1. Community Building Series Focusing Together Professional Development GuideBy
Joyce A. Rademacher, Ph.D.
Jane B. Pemberton, Ph.D.
Gail L. Cheever, M.A.

2. The Purpose of the Community-Building Series
To building learning communities in classrooms in which all members:
Work together to facilitate every student’s learning
Are encouraged to participate & do their best
Feel valued & appreciated
Feel safe & supported

3. A Learning Community Is…
An environment that fosters mutual cooperation, emotional support, and person growth as (people) work together to achieve what they cannot accomplish alone.
- DuFour & Baker, 1998

4. The Purpose of Focusing Together
To build a classroom learning community
To work in a respectful, tolerant partnership with one another
To teach students to meet a set of classroom expectations that define responsible work habits, respect, and physical safety
To teach students a strategy that promotes self-management behavior

5. Underlying Principles
All methods and procedures in Focusing Together are consistent with the principles of a Positive Behavior Support (PBS) system.
PBS is a research-validated approach that can be used to eliminate inappropriate behaviors and replace them with prosocial skills.

6. Underlying Principles (con’t)
Research has shown that rather than rely on punitive models of behavior control, teachers can create an environment in which everyone helps one another and strives to achieve self-discipline

7. Research Findings
Compared to students in comparison classes, students in experimental classes:
Reduced the number of off-task behaviors during the time they were expected to work independently
Were more pleased with the classroom management procedures used by their teachers

8. Research Findings (con’t)
Compared to teachers in comparison classes, teachers in experimental classes:
Reported a 72% reduction of rule infractions, while comparison teachers reported no change
Were more satisfied with the program and their students’ behavior

9. Means for the Number of Off-Task
Behaviors per Student in a 45-min. Period
Pre
Post
Experimental
21.0
4.5
Comparison
21.9
18.3
40 students in study (20 experimental; 20 comparison)
8 teachers
Grades 5 & 6
8 general education classes
1 rural district; 2 suburban districts

10. Teacher Satisfaction with the Focusing Together Program
Mean Rating

11. Student Satisfaction with the Focusing Together Program
Mean Rating

12. Basic Components of the Focusing Together Manual
Introduction
Instructional Lessons
Cue Cards
Student Materials

13. Overview of the 7 Lessons
Lesson 1: Introduction & Overview of Focusing Together
Lesson 2: Our Learning Community Expectations
Lesson 3: Making Good Choices

14. Overview of the 7 Lessons (con’t)
Lesson 4: Introduce & Describe the FOCUS Strategy
Lesson 5: Model the FOCUS Strategy
Lesson 6: Verbal Practice of the FOCUS Strategy
Lesson 7: Practice the FOCUS Strategy

15. Primary Instructional Stages
Give an Advance Organizer
Introduce & Describe
Provide Models or Examples
Conduct Practice Activities
Give a Post-Organizer

16. Lesson 1: Introduction & Overview
Goals
To introduce concepts of “learning community” & “self-management”
To present “Lessons from the Geese” as an example of how members of a community support one another
To give students the “big picture” of the Focusing Together Program
To have students suggest expectations for classroom behavior

17. Lessons from the Geese
In the fall, we can see geese heading south for the winter. Geese always fly along in V formation. This is what science has discovered about why geese fly that way:
As each bird flaps its wings, it creates an uplift for the bird right behind it. By flying in V formation, the whole flock adds at least 71% greater flying range than if each bird flew on its own.

18. When one goose falls out of formation, it suddenly feels the drag and resistance of trying to fly alone. It quickly gets back into formation to take advantage of the lifting power of the bird in front.
When the head goose gets tired, it rotates back to another position in the wing.. When that happens, another goose flies point. Geese honk from behind and encourage those up front to keep up their speed.

19. Finally…and this is very important
Finally…and this is very important. When a goose gets sick or is hurt, it falls out of formation. Two other geese then fall out with that hurt goose and follow it down to lend help and protection. They stay with the fallen goose until it is able to fly or until it dies. Only then do the two helping geese launch out on their own to catch up with their group.

