Classroom Routines Research Articles

Integrating Research, Policy, and Practice to Bring Science to the Classroom: New Leaders’ Perspectives on the Field of Emotional and Behavioral Disorders

In 1991, the Peacock Hill Working Group provided the field of emotional and behavioral disorders (EBD) a roadmap for improving the quality of services provided to students with EBD. The working group considered issues at every level of the educational system, from the classroom to federal policy. Although many strides have been made in the past 20 years regarding the education and treatment of students with EBD, the gap has persisted between empirically validated practices and the classroom routines of teachers serving students from this population. In the authors’ view, the field of EBD would benefit greatly from conceptual and empirical developments to improve the mechanisms required to bring science to the classroom. Using the theoretical underpinnings of implementation science, the authors describe a transactional model for integrating research, policy, and practice to close the research-to-practice gap. Recommendations for researchers, policy makers, and practitioners are provided.

Saberes matemáticos do campo e da escola: processos de aprendizagem e educação de jovens e adultos

The awareness of non formal schooling knowledge building processes elaborated by young and adult students who come from diverse geo — political — economical contexts from the federal Brazilian system, is in this very work, one of our main concerns. A great deal of these students brings marks of their rural backgrounds which are revealed in their daily evening classroom routines. As for their mathematical knowledges, there have been clear evidences of their non formal rural learning. Such as the crop counting similarity, algorithms are developed in smaller parts and they are grouped in non decimal bases, as mental calculation and memorization procedures are valued, these stand for cultural identitary marks. Survival strategies and tactics, built throughout these EJA (young and adult education) students’ agricultural past, refl ect in their current ways of thinking mathematically. When facing literate society they gather conflicts of rupture with their background culture, as at school, these migrant adults live a double denial when they are excluded due to their knowledges and the way they perceive reality. Our analysis is based on research data grounded on socio anthropological perspectives and ethnomathematics, analyzing the processes these young and adult student build their knowledges.

A Minds-On Approach to Active Learning in General Music

Minds-on engagement in active learning is explored through the experiences of Margaret Sanders, a general music teacher. Minds-on learners think about their experiences. They are actively involved as questioners and problem solvers while they complete musical tasks and reflect on their work after it is completed. Minds-off learners focus on their actions but not on the thinking required to complete a given task. This idea is explored in relation to the use of classroom routines to direct instruction. Routines serve a valuable function in moving students through their school day, assisting their progress from class to class to their dismissal at the end of the day. However, teachers may assume that students are involved in minds-on learning when, due to instructional routines, students’ responses represent a minds-off engagement in their learning. Teachers of general music must constantly challenge students in unexpected ways to maintain their minds-on engagement in music.

Novice Teachers' Attention to Student Thinking

Stage-based views of teacher development hold that novice teachers are unable to attend to students' thinking until they have begun to identify themselves as teachers and mastered classroom routines, and so the first emphases in learning to teach should be on forming routines and identity. The authors challenge those views, as others have done, with evidence of novices attending to students' thinking early in their teaching and offer framing as an alternative perspective on whether and how teachers attend to student thinking. By this account, most teachers work in professional contexts that focus their attention on curriculum, classroom routines, and their own behavior, rather than on student thinking. An account of framing suggests an early, strong emphasis on attention to student thinking in teacher education.

William Butler Yeats: The Poet in the School of Art

The article discusses the visual art education that the poet William Butler Yeats received at the Dublin Metropolitan School of Art (DMSA) in 1884-1885 and the Royal Hibernian Academy (RHA) in Ireland. The growth of art education in Ireland is discussed in terms of how the educational model in Irish art schools came from English art schools. The history of the DMSA is provided as is the kind of art that Yeats would have produced under its curriculum. Other topics include classroom routines, visual intelligence, and standards of British design in the manufacturing industry.

Personal Cleanliness Activities in Preschool Classrooms.

One hundred and twelve preschool teachers in Indiana were asked to complete a questionnaire requesting them to indicate what personal health-related activities they were incorporating into their classroom routines, why they were incorporating them, and how often such activities were done. The results of the study indicate that the most incorporated activities were hand-washing, proper ways of coughing, and discussion on germs. The least incorporated personal health-related activities were proper use of bathroom and keeping things out of the mouth. Reasons for incorporating the activities include helping to curtail the spreading of colds and germs, helping the children to develop good life skills later in life, and helping the preschoolers know about the health hazards associated with germs, among others. The study recommends the need to make Health Education a core component of preschool teachers’ training.

