Geoff Colvin on teaching appropriate behavior to students

What? Do you mean, there's a DI approach for social behavior?

Over on Education Rickshaw Readers of Special Education Today (and other people, too!) can find an interview with Geoff Colvin about “How do Direct Instruction and Behavior Work Hand-in-Hand? with Geoff Colvin.” In the podcast, Zach Groshell interviews Geoff Colvin about managing behavior in schools. Here’s the tease for the interview:

Hello everyone and welcome back to the Direct Instruction podcast. My name is Dr. Zach Groshell, and today I am excited to be bringing you an interview with another DI legend, Geoff Colvin. Geoff will take us through the functions of student behavior, and the intersection of a well-managed classroom and a well-designed lesson.

Geoff Colvin. Captured from video. Image © 2018 by NIFDI, all rights reserved.

For those who are not acquainted with Geoff (which is understandable, as he consistently ducks the spotlight), he is from Australia and worked extensively with Zig Engelmann and other DI folks. Along with colleagues such as George Sugai, Ed Kame’enui, and Terry Scott,¹ Colvin reported some of the basic studies on which PBIS is based and provided detailed guides about implementing effective social-behavioral programs (see references)

In the interview linked here, Geoff explained the general ideas about sensible approaches to fostering appropriate behavior in schools. The big idea is, “We have to teach behavior.”

This is one of about 10 podcasts Mr. Groshell has produced for NIFDI. I’ve reported some of them previously here on SET, but you can see a list of them on the NIFDI site or use Mr. Groshell’s WordPress site to locate them.

For the curious among you, Dear Readers, there are earlier posts on SET. For example, see the post of 2 February 2024 about Ollie Lovell’s recommendations or see a catalog published 10 October 2021 for an old guide.

References

Colvin, G. (2010). Defusing disruptive behavior in the classroom. Corwin Press.

Colvin, G., Kameenui, E. J., & Sugai, G. (1993). Reconceptualizing behavior management and school-wide discipline in general education. Education and Treatment of Children, 16(4), 361-381. https://eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ483424

Colvin, G., & Scott, T. M. (2014). Managing the cycle of acting-out behavior in the classroom. Corwin Press.

Colvin, G., & Sugai, G. (1988). Proactive strategies for managing social behavior problems: An instructional approach. Education and Treatment of Children, 11(4), 341-348. https://eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ403957

Colvin, G., & Sugai, G. (2017). Seven steps for developing a proactive schoolwide discipline plan: A guide for principals and leadership teams. Corwin Press.

Colvin, G., Sugai, G., & Patching, B. (1993). Precorrection: An instructional approach for managing predictable problem behaviors. Intervention in School and Clinic, 28(3), 143-150. https://eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ459483

Footnote

1. Some of these folks actually read SET, so any comments you make or questions you ask may elicit a response from one of them…no promises, though.