Strategies for Effective Behavior Management

My number one belief, backed by educational research and personal experience, is that the majority of behavior problems can be avoided through clear expectations, a structured environment, and effective interventions.

What do I mean by majority? Research shows that

"although these students represent only 1 to 5% of a school enrollment, often they can account for more than 50% of the behavioral incidents handled by office personnel, and consume significant amounts of educator and administrator time" (Taylor-Greene et al., 1997; Sugai, Sprague, Horner, & Walker, in press).

To state it plainly, over 50% of the behavioral problems are caused by less than 5% of the students.

Think back to your own high school days. If you heard about a fight in the cafeteria, couldn't you predict, in five guesses or less, who was involved? Wasn't the detention room basically populated by the same core group of students? The same trend occurs in most camp settings.

As a camp leader, you can systematically put into place the clear expectations, structured environments, and effective interventions which will not only minimize camper behavior issues, but will allow your staff to perform to their fullest potential. In turn, you'll have happier campers (and thus happier parents) and happier staff (and thus more returns).

So how do we put these structures and strategies into place?

When caught in the act and asked, "Why did you do that?" a child will invariably respond, "I don't know." Gut response. Adults will respond in the same way. The truth is, however, that both children and adults are driven by goals. They act in order to meet a need.

So what goals campers are attempting to meet through their inappropriate behavior?

1. Attention (Recognition):
Children are naturally egocentric; they will act out when they feel that they are not being noticed by others. This is why it is so important that counselors know their campers' names immediately, and use them often.


2. Physical Needs
The earliest Salvation Army camps measured their success by the number of pounds each camper gained over their stay at the camp. It's unlikely now that camps need to assess themselves in that way, but are your counselors seeing to the biological needs of their campers? Campers who are overly dehydrated, fatigued, hot, or hungry will behave to meet these needs, and often that behavior is deemed "unacceptable." Allowing campers a drink, a snack, and some rest in the shade before hitting the softball field for an hour will increase the probability that they will participate appropriately.


3. Power (Ownership, Control Over Own Choices)
Anyone who read the novel Animal Farm recalls the frustration the animal felt when the rules on the wall would mysteriously change. Anyone who is denied a choice in how they're led is likely to revolt (just ask Thomas Jefferson). At camp, children need choices over foods, schedules, and activities, even if those choices are limited to two items.


4. Affiliation (Belonging)
A radio broadcast recently reported the increase in gangs along the Jersey shore. What's the draw for youth? Affiliation, a sense of belonging. A great way to increase affiliation at camp is through bunk pride. My own bunk, for example, was called Seven Seas. Each group within the Seven Seas had its own name: Swashbucklers, Marauders, Buccaneers, and Raiders. This theme served to unify the boys, and give them an instant sense of belonging.


5. Avoidance of Discomfort (Physical or Emotional)
Children and adults will do anything to avoid embarrassment, and most will do nearly anything to avoid physical pain. Camp directors need to create an environment that stresses participation, yet prevents campers from physical and emotional harm. Since kids live at see-level (believing what they see rather than hear), counselors can promote healthy risk taking by participating outside of their own comfort zones.


6. Security (Safety)
Humans are naturally born with one fear. Can you name it? It's the fear of falling. All other fears, even fear of the dark, are acquired. Camp should be a place where, regardless of a child's individual phobias, the camper feels secure.


7. Immediate Gratification (often tied to one of the above)
In my own work with inner-city youth, I know that success for them is often measured by who has the best car on the block. Owning a home or earning an education are not as important, since both of those require more planning and sacrifice. Camper's desire for what they want, now, without regard for the consequences to themselves or others, is what gets them into trouble.

How can camp help campers meet these goals in an acceptable way?

For greater insight into the internal and external conditions that affect behavior, have a look at these documents that you can use in your staff training:
External and Internal Conditions Ws

What is the number one way to increase appropriate behaviors while decreasing misbehaviors? Modeling. As mentioned above, children live at see-level, and are more likely to take their cues from what significant adults (teachers, counselors) do than what they say to do. For children, the best intervention, and the best deterrent to any misbehavior, is a good model. Adult role modeling cannot be underestimated.

