Managing behaviors in the classroom can be tough... I want to share with you 3 easy-to-implement (and research based!) behavior interventions that have continuously helped to decrease negative behaviors and increase positive behaviors in my classroom! Transitional activities: Scheduling transitional activities can be a game changer and they're not hard to implement! Here's how it works: all you have to do is schedule a moderately preferred activity between a highly preferred and a highly non-preferred activity. Think about your schedule- Do you have a highly preferred activity (possibly recess, iPad time, etc.) scheduled right before a highly non-preferred activity (possibly fine motor time, math, etc.)? If so, do your students struggle to transition to this highly non-preferred activity? If they do, then you can try scheduling a moderately preferred activity (possibly time with blocks, trains, etc.) between those two activities to help students transition easier. Putting transitional activities in our schedule has drastically changed how well transitions go in my classroom. One transition that we were continuously struggling with was getting students to transition inside from recess, so we had to find a way to motivate and reinforce students for lining up and coming back into the classroom appropriately. We ended up being able to do that by scheduling a transitional activity (in this case either a GoNoodle or a few minutes of technology time) for students between recess and work time. With the transitional activity, our students are much more motivated to come inside from recess because they don't have to go straight to working after something so fun like recess! Contingency charts: Contingency charts are great for students because they show what students will earn if they do the expected behaviors as well as the consequences if they do the undesired/ unexpected behaviors. They're are also helpful to staff because they offer consistency and ensure that all staff are following through with rewards and consequences in the same way. Contingency charts can be made with visuals or pictures (like seen below) or you can write them out, but it's essential to have them printed out so that students and staff all have access to them. If you want some pre-made and editable contingency charts, check out this pack! Interdependent Group Contingencies: There are three types of group contingencies, but I'm going to focus on interdependent group contingencies now. Interdependent group contingencies are reward systems in which ALL students in the class must work together to meet behavioral goals/ expectations to earn a reward. With this type of group contingency, ALL students must meet the behavioral targets and then ALL of the students earn the reward. If one student doesn't meet the behavioral target, then the whole class doesn't earn the reward/ reinforcer. Examples: 100 Squares Mystery Motivator Teacher vs. Students Good Behavior Game If you want to learn more about the different types of group contingencies, click here for a link from the University of Kansas.