Teaching it Forward
SPED Newsletter for Region 2
Happy Places - July 2021
I always considered my classroom as a space that belonged to my students. I wanted my students to know they belonged. I wanted it to be a place where they wanted to be.
Now (maybe more than ever) safe and happy places hold a certain type of magic.
When you are setting up your classroom this year, I hope you take some time to think about cultivating a #happyplace. We all navigate the world searching for reinforcement (#nerdword). Sometimes the word reinforcement makes people feel weird-so feel free to replace that word with something else....
We all navigate the world looking for joy...
We all navigate the world looking for a place where we belong, are inspired, are happy....
Now, think about what that place looks like for you and go there. Next, think about what that place looks like for one of your students.
I taught this amazing little girl a couple years ago and when I think about a reinforcing environment for her- I think about a place where she feels safe enough to be wrong, is understood, and has access to her preferences (impromptu dance parties!). Reinforcement is a context where her experiences are valued by those around her...and there's probably chocolate milk.
The first step to arranging an environment where great things happen is to take into consideration the reinforcement contingencies (More #nerdwords) and learning histories that influence the people within them. It is about developing an intense curiosity about the students you serve and discovering how to make their learning histories a road on the map to your curriculum town.
The images on the wall should reflect their lived experiences, the classroom procedures should be explicitly taught in a way that leads them to success, and the image of you standing by the classroom door should be a signal that things are about to get a little better.
Resources In This Issue:
PBIS Tool: Habits of Effective Classroom Practice
TSLAT Course: Classroom Organization
ABA for Everyone with Dr. Robert Pennington (online course)
Applied Behavior Analysis for Everyone
FBA to BIP Training
Parent Implemented intervention
Contact me!
Email: ambra.sherrod@esc2.us
Website: https://autism.esc2.net/
Location: 209 South Water Street, Corpus Christi, TX, USA
Phone: 361-561-8563