The Impact of Targeted Classroom Interventions and Function-Based Behavior Interventions on Problem Behaviors of Students with Emotional/Behavioral Disorders

The purpose of this study was to examine the impact of both functional behavior assessment-based interventions and targeted classroom interventions for reducing problem behaviors of children with emotional/behavioral disorders (EBD) in special education classrooms. Specifically, this study was interested in how interventions based on changes in classroom routines and instructional behaviors compared with interventions based on functional behavior assessment. Results demonstrated the effectiveness of incorporating effective classroom practices in reducing problem behaviors in special education classrooms for students with EBD. In addition, results demonstrated a clear additive effect when individually designed behavior interventions, based on functional behavior assessments, were incorporated following classroom intervention. Results confirm the importance of analyzing and manipulating environmental and instructional classroom variables as an essential step in the process of addressing problem behavior. Implications for practice and future research are discussed.

Music Therapy as a Supplemental Teaching Strategy for Kindergarten ESL Students

ABSTRACT: The purpose of this study was to give a descriptive account of the use of music therapy techniques on the English speaking and story retelling skills of Kindergarten students in English as a Second Language (ESL) classes. Nine students in a community based after-school ESL class and 9 students in a regular public school ESL class received music therapy sessions designed as supplemental teaching strategies in addition to their regular ESL classroom routines. Observers indicated that both groups performed well on story retelling skills and English speaking skills; although, the after-school ESL group performed better than the public school group. This study suggests that the community setting may be a more relaxed and less intimidating environment for young English learners. The majority of students enrolled in English as a Second Language (ESL) classes in the public schools in the United States are of Hispanic immigrants and this population is growing at an incredibly fast pace (Kochlar, Suro & Tafoya, 2005). It is estimated that a recent influx of between 11 and 20 million new immigrants of Hispanic heritage in the United States has added greatly to the numbers of in ESL classes in the public schools (Time Warner, 2006). The most recent increase in the Hispanic population has taken place in the southeastern region of the United States in six states, including Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee, thus becoming the new settlement areas for immigrants of Hispanic heritage. Fifteen years ago Latino youngsters accounted for only 1% of the school aged population in the southeastern region of the United States but by the year 2007-2008 these students will make up 10 percent of all the primary and secondary schools in these states. Having had just 184,000 Latino students enrolled in September 2001, these Southern states will have an estimated 571,000 Latino students by September 2007, an increase of 387,000 Latino students. To put this in perspective, consider that the four traditional settlement states of California, Illinois, New York and New Jersey had a vastly larger Hispanic school enrollment - 3.4 million in 2001 - but will add only another 535,000 Latino students by 2007 (Kochlar, Suro & Tafoya, 2005, p. 38). The impact of the Latino population growth on local schools is multiplied by three factors: Spanish is the only spoken in the students' homes, the students often present special needs for English instruction and since this population has emerged suddenly, many schools do not have the programs in place to deal with their needs (Wainer, 2004). These circumstances are compounded by the No Child Left Behind law which focuses almost solely on accountability to improve educational outcomes for all students, including historically low achieving and disabled students and those who are English Language Learners (ELLs), children who are learning English and for whom English is not their first language (Bankstreet, 2007, para 11). In fact, acquisition is critical for ESL students in order for them to achieve academic concepts and socially integrate with their peers (Brown, 2004; Schunk, 1999). Furthermore, many public schools expect students with Limited English Proficiency (LEP) to become proficient in English within one year so they can join their native English speaking peers in regular academic classes. The assumption, however, that young can learn English within the span of one year is unrealistic as ELLs need an average of four to five years to achieve parity with native English speakers (MacSwan & Pray, 2005). Therefore, supplemental teaching strategies that engage Kindergarten students in active and passive learning activities which are interesting, enjoyable and inspire to initiate academic and social uses of the English are needed (Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages, 2006). …

Journal Writing as a Coping Mechanism: A Case Study of a Gifted Young Woman - Lucy Maud Montgomery

This paper explores the childhood and adolescent years in the life of well-known Canadian author, Lucy Maud Montgomery. The purpose of this article is to show how she used personal journaling as a resilient coping mechanism to help overcome the challenges she faced as a gifted and talented girl. Challenges Montgomery experienced revolved around the personality characteristics associated with being gifted and talented. Also, her gifts and talents were not valued at home and under appreciated at the school she attended, a school that espoused rigid rules and where classroom routines stifl ed the gifted and talented student. This article draws upon Montgomery’s personal journals spanning 1880 to 1935. Her writings were examined using an in-depth case study methodology with the aim of understanding how Montgomery’s journal writing facilitated resiliency and coping.

