Statistics on K-12 students with mental health challenges almost guarantee that teachers will encounter these students in their classrooms. Educators will be more prepared and successful if they have feasible strategies to promote student well-being and avoid exacerbating existing problems. This article presents research-based classroom practices…

Schools implement Positive Behavior Intervention and Supports (PBIS) as a way of meeting students' needs in classrooms. PBIS focuses on tiered instruction. Tiered instruction is a teaching strategy in which the educator implements incremental changes that increase supports based on students' needs--academic or behavioral. Yet, tiered instruction…

Students requiring Tier 2 behavioral supports frequently display behavioral deficits in multiple domains (e.g., emotional symptoms and peer problems). The Tier 2 framework developed by McDaniel, Bruhn, & Mitchell (2015a) is a responsive structure for identifying and intervening at Tier 2. This process is described with a practical case example…

The purpose of the study was to understand current knowledge and implementation of a multitier system of support. The study focuses on tertiary interventions and uses input from teachers in a top education system who are responsible for implementing a Response to Intervention (RTI) framework daily. Sixty-three K-5 teachers were surveyed to…

This study examined the effect of using a remote device, a Clicker, on the on-task behavior of middle school students with behavior problems. Five students with behavior problems participated in the study. A single-subject research design with ABAB (phase A: baseline 1, phase B: intervention 1, phase A: baseline 2, phase B: intervention 2) phases…

Effective instruction is a critical predictor of student achievement. As students with exceptionalities such as emotional and behavioral disorders and learning disabilities, who typically struggle with academic achievement, spend increasing amounts of general education settings, the need for precise instructional behaviors becomes more imperative.…

The purpose of this case study was to demonstrate the success of a multicomponent intervention to reduce the threatening and aggressive behaviors of a middle school student with Asperger's syndrome. The author provides information pertaining to the student and details the procedures for developing a packaged intervention. Results of this approach,…

Time is limited. Teachers often struggle to address the diverse needs of learners in their classrooms, especially when faced with academic and social skills concerns. Finding effective ways to teach social skills in the context of academic instruction makes sense. Books by Dr. Seuss provide a variety of high-interest stories that can be used to…

Demand is placed on students in a variety of ways and, in some cases, affects whether or not a student engages in problem behavior. The authors' purpose in this study was to investigate the variables that influence demand and examine how changes in those variables affected a child's behavior. The authors used parametric design in which the…

Research with gifted children has identified certain clusters of traits which are directly related to a visual/spatial orientation in learning. This article presents common traits of visual/spatial learners, including introversion and behavior problems, and offers adaptive techniques that have been found effective in teaching "nonsequential"…

Students who have sustained a traumatic brain injury (TBI) return to the school setting with a range of cognitive, psychosocial, and physical deficits that can significantly affect their academic functioning. Successful educational reintegration for students with TBI requires careful assessment of each child's unique needs and abilities and the…

Offers a rationale for social skills instruction and integration for students with, or at risk for, learning and behavior problems. It examines the social skills needed in various settings and describes a three-step process for integrating academic content with social skill development. (DB)

Student academic failure and serious behavior problems are closely intertwined. Two related bodies of research pertain to the crossover of academic problems and behavioral issues: behavioral scripts and best instructional practices. The authors drew on that research to (a) help explicate relationships between aggressive or disruptive student…

A social intervention for 4- and 5-year olds exhibiting behavior problems is described. The multiyear social skills program includes direct instruction of social skills, incidental teaching, and reinforcement procedures. Training of school staff and program implementation are highlighted. Observable improvements in peer interactions resulted from…