A Check in Check out intervention is a structured way for school staff to set goals to help students meet school-wide behavioral expectations. The Check in Check out intervention involves (1) a morning check-in with a check-in mentor who reviews the student goals for the day, (2) feedback throughout the day from teachers who provide ratings about the student’s classroom behavior, and (3) an end of the day check-out with the mentor to review progress toward daily goals and reinforcement of success. The Check in Check out intervention is based on the principles of operant conditioning and positive adult-student relationships. Specifically, Check in Check out is thought to promote behavior change through the use of clear expectations, contingent reinforcement, specific praise, and performance feedback. In addition, a supportive relationship with a caring adult in the school is thought to help the student feel welcome and included at school, facilitate motivation for behavior change, and maximize the success of the feedback provided. Reducing disruptive behavior and/or enhancing prosocial behavior can contribute to enhanced academic outcomes.
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Corrective feedback is when the teacher reminds a student or group of students about rules or expectations after violating the rule or expectation. When providing corrective feedback, the teacher labels the incorrect behavior, reminds the student(s) of the rule or what an appropriate behavior would be (that’s an interruption; remember we respect others in this class), and takes action (e.g., give a consequence, redirect the student’s behavior) to prevent the behavior from occurring in the future. In contrast to a pre-correction (i.e., a reminder of expectations prior to possible misbehavior), corrective feedback is a reminder about expectations following misbehavior. However, these two types of feedback can be used in conjunction with one another to improve student behavior. In addition, corrective feedback becomes even more powerful when it is coupled with the use of praise to increase behaviors that align with expectations.
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A daily report card (DRC) is a flexible and collaborative behavior contract between teachers, students, and parents designed to improve academic and behavioral functioning. The teacher and student identify specific behaviors to target and set specific goals for daily performance. The teacher reviews the DRC with the student at the beginning and end of the day and provides feedback to the student throughout the day. The student is positively reinforced at home or school when goals are achieved. Target behaviors can be modified over time as skills are mastered. Specifically, a DRC is thought to promote behavior change through the use of clear expectations, contingent reinforcement, specific praise, and performance feedback.
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Emotion regulation skills are tools that students can use to help them effectively communicate and manage their emotions when they are feeling overwhelmed. These skills can be taught and practiced in the whole class setting or in individual contexts. Emotion regulation skills and adult support can help de-escalate situations in which a student's emotions become extreme or beyond what would be considered an appropriate response to a given event or situation. In addition, many of these skills can also be used proactively to reduce the likelihood of future escalations. Strategies that teachers can use to help students create an emotion regulation plan include: a) developing a shared language with students so they can communicate about emotions, b) teaching, monitoring, reinforcing, and practicing coping skills, and c) creating a safe cool down space where coping strategies can be applied if the student cannot apply them in their own space.
Because all students can benefit from learning about emotions and emotion regulation skills, below are guidelines for creating and implementing emotion regulation strategies with your entire classroom, followed by guidelines for creating a targeted intervention and using de-escalation strategies with students who need more individualized support.
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Flash cards are designed to enhance students’ academic performance in the classroom through the development of study skills that can lead to improvements in grades on tests and quizzes. Initially, teachers provide more direction, constructive feedback, and reinforcement in order to ensure the youth is effectively creating and utilizing the flashcards. As the student builds independent skills, the teacher support is faded.
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Greetings are when the teacher individually welcomes their students when they enter the classroom and/or says goodbye when they leave the classroom. The greeting should be personally directed to a student, so that the student feels like he or she has received an individualized message.
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An individualized behavioral approach is an intervention designed to meet a specific student’s needs using behavioral principles. Behavioral theory suggests that one’s environment can shape their behavior; thus, the goal of an individualized behavioral approach is to systematically change the student’s environment in order to change their behavior. Behaviors can serve a variety of functions for students (e.g., to get attention, gain a sense of connection to others, gain control, avoid schoolwork, escape peer teasing). With an individualized behavioral approach, teachers identify the function of the problematic behavior and the patterns of reinforcement that might be maintaining the behavior and use that information to change antecedents and consequences in the environment as a way to modify the disruptive behavior.
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Youth mentoring is an intervention where youth build positive relationships with non-parental persons, typically older than the identified student. Mentorship programs can take a variety of different forms from academic mentorship to building positive community relationships to college and career mentorship. Mentorship programs can be built to best serve the needs of your students and augmented to fit the developmental stage of the students with whom you work. Students who participate in mentorship programs often experience improvements in school functioning, physical and mental health, cognitive, and social outcomes.
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Notetaking training includes teaching, modeling, and providing feedback on notetaking skills to improve students' academic and behavioral performance. Overtime, teachers instruct the student on notetaking strategies focused on obtaining appropriate content, at the appropriate level of depth, and in an organized format. Teachers give students positive and constructive feedback on their notetaking to guide skill development. As the student builds independent skills, the feedback is faded.
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