Running head: INTERDISCIPLINARY TEAM PLANNING 1

Interdisciplinary Team Planning

Jessica Marter and Ian Ross

Franciscan University
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Rules and Expectations: (CARE)

1. Collaborate - Work together with others and do your share of work. Ask meaningful

questions and listen to others. Learn from each other and respect ideas different from

your own. Report any problems to teachers or staff.

2. Accountability - Arrive to class prepared and on time. Follow directions and meet

deadlines. Ask for assistance when needed. Follow all emergency procedures.

3. Respect - Celebrate diversity and see differences as a strength. Be compassionate to

others and respect boundaries. Treat others the way you want to be treated and treat

school property with care. Listen to your teachers and recognize the right of your

classmates to learn.

4. Engage - Come prepared to learn and participate in all classroom activities. Complete

assignments to the best of your ability. Set goals and work to accomplish them. Be

attentive in your classes and focus on your studies.

Consequences

The goal of every classroom is learning; however, this goal becomes difficult to accomplish in a

classroom with frequent misbehavior. A disruption caused by a single student not only affects

that student’s education, but the learning of the entire class. Misbehavior should be dealt with in

a consistent manner with a commensurate response. By having stated consequences students will

be more likely to follow the rules of the classroom and will learn to be held accountable for their

actions. The following are consequences to student behavior based upon the number of times a

behavior occurs.
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1. First Chance: The first chance happens even before any misbehavior occurs. The teacher

will praise all good behavior in the classroom and use a token economy to encourage

good behavior. When a good behavior is recognized the teacher will drop a token with

the student’s name into a class bag. The teacher will use these tokens to call on students

to do special tasks such as be a leader for activities, take a message to another teacher,

monitoring the class while the teacher is out, or another reinforcing activity to students.

This token economy will create positive consequences for good behavior. When a

misbehavior occurs the first time the student will be taught the correct way to act.

Teachers should look for possible problem behaviors and teach replacement behaviors as

needed. In this way, teachers will build up a positive learning environment and try to

avoid problems before they occur.

2. Second Chance: At the second occurrence of a misbehavior, students will be given a

verbal warning and a second chance. The warning will consist of recognizing the

misconduct and a reminder of classroom expectations. Following this, the teacher will

explain to the student that they will be given a second chance to act appropriately. If

suitable to the situation, the teacher will remind the student that if the behavior should

occur again, harder consequences will follow. This reprimand should occur in private if

possible. The teacher should focus on what the student should have done and encourage

them to change their behavior in the future in order to keep the experience as positive as

possible.

3. Third Chance: If the problem behavior occurs again the response will be a removal of a

token. A student’s token could be removed from the class bag or storage container and

put into a “service” space where students must complete a task for the class to make up
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for the disruption they caused to their classmate’s learning. The teacher will decide on

this service based upon the student’s misbehavior. For example if a student damages

school property they will be required to stay after school to repair the damage and help

clean up the classroom. If a student is talking with their peers during instruction they will

be required to move to another seat for the good of the class. Tokens will be returned to

their previous place after the completion of the task. This way the whole class will not be

punished for the poor behavior of one student.

4. Fourth Chance: If the problem behavior occurs 3 times after the token removal strategy

the student will be referred to their advisor to determine a course of action to resolve the

problem behavior. A behavior contract will be written and sent home to be signed by both

the student and parents.

5. Last Chance: If the problem behavior continues to occur after the behavior contract has

been given, the student will be sent to the principal's office and if necessary a conference

with the parents to discuss the behavior will be called.

Team Encouragement Strategies

1. Care - Teachers will respect students in the way they would like to be shown in the

classroom. Teachers will make their classrooms into a positive learning environment and

ensure students feel respected and cared for even when they are being disciplined.

Students will care for each other’s needs and alert teachers to any issues.

2. Communication - Teachers will communicate high expectations for all students and

clearly communicate instructions for assignments and all due dates. Classroom

expectations and rules will be clearly stated to parents and clear communication will be

kept with parents. Teachers will respond to emails or phone call outside of school hours
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in a timely manner. Students will communicate with teachers when they have questions

or need clarification.

