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File: Classroom Pdf 156833 | Changingbehaviors
behavior matters changing behaviors by changing the classroom environment caroline a guardino and elizabeth fullerton what impact does the classroom envi ronment have on overall class behavior and learning many ...

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      Behavior Matters
        Changing Behaviors
        by Changing the
        Classroom Environment
        Caroline A. Guardino and Elizabeth Fullerton
                                                         What impact does the classroom envi-
                                                         ronment have on overall class behavior
                                                         and learning? Many teachers face dis-
                                                         ruptive behavior in their classrooms.
                                                         How can they target and change prob-
                                                         lem areas in the classroom environ-
                                                         ment? By collecting data on students’
                                                         engagement during instruction, disrup-
                                                         tive behavior, and teacher observations,
                                                         teachers can identify which physical
                                                         aspects of their classroom need to be
                                                         improved. Changing the classroom
     .                                                   environment can increase academic
     C                                                   engagement and decrease disruptive
     E
     C                                                   behavior.
     0
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     t
     h                                                   One challenge teachers face is disrup-
     g
     i
     r
     y                                                   tive behavior in their classrooms. In a
     p
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     C                                                   2004 survey, 75% of teachers noted
     .
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     -                                                   that they would spend more time
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     p                                                   teaching and teaching effectively if
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     ,
     6                                                   they had less disruptive behavior in
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     N                                                   their classrooms (Public Agenda,
     ,
     2
     4                                                   2004). Disruptive behavior (e.g., speak-
     .
     l
     o                                                   ing without permission, getting out of
     V
     ,
     n
     e                                                   seat) often interferes with students’
     r
     d
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     i                                                   engagement in the learning process.
     h
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     l                                                   Another challenge for teachers is to
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     i                                                   find classroom management strategies
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     p
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     c                                                   that are proactive, preventative, and
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     E                                                   relatively easy to implement, and
     G
     N
     I                                                   which provide minimal disruption to
     H
     C
     A                                                   the classroom.
     E
     T
        8COUNCIL FOR EXCEPTIONAL CHILDREN
           Figure 1. Steps to Changing the Classroom Environment
                                        • What types of disruptive behaviors occur in your classroom?
                                        • When are the most disruptive behaviors occurring? Time of day? Under which type of
                                          circumstances?
                                        • How are different areas of your classroom utilized? Do the tasks completed in the areas
                                          change throughout the day? (Sometimes the library area is for reading but during math
                     Observe              it is for group activities.)
                                        • Where is disruptive behavior occurring?
                                        • Are students able to work at desks without distractions? Are students able to work in
                                          group areas without distractions from the surrounding environment?
                                        • Provide areas of personal space (Hood-Smith & Leffingwell, 1983, Visser, 2001).
                                        • Decrease or change placement of stimulating visuals.
                                        • Clear pathways between students and high trafficked areas (Visser, 2001; Weinstein, 1979).
                                        • Make a clear distinction between individual versus group activity areas.
                                        • Rearrange teacher’s desk (Proshansky & Wolfe, 1974; Zifferblatt, 1972).
                                        • Place barriers and/or partitions in the classroom (Evans & Lovell, 1979; Gump, 1974;
                                          Proshansky & Wolfe, 1974).
                                        • Address acoustic quality in the classroom by eliminating objects that produce background
                      Modify              noise.
                                        • Modify classroom climate by adjusting lighting, air flow, temperature.
                                        • Organize areas by adding shelves, labels, or cubbies (Evans & Lovell, 1979; Weinstein,
                                          1979).
                                        • Rearrange student seating (e.g., coed dyads, rows) facing away from visual distractions
                                          such as doorways and windows.
                                        • Alter the room to ensure a clear line of sight.
                                        • Are you using the modifications correctly?
                                        • Are you using the modifications consistently?
                    Follow-Up           • Are the modifications being used how they were intended to be used?
                                        • Do any modifications need rearranging, changing, or removal?
                                        • Do you need to implement additional modifications?
              Researchers have investigated the        2002). Although the well-designed           modifications are an essential part of
           relationship between the classroom          classroom has proven benefits, there is     classroom management, many teach-
           environment, student behavior, and          little research on the impact environ-      ers are not aware of the process of
           academic engagement (Hood-Smith &           mental modifications have on behavior       implementing them. Assessing the
           Leffingwell, 1983; Visser, 2001). A well-   and learning (Guardino, 2009; Schilling     classroom environment as to its
           organized classroom permits more pos-       &Schwartz, 2004).                           impact on student behavior and imple-
           itive interactions between teachers and        Environmental modifications are a        menting changes to that environment
           children, reducing the probability that     preventative, whole-class approach          is a three-stage process (see Figure 1).
