Academic programming; antecedent-based supports Chapters 14 and 15 discussed how good teaching is the most effective tool for

classroom management. If students are engaged in their subject matter and are finding success in the classroom, then the chance of a student misbehaving is far less likely. I feel the big idea of the chapter is if students are misbehaving in a particular classroom, teachers should not be so quick to blame bad students. Instead, they should be willing to examine their own practices and look at how their academic instruction could be correlated to student misbehaviour. Often the most cost/time effective interventions can involve minor changes to classroom teaching practices and can benefit all students and quickly prevent the escalation of destructive learning and behaviour patterns. The section of chapter 14 that resonated with me was the discussion of common features in classrooms with students with EBD. The authors list things such as boring, irrelevant, and repetitive lessons as well as low levels of student engagement. I can see how this could be true and upon reflection I know that I have experienced it in person both as a student and as a teacher. On some bad days, I know that I have taught lessons that lacked relevance and did not fully engage the students in my class. During these times, you can see the class unravel around you and behaviour problems surface. Ultimately, Engaging the students in their learning leaves them less time for off task and disruptive behaviour. Other ideas that I connected with in Chapter 14 were the recommendations that students should be able to respond correctly at least 80% of the time and the importance of direct instruction. The idea that students should get above 80% of problems correct stands out to me as a great way of increasing motivation. We all enjoy being good at things so setting students up to be successful could have a huge impact (especially for those students who seldom experience success). In fact, this point made me wonder what the average percentage of answers correct is for students with EBD. They must be used to high rates of failure. The importance of direct instruction seems obvious to me but also a point that is often missed.

Chapter 15 had specific strategies for teaching academic skills such as reading, writing, mathematics, and study skills. One section that I appreciated in this chapter was the discussion of how writing instruction does not always have to be heavily focused on mechanics and grammar. I liked the suggestion that when marking student writing, teachers should refrain from making heavy corrections. For one thing, it can be demoralizing to get a piece of work back covered in red ink. Secondly, there is only so much constructive criticism that people can take. I think that if teachers focus too much on pointing out every error, students tend to tune out all of the suggestions. I feel that this is true in my life as well. When my wife lists off numerous issues that she has with me, I tend to stop listening after the first few. However, if she outlines one specific issue in a respectful manner, I am far more willing to listen and respond.