“HELP ME BEHAVE”: Going Beyond Traditional School Discipline Plans

COURSE DESCRIPTION:

Traditional discipline plans usually frustrate chronically disruptive students and can be overkill for well-adjusted kids. Dr. Ross Greene’s “Plan B” is a better approach for dealing with disruptive behavior. It assumes that even disruptive students want to succeed in school, but that they have obstacles in their lives that prevent them from being successful. “Plan B” encourages educators to discover why a student is struggling with challenging behaviors and provides effective tools so to help the student address and overcome the obstacles and become a successful, empowered student.   

This independent study course is appropriate for Pre-K through grade 12 teachers, administrators, support staff and parents. 

LEARNING OUTCOMES: Upon completion of this course, participants will have:

1. The conceptual framework for understanding the factors that “set the stage” for challenging behavior in students that is based on Dr. Ross Greene’s work.
2. Identified the nine typical ways that educators and parents explain student behavior that usually do not make the problems any better and can actually make them worse.
3. Knowledge of the “unsolved problems” and “lagging skills” that potentially underlie the challenging behaviors of students.
4. Specific proactive strategies that teachers and parents can use to solve the problems and teach the skills to their challenging students.
5. Specific proactive strategies that teachers and parents can use to approach students who are in the middle of challenging behaviors.
6. Learned how to effectively collaborate with colleagues and administrators to confront and change the “status quo” and truly address the needs of these challenging students.

COURSE REQUIREMENTS:
Completion of all specified assignments is required for issuance of hours or credit.  The Heritage Institute does not award partial credit. 

HOURS EARNED:
Completing the basic assignments (Section A. Information Acquisition) for this course automatically earns participant’s their choice of CEUs (Continuing Education Units), or Washington State Clock Hours or Oregon PDUs. The Heritage Institute offers CEUs and is an approved provider of Washington State Clock Hours and Oregon PDUs.

UNIVERSITY QUARTER CREDIT INFORMATION

REQUIREMENTS FOR UNIVERSITY QUARTER CREDIT
Continuing Education Quarter credits are awarded by Antioch University Seattle (AUS). AUS requires 75% or better for credit at the 400 level and 85% or better to issue credit at the 500 level. These criteria refer both to the amount and quality of work submitted.

1. Completion of Information Acquisition assignments 30%
2. Completion of Learning Application assignments 40%
3. Completion of Integration Paper assignment 30%

CREDIT/NO CREDIT (No Letter Grades or Numeric Equivalents on Transcripts)
Antioch University Seattle (AUS) Continuing Education Quarter credit is offered on a Credit/No Credit basis; neither letter grades nor numeric equivalents are on a transcript. 400 level credit is equal to a "C" or better, 500 level credit is equal to a "B" or better. This information is on the back of the transcript.

AUS Continuing Education quarter credits may or may not be accepted into degree programs. Prior to registering determine with your district personnel, department head or state education office the acceptability of these credits for your purpose.

ADDITIONAL COURSE INFORMATION

REQUIRED TEXT

The required text is Lost At School: Why Our Kids with Behavioral Challenges Are Falling Through the Cracks and How We Can Help Them by Ross Greene, 2014: Scribner Books.  New York, NY. 336 pages. ISBN 978-1501101496. 

• Lost at School : Why Our Kids with Behavioral Challenges are Falling Th(Paperback) - 2014 Edition

  by Ross W. Greene
  
  Buy from Amazon

MATERIALS FEE

Text: Lost At School: Why Our Kids with Behavioral Challenges Are Falling Through the Cracks and How We Can Help Them is approximately $11 for the required text at Amazon.

ASSIGNMENTS REQUIRED FOR HOURS OR UNIVERSITY QUARTER CREDIT

A. INFORMATION ACQUISITION

Assignment #1:

Please read Chapter 1: School of Hard Knocks in the course text and then introduce yourself in 250- 500 words responding to the following questions:

• Why did you choose this course?
• Please reflect on Dr. Greene’s foundational belief that students can have a kind of behavioral learning disability or developmental delay.
• Do you agree or disagree that students may have difficulty mastering the skills to become adept at handling life’s social, emotional and behavioral challenges?
• Please explain your answer.

Send to instructor: loribgibson@hotmail.com. Subject line to read ‘Help Me #1’.