           challenging behaviors will occur (Mar-      (Emmer & Stough, 2001) that may             The first step is for the teacher to
           tella, Nelson, & Marchand-Martella,         decrease chronic behavior problems,         observe the students within the class-
           2003). Additionally, modifying the          prevent behavior problems for stu-          room environment, noting where and
           classroom environment may serve as a        dents who are at risk, and allow chil-      when disruptive behavior is occurring
           direct intervention for children who        dren with minimal or no problem             and how different areas of the class-
           demonstrate ongoing disruptive behav-       behavior to access learning without         room are utilized. For example, are
           ior (Conroy, Davis, Fox, & Brown,           interruption. Although environmental        students unable to work without
                                                                                      TEACHING EXCEPTIONAL CHILDREN  JULY/AUG 2010      9
             Figure 2. Ms. Thompson’s Classroom: “Before” and “After” Environmental Changes
             distraction from peers and the environ-     carrels (see Figure 2); if the outside       Case Study: Ms. Thompson’s
             ment? Are students interrupting the         environment causes distractions, desks       Inclusive Classroom
             lesson because materials are unorgan-       can be rearranged so students’ desks
             ized and inaccessible?                      don’t face the windows. If materials         Ms. Thompson teaches at an elemen-
                After observation, the teacher           are inaccessible, each student may           tary school in an urban area of the
             should review possible options for          need individual storage space (e.g.,         southeastern United States. Of the
                                                                                                      school’s nearly 1,000 students, about
                    Are students unable to work without distraction from peers                        90%are eligible for free or reduced
                                                                                                      lunch. The school has failed to make
                     and the environment? Are students interrupting the lesson                        annual yearly progress, as required by
                        because materials are unorganized and inaccessible?                           the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001,
                                                                                                      for the past 6 years. In addition,
                                                                                                      according to state standards the school
             modifying problem areas in the class-       chair bags, desks with compartments;         has performed below average (receiv-
             room. Classroom space can be modi-          see Figure 3).                               ing a D or F grade) the past 2 years.
             fied in a variety of ways (Bullard, 2010;      After modifying the classroom envi-          Ms. Thompson’s fourth-grade inclu-
             Guardino, 2008; Lawry, Danko, &             ronment, teachers should self-critique       sive classroom had high levels of dis-
             Strain, 1999), including                    using the follow-up questions in Figure      ruptive behavior: She would report
                                                         1. When teachers ask themselves ques-        disruptive behaviors three or more
             • Arranging classroom furniture to          tions such as “Are my students consis-       times a week to school personnel. Of
                define learning areas.                   tently using desk carrels during indi-       the 17 students in her classroom, one
             • Improving accessibility and avail-        vidual work time?” or “Do the students       received special education services and
                ability of materials.                    have all the materials they need             several students were awaiting referrals
             • Delineating traffic patterns.             throughout the day in their individual       for special education assessment. The
             • Improving organization of materials.      storage space?”, they are able to under-     students in the classroom exhibited
                                                         stand what modifications are working         high levels of disruptive behavior such
             For example, if students are distracted     and if they need to implement addi-          as calling out answers and profanities,
             by peers, the teacher could use desk        tional changes.                              throwing objects, hitting, and pushing,
             10 COUNCIL FOR EXCEPTIONAL CHILDREN
            Figure 3. Examples of Possible Environmental Changes in the Classroom
            Note. Possible environmental changes in the classroom include chair bags for personal belongings; modifying the computer area to
            reduce distractions; using shelving (in this case, a combined storage space and bookcase) to create separate group space areas; and
            setting the teacher’s desk at an angle and adding shelves to increase personal space.
            as well as complete disregard for              With Ms. Thompson’s input, we             teacher’s request to sit down at his
            teacher direction or instruction. Several   defined academic engagement as pur-          desk and work on the assigned task.
            of the students received in-school and      poseful attention such as raising a          After the interview and establishing
            out-of-school suspensions during the        hand, answering a question, working          the data we needed to collect, we took
            duration of the study.                      independently, or watching the               “before” pictures of the classroom (see
                                                        teacher conduct the lesson (Downer,          Figure 2).
            Phase 1: Baseline                           Rimm-Kaufman & Pianta, 2007; Lane,              During 2 weeks of data collection,
            During the baseline phase, we collected     Smither, Huseman, Guffey, & Fox,             we measured academic engagement
            data for overall classroom academic         2007). Disruptive behavior would com-        and disruptive behavior by direct
            engagement and disruptive behavior.         prise behavior that did not follow Ms.       observation during the class’s “reader’s
            The first step was to interview Ms.         Thompson’s classroom rules: speaking         workshop”: Ms. Thompson would
            Thompson to identify the areas in the       without permission, getting out of           direct a mini-reading lesson, after
            classroom where and when disruptive         seat, making unwanted physical con-          which students worked independently.
            behaviors occurred, the types of dis-       tact, or noncompliance to teacher            Each observation session was 15 min-
            ruptive behaviors, and the best time to     direction. For example, a student was        utes long; during this time, we noted
            observe an academic lesson.                 disruptive if he did not follow the          any instances where one or more
                                                                                      TEACHING EXCEPTIONAL CHILDREN  JULY/AUG 2010       11
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