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2024-25 Training Series Agenda

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NJCIE Student Behavior Support Series 2024-25

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Behavior Expectations for Middle School Classrooms

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CHAMPS - Classroom management program for teachers

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PBIS VIDEO: Create an Expected Behavior Matrix Chart

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A Snapshot of the PBiS 4:1 Ratio In a Middle School Classroom

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30 Minutes | Curiosity

How do I do it?
Lead your students to understand how their existing interests relate to the content they learn in school by using this scripted activity.

How does it work?
Build Connections taps into students' intrinsic curiosity and motivation. What's more, it encourages curiosity to flourish in class.

1-minute Overview Video

Build Connections Resources for Teachers:

Build Connections Translations:

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Build Connections for Classrooms - Character Lab

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Reflect on how your personal interests, hobbies, and goals relate to what you're learning in school.

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A Snapshot of the PBiS 4:1 Ratio In a High School Classroom

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When teachers are patient and coach students using a specific set of strategies that promote focus and attention, they can help them to prepare for healthy, engaged, and productive lifelong learning.

Behind the Scenes of Procrastination

When you're supporting a student who struggles with procrastination, start by helping them understand procrastination from a psychological point of view. Joseph Ferrari, a psychology professor at DePaul University, posits that there are three types of procrastinators (thrill seekers, avoiders, and indecisives) and suggests that resolving procrastination issues starts with recognizing whether the delay comes from a desired adrenaline rush of last-minute work (thrill), a lack of confidence (avoidance), or a challenge with decision-making (indecisiveness).

Inner dialogue or self-talk also underpins procrastination. I like to think of self-talk as falling into three categories within the context of education:

Inner Defender: "I can't do the work because the teacher's directions are so confusing."

Inner Critic: "I messed up again! I just can't write."

Inner Guide: "If I can identify which strategy worked best, it will be easier next time."

An educator's job is to help students quiet both the deflective Inner Defender and the demoralizing Inner Critic and draw out the healthy Inner Guide. Doing so means helping students to both reflect on the causes of their procrastination (as indicated above) and embrace strategic solutions. Effective time management and systems to remember assignments and due dates so that they can budget their time are crucial.

Try this: In order to tease apart the nuances, preview the vocabulary of self-motivation, strategic learning, and cognition in order for students to identify their stumbling blocks. Explain the three types of procrastinators to your students; I've found that they tend to feel relief in exploring the cause of their procrastination. Once they're armed with that self-knowledge, they're better prepared to fuse effective strategies to self-motivate.

Then encourage your students to create a list of current assignments using a modified version of Stephen Covey's Time Management Matrix. Help them to differentiate urgent versus important tasks. When reviewing the prioritized list, ask them to reflect on how procrastination may have led to the urgent, crisis-oriented assignments. As a final step, use the urgent list to help the students identify the next step for each assignment.

Avoiding Brain Strain

Learning requires time, attention, and mental energy. Brain strain can be demoralizing, and just like adults, students want to know that their efforts are worthwhile, both emotionally and intellectually. This three-phase approach for addressing the action list they have created can help them to get started and then persist, without experiencing brain strain.

Phase 1: Knock off the low-hanging fruit (e.g., the tasks that students are confident they can complete with a reasonable amount of effort). That primes the students' brains and bolsters confidence for the next phase.

Phase 2: Once the students are in work mode, tackle the challenging assignment. The students' brains should be primed by Phase 1 to focus for deep comprehension, which is covered in more detail below.

Phase 3: Finish with a task the students find interesting to end the work session with a positive mindset, reinforcing future motivation.

Try this: Help the students identify three assignments and prioritize them according to the three-phase approach outlined above. Remind the students to prioritize in a way that involves starting with confidence, moving on to the difficult, and finishing with the interesting.

Focusing for Deep Comprehension

Focusing on a complex and challenging assignment (Phase 2 above) for deep comprehension and retention often requires special focus on self-motivation and strategy.

Focused work sessions tend to be productive when broken into three chunks within one hour: a 45-minute work session, a five-minute break that allows working memory to begin consolidation and organization, and a 10-minute review that supports retention by reinforcing information in working memory. Students can consider this approach as making a contract with themselves, which helps them avoid feeling like they are descending into a black hole of work. Students may need to build up to a 45-minute work session, but it's where deep comprehension takes off; any multitasking (e.g., responding to phone calls or text messages) compromises that deep comprehension because every task requires cognition.

Discussion can help students understand that task-switching rather than multitasking is actually happening, and fully refocusing can take up to 20 minutes. For example, fragmented work can lead to repeated reading; the result is often inefficient and ineffective learning, and if students can't remember what they read the following day, they are unlikely to be motivated when facing future reading assignments.

Try this: Work with students to plan their focused 45-minute work segment by identifying a specific action step. Encourage them to consider a five-minute break activity, such as meditating or doing stretches. And finally, work with them to establish a review process (e.g., adding personal connections to their notes) for the final 10-minute segment.

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How to Foster Self-Motivation in High School

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When teachers are patient and coach students using a specific set of strategies that promote focus and attention, they can help them to prepare for healthy, engaged, and productive lifelong learning. When you're supporting a student who struggles with procrastination, start by helping them understand procrastination from a psychological point of view.

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Habits of Effective Classroom Practice 12.14.20 (Long Template)

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Get access to files anywhere through secure cloud storage and file backup for your photos, videos, files and more with Google Drive.

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Teacher establishes routines, procedures, transitions, & expectations for student behavior - Ex 9

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Behavior Specific Praise Practice (PBIS Teacher Training Companion Video)

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Class-wide Behavior Support Summary Chart 12.2017

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Seventy high schoolers I've never met are either staring at me or pretending I don't exist. I've come 750 miles from my home in Kalamazoo to spend a day teaching this diverse group of at-risk freshmen and sophomores. I have just 6 hours to build rapport with them, to shift their thinking, and to help them in any way I can. No matter how great my presentation is, no matter how well-thought out each lesson is, I know one thing: They will not listen to me until they like, trust, and respect me.

Teaching a random group of students for just one day or one hour is one of the hardest aspects of public speaking. In my classroom, I know I can patiently build rapport, learn from mistakes, and adjust the next day. As a speaker though, I won't get second chances, nor can I rely on familiarity-especially with at-risk students who don't trust easily.

Thankfully, what I've learned about quickly building relationships as a speaker has helped me better connect with students in my classroom-especially reluctant and disengaged students. Here are a few power moves and how to bring them into your classroom.

1. Make first impressions count.

For students who don't like school, our first impression is already fighting a negativity bias. Our opening moments with students therefore matter a great deal. I've learned the following first-impression trifecta for connecting with new students:

Shake hands with everyone. Even though students give odd looks, making the effort to shake hands with each person shows a willingness to connect on a personal level. It also gives me an initial read on their receptiveness and personality.

Give respect. Showing students-explicitly and implicitly-that we respect them is key. Many students today don't give respect without getting it first. (We can complain all we want about that shift in culture, but that won't get us anywhere). It is my job to be the bigger adult and model giving respect.

Lead with positive emotion. As a speaker, I know that the first few minutes of any talk should be building rapport, using humor, and learning about the listeners. I also know that my resume means nothing to kids-they care more about my authenticity than my accolades. My goal as a speaker is to get as many smiles as I can in the first 30 seconds.

Bringing it into the classroom:

Every day, every lesson, begin by building connections before getting into content. For example:

Ask students to share "good things" (a la Capturing Kids Hearts).

Have students pair-share about the highlights of their day.

Ask students to write down "2 Truths and 1 Lie" about themselves on a notecard. Then read some at random and have peers predict who wrote it.

Welcome each student into the classroom with a fist bump and a smile. Want to mix it up? Try one of these fist-bump upgrades.

Provide sincere gratitude that they made the choice to show up to class today.

Do something playful, like asking for random facts or corny jokes.

Ask them to write a brief, half-page summary about what's going on in their life.

Do a quick round of "speed dating" in which they talk to a peer about a random question you pose.

2. Know who's a "cat" and who's a "dog."

I learned a concept from The Quantum Learning Networ k about using "cats and dogs" as an analogy to consider interactions with different personalities. It is not meant to stereotype students; it is simply a starting point for being more intentional with our efforts to build rapport.

Traits of "Dog" personalities: Forgiving of errors, value attention, responsive to praise, social, playful, expressive facial expressions

Traits of "Cat" personalities: Skeptical, observant, warm up to others on own terms, loyal when trust is established, neutral facial expressions when around groups, not as responsive to praise or overt positivity

Bringing it into the classroom:

Take a moment to consider whether a certain student seems more like a cat or a dog. Then, experiment with these approaches:

Strategies for Dog Personalities

Provide opportunities for dogs to model, demonstrate, or share whole-group whenever possible.

Think quality of positive interactions over quantity, such as a longer, positive conversation one-on-one.

Ask them questions to give them a chance to share about their world, their interests, their expertise.

If behavior needs to be managed, opt for one-on-one pre-briefing or after class conversations.

Strategies for Cat Personalities

Give quick, low-key compliments but don't linger for a response.

Ask him/her for thoughts in one-on-one situations.

Use written or after-class praise instead of public praise.

Think quantity of positive interactions over quality, but space out interactions over time.

Be particularly attentive and curious when a cat does approach you or open up.

3. Make time for non-academic discourse.

Every moment either strengthens relationships or diminishes relationships. As a speaker, if I only have 8 hours at a school, I need to utilize every second, no matter how much I want to check-out during my downtime. I eat lunch with students. Between sessions I ask them about their school, community, and hobbies. I ask them to teach me things, like how to do a trending dance or about the video games they play. Every interaction I have is through the lens of, "How am I strengthening a relationship?"