20. Key Concepts Supervising Yourself
(Checking yourself as you work, and telling yourself what to do next)
Expectations
(Standards of behavior for the learning community)
Focus
(To concentrate and keep your mind on something)

21. Supervising yourself at all times
Focusing Together
Self-Management
is about
By remembering
to live by
Supervising yourself at all times
By using
By making
Our Learning
Community
Expectations
The FOCUS
Strategy
Good
Choices

22. Guiding Questions
Why do members of a learning community need to know what is expected of them?
How does making good choices affect your personal power?
How will staying focused help you learn?
How can we work together to build a strong learning community?

23. Lesson 2: Our Learning Community Expectations
Goals
To present & teach a set of learning community expectations that promote responsible work habits, respect, & safety, basted on the students’ suggestions
To invite students to add to the expectations, if necessary
To identify the benefits of living by the community expectations
To state the consequences of not following the expectations
To guide students in identifying celebrations for helping everyone meet expectations

24. Lesson 2: Instructional Procedures
Discuss learning community expectations using Our Learning Expectations Frame
Invite students to add to the expectations, if necessary
Discuss the consequences of not following the expectations
Guide students in identifying celebrations for helping everyone meet expectations
Conduct practice activities using It’s Your Choice Game Cards or Worksheet
Give a written quiz on the expectations

25. Key Vocabulary for Lesson 2
Prepared:
Ready to learn
Consequences:
What happens after you act

26. Effective Classroom Expectations
Begin with an action word
Are stated positively
Are observable and measurable
Are task and situation specific, yet general enough to be transferred across settings
Relate to guiding principles such as respect, good work habits, physical and emotional safety, etc.
Are limited in number (5-7) so that they are easily remembered
Are posted in view of students and teachers

27. Learning Community Expectations
Enter the classroom quietly and prepared
Follow directions
Begin work promptly + stay on task + work until done
Listen while others speak
Signal to speak
Use respectful language
Keep hands, feet, and objects to yourself

28. Learning Community Expectations
Note:
1,246 diverse learners in grades 3 through 8 were asked to rate the importance of these expectations for helping them work and get along with others. Each expectation was considered “important” to “very important” by students

29. Our Learning Community Expecations Frame
Learning community expecations are about…How we agree to act in our classroom so that we can learn and work together.
Expectations
1. Enter the classroom _______ and prepared.
2. ____________ directions.
3. Begin work _______+ stay on ______ + work until ______.
4. _______ while others speak.
5. Signal to _______.
6. Use __________ language.
7. Keep ______, _______, and objects to ___________.
Benefits
(Meeting Expectations)
Consequences
(Not Meeting
Expectations)
Reward Celebrations
Guiding Question
So what is the big idea we’ve been discussing?

30. Example Consequences for not abiding by learning community expectations
First Time: Reminder
Second Time: Reminder
Third Time: Problem-Solving Sheet
Fourth Time: Loss of Privilege
Severe Disruption: Removal from Group

31. Problem-Solving Sheet
What behavior are you problem-solving about?
What learning community expectation(s) were you not living up to?
What event happened right before you acted in this way?
What were the consequences of your behavior?

32. Problem-Solving Sheet (con’t)
How did your behavior affect your personal power?
How did your behavior affect other people?
What can you do in the future when a similar event occurs?
What learning expectation will you remember to meet in the future?

33. Practice Activity Option A: “It’s Your Choice Game Cards”
Front
Back
(DO)
Enter the classroom
quietly and prepared
Act It Out!
Talk about It
What happens when
students choose to do
this?
&
Where else can students
do this?
(DO NOT)
Enter the classroom
quietly and prepared
Act It Out!
Talk about It
What happens when
Students choose to do
This?

