1. Pleasant Learning Environments
Jonathan Amey

2. Standing on the Shoulders of Others
Glenn Latham
Ogden Lindsley
Libby Street
Murray Sidman
Markle & Tiemann
Kent Johnson
Bill Helsel

3. Outline Pleasant learning environments
Conducting a motivational analysis
Effective RtI strategies

4. Helsel’s Four Building Blocks
Performance
Management
(1)
Binder’s Six Boxes
Expectations
Tools & Resources
Consequences
Skills & Knowledge
Selection
Motives
Recycling
Pinpoint, structure, train, monitor, feedback, evaluate
Systems Analysis
Family Systems
Skill Acquisition
(2)
Instructional Delivery
Errorless learning
Graduated Guidance
Shaping
Script Fading
Mathetics
Discrete Trial
Error Correction
Fluency building
Curriculum or Program
Scope & Sequence
Reinforcement
Contingent & Noncontingent
Prevention
(3)
Motivative Analysis
Establishing
Abolishing
Environmental Management
Physical Layout
Clean transitions
Materials accessible
Schedules & Routines
Antecedents
Physical Barriers
Medical concerns
Medications
Sleeping & eating
Intervention
(4)
Strengthening
Types & Schedules of Reinforcement
Weakening
Extinction
Punishment
Managing
Protective Restraint

5. What Is the Ideal Classroom?

6. Ideal Classroom Students are productive
Classroom is physically and mentally safe
Promotes success
Classroom is vital and busy

7. Creating a Pleasant Environment
How Do We Get There?
Creating a Pleasant Environment

8. What Is a Pleasant Environment?

9. A Classroom of Happy Learners!

10. Consider If You Will
Would a happy learner, enthused with intervention, likely make better, faster, easier progress?
probably
Would a willing learner be easier to teach?
Most assuredly

11. Assent and Consent Assent Consent
to agree to something freely and with understanding
Consent
Legally and ethically required

12. Assent Come to task willingly
Participate in learning interactions without coercion

13. Withdrawl Assent Avoid us Avoid coming to task Leave during task
Participate far below ability

14. Students Are Behaving - Now What?
More instructional time
Increased teacher effort
As teachers improve management skills they must refine teaching skills

15. Instructional management skills need to improve proportionately since there will be an increased level of student on-task behavior and academic productivity
Wear good deodorant

16. Principals of Human Behavior
Product of its immediate environment
Strengthened/weakened by its consequences
Responds better to positive than negative
Punished or reinforced? Watch rate over time
Past behavior is best predictor of future behavior

17. Immediate Environment
If students act out, something in classroom is initiating and maintaining it
Identify those things and take data
Who likes math?
Goofing off during math gets student kicked out of room. What’s that student going to do more of?

18. All children can learn, even children from dysfunctional families
The answers to problems within an environment are to be found within that environment

19. Your Job Is to Create the Most Pleasant Environment Possible
Change the Environment and the Behavior Will Change

20. Behavior Strengthened or Weakened by Its Consequences
Not a problem with the student
Teachers often reinforce the very behaviors that disrupt the class
Frequent teacher attention in the form of praise is more effective than rules or reprimands in increasing appropriate behavior

21. Behavior Responds Better to Positive Than to Negative
Teacher attention is a powerful reinforcer of appropriate and inappropriate student behavior
Teachers allow over 95% of all appropriate behavior to go unrecognized
Teachers are typically four to six times more likely to attend to inappropriate behavior than appropriate
Teacher attention to inappropriate behavior increases probability that such behavior will be strengthened and thus occur predictably and with regularity

22. Your Job Is to Identify the Behaviors You Want to Strengthen or Weaken and Deliver, or Withhold, the Appropriate Consequences

23. Whether a Behavior Has Been Punished or Reinforced Is Known Only by the Future Course of That Behavior
What is punishing to one child might be reinforcing to another, and vice-versa.
Take data!
If you keep doing what you’ve always done, you’ll keep getting what you’ve always gotten.

24. Your Job Is to Be Patient and Consistent. Wait Two Weeks and See
Your Job Is to Be Patient and Consistent. Wait Two Weeks and See. Record Behavior.
If What You Are Doing Works- Keep It. If Not, Go Back to Tool Skills and Change Them

25. Past Behavior Is the Best Predictor of Future Behavior
A-B-C easy as 1-2-3
Take data!

26. Your Job Is to Remember Past Experiences
Don’t Take Away Video Games If He Has Already Proven He Will Become Aggressive

27. Alright, Nice Theory, Now What?!

28. Latham’s Tools for Positive Behavior Change
Staying close
Giving positive consequences
Ignoring junk behavior
Ignoring junk behavior of one person and giving positive consequences for the appropriate behavior of another person