Bringing it into the classroom:

As we teach the whole period, it can be challenging to find time for non-academic discourse. However, even a 30 second interaction can build relationships. Give yourself a simple goal: Learn one new thing about a student each day. Start be being more intentional with your questions. Rather than "How is your day?" or "How's it going?" ask:

What is something I don't know about you?

What's been the highlight of your week?

I noticed you ________, tell me more about that.

If you want to go next level, set up these deeper-level questions.

4. Assume nothing, learn everything.

Just as students are sizing me up as a speaker, I am sizing them up as people. I use basic categories, like "cat or dog personality" as a starting point for interaction; however, I've learned to never make sweeping assumptions about students. And I've seen interesting things in my travels, such as students spitting on floors, a kid asking me to fight, and major meltdowns just to name a few. As much as I want to assume certain things about these kids I know one thing: Every reaction is symptom, not a cause.

Doctors know to investigate symptoms to understand causes. Teachers must do the same. No matter how many versions of a "type" of student I've seen, each life is different. Out of all the rapport-building strategies I've learned, one encompasses them all: Curiosity.

Bringing it into the classroom:

Try what I call "obser-questions." The obser-question involves describing an observation, but following up with a question to learn more. They work best in one-on-one conversations. And, remember that vocal tone can make or break the interaction: Make sure your vocalics display true curiosity rather than judgment or condemnation. Examples:

I noticed you slam your books on the desk when you walked in. What was on your mind?

You seem to pay attention really well, but when I ask you to work independently, you talk more than work. Help me understand why that is.

I'm noticing you've written words all over you arm, including the F-word, big and bold. Talk to me about that a little bit.

Not only am I curious about my students, I'm interested in learning more about your "power moves" for rapport building. Post in the comments below.

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4 Quick Ways to Build Rapport With Students - WeAreTeachers

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What I've learned about quickly building relationships as a speaker has helped me better connect with students in my classroom-especially disengaged kids.

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Teachers have long known that feeling safe and secure in school helps students focus their energy on learning. And the research bears that out: A 2018 study found that when teachers deliberately foster a sense of belonging by greeting each student at the door of the class, they see "significant improvements in academic engaged time and reductions in disruptive behavior."

Edutopia covered that study last year, and we've shared many other ideas from teachers for ensuring that every student in the classroom feels like they belong.

Some of the activities below take less than five minutes. They're divided up among the grades, but many can apply across all of the years from kindergarten to 12th grade.

Elementary School

Shout-Outs: This is a quick way for students to celebrate each other for doing a job well or for attempting something difficult. Shout-outs can be incorporated at any point in a class. First-grade teacher Valerie Gallagher of Providence, Rhode Island, rings a chime when she wants to get the class's attention to ask who has a shout-out.

"It's not just me as the teacher saying, 'You're doing well'-it's a way for them to interact with each other and celebrate positivity," says Gallagher.

Friendly Fridays: Elizabeth Peterson, a fourth-grade teacher in Amesbury, Massachusetts, uses Friendly Fridays as a simple way for students to lift each other and themselves up. Peterson has her students write a friendly, anonymous note to a classmate, practice using positive self-talk, or use storytelling to give a peer a pep talk.

Sharing Acts of Kindness: Fifth-grade teacher Marissa King, of Tulsa, Oklahoma, shares two activities that encourage kindness. In the first, the teacher gives students secret kindness instructions, such as writing an anonymous note to a peer who is struggling in one of their classes.

The second activity revolves around noticing others' acts of kindness: When a student sees a peer tidying up in the classroom, for example, they can post a thank you note on a shared digital "kindness wall." Both activities coach students to be kind to their peers in the hope that they'll begin to practice kindness unprompted.

Middle School

Paper Tweets: To build community in her seventh-grade classroom, Jill Fletcher of Kapolei Middle School in Kapolei, Hawaii, created a bulletin board modeled on Twitter. Students use a template to create a profile, and they enlist at least three followers-a friend, an acquaintance, and someone they don't interact with much.
Courtesy of Jill Fletcher
When the class does this activity-which takes about 45 minutes to set up the first time-Fletcher has them respond to prompts about their current mood or new things happening in their lives, and then their followers respond.

Class Norms: Bobby Shaddox, a seventh-grade social studies teacher at King Middle School in Portland, Maine, has his students develop a set of norms for themselves-adjectives that describe them as a community of learners. Having students come up with their own norms creates "a pathway toward belonging for every single student in that class," says Dr. Pamela Cantor, founder of Turnaround for Children.

"Instead of a top-down list of rules that a teacher gives a class, these are words that we generated together," says Shaddox. "It helps us own the behavior in the classroom."

Group Salutes: A moment shared between two or more students at the beginning or end of an activity, a Group Salute is a teacher-prompted interaction that is a quick, low-prep way to cultivate community. The shared gesture can be physical-like a high five-or social-a teacher could ask students to express gratitude to their group members.

There's some interesting data supporting this idea: Researchers found that NBA teams whose players touch the most early in the season-high fives, fist bumps, etc.-had the best records later for the season.

High School

Morning Meetings: Morning meetings have long been a staple of elementary classrooms, but they can help students in all grades transition into class. Riverside School, a pre-K to 12th-grade school in Ahmedabad, India, uses a version of morning meetings at every grade level as "a pure relationship-building time." Bonding exercises led by teachers or students include physical or social and emotional activities, or discussions of sensitive topics like bullying.

Appreciation, Apology, Aha: As a quick, daily closing activity, students gather in a circle and share an appreciation of one of their peers, an apology, or a light bulb moment. The teacher models the activity by sharing and then asks for volunteers to speak.

"Those types of appreciations and community recognitions can go a long way toward building bonds," explains Aukeem Ballard, an educator with Summit Public Schools in the San Francisco Bay Area.

"A low-stakes thorn might be 'I feel tired.' Yet many students choose to share more personal items, like 'My thorn is that my dog is sick and I'm really worried about her,'" writes Alex Shevrin Venet, a former school leader at a trauma-informed high school.

Snowball Toss: Students anonymously write down one of their stressors on a piece of paper, crumple it up, gather in a circle, and throw their paper balls in a mock snowball fight. When that's done, they pick up a snowball and read it aloud.

"The idea is that we're moving around. We're able to have fun, laugh, scream, be loud, and then have that discussion about stress," says Marcus Moore, an advisory leader at Urban Prep School in Chicago.

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These community-building ideas for the classroom can help teachers ensure that students in every grade feel like they belong.

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to learn more, see:  https://www.panoramaed.com/check-ins

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A Snapshot of the PBiS 4:1 Ratio In a Middle School Classroom

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A Snapshot of the PBiS 4:1 Ratio In a High School Classroom

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In any environment that requires attendance, there's a significant risk of disengagement. Remove choice and you breed passivity or, worse, defiance.

Compulsory, free public education is one of America's greatest innovations-perhaps its most egalitarian principle-and it isn't going anywhere. But in schools and classrooms across the country, there's a powerful argument to provide more student choice across every grade level: to shake up inflexible social and academic schedules, reduce one-way learning, and place more responsibility firmly in the hands of students.

To some extent, the system itself-with its bell schedules, prescribed curriculum, and testing regimens-creates the habits that are hard to break. But purpose and motivation go hand-in-hand with volition, and when there's too much emphasis on control and compliance, notes a report by the Education Trust, it puts students in a position where they must "relinquish all power and decision making" and compels teachers to rely on power "to control bodies and minds instead of using their autonomy to invite learning." Within the realm of literacy alone, the research on choice provides a powerful illustration: According to a 2012 study, young kids who completed mandatory reading logs turned into desultory readers compared with students who logged their progress voluntarily. And another study, this time of eighth graders, revealed that when students shifted from assigned reading to choice reading, there was "increased reading volume, a reduction in students failing the state test, and changes in peer relationships, self-regulation, and conceptions of self."

Offering students choices-making it a regular dynamic in the school day-isn't a recipe for chaos. It goes almost without saying: Rules and boundaries are a necessary element in schools and classrooms, essential in many ways for keeping kids and adults safe and productive throughout the school day. But by centering choice, educators signal openness to negotiating the middle ground and offer students scaffolded opportunities to practice decision-making, explore their academic identity, and connect their learning to interests and passions. It can be a relatively small but consequential mindset shift-rather than assigning students partners, for example, you might let them choose whether to work alone or with a partner-that, ultimately, acknowledges and respects their humanity and recognizes the fundamental importance of agency.

"Want to know how to engage students, enthuse them, and bring out their best effort?" asks middle school teacher Heather Wolpert-Gawron in MindShift. "Give them a voice in their decisions. In a society that barely listens to each other, listen to your students. In a system that can be a flood of top down, let your classroom be one that allows voices to trickle up."

Here are eight ways to provide children with choices across the grade levels.

Choice in the Early Grades

Give a say via voting: Even at the preschool level, choice can be a powerful motivator. "At my school, we work to give students choices that hold some responsibility within the classroom," writes preschool teacher Oi Ling Hu, who introduces classroom voting early in the school year.

The process starts small-which book to pick for read-aloud, for example-before Hu moves on to bigger topics like which activities to do at the park or which route to take to walk there. The process imbues kids with "a sense of autonomy and responsibility," she says, which serves them well as they advance into upper grade levels. "We have seen that when children feel that they have a voice in how they learn... they do their best to practice self-control and self-regulation as they want to retain their ability to choose."

