A special education teacher for 15 years, Greg Gerkens most recently served as an assistant principal in Eastern Suffolk BOCES, a cooperative of Long Island school districts. Within this system, Greg Gerkens led a program for high school students with severe behavioral challenges.
When behavioral problems interfere with learning, the special education teacher must address them promptly. Several management strategies have been developed. Experts suggest that an effective first line of management is a positive behavior support system, where teachers set clear expectations and communicate their trust in students' capacity to abide by those guidelines. Teachers, meanwhile, uphold their end of the arrangement by providing a well-structured day that meets students' learning needs.
Often, however, the student with special needs requires more support. When this happens, staff members can add structured small groups to teach social skills, while evaluating the environment for any triggering elements. Many of these, such as seating arrangements that encourage distraction, are easily addressed and can reduce the temptation for students to engage in problematic behavior.
If disruptive behavior continues, the learning team records each incidence so as to determine an individual intervention. Behavior that escalates may require immediate intervention, particularly if the student engaged in disruption is threatening the learning or safety of others. When this happens, the student may have to be removed until he or she is calm enough to safely return to the class.
When behavioral problems interfere with learning, the special education teacher must address them promptly. Several management strategies have been developed. Experts suggest that an effective first line of management is a positive behavior support system, where teachers set clear expectations and communicate their trust in students' capacity to abide by those guidelines. Teachers, meanwhile, uphold their end of the arrangement by providing a well-structured day that meets students' learning needs.
Often, however, the student with special needs requires more support. When this happens, staff members can add structured small groups to teach social skills, while evaluating the environment for any triggering elements. Many of these, such as seating arrangements that encourage distraction, are easily addressed and can reduce the temptation for students to engage in problematic behavior.
If disruptive behavior continues, the learning team records each incidence so as to determine an individual intervention. Behavior that escalates may require immediate intervention, particularly if the student engaged in disruption is threatening the learning or safety of others. When this happens, the student may have to be removed until he or she is calm enough to safely return to the class.
