Living the Speducator Dream

 REINFORCEMENT VS. BREAKS - PART 2 REINFORCEMENT  In Part 1 , I explained my hot take that an effective special educator would never take away breaks from a student as a consequence. Students should never EARN breaks. Breaks are a regulation tool. Students MAY earn reinforcers.  Here is a general overview of how to structure reinforcement within a special education classroom. Student "rules" should be tied to IEP social or behavior goals If a student has a social or behavior goal for an identified area of growth, there is no reason to create a reinforcement system for a totally different skill.  Likewise, narrow the focus of behaviors you're trying to modify. (A student typically would never have 5 rules! I like to keep it to 2-3, but this is predetermined by how many IEP goals the student has.) Reinforcement tied to student rules Students may be aware of the social or behavior skills they're working on. Love that! Bonus points if they're self-monitoring their pro...

  How lucky are you, getting to work with paraeducators?! In the world of special education, we can't do it alone. If you're lucky, you have one or more paraeducators who support you in teaching students. This may look like behavioral support, leading small groups, data collection, or pushing in to general education classrooms. BUT that's not to say that sometimes working with other adults can't be challenging. I always said I've learned a lot of things in my formal education, but "they" never taught me how to tell people my age or older what to do! Also, having paraeducator support is often something only special education teachers have - because our jobs are so complex! - so this may be another professional expectation that your general education friends don't quite understand. (All of this to say: I know some districts still have paraeducator support in elementary schools, but my current district does not. If your gen ed teachers have para support, ...