Prioritize choice time: In spite of competing curricular demands, kindergarten teacher Jessica Arrow follows the research by prioritizing a 30-minute choice time within her literacy block each morning and a 45-minute choice time to wrap up the day. During choice time, students visit thoughtfully designed centers-a math center, a book nook, a sensory table, for example-to play and learn in unstructured ways that are aligned with the curriculum. It's a favorite time of day for her kindergarten students, who get to exercise some degree of choice and independence in a day that's otherwise dominated by "teacher-directed activities and transitions," Arrow writes.

Build ownership with class jobs: When Justine Bruyère reflected on why her second-grade students felt little ownership over their assigned class jobs, she decided to try handing over some responsibility to them. "To foster autonomy, I could relinquish some control of the job chart-my students could identify needs in the classroom and take on roles of responsibility to address those needs," writes Bruyère. With Bruyère's guidance, the class brainstormed a new list of jobs and prioritized them, and then students applied to their favorites and Bruyère made the final matches. The process was hugely popular, garnered buy-in from kids, and gave them a better understanding of what it takes to run the classroom.

Choice in Middle and High School

Consider flexible seating: Middle school English teacher Laura Bradley was already experimenting with flexible seating when her district decided to invest in additional resources like chairs on wheels and wobble stools. Bradley soon discovered that choice was more crucial than new furniture: Some students worked perfectly well standing at bookshelves; others preferred carpet squares, kneeling or sitting at low tables, or folding into nooks created with bookshelves or tables pulled up to a wall.

What's important, she says-again, sounding a note about the balance between autonomy and authority-is to be clear about expectations with respect to how students set up, work, and clean up when they're done. "I can say that the benefits far outweigh any management issues that arise," Bradley writes. "Students respond positively to the freedom and responsibility they are given, and they work hard to keep those privileges."

Cocreate classroom norms: In Bobby Shaddox's seventh-grade social studies class, shared classroom norms-a set of about 10 attributes, like communicative, focused, and serene-is developed by the group at the beginning of the year to guide their behavior and learning.

"By having children themselves create the norms, you are creating a pathway toward belonging for every single child in that class, and they have a role in this learning community that they had a share in building," says Pamela Cantor, MD, founder and senior science adviser of Turnaround for Children, emphasizing the importance of academic identity. It's both a compelling civics lesson and a practice that can have a big impact on classroom management, says Shaddox: "The classes that go really well are the classes when I start off reflecting on the norms and using those norms to articulate how our class will run well."

Make academic choices meaningful: Education researcher and author Robert J. Marzano suggests narrowing academic choice down to focus on three key areas: choice in the tasks that students perform, choice in assessment, and choice in learning goals. "Choice in the classroom has been linked to increases in student effort, task performance, and subsequent learning," Marzano writes in his blog. "However, to reap these benefits, a teacher should create choices that are robust enough for students to feel that their decision has an impact on their learning."

For example, while an oral or written report is often the assigned format, students might instead have the option to use their mobile device to record video or audio reports. Or consider opening up assessment options to include different types of graded products-building models, drawing diagrams, or creating flowcharts-so that all kids, including those who are spatially gifted, have an opportunity to shine.

Upend assigned reading: After years of teaching a set list of novels with study guides, close readings, and a big test at the end, AP literature teacher Brian Sztabnik polled his students to examine what was working and where to improve. The results were eye-opening. "Many had not read a novel cover to cover in their three years of high school.... Many gave up on reading long ago," Sztabnik writes. "Often, when students have no agency over what they read, they stop enjoying it. And this ultimately kills their motivation." After examining the research, Sztabnik upended his approach and gave his students much more reading choice and responsibility. "My students' scores on standardized tests soared," he writes.

For all students, and students of color in particular, regular access to a rich, diverse selection of reading materials is particularly important, says Kimberly Parker, a former high school English teacher and cofounder of #DisruptTexts. "Often, black youth, especially those regarded as in need of remediation, have the least amount of choice in text selection," Parker writes for ASCD. "They are given regimented reading instruction, an abundance of standardized test preparation, and little, if any, time to read works that resonate with them. We know, however, that choice drives reading engagement, and black youth need to be able to choose what they want to read."

Offer recess, even in high school: Unstructured time for play is crucial at all ages. At Montpelier High School in Vermont, there's a daily 15-minute recess period during which everyone is expected to unplug from the school day and engage in a completely different and renewing activity of their choice. Students and faculty come up with the activities-options might include open gym, chess, free art, music jam, or rock climbing, for example-and everyone gets to pick what they'd like to do. "We really make a point to say, 'You have permission and you need to stop what you're doing and do something totally different, something that's mindful, challenging, something that creates community, something that creates generosity,'" says special educator Bill Laidlaw. "It's very powerful."

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The Importance of Student Choice Across All Grade Levels

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When students get to make decisions about their learning, it can be powerfully motivating.

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Nonverbal Praise Routines and 4 to 1 ratio 2017

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Current resources focus on Building Inclusive Classroom Cultures, Building Belonging and Equity through Small Group Discussions, and Motivating Students.

Click on the heading, SEISMIC Teaching Practices to launch a module introducing seven high leverage teaching practices with strong evidence on student learning. These seven teaching practices, Strategic, Explicit, Intense, Systematic, Multiple Pathways, Individualized, and Collaborative are used to implement evidence-based interventions and daily teaching.

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Current resources focus on Building Inclusive Classroom Cultures, Building Belonging and Equity through Small Group Discussions, and Motivating Students. Click on the heading, SEISMIC Teaching Practices to launch a module introducing seven high leverage teaching practices with strong evidence on student learning.

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brain science

This post is written by Charrell Coleman, author, blog content creator, educator, presenter of Student Engagement and Executive Functioning Matters, book junkie, self help/care enthusiast, mother & calligraphist. You can follow her on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram @heartucator. Check out her blog at teachyourheartoutcon.com/blog.

Have you ever wondered why students with learning or behavior issues in school perform better in some classes, poorly in others and inconsistent in others? Typically if this is the case in elementary school for a student, it only worsens by secondary level.

Executive function profiles are not equally problematic in different settings. Research shows that students with developmental executive function weakness generally require far greater adult supervision than their developing peers across grade levels. (Barkley, 1997, 2006). Therefore these students need strategies that move them to the front of the class. We want to assure these students are not left behind!

Skills that help students with organization, homework completion, time management, and impulse control are executive functioning skills. Although the ultimate goal is for students to learn how to complete tasks independently, teaching and modeling strategies will help students move towards independence rather than forcing them to use skills they don't yet have.

7 strategies for students who struggle with executive functioning

Giving students an "artificial frontal lobe" is almost like giving the brain a booster or a head start in the learning process. Consider these strategies as adding artificial flavoring to make it just the right taste of learning!

Give one-on -one instruction after group or whole group lesson

Provide guided practice as you teach the lesson

Start homework in class so that students can ask any questions. During this time, the teacher will demonstrate the expectation of the homework task.

Use a project planning form for long term projects

Sit with students to plan out time projected for each task-

Post visual reminders in students' immediate sight, whether it is on their desk, on the wall, or the board

This includes writing strategies, reading strategies, math formulas.

Social Mentoring: A trained adult provides the students with severe executive deficits with an adult or more socially skilled peer for specific periods of the day to serve as their social coach.

Be clear about when tasks are due by listing dates on the school's LMS and class page.

At the beginning of each month, have students write dates on a monthly calendar of any assessment or due date you will require

Teach the material to the whole group/small group, pause to discuss, allowing collaboration and discussion to emphasize the importance of students' voice

Have a visual representation of the material you may be teaching on the board or an anchor chart when possible

When reading stories or novels, have an auditory version for students to follow along if needed (Learning Ally, TeacherTube, Youtube, SOAR, or any other resources.

Check to see if websites have an immersive reader feature

When teaching vocabulary, have students act out the words using the pantomime game or play Win Lose or Draw for student engagement. Follow up with a writing activity as an application exercise.

Build student comprehension of a text read aloud to the class by stopping at every page or two to have fast-paced role-playing, discuss the critical plots for element story elements of that story, and also have students discuss with a partner or partners

Provide students with comprehension questions to the answer before they read the question and then stop to explicitly discuss the answers and questions as a group or as a whole

Have students track how much time it takes them to complete a task completely undisturbed by using a timer or an app like RescueTime, then write their start and finish time. (This means multitasking is off the table.)

Model pre-reading strategies. For example, read an article from Newsela, your local newspaper, etc. Afterward, organize and summarize information by using a KWL chart.

Explicitly model the writing process using expert, proficient, and novice-level writing samples.

Use the HEAR strategy to organize and sequence students' thoughts while writing.

You might hear students say things like, "I can't keep all my thoughts in my head" or " everything you're saying is just too much, and it makes my head hurt." These are signs of memory overload.

Here are a few valuable tools:

Encourage students to use sticky notes to remember tasks in each class to avoid memory overload by the end of the day. Transfer this information to one centralized place before the midpoint in their day if possible.

Use apps like Forest to avoid distractions while working on a task.

Break tasks into smaller tasks. For example, when writing, have students start with the pre-write process. Pause and conference with students before beginning the planning and outlining process.

Use rubrics and checklists in all writing tasks for a visual. Now turn these rubrics or checklists into your grading rubric as a time saver!

The stronger your working memory, the less your brain has to work. This can make room for more brain power when encountering new challenges. Russell Barkley calls our working memory our brain's GPS.

Use guided oral reading practice exercises. Many students with executive function skills find reading boring and laborious.

Use writing templates, math templates, reading diagrams throughout the year.

