Learning objectives
Provide students with the knowledge and skills to conduct a simple classroom based intervention
Prerequisites
Developmental and Educational Psychology key concepts and major theories
Course unit content
The workshop explores the application of psychological theory in understanding and intervening in interactions in problem school behaviour. From the first entrance into the classroom to the intervention, it shows what an Educational Psychologist does in his/her professional practice.
Full programme
1. Operationalizing Behaviour
- Behaviour dimensions (Frequency, Duration; Magnitude, Latency, Topography, Locus)
- Defining the behaviour
- Recording the behaviour (Whole/Partial interval recording; Momentary Time Sampling)
- Inter observer Agreement
2. ABC: Functional Analysis of teacher and pupils interactions in school
- Importance of pinpointing antecedents and consequences of behaviours
- Generalized Conditioned Reinforcers
- MOs (Motivating Operations)
- Discriminative Stimulus
- Approval as an effective and efficient tool to increase pupils’ on task behaviour
3. Assessment
- Enter the school: Ethical Issues
- Introduction to the PTIObs6S (Partial Time Interval Observation Recording Sheet for 6 subjects)
4. Intervention part 1
- How to interpret the information we have got thanks to our assessment tools
- Help teachers in increasing their classroom management abilities
- Classroom-based intervention and Treatment Integrity
5. Intervention part 2
CBP – The Classroom Behaviour Plan
Rules; Rewards (Positive reinforcers: individual, small group and whole class); Coupon System/Token Economies (teaching deferred gratification); Consequences/Sanction Hyerarchy (natural, reparative, group); Extintion, Extintion Bursts, Time Out and Punishment; Differential Reinforcement of Incopatible/Other Behaviour (DRI and DRO)
Bibliography
Rollo D., Pinelli M. (2010), Osservare e valutare lo sviluppo, Milano: FrancoAngeli. (pp.70-113, 170-217).
Sulla, F., Perini, S., Rollo, D. (2013). Analisi funzionale dei comportamenti di approvazione e disapprovazione nell’interazione insegnante – allievo: una rassegna. Psicologia dell’Educazione, vol 7 (2), 193-216.
Perini, S. (1996), Psicologia dell’Educazione. Bologna: il Mulino. (Cap. 9, L’intervento educativo: l’organizzazione delle conseguenze. Pp.209-236)
Teaching methods
Each lesson is structured in a brief theoretical introduction and a practical task
Assessment methods and criteria
Practical task and brief discussion (during the course) / 1 open ended question added to the final assessment
Other information
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