103-115.
93
Defensive Management Six Steps

1. Using Defusing Tactics. If the student begins to
   escalate to non-compliant, defiant, or
   confrontational behavior (e.g., arguing,
   threatening, other intentional verbal
   interruptions), the teacher draws from a range of
   possible descalating strategies to defuse the
   situation. Such strategies can include private
   conversation with the student while maintaining a
   calm voice, open-ended questions, paraphrasing
   the students concerns, acknowledging the
   students emotions, etc.

Source Fields, B. (2004). Breaking the cycle of
office referrals and suspensions Defensive
management. Educational Psychology in Practice,
20, 103-115.
94
Defensive Management Six Steps

1. Conducting a Reconnection Conference. Soon
   after any in-class incident of student
   non-compliance, defiance, or confrontation, the
   teacher makes a point to meet with the student to
   discuss the behavioral incident, identify the
   triggers in the classroom environment that led to
   the problem, and brainstorm with the student to
   create a written plan to prevent the reoccurrence
   of such an incident. Throughout this conference,
   the teacher maintains a supportive, positive,
   polite, and respectful tone.

Source Fields, B. (2004). Breaking the cycle of
office referrals and suspensions Defensive
management. Educational Psychology in Practice,
20, 103-115.
95
Promoting Student Reading Comprehension Fix-Up
SkillsJim Wrightwww.interventioncentral.org
96
Reading Comprehension Fix-Up Skills A Toolkit

• Good readers continuously monitor their
  understanding of informational text. When
  necessary, they also take steps to improve their
  understanding of text through use of reading
  comprehension fix-up skills.
• Presented here are a series of fix-up skill
  strategies that can help struggling students to
  better understand difficult reading assignments

97
Reading Comprehension Fix-Up Skills A Toolkit
(Cont.)

• Core Instruction Providing Main Idea Practice
  through Partner Retell (Carnine Carnine,
  2004). Students in a group or class are assigned
  a text selection to read silently. Students are
  then paired off, with one student assigned the
  role of reteller and the other appointed as
  listener. The reteller recounts the main idea
  to the listener, who can comment or ask
  questions. The teacher then states the main idea
  to the class. Next, the reteller locates two key
  details from the reading that support the main
  idea and shares these with the listener. At the
  end of the activity, the teacher does a spot
  check by randomly calling on one or more students
  in the listener role and asking them to recap
  what information was shared by the reteller.

98
Reading Comprehension Fix-Up Skills A Toolkit
(Cont.)

• Accommodation Developing a Bank of Multiple
  Passages to Present Challenging Concepts (Hedin
  Conderman, 2010 Kamil et al., 2008 Texas
  Reading Initiative, 2002). The teacher notes
  which course concepts, cognitive strategies, or
  other information will likely present the
  greatest challenge to students. For these
  challenge topics, the teacher selects
  alternative readings that present the same
  general information and review the same key
  vocabulary as the course text but that are more
  accessible to struggling readers (e.g., with
  selections written at an easier reading level or
  that use graphics to visually illustrate
  concepts). These alternative selections are
  organized into a bank that students can access as
  a source of wide reading material.

99
Reading Comprehension Fix-Up Skills A Toolkit
(Cont.)

• Student Strategy Promoting Understanding
  Building Endurance through Reading-Reflection
  Pauses (Hedin Conderman, 2010). The student
  decides on a reading interval (e.g., every four
  sentences every 3 minutes at the end of each
  paragraph). At the end of each interval, the
  student pauses briefly to recall the main points
  of the reading. If the student has questions or
  is uncertain about the content, the student
  rereads part or all of the section just read.
  This strategy is useful both for students who
  need to monitor their understanding as well as
  those who benefit from brief breaks when engaging
  in intensive reading as a means to build up
  endurance as attentive readers.

100
Reading Comprehension Fix-Up Skills A Toolkit
(Cont.)

• Student Strategy Identifying or Constructing
  Main Idea Sentences (Davey McBride, 1986
  Rosenshine, Meister Chapman, 1996). For each
  paragraph in an assigned reading, the student
  either (a) highlights the main idea sentence or
  (b) highlights key details and uses them to write
  a gist sentence. The student then writes the
  main idea of that paragraph on an index card. On
  the other side of the card, the student writes a
  question whose answer is that paragraphs main
  idea sentence. This stack of main idea cards
  becomes a useful tool to review assigned
  readings.