Present new skills in a spiraling manner. Keep reviewing skills.

Do role-playing and demonstrations of class rules once a week.

Kiss your brain with consistency! The brain loves predictability!

When students enter your learning space, always have a calendar with upcoming assessments and due dates of an assigned task.

Set aside the same day each week to plan out the week on their digital or paper calendar (including students' extracurricular activities and family events). This will look different for each student. I create a Google Calendar for the class and share it with them to edit their calendars. Students add their extracurricular and family events to this calendar.

At the beginning of the year, develop a homework and project turn-in (this includes where things are physically turned in). Try to stick to this and not tweak this too much. Keep the same routines so that students know where to find things.

Try to arrange for your test to be on a specific day of the week if possible. From a school-wide approach, this looks like :

Have the schedule for the day printed on the board when students walk in each day

Develop classroom-wide organizational systems such as English items on blue paper, Math items on white paper, reading on lavender paper

Keep binder dividers in sync with color coding and in a specific order school-wide.

Use the same heading for papers school-wide. i.e. Decide if students need a Name, Date, Class Sec, and Topic and whether this should be on the left or right side of the paper.

Perform binder checks so that students know that the organization of the binder is essential.

Open up class with check-ins. Take time to ask each student how they are Arriving at class. I created my own set of emojipresssions, google slides and use online resources.

While students are working on a task, play calming music with interactive backgrounds on a projection board when possible help to set the mood for learning and settles the nervous system

Practice simple meditation. It is one of the most effective ways to access the use of your executive functions. This helps students who need assistance with self-awareness and stabilizes the nervous system. Calm App and Headspace App have many features for the classroom.

Use mindfulness techniques. You can find yoga and tai chi quick exercises on YouTube when you notice students need to self-regulate.

Allow Brain Breaks. Students enjoy having dance parties to rejuvenate the dendrites in the brain. GoNoodle has a variety to choose from.

Allow students to share in your mistakes and challenges. Say aloud to them that you have made a mistake and are frustrated. (For example: "Girls and boys, I have no idea why I keep spelling that word incorrectly. This frustrates me. Are there any ideas on how I can help myself break this cycle?" Start the discussion about how you handled the situation and how you could have handled the situation differently.) Students will begin to view you as a person who is just human and gain tremendous respect for you. This also creates a safe space for students to make your flaws transparent to them!

What strategies do you use to help students who struggle with executive functioning? Share in a comment below!

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7 strategies for students who struggle with executive functioning

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Executive functioning helps students get tasks done and work through their day. Here's how you can support students who struggle. This post is written by

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Marzano Highly Engaged Classroom Materials

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The Highly Engaged Classroom Reproducibles

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By Amanda Morin

Respectful redirection is a quick, in-the-moment strategy to give corrective feedback to students. You get your students' attention without making a big deal about it, using a calm tone, neutral body language, and clear, concise wording.

You tell students exactly what they're doing incorrectly and what they should be doing instead with as few words as possible, leaving less room for confusion. (If your school uses a PBIS framework, you may hear this strategy called "error correction.")

Watch: See respectful redirection in action

to see how one teacher uses respectful redirection with her whole class.

Read: How to use this strategy

Set expectations. Before you can start using respectful redirection, make sure your students know what is expected of them in your classroom. These expectations should be reasonable, age-appropriate, and culturally responsive. Knowing your students well will help you create expectations that respect cultural differences and life experiences. Share and review the expectations regularly as part of building your class culture.

When a student doesn't follow a classroom expectation, decide in the moment whether you need to intervene. Ask yourself: What is this behavior communicating? Is it getting in the way of the student's learning or the learning of others?

Also, when you're deciding whether to intervene, remember that some students may look off-task when they're doing things that actually keep them on-task. For example, students who are standing up or fidgeting at their desks may look off-task. But for students who have ADHD, movement can be a strategy that helps them concentrate.

If you decide that you need to use a respectful redirection, follow the steps from the example below.

Scenario: Josh is struggling to have his ideas recognized during group work and keeps interrupting another student.

Step to take

What to say

1. Address the issue as quickly as possible. If your redirection will only be for one student, do your best to speak privately.

Walk to Josh and say quietly and calmly, "Josh, I can tell you really want to share your ideas, but you were talking while Laurel was talking."

2. Describe what the student should do instead by referring to your classroom expectations.

Point to a visual of classroom expectations and say, "In this class, we take turns speaking during discussions. Next time you have an idea to share with the group, wait until the person who is speaking stops, and then share your idea."

3. Explain why the alternate behavior is a better option.

"It's easier for people to listen when one person is talking at a time."

4. Ask the student to demonstrate understanding, either by practicing it immediately or by telling you how they will do it in the future.

"Josh, the next time you want to share your idea when someone else is talking, what could you do?"

5. When the student follows your redirection, provide feedback and reinforcement.

"Josh, the way you waited to speak until after Laurel was finished talking allowed everyone in your group to listen and share their ideas. Well done."

Understand: Why respectful redirection works

Respectful redirection isn't just about telling students to focus on what they're supposed to be doing. It's also about how you say it. Research shows that this type of brief, consistent, systematic correction with feedback has a positive effect on student behavior. How you speak to students - the tone you use, the words you choose, and how much you say - affects the way they respond to you.

Students who learn and think differently especially benefit from this strategy. For students with ADHD, research shows that delayed feedback is less likely to result in positive behavior changes. An immediate redirection helps students recognize cause and effect.

As a predictable framework, respectful redirection can be comforting to students, especially those who have experienced trauma. One of the elements of strong trauma-informed teaching is a safe community. Routines and predictability help to build trust, allowing students to feel safe. They know how the process works and their role in it.

When done successfully, respectful redirection can remove the need for further intervention. Talking to students in a positive, calm manner while giving specific feedback gives them a way to get back on task without needing more information.

Respectful redirection can work at home, too. Share behavior contracts families can use to help their kids learn to replace an inappropriate behavior with a more appropriate one.

Adapt: Use for distance learning

Before using this strategy, make sure your students know what you expect of them during distance learning. Share and review those expectations regularly.

Consider what a student's behavior is telling you. Because distance learning brings new challenges, what may look like off-task behavior may actually be on-task for the situation.

When using respectful redirection during live video lessons, plan for how to speak with students privately. For example, you might send a direct message through the chat feature or talk with them after the lesson.

Research behind this strategy

Tell us what interests you

About the author

About the author

Amanda Morin is the director of thought leadership at Understood and author of "The Everything Parent's Guide to Special Education." She worked as a classroom teacher and early intervention specialist for more than a decade.

Reviewed by

Reviewed by

Brittney Newcomer, MS, NCSP is the associate director of thought leadership at Understood. She has served in public schools for more than a decade as a teacher, evaluator, and curriculum manager.

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Respectful redirection is a quick, in-the-moment strategy to give corrective feedback to students. You get your students' attention without making a big deal about it, using a calm tone, neutral body language, and clear, concise wording. You tell students exactly what they're doing incorrectly and what they should be doing instead with as few words as possible, leaving less room for confusion.

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What is Inquiry-Based Learning? Hint: by asking this question, I'm engaging you in inquiry. Put simply, it is triggering and engaging student curiosity. Inquiry-Based Learning (IBL) is an approach that emphasizes the student's participation in the learning process. Instead of the teacher telling students what they need to know, students are encouraged to explore the materials, ask questions and share ideas. IBL emphasizes small-group discussion and guided learning as opposed to memorizing of facts and materials. In other words, students learn by doing, building knowledge through exploration, experience, collaboration and discussion.

This type of learning allows students to better understand and recall material by actively engaging with it and making their own connections. New knowledge becomes stored in long-term memory-not just quickly regurgitated facts that are lost as soon as the exam is complete. Inquiry provides a deeper understanding of content knowledge while improving critical thinking, executive functioning and collaboration skills. For special education students specifically, inquiry has been proven beneficial as it supports alternative learning styles while reducing the emphasis on memorizing facts.

What Is Inquiry-Based Learning?

Well, we gave it away in the title"¦ it's an approach designed to boost student engagement! We retain 75 percent of what we do, compared with 5 percent of what we hear and 10 percent of what we read. Maslow's hierarchy naturally emphasizes inquiry-based strategies and exposures. IBL is an effective method of instruction for all students, including students with unique learning needs, and should be used as much as possible when appropriate. Studies have found that this method of teaching is beneficial for students who are in a self-contained classroom, resource room and inclusion settings. This method of instruction and learning is critical in creating meaningful experiences across multiple subjects and is most easily implemented in science lessons for students with special learning needs.

IBL asks students to take more responsibility for their learning and ensures they remain on task and motivated because the direction of the learning is being controlled by the students, which naturally encourages engagement and participation. The cognitive skills that students develop can also be used to demonstrate and improve comprehension across all subject areas, as well as being generalized in day-to-day life and living skills.

How to Encourage Inquiry in the Special Education Classroom

Answer/acknowledge all questions. If a student's question is not at least acknowledged they are significantly less likely to continue to inquire in the future. Something I introduced in my classroom this past school year is a Wonder Wall. If a student asks a question that is not on topic, or we are not able to address it at the moment, it is written down on a Post-it and placed on the Wonder Wall. This allows the respect to be given to the question and, depending on what the topic is, I can either build a lesson around it, find resources or simply open a discussion about it during snack time. The important thing is that the students' voices are heard. This can be adapted in any number of ways: students can write the question, fill in the blank, respond to a sentence prompt or illustration provided by the teacher, or you can try teacher scribing. Make it work for your classroom needs.