One phrase often uttered with exasperation by those dealing with discipline problems is "Why can't these kids just act normal?" The word normal is derived from the Latin word norma meaning 'rule or pattern.' The fact is, behavior which is called "normal" by most is behavior which follows predictable, yet unspoken, rules or norms. And where do we expect children to learn these norms? From role models. African American poet James Baldwin once said, "Children have never been very good at listening to their elders, but they have never failed to imitate them." The wise camp director knows that there is incredible power and influence in an exemplary role model.

One day my assistant program director asked, "Why does it always seem that Laura gets the loud, enthusiastic kids and Darlene gets the kids who are just... I don't know... blah?"

I replied, "Watch those two counselors at evening program tonight, and you tell me what you see."

Picture that evening's campfire. Darlene sat morosely as songs were led by her fellow staff members. While others were up dancing and laughing, she was sitting with her hands in her pockets. Laura, conversely, was on the stage for nearly every song. The only time she came down was to grab campers by the hand and encourage them to get up and move and sing. When she returned to her kids, there were hugs, high fives, and whoops of laughter. Darlene, meanwhile, looked as though her dog had been run over. Her campers looked about as enthused, and for whatever reason they seemed to be more troubled by the slight chill and the mosquitoes than any other cabin group. I'm sure that if any of Laura's kids complained of bug bites from that campfire, she would have made a contest out of counting them back in the cabin that night.

Most of us cross our fingers and hope that our next hire is a Laura. But how many of us train our counselors to be a Laura?

Now more than ever, in an age of video games and DVDs, children live at see-level. They quickly absorb and emulate whatever influences are set before them. Camp has the unenviable task of "freeing" children from the snare of hundreds of hours of negative images found in music, movies, and graphic video games. Add to that the negative images found in inner-city campers' own neighborhoods: drug dealers, drive-by shootings, underage prostitutes, teen mothers, abusive parents, corrupt cops, apathetic teachers, and aimless young men who prey on naïve girls.

At camp we have the unique opportunity to show children that there are other choices in life apart from those they daily witness. The most important choice one can make, in fact, is how one will live his or her own life. Since every camp's first line of defense is its staff, it is imperative that staff model the behavior which is expected of their campers. Tell your staff, "We hired you because you are what we want our campers to become. You are not simply role models. You, when you are at your best, are what these children wish to become."

Just as there are goals that children attempt to reach through their behaviors (both appropriate and inappropriate), there are triggers that set children off. In other words, there are things that we do, or often fail to do, that create problems for us. We are often our own worst enemies!

What are some triggers that set children off?
So what are the goals campers are attempting to meet through their inappropriate behavior?

1. Waiting (Delays)
During his investigation of a fight that broke out on the dining hall serving line, a camp director discovered that lunch that day had been delayed because the food service staff had returned late from the local mall. Any deviations in schedule, especially delays, invite campers to create their own (often undesirable) schedule.


2. Shortages
Like delays, shortages deny campers what was promised. And in turn, shortages often create delays. The group of ten year-old boys who don't get their choice of colors for a craft project are less likely to feel ownership of the experience, and they may "check out" of the activity and begin their own form of entertainment (wrecking projects of the previous cabin group).


3. Unclear or Low Expectations
Often unclear expectations are a result of vague leadership. In the novel Lord of the Flies civilized behavior disintegrates quickly when the expected norms of society are no longer in place (dodgeball has been humorously dubbed "the grade-school version of Lord of the Flies"). Ninety percent of the time children will live up to expectations if those expectations are clear and consistently enforced.


4. Lack of Respect
Children have a pretty high opinion of themselves (probably not news to you). So what happens when an adult fails to dignify that child for the person they are? Passive aggression at best, open rebellion at worst. The clip from The Emperor's Club (an excellent tool for staff training) which appears below illustrates the damage that can occur from even a momentary lapse in respect. The teacher wins the battle, but starts the war that he will ultimately lose (sorry to spoil the ending).


5. Environmental Distracters
Bugs, heat, sun in the eyes, cold, and dampness are just a few of the variables which can cause campers to resign from the legion of the loyal. Even the most compliant camper will mutiny against your nature hike if the prevailing conditions prove too onerous. Program sites should provide shady rest areas and drinks if possible, and children should be frequently reminded to apply sunscreen (and insect repellant if needed).


6. Powerlessness
Campers need a sense of ownership. Every program should allow increasing degrees of choice as campers age. Tweens and teens especially should be given as much choice as possible, since they are less likely to complain about activities that they choose for themselves (less likely, but they'll still complain; they are, after all, teenagers).