101
Reading Comprehension Fix-Up Skills A Toolkit
(Cont.)

• Student Strategy Restructuring Paragraphs with
  Main Idea First to Strengthen Rereads (Hedin
  Conderman, 2010). The student highlights or
  creates a main idea sentence for each paragraph
  in the assigned reading. When rereading each
  paragraph of the selection, the student (1) reads
  the main idea sentence or student-generated
  gist sentence first (irrespective of where that
  sentence actually falls in the paragraph) (2)
  reads the remainder of the paragraph, and (3)
  reflects on how the main idea relates to the
  paragraph content.

102
Reading Comprehension Fix-Up Skills A Toolkit
(Cont.)

• Student Strategy Summarizing Readings (Boardman
  et al., 2008). The student is taught to summarize
  readings into main ideas and essential
  details--stripped of superfluous content. The act
  of summarizing longer readings can promote
  understanding and retention of content while the
  summarized text itself can be a useful study
  tool.

103
Reading Comprehension Fix-Up Skills A Toolkit
(Cont.)

• Student Strategy Linking Pronouns to Referents
  (Hedin Conderman, 2010). Some readers lose the
  connection between pronouns and the nouns that
  they refer to (known as referents)especially
  when reading challenging text. The student is
  encouraged to circle pronouns in the reading, to
  explicitly identify each pronouns referent, and
  (optionally) to write next to the pronoun the
  name of its referent. For example, the student
  may add the referent to a pronoun in this
  sentence from a biology text The Cambrian
  Period is the first geological age that has large
  numbers of multi-celled organisms associated with
  it Cambrian Period.

104
Reading Comprehension Fix-Up Skills A Toolkit
(Cont.)

• Student Strategy Apply Vocabulary Fix-Up
  Skills for Unknown Words (Klingner Vaughn,
  1999). When confronting an unknown word in a
  reading selection, the student applies the
  following vocabulary fix-up skills
• Read the sentence again.
• Read the sentences before and after the problem
  sentence for clues to the words meaning.
• See if there are prefixes or suffixes in the word
  that can give clues to meaning.
• Break the word up by syllables and look for
  smaller words within.

105
Reading Comprehension Fix-Up Skills A Toolkit
(Cont.)

• Student Strategy Compiling a Vocabulary Journal
  from Course Readings (Hedin Conderman, 2010).
  The student highlights new or unfamiliar
  vocabulary from course readings. The student
  writes each term into a vocabulary journal, using
  a standard sentence-stem format e.g., Mitosis
  means or A chloroplast is. If the student is
  unable to generate a definition for a vocabulary
  term based on the course reading, he or she
  writes the term into the vocabulary journal
  without definition and then applies other
  strategies to define the term e.g., look up the
  term in a dictionary use Google to locate two
  examples of the term being used correctly in
  context ask the instructor, etc.).

106
Reading Comprehension Fix-Up Skills A Toolkit
(Cont.)

• Student Strategy Encouraging Student Use of
  Text Enhancements (Hedin Conderman, 2010). Text
  enhancements can be used to tag important
  vocabulary terms, key ideas, or other reading
  content. If working with photocopied material,
  the student can use a highlighter to note key
  ideas or vocabulary. Another enhancement strategy
  is the lasso and rope techniqueusing a pen or
  pencil to circle a vocabulary term and then
  drawing a line that connects that term to its
  underlined definition. If working from a
  textbook, the student can cut sticky notes into
  strips. These strips can be inserted in the book
  as pointers to text of interest. They can also be
  used as temporary labelse.g., for writing a
  vocabulary term and its definition.

107
Reading Comprehension Fix-Up Skills A Toolkit
(Cont.)

• Student Strategy Reading Actively Through Text
  Annotation (Harris, 1990 Sarkisian et al.,
  2003). Students are likely to increase their
  retention of information when they interact
  actively with their reading by jotting comments
  in the margin of the text. Using photocopies, the
  student is taught to engage in an ongoing
  'conversation' with the writer by recording a
  running series of brief comments in the margins
  of the text. The student may write annotations to
  record opinions about points raised by the
  writer, questions triggered by the reading, or
  unknown vocabulary words.

