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The authors present a three-year case report for an adolescent student with Autism who has academic, behavioral, and mental health needs requiring collaborative school-based intervention. The case report outlines specifically how the student's mental health needs were supported through the application of a relationship-building framework. The authors discuss how elements of the Establish, Maintain, Restore intervention were applied to the therapist-student relationship. Results of the intervention consisted of stable connections with school staff and academic support for the student's educational success. Major takeaways and implications for school teams are discussed.

The quality of the relationship that develops between a student and teacher has been connected to pivotal instructional and behavioral outcomes for students. The student-teacher relationship can specifically be harnessed to reduce minor behavioral infractions. However, it is an element of the learning environment that is often overlooked. This article outlines the importance of the student-teacher relationship and provides specific strategies gleaned from the existing literature that teachers could implement in their daily instruction to improve the quality of their relationships with students.

Active supervision--defined as circulating, scanning, interacting with students, and reinforcing demonstrations of expected academic and social behaviors by a teacher or other staff member--is often considered a component of safe and secure schools. Yet, the evidence base supporting the effectiveness of active supervision has not been synthesized or evaluated for its quality. Therefore, we conducted an evidence-based review and meta-analysis of empirical research evaluating the effects of active supervision in schools. We identified 12 research studies evaluating active supervision, assessed the quality of each study, and calculated effect sizes for student behaviors, including disruptive behavior. Results from the four studies meeting data requirements for estimating standardized mean difference effect sizes suggest that, on average, active supervision reduced problem behavior by almost 2.0 standard deviation units. Only four studies met the What Works Clearinghouse (WWC) design standards and the results of those were mixed, thus not meeting the WWC evidence-based criteria. Limitations and recommendations for future research are discussed.

The current body of research on classroom environments identifies key proactive instructional strategies that when implemented effectively can reduce the likelihood of problematic behavioral incidents by students. One strategy known as active supervision has demonstrated positive outcomes across school settings, including classrooms, hallways, cafeterias, and playgrounds. In this article, authors provide a definition of active supervision, empirical support for its use, a detailed description of how to implement it, and resources for further study.

In this article, we open with a discussion of stress and its potential impact on the teaching profession. We then follow with an empirical rationale for and steps in the implementation of potentially promising mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) interventions for teachers, particularly teachers of students with emotional and behavioral disorders. Body scan, calm breathing, focused attention, and relaxation are highlighted. A list of resources for further use of MBSR is included.

Group contingencies are an effective way to prevent and address problem behavior; however, the extent to which these effects transfer to settings where the intervention is not implemented (i.e., setting generalization) is unknown. Using a multiple baseline design, this study assessed the setting generalization of the effects of an interdependent group contingency on decreasing off-task behavior in elementary students with emotional and behavioral disorders. A combination of generalization strategies was used, including maximizing the response's contact with reinforcement, making the instructional setting similar to the generalization setting, training multiple exemplars, and training to generalize. Participants included three classrooms (N = 22 students; 3 female, 19 male) in grades K--6. Results showed that intervention effects did not automatically generalize across settings. With the addition of the generalization strategies, behavior in the generalization setting reached levels similar to the instructional setting, indicating the strategies were successful. Implications for practice and research are discussed.

Previous research has shown that a classroom management package can be used to prevent challenging behaviors and promote positive student behavior. Replicating and extending previous research, the purpose of this study was to investigate if a package of precorrection, explicit timing, and active supervision can have a positive effect across content areas and grade levels within an urban middle school. Utilizing 3 single-case AB designs, the effects of a classroom management intervention in 3 classrooms were observed on decreasing student disruptions and teacher redirections. Results indicated that the rates of student disruptions and teacher redirections decreased by more than 50% across the 3 classrooms. To evaluate consumer satisfaction within the intervention, we collected social validity data.

One proactive approach to increasing student engagement in schools is implementing Positive Behavior Intervention and Support (PBIS) strategies. PBIS focuses on prevention and concentrates on quality-of-life issues that include improved academic achievement, enhanced social competence, and safe learning and teaching environments. This study is a replication of a study that investigated the combination of active supervision, precorrection, and explicit timing. The purpose of the study was to decrease student problem behavior, reduce transition time, and support maintenance of the intervention in the setting. Results show that active supervision, precorrection, and explicit timing decreased student problem behavior, decreased the duration of transitions in two instructional periods, and the intervention was maintained in the setting. Implications, limitations, and future research are discussed.

We used an AB design with a control condition to examine the effects of an academic strategy on a student with a learning disability during a 5th grade math class. During baseline the student had high rates of disruptive behavior, low percentages of intervals of on-task behavior, and low percentages of correct responses. An antecedent-based intervention was developed to target the student's escape-maintained behavior during independent seatwork. The intervention consisted of matching task difficulty with the student's level of performance based on his success in a special education resource room. During intervention the targeted student demonstrated lower rates of disruptive behavior, higher levels of on-task behavior, and higher percentages of correct responses. The student's positive results were compared to his performance in a special education resource room. A discussion on study limitations, implications, and future research directions is included. (Contains 3 figures.)

