About the Intervention
Although the number of children demonstrating unwanted problem behavior in classroom settings continues to rise, the early childhood years are an important time for social-emotional development and problem behavior is alterable with preventive early intervention. BEST in CLASS was designed to ameliorate challenging behavior and to build the positive prosocial behaviors linked to later social outcomes and academic success. Specifically, BEST in CLASS is a Tier 2 intervention designed to address the needs of young children (PK – 3rd grade) who demonstrate persistent and intensive unwanted problem behaviors in classroom settings, which place them at future risk for developing social emotional learning difficulties.
The BEST in CLASS intervention instructs teachers in the use of several evidence-based practices. For BEST in CLASS-PK those practices are Rules, Precorrection, Opportunities to Respond, Behavior Specific Praise, Instructive and Corrective Feedback. For BEST in CLASS-Elementary the practices are Supportive Relationships, Rules, Precorrection, Opportunities to Respond, and Praise; BEST in CLASS-Elementary also includes a module on Home-School Partnerships. BEST in CLASS consists of three components: 1) BEST in CLASS Teacher Workshop, 2) BEST in CLASS Teacher Manual, and 3) Practice-Based Coaching to help teachers learn effective practices for addressing focal children’s challenging behavior. Systematic implementation of the BEST in CLASS practices with identified focal children in classrooms can change the trajectory of their lives by reducing the potential for classroom suspension, decreasing missed instructional time, increasing social engagement and improving relationships with teachers.
Look for a full description of the intervention components below.