It is almost back to school time and so that means it is time for some resources!
One of the behaviors teachers tell me they see that impacts the classroom is students blurting out and talking without raising their hands. I have created a fading plan for blurting infographic to help you think about how to fade this behavior. Blurting is typically seen in students that have problems with the executive function skill or response inhibition.
An important thing to remember when talking about students blurting out in class is that there is appropriate and inappropriate blurting. When this behavior is appropriate we don’t think of it as blurting. This is because the behavior is typically on topic, adds to the conversation, is done at a time when there is a natural communication break, and is not disruptive to the flow of what is happening. When we really think of talking out of turn as “blurting” is when it is off topic, does not add to the conversation, occurs at an awkward time in the conversation, is disruptive in nature. I have observed in many classes and have been the one to take data on the “blurting” behavior of a specific student, only to notice that many students do this same behavior but they do it appropriately. This can be very confusing to the student that is being identified as “blurting” because they don’t understand why another student can talk without raising their hand and not get in trouble. To be honest, they are right. However, socially, our society allows for on topic comments, so this needs to be taught to the student that is not picking up on it naturally.
Click picture below to download infographic:
This plan has 7 steps:
- Data collected to determine baseline of blurting.
- This is important so you know really how often this behavior is happening, when it is happening, and allows you to set realistic expectations for a goal.
- Teacher talks to student to create plan
- The teacher needs to talk with the student doing the blurting and explain what the behavior is, and how they are going to work together to make a plan so that the student understands what they are supposed to do. Then come up with the plan together. Your plan may look a little different than what is listed below. Use these next steps as you consider what will work for your student.
- Talk about what is blurting and appropriate vs inappropriate
- Explain what the specific behavior looks like that you don’t want the student to do (inappropriate) vs when it is ok for someone to talk without raising their hand. This helps the student that is not picking up on the skill learn what they are and are not to do.
- Teacher and student create signal when student blurts out so that the student knows this is what I am supposed to work on controlling
- To make sure the student is able to identify “this is blurting” come up with a signal between the teacher and student that the teacher will do to identify the inappropriate behavior. This could be tapping the student’s desk, holding up a hand, or putting a tally on a piece of paper on the student’s desk. Whatever the signal, it should be something the student understands is not a punishment, should be private, and easy to identify by the student.
- Student uses post-it note to keep data
- Once the behavior is clear to the student through the signal from the teacher, have the student start self identifying the blurting. Put a post-it note or piece of paper on the student’s desk and have them take the data on when they recognize they blurted out. This may need to be done in conjunction with the signal initially. The student and the teacher then meet periodically to talk about how the student is doing with self-identifying the blurting.
- Student writes down “topic” they want to talk about on post-it note to share later with teacher
- One of the things I have had students tell me is that they blurt because they thought of something they wanted to say and didn’t want to forget it. To help with this, have the student use another post-it note or this step may be done after the student has successfully learned to self-identify blurting and no longer needs to keep a tally on their own. On this post-it note, have the student write something to help them remember a topic, question, etc. that they would have previously blurted out. Then they can share this with the teacher later, or may even decided that the item is no longer important and they did not need to share it aloud.
- Celebrate goal being met
- Set targets with the student. Use the baseline data you took to set a realistic goal for blurting. Let’s be honest, we all blurt at times so make sure your goal is reasonable for the age and developmental level of the student. Once those targets are hit, celebrate.
Realize this is an example/suggestion for a fading plan. You will likely have to tweak it to work for your particular student. Another suggestion is to make this a class focus. Introduce appropriate and inappropriate blurting to everyone and talk about what are the differences. Also, keep in mind that different age levels and cognitive abilities will impact what this looks like.
Buckingham Educational Services & Training, LLC 