Challenging Behavior in Elementary and Middle School [Paperback]

Winner of the 2009 Textbook Excellence Award (Texty) from the Text and Academic Authors Association (TAA).

Written by an educator and consultant who has spent 30 years working with children and families and a writer who specializes in education issues, Challenging Behaviors in Elementary and Middle School is a comprehensive and indispensable resource for everyone who plans to work–or is currently working–in elementary and middle schools.  This new resources presents in-depth background information and strategies to help pre-service and new and practicing teachers understand, prevent, and address the behavior problems found so often in today’s schools.

The evidence-based techniques at its heart work with the most difficult behaviors and benefit every child in the classroom. They can be used alone or together, creating tools suitable for many different children and situations. The text brings together in one practical, academically rigorous, user-friendly volume facts and techniques drawn from neuroscience, psychology, psychiatry, special education, classroom management child development, cross-cultural research, and proactive social and emotional skills programs.  In addition to chapters on such strategies as positive behavior support and functional assessment and preventing challenging behavior, the book includes chapters on self-reflection, the teacher-child relationship, inclusion, bullying, culture, and partnerships with families. It also presents vital background on aggressive and antisocial behavior, the teenage brain, and risk factors for challenging behavior, as well as how to build resilience by focusing on children’s strengths. Every chapter ends with discussion questions, and many feature short case scenarios with problems to solve.Once again, the renowned author team of Kaiser and Rasminsky has written a compelling and necessary resource for teachers and educational professionals everywhere.

See what judges from the Text and Academic Authors Association (TAA) have to say about the 2009 winner of the Textbook Excellence Award (Texty):

“An excellent contemporary text for any beginning or seasoned education professional.  It is easily readable, with all the research, as well as the descriptive, real-life scenarios to maintain interest.  The suggestions, proactive measures, and analyses are clearly present to create a concise handbook for the challenges of the modern classroom.”
 
“This research based textbook is written in an easy-to-read conversational style.  It is interesting, cover to cover, as well informative; it is also, practical and true to classroom life.”
 
“The authors suggest a variety of individual interventions and classroom management strategies to prevent, nip in the bud, deescalate, and survive the challenging behaviors of disruptive students.  Of particular appeal are the episodes about two challenging pupils, Andrew (age 9) and Jasmine (age 13), which are sprinkled through the book.”
 
“This book should be a must read for present and future teachers.  It was readable but most importantly not just by academicians but by anyone who has the desire to learn. It is convincing academically and scientifically but mostly it is thoughtful, practical and useful.” 
 
“Its organization is impeccable.  It goes from the general to the specific from the theoretical to the workable.” 
 
“I felt chapter six ‘Opening the Culture Door’ to be of vital importance.  The book does an excellent job in defining how these beliefs influence behavior and how the teacher can respond to these cultural differences.” 
 
“I felt the chapter ‘Guidance and Discipline Strategies’ was excellent.  A system where practical ways of dealing with the four states of mind are presented, offering strategies which bring the student back to the “competent state”.  I was encouraged by the totally positive approach of the system.”  
 
“The book is a classic to be studied and followed.” 

Challenging Behavior in Elementary and Middle School

Barbara Kaiser and Judy Sklar Rasminsky

Once again, the renowned team of Kaiser and Rasminsky–-winner of a prestigious Texty Award for textbook excellence in 2007–-has written a compelling and necessary resource for teachers and educational professionals everywhere. Their new book presents in-depth background information and strategies to help pre-service and practicing teachers understand, prevent, and address the behavior problems found so often in today’s schools. The evidence-based techniques at the heart of the text work with the most difficult behaviors, benefit every child in the classroom, and can be used alone or together, creating tools suitable for many different children and situations. The book’s academic rigor and conversational tone make Challenging Behavior in Elementary and Middle School an essential "survival manual" for novices and experienced teachers alike.

Special Features:

• Practical, realistic, evidence-based techniques enable new and seasoned teachers to prevent challenging behavior and respond to it in a variety of effective ways.  
• The stories of two students, Andrew and Jazmine, bring alive both facts and strategies.
• Information synthesized from many different disciplines provides a wider perspective and a greater choice of approaches.
• Comprehensive discussion of self-reflection relates self-awareness to effective teaching.
• Emphasis on the teacher-child relationship and concrete suggestions for building relationships with children with problem behavior show teachers how to enhance the power of any strategy they use.
• In-depth information about diversity and the influence of culture helps make teaching more culturally responsive and enables teachers to avoid misunderstandings that lead to inappropriate behavior.
• A chapter on inclusion describes how to prevent and respond to difficult behavior in children with disabilities, who are now likely to be found in every classroom.