Throughout the chapter there are a lot of ideas, good and bad that stood out to me. Growing up I have seen almost every single one of these instances in a class where the teacher decided to choose one option or the other. Chapter one key 1 talked about students who disrupt classroom discussions or students who want to have side conversations when being taught a new lesson. I really enjoyed how the author talked about not escalating things to the next level, as it will only lead to more distractions from the regular classroom activities. Growing up I have seen many different strategies for this exact behavior. My teachers would always call specifically on the student for the next question thinking that they wouldn’t be paying attention and wouldn’t know what was going on. Nine times out of ten it would stop the student from having side conversations, I found that students normally don’t like to be put on the spot and get shy or embarrassed that they couldn’t get the answer correct.
I always liked how they would tie in and correct the disturbance without breaking stride from the lesson. In my experiences in being a student behavioral intensity, escalation, and de fusion all depend on the students being addressed. You can have students that are more intense, and you’ll have students that are less intense and will de fuse a lot faster. As a future educator I want to be able to understand my students and their backgrounds. The behavioral chain can be easily solved if you know how the specific students ticker ticks. I plan to treat every kid the way they need to be treated, some students may need a tougher approach by calling them out in front of others. Some students may need to be pulled aside and asked what is wrong. Students may have something going on at home where it may be distracting and an unhealthy work environment. If a student becomes violent and poses a threat by swinging his or her arm like in the chapter, then yes that is out of your hands and needs to be addressed by a higher authority. Keeping kids in the classroom is the one of my main goals throughout this behavioral construct.
The behavioral chain is also something as a teacher you have to avoid and be very careful of. One wrong thing said could trigger a student and all hope for that situation could be lost. One of the things that I believe works when you have problems in your classroom is positive reinforcement. Praise and notice the ones that are doing the right things in your classroom, don’t spend all your time and energy on the students who cause the most trouble. Of course you have to address those students from time to time but praising those students sets a standard for those who may be more problematic.
Adam EDU 