34. Practice Activity Option B: “It’s Your Choice Worksheet”
Pg. 1
Section 1 Directions: The first column of this table lists our learning community expectations. Complete the table by answering the questions for each expectation.
Learning Community
Expectations
What do you see and hear when students do this?
What happens when students choose to do this?
Enter the classroom quietly and prepared
Follow directions
Begin work promptly + stay on task + work until done
Listen while others speak
Signal to speak
Use respectful language
Keep hands, feet, and objects to yourself

35. Practice Activity Option B: “It’s Your Choice Worksheet”
Pg. 2
Section 2 Directions: The first column of this table lists our learning community expectations. Complete the table by answering the questions for each expectation.
Learning Community
Expectations
What do you see and hear when students do NOT do this?
What happens when students choose NOT to do this?
Enter the classroom quietly and prepared
Follow directions
Begin work promptly + stay on task + work until done
Listen while others speak
Signal to speak
Use respectful language
Keep hands, feet, and objects to yourself

36. Learning Community Expectations Quiz
Here is the list of expectations for our class:
Enter the classroom quietly and prepared.
Follow directions.
Begin work on time + stay on task + work until done.
Listen while others speak.
Signal to speak.
Use respectful language.
Keep hands, feet, and objects to yourself.

37. Learning Community Expectations Quiz
Next, we will look at a list of situations. Decide which expectation the student in each situation remembered to follow. Write the correct answer on the line provided under each situation.

38. Learning Community Expectations Quiz
José and Sam were playing ball on the playground during lunch. José was not playing by the rules of the game. Sam got mad and wanted to push and kick José. Instead, Sam walked away to join another game.
Expectation: ______________________

39. Learning Community Expectations Quiz
2. Each morning when John comes into class, he silently puts his coat and lunch away. Next, he puts his homework in thie folder next to the teacher’s desk. If someone asks John a question, he answers in a soft voice as he makes his way to his seat.
Expectation: _______________________

40. Learning Community Expectations Quiz
3. Jane and Lynn like to play cards during recess. Jane does not always agree with Lynn. However, Jane always talks to Lynn in a nice way. Jane remembers to say “please” and “thank you” as they play.
Expectation: _______________________

41. Learning Community Expectations Quiz
4. Sue is a focused worker. As soon as the teacher gives directions to read, Sue reads the story to herself. She then answers the questions the teacher told her to answer about the story. Sue does not look around the room or talk to anyone as she workds. When she finishes her reading assignment, Sue gets ready for her math lesson.
Expectation: ____________________________

42. Learning Community Expectations Quiz
5. Mr. Jones teaches math each day at 1:00 p.m. Carl likes math. He enjoys the fun math games that Mr. Jones lets the class play on Friday. Sometimes Carl does not understand how to play a game, so he raises his hand and waits for Mr. Jones to say his name before he asks a question.
Expectation: _______________________

43. Learning Community Expectations Quiz
6. Casey and James like to work together during writing class. When James is talking, Casey sits quietly. She looks at him and nods her head to let James know that she understands when he is talking about.
Expectation: _______________________

44. Learning Community Expectations Quiz
7. When they heard the fire alarm go off, Tony and Jane walked out of the library. They met their teacher and the rest of the class outside the building. Tony and Jane did exactly what they had been told to do during their practice fire drills.
Expectation: _______________________

45. Lesson 3: Making Good Choices
Goals
To define “choice”
To explain the E+B+C Personal Power Formula
To examine the relationship between choice and consequences
To practice analyzing behavior consequences according to the Personal Power Formula
To explain how choices impact personal power

46. Lesson 3: Instructional Procedures
Define “choice” and “personal power”
Explain the relationship between choices, consequences, and personal power
Explain the E+B+C  Personal Power formula
Introduce the Personal Power Questions
Conduct practice activity using either the EBC Power Activity or Worksheet

47. Key Vocabulary for Lesson 3
Choice:
Deciding what to do from a list of options
Powerful:
Having great strength or authority
Personal Power:
Having control over your own life
Event:
What happens first before you act

48. E+B+C Personal Power E Event B Behavior C Consequence
What happens first before you choose a behavior
B Behavior
An action or how you act
C Consequence
What happens to you and others after you act
P Personal Power
The control you have over what happens in your life. You gain more control when you make good behavior choices.

