Virtual and Personal Academic Instruction and Behavior Management

Abstract

During the COVID-19 pandemic, schools have faced an unprecedented challenge to deliver effective instructional and behavior management practices. The educational landscape has changed from one based primarily in school-based, face-to-face instruction to a myriad of virtual and hybrid instructional delivery systems. The changing educational landscape, combined with other factors associated with the ongoing pandemic has heightened the mental health needs of children and adolescents in school settings. Although educators have historically been able to identify effective instructional and behavior management practices, there has been a paucity of their use at acceptable and effective levels in traditional instructional settings for decades. As teachers struggled to move to virtual and hybrid settings, the use of effective strategies became even more difficult to implement. This, in turn, has greatly affected the mental health needs of students. Given the uncertain instructional landscape that we face due to the continuing pandemic, it is imperative that educators continue to identify and implement effective practices to provide students with the best probability of success, regardless of the instructional setting. This chapter explores the current state of affairs of effective instruction, the use of effective behavior management practices, and their inherent connection to the mental health of students.