What do you do if you have a student who constantly misbehaves?

a. define misbehaviour: a behaviour that is disruptive to others and causes emotional and/or physical damage.

b. I would first reframe misbehaviour as simply behaviour. Misbehaviour is really just behaviour that is not desired by myself because I think it is causing disruption in the classroom. This reframing helps me be more objective regarding the student's behaviour, realizing that they are not intentionally "being bad," but rather it is the student's response to a given stimulus.

Keep in mind that misbehaviour for one student might be innocent behaviour for another student. Rely on previous observational notes to remain objective.

c. I would ask myself, "Why is the student responding to the stimulus in this specific way?"

I realize that I am not the best person to answer this due to my limited experience with this student, so I must find this information from others.

a. Instead of assuming what the home environment is like for the student, ask the parents if they would like to meet casually, just to get a better idea of who they are and how they may be affecting the student.

b. Previous teachers would know more about this student than I would if I have never taught this student previously. As such, previous teachers will help wth understanding if this behaviour is new or not. If it is not, these teachers will also be helpful with strategies that have proven to be effective (and not effective).

c. Learning Support Teachers can inform my future practice dramatically if they have had run-ins with the given student in the past. If that is the case, it is possible that LSTs could be the most helpful when dealing with this student's behaviour.

d. Principal (administrative staff) can also shed light on this situation if the previous teachers and learning support staff are unable to, in case of turnover during the last few years with knowledge specific to this student being left with only the Principal now.

a. "Childhood experiences, both positive and negative, have a tremendous impact on future violence victimization and perpetration, and lifelong health and opportunity. As such, early experiences are an important public health issue. Much of the foundational research in this area has been referred to as Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs)."

https://www.cdc.gov/violenceprevention/childabuseandneglect/acestudy/index.html

b. The ACEs can, in combination with the information gathered from Step 2, help create a clearer picture of answering the question from Step 1c.

With the ACEs, I will be able to more clearly interpret whether the behaviour is occurring due to psychological reasons (negative experiences / childhood trauma) that has occurred at some point), or because of genetics.

c. "Sharon Saline, a clinical psychologist and expert in issues related to adolescent mental health, says teachers should try to consider what has happened in this child’s life to make them behave this way before incidents occur and should be troubleshooting potential solutions with the children in advance."

https://www.educationworld.com/teachers/traumatic-experience-effects-student-misbehavior

a. Conference with the student 1-on-1

Now that the relevant information sources have informed my practice further, I can communicate with the student regarding my plans for the near future (see 4.). This communication will allow the student to be aware that their behaviour is not something to replicate, and also give them a sense of ownership of this new student success plan for them.

b. Implement a new seating arrangement for student in terms of a seating plan (which peers they sit with in their group) and seating arrangement (flexible seating).

Furthermore, provide student with more structure throughout the day. Accommodations in terms of more detailed instructions, reading assignments being broken down with more spacing, and content and questions alternating instead of a big block of questions at the end can help the student, from my personal experience.

c. Observe and record observations objectively and consistently. Observations do not have to be every hour, or every day. But they must occur at a consistent interval to ensure that entries are not being made only when something positive or something negative happens, as this would introduce bias and would no longer remain objective.

These observational notes will help inform my practice moving forward as I can look back on what worked and what didn't, in order to iterate continually to promote more ideal behaviour.

This article provides cases and examples of what to avoid with students who misbehave, related to the ACEs: https://slate.com/technology/2016/05/the-stress-low-income-kids-experience-affects-their-brains-biologically-as-well-as-psychologically.html

"The current punishments favored by most overstretched teachers are detention and suspension—often used as tools of shame that reinforce the idea of misbehavior as a moral or personal failing. There’s no room for recognizing outbursts as an innate, uncontrollable response to trauma. By reinforcing an environment of shame and failure, teachers too often further the spiral of toxic stress that began at home under the assumption that, well, he’s a bad kid."

In order to make full use of all the effort during this process, it is essential to share the lessons from this process regarding the student and the reasons for their behaviour with those that I conferenced with from Step 2. Keeping everyone updated and in the loop, having an open line of communication and transparency, allows for ideas to be shared and can lead to greater insights that would otherwise not happen.