Assignment #2:

• Describe and reflect on the difference between the two prominent philosophies about kids and their behaviors:  “Kids do well if they want to” vs. “Kids do well if they can.”
• Be sure to incorporate your thinking in regards to the nine typical ways that educators and parents explain challenging student behavior.

Assignment #3:

Please read Chapter 3: Lesson Plans from the course text and write a 250 – 500 word paper addressing Dr. Greene’s options for dealing with unmet expectations. Please include the following:

• In a brief overview please describe Plan A, Plan B and Plan C (also referred to as the CPS - Collaborative Problem Solving model).
• Include the purpose and the possible outcomes/consequences for each of the plans.
• Reflect on your classroom discipline plan as well as your school discipline plan and determine whether Plan A, Plan B or Plan C fits most closely with your current classroom and school’s approaches.
• Please indicate which plan is the closest fit to your classroom plan and your school’s discipline plan and briefly explain your thinking.

Send to instructor: loribgibson@hotmail.com. Subject line to read ‘Help Me #3’.

Assignment #4:

Please read Chapter 4: Let’s Get It Started from the course text. The purpose of this assignment is to increase your understanding of how to use Plan B: Collaborative & Proactive Solutions (CPS) model.  In a 250 – 500 word paper please include the following: 

• Identify and describe the 3 steps that make up Plan B. 
• Please delineate the purpose of each step as well as some of the particular “ingredients” under each step as discussed in the chapter.

Send to instructor: loribgibson@hotmail.com. Subject line to read ‘Help Me #4’.

Assignment #5:

• Summarize “Joey’s story” from Chapters 1-6.
• Be sure your summary identifies and reflects on the significant elements (philosophy, strategies, etc.) of the course as described in the case study.

Assignment #6:

Please read Chapter 7: Meeting of the Minds and Chapter 8: School of Thought, which deal with how to collaborate effectively in order to create positive changes in school-wide systems to address the needs of students with behavioral challenges. In a 250 - 500 word paper address the following:

• Identify and describe 2-3 of the strategies that you believe would be most important to use in your particular work situation to promote school-wide system change.

Send to instructor: loribgibson@hotmail.com. Subject line to read ‘Challenging #6’.

ADDITIONAL ASSIGNMENTS REQUIRED FOR UNIVERSITY QUARTER CREDIT

B. LEARNING APPLICATION

In this section you will apply your learning to your professional situation.  This course assumes that most participants are classroom teachers who have access to students.  If you are not teaching in a classroom, please contact the instructor for course modifications.  If you are a classroom teacher and start or need to complete this course during the summer, please try to apply your ideas when possible with youth from your neighborhood, at a local public library or parks department facility,  (they will often be glad to sponsor community-based learning), or with students in another teacher’s summer classroom in session.

Assignment #7:

Chapter 4 deals more in depth with Plan B: The CPS model, highlighting the key components and the thinking behind each component. Write a 250-500 word paper that addresses the following:

• Identify the goal of the Empathy Step and describe each of the 8 drilling strategies.
• Be sure to address why this step is critical to successfully using the CPS model with students who have behavioral issues.
• Reflect on your own classroom and school-wide approach to working with these students and identify which, if any, of the drilling strategies that are currently being used and discuss how they are working with your challenging students.
• If you are not using any of these strategies currently, discuss which you might like to incorporate into your work with students an explain why.

Send to instructor: loribgibson@hotmail.com. Subject line to read ‘Help Me #7’.

Assignment #8:

Read the rest of Chapter 5 (pgs. 120-137) as it discusses specific case studies of Plan B: The CPS model. Do the following:

• Choose a student who is not currently meeting your expectations and is causing significant disruption to the learning of other students.
• Complete the Assessment of Lagging Skills and Unsolved Problems (ALSUP) from page 288 in the course text for this student.
• In a 250 - 500 word paper discuss and reflect on what you learned about this student’s abilities and needs from doing the assessment.
• If you have the ability to scan the ALSUP also send it with your assignment.
• Be sure to omit the student’s name from any course work you send in.

Send to instructor: loribgibson@hotmail.com. Subject line to read ‘Help Me #8’.