29. Latham’s Tools for Positive Behavior Change
Stop-redirect-give positive consequences
Setting expectations
Using a contract
Time-out
ABC’s of assessing behavior
Consulting skills of staff

30. Staying Close
You create a safe, positive environment and establish yourself as a source of caring, empathy, and positive consequences
The closer you are to a person, the greater the influence you have on them

31. How to Stay Close
Physically- be within arms length, walk and sit with, move toward them
Touch appropriately- pat on back or arm, squeeze shoulder
Facial expressions- emote accurately, show one message
Tone of voice- how you say it counts
Body language- be relaxed, open arms, eye contact, orient to person
Show empathy- mirror feelings (sounds like your happy or yuk, that was hard to do)

32. Giving Positive Consequences
You focus primarily on building up appropriate behaviors with positive consequences
Show behavior you like by giving attention; Establish self as safe to be with; Maintain self control; Have a plan; Practice saying what you like and providing a positive consequence that fits appropriate behavior within 3 seconds

33. Types of Positive Consequences
Verbal praise
Appropriate touch
Tangible items
Privileges and activities

34. “Unless what you are about to say or do has a high probability of making things better, don’t say it and don’t do it” (Latham)

35. Ignoring Junk Behavior
You carefully ignore any age typical behavior that may be annoying
Annoying but not harmful to self,others, or property
Examples….

36. Ignore Junk Give Positive to Other
You carefully ignore junk behavior of one person while giving positive consequences for the appropriate behavior of another person
Examples…

37. Stop-Redirect-Give Positive Consequences
You stop a person’s inappropriate behavior, redirect them to a different, logically related behavior, and show you like it by giving positive consequences when the person does it

38. Setting Expectations
You let the person know what behavior is expected and what the consequences will be for meeting or not meeting the expectations
Pick a time; A place; Set a pleasant tone; State what specific behavior you expect and what benefits are to person; Model and get person to show expected behavior; Giving instead of taking

39. Designing Expectations
Clearly state context for behavior
Clearly state behavior you want to see (provide model if necessary)
Clearly state consequence for following

40. Examples
Circle time
Individual work
Centers
Snack
Transitions

41. Maintaining Expectations
Praise completion (3-4 per minute)
Students should be able to state teacher expectations to anyone, anytime, anywhere
Display expectations around room
Display schedule

42. Contract
Written agreement with the student that identifies positive expectations and consequences

43. Time-Out
Interrupt student’s behavior to minimize consequences and allow you to attend to appropriate behaviors after the person has maintained a brief period of calm
Time-based… not behavior based!
Need good analysis, remember the disruptive student in math class

44. ABC’s and Consulting Skills
Example of ABC
Use school counselors to help develop parent skills across settings

45. 8 Kinds of Coercion Criticism Sarcasm/Teasing Threats/Force Arguing
Guilt
Logic
Questioning

46. Results of Coercion Student will learn coercive behavior
Student will try to avoid coercive behavior by escaping and lying
Student will try to get even
Student will become afraid that they will fail
Student will receive attention for inappropriate behavior

47. Coercion produces only short term compliance followed by long term losses.
In the long run, behavior responds better to positive consequences.

48. “My mother used to tell me that to get along in this world you gotta be either oh so smart or oh so pleasant. For a long time I was smart. I recommend pleasant.” (Elwood P. Dowd)

49. The Problem That Presents Is Not Always the Problem to Solve

50. Conducting a Motivational Analysis
Variables that affect the probability of a given stimulus-response relationship
Physiological/Environmental
Increase chance of certain behaviors occurring
Increase value of what happens after behavior occurs

51. MMM… Food Motivating operation (hunger) Abolishing operation (full)
Engage in behaviors that get food
Bang on table with knife and fork
Abolishing operation (full)
Stop engaging in behavior that get food
Fall asleep on couch watching football

52. Motivative Operation Antecedent Behavior Consequences
Not feeling well.Woke up early.
Teacher gives student instruction
Student swipes and throws materials
Teacher becomes frustrated and stops giving instructions
Got back from recess, laughing
Teacher asks for a high five
Student smiles and gives teacher a high five
Teacher praises student
Observer in classroom
Observer in close proximity to student
Student keeps turning around to look at observer
Observer smiles and looks directly at student
Student is coloring at desk
Teacher approaches student
Student bites his crayon several times
Teacher removes the crayons and explains that he needs to keep the crayons down.

