Self Monitoring Strategies for Use in the Classroom: A Promising Practice to Support Productive Behavior for Students with Emotional or Behavioral Disorders.
W e begin this article by introducing you to Andy. He is a student that all teachers have probably encountered at one time or another. Andy is likable and engaging, but his behaviors pose some challenges for his teacher. He almost never completes his assignments, and when reminded to stay on task, or if scolded for off task behavior, Andy gets angry and upset. It may seem counterintuitive, but Andy is the kind of student who needs to be given more responsibility for his own behavior. In this article, we will illustrate why and how that can be done. Students who have emotional and behavioral disorders (EBD) encounter difficulties in the classroom with their teachers, on the playground and lunch area with their peers, and at home with their parents and siblings (Kauffman Landrum, 2009; Walker, Ramsey, Gresham, 2004) In the absence of proactive strategies that help them identify and manage their problem behaviors, these students often find it difficult to be successful in school. This is particularly evident in their low academic performance, low rates of academic engaged time during structured class activities, and high levels of negative social interactions with peers all of which are characteristic of students with EBD (Geenen, Powers, Lopez Vasquez, 2001; Nelson, Benner, Lane, Smith, 2004; Reid, Gonzalez, Nordness, Trout, Epstein, 2004) However, a variety of metacognitive strategies such as selfmonitoring, self evaluation, selfinstruction, goal setting, strategy instruction, as well as combined strategies (e.g. goal setting and selfmonitoring) can be effective tools in eliminating or minimizing maladaptive behaviors and increasing more desirable social and academic behaviors (Mooney, Ryan, Uhing, Reid, Epstein, 2005) In this article, we focus predominantly on the strategy of self monitoring and how it can be used to address a variety of behaviors, with an emphasis on academic outcomes given that students with EBD struggle in all content areas (Lane, 2004) Specifically, we introduce the concept of metacognition and provide an overview of a range of metacognitive strategies that are available for use in promoting academic outcomes with students with and at risk for EBD. We highlight some recent studies that show how such strategies have been used successfully to support academic outcomes for students with EBD across the K 12 continuum. Next, we delineate step by step procedures for designing and implementing self monitoring procedures in your classroom, followed by one illustration of how this strategy can be applied in an elementary/middle school setting. Finally, we conclude with a list of tips to ensure successful implementation of self monitoring procedures by avoiding some common challenges.