Assignment #9:

Using the knowledge you gained in Assignment #8, implement Plan B with your student. Write a 500 -750 word paper detailing your experience and be sure to include:

• A summary of what occurred in each of the three steps
• A reflection of what you learned from your first attempt at Plan B and changes you will make the next time you implement Plan B with this or another student.
• Use Chapter 5 as your resource for the reflection portion of your assignment.
• Optional: You may use the Problem Solving Plan to guide your work (pg. 289).

Send to instructor: loribgibson@hotmail.com. Subject line to read ‘Help Me #9’.

Assignment #10:

Assignment #10:   (Required for 400 and 500 Level)

Assignment #10-A:

• Adapt a lesson to reflect what you’ve learned in this course.
• Implement your lesson with students in your classroom.
• Write a 250-500 word commentary on what worked well and what could be improved.
• Include any student feedback on your lesson.
• Share what you’ve learned with other teachers taking our courses by also contributing your Lesson to The Heritage Institute Lesson Library here. (www.hol.edu/lesson-plan-library)
• Sample Lesson Plan Template: https://www.hol.edu/about/lesson-template/
• Send your modified lesson and your commentary via email to your instructor.

Send to instructor: loribgibson@hotmail.com. Subject line to read ‘Help Me #10-A’.

                                                                                  OR

Assignment #10-B:

Use this option if you do not have a classroom available.

• Adapt a lesson to reflect what you’ve learned in this course. (Do not implement it.)
• Share what you’ve learned with other teachers taking our courses by contributing your Lesson to The Heritage Institute Lesson Library here.  (www.hol.edu/lesson-plan-library)
• Write a 500+ word article concerning any noteworthy success you’ve had as a teacher with one or more students.
• Please refer to the guidelines on our blog What Works: Teaching at its Best, www.hol.edu/blog, prior to writing your article.
• When you submit your article to your instructor, please also email a copy to Yvonne Hall, yvonne@hol.edu, THI blog curator and media specialist.
• Indicate whether or not you are OK with having your article considered for publishing on our website.  
• Submit your modified lesson along with your article via email to your instructor.  

Send to instructor: loribgibson@hotmail.com. Subject line to read ‘Help Me #10-B’.

Assignment #11: (500 Level ONLY)

• The date of the conversation
• The role of the person with whom you spoke (colleague, supervisor, friend, etc.)
• Why you chose this person
• Write a500 – 750 word summary highlighting key insights

• The foundational belief that “Kids do well if they can.”
• The basics of Plan B: Collaborative & Proactive Solutions (CPS) model
• Other content as you deem appropriate in your given situation.

C. INTEGRATION PAPER

Assignment #12: (Required for 400 and 500 Level)

SELF REFLECTION & INTEGRATION PAPER
(Please do not write this paper until you've completed all of your other assignments)

1. What did you learn vs. what you expected to learn from this course?
2. What aspects of the course were most helpful and why?
3. What further knowledge and skills in this general area do you feel you need?
4. How, when and where will you use what you have learned?
5. How and with what other school or community members might you share what you learned?

Send to your instructor at their email address. Subject line to read  "(put course name here) Integration Paper"

INSTRUCTOR COMMENTS ON YOUR WORK:

Please indicate by email to the instructor if you would like to receive comments on your assignments.

QUALIFICATIONS FOR TEACHING THIS COURSE:

Lori Gibson, M.A., E.S.A.  is a school counselor for Spokane Public Schools. She holds a Master's in Counseling Psychology from Gonzaga University. She also has a B.A. in Elementary Education from Whitworth University. Over the past 28 years she has also held positions as a counselor for North Chicago High School in Illinois and the Lake Washington School District in Redmond, WA. Lori has taught workshops for The Heritage Institute for the past 18 years (most of them with her dear friend Jacquie Johansson Bernbaum). She is passionate about the opportunity to support her colleagues in their noble work in schools.  In a time when high stakes testing seems to take precedence above all, she believes educators must work diligently to focus on the "whole child.” The challenges facing students can include learning disabilities, social difficulties, family stressors, generational poverty or entitlement issues, to name a few.  Educators know these are challenges that can make it extremely difficult for some students to engage in the learning process. This necessitates teachers and administrators to be up to date on the latest research and have specific strategies to address the needs of their students. The purpose of Lori’s courses is to equip educators for these challenges in a respectful and encouraging manner.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

“HELP ME BEHAVE”: Going Beyond Traditional School Discipline Plans