Writing, drawing, speaking, scribing, pointing to a picture exchange system, visuals, photos-these are all appropriate, adaptable and inclusive options in any environment.

Inquiry Discovery Model: The 5 E Model is a recommended breakdown of IBL. The 5 E Model steps usually include:

1. Engagement-motivate the student, ask questions

2. Exploration-students manipulate materials and discover on their own

3. Explanation-students share their discoveries and the teacher may introduce theories and content

4. Elaboration-students create new connections to other concepts or real-world problems

5. Evaluation-students should evaluate themselves and the teacher should use formal and informal evaluations to check for understanding of the concept.

How to Adapt Inquiry to Make It Accessible for All Learners

1. Use the 5 E method with all students.

2. Set inquiry objectives with consideration of the specific learners in your classroom.

3. Program AAC devices with questions or question prompts ("can the" "does it" "will he")

4. Be open-minded as to how the model could apply to communicating through writing, drawing, speaking, pointing, AAC, etc.

5. Model inquiry yourself (point to the cover of a book and say, "I wonder ______," "I am curious if _____," "How does that work?" Then build on this over time by asking your students, "What do you wonder?" after presenting material).

6. Use visuals to cue beginning a sentence: who, what, will, is, does, why.

7. Photos are good prompts for inquiry: What do you wonder about this photo? What can you add on to this photo? What does this remind you of? What do you think happens next? Begin to allow students to question, respond and lead the conversation. Go on the journey that they take you on.

8. Project-based learning: Unique Learning System has weekly lessons that are already adapted and ready to use in the inquiry-based models for science experiments, cooking lessons and much more. These are great resources to begin your journey and help you focus more on the discussions, communications and embodiment of sustained student engagement.

9. An example of building inquiry into a reading lesson summative:
Following a book: "What questions would you ask the author/character?"

How to Get Started with Inquiry‑Based Learning

Sometimes we have to bring it back to the basics. Below are some tips or ideas for implementing IBL in your classroom. Think about what would work best for you and your students. This may be a starting point, sparking you to consider a variation that would work best.

Make inquiry an expectation. Think of all of the "how cans" instead of the "why nots." Our students often rise to the occasion when we provide access to higher-level expectations with support.

Ask "What questions do you have?" instead of "Does anyone have any questions?"

Teach and model how to ask questions. I have tried to frame my teaching mindset around it being my job not just to give my students information, but to teach them how to ask the questions that will prompt them to find the information themselves.

Once they are asking the questions we then look to find the answers together through hands-on experiments, looking up information (from a reliable resource) or even asking an expert.

Share examples of this process, either from other students or teacher-created, if necessary. This is a great opportunity for inclusion and peer modeling.

Start small, and allow for initiating inquiry with: choices, predictions, opportunities for personal responses and personal connections.

If this is new for you, introduce IBL during a certain day of the week or subject area. Examples: mystery Monday, genius hour, science or reading class.

IBL teaching doesn't need to feel daunting, it just needs to feel inclusive and allow for students to participate and engage in their own learning.

Reflection: The Final Stage of Inquiry

If we are going to teach inquiry-based learning, we should try it ourselves, right? Reflection does not have to be complicated, it just has to be accessible. Building inquiry will sometimes go better than expected and at other times you may miss the mark completely-keep working toward finding your balance.

Commend yourself for trying something new and reflect on:

What went well?

What can I do differently next time?

How can I get all students to be inquirers each day?

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Inquiry-Based Learning to Boost Student Engagement

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Learn ways to boost student engagement, comprehension, and recall through inquiry-based learning in n2y's blog article.

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"A choice board is a graphic organizer that allows students to choose how they will learn a concept. The choice board below has nine squares. (There is no minimum or maximum, however nine seems to be a good number.) Inside each square is an activity. Students can choose one or several activities to complete. Choice boards can be organized so students need to finish one square before moving to the next, they can be random, or can be organized in a specific way. The level of difficulty of the activities can vary or stay consistent."

Tic-Tac-Toe Boards and Menus are two different types of choice boards.

"A menu offers students a way to make decisions about what they will do in order to meet class requirements. A menu could be for a single lesson, a week-long lesson, or even a month-long period of study. Once the teacher has decided on what the essential understandings and/or skills are, she/he can begin to create a menu."

"Tic-Tac-Toe choice boards give students the opportunity to participate in multiple tasks that allow them to practice skills they've learned in class or to demonstrate and extend their understanding of concepts. From the board, students either choose or are assigned three adjacent or diagonal tasks to complete.

Choice boards address student readiness, interest, or learning preferences. They are easily adapted to a subject area."

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Choice Boards, Menus, & Tic-Tac-Toe by Sarah Dillard

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In elementary school, it's common to have social and emotional lessons built into the curriculum, and the research shows that they have a strong, positive impact on student outcomes and school climate. But a 2019 survey of 15,000 K-12 teachers and 3,500 principals confirms what many probably suspect-that by the time kids reach high school, standalone SEL lessons are rare. The study's authors suggest that "explicit, stand-alone lessons tend to be better suited for, and more likely to be adopted in, elementary schools." And as kids enter the teenage years, they found, teachers tend to use more informal practices-for example, squeezing in short exercises when busy academic schedules permit.

The relative scarcity of high school SEL lessons, says David S. Yeager, assistant professor of developmental psychology at the University of Texas at Austin, is a question of quality. "Typical SEL programs ... have a very poor track record with middle adolescents, even when they work with [younger] children," writes Yeager in a 2017 report. "Programs for adolescents are sometimes simply aged-up versions of childhood programs-for instance, they communicate the same message, but now the character doing the talking has a skateboard and a chain wallet."

That's almost certainly not good enough. Teens are not outsized elementary students-nor are they mini-adults, ready to take on adult schedules and responsibilities without lots of help. Virtually all of the cognitive science and research from the last two decades reveals that the adolescent brain is still undergoing dramatic change. In particular, a profound reorganization of the prefrontal cortex is believed to reflect their continuing struggle with executive function skills like self-control and emotional regulation, while a more mature rewards center in their brains pumps out a steady stream of new desires, interests, and social attractions. Teens are, as a result, more sensitive to social rejection and much more likely to take risks to impress peers; more prone to addiction and depression; and more likely to experience the onset of mental illness than any other age group. That's borne out in a battery of studies that show rising rates of teen anxiety, depression, suicide, and mental health issues.

Former high school teacher Ronen Habib knows that our SEL practices need to catch up to the science and extend into high school, and he has personal experience with the kind of stress and anxiety that teens face. Three years into his first teaching job at Henry M. Gunn High School in Palo Alto, California, Habib felt overwhelmed by burnout and exhaustion, feeling he'd "lost touch with why I became a teacher in the first place-which was to deeply inspire and connect with kids," he says. Then one of his students died by suicide-"It totally broke me," he recalls.

After therapy and mindfulness practice helped Habib get back on his feet, he thought: "Why are we not teaching these same skills to kids, because they're trainable skills. We assume kids don't know how to add fractions, so we teach them, as we should. Why do we assume they know how to self-regulate? Why do we assume they know how to raise their base level of happiness?"

Redesigning the First Few Minutes of a Class

For Habib, changing how he approached his students and his job started with capitalizing on the first few minutes of class each day. "We can't take for granted where our students are. Every student comes into the classroom from a different place," he said. "Some students just saw their parents fight. Another student is hungry. They're all over the place. You need to help them to bring their lid back down so they're able to actually be here with you. And you do that through connection."

Based on these ideas, Habib designed and taught a popular Positive Psychology class to Henry M. Gunn High School juniors and seniors and thinks every school should have one-but if you don't, changing how you approach the first few minutes of class is a good place to start.

Here are a few practices Habib recommends for the beginning of class. They are designed to prime kids' brains for learning and provide students with a portable model they can use every day-even outside the classroom.

Gratitude circles: "Even before the bell rang, my students knew they needed to sit down, take out their journal, and write three things they feel grateful for." After journaling, Habib stood in a circle with his students, and each shared something they felt grateful for. "It doesn't take long, like two minutes, and it ups the base happiness level for everyone," he says. "These two minutes establish what's called emotional resonance in the classroom-when brains are in sync in a positive way because people are experiencing positive emotions together."

In Redwood City, California, high school teacher Aukeem Ballard employs a similar 60-second closing circle exercise he calls " the three As," during which students can volunteer statements he calls appreciations, apologies, and ahas. Ballard says it helps his class reflect positively on their day and builds classroom community.

Playing games: Habib also suggests trying two to three minutes of warm-up games like "pass the ball" or " counting to 10" -lighthearted games designed "just to create joy and connection," he says. Among stressed-out teenagers, "laughter is so contagious, it's powerful."

Laura Davis, a high school teacher in Honolulu, Hawaii, likes to use a rotating set of fun warm-ups like "three-sentence story" or "eye scream" once a week at the beginning of class. "Many students tell me that warm-ups are the best part of their day," Davis writes.

Mindfulness practice: Finally, Habib suggests leading students in a couple of minutes of mindfulness practice, such as mindful breathing, where students take one, then three more, mindful breaths and notice what happens somatically in their bodies.

When teachers give students the space to quiet down and reflect on where they're at, says Aukeem Ballard, it's a concrete way for them to practice emotional intelligence skills such as self-awareness and self-management. "The hypothesis is that if you can do that, then you are better equipped to interact with your environment in a proactive way, instead of in an extremely reactive way," Ballard explains.

Easing Up on Homework

Habib's homework awakening came during his years teaching AP economics-micro and macro-at Gunn High School. They were intense, rigorous courses, with lots of homework. The trouble was, Habib discovered that some of his students were cheating, and when he tried making homework assignments more complex and cheat-proof, kids devised new ways to cheat.