7. Change
By its biology, the human brain seeks pattern. Change can be difficult (helping a camper to reach that same swim level) or desired (self-choice activities), but realize that in both cases change itself creates the opportunity for problems as campers attempt to transition from one place, time, attitude, modality to another. Staff must ask what can possibly go wrong during these transitional times, and then plan accordingly.

Which are of the above are your primary triggers?

Of all the triggers above, waiting seems to be most prevalent at camps. The good news? It's the easiest issue to remedy. Let's look at waiting in detail.

Both research and common sense substantiate that campers who are engaged in high-interest tasks are less likely to initiate inappropriate behavior. Unfortunately, a good deal of camp time is spent off-task, and it's usually spent waiting: in a line, for equipment, for a specialist to provide instructions or help, for a program to begin, for another cabin group to arrive, for announcements, for flag raising or lowering, for peers to get organized or dressed, and so on. While children need to learn patience, a larger concern for camp directors should be the "down time" which occurs during every waiting period. It is typically during this down time that campers misbehave.

Schools experience the same dilemma with off-task time that gives way to discipline problems. Off-task time which leads to disciplinary problems causes even more time to be lost, as the teacher must interrupt instruction in order to deal with those problems. Some researchers approximate that up to one-half of all classroom time is taken up with activities other than instruction, and discipline problems are responsible for a significant portion of this lost instructional time. Is your camp experiencing that same phenomenon?

Time on task is a direct deterrent to behavioral problems. The following examples show how wait problems might be handled at camp.

Problem: Campers wait for supplies to be given out.
Consider: Organize supplies in such a way that they can be dispersed quickly, or accessed by campers themselves. Rather than waiting for lanyard to be cut from a spool, for example, campers or the craft director should be able to select colors from a bin of precut pieces. Instead of waiting for balls, gloves, bases, and so on to be collected from the shed and dragged to the softball field, these items should be stored in a shed or polyresin locker adjacent to the field (this storage facility would be kept locked at all other times).

Problem: The program specialist (at program/activity area) cannot help all campers at once to practice a certain skill.
Consider: The specialist should instruct attending counselors in a single aspect of the skill, so that these counselors can also assist campers. An Outdoor Living Skills instructor, for example, taught all counselors how to tie four essential knots. Upon their arrival at the site, campers were divided into four groups. These groups then rotated "round robin" style between the four counselors. At each station they learned a single knot before moving on. The OLS instructor circulated among the groups, troubleshooting and assisting where needed. This particular structure received exceptionally high marks from the counselors, who for once felt truly needed at a program area, and also gained a high level of satisfaction through the teaching process. And guess which specialist never had a complaint about lack of staff participation at their area?

Problem: Campers wait on lines.
Consider: Stagger the times that campers are required to be at a given destination. The youngest cabin groups, for example, might report to meals five minutes earlier than the rest. This would give the older campers a few more minutes to prepare before meals (important, since they might be more concerned about grooming than their younger counterparts). Cabin groups might be assigned to canteen based on cabin clean-up points. Those cabins scoring lowest would then know that they had some discretionary time (up to twenty minutes) to conduct a short CDA, play on the playground, or, if needed, reclean their cabin!

Problem: Transitions take too much time.
Consider: Time the group (stop watch) during transition. Make it a contest. Say, "Yesterday it took us twelve minutes to get ready for swimming. Today let's see if we can cut that time down to ten." Or, compete against imaginary times. Say, "Last year when we blew the whistle for buddy check, the campers were able to get out of the water and in line in less than twenty seconds. Can you guys beat that time?"

Interview your staffers from last year. Ask them which areas of camp suffered from a wait problem. Then this summer, charge your leadership with the task of seeking out those areas that are creating unnecessary wait times.

Pattern Identification is looking for disruptions recurring at similar places and tracking them down to their source.

• What triggers inappropriate behavior at this time or in this place?


• How can these triggers be changed, eliminated, delayed, or decreased?


• What changes in staffing, system, environment, or timing must be made?

Improvements can be made once information is gained from many sources including the campers themselves.

Terry Scott Ph.D. provides an easy to recall acronym that can help discern patterns of problems:

• Explain: What is the problem?


• Reason: What is the child getting from it, or what is the child avoiding?


• Appropriate: What do we want to happen instead?


• Support: How can we help? What can be changed?


