Table of Contents
About the Author ix
Acknowledgments xi
Introduction 1
Are Behavior Problems on the Rise? 1
Can Neuroscience Help? 1
About This Book 3
Questions This Book Will Answer 4
Chapter Contents 4
Other Helpful Tools 6
Chapter 1 Handing Social Misbehavior 7
The Social and Emotional Brain 7
Emotional Processing 8
Pathways of Emotional Signals 13
What Leads to Social Misbehavior? 15
The Teacher is the Key 17
Interventions for Handling Social Misbehavior 18
Dealing With Social Anxieties 18
Using Social Stories to Modify Behavior 20
A Case Study: Using a Social Story for a Verbally Aggressive Student 22
A Social Story for Angry Students 26
Summary 29
Chapter 2 Dealing with Impulsive Behavior 31
What Leads to Impulsivity and Violent Behavior 31
Genetic Variations 31
Prenatal Exposure to Cocaine 32
Cerebral Lesions 33
An Important Word About Testosterone 34
Ignorance of Rules of Behavior 35
Some Strategies for controlling Impulsive Behavior 35
Cognitive and Cognitive-Behavioral Interventions 35
Putting Impulsive Problem Behavior in a Social Context 38
Using Picture Books to Curb Impulsive Anger of Anxiety 38
Other Suggested Strategies 42
Summary 43
Chapter 3 Teaching Self-Control Through Self-Verbalization 45
Examining Self-Control 45
What Is Self-Control? 45
Are Children Learning Self-Control? 46
Brain Structures for Self-Control 46
Do Mirror Neurons Play a Role in Self-Control? 47
Losing Self-control 48
Helping Students Regain Self-control 50
Verbal Self-Control of Aggressive, Defiant, or Other Behavior 51
The Power of Self-Talk 51
The Zipper Strategy 52
"Say No and Walk Away" to Resist Peer Pressure 56
Self-Control Through Self-Talk and Self-Monitoring 57
The Nature of Attention 57
Self-Monitoring for Other Problems Behaviors 64
Self-Control Through Self-Rating of Emotional Intensity 65
The Anger Thermometer 65
Summary 66
Chapter 4 Managing the Behavior of Boys 67
Why a Concern With Boys? 67
Gender Differences in Behavior 67
Genetic and Environmental Factors 68
Impact of Biology 69
Some Research Findings on Behavioral Differences 72
Using Research-Based Strategies 73
Movement-Based Instruction and Classroom Management 73
Boy-Friendly Instruction and Discipline 77
The Responsibility Strategy 81
And What About Girls? 87
The Rise of Cyberbullying 88
Bullying Versus Cyberbullying 88
Dealing With Cyberbullying 90
Summary 91
Chapter 5 Building Positive Relationships with Troubled Student 93
Relationships and Research 93
Insights From Neuroscience 94
Some Research Findings 95
Developing Teacher-Student Relationships 98
The Importance of Positive Relationships With and For Students 98
Reaching Unreachable Students With Dialogue Journals 100
The Lunch Bunch: An Educator's Idea 104
Managing Serious Behavior Problems Through Adult Meatoring 105
Summary 114
Chapter 6 Using Peer Relationships to Modify Behavior 115
Examining Peer Relationships 115
Dealing With Peer Influence: A Two-Edged Sword 116
The Desire to Be Liked 118
Peer-Mediated Behavior Management Strategies 119
Peer-Mediated Anger Management 119
Factors to Consider in Peer Mediation 120
Peer Confrontation to Curb Misbehavior 124
The Mystery Motivator/Mystery Character Intervention to Decrease Inappropriate Behavior 129
Group Contingency Interventions 131
Summary 135
Chapter 7 Managing Oppositional Behavior 137
What Is Oppositional Behavior? 137
Causes of Oppositional Behavior 137
Student With Oppositional Behavior in the Classroom 139
Teacher Knowledge of Oppositional Behavior 140
TeacherFrustration and Countercontrol 141
Defiant Student: Explosions Waiting to Happen 144
Avoiding Triggers for Misbehavior in the classroom 147
Teaching Student to Relax 149
Other Strategies 154
What About Oppositional Defiant Disorder? (ODD) 155
Development of ODD 156
Treatment of ODD 156
Summary 157
Chapter 8 Developing Positive Self-Esteem 159
The Nature of Self-Esteem 159
The Power of Self-Esteem 160
Research on Self-Esteem 161
Guidelines for Building Self-Esteem 164
Building a New Perspective on the Troubled Student: The Strength-Based Assessment 165
What Is Strength-Based Assessment? 165
Motivation and Attribution Retraining 168
Motivation Research and Attribution Theory 168
The "Shine My Light" Strategy 174
Summary 178
Chapter 9 Putting it All Teacher 179
Educational Climate: Are We Happy Here? 179
What is Classroom Climate? 179
The Biology of Happiness 180
Successful Behavior Management in the Classroom 183
Assessing Classroom Climate 184
Classroom Management and Cultural Diversity 188
Guidelines for Managing Diverse classes 189
Positive Behavioral Supports in the classroom 191
what Are Positive Behavioral Supports? 191
The Functional Assessment of Behavior 193
The Behavioral Improvement Plan 193
Multitiered Interventions and the Student Support Team 195
Summary 202
Conclusion 203
Appendix 205
Glossary 223
References 227
Resources 241
Index 247