When a fellow economics teacher explained that he preferred a zero-homework policy, Habib recalls, "my brain exploded, like, that's a real thing? It just completely opened up a new arena of possibilities for me."

He eliminated homework the following school year. In its place, he developed strong formative assessments that provided deeper, more accurate reads of students' knowledge and skills. Where prior formatives had been less important to students' grades, because homework had played a larger role in the grading equation, now a solid formative assessment became a catalyst for students to up their game. "It was amazing-the kids were a lot more engaged and asking much better questions," says Habib.

With all the time he saved not grading homework, Habib headed to the gym. "I took care of myself, which made me a much better teacher-a lot more centered, a lot more energy. And happier."

Prioritizing Connection

The effort to make human connections, says Habib, should underpin all social and emotional work in schools-and high school is no exception. "For kids to know that there is at least one adult, for example, in a school that cares about them is massively important." In large schools with 1,500 or more students, this can be challenging. "There's always about 50 kids that no one knows," he says. That's when schools need to do relationship mapping. "You get all the teachers in the gym; you print all the kids' names on whiteboards. And you tell teachers to put a dot next to students that they know," says Habib. "The students who don't have dots, you assign teachers to them and tell them to form a relationship with this kid. It's so critical."

Teacher David Tow makes a habit of checking in regularly with his high school students. It's important to ask each student, "'How are you doing?'-and mean it," says Tow. "For the past six years, I've stood at the door and welcomed my high school students in with a handshake and a variant of that question. If I sense any problems, I might ask 'Really?' or 'You sure?'" It's reassuring for teens to know that "an adult in their life cares about their well-being," Tow writes. "Student responses, even if they don't answer honestly, can reveal volumes about their actual mental and emotional status." For online classes, have students queue up in a virtual "waiting room"-you can often find this feature in the settings of a tool like Zoom-so that you can admit and greet each child by name.

Tow also makes a point of scheduling a "substantial check-in" with every student each month and sets standing office hours, which he uses "to meet with students about more than just academic concerns."

Building In Your Own Self-Care

A happier teacher is critical when it comes to modeling mindful, emotionally regulated behavior to students. "A very simple technique for teachers is to take a minute, put a hand on your stomach, take a deep breath, and notice your stomach rise and fall with your hand," says Habib. "Believe it or not, doing that actually makes a huge difference: It reminds you that you have a body. It reminds you to take deep and healthy breaths."

Teachers are always busy. "But the truth is, you can give yourself 30 minutes to work out every day, or go on a walk-it's your choice," he says. It's a mindset that requires being "ruthless with protecting your time." This means, for example, closing the classroom door during the after-lunch prep period to do a 15-minute meditation, or working out in the school gym before prepping for the next class. "That doesn't mean that you always close the door," he added. "But it means that sometimes you can't serve students, and that's OK."

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High School Is Not the Time to Let Up on SEL

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In elementary school, it's common to have social and emotional lessons built into the curriculum, and the research shows that they have a strong, positive impact on student outcomes and school climate. But a 2019 survey of 15,000 K-12 teachers and 3,500 principals confirms what many probably suspect-that by the time kids reach high school, standalone SEL lessons are rare.

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When I first started student teaching at a high school where students were diligent and unfailingly polite, I asked my co-teacher where the tough students were. "Still in ninth grade," she said. A decade later, I understand her real meaning: It's not the kids who are tough, it's the high school system.

Freshman year throws still-developing adolescents together and asks them to navigate shifting friends, classes, and clubs-and the allure of drugs, sex, and popularity-all while their bodies and brains are undergoing enormous changes. Many come from different, smaller middle schools and start high school with a range of backgrounds that impact how well or poorly they adapt. Though some high schools offer support for kids who show up confused or unsure-like tutoring and counseling sessions-many do not, which can leave students struggling to find their footing. Some never do.

According to several studies, more students fail ninth grade, and there are more disciplinary issues, than any other grade of high school. Ninth grade is also a critical make-or-break year for students that can determine whether they will graduate from high school and enroll in college. More recently, the system has been flashing red: Studies reveal major upticks in adolescent mental health issues and newly unsustainable levels of stress. A nationally representative survey found adolescents (aged 12 to 17) reporting a major depressive episode in the last year increased 52 percent from 2005 to 2017.

"When students make the transition to high school, they are in an incredibly vulnerable time of their life-their adolescent development, brain development, social circles, and peer relationships are changing all at once," says Alex Seeskin, chief strategy officer at the Urban Education Institute at the University of Chicago, a research group that trains teachers and school leaders. "In the midst of all this change, students adapt a new set of academic and social identities that stick with them throughout the rest of their high school education."

Yet high schools, for a variety of reasons, aren't typically set up to address students' social and emotional needs. As soon as they enter ninth grade, high school students are expected to take a rigorous course load, where their performance can impact college choices; teachers become subject-matter experts who typically instruct students in one class only; and guidance counselors are in short supply.

Recognizing the gravity of this transition, and the opportunity, some schools are giving students more support as they make the leap into high school. Through advisory groups, orientation days, peer mentoring programs, and other resources, educators are helping students, virtually and in person this year, develop both the social and emotional wellness and the academic confidence they need to succeed for the next four years.

Simple Strategies Make Students Feel Welcome

Principal Sean Stevens tells his new high school students at KIPP Newark Collegiate Academy in New Jersey, that they are "eighth graders plus two months"-and will need help navigating an entirely new system. That might not feel like much, says Stevens, but one of the most important things a school can do to help students adapt is the simplest: acknowledge the difficulty of the transition and make them feel welcome.

For adolescents, in particular, a sense of belonging created within the first few weeks can translate into academic success and motivation to succeed, while a sense of disconnectedness can marginalize kids and increase their risk of disengaging-or dropping out. Research and brain science strongly indicate that students who feel their teachers and peers value them and their contributions are also more likely to be motivated, be confident, pass more courses, and graduate on time.

"[In ninth grade], students are learning how to do high school but also figuring out, 'Do I belong? Can I succeed?'" says Elaine Allensworth, director of the University of Chicago Consortium on School Research.

Through freshman orientations and advisory groups, schools can give students a support system on campus that can help them troubleshoot challenges-and make them feel connected.

At the start of every school year at Social Justice Humanitas Academy, a high school in San Fernando, California, where 90 percent of the students are low income, freshmen come to school two weeks early and work on hands-on, collaborative projects like drawing chalk art murals and engineering toy roller-coasters to help break the ice with their peers. The focus continues throughout the year when students are able to participate in student "councils" where they can bring up school and personal challenges and problem-solve them together.

Students who attend the school come from nearly a dozen middle schools and can easily feel lost without any support, say staff. "We want kids to start the year with a growth mindset and feeling seen," says Vice Principal Marike Aguilar.

Similarly at Kettle Moraine High School in Wales, Wisconsin, the first day of school is for freshmen only. Teachers clap when students enter the building for the first time to set an uplifting tone, says Alyssa Voight, the coordinator for secondary schools. After playing games together and taking a tour of the school, students split into small advisory groups that they'll stick with for the rest of high school.

These groups of about 15 students meet once a week throughout their four years, discussing key grade-level information and developing relationships with peers and an adult at the school. All staff-even the principal-are required to run one. This year, during the pandemic, advisories will still continue and meet virtually if needed.

According to Voight, the small groups help ensure that students who may be struggling don't slip by. "Advisory allows one person to see a larger pattern in the student's life," says Voight. There is "not one specific teacher otherwise who looks at how that student is doing in all of their courses."

Making Room for Mistakes

Adolescents (especially freshman) can easily get overwhelmed in large schools, shifting classes from period to period and interacting with new teachers they see only briefly. Many have not mastered the study and work habits required to handle the rigorous workload and lack the coping skills to manage higher levels of stress. In a Pew Research Center study of 13-to-17-year-olds, 70 percent of participants said anxiety and depression were a major problem in their age group; many cited academics as one of their main stressors.

A pervasive and really destructive myth is that tough grading teaches ninth graders how to work through high school, but many high school students-lacking a mature prefrontal cortex and prone to more impulsive behavior-don't have the capabilities or the coaching to process feedback and improve. Instead, they need room to learn from their mistakes, and techniques to course-correct in the future, before they are saddled with failing grades, according to Sarah Duncan at the Network for College Success, a research group at the University of Chicago that works with local high schools.

"Most kids will interpret an F not as a challenge to work harder but as a message that 'you don't belong and you are not good enough,'" says Duncan, who recommends that teachers grade according to standards or mastery (rather than the traditional 0-100 curve) and offer reassessments if a student struggles or submits subpar work but wants to try again.

Similarly, at George Washington High School, where 86 percent of students are low income, Principal Kevin Gallick says staff are providing one-on-one coaching with students to help them recognize where they stand in a class and take steps to improve.

"Years ago, you would have kids in the third year of high school not on track to graduate, but they didn't even know it," says Gallick. "We support freshmen as early as possible to take ownership for their own performance, to access their grades, and understand the importance of grades."

During a common time at lunch, students can see teachers for reassessments. Staff also make an effort to recognize students for skills not measured by traditional grading systems, like leadership, by providing mentorship opportunities-for example, a one-on-one breakfast with the principal. These commendations for non-academics can, in turn, motivate kids to try harder in class, Gallick said.

Meanwhile, at Humanitas Academy, students have scheduled time to have individual conversations with teachers to talk through their academic challenges while building a relationship with an adult. They even participate in monthly steering committees with other students and administrators, during which they can help change academic protocols that can be barriers to their success, such as making sure that not all tests are on the same day.

