Make Positive Attention Worth More

Students with difficult behaviors need more support and more feedback to be successful.  Try to reach your most challenging students early in the day or at the beginning of the class, before behavior has a chance to escalate.  Jessica Minahan, certified behavior analyst and special educator suggests the following tip that keeps the focus on positive attention and makes it worth more than negative attention for the student. 

1. Engage the student, saying something like, “I can’t wait to see what you think of this assignment.  I’m going to check on you in 5 minutes.”
2. Come back in 5 minutes and validate the student’s progress.
3. Tell the student another check-in is coming in 10min. and set up a pattern of predictable attention for positive behavior.

While it might seem unfair to take that extra time and care with one student, it ultimately saves instruction time when a teacher doesn’t have to deal with negative or escalating behavior that can lead to sending the student out of the room.

Source:  https://www.kqed.org/mindshift/43049/20-tips-to-help-de-escalate-interactions-with-anxious-or-defiant-students