Managing students' disruptive behavior in the classroom can be a time-consuming task and greatly reduces the amount of time teachers spend on instruction. Although there are several research-validated classroom management strategies, teachers are more likely to adopt strategies that are less time-consuming than strategies that take more time or require a great deal of teacher preparation. This article highlights behavior-specific praise (BSP), a simple strategy that teachers can use across all grade levels. The article presents eight easy-to-use strategies for teachers to increase their use of praise statements. Increasing teacher praise will not only decrease disruptive behaviors but also create a positive learning environment. (Contains 2 figures.)

One simple and naturalistic strategy shown to have positive effects on both academic and behavioral outcomes is teachers' use of praise statements. Praise statements can be broadly categorized as general praise and behavior-specific praise (BSP). In a general praise statement, a teacher delivers verbal praise without describing the behavior for which the students are praised. Statements such as "good job" or "nice work" are examples of general praise statements. In a BSP statement, a teacher approves (rewards) a specific academic or social behavior with a verbal comment, the praise statement (i.e., "Joe, I like the way you solved the division problem"). BSP is effective when it is delivered contingently: immediately following the desired behavior. Using praise statements allows teachers to provide feedback on the specific student behavior they are trying to reinforce. In addition, teachers' use of praise is effective in providing encouragement, building self-esteem, and promoting positive teacher-student relationships. In order to demonstrate that BSP can be effective with older students, the purpose of this study was to teach two first-year math teachers about the use of BSP and to assess the effects of this training on rates of teacher reprimands and student disruptive behavior in two eighth-grade general education classrooms. In addition, to increase the probability of the teachers using BSP during their daily lessons, the authors used a relatively low-tech method (MotivAider[R] device) to increase the teachers' rate of BSP. The authors found that the two teachers were able to respond in positive and proactive ways to disruptive classroom behaviors that interfered with their instruction. Although teacher praise is an important instructional strategy that is relatively simple to implement, there is strong evidence that it is underused in classrooms. Finding strategies to remind teachers to deliver BSP during hectic teaching schedules is important, and if used correctly and consistently, it can have a significant positive impact on student participation, classroom atmosphere, and teacher-student interactions especially for teachers who instruct in stressful environments. (Contains 2 figures.)

An alternating treatments design was used to investigate the effects of three types of opportunities to respond (i.e., individual, choral, and mixed responding) on sight words and syllable practice in six elementary students with behavioral problems. During the mixed responding condition, five out of six students demonstrated a lower rate of disruptive behavior, and four out of six students had fewer intervals of off-task behavior. Results of the three types of opportunities to respond on participants' active student responding were less clear. A discussion of limitations, implications, and future research directions is included. (Contains 4 tables and 3 figures.)

The number of young children who demonstrate chronic problem behaviors placing them at high risk for the future development of emotional and behavioral disorders is increasing. These children's problem behaviors often exist prior to entering school and become apparent as they interact with their parents at home. In fact, researchers have suggested that children who demonstrate chronic problem behaviors and their parents often end up developing well-established negative interaction patterns that can evolve into coercive relationships and persist upon entry into school. This article describes an ecological classroom-based approach, which emphasizes changing teacher--student interaction patterns as a means for preventing and possibly ameliorating coercive interaction patterns demonstrated by young children and their teachers. First, a brief overview of current service delivery models and intervention programs addressing young children's behavioral excesses is presented. Next, a description of the ecological classroom-based intervention model for addressing the behavioral needs of these children is described. This section includes the theoretical frameworks on which the model is based and an overview of model components. Additionally, the application of the model to a school-wide systems approach is explored. Finally, future research directions are discussed. (Contains 1 figure.)

Despite evidence from previous studies that support using Social Stories[TM] for problem behaviors, research conducted with more rigorous controls is needed to examine whether or not Social Stories constitute an evidence-based practice.This study employed an ABABCBC single-subject design comparing a Social Story presented in two formats across three elementary-age students with autism. Interpretation of the results documents a decrease in the frequency of problem behavior for each participant. Outcomes were slightly better for the PowerPoint[TM] format than for the paper format. Results were maintained in the training setting and were generalized to another setting with a single verbal prompt. Teachers reported that the PowerPoint format was easily implemented, and students indicated that they liked the computer-assisted format. (Contains 2 tables and 3 figures.)

Many teachers face behaviors such as talking out, disrespectful comments, general classroom disorder, and even verbal abuse on a daily basis. Students who create these disruptions in classroom settings interrupt the flow of instruction and affect the behaviors of other students, creating a chaotic environment. Because students with or at risk for emotional or behavioral disorders (EBD) are often off task and disruptive during instructional time, teachers need alternative teaching strategies to generate task engagement and encourage appropriate behaviors. The purpose of this article is to present four instructional strategies that researchers have shown to be generally effective in increasing teacher rates of giving students opportunities to respond. This article provides a description of the strategy, an explanation of why the strategy works, a guideline on how to implement the strategy, potential roadblocks and solutions to implementing the strategy, and a presentation of a case study on successful implementation. (Contains 1 figure.)

The management of a large number of children in a nonclassroom or common setting (e.g., gymnasium, auditorium) can present a challenge to school staff. This article describes a set of commonsense solutions that were implemented with 400 elementary students in a before-school common setting. The solutions are described and the results of the interventions are provided. (Contains 3 figures.)