With all the needs in the resource classroom, it is dangerously easy to think you are supporting students when, in fact, you are enabling and encouraging those learning habits that are holding them back the most.
So how do you create independent learners while still giving them the support they need? By identifying the dependent skills they have developed and fostering the independent learning skill they need. In other words, we identify and explicitly teach a replacement behavior.
There are an abundance of dependent characteristics a student can develop, but there are six I see the most in resource classrooms. I would very much encourage you to identify dependent characteristics of your own students, make a list, and start gathering interventions to help replace them with independent skills.
The perfectionist
If you haven’t yet, you will definitely encounter the perfectionist learner. This student is the student who is very slow and particular, not because they are considering every aspect of the situation, but because they are making every effort not to make a mistake. It’s the student that is needing erasers constantly because they wear theirs down ensuring picture-perfect work on every piece they turn in.
What they look like:
-extremely slow perfect handwriting
-an unwillingness to try things on their own unless you are there to guide them
-frustration if they make mistakes
-unwilling to leave mistakes on the page (even if it won’t count against them)
-constantly asking for corrective feedback before they do anything
-refusing to even try something if they feel they will not be able to do it correctly the first time
-rarely complete their work on time because they are taking so much time making sure everything is perfect
-they will reread things over and over again
You wouldn’t think that a perfectionist in a resource setting would be a problem, but it can negatively impact students’ learning and slow their progress down immensely. When there is no room for mistakes, there is little to no room for learning.
So how do we help foster the independent learning characteristic of being messy and making mistakes? Here are a few of my favorites:
- Create a safe environment. Have you ever seen Meet The Robinson’s? One of my favorite quotes from that movie is, “From failure you learn, from success… not so much.” This is the kind of environment you need to create in your classroom. An environment where mistakes are not only celebrated but expected. Have the discussion often to remind them that mistakes mean you are learning; you are trying new things. Create an environment where the correct answer is not what is praised, but the hard work, the willingness to try and the courage to get messy while doing it.
- Explicitly teach them to be imperfect. If you have a student who refuses to try because they are worried about their work being imperfect, start out with an imperfect page. For example, if they had to write a rough draft have them crinkle the page a little, rip off a corner, or even put a scribble on the page so that the paper is imperfect before they start. Explicitly teach them that they are going to learn to be imperfect workers. We want them to be messy, we want them to show their thoughts and how they changed and made their work better. On rough drafts, expect a mess and refuse perfection. Sometimes I even went as far as making them rewrite their rough drafts if it was too perfect.
- Take away the ability to be perfect. It may be helpful to make a rule for your perfectionist students where they are not allowed to erase (only on things that will not be presented to others – remember all of this is focused on times of learning, not times of publishing). You can take away their erasers or even give them pens or markers. When they make a mistake tell them to simply cross it out or scribble over it and keep going.
- Praise, praise, praise effort. Praise them when they make mistakes. Give them opportunities to brag about their learning (i.e teacher might say, “Wow, Sam I can see that you learned something where you crossed out this number, how exciting! What did you figure out/learn?!”) do not focus on the end result, focus on the journey to the end result.
It will take some time to help students get over the fear of making mistakes, but this is an independent learning skill that every student, especially every resource student, needs to learn.
Inability to problem solve
It took me years and years to learn that I was building crutches and shoving them into my students’ arms as they were learning. I remember the day clearly. I was reading with a student and I noticed that when he got stuck on a word he didn’t even attempt to solve it, he looked straight at me, and without even thinking I gave him a strategy to use to figure out the word, or I just told him. He did this probably six times in a five-minute read and I was ready with the answer every time he got stuck.
What they look like:
-Won’t try to solve their own problems
-Immediately ask for help when they are stuck
-Look to the teacher immediately when they are unsure what’s next
-Have a belief that they are helpless without teacher or student guidance
-Respond with “I don’t know”
These students have developed what is called “learned helplessness” or a belief that they are unable to do anything for themselves without the help of the teacher or peer.