Adolescents' Moral Engagement in Urban Settings

Adolescents who live in urban settings regularly encounter a complex array of people and circumstances that require sophisticated decision-making skills. Using their personal standards, adolescents coordinate moral thoughts and emotions when deciding how to act. After defining what the author refers to as moral engagement, several empirical examples are introduced to illustrate how parents and teachers might incorporate conversations into family and classroom routines that enhance moral engagement. These findings support several conclusions about the mental health benefits of teaching adolescents to appraise situations using moral standards.

Embedding individualized social goals into routine activities in inclusive early childhood classrooms

This study examined the effectiveness of embedding children’s social goals into routine activities within inclusive preschool classroom settings. An AB (i.e. baseline and intervention) single‐subject design was used across three male participants with identified disabilities. Three student‐teachers, enrolled in a master’s program at a university, implemented the intervention by embedding children’s social goals into classroom routines (e.g. circle time). Social competency increased for all three boys, and social skills improved on the selected social goals that were embedded into classroom routines. The results suggest that the embedding strategy may offer an effective approach for individualizing social skills intervention in preschool classrooms.

Preschool Teacher Support Through Class-Wide Intervention

Preparing professionals for class-wide consultation has a significant role in achieving goals associated with recent legislation and reform initiatives. Class-wide interventions are used to target achievement and social learning, are under a teacher's control and responsibility, and build on basic classroom interactions, routines, and resources. However, teachers may require considerable contextual appraisal and support from consultants. The purpose of this paper is to describe a teacher- support program evolving from Head Start consultations by school psychology students. Implications for training and practice are discussed.

The Effects of In-Service Education to Promote Emergent Literacy in Child Care Centers: A Feasibility Study

The purpose of this study was to determine the feasibility of a 2-day in-service education program for (a) promoting the use of two emergent literacy strategies by early childhood educators and (b) increasing children's responses to these strategies. Sixteen early childhood educators were randomly assigned to an experimental and a control group. The experimental in-service program sought to increase educators' use of abstract utterances and print references. Educators were videotaped with small groups of preschoolers during storybook reading and a post-story craft activity. Pretest and posttest videotapes were coded to yield rates of abstract language, verbal print references, and children's responses. In comparison to the control group, educators in the experimental program used more abstract utterances that elicited talk about emotions and children's past experiences during storybook reading. They also used significantly more print references during a post-story craft activity. In addition, children in the experimental group responded more often with appropriate responses to abstract utterances and print references in comparison to children in the control group. A 2-day in-service education program resulted in short-term behavioral changes in educators' use of abstract language and print references. Suggestions for improving instruction include providing opportunities for classroom practice with feedback, modeling the use of strategies in classroom routines, and long-term mentoring of educators to promote retention of gains.

Improving the Performance of a Young Child with Autism during Self-Care Tasks Using Embedded Song Interventions: A Case Study