3. Collaboration - Teachers will work together to plan instruction and behavior supports as

needed. Students will collaborate with the teacher in forming class rules at the beginning

of the year and take an active part in creating classroom procedures. Students will work

together with each other to collaborate in learning experiences and contribute to each

other’s learning.

Team Procedures

1. Test Rules:

a. No technology will be allowed on the student’s desk during testing sessions

unless it is used for testing accommodations.

b. Desks must be cleared of all materials except for two pencils. Testing begins only

after all students have a clear desk.

c. Once directions have been given students may begin their tests. Students are

responsible for writing their name on their test and turning in their test at the end

of the session.

d. Cheating will not be tolerated. Any student caught cheating will receive an

immediate zero.

e. Once a student completes a test they will turn it over on their desk and wait until

the class is complete before turning in their assessment.

2. Late Homework:

a. Students may ask for an assignment extension of up to one week with a legitimate

cause.
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b. The teacher will judge what qualifies as a legitimate cause for an extension.

c. Students will not be given an extension after the due date has passed.

d. Homework that is turned in before the end of the extension will not have points

taken off for being late.

e. Any homework turned in late without an extension will have %5 taken off the

grade for every day it is late.

3. Hallways:

a. Teachers will monitor the hallway outside their classrooms between periods.

b. Students will refrain from running in the hallway.

c. Students will speak and act respectfully towards all in the hallway.

d. In between periods, students will go directly to their lockers and then on to their

next location.

e. During class times, students will carry a hall pass signed by their teacher with

them in the hallway.

Parent Conference Format

Parent conferences will be held twice every school year. Parents will be notified at the

start of the school year and immediately upon student return from Christmas break. At this time,

they will be notified about when the parent teacher conferences will take place, and then they

will receive a reminder two weeks in advance. The conferences will occur over a period of three

days, so that there is ample time to speak with each parent in depth and not overload the teacher.

These time slots will be arranged by alphabetical order of the student’s last name. Parents who

need to change dates or need special meeting times can contact the teacher directly and arrange a

time that works better for them.

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When the parent teacher conference takes place, the following elements should be covered:

1. Students positive achievements

2. Student areas for improvement

3. Student relationship with teacher and peers

4. Parent concerns

5. Steps and goals moving forward

These steps can be covered in any order and in whatever way is most comfortable for the parents.

School Community Plan

While teachers and students are the primary body of the school, the school community is more

expansive and is integral to the school climate and well-being. The school community consists

of teachers, students, parents, friends, administrators, and organizations affiliated with the

school. We want to make sure everyone in the community feels like they are a part of the school

life. The school will send out a monthly bulletin to all families as well as any affiliated

organizations. This monthly bulletin will include information about current events in the school,

information on outreach events that will be happening within the community, sports, student

highlights, volunteer opportunities, and any other miscellaneous information that pertains to the

school community at large. These bulletins serve as invitations for everyone in the community

to take part as well as keep them in the loop about things that are happening with the school.

The goal of this bulletin is to make everyone in the school community feel welcomed and like

they matter and are valued as a part of the school.

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Theorist

The aforementioned behavior plan is evidence-based. Research has shown that operant

conditioning, a technique done by theorist B. F. Skinner has had positive effects on behavior

modification. We model our program based off of his work. The token economy is an example

of this as well as behavior specific praise. They are both examples of positive reinforcement and

make it more likely that students will continue to engage in good behavior as they see it is

rewarded. By using B.F. Skinner’s work in our schools, we provide students with healthy

encouragement that we as professionals are confident in. Students will clearly understand what

desired behavior is as well as undesirable behavior and will hopefully respond by engaging in

proper behavior more often.

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References

McLeod, S. (2018). Skinner - Operant conditioning. Retrieved from

https://www.simplypsychology.org/operant-conditioning.html#:~:text=Behavior

%20modification%20is%20a%20set,Skinner%2C%201938%2C

%201953).&text=Examples%20of%20behavior%20modification%20therapy%20include

%20token%20economy%20and%20behavior%20shaping.