Time Out

Time outs are typically known as a method of removing students from the learning setting because their behavior is not consistent with the teacher's expectations. The students need to understand why they're being sent to the chair and what they need to do to get back with the rest of the class. This time should be used to reinforce behavior expectations and make sure that the student knows why they are there and what they need to do to avoid being there again. Although this is mainly an elementary tool, the high school equivalent would be sending the student to the office. They need to understand why and need to be able to correct their own behavior in order to not return there in the future.

Intervention

Like clothes, one size fits all does not usually fit everyone. In the classroom, it is no different. Each student is different so an intervention plan needs to be tailored to their specific needs. The issue with a student may be physical, emotional, or biological so the plan needs to reflect the specific needs that the student has. Much like an off the rack suit needs to be tailored to fit the wearer, an intervention plan should be tailored to the specific needs for a student. Instead of placing each student into a box depending on the issue, they need to be worked with to make up for their individual deficiencies that are taking away from learning.

This one time...

My first year teaching, last period there were 2 students who were friends outside of school but could not get along inside the classroom. One day they were in class and they started throwing racial slurs at each other. This forced me to take action and send them to guidance for conflict mediation. I knew it was more than just a typical quarrel because they were both mean and intentional toward each other. I now know that it was because of the fourth high hit area of emotional behavior. The students were “getting emotional…from anger, fear, frustration, or anxiety” (Knoff, 2015). The students were legitimately angry with each other over the words that were being used and anxious with it being the last period of a very hot and exhausting day.

            The first priority was to not let other students feed off of the negativity and react in a manner that would escalate the situation. The second priority was to diffuse the situation so that the two students didn’t harm each other. In order to make sure that an intervention plan is effective, it must be planned ahead of time so that it is proactive to the situation instead of reactive. We make brash and emotional decisions when we react to different situations, so by having a proactive plan to deal with an intervention situation it makes for a much more smoother handling of the situation.

Knoff, Howard M., Ph.D.  (Lecturer). (2015). High-hit reasons for challenging behaviors. (Video recorded guest lecture number 1, Course CI5523 Interventions for Behaviorally Challenging Students). Chicago, IL: American College of Education