CPS Classroom Management Strategies 3 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A teacher implements a 'Check-In/Check-Out' (CICO) system for a student with chronic tardiness and off-task behavior. CICO is primarily categorized under which MTSS tier?
- Tier 1 — Universal supports for all students
- Tier 2 — Targeted supports for at-risk students (Correct answer)
- Tier 3 — Intensive individualized intervention
- Tier 4 — Special education placement
Correct answer: Tier 2 — Targeted supports for at-risk students
CICO is a structured Tier 2 intervention providing daily check-in and progress monitoring for students who need more support than universal strategies provide.
Question 2: During a functional behavior assessment (FBA), the psycho-educational specialist identifies that a student's disruptive behavior occurs most frequently during independent seatwork. The most likely function of this behavior is:
- Sensory stimulation
- Access to tangibles
- Escape from task demands (Correct answer)
- Attention seeking from peers
Correct answer: Escape from task demands
Behavior that occurs during demanding independent tasks most commonly serves an escape or avoidance function, allowing the student to avoid the aversive academic activity.
Question 3: Which de-escalation technique is most appropriate when a student begins to show early signs of emotional dysregulation?
- Immediately remove the student from the classroom
- Reduce demands and provide a brief calm-down option (Correct answer)
- Address the behavior publicly to prevent peer modeling
- Increase structure and supervision immediately
Correct answer: Reduce demands and provide a brief calm-down option
Reducing demands and offering a brief, structured calm-down period during early escalation prevents escalation to a full crisis and preserves instructional time.
Question 4: A classroom behavior intervention plan (BIP) should be developed:
- By the general education teacher alone based on classroom observations
- By the IEP team using FBA data to identify function and replacement behaviors (Correct answer)
- Only when a student has been suspended three or more times
- After all Tier 1 and Tier 2 interventions have failed over an entire school year
Correct answer: By the IEP team using FBA data to identify function and replacement behaviors
A BIP must be grounded in FBA data and collaboratively developed by the IEP team to address the function of behavior and teach appropriate replacement behaviors.
Question 5: Which approach to classroom management is most consistent with Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS)?
- Focusing primarily on consequences for rule violations
- Teaching and reinforcing expected behaviors school-wide (Correct answer)
- Applying exclusionary discipline for repeated minor infractions
- Developing individualized behavior plans for all students
Correct answer: Teaching and reinforcing expected behaviors school-wide
PBIS is a preventive, systems-level framework centered on explicitly teaching and consistently reinforcing expected behaviors across all school settings.
Question 6: A student consistently refuses work during whole-group instruction but completes tasks independently without issue. This pattern suggests the teacher should first explore:
- Referral for a learning disability evaluation
- Antecedent modifications such as pre-teaching or preferred seating (Correct answer)
- Medication evaluation for attention difficulties
- Removal from the general education setting
Correct answer: Antecedent modifications such as pre-teaching or preferred seating
The pattern of completing work independently suggests the skill is present, so antecedent modifications targeting the group instruction context should be explored first.
Question 7: Planned ignoring is most appropriate as a behavior management technique when the behavior:
- Poses a safety risk to the student or peers
- Is maintained by adult attention and is not dangerous (Correct answer)
- Has persisted for more than three weeks despite redirection
- Occurs during high-stakes instructional time
Correct answer: Is maintained by adult attention and is not dangerous
Planned ignoring is effective only for attention-maintained behaviors that are not harmful, as it removes the reinforcer sustaining the behavior.
CPS Classroom Management Strategies 3
A teacher implements a 'Check-In/Check-Out' (CICO) system for a student with chronic tardiness and off-task behavior.
CICO is primarily categorized under which MTSS tier?