49. Personal Power Questions Think Before You Act!
What will the consequences of my action be?
How will this action affect my personal power?
With this action, am I living up to our learning community expectations?
How will this action affect others?

50. E+B+C  No Personal Power
E  Joe needs to complete a big project for homework. However, Sam calls and asks him to go to a movie.
What is the event (E) that Joe can choose to respond to?
B  Joe goes to the movie and does not do his homework.
What behavior (B) does Joe choose?

51. E+B+C  No Personal Power
C  The project does not get done. Thus, Joe
has to stay after school to complete the work. As a result, he misses baseball practice and cannot pitch in the upcoming game.
What are the consequence (C) for Joe’s behavior?
P  Personal Power
1. How did Joe’s choice affect his personal power?
2. Which learning community expectation did Joe forget?
3. How did Joe’s choice affect other people?

52. E+B+C  Personal Power
E  Joe needs to complete a big project for homework. However, Sam calls and asks him to go to a movie.
What is the event (E) that Joe can choose to respond to?
B  Joe tells Sam that he has to finish his project first. Thus, Joe immediately starts work on his project and works until he is done.
What behavior (B) does Joe choose?

53. E+B+C  Personal Power (con’t)
C  He completes his project that evening and turns it in the next day. That afternoon, he attends baseball practice, which means he can pitch in the upcoming game.
What are the consequence (C) for Joe’s behavior?
P  Personal Power
1. How did Joe’s choice affect his personal power?
2. Which learning community expectation did Joe remember?
3. How did Joe’s choice affect other people?

54. EBC Power Activity Directions
Option A Practice Activity
EBC Power Activity Directions
Divide into teams of four, and pick a card from the envelope.
Read your card to see if you are the E Card, B Card, C Card, or Power Card. Talk with your teammates about possible answers to the questions on your cards.
Stand shoulder to shoulder with you teammates in the correct order formula. Read the situation to the class and quiz them on the questions.

55. EBC Power Activity Cards
Example: E Card
John came into class one morning and put his things away. Bob suddenly called to John in a loud voice from across the room.
What is the E for which John can choose an action?
Example: B Card
John put his finger to his lips to signal to Bob that he could not talk right then. Then, John took his seat.
What is the B that John chose?
Example: C Card
Bob stopped talking and got ready for class. The teacher gave them full credit for being ready for class to begin.
What is the C?
Example: POWER Card
How did John’s choice affect his personal power?
How did John’s choice affect others?
What was the learning expectation?

56. E+B+C  Personal Power Worksheet Situation #1
Sarah went to the library. The teacher told the students to find books on sharks before the bell rang. She found three good books for her report. She got a lot of work done on her report and earned a good grade.

57. E+B+C  Personal Power Worksheet Situation #2
John came into class one morning and put his things away. Bob suddenly called to John in a loud voice from across the room. John put his finger to his lips to signal to Bob that he could not talk right then. Then, John took his seat. Bob stopped talking and got ready for class. The teacher gave them full credit for being ready for class to begin.

58. E+B+C  Personal Power Worksheet Situation #3
A group of students were working on an art project. Each student had a job to do. Mr. Hatchett, the art teacher, gave directions to the group on how to mix the paint. Lynn did not understand the directions. Lynn raised her hand. Mr. Hatchett saw Lynn’s hand signal and asked her what she wanted. Mr. Hatchett told the group again how to mix the pain. Lynn was able to complete her project because she knew how to mix the pain, and it was chosen for the art fair.

59. E+B+C  Personal Power Worksheet Situation #4
Bill and Sue were in P.E. They were running laps around the track. Bill accidentally tripped Sue, and she fell down. Bill stopped running when he saw Sue fall. He helped her up and told her he was sorry. Sue smiled and thanked Bill for helping her. Bill and Sue rejoined the others and received credit for finishing their laps.

60. E+B+C  Personal Power Worksheet Situation #5
Jane was a new student in the school. One day the teacher gave directions for a kind of book report that Jane had never written. Jane listened carefully as the teacher gave directions. She also took notes on her assignment sheet. Jane followed all the steps to finish the book report. After grading the reports and returning them to the students, the teacher complimented Jane on the quality of her work and asked Jane to share her report with the other students.