When helping these students, throwing them in the deep end of the pool by saying, “you try it by yourself first” is usually NOT the approach to take. You have to build their belief that they are smart and capable and that they can at least attempt to solve their own problems. There can be lots of levels of prompting but I would move through at least three:
Explicitly teach then, provide options
The highest level of support when you are building the ability to problem solve is to make sure they have a way to solve the problem and then showing them how and when they will use it. For example, if you want them to be problem solvers in reading, make sure you have explicitly taught them the strategies to use when they get stuck (for example, maybe you taught them the chunking strategy). Next time they come to a word they don’t know and they look to you, give them options instead of the answer, “This is a perfect time to use either the chunking strategy or slow check. Which strategy would you like to use?”
Let them pull from their tool belts
After you are sure they have solidified the strategies, you can start to give less prompting. You want to remind them that their toolbelt is there, but you want them to remember what tools are in there. You may say something like, “What strategy would you like to use?” or “What are some things we learned that can help you here?”
Encourage independence
As the student gets even more confidence, pull back your support even more. For example, let’s say they once again come to a difficult problem and they look at you for support, don’t make eye contact, just wait. Lean into the silence! It may take them a minute to realize you aren’t going to say anything, but eventually they will realize it is up to them to solve this problem. If they don’t attempt to solve it on their own simply say, “You try it first.” Then praise, praise, praise their efforts. If they still don’t make any attempts, then they are not ready for encouraging independence and you should move back to reminding them to use their tool belts.
Last strategy is to teach them to be self-confident.
Fear of self-advocating
Asking for help, clarification, or simply asking for something you need can be an incredibly intimidating and daunting task. I know adults who are still scared to do it. It forces the person to be vulnerable. It opens them up to potential ridicule and even the possibility of looking dumb, at least that is how a lot of our students feel.
What they look like:
-usually very quiet during class
-may sit there and do nothing but will usually look at you multiple times (this is their way of cueing you that they need something)
-Will only tell you if they are confused or don’t know what to do if you ask them
-Will sit and not do an entire assignment because of something simple (like they didn’t have a pencil)
These students usually don’t want to be helpless. They want to do the right thing but are too shy or embarrassed to ask for help.
For this one I have one major suggestion, and I bet you can’t guess what it is… explicitly teach them how to self-advocate. Pick an area (or better yet, have them pick an area) you want the student to start self-advocating in and then tell them you want them to work on it (i.e. asking for help, stating what they need, asking for clarification). Provide them intentional opportunities to practice that skills multiple times a day, or multiple times in their group.
For example, if I had a student I wanted to practice asking for help or clarification I would remind her before I let her into my class that we are going to work on that skill today. I would have her remind me what the tool is to ask for help (raise my hand and say, “___”), and how she knows when it is time to use that tool (“I ask for help when I am feeling lost or confused about the assignment.”).
When she comes to my group I might do something like hand her a stack of cards without saying anything. I would then make myself busy (but stay right next to her). If the student says nothing I would prompt her, “How are you feeling right now? What tool do we need to use when we feel this way?” I would work closely with the Gen Ed teacher and remind the student to self-advocate in her room as well.
Knowing whether or not you should have the Gen Ed teacher do intentional practicing in her room is up to you. It totally depends on the student. Some students will be able to handle being pushed outside their comfort zone in multiple settings. Other students will do better to practice and master the skill in a safer environment (like resource) and then practice generalizing that skill in other places.
Remember, however, there is an abundance of places our students can practice self-advocating. They can practice in the office, at lunch, in the library, at art or other specialties. Honestly, the list is endless. Don’t limit yourself, or your student. Use the mountain of resources and supports that are in the school.
Next, involve the parents in the process of teaching their child to self-advocate. Sometimes parents see a side of students we don’t and get them to do things we can’t. Encourage them to practice self-advocating in home life. This could include, but is not limited to, having their child order their own food at a restaurant, emailing their teacher when they have questions or issues, asking a worker where something is in the store, or have them pay for something by themselves. The whole point of this is to teach the student to practice talking to an adult. Parents are there to support and help, but the ultimate task is up to the child.
Last strategy is to teach them to be self-confident. I once heard a speaker named Hyrum Smith talk about something called “the belief window”. This analogy explains that every person has an imaginary window that they look through. On their window they write down things they believe or things that they consider “law”. For example, if someone gets bit by a dog, they will probably write on their belief window, “Dogs are vicious,” and will react with that mindset every time they see a dog.
