Some of the essential questions we will tackle in the course are:

1. What is the relationship between behavior and academic needs and the effects of dysfunctional behavior on learning? 
2. How do I create a safe, supportive, and positive behavior support system for all students?
3. How do I develop a systematic behavior management plan (behavioral change plan), behavioral goals and objectives, and intervention strategies based on behavioral observations and analysis of the environment?
4. How do I integrate learning experiences and interventions that meet students' unique behavioral challenges that are transferable to a variety of instructional settings?

Practicum Hours

Because this is a laboratory class, you will be responsible for setting up a practicum with Caitlin Ravanelli,  caitlinravanelli@suu.edu.  You will be paired with a teacher for the semester. In that classroom, you will complete all assignments and get practical experience regarding common behaviors in classrooms.  ( A minimum of 2 hours or more per week, enough to complete assignments totaling 28+ hours). Please make and share your schedule with both the instructor of the course and the cooperating teacher within the first few weeks of the course. 

While at the Practicum site, you must wear your badge to identify yourself. Remember, your conduct is a representation of SUU. You will spend time both observing students (hands-off) and working ( hands-on) with students under the direction of your cooperating teacher. This is structured this way as we are learning about behavior, and hands-off observation provides the opportunity to learn documentation skills and techniques. 

Engage with the content through weekly activities

Each week, there will be at least one assignment and or discussion that will allow you to interact more deeply with the content. Some of these assignments simply require you to complete an online module and answer questions, while others may require collaboration with your cooperating teacher and classmates. It is my hope that all class activities will be meaningful learning opportunities and not busywork! 

Complete a Behavior Change Project

The behavior change project will be completed in several parts across the semester. You will work with your teacher to identify one student for which you will:

• identify and operationally define the student behavior identified for change
• use an observation system to collect data on the behavior
• administer a (teacher questionnaire, PBQ) to your teacher
• conduct an ABC assessment
• understand the function of behavior to form a hypothesis statement
• prepare a behavior support plan
• create and teach a behavioral lesson plan.

How will my learning be assessed?

Grading in this course will be a bit different than you're used to. Many of the assignments will not be "worth points"; rather, they will be marked as incomplete until they meet the learning goals for the assignment. If an assignment is marked as incomplete, you will also be provided feedback to guide your corrections and resubmission of the assignment. The reason for this is that I want you to focus on LEARNING, not points. Also, I never want to penalize you while you are learning - therefore, I will always allow resubmissions (multiple, if necessary) so that you master the objectives and are able to use the content as a teacher.

I will provide rubrics or standards for mastery for each assignment. Please review these prior to completing assignments and contact me if any of the assessment standards are unclear. 

THE LEARNING IS THE MOST IMPORTANT PART. Yes, all the assignments, even those with no corresponding points, are REQUIRED.

The following final grade scheme will be used in this class:

Per college policy, grades below a C will not count for credit in the teacher education program as part of your degree.

How will I respond to your needs? 

For messages sent to me, I will do my very best to respond in the specified amount of time. Sometimes emails tend to slip off the radar, so if I do not respond to your needs within the specified time, please hound me again! I want to make sure I am responsive to you!

Feedback is an important part of learning, and I will be sure to provide feedback on all graded assignments. Please review all feedback on your assignments! It is my intent to give helpful feedback that allows you to revise your work. To help you find feedback that I provide, look at this tutorial: How do I view assignment comments from my Instructor (Links to an external site.).

It is my goal to:

• Respond to student messages within 2 business days
• Provide grades and feedback within 7 days from the due date

Communicate with me about due dates

I expect you to strive to be an active participant in this course and strive to meet due dates. I recognize that life is more hectic at some times than others, so I am very willing to make exceptions to due dates if you communicate your needs with me, preferably prior to the due date. Please note that the main project in this course must be completed in sequential order and in an elementary classroom; therefore, you will want to make sure you do not fall behind, as you may not have time to get caught back up. 

Collaborate with your classmates

I expect that you will strive to regularly contribute to collaborative activities to ensure other members of the community have ample opportunity to read/listen, reflect, and respond to your ideas. This extends to assignments other than discussions, as I encourage you to collaborate on any assignments in the course. Collaboration is a critical skill for educators, and I hope that you will embrace this in the course. All I ask are 2 things:

• that the names of all collaborators is included on your assignment submission
• that all collaborators are actively involved in all assignments (you are not allowed to separate up the assignments and put everyone's name on them).

Demonstrate mutual respect and professionalism

In order to learn, we must be open to the views of people different from ourselves. In this time we share together over the semester, please honor the uniqueness of your classmates and appreciate the opportunity we have to learn from one another. Please respect each other’s opinions and refrain from personal attacks or demeaning comments of any kind. Finally, remember to keep confidential all issues of a personal or professional nature that are discussed in class. Please contact the instructor if you have suggestions for improving the classroom environment. It is preferable if students discuss issues directly with the instructor. However, students may also begin the conversation via email.

Other expectations

You will maintain an open line of communication with me so I understand how to support you.

You will do your best to have patience with the course plan. There will be hiccups; expect them. We will get through them together.

You will give yourself grace. Expect to make mistakes. You are human and you are stressed.

Is there anything else you would like to add to this list?

Class Attendance

Your active participation is paramount to your success for this course. You will need to complete the required readings and review weekly lectures prior to Tuesday's class meetings each week. I encourage you to seek additional information on your own to expand your understanding of the course concepts and to collaborate with others frequently. When you find items that are particularly helpful to you, please share them with your classmates through the bulletin board discussion or in the weekly discussions we will have in class on Tuesdays.

Notify the practicum teacher at least 24 hours in advance (if possible) if you will miss a practicum day. You are responsible for making up what time you miss. After 3 missed practicum days, you must create a plan for completing the hours and send that plan to Dr. Poole. 

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