POINTS TO REMEMBER 4

Summary of the topics covered in chapter 4

Chapter 4: Using the Strategies
The best intervention strategy in the world will not be effective or succeed in changing behavior if the person using it does not have a firm understanding of its components, have an implicit understanding of the individual it is being used with, a clearly designed outcome, regular monitoring and an effective evaluation tool.

Deciding What Strategies to Teach: It is important we understand how we identify student issues, develop a plan and assess effectiveness of the intervention strategies we choose to employ. We can use a proactive approach, in which we teach one or two of the strategies (e.g., SELF-mo and problem solving) to all of our students right from day one, or (2) a reactive approach, in which we wait until a student engages in an undesirable behavior, diagnose the cause(s) of that behavior and intervene.

CBM Strategies: Have a firm knowledge of the intervention and adaptive strategies that are available for use. Now all we have to do is make sure the strategies work.

Measuring Strategy Effectiveness: Now that you’ve successfully completed the course try using some of the strategies covered. Be aware that like the acquisition of any new skill it may feel awkward and not work well at first. No one jumped on a bike and jetted across town or jump into a pool and swam ten laps on their first attempt. Persistence, practice and patience are what make one accomplished at a task.

Wrapping It Up: We as teachers should hold ourselves accountable for the success (or failure) of the strategies we employ by conducting formative evaluations on our student’s performance. In particular, we should pay attention to our students' use of these strategies and their effectiveness in remediating issues.

Final Thoughts: I am confident that if you use the information from this course as a stepping stone to learn more about social, emotional and behavioral intervention strategies, you will not only be a more effective teacher with all students, but you will also see a significant reduction in your own stress level. As behavioral mechanics, if we possess tools to complete a particular task, and we are proficient at using each tool we possess, then chances are we will be very good mechanics who can handle most problems.