Our students usually have self-defeating messages written on their belief window that will forever keep them from self-advocating and from progressing in general. The best way to combat that is to build their self-confidence. I would recommend teaching your students the power of self-affirmations. It will feel silly and awkward to them at first, but the more they say out loud, “I can ask for help,” “I am good at working by myself,” the more they will start to believe it. Provide them opportunities to prove themselves right as well. Actively look for opportunities to build their confidence and help them see they can advocate for themselves.
The complacent student
The complacent student is the student that feels they are good where they are at. They usually come across as lazy, but to be honest a lot of these students have simply lost interest in attempting to move forward in school. There are lots of reasons a student may become complacent.
What they look like:
-unmotivated
-more worried about social interactions
-often frustrated
-just going through the motions without any real involvement
-lots of excuses as to why they aren’t doing the work
-loss of interest
-surrendered to the “reality” of their situation
The great thing is that most of these students can be pulled out of their funk with a little support from the teacher.
Build behavior momentum. Behavior momentum is one of my favorite interventions for students who struggle or are unmotivated. The idea behind behavior momentum is that you start out with a task that is simple for them to do. This allows them to accomplish something as soon as they come in and starts their momentum of motivation because they were immediately successful. This momentum will build as they do other tasks and often carries over into more difficult tasks (as long as the task is one that is in their “instructional” level and not their “frustration” level).
Teach them to set goals. Sometimes a student just can’t fathom the task they have to do. It seems so unattainable that they instantly lose motivation. Teach your students how to take a big task and break it down into really little tasks. They can make it as simple as they need to, even, “I will come in and sit down.” The point is to help them understand that sometimes a goal and progress are going to take time, but we need to see the fruit of our labors sooner than that and that is why we set smaller, more easily attained goals.
Showing them their progress. I cannot stress enough the power of visual learning for our students who struggle with learning disabilities. Allowing students to track their own data helps them physically see the progress they are making towards their goals. It’s empowering. It’s visible proof that the work they are doing is paying off and moving them towards the big end goal (being on grade level). Pair visible learning with the students skill of setting their own goals for an even more powerful boost towards independence.
Teach them to take charge of their own learning. Sometimes we as teachers forget that our job is to guide student learning, not spoon feed it to them. Make sure you take a step back and analyze what you are doing for the students, do you allow them to struggle a little so that they can learn how to take charge of their own learning? So they can learn how to apply the things you have taught them without prompting? How can they be independent if we don’t let them.
Try things like letting them make a plan on how they are going to memorize their multiplication facts. You can show them different study skills, but let them decide which one will be best for them based on their strengths or weaknesses. When they are not doing the things they need to, or making the progress they need to, get them involved. Ask them, “How can you solve the problem?” This question alone can spark a sense of ownership and an understanding that ultimately their progress is not up to the teacher, but up to them.
Reteach intrinsic motivation using rewards. I get a lot of push back when I talk about rewards. I want to preface this paragraph by saying that I am a big believer in getting students to work where the only motivation they need is their intrinsic rewards. However, let’s remember that we as adults receive external rewards for our work every day. When we go to work we have that intrinsic value of making a difference, but we also have that external paycheck at the end of the month.
We have to remember that a lot of our students (especially the complacent students) have not used the intrinsic motivation tool for some time and so need a little external motivation to help remind them how their tool works. Use rewards often at first and let the student pick the prize (within reason).
I would strongly suggest you make sure you pair it with a non-tangible praise. Slowly require more (or less) work for the student to access the reward they have picked and in between teach them to rely more on that “feel good” feeling. Help them recognize it by asking them questions like, “How did you feel when you accomplished that task?” or “Tell me, why are you smiling?” Each of these will draw attention that the student has made progress and that progress made them feel good about themselves.
The plow
Motivated by the wrong thing, the plow is the opposite of the complacent student. These students are the ones that could not possibly care less about doing things right, and only care about being done first.
