New master’s program aims to
reduce classroom distractions
I
STORY AND PHOTOS BY AMANDA NELSON
nstructional time is precious and can easily get eaten
away. Paper airplanes take flight, students hit one another,
outbursts occur and conversations distract.
Often, distractions are a result of
kids being kids. However, students with
disabilities may engage in frequent and
severe disruptions which are beyond the
general educator’s training. Classroom
management and decreasing disruptive
behaviors can be a big struggle for
teachers.
A new Applied Behavior Analysis
master’s program is reaching out to help
in these situations. Just in its first year,
donations to the program through UK’s
Women and Philanthropy network have
made it possible for graduate students to
serve high-need schools where children
and youth exhibit challenging behaviors.
The graduate students are providing
behavioral assessment and intervention
support to teachers, parents and other
adults working with children who struggle
with academic and social functioning.
Dr. Allan Allday, who founded the program
at the UK College of Education, said
these children may have an emotional
or behavioral disorder, autism spectrum
disorder, or intellectual disability. Others
may not have a diagnosis, but be stuck in
a pattern of inappropriate behavior that
may be remedied.
In its first year, the program has served
19 schools, including some in eastern
Kentucky, where such services are scarce.
“At one high-need school, our students
worked with a general education teacher
who was having difficulty finishing lessons
because she was spending so much time
managing problem behaviors,” Allday said.
“We developed an intervention plan
for this teacher and, within two weeks,
she was getting to finish lessons because
the problem behaviors had decreased so
much. Within six weeks, the students were
earning extra recess. The class went from
students missing out on instructional time
to now having enough time to be on the
playground more frequently.”
Not all graduates of the program will go
on to work in schools – some will find jobs
in private practice, where they will meet
clients in clinics and home settings and do
contracted work within schools. However,
much of the UK program is school-based
because schools offer an ideal training
ground for applied behavior analysis
students.
“A school environment is more dynamic
than working one-on-one with a client,”
Allday said. “Plus, it allows us to make an
impact in the state by providing a service
some districts may otherwise not be able
to afford.”
Allday
Ault
Lane
Currently, the intensive year-and-a-half
program consists of 37 hours with courses
taught by faculty members Allday, Melinda
Ault, Justin Lane and Amy Spriggs. In
addition to the course work, each student
will have spent 1,000 hours working in
schools and related settings, at no cost to
the clients.
Each student is supervised by faculty
members Allday, Lane and Sally Shepley
at no cost to students. Private supervision
normally costs $100 to $125 per hour.
“When we are asked to visit a classroom,
it’s usually at a time when the teachers
and administrators are at a loss,” Danielle
Crawford, a student in the program, said.
“They’ve tried multiple approaches to no
avail, or they’ve reached a point where
they need to teach a skill or address a
behavior that they don’t feel they have the
knowledge or training to do. We can help,
and that provides a sense of relief.”
Shepley
Spriggs
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