108
Managing Difficult Student Behaviors The
Defensive Management ApproachJim
Wrightwww.interventioncentral.org
109
Big Ideas in Student Behavior Management
110
Big Ideas Similar Behaviors May Stem from Very
Different Root Causes (Kratochwill, Elliott,
Carrington Rotto, 1990)

• Behavior is not random but follows purposeful
  patterns.Students who present with the same
  apparent surface behaviors may have very
  different drivers (underlying reasons) that
  explain why those behaviors occur.A students
  problem behaviors must be carefully identified
  and analyzed to determine the drivers that
  support them.

Source Kratochwill, T. R., Elliott, S. N.,
Carrington Rotto, P. (1990). Best practices in
behavioral consultation. In A. Thomas and J.
Grimes (Eds.). Best practices in school
psychology-II (pp. 147169). Silver Spring, MD
National Association of School Psychologists..
111
Common Root Causes or Drivers for Behaviors
Include

• Power/Control
• Protection/Escape/Avoidance
• Attention
• Acceptance/Affiliation
• Expression of Self
• Gratification
• Justice/Revenge

Source Witt, J. C., Daly, E. M., Noell, G.
(2000). Functional assessments A step-by-step
guide to solving academic and behavior problems.
Longmont, CO Sopris West..pp. 3-4.
112
From the TrenchesOffice Disciplinary Referral

Disrespect toward teachers. Yelled at me while I
was helping him with his assignment. Told him to
cool down and sit in the center and he started up
again. Finally, I asked him to leave. Have
called home twice and spoke to grandmother about
tardiness, attendance, and behavior.

113
From the TrenchesOffice Disciplinary Referral

L. was sleeping in class. I told him twice to
wake up and read along with class. He did so,
albeit reluctantly. The third time he fell
asleep I buzzed the office to tell them he was
coming down, with a referral to follow. He
cursed and threw his book in the book box.

114
From the TrenchesOffice Disciplinary Referral

For some reason, R. wants to keep challenging me.
Today he was being persistent that he wanted to
sit on a table not in his chair. This was after
I asked him to stop talking 4-5 times, thats
all. I sent him to the office again, second time.

115
Inference Moving Beyond the Margins of the
Known

• An inference is a tentative conclusion without
  direct or conclusive support from available data.
  All hypotheses are, by definition, inferences. It
  is critical that problem analysts make
  distinctions between what is known and what is
  inferred or hypothesized.Low-level inferences
  should be exhausted prior to the use of
  high-level inferences. p. 161

Source Christ, T. (2008). Best practices in
problem analysis. In A. Thomas J. Grimes
(Eds.), Best practices in school psychology V
(pp. 159-176).
116
Examples of High vs. Low Inference Hypotheses
An 11th-grade student does poorly on tests and
quizzes in math. Homework is often incomplete.
He frequently shows up late for class and does
not readily participate in group discussions.
117
Big Ideas Behavior is a Continuous Stream
(Schoenfeld Farmer, 1970)

• Individuals are always performing SOME type of
  behavior watching the instructor, sleeping,
  talking to a neighbor, completing a worksheet
  (behavior stream).
• When students are fully engaged in academic
  behaviors, they are less likely to get off-task
  and display problem behaviors.
• Academic tasks that are clearly understood,
  elicit student interest, provide a high rate of
  student success, and include teacher
  encouragement and feedback are most likely to
  effectively capture the students behavior
  stream.

Source Schoenfeld, W. N., Farmer, J. (1970).
Reinforcement schedules and the behavior
stream. In W. N. Schoenfeld (Ed.), The theory
of reinforcement schedules (pp. 215245). New
York Appleton-Century-Crofts.
118
Big Ideas Academic Delays Can Be a Potent Cause
of Behavior Problems (Witt, Daly, Noell, 2000)

• Student academic problems cause many school
  behavior problems.
• Whether a students problem is a behavior
  problem or an academic one, we recommend starting
  with a functional academic assessment, since
  often behavior problems occur when students
  cannot or will not do required academic work.

Source Witt, J. C., Daly, E. M., Noell, G.
(2000). Functional assessments A step-by-step
guide to solving academic and behavior problems.
Longmont, CO Sopris West, p. 13
119
ABC The Core of Behavior Management

• ....at the core of behavioral interventions is
  the three-term contingency consisting of an
  antecedent, behavior, and co