Managing the Cycle of Acting-Out Behavior in the Classroom

by Geoff Colvin, Terrance (Terry) M Scott

This book presents a model for describing acting-out behavior in terms of seven phases. The information will enable educators and service providers to place the student in the acting-out sequence. Well-tested, effective and practical strategies are described in detail for managing student behavior during each phase of the cycle.

Genres: Education, Professional Development

181 pages, Hardcover

First published April 1, 2004

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.

Geoff Colvin, PhD is a teacher, school administrator, and research associate at the University of Oregon.
He is an authority on emotionally disturbed youth.

Reviews

[Mark Schlatter · Rating 4 out of 5]

The most useful part of this for me was the concept of the acting out cycle (calm to trigger to agitation to acceleration to peak to de-escalation to recovery). Colvin, especially in the acceleration and de-escalation sections, does a great job of describing student behavior and teacher options. There are a lot of checklists and forms to help teachers and administrators out, and I found these somewhat generic. I adapted one for my use, and I'm guessing most teachers would do the same. If you are looking for a resource that emphasizes de-escalation in student/teacher interactions, I think this is a good place to start.

[Sheri · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book to provide strategies for challenging behavior with students. It also helps educators to understand the why - which is a critical step in moving forward with change.

[Amanda · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5

[Eric · Rating 3 out of 5]

Super boring. This would be helpful for a first-year teacher, though. Yet another textbook that I had to buy, but can't wait to sell.

[giselayvonne · Rating 5 out of 5]

I wish I had read this book before I was completely burned out on teaching. That said, if you are an early career teacher, definitely read this book. Definitely. Really helps to delineate what the day should look like, even for secondary teachers like me. I'm too over it to continue though and am already moving into other careers not in education.