• Evaluation: How will we know if it's working?
  

A generic framework for diagnosing the problem might look like this:
"At (setting) when
(immediate triggers),
(name) does
(problematic behavior)
in order to get
(goal of problematic behavior)."

A real-life example from camp would look like this:
"At candy store when
it is time to clean up,
Martin
asks to use the bathroom or pushes his trash on the floor
in order to
avoid having to clean up his area."

Note that by having a clear definition of the problem, we've already completed half the work of finding a solution. We know where it happens, when it happens, who specifically is the instigator, what misbehavior is occurring, and the goal the child is attempting to achieve through that behavior.

In dealing with a problem that involves many or most campers (rather than a single camper), we should picture in our minds an image of what our ideal camp "looks like" and "sounds like." Then we must ask ourselves, "What steps are required in order to get there?"

In my BreakAway program which was conducted at the Salvation Army's Star Lake Camp, for example, one of our big concerns was the manner in which campers were entering the dining hall. We observed that if campers entered in a raucous manner, the initial noise level never diminished by meal's end. We conversely observed that if campers entered to the sound of classical music, the overall noise level (music included) was consistently lower throughout the meal. Turning music on after they had entered, however, was ineffectual; since the volume of the music had to compete with the campers' established noise level.

Based upon these observations, and in context of what we felt the dining hall should "look like" and "sound like," we took the following measures:

1. Classes were rescheduled to end just five minutes prior to the noon meal. We found that leaving too much time for clean-up made campers restless and added to the general noise level upon entering the dining hall.


2. Behavioral expectations were explicitly spelled out for campers on day one. Since we felt that "respect" was the key issue in question, and one to which our campers could relate, we created an acronym that campers and staff alike were required to learn by supper on the second day.

How do you show respect in our Dining Hall?

Remove your hat.
Enter the Dining Hall calmly.
Stay in line.
Practice good table manners.
Engage in quiet conversation.
Clean up after yourself.
Thank the people that work here.


3. Teachers remained with campers even after the cabin counselors resumed supervision. The presence of composed teachers set a tone for campers that carried over into the meal. Even at breakfast, leaders were always noticeably present prior to campers' arrival.


4. Classical music was played as campers entered the dining hall. As the weeks progressed we began introducing other musical genres such as Motown. Campers not only enjoyed singing along with such hits as "My Girl" and Aretha Franklin's "Respect," but many commented that the music reminded them of the music their families played at home.

As time went on and we monitored and modified our approaches, we discovered that the campers' perceptions of "table manners" were simply not the same as ours. And so it followed on a rainy day that our counselors convened the BreakAway campers in the dining hall and spent an hour discussing and practicing table manners.

One young man remarked, "Ya'll are on a mission with this stuff!" Exactly! Our clear vision of expectations was conveyed to, and successfully internalized by, every camper in the program.

How can this "looks like, sounds like" idea by broadened to your vision for the whole camp? The Education Commission of the States, in encouraging educational leaders to form visions for their schools, suggests asking these questions:

• What does your ideal school (camp) look like?


• What does it sound like?


• What does it value?


• What kinds of learners does it produce? (If your camp is not about learners, then that in itself might be a mission issue).


• What can students (campers) do?


• What knowledge, skills, understandings, and attitudes do they have? (and what new knowledge, skills, understandings, and attitudes do we want them to have by session's end?)


• How does the system (total camp program) function to produce these kinds of learners?


• Who is involved and what are their roles?

Adapt these questions to your own situation, and you will have taken an initial giant step in forming a vision which will, in turn, inform the choices that you and your staff will make.

(Time Machine is an exercise which I've used with great success in training summer camp staffs. Even though I describe it below in terms of that user group, the method can be used with any group of individuals which works with children).

The Time Machine exercise presents camp staff with a difficult situation, and allows them to go back in time to change variables which permitted the problem to occur. What actions, words, or attitudes might have kept this crisis from happening? (This Time Machine portion of the exercise is designed to help staff think two steps ahead in planning their words and actions. Staffers need to realize that camp doesn't just "happen." Instead, proper planning and preparation will increase the probability that things will go as planned).

