Posts

Showing posts from July, 2011

Helping the Unfocused Mind: Teaching Strategies for Students Having Difficulty Getting and Maintaining Attention

Image
As Levine (2002) states, attention is the brain’s manager, including a complicated network of controls that regulate most of the processes involved in learning and behavior. Levine, an authority in brain research and founder of "All Kinds of Minds", adds that attention does not accomplish anything on its own, but rather it helps the brain determine what to do, when, and for how long. Children who struggle paying attention in the classroom, also known as children with short attention span and/or inattentive students, frequently exhibit problem behaviors such as: •Distracted by background stimuli (irrelevant visual, auditory, and/or tactile stimuli) •Shifting from one uncompleted task to another task that is also left unfinished •Losing and/or misplacing the books and materials necessary for completing the task; forgetful •Do not pay attention to details, and due to this, they make careless mistakes •Do not seem to listen •Difficulty organizing tasks (what comes first, ne

Classroom Management of Disruptive Behavior: 18 Psycho-Educational Principles

Image
Psycho-educational or therapeutic teachers believe that behavioral change is primarily a teaching and learning process. To be effective and long-term, behavior change strategies must include cognitive (thinking), affective (feelings), and behavioral aspects. We also believe that we all have the choice of behavioral change, and that all students, including students that exhibit habitually disruptive behaviors in the classroom, can learn new and more positive ways of behaving. In the psycho-educational classroom, educating disruptive children about the motivation behind their behavior plays a vital role. Once children understand that they choose their behavior, they also understand that they can change their behavior. Psycho-educational teachers believe that strengthening children’s coping and social problem solving skills is therapeutic. The psycho-educational or therapeutic model is one of social problem solving and socio-emotional growth rather than disciplining and punishment. When