Portland Community College | Portland, Oregon

ED 252 may be applied toward the Educator AAS Degree and the Paraprofessional Educator Certificate,  and Elementary Education Transfer courses. In addition, this course may be accepted by the Teachers Standards and Practices Commission toward teacher re-licensing (Be sure to get prior authorization from TSPC).

Upon successful completion of the course, student should be able to:

1. Apply evidence-based, school-wide and classroom-wide routines, procedures, and practices (e.g., class meetings, brain breaks) that encourage co-regulation and optimize instructional time. 
2. Implement data collection tools, such as Antecedent-Behavior-Consequence (ABC) records, to identify and unpack the communicative purpose of children’s patterns of behavior.
3. Create and evaluate function-based Behavior Intervention Plans (BIPs) that include co-regulation strategies for students with intensive behavioral needs, in alignment with legal and ethical mandates.

This course aspires to:

• Commit to shifting professional practice from a compliance-focused model to a coregulation-focused approach that prioritizes relationships and social-emotional development.
• Recognize and actively address how personal perspectives, implicit bias, and historical practices affect classroom interactions and lead to disproportionate discipline practices (e.g., suspensions and expulsions).
• Adopt a whole-child and strengths-based approach to guidance, viewing all student behavior as communication rather than willful disobedience.
• Utilize self-reflection as a continuous, critical component of classroom management, ensuring that practice aligns with a developmentally appropriate and equitable philosophy.

The course will utilize a variety of active and reflective learning experiences, including:

• Case Study Analysis: Analyze authentic classroom vignettes and scenarios to practice applying theoretical concepts and selecting appropriate tiered interventions.
• Interactive Skills Practice: Participate in role-playing exercises to practice implementing low-profile strategies and coregulation techniques with a focus on word choice and nonverbal communication.

• Critical Reflection Journaling: Maintain a series of personal reflections on teacher perspectives, well-being, implicit bias, and the alignment of personal practice with course philosophies.

• Schoolwide Expectations Plan: Develop a blueprint and rationale for a positive, culturally responsive school environment .
• Data Collection Simulations: Practice collecting, graphing, and interpreting behavioral data (e.g., ABC records) to inform function-based hypotheses.
• Critical Reflection Journaling: Maintain a series of personal reflections on teacher perspectives, well-being, implicit bias, and the alignment of personal practice with course philosophies.

Student progress will be evaluated by the following:

• Exams and Quizzes: Assessments covering foundational knowledge, including theoretical frameworks, the evolution of classroom communities, and the components of a Multi-Tiered System of Supports (MTSS).
• School Wide Expectations plan: Submission of a comprehensive plan for a positive, preventative school-wide plan, including key routines and expectations.
• Behavioral Data Analysis Report: A written report detailing the collection and analysis of behavioral data from a student case, leading to a function-based hypothesis.

• Individualized Behavior Support Plan (BIP) Project: The culminating project requiring the design of a complete, function-based BIP,, including preventative, teaching, and responsive strategies.

• Philosophy and Practice Reflection Paper: A final paper reflecting on the student's personal philosophy of guidance and how it has been informed and challenged by the course content, specifically addressing cultural responsiveness and equity.

Foundational Themes: 

• The Community Model for school-wide expectations (PBIS)and its role as a guiding framework.
• The paradigm shift From Compliance to Co-Regulation
• Culturally Responsive and Trauma-Informed practices
• The Whole-Child Approach and its link to social-emotional learning (SEL)

Concepts & Issues

• The historical evolution of school communities and its impact on power structures
• Core psychological frameworks (e.g., Attachment Theory, Psychosocial Development, Vygotsky's socio-cultural theory)
• Teacher well-being, implicit bias, and mental models of culture and behavior
• Trauma, Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs), and the Window of Tolerance

Skills: Tier 1 (Universal)

• Establishing nurturing relationships and a sense of belonging 
• Designing supportive physical environments and utilizing microclimates 
• Implementation of essential schoolwide routines

Skills: Tier 2 (Targeted)

• Identifying and unpacking patterns of behavior (e.g., the iceberg analogy)
• Strategies for Coregulation and providing signals of safety
• Low-profile strategies for re-engaging students (e.g., proximity, nonverbal cues, concise directives)

Skills: Tier 3 (Intensive)

• Data collection methods (e.g., ABC records, scatterplots) and progress monitoring
• The Functional Behavioral Assessment (FBA) process and developing function-based hypotheses
• Developing and implementing Behavior Intervention Plans (BIPs) and the use of Data-Based Individualization (DBI)
• Special Education processes and supports for students with intensive behavioral needs (IDEA)