Teaching Strategies that Work for Students Who Have Emotional and Behavioral Disorders

October 21st, 2009 By: Diane Trim in Articles, Teachers' Corner

Teachers know: there’s no magic bullet. What works well with some students doesn’t work well with others. However, the closest we come to the magic are those golden, research-based teaching strategies that work well with most students.

Researchers Vannest, Temple-Harvey, and Mason reviewed 20 studies about teaching strategies that work well with students who have emotional and behavioral disorders (EBD). They didn’t find a magic bullet or Shangri-la. They found those rock-solid teaching strategies that work with all students, but work especially well with the EBD population.

The researchers wrote that teachers are under pressure for their EBD students to succeed on standardized tests at the same rate as nondisabled kids and achieve annual yearly progress (AYP). “For students with EBD, meeting AYP will require instructional expertise in academic content as well as the behavioral and social skills typically found in curriculum and IEP goals,” the researchers wrote.

They wrote that teachers with EBD students need to be efficient because they are expected to reduce students’ behavior issues while boosting their academic achievement. To that end, they isolated some teaching strategies that work well for these students.

Using taped word read-alongs. The researchers found a study that showed middle school students’ reading rate and accuracy improved when the students listened to tapes. Varying the pacing of the tapes helped improve reading skills, too.

Test retakes. The study the researchers found was of 10 – 12 year olds who were learning math and spelling. Students who could retake a test scored higher than those who couldn’t.

Responses, praise, and academic talk. Students who were given many opportunities to respond to academic talk and who frequently received praise performed better than those who didn’t.

Cover, copy, and compare (CCC). Students not only performed well with this strategy, but they liked it, too. According to the researchers, “CCC is a process of looking at an instructional stimulus, removing, it, and responding with an immediate check for accuracy.” If the student has a wrong answer, she just tries it again.

These strategies, plus the others in the article, are researched-based and effective. The authors write that these strategies can encourage EBD students to learn and engage them in lessons. Engaged students have fewer behavioral problems, too.

Reference

Vannest, K., Temple-Harvey, K., and Mason, B. (2008.) Adequate Yearly Progress for Students With Emotional and Behavioral Disorders Through Research-Based Practices. Preventing School Failure. 53, 73-83.

Tags: achievement, behavior, behavioral disorder, emotional disorder, research, Teaching Strategies