Preventing Problem Behaviors: Schoolwide Programs and Classroom Practices

In today's increasingly diverse PreK–12 classrooms, problem behaviours can often interrupt instructional time and disrupt learning. Designed for 21st-century school leaders, administrators, behaviour specialists, and classroom teachers, this research-based guide offers specific strategies and plans for preventing problem behaviour at both the classroom and school level. Based on the premise that early response to problems can lead to better outcomes for students, the book's content is framed around four essential areas: foundations, intervention, collaboration, and evaluation. Within these areas, this accessible guide features:

• The latest information on the science and practice of prevention
• Reasons why conflict resolution, peer mediation, and bully-proofing are essential to prevention
• Effective practices for teaching social skills to young children
• Proven techniques for implementing schoolwide positive behaviour support
• Tools for using individual behaviour plans to prevent problems
• Ideas for home-school and community partnerships and culturally responsible teaching
• Critical strategies for monitoring student progress and evaluating prevention practices
• New, updated chapters, including information on pre-school behaviour support and RTI

This valuable resource provides all the tools and strategies school leaders and teachers need to keep children focused on learning.

Table of Contents

1. Prevention Science and Practice
• What We Know about Prevention Practice
• What We Know about Response to Intervention
• What We Know about Behavior and Academics
• Changing the Lives of Students with Problems
• An Illustration from Practice
2. Preschool Behavior Support
• Importance of Teaching Social Skills in Preschool
• Effective Practices for Teaching Social Skills to Young Children
• Teaching Young Children How to Behave in Social Settings
• An Illustration from Practice
3. Schoolwide Positive Behavior Support
• Definition and Importance of SWPBS
• Characteristics and Effective Practices of SWPBS
• Effectiveness of SWPBS
• Perspective on School-Wide Positive Behavior Support
• An Illustration from Practice
4. Cognitive-Behavioral Interventions in School Settings
• Cognitive-Behavioral Interventions
• Theoretical Underpinnings of CBI
• Current Research on CBI
• School-Based CBIs
• A CBI Example
• Summary
• An Illustration from Practice
5. Social Skills Instruction and Generalization Strategies
• Social Skills, Social Competence, and Curricula
• Generalization of Social Skills and Building Performance Competence
• Why Social Skills Programs Sometimes Fail
• Gaining Community Support for Social Skills Training
• Importance of Improving and Generalizing Social Skills
6. Conflict Resolution, Peer Mediation, and Bullying Prevention
• Some Program Definitions
• A Developmental Framework
• Characteristics of Effective CRE Programs
• How to Sustain CRE and Bullying Prevention Programs
• Concluding Thoughts
• An Illustration from Practice
7. Classroom Interventions and Individual Behavior Plans
• What Educators Should Know About the RTI Model
• RTI as a Schoolwide and Classroom Management Approach
• Effective Classroom Management Approaches
• Tier 2 Behavior Plans for Students
• Behavior Planning for Tier 2 Students
• Summary of Tier 2 Behavior Planning
• Individualized Behavior Plan (BIP)
• Conclusion
8. Effective Home-School Partnerships
• The Importance of Home-School Partnerships
• Principles and Key Features of Home-School Partnerships
• Characteristics of Effective Home-School Partnerships
• Home-School Partnerships and Challenging Behavior
• Illustration from Practice
9. Community and Interagency Partnerships
• Poverty, Immigrant Status and Risk
• Interagency Approaches to Preventing Problem Behavior
• Core Principles and Governance Structure
• Linkages to Learning in Action
• Preventing Problem Behaviors with Community Partnerships
10. Culturally Responsive Teaching
• Culture and Today's Classrooms
• Culturally Responsive Teaching
• Teaching Appropriate Behavior
• Teaching Behavior to CLD Learners
• Conclusion
• Illustrations from Practice
11. Monitoring Student Progress and Evaluating Prevention Practices
• Evaluating Outcomes of Prevention Efforts
• Designing Program Evaluations
• Measurement Issues
• Common Hazards in Program Evaluation
• Disseminating Evaluation Information
• Measuring Success of Preventing Programs
12. Building and Sustaining Effective Prevention Practices
• Building Effective Prevention Practices
• Putting It All Together

Postscript

References

Index