61. Lesson 4: Introduce & Describe the FOCUS Strategy
Goals
To help students understand the characteristics of focused and unfocused workers
To describe the steps of the FOCUS Strategy to students

62. Lesson 4 Instructional Procedures
Define and demonstrate what a focused and unfocused worker looks like
Explain and demonstrate each of the FOCUS Steps
Explain each of the TASK Substeps
Demonstrate and practice the FOCUS hand signal
Demonstrate and practice the kinesthetic tool for TASK
Explain the “thumbs-up” cue

63. Key Vocabulary for Lesson 4
Focus:
To keep your mind on what you are doing as you work
Unfocused:
Not keeping your mind on what you are doing as you work
Strategy:
A plan of action that includes a series of steps to help you accomplish something
Distraction:
Thinking about something other than what you are supposed to be doing
Task:
A job you need to do

64. The FOCUS Strategy Free your mind of distractions Organize yourself
Check the expectations and get started
Use help wisely
Supervise yourself

65. Use Help Wisely Think before asking for help Ask at the right time
Signal and work while waiting
Know what to say

66. The FOCUS Hand Signal FOCUS Begin with a “thumbs up” and say “FOCUS”
Start with you thumb touching your little finger and name the first step to “Free your mind of distractions”
Continue to touch each finger to name a FOCUS step
End with a “thumbs up” for “Supervise Yourself”

67. T Put your index finger to your temple
The FOCUS Hand Signal
TASK
T Put your index finger to your temple
(Think before asking for help)
A Put your index finger to your lips
(Ask at the right time)
S Raise your hand high in the air
(Signal to speak)
K Use both hands to make quotation marks in the air
(Know what to say)

68. Lesson 5: Model the FOCUS Strategy
Goals
To demonstrate the cognitive, physical, and verbal behaviors for the FOCUS and TASK Steps in a fun way

69. Lesson 5 Materials Two funky hats
Props like pencils, paper, pocket folder, 2 or 3 books, notebook, etc.
The FOCUS Strategy Model Script (pp of the manual) or create your own
FOCUS Strategy poster

70. Lesson 5 Instructional Procedures
Give an Advance Organizer
Model the strategy
Give a Post-Organizer

71. Lesson 6: Verbal Practice of the FOCUS Strategy
Goals
To ensure students can name the FOCUS Steps to an automatic level
To check student understanding of the FOCUS Steps and their importance

72. Lesson 6 Instructional Procedures
Give an Advance Organizer
Conduct the rapid-fire activity for the FOCUS Steps
Conduct the rapid-fire activity for the TASK Substeps
Distribute bookmarks
Conduct the written quiz
Give a Post-Organizer

73. QUIZ!

74. Lesson 7: Practice the FOCUS Strategy
Goals
To give students ample opportunity to practice the strategy in a fun way
To make progress toward automatic application of the strategy steps toward meeting expectations
To summarize main components of the program and gain commitments

75. Lesson 7 Instructional Procedures
Introduce and describe how to complete a FOCUS Checklist
Conduct a practice activity using the FOCUS Checklist
Over the course of the week, provide students with additional opportunities to practice the strategy and complete the FOCUS Checklist
Summarize the program using the Unit Map
Present the Focused Student Commitment Contract
Revisit the story of the geese
Give a post-organize

76. FOCUS Checklist ALL SOME NONE F 2 1 O C U T A S KO C U T A S K
Which FOCUS Step do you do best?
Which FOCUS Step do you need to work on?
What is your GOAL the next time you practice FOCUS?

77. Focused Student Commitment
We want to be a learning community of responsible learners. We agree to follow our learning community rules, make good choices, and stay FOCUSed.

78. Planning for Implementation Ideas:
During homeroom?
At certain grade levels?
Certain lessons emphasized at certain grade levels?
Certain lessons emphasized in certain subject areas?
Lessons used and/or modified to meet levels or needs?
Other: