Reinforcement and Redirection Plan

By: Kailee Gilhooly

Responsive Classroom

I like the idea of having a responsive classroom. A responsive classroom has many

guiding principles. There is a total of six approaches to the guiding principles of a responsive

classroom. I think that of the six I would really focus on teaching social and emotional skills,

how I teach, and partnering with families. Teaching social and emotional skills are just as

important as the academic knowledge and skills students are learning. Social and emotional skills

are important to teach for students to learn about different feelings, set positive goals, build

relationships, and even build themselves up. Through the teaching of social emotional learning

this would provide students with the appropriate materials to make proper decisions when they

are in a tough scenario, they are being responsive. Another guiding principle I think that is

important for students in a responsive classroom is how I teach. This is something that I would

be tweaking almost continuously. The first few weeks of school would be the time for the

teacher to learn about her students, how they learn, what they like, and what they do not like. The

teacher can even communicate with the students about how to change the way they are teaching

to better meet the needs and wants of the students. The last guiding principle I would want to

focus on is partnering with families. A way that I would provide positive feedback would be

through notes or emails home to the families. I would send the positive feedback home with the

students for them to share with a family member. While it is important to note not all feedback is

positive it is important for students to be proud of what they are doing and sharing that with

family. Another reason I would try to build relationships with families to get to know them and

their students. It might not be possible to build relationships with all the families for a variety of
different reasons, but it is worth a shot to build trust between the student, teacher, and family

members.

Logical Consequences

Logical consequences are a strategy for responding to misbehavior and is commonly an

approach used in a responsive classroom. There are three types of logical consequences: “You

break it, you fix it”, loss of privilege, and positive time-out. All three of these types of logical

consequences provide different opportunities for the teacher and student.

“You break it, you fix it”

This idea of a logical consequence is used when somethings either accidentally or

intentionally has been broken. This idea is for the student responsible to take responsibly for

fixing the broken object or the mess. This logical consequence is a good idea when the situation

is something that students change and fix. This provides the opportunity for students to learn and

problem solve. An example of the “you break it, you fix it” logical consequence is a student

knocking a pencil sharpener on the floor. The teacher would have the student clean up the pencil

shavings suing a handheld broom and dustpan that is in the classroom for the students to use.

Loss of Privilege

The idea behind loss of privilege is the student loses the privilege of participating

or using an object for a set amount of time after the student’s behavior does not meet pre-

established expectations. When the teacher takes the privilege away it must be established why it

is being taken away and the student must understand what expectation was broken. It also may

be a good idea to go over the expectation with the student, so they are clear on what is being

enforced. An example of a loss of privilege would be taking the students Chromebook away for
the remainder of a day because they were playing on a website while they were supposed to be

typing a paper.

Positive Time-Out

Positive time outs are breaks for a student who needs to calm down or recover

some self-control. There would be a pre-established place in the classroom for a positive time-

out, perhaps this would be a calming corner. The student would take a few minutes to themselves

to regroup and regain focus then the student would rejoin the group once they are ready. At the

beginning of the year a positive time-out would be taught, and students would learn that is not

like a time-out they might have had at home when they get in trouble, but rather it is more a

break to calm down before anything bad happens. Everyone needs a breather sometimes and

teaching students this from a young ago would be beneficial. Another example of a student

having a positive timeout would be a student’s continuously talking throughout a lesson. The

teacher could send them to the calming corner to allow them a couple minutes to themselves to

calm down.

Overcoming Resistance

Overcoming resistance can be used when a student is asked to either do something or

stop doing something and the student resists at an irrational level. There are six steps;

1. Assume the best- student resistance is normal and a test of the teacher.

2. Soft eyes, soft voice- the teacher needs to stay clam throughout a confrontation in both

their voice and body language.

3. Offer a choice- make it clear that the student has a choice on what is being asked or

continuing to resist. State to the students they have a choice.

 4. Respect the choice made- If the student continues to resist or comply respect their

decision. This is not a personal attack to the teacher.

5. Give the consequence- If the student complies, they earn a positive consequence of

moving on and the confrontation ending. If the student did not comply the negative

consequence is enforced.

6. Escalate the choice- If the student does not comply with the negative consequence

offer a new choice with a more uncomfortable consequence. Continue with step six until

the student complies.

Positive Strategies

1. Social Narratives- creating a social narrative that models the replacement behavior

with the target.

2. Behavior Contracts- Lays out the expected behaviors and both the

rewards/consequences for specific behaviors.

3. Home Notes- providing parents with ongoing feedback.

I would use these positive strategies in my classroom to build a positive classroom with

reinforcement and redirection. I believe that the three strategies listed above would be beneficial

to use in an elementary classroom. The social narrative is a good way to remind students of the

appropriate ways they should be acting.

BIST- Behavior Intervention Support Team

BIST is certified in trauma-informed care which is very important because as teachers we

do not know how many of the students are affected by trauma and have ACE’s. Sometimes you

might be able to tell, bit with other students you might never know. The ideas of BIST is to

increase teaching time for all students, facilitate lifelong change in skill sets, decrease disruptive
behavior in the classroom and at home, and provide relief for adults with are working directly

with the youth. A few of the BIST concept’s that I would use in my classroom are class

meetings, buddy room, safe seat, and goals for life. A buddy room is the idea of having a seat in

another teacher’s room where the student can go and regroup. A class meeting, I would do daily

as a way to check in with students, plan, problem solve, and continue maintain a positive

classroom. The goals for life are something that I think area good idea to start with younger

students and to remind them of their goals throughout their education. The goals would be used

to help students obtain the life they want and deserve. A few examples of goals are I can make

good choice, even when I am mad. I can be okay, even if others are not oaky. I can do

something, even if don’t think I can. The goals might be different for each student, but having

the students come up with goals along these lines and regularly reminding the students of their

goals is another way to continue to build positivity.