What they look like:
-don’t even realize they are making mistakes
-don’t take time to think through the work
-usually the first ones done
-make the same mistakes over and over
We need to remember that this desire to be done first can be stemming from other issues. For example, I once had a student who “knew” she was going to get every answer wrong, so she wanted to be successful at the one thing she could control: being done first. It made her feel good when she finished first, I corrected it and sent her back, and she completed it AGAIN before any of the students finished the first time. Knowing what the stem is can be helpful, but you can still help a student even if you don’t know the true drive behind being done first.
Reward for correct attempts or answers. Before a student starts an assignment, make a reward system for them. Focus on effort made and define what “effort” is (slow and thoughtful, uses their accommodations like multiplication charts, asks questions, gets some of the steps right, or if you are sure they can do it – correct answers). When the student finishes first (which I can guarantee they will) give them little to no attention, remind them what they were trying to do (effort) go over the definition you guys agreed on and discuss if the student did that. Reward when they have met the criteria you both have agreed on.
Teaching them to self-monitor. Sometimes the plow’s only issue is that they honestly don’t know they are making mistakes. I see this a lot when a student is reading. Teach them to self-monitor. With reading, if you see them make a mistake, wait til they get to the end of the sentence then simply say, “Try again.” This cues the student that a mistake was made and they will learn to slow their reading down and pay attention so they don’t have to repeat a sentence.
Another great technique for self-monitoring, used by our coach Jenny, is that once an assignment is turned in have the students find ten things they are going to fix on their own. This allows the student to monitor their work right in front of you and gives you an opportunity to see the level of their understanding on the assignment. It also helps the students recognize how many, and hopefully eventually how little, mistakes their choice of speed is making. This strategy works especially well for students who plow through writing.
Make a tracker that tracks accuracy rather than speed. This goes back to that visual learning. For the student to be able to make progress on their tracker they need to worry about the accuracy of their task, rather than the speed of their task. That visual helps them shift that fulfillment of importance from beating others to beating themselves.
Help them understand the “why” of assignments. It can also be possible that a student just plain doesn’t understand the purpose of an assignment. No one likes busy work, and it may be that your student is giving in the amount of effort that they feel a task deserves. Stopping and helping them understand why and how the assignment will help them can motivate them to try a little harder. Honestly, going over the goal for the students, and the target you are working on that day to help them reach that goal is just a good practice and should be done at the start of every lesson.
Allowing them to help others when it is done correctly. This goes back to identifying why they are speeding. If they are speeding because you have a practice in your room that first finishers get to help, then I would make some adjustments. It may be that you change that reward from finishing first get to help, to a certain percent correct get to help. If percent correct is not reasonable for that student, make an accommodation for them. Tell them that they need to get a certain amount correct and then they can help other students. Build off and use their desire to help, don’t squash it.
Force them to slow down by putting in checks. Another great way to help your student slow down is by putting in checks. Rather than having the student come to you after they have finished their independent work, have them come after they have finished 1-2 problems. This will slow them down and possibly give them a reinforcer (lots of extra attention from the teacher). This will help the student shift their focus to good effort rather than speed, and also help you teach them pacing.
The frustrated student
This student comes into class already upset about something and has given up for the day the minute they walk through the door.
What they look like:
-grumpy
-given up on life
-cries often and easily
-says, “I don’t know” “I can’t” or “I don’t care” a lot
-usually won’t even try a task
-spend a lot of time doing nothing before they even start a task
-may be the ones crawling under the table or slouching way down in their seat
-usually like to wear their hoods
Although it can be tough to keep a positive attitude with these students, they may just be the ones who need your positive, loving help the most.
Teaching them the power of “yet.” Yet is such a powerful word. When our students really believe in that word as it applies to their abilities we can help them change their lives. “Yet” takes a skill from “I have to be perfect now” to “I’m not expected to be perfect now, I’m just expected to try.” You can teach “yet” the same way you teach affirmations: have them practice saying “yet”, but have them practice in a time when they are not frustrated. You may even have the whole class practice before you start the group so the student does not feel singled out (i.e. “We don’t know how to solve this problem….yet.”)
Visible learning. As stated above, I cannot tell you enough how much visible learning can help our students – especially the frustrated students. As said before, having a visible plan so the student knows where they are going, how long it will take to get there, and have an understanding that the daily tasks are not just busy work can be a huge motivator. It can give them an anchor, something to hold on to, and physically see progress.