When a ninth grader has time-and support-to acknowledge and address problems, that becomes a skill that carries through high school and beyond, says Humanitas principal Jeff Austin. "Historically, [it's] been one of those challenges to get to a kid to realize at the end of the ninth grade: I accomplished something; I have to account for my mistakes, but I have the space to do that. If you can get them through that, [you have done] the toughest part."

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We Need More SEL in High Schools (Here's How)

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Through advisory groups, orientations, and one-to-one coaching, schools are helping incoming students adjust to the social and emotional challenges of high school.

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Fostering relationships, management, and learning with expectations and structures

Classroom management is essential in structuring an environment conducive to learning. Sprick (2009) explains that educators need to understand how to shape behavior so they "can make effective decisions and take appropriate actions to help students learn to behave responsibly" (p. 16). Middle school educators often struggle with classroom management. Early adolescence is a time when students start to test boundaries as they grow their independence and self-discovery. Developing relationships with students will have the most significant impact on managing the classroom. Teachers who understand their students and interests make powerful connections. Through structures and relationships, the learning is accomplished. A well-managed classroom at the middle level has teachers and students alike enforcing expectations and structures.

Using a variety of protocols and routines can support and foster a nurturing, productive learning environment. Foundational protocols can introduce students to each other, build team and class unity, and set the framework to support collaboration. Building relationships and creating a safe environment is the first step to having a successful classroom where students are engaged and invested.

Fostering Relationships

John Maxwell's quote: "Students don't care how much you know until they know how much you care." is the validation for establishing relationships. It is ideal to spend the first couple of weeks of the school year focusing on the social domain. Team building is an excellent way to promote relationships and develop the best climate for teacher and students. Learning names within the first week and using activities that help "break the ice" can support a year of respect, understanding, and learning. Icebreakers and team building exercises help create a safe environment where both teachers and learners want to take risks. These types of activities should not only be used with new groups of students and classes at the beginning of the year or semester, but additional opportunities need to be provided to allow students to continue to connect, understand, and respect one another, their differences, and their backgrounds. Activities should try to include movement as well.

Movement is still important at the middle level. Sometimes this can be minimalized as standards, expectations, and accountability measures become the focus. Doing games, challenges, and activities that involve movement will not only give a mental break, but it adds to the importance of collaborating and working together as a team. Taking the time to incorporate such movement and breaks actually is worth the return in focus and engagement of students. Pink (2018) supports this in his book When: The Scientific Secrets of Perfect Timing by stressing that we need to take breaks to enhance our performance. Pink states the importance of "restorative breaks" on decision making, especially in the afternoon during the least productive part of the day.

At our middle school, we have a 20- to 25-minute enrichment period. Our grade-level teachers use themes (sixth grade - superheroes; seventh grade - Olympians; eighth grade - social justice) for team building. Competitions and alliances create a community within the enrichment and grade level as a whole. On other days of the week, grade-level teams decide how to best work with their students and support academic needs.

In addition to these larger ideas to foster relationships, a variety of smaller practices can also be used: greeting students at the door with fist bumps and high fives, learning about their interests, leading good news share outs, and offering student choice and voice in learning and assessing. While relationship development is the first level of using protocols to foster a well-managed classroom, using them to establish structures, routines, and expectations is the next level.

Fostering Classroom Management

Clearly communicating expectations is crucial to setting the groundwork for how teachers and students expect class to run. Getting students involved in creating classroom norms and setting contracts for success is one way to develop classroom expectations. In addition to norms, daily routines and structures are important to have in place.

A common routine to use is a "do now" or "bellringer" activity. This prompts the class to come in and get to work as an opener to the lesson or a review of the lesson from the previous day. Having routines, especially at the beginning of class, sets the expectation to get focused and ready to learn. The more the "do now" is related to the day's content, the better for getting the students thinking about the material. Students are still engaged in instruction while the teacher is able to take care of non-instructional business such as taking attendance, checking in with students who were absent, or completing service/accommodation logs.

As a building-wide practice, we use Sprick's (2009) CHAMPS, a quick and easy protocol for establishing expectations in under a minute. The acronym stands for conversation, help, activity, movement, participation, and success. The idea is that the teacher sets the guidelines for each of the activities during the class. If students follow the CHAMPS protocol (figure 1) set for them, they will have success.

Figure 1
CHAMPS Protocol

CHAMPS

C is for conversation level. If it is an independent activity, the conversation level may be zero, but if they are working in pairs or small groups, the level may be a two or three.

H is for how students should ask for help. This may be a raise-your-hand expectation or even a "three before me" norm.

A is for activity and this is where the teacher makes it clear what students are doing, i.e., reading and answering questions, making a video, or note taking during active instruction.

M is for movement. The teacher outlines his or her expectations about what type of movement is allowed; i.e., flexible seating, getting up to sharpen a pencil or get materials.

P is for participation. This item specifies how the students should be involved during the activity. What does the student behavior look and sound like? The teacher will want to address any student misconceptions here too.

S is for success.

All the teachers at our middle school also utilize a reflection center (known to staff and students as the RC). Grade-level teams have a system in place; for example, the seventh grade team uses a stop sign system. If the student cannot be redirected or get on task, the teacher sends the student to the reflection center. The student then completes a problem-solving form to earn his or her way back into class. Each grade level uses the same system, which is reviewed with students and consistently practiced by all teachers on the team.

Additional protocols to manage students and allow for quick transitions are ones that help group students quickly. One practice is to have table groups (usually a group of four) as well as pairs within the group. This will allow for quick discussion, check ins, or even assigning students to work on tasks. Another method is the appointment or clock method where at the beginning of a month, marking period, or unit, students pick or are assigned several appointments (usually 4, but could be up to 12).

Having clear expectations and timely transitions that are communicated to students creates a well-managed environment that fosters an environment for learning.

Fostering Learning

Educators can also use a variety of protocols to foster learning. Several phases of the learning process, such as brainstorming, discussing, synthesizing, and analyzing can be achieved through protocol-type activities. Protocols work best in classroom environments where students feel safe and willing to take risks. When these processes have been used to foster relationships and classroom structures and expectations, it is only natural that they also can be used to support teaching and learning.

Empowering students to fully participate in a middle school classroom is critical to their learning. One strategy to foster learning and participation is Tabletop Twitter, where the teacher chooses a reading passage, prompt, question, etc. and places it in the middle of a large piece of chart paper. Students are given time to read the selection and respond by writing their thoughts on the chart paper with marker. Following the timed activity, students participate in a review and discussion of their insights. This protocol gives students who are sometimes reluctant to share their thoughts in front of the whole class an opportunity to provide a written response. Think-Pair-Share is another protocol that promotes student participation and helps to create a safe environment for students to participate. Students are given time to reflect individually and time to share with a partner before the teacher asks students to participate in a whole group discussion.

David Weinberger stated, "The smartest person in the room is the room." Collaboration and communication enhance student learning and can be promoted through classroom gallery walks to build collective knowledge in the room. In a gallery walk, teachers propose multiple questions or prompts posted throughout the room. Students are divided into groups and rotate through the posts, spending two to three minutes at each, discussing and recording their ideas. Once all groups have rotated through each post, groups are given time to compile the feedback, synthesize the information, and share out to the whole group. This learning is student-centered and allows all students to participate in the activity.

At Milan Middle School, our math department participates in peer ratings on a response rubric that asks students to analyze student responses to math problems. When students are given an opportunity to critique, it increases their familiarity with the expectations of a quality response and increases the use of content vocabulary. Making this critiquing process common practice makes it safe for all students to take chances and make mistakes. The response becomes a group discussion where the class works together to make adjustments, as necessary, until the answer achieves the highest rating.

These protocols support all learners by giving a voice and promoting engagement. Classroom protocols used to foster relationships, management, and learning lead to a more supportive, collaborative, and engaging environment for all.

References

Pink, D. (2018). When: The scientific secrets of perfect timing. Riverhead Books: New York.

Sprick, R. (2009). CHAMPS: A proactive and positive approach to classroom management. Pacific Northwest Publishing: Eugene, Oregon.

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Using a variety of protocols and routines can support and foster a nurturing, productive learning environment. Foundational protocols can introduce students to each other, build team and class unity, and set the framework to support collaboration. Building relationships and creating a safe environment is the first step to having a successful classroom where students are engaged and invested.

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The last year and a half brought a lot of lessons, maybe the most important of which is the way we build relationships with each other. Now is the perfect time to talk about going beyond welcoming students and start creating radically welcoming classrooms.

In this episode of Expert Instruction, our guest is Saki Malose, a research assistant from the University of Oregon's College of Education. Saki is an experienced educator and scholar. In her current project, the Inclusive Skill-building Learning Approach (ISLA), Saki works as part of a team of researchers helping schools implement an instructional approach to exclusionary discipline practices like suspension and expulsion. She shares how she creates classrooms that welcome students and offers up the strategies she teaches so others can do the same.

For more information about radically welcoming spaces, check out Dr. Christopher Emdin's conversation from the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts' Activate Series.

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PBISApps | Expert Instruction Podcast-Ep. 11: Creating a Welcoming Classroom

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The last year and a half brought a lot of lessons, maybe the most important of which is the way we build relationships with each other. Now is the perfect time to talk about going beyond welcoming students and start creating radically welcoming classrooms. In this episode of Expert Instruction, our guest is Saki Malose, a research assistant from the University of Oregon's College of Education.

