Students with emotional and behavioral disorders (EBD) typically exhibit significant behavioral excesses or deficits that interfere with their learning and sometimes that of their peers in the classroom. These behaviors can generally be described as either external and easily noticed (e.g., disruption, aggression) or internal and easily overlooked…

Writing is a foundational skill that can support and extend student learning across the curriculum. Writing is used to communicate stories, opinions, and information, and to express one's understanding of concepts and ideas during an individual's K-12 educational career and well beyond. Despite written expression's importance and…

With the advent of No Child Left Behind (2002), the academic expectations of students with disabilities have changed. Students with disabilities are now held to the same academic standards as their peers without disabilities. Furthermore, the 2004 provisions in the Individuals With Disabilities Education Improvement Act state that students with…

Challenging behaviors displayed in both general education classrooms and self-contained classrooms by students with emotional behavioral disorders (EBD) can be a difficult challenge for novice and experienced teachers (Kennedy & Jolivette, 2008; Turnbull, Turnbull, & Wehmeyer, 2010). Furthermore, students with EBD demonstrate broad…

The purpose of this paper is to discuss how issues of effectiveness and efficiency are considered most logically in the field of education. More specifically, the focus is on the importance of these issues as they pertain to teaching, instruction, and management strategies for students with emotional and behavioral disorders (E/BD). The driving…

Teachers of students with emotional/behavioral disorders (E/BD) have varied skills and abilities. Within the field there are some teachers, who teach students with E/BD by actively engaging them in learning tasks and who have few behavior problems in comparison to other teachers, who struggle with classroom management. Many researchers have found…

Establishing effective academic instruction, effective classroom management, and building relationships can all be accomplished with the application of observable and measurable practices. How an individual applies these practices will vary, yet common components of effective teaching are omnipresent. Across academic instruction, behavior…

Effective instruction is a key component of successful classroom management and includes practices that maximize the likelihood of student participation, active responding, and correct responding while minimizing errors. Researchers have established the connection between effective instruction and (a) increases in desired student behaviors,…

Students with emotional and behavioral disorders (E/BD) may exhibit both learning and behavioral needs that affect the teacher's ability to provide effective instruction. Extending beyond simple academic content knowledge, effective teacher-based interventions include preventive and predictive actions that manage the disruptive behaviors often…

Students with emotional and behavioral disorders (E/BD) have academic, behavioral, and social characteristics that present unique needs within schools. Educators across the country are responding to the academic, behavioral, and social needs of all students, including students with E/BD, by implementing a continuum of supports across a…

Academic and social behaviors are inextricably linked, and a lack of school-appropriate social behaviors can severely impact students' ability to enjoy academic success (Fleming, Harachi, Cortes, Abbott, & Catalano, 2004; McIntosh, Chard, Boland, & Horner 2006). Scott and Barrett (2004) found that every disciplinary referral "costs" students an…

Most teachers can quickly name at least one student they clearly remember as challenging their classroom management skills. Most likely, the memory conjures up recollections of inappropriate outbursts, defiant remarks, enticing other students into negative interactions, and even physically harmful or injurious behaviors. These behaviors are…

Students who frequently engage in problem behavior tend to disrupt teacher instruction and impede others' learning, and they can seriously limit their own opportunities for academic and social success. The view that negative student-teacher interaction adversely impacts classroom climate is well documented. A positive and engaging classroom…

The term "data-based decision making" (DBDM) has become pervasive in education and typically refers to the use of data to make decisions in schools, from assessment of an individual student's academic progress to whole-school reform efforts. Research suggests that special education teachers who use progress monitoring data (a DBDM approach) adapt…

Studies indicate that challenging behavior and low achievement are cyclical, so the most effective way to improve classroom behavior is to increase student participation and strengthen academic achievement. Implementing specific strategies will help eliminate challenging behaviors occurring on a daily basis. One strategy that may be implemented to…