All Things CLASS

 View Only

 Behavior Management in PreK-3

Rae Horton's profile image
Rae Horton posted 10-27-2023 00:04

In the new 2nd Edition Field Guide, there is a note under Behavior Management that "Strategies for keeping children engaged are captured in Instructional Learning Formats, rather than under Behavior Management."  Does that comment refer only to the strategies themselves?

Can the fact that a teacher provides enough variety, materials, and activities to keep all children eagerly engaged be used as a behavioral marker for proactivity in Behavior Management?

Vicki Kintner-Duffy's profile image
Vicki Kintner-Duffy Teachstone Staff

Hi Rae, 

Thanks for the questions. Yes, having enough materials and activities to keep children engaged would count under the marker "anticipates challenging behaviors or escalation" in Proactive for BM and can count in Variation in Approach in ILF.  

The scoring note here is more about specific engagement strategies that educators use such as making story time interesting by asking questions and having children act out moments from the book, by using questions to support continued exploration, or by giving preview or reorientation statements so children know how to focus their attention. These strategies are more for the purpose of engagement, which then has an effect on behavior (as behavior challenges are less likely to occur when children are engaged). 

The bigger question here is about overlap. When these questions arise, remember the definition of the indicators and dimensions. This can help in deciding which indicator a behavior falls in. If the behavior is helping keep children engaged (keep their attention), then it goes in ILF. If the behavior helps to reduce behavior issues, then it goes in BM. If it fits in both (such as in this case of making sure there are materials to keep children engaged and enough of those to prevent conflict over materials), then it can go in both.

It may also help to look at what other behaviors or statements are happening around that. Does the educator say, "There are plenty of markers so you should each have enough to draw" and "If you want another color, you can ask a friend to share?" Those statements indicate that the educator is trying to prevent conflicts around the markers and outline clear expectations. Or the educator might say, "We have lots of different colors so you can really use your imagination" which is more of an engagement strategy to encourage them to use the hands-on materials. 

I hope that helps. Happy to clarify more if needed. 

Vicki 

Rae Horton's profile image
Rae Horton

I'm not sure  if I'm responding to the right thread, but I am trying to respond to Vicky Kintner-Duffy's response to my question about preventing misbehavior. 

Vicky, why does intent matter when documenting and measuring behaviors? How does an observer measure "intent"/

Vicki Kintner-Duffy's profile image
Vicki Kintner-Duffy Teachstone Staff

Hi Rae, 

Sorry for the confusion. I had meant to talk about the intent of the indicator / behavior marker as in the purpose, rather than the intent of the educator's behavior. Thank you for catching that. I edited my response and added a little more to show how observers might distinguish when a behavior gets captured in a certain dimensions. Let me know if that doesn't make sense. 

Thanks, Vicki