ABSTRACT: The collaboration of music therapists, occupational therapists, and classroom teachers can provide innovative, effective, and evidence-based interventions that support independence in basic self-care tasks for young children with autism. This case study investigated the effectiveness of adding songs embedded in ongoing classroom routines as structural prompts to increase the independence of a 3-year-old boy with autism during multi-step self-care tasks (i.e., hand-washing, toileting, and cleaning up). The effectiveness of the musical versus verbal presentations of the task sequence were compared using an alternating treatment design replicated across three tasks. The teacher effectively embedded both forms of the presented sequencing in the ongoing classroom routines and results indicated that the implementation of both forms of the intervention were successful in increasing the child's independent performance for each task though task-specific differences were noted. When considered from a purely technical perspective, the performance of basic self-care tasks seems concrete and selfexplanatory (Frank & Stein, 2000). These tasks are embedded in everyday routines, follow a relatively predictable sequence to completion, and typically require few materials or tools. However, examined contextually and from the perspective of the performer, these same tasks take on individual meaning and importance and are orchestrated to meet the unique needs of the individual in terms of habits, preferences, and social roles. The performance of self-care tasks facilitates both the independence of the individual (Christiansen, 2000; Kellegrew, 1998) and the inclusion of that individual in a social context or group. In a Western culture in which independence is highly valued, the ability to perform self-care tasks, indeed, reflects an important aspect of the self as separate and sufficient. At the same time, our society has cultural norms about cleanliness and appearance, and while those norms may vary within smaller segments of that society, adherence to those norms is among the expectations people have for others in order to attain or maintain group membership or acceptance (Christiansen & Baum, 2005). In addition, health standards for child care, preschool, and school are provided by state and national licensing bodies. For instance, teaching proper handwashing techniques is part of the National Health Education Standards and consequently part of the preschool health and hygiene curriculum (Fanjul & Ball, 1995; Joint Commission on Health Education Standards, 1995). Therefore, the ability of a child to learn and refine performance of simple self-care tasks holds meaning not only for the child but also for the adults who provide care for that child, including parents, other family members, and teachers. Children express unique aspects of their identity in the way in which they enact preferences within the performance of self-care tasks (e.g., I only want the blue toothpaste!), and in the outcomes (e.g., the striped t-shirt with the flowered shorts). As the child develops skills and independence in the performance of self-care tasks, the patterns of activity and social participation change not only for that child but for the adults as well (Kellegrew, 1998, 2000). Adults change their roles, their use of time, the type and amount of assistance they offer, and their own perception of meaning in the activity. For the adults, the independence of the child not only reflects valued learning but also frees the adult to engage in other activities during the time that previously had been spent in assisting the child. For many children and adults, the changes in a child's self-care performance typically follow a natural process from being an occupation primarily of the adult as caregiver to a co-occupation as the child begins to perform tasks with less help to an event which is largely the occupation of the child. Each step toward independent self- care represents a milestone, which is expected and valued (Rogoff, 1993). …

Effects of Social Stories on Prosocial Behavior of Preschool Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders

Social Stories are a popular intervention for preschool children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD), but little research on Social Stories has been conducted with this population. This study investigated the effects of Social Stories on prosocial behavior of three preschool children with ASD in an inclusive setting. An ABAB design was used for two participants, while an ABACBC was used for the third. Social Stories increased appropriate behavior and decreased inappropriate behavior for two participants. The addition of verbal prompts (condition C) was necessary to increase appropriate behavior for the third participant. Maintenance probes were conducted to assess whether stories became imbedded in classroom routines. Results are discussed in relation to applications, study limitations, and areas for future research.

Teaching young children mathematics

Preface: The Challenge of Early Childhood Mathematics Education The Educational Challenge: Empowering Young Children to Use Mathematics Designing Games and Playful Activities: Meaningful Context for Practice and Application How Young Children Learn about Mathematics: Content-Process Connections How Children Learn Number Concepts and Skills How Children Learn Geometry and Measurement The Connection Between Assessment and Teaching How Adults Can Communicate With Young Children About Mathematics Calendars and Clocks: Tools for Time Management Science and Mathematics: Curriculum Partners Social Studies and Mathematics: Curriculum Partners Meaningful Use of Mathematics in Classroom Routines Putting It All Together: A Model

Shoes on the streets and byways of New York

The author describes his experiences helping to teach a writing workshop for the patrons of a Manhattan soup kitchen. The participants are, he learns, less migratory in some ways than he and the other teachers, yet they all share ideals about the Big Apple as well as experiences on the streets of New York City. The author quotes with permission from the participants' writings and presents the classroom routines by recreating one of the typical meetings from the early years of the workshop.

Continuous Performance Testing in the Differential Diagnosis of ADHD

Hoff, K. E., Ervin, R. A., & Freeman, P. C. (2005). Refining functional behavioral assessment: Analyzing the separate and combined effects of hypothesized controlling variables during ongoing classroom routines. School Psychology Review, 34(1), 45–57. Kern, L., Delaney, B., Clarke, S., Dunlap, G., & Childs, K. (2001). Improving the classroom behavior of students with emotional and behavioral disorders using individualized curricular modifications. Journal of Emotional & Behavioral Disorders, 9(4), 239–247. Miltenberger, R. (2001). Behavior Modification: Principles and procedures. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth/Thompson Learning. Olympia, D.E., Tuesday–Heathfield, L., Jenson, W.R. & Clark, E. (2002). Multifaceted functional behavioral assessment for externalizing students with behavior disorders. Psychology in the Schools, 39(2), 139–155. O’Neill, R.E., Horner, R.H., Albin, R.W., Sprague, J.R., Storey, K. & Newton, J.S. (1997). Functional assessment and program development for problem behavior: A practical handbook (2nd Ed.) Pacific Grove, CA: Brooks/Cole. Radford, P. M., & Ervin, R. A. (2002). Employing descriptive functional assessment methods to assess low–rate, high–intensity behaviors: A case example. Journal of Positive Behavior Interventions, 4(3), 146–155.