53. Hey MA! Reinforcer assessments
Choice or Demand? (Intraverbal statements)
Setting up your classroom

54. Effective Teachers Ensure high level of student engagement with tasks
Provide frequent and detailed feedback
Use carefully sequenced materials
Establish clear routines and expectations
Deal with several things at once
Judge quickly the importance of an event and intervene

55. Are aware of entire classroom despite distraction; are monitoring students frequently
Time their actions for maximum effect
Give attention to more than one student at a time; they pivot
Manage transition time
Exhibit unconditional positive regard

56. Preventive Actions Taken Before Students Enter the Room
Room arrangement should invite productive behavior
Walkways
Distance between student stations
Minimal seductive items
Arrange materials for ease of use

57. Arrange materials for instructional control
Develop a system for distributing and receiving materials
Develop a strategy for setting learning skill expectations
Develop routines
Uncomplicated
Sustainable
Support educational goals

58. Identify possible rewards
Identify anticipated behaviors of concern
Plan all lessons thoroughly
Carefully schedule instructional time
Determine how you will move and monitor
Determine how you will reduce frustration
Identify potential competing contingencies
Select signals and key phrases

59. Know your behavior management strategies
Know your treatment options
Know your staff and resources

60. That Was All Before the Students Entered the Room?
Yes

61. Students in the Room Manage transition times
What to do with current materials
What materials are needed for next activity
Where will next task take place
What are the expectations for next task
Be clear about when it’s time to begin moving
Be clear about time allowed for move

62. Be clear about expectations for move
Quickly establish instructional control at next site
Continuously monitor students’ performance
Use cues in advance of BOC’s
Manage behavior discreetly

63. Minimize interruptions and disruptions
Follow through immediately on all rules- no warnings
Avoid higher and higher thresholds

64. Alright Now I’m Tired Drink some coffee then…
Evaluate outcome of actions for success
Restructure actions as needed

65. “Create learners - not kids who know stuff” (Alison Moors)

66. Group Activity
Apply a few before, during and after strategies to your room. What does that look like for you?
Discuss with your group
10-15 minutes

67. Response to Intervention
Fluency
Accuracy plus speed
Quality plus pace
Frequency of correct responding
Doing the right thing without hesitation
True mastery

68. Stages of Learning Acquire new behavior
Practice components for fluency
Apply and combine fluent repertoires

69. 100% Good for You Johnny can complete basic addition problems at 100%
Julie can complete basic addition problems at 100%
Who is better at math?
Or stated differently
who has a more functional math repertoire?

70. 100% Correct… What About Time?
Johnny can complete 2+2=4 and 1+5=6 at 100% but it takes him 5 minutes.
Julie can complete 2+2=4, 1+1=2, 3+3=6, 2+3=5, 4+3=7, 1+2=3, 5+3+8, 8+2=10 at 100% and in 20 seconds.
Who has the more functional math repertoire?

71. Components of Fluency Based Instruction
Skills are established
Emphasis on skill accuracy
Discrete trial
Direct instruction
Incidental teaching
Whatever procedure you want…

72. Skills Practiced Daily
Practice until previous performance is surpassed
If the student did 3 math problems on Monday then on Tuesday the goal is 4

73. Practices are Timed
Use the Standard Celeration Chart

77. Standard Celeration Chart
Developed by Ogden Lindsley
Uses a multiply scale
Allows for instructional decision making
Allows for easy reading of performance across skills and students
Changes are made when the student does not grow

78. RESA- Its as easy as driving home from work or riding a bike
Retention
Endurance
Stability
Application

79. High 5 Start at 0 and count up by 5’s, write each number down.
Get ready, please begin.

80. Lucky Sevens
Start at 100 and count backwards by seven, write each number down….
Get ready, please begin.

81. I’m Still Fluent After All This Time?
Sign your name
Write your full name in cursive but take a full minute to write it
What did you notice?

83. Another Chart?!
Input/Output
Helps to organize skills
Channel wrapping

84. Gotta Have the Right Tools
Tool skills
Component
Composite

85. Tool Skills What are the tool skills for writing?
What are the tool skills for talking?
What are the tool skills for kickball?

86. Psychomotor is the Key
Markle and Tiemann showed us that to get higher order skills you must have psychomotor repertoires first
Oh and emotion influences everything

88. Psychomotor Student learns how to move certain muscles in precise way
Puts responses in particular order and moves smoothly
Chains of responses put together to match situation

89. Simple Cognitive Student learns when to make responses
Chains them together and learns steps for using
Can give verbal account of something (tell how to take blood pressure, retell a story, describe field trip)
Knows how to respond to known situations

90. Complex Cognitive Knows how to respond to new situations Write a play
Determine how goods will be distributed fairly among a group of people

91. My Brain is Starting to Hurt
These are the things you can start focusing on when you don’t have to manage behaviors of concern all day

92. Review Pleasant environments create learning environments
Motivational analysis develops over time and creates learning opportunities
Taking data is key to success
Before teaching skill be sure students have the necessary tool skills
HAVE FUN

93. Thank You