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T eaching Self-Regulation Skills t o Students

T e a c h i n g S e l f - R e g u l a t i o n S k i l l s t o S t u d e n t s W i t h B e h a v i o r P r o b l e m s :

E s s e n t i a l I n s t r u c t i o n a l C o m p o n e n t s

Stephen W. Sm ith, U niversity of Florida, Gainesville M ichelle M . C um m ing, U niversity of Florida, G ainesville Kristen L, M errill, U niversity of Florida, G ainesville D onna L. P itts, U niversity of Florida, Gainesville A nn P. D aunic, U niversity of Florida, Gainesville

Z ach is a sixth-grade student receiving special education services for an emotional and

behavioral disorder (EBD). Like many students who exhibit significant behavioral problems, Zach has challenges that affect his school performance, including difficulty controlling his emotions. For instance, when asked to do independent work, he sometimes becomes frustrated and angry, throws objects, calls the teacher inappropriate names, and refuses to complete activities. Zach also has trouble working toward goals, evidenced by his difficulty with remembering tasks, following step-by-step directions, and completing assignments. Zach does, however, excel at science and enjoys playing basketball with his friends in the neighborhood. The middle school coach, who knows Zach from city league play, has told him he has a real chance of making the team as a seventh grader. Zach talks often about how good he will be when he makes the team, but his teachers remind him that to be a team member, he has to have good grades and stay out of troubL. Zach is unable to visualize what it will take to make this happen and struggles with formulating and following through with plans, resulting in chronic frustration. In addition, Zach's trouble with social interactions causes frequent conflicts with peers, which is a problem if he wants to be on the basketball team. Rather than using strategies for solving problems or thinking through the consequences of his actions, Zach reacts automatically with aggressive and sometimes even violent acts.

Lately, Zach's teacher, Ms. Allen, has noticed that his social and behavioral issues are increasing, especially when

zvorking with peers or doing academic work. One day, Ms. Allen notices that Zach is not working on his assignment. She reminds him how important it is to keep his grades up to try out for the basketball team. Zach refuses to continue working and crumples his paper. To prevent a behavioral outburst, Ms. Allen assigns him to work with a peer, but conflict soon ensues, with name-calling and yelling. Ms. Allen realizes that Zach's outbursts are worsening, and previous supports and strategies do not seem to be improving his behavior.

Unfortunately, Zach's inability to manage his own