Behavior momentum. Behavior momentum is also one of my favorite interventions for students who are frustrated. The idea behind behavior momentum is that you start out with a task that is simple for them to do. With a frustrated student this might look a little different then the example I used above. For this student, it may be that their only expectation for the group is to come in, sit down, and say one positive thing. When we say start small with the frustrated student, we mean start. Small. Remember, starting small allows them to accomplish something as soon as they come in and starts their momentum of motivation because they are immediately successful. This momentum will build as they do other tasks and often carries over into more difficult tasks (as long as the task is one that is in their “instructional” level and not their “frustration” level).
Task analysis. When you have a frustrated student it is often paired with outbursts and behavior problems. Do a task analysis of the student’s behavior. A mentor of mine taught me that behavior is like a ladder. Students don’t go from the bottom straight to the top. They had to go up one step at a time and where they went up one step at a time they have to go down one step at a time. Break their expectations (academic or behavior) into small tasks that will slowly move them towards the end goal.
(add the picture of the ladders with lots of rungs and ones with lots of space)
For example, I once coached a teacher who had a student who refused to participate in any work and would lay on the ground. We made a task analysis for him: 1. Sit in his chair 2. Sit in his chair and pick up a pencil 3. Sit in his chair, and write his name 4. Sit in his chair, write his name, and participate in the discussion 5. Sit in his chair, participate in the discussion and do his work (50%) 6. Sit in his chair, participate, do 100% of his work. The teacher determined how many days in a row he needed to reach each goal and she heavily reinforced when he did the small task that was expected. Within two months the student was participating (not perfectly) but we were a long ways away from his refusal and laying on the floor days.
I know some of you may be thinking, “But he’s missing out on so much instruction!” Remember, our focus with the frustrated student is not necessarily academics. It is reminding them that they can do hard things. It’s teaching them how to manage their emotions and be in control of their bodies. Until you teach them how to be a student, you won’t ever get academics from them.
Teaching them how to create a goal. Let your students take charge of solving their problems. When the student is calm have a frank conversation with them about how their frustration is getting in the way of them progressing. Let them make a goal as to what they are going to do to stay calm and move forward. You can provide suggestions, but let them make the ultimate decision on how they want to proceed.
Reward system. This is another area that teachers struggle with when a student is frustrated and exhibiting behavior. It is natural for us to want to refuse rewards because, “Why should I reward bad behavior?” I understand that, I really do. But let’s try to look at it in a different way. Although most of us enjoy our jobs, would you go to work every day if you weren’t getting paid? For students who struggle with school, it is like they are coming to a job that they don’t get paid for. Let’s build some momentum and drive for them by building in rewards throughout the day. Once they start to feel some success (behavior momentum) we can slowly start to spread out those rewards and work on letting that intrinsic motivation take over.
Build a school community for them. Please, please, please do not be a one man community for these students. It’s true that one teacher can change a student’s life, but imagine what can happen for that student if they are surrounded by a community of teachers that make that student feel loved, cared for, safe, and successful. When the student does even the smallest of things, take them to the principal to brag about their success. Walk them down to their Gen Ed teacher and show them the beautiful work/attempt they made on an assignment. Have the janitor make an effort to build the student up in the hall. A community can do more for this student then you can alone.
Accommodations in the classroom are very important. As stated above you are not a one man show with the frustrated student. You should be working hand in hand with the Gen Ed teacher to make sure that you are both focusing on the same interventions, strategies, and accommodations. Any accommodation made in your room should be done in the Gen Ed, and when necessary, even more. Set them up to be the most successful they can be. They need to have as many wins as they can when they have reached frustration.
Belief window. If you haven’t read the paragraph, “Teach them to be self-confident” under the section “Fear of self-advocating” go read it now. More often than not the frustrated student has some pretty harsh things written on their belief window. If you do nothing else for that student but help them erase those negative words and help them write positive ones, then you will have set that student on a path that will allow them to be successful the rest of their school career.
We juggle so many balls and wear so many hats as a resource teacher. But I, honestly from the bottom of my heart, believe that one of our most important hats is that of “Life Coach.” Take the time and effort to find those dependent skills your students have and replace them with independent skills that will allow them to be successful beyond your classroom and beyond your support.