Are you looking for strategies to teach students to behave appropriately in a small group setting? If so, keep reading.
1. Do not force the learner to take part in group situations.
2. Select a peer, paraprofessional, friend, etc., to sit/work directly with the learner (e.g., in various settings such as art, music, or P.E. or various learning activities such as tutoring, group projects, running errands in the school building, recess, etc.).
3. Ask the learner questions that cannot be answered yes or no.
4. Ask the learner a question when they are most likely to be able to respond successfully (e.g., something in which the learner is interested, when the teacher is sure the learner knows the answer, etc.).
5. Try several groups to ascertain the situation in which the learner is most successful.
6. Get peers to invite the learner to take part in school or extracurricular learning activities.
7. Ask the learner to be the leader of a cooperative learning experience if they possess mastery or an interest in the learning experience.
8. Let the learner be present during group learning activities without requiring active participation.
9. Get the learner to work with one or two other group members. As the learner becomes more comfortable, slowly increase the size of the group.
10. Show respect for the learner’s opinions, responses, suggestions, etc.
11. Provide the learner the chance to pick a topic or learning experience for the group to work on together.
12. Go over group rules and expectations at the beginning of each cooperative learning experience.
13. Provide the learner the chance to select a cooperative learning experience and the group members (e.g., along with the teacher, decide what the learning experience will be and decide what individual group members will do, etc.).
14. Designate the learner a role to perform in the cooperative learning experience that they can perform successfully (e.g., secretary, researcher, group behavior monitor, etc.).
15. Consider using a classroom management app. Click here to view a list of apps that we recommend.
16. Consider using an adaptive behavior management app. Click here to view a list of apps that we recommend.
17. Consider using Alexa to help the student learn to behave appropriately. Click here to read an article that we wrote on the subject.
18. Click here to learn about six bonus strategies for challenging problem behaviors and mastering classroom management.