The Reality Check portion of the exercise places the problem back in the staff member's lap and asks, "But now that this problem has occurred, what will you do about it?" (This portion is where counselors can really engage in constructive conversations, creating multiple solutions for problems which, while not earth-shattering, could still escalate into larger issues if not dealt with properly. As staffers share their ideas in groups, leaders can begin to get an idea of strengths, weaknesses, and misconceptions in this area of Orientation, and tweak future training accordingly. Leaders can also debrief and share solutions which would most clearly align with their camp's philosophy).

I've uploaded some sample Time Machine exercises to Scribd.com. As part of your Leadership Team training, use the Blank to have experienced staffers share problems they've witnessed in the past; these can then be used for further training with counselors and program staff.

Exercise C
Exercise B
Exercise A
Blank

These bonus strategies are adapted from Charles Appelstein's terrific book No Such Thing As a Bad Kid!: Understanding and Responding to the Challenging Behavior of Troubled Children and Youth.

While I disagree with the title, I fully agree with every strategy he offers up! I've used many in my classroom, my clubs, and my summer camp job, and they work! Even better, they can be taught! Your staff can actually practice the techniques for use with their campers. No more abstract "ideas" about how to manage behavior when you're given the exact words and body language! Appelstein covers all bases: what to do to prevent problems, what to do if problems occur, what to do to lessen their impact, and what to do to keep them from happening again.

If you want to purchase a single title which will be used to create a "common language" for dealing with behavioral issues, this is the book.

His simple, yet effective, strategies can be see in the following three strategies for advanced or repeated problem behavior.

Intervention Number 12: Making a Plan

When a child is having a problem (or if they're causing it),

1. Ask, "What can we do to keep this from happening in the future?"


2. State, "Before you return to (the playground, the activity, the group), I want you to make a plan for how you can solve this problem yourself."


3. The child cannot return to the activity or group until he has written, drawn, or dictated a plan.


4. Let the child "work his plan." Since it is his plan, and not a consequence or punishment, the child will invariably work harder to make it successful.


5. Poor results? The child develops new plan.

Intervention Number 13: One Pencil, One Pad

When two children have differing versions of a story, or are anxious to tell "their side of it,"

1. Give them one pencil and one pad of paper.


2. Ask them to write one story about what happened.

Often, they will begin to see that the story isn't so important that it needs retelling, OR that they simply did not see the other person's point of view.

More often, these former friends will discover that the creation of the story helps them forget the trivial problem that brought them to this point in the first place.

Intervention Number 14: The Millimeter Acknowledgement

Children are often reluctant to accept any responsibility for poor choices or inappropriate actions. The Millimeter Acknowledgement allows them to admit just a fraction of responsibility. It breaks through a very tough defensive stance, one which the child has chosen in order to decrease his or her vulnerability.

1. Use your thumb and index finger to model the most minute measure as you ask a child: Do you think it's remotely possible that you shoved Jarrod as you were getting in line? Do you think there's this much of a chance that you heard your counselor, but went ahead of the group instead? Could you be even a tiny bit nervous about sleeping out tonight? Everybody is a little nervous their first time.


2. Once a child accepts this miniscule degree of responsibility for their actions or attitude, a plan can be made to correct situations or discuss problems.

As a reminder, Strategies 1-11 appear in the TriState handout found here:
Divide and Conquer Outline

I'm always asked if I can send the template for the Labeling Exercise. That's below; you can run it on 30-per sheet labels, size 1" x 2 and 5/8" (Avery #5160 or Staples White Address Labels). Email me if you need the debriefing questions. Ah, what the heck... I printed them below the link. Why create a problem when you don't need to?
Labels for Labeling

Labeling Exercise Debriefing Questions
On what did you base your judgments?
Can you think of a recent situation where you mentally labeled someone, or felt labeled?
What label did you want to wear?
Did you find yourself trying to fit a label, or did you act naturally?
Did your behavior change as you were being labeled?
What does this exercise say about behavior we might elicit from others by our expectations?
Were you influenced by the labels already on someone, or did you make your own choices?

What labels do kids wear when they come to camp?
Where have they "earned" these labels?
Which are self-imposed, and which have they collected from school, family, or their community?
How does labeling a camper prevent us from being successful in working with that child?
What are some new labels we can encourage campers to wear?
What role do we as staff members play in helping campers see themselves in a new way?

I also promised a Scenario Exercise. This one presents eight or so situations, and asks what goal is causing (or will very soon cause) misbehavior. It also asks staff to identify at least two solutions. Great discussion starter.
Camp Scenarios