Reducing Behavior Problems in the Elementary School Classroom Designed for elementary school educators and school- and district-level administrators, this Practice Guide offers prevention, implementation, and schoolwide strategies that can be used to reduce behavior problems that prevent students from engaging in instruction. These strategies include use of data to align interventions with student needs, classroom management, organization, and instructional strategies, collaboration among colleagues within and outside the school, and alignment of the intervention with all other schoolwide structures and procedures.
Multimedia Overview Addressing Student Problem Behavior
Disruptive and aggressive behavior has a negative impact on students' well-being and learning outcomes. Research has shown that several practices can be used effectively to reduce behavior problems in elementary schools. Watch this multimedia overview to learn about five concrete practices to help elementary school teachers reduce the frequency of common types of behavior problems and promote positive behavior. (9:26 min)Explore these recommended practices:
- <<Describe Behavior
Identify the specifics of the problem behavior and the conditions that prompt and reinforce it. - <<Modify Environment
Modify the classroom learning environment to decrease problem behavior. - <<Teach Skills
Teach and reinforce skills to promote appropriate behavior. - <<Collaborative Relationships
Draw on relationships with professional colleagues and students' families for continued guidance and support. - <<Schoolwide Approach
Implement schoolwide strategies that are evidence-based and aligned with school needs and goals.
Visual Diagram Reducing Behavior Problems in the Elementary School Classroom
Teachers can exert a powerful effect on students' behavior. Explicit instruction of social and emotional skills and effective management of the classroom learning environment can reduce student problem behavior. These strategies may be supported by data gathering, collaboration with teachers, parents, and experts, and a systemic approach that involves the entire school staff. This diagram can be used as a visual reminder of these five practices recommended by an IES expert panel and how they relate to each other.Expert Interview
Reducing Disruptive Behavior: A Multifaceted Challenge
Michael H. Epstein, Ed.D.University of Nebraska-Lincoln
This interview features the chair of the expert panel that produced the Practice Guide, Reducing Behavior Problems in the Elementary School Classroom. Dr. Michael H. Epstein introduces the five research-based practices recommended by the expert panel and explains the theory that guided the focus of the Practice Guide. (6:23 min)