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A few weeks ago, I caught up on the season finale of SongAssociation on Terrell Grice's YouTube channel. This channel has changed my Spotify, for real. Terrell plays a game with his guests - he gives them a word and they have 10 seconds to sing a song with that word either in the lyrics or the title. The game is good, but the reason I keep coming back to this channel is Terrell and the instant camaraderie he has with everyone on that blue wall.

He has a passion for music and musicians. It doesn't matter if his guest is an Instagram star, a former reality show competitor, or a whole signed-to-a-label singer, he has a way of making everyone feel comfortable. He brings an effervescence to each interview and a genuine interest in every story told. Whether he knows a person before they got there or they showed up as a stranger, everyone...and I mean EV-ER-Y-ONE leaves lifted, refreshed, and seen.

If only all of us could experience this welcoming spirit.

Well...

In July, the Lincoln Center kicked off its Activate Series. The theme of this year's event is radical welcoming, which they define as "the intentional and extraordinary effort to make people feel welcome." Dr. Christopher Emdin gave a keynote. You remember Dr. Emdin, right? He is a scholar, a hip-hop educator, and the author of For White Folks Who Teach in the Hood - the book we used to guide our series last year on culturally responsive practices in PBIS. During the July event, Dr. Emdin partnered with folks from the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts to reimagine what a classroom might look like in a post-pandemic world - a space he calls calls The Ratchetdemic Classroom.

It's beautiful!

It was in this space where Dr. Emdin moderated a conversation with five educators from across the country exploring what radical welcoming means to them. He asked them how they felt sitting in a room designed to make students feel welcome. They commented on how the green grass gave their eyes a place to rest and invited them to sit on the ground. They loved the diversity available in the seating options and their eyes kept coming back to a piece of art on the wall that said, "Imagine the person you could be if you let someone love all of you." One aspect of radical welcoming is creating a physical space that's inviting, comfortable, and allows students to engage their imaginations while they learn.

Beyond the physical elements of the space, I couldn't help but focus on the way Dr. Emdin led the conversation and made the hour comfortable enough for everyone to share some vulnerable perspectives. One example happens around the 13:26 mark in their conversation. Meghan Sullivan shares her perspectives teaching in Standing Rock reservation. She makes a distinction between "teaching in" vs "teaching on" the reservation. Dr. Emdin picks up on this, acknowledges the significance, amplifies it for the group, asks others to offer their thoughts, and ultimately takes the conversation to a place where later another aspect of Meghan's identity can be celebrated and shared. In a conversation where he is considered an expert, he continuously tells participants how he's learning from them and building on their experiences. [When you have some time, watch the conversation, soak up the lessons, and pay some attention to the way Dr. Emdin elicits ideas from everyone in the room.]

See, the physical elements of the Ratchetdemic Classroom created the space where everyone was comfortable and allowed to share confidently; the physical aspect of a space is a piece to the puzzle.

You are another.

Your students would probably say they want to be acknowledged for their efforts. They want to feel like they can share their opinions openly, to know they will be heard, valued, and cared for as a member of your class, and that the things that matter to them also matter to you.

You Have Active Presence

The way people feel when they're around you is what researchers call your affective presence. They define it as the "tendency to invoke either positive or negative feelings in others in a consistent and stable manner."[1] When you have a positive affective presence, people usually feel happy, enthusiastic, or inspired when they're around you.[2] A negative affective presence tends to make folks feel sad, bored, or stressed. Researchers also found affective presence is significantly related to how likely someone is to share their ideas openly.

The way guests feel on The Terrell Show, the way participants openly shared their perspectives during Dr. Emdin's moderated conversation, the way your students engage in your classroom, it hinges on whether your affective presence is positive or negative. Research is fuzzy on what contributes to an overall positive affective presence, but we can get some clues by looking at what people say makes them feel like they belong in a place.

LinkedIn surveyed more than 14,000 professionals from around the world to learn more about their experiences working for a company.[3] They asked respondents what would make them feel like they belong at the company where they work. This list they generated might feel familiar.

To my eye, their answers are not so dissimilar from what you might expect to hear from your students if you asked them a similar question on the School Climate Survey. Your students would probably say they want to be acknowledged for their efforts. They want to feel like they can share their opinions openly, to know they will be heard, valued, and cared for as a member of your class, and that the things that matter to them also matter to .

I emphasize the word "you" because research tells us that even more than their peers or their parents, teacher support has the most significant impact on a student's sense of belonging at school.[4] "Students who believe that they have positive relationships with their teachers and that their teachers are caring, empathic and fair and help resolve personal problems, are more likely to feel a greater sense of belonging than those students who perceive a negative relationship with their teachers." And! It's that sense of belonging that keeps students motivated academically, reduces absences, and makes it more likely they will stay in school.

Make Your Classroom Radically Welcome

As your students come back to the classroom - some of them in-person for the first time in a long time - investing in relationships and fostering a sense of belonging should be at the top of your list of to-dos. Here are some ways to start radically welcoming students in your classroom.

Popcorn Goals

This idea comes from a 5th grade teacher named Josh Monroe. At the beginning of the year, he hands each student two index cards. On one they write a goal they have for 5th grade; on the other they write a goal they have for their lives. The goals are anonymous, so no one gets to know who wrote it. Students crumple up the cards and throw them around the room. One by one, everyone picks up a card and reads it aloud. They decide as a class whether that sounds like a goal for 5th grade, a goal for life, or maybe it could be a goal for both. Mr. Monroe says the game generates important discussions as students find similarities they have with each other and think about how they can work together to create the kind of classroom where everyone can achieve their goals.

Snail Mail Shoutouts

Who doesn't love getting something special in the mail? Last year, Elkins Park School in Elkins Park, PA, started sending postcards in the mail to their students' homes. They did it as a way to encourage students during distance learning and to acknowledge the efforts their teachers saw in class. Of course, students thought it was great to get the personal note, but the school started hearing from families, too. The handwritten messages meant so much to them they put the postcards on their refrigerators. Positive, unprompted, personalized acknowledgements include families in the community you're trying to build.

Welcome Students At the Door...

Greeting students as they come into your classroom is a simple and effective way to start class. TUMS at the Door is an acronym to help you remember the pieces of the greeting that matter most.

T is for Touch. In the before times, this would mean a handshake, a hug, or a high five. These days, physical touch isn't always safe, so you'll need to improvise. Fist bumps, elbow bumps, toe taps, hip checks, or even a synchronized dance are all good ways to incorporate physical movement in your welcome that's safe and appropriate.

U is for Use Their Name. Calling students by their name demonstrates you know who they are. Be sure you use the name they prefer and you pronounce it correctly. If you're unsure how to pronounce their name, ask and keep practicing until you get it right.

M is for Make Eye Contact. Looking someone in the eye as you welcome them shows them you are focused on them and how they're doing. Even if for that brief moment, they have your undivided attention.

S is for Smile. Ever notice how hard it is to say an angry word with a smile on your face? A smile lifts your words and makes them sound more inviting.

...No Matter When They Arrive

I get annoyed when people are late to something we scheduled together, so I try to be a person who shows up on time. This last year and a half has also taught me a lot about how life is unpredictable. The same way I would hope someone would find grace and understanding when I can't make it on time, I'm now trying to extend the same to other people.

Your students will show up late to class for any number of reasons. Based on their previous experiences, they might walk in late expecting irritation from you. What would happen if you extended a welcome to students even when they show up late? Josh Monroe came through with an example, again.

Show Some Love

When it comes to your school-wide expectations, typical expectations might be: Safe, Respectful, Responsible. What if you added some love to the matrix?

What would that look like in your classroom? On the playground? How would your students feel knowing they could expect to find love in your space? Does it feel awkward or maybe impossible? Well...

Among the core values of respect, integrity, and perseverance, in her welcome message, Allika Thompson-Young, the principal at MAST High School in Queens, NY says, "The greatest legacy that you have left is that of LOVE. Make sure to demonstrate love in action throughout your tenure at MAST."

What if you added "love" to your behavioral matrix and asked your students to help you define what that might look like, what it might sound like, how it would feel in your classroom?

Our kids start school in a few weeks. I'm excited, they're excited, and I hope their teachers are excited. I think we're all a little anxious, too, about what it's all going to be like. One way to start things off on a positive note is to embrace the concept of radical welcoming. Set up a physical space where everyone feels comfortable and then focus on ways to improve your positive affective presence. How can you acknowledge your students' efforts a little more? How can you celebrate the things they love and create a community that shares openly? The tone you set, the relationships you build, and the way your students feel when they're around you matters. Start creating the kind of classroom where everyone wants to be.

1. Madrid, H. P., Totterdell, P., & Niven, K. (2016). Does leader-affective presence influence communication of creative ideas within work teams? Emotion,16(6), 798-802. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/emo0000183

2. Eisenkraft,N. and Elfenbein, H., 2010. The Way You Make Me Feel. Psychological Science, 21(4), pp.505-510.

3. LinkedIn, 2017. Inside the Mind of Today's Candidate. [online] Available at: https://business.linkedin.com/talent-solutions/cx/17/08/inside-the-mind-of-the-candidate.

4. Allen, K., Kern, M., Vella-Brodrick, D., Hattie, J. and Waters, L., 2016. What Schools Need to Know About Fostering School Belonging: a Meta-analysis. Educational Psychology Review, 30(1), pp.1-34.

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PBISApps | Teach By Design-Make It Radical: Ideas For Your Most Welcoming Classroom Ever

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As your students come back to the classroom, investing in relationships and fostering a sense of belonging should be at the top of your list of to-dos. Here are some ways to start radically welcoming students in your classroom.