Refining Functional Behavioral Assessment: Analyzing the Separate and Combined Effects of Hypothesized Controlling Variables During Ongoing Classroom Routines

This article presents results from an investigation using functional assessment strategies in a general education classroom for an early adolescent diagnosed with ADHD/ODD. In the first phase of the assessment, data were collected from teacher interviews, student interviews, and direct observations to generate hypotheses regarding the association between classroom environmental conditions and the occurrence of disruptive behavior. The hypotheses were then evaluated in the context of regularly occurring classroom activities. Based on the data obtained through the functional assessment procedure, a classroom intervention was designed, implemented, and evaluated. Results indicated the intervention was successful in decreasing the participant's disruptive behavior. Further, the teacher and student reported high acceptability for the assessment and intervention. Project findings are discussed in terms of bridging the gap between research and practice, conducting a functional behavioral assessment (FBA) within applied settings, and the use of FBA for behaviors that are potentially under the control of multiple maintaining functions.

Empowering Technology for Teacher Education

STAND still and look until you really see. These simple, but provocative, words were the theme of a 30-year-old environmental education program called the Environmental Studies Project. Funded by the National Science Foundation, the project was headed by an innovative educator, Bob Samples - I suspect the words were his as well. Over the last three decades or so, these simple words have become the central undergirding principle of my philosophy of teaching. Here is an example from the elementary science methods course I teach. On the first day of each new science methods class, we go outside for a nature walk. One of the first things we encounter is a pine tree. I ask the class what kind of a tree it is and never get answers much more specific than evergreen or pine tree. I then ask the class to observe the tree more carefully. After a short time, the students usually note that the tree is tall and has rough bark. Occasionally, someone will say it looks sparse. I have to prompt them to observe and describe the length of the needles and the way they look at the end of each branch. After a little discussion, we conclude that the needles are a foot long or longer. I then help them describe the arrangement of needles at the end of a branch, which is like a barber's brush. Then I direct their attention to the size of the terminal branches, which are stubby and never thinner than a cigar. Eventually, someone will notice one of the pinecones either on the tree or on the ground. And the cones are very large: 10 to 15 inches long and of the classic pinecone shape, not long and slender. After about or 10 minutes of such observations, I tell the students that they are looking at a longleaf pine, a tree that once covered the Deep South but that is now becoming endangered. Obviously, this lesson is more about observation than it is about pine trees - although the Lorax might disagree. But the theme of Stand still . continues throughout the methods course and quickly affects how the students view their world. They soon begin to do similar activities with their own children and with their students. By now, you are probably wondering, what does this theme have to do with technology? Well, it's this: technology empowers you to stand still and really look at teaching. Furthermore, I am not sure you can study teaching effectively without using technology. The best lesson I've ever taught was heavily dependent on technology. The lesson was an inquiry lesson in a graduate class called Improvement of Instruction. I should explain that this class differs from the one we call Models of Teaching. The models class deals with instruction at the macro level, studying such things as step-by-step methods of guided discovery. The improvement class studies instruction at the micro level, dealing with such topics as proximics (purposeful movement toward a student or around the classroom) and subtle classroom routines and rituals. The lesson was delivered in a university classroom that had a computer-equipped podium, a fast Internet connection, and a large video projector. To start the lesson, I wrote the following question on the white board: What are some effective and efficient techniques master teachers use to make starting an activity go smoothly? Next, class members offered their hypotheses - closely related, I suspect, to how they started activities in their own classrooms. Here are their hypotheses: 1. Use a signal, for example, clap hands or turn off the lights. 2. Say Give me five (teacher holds up fingers, each of which has a meaning in the classroom). 3. Introduce the lesson and put it in perspective. 4. Have stuff ready. 5. Use a routine. 6. Wait for quiet. The third step in a general-inquiry model is to gather data. For this step, we used the classroom computer and projector to access streaming digital video clips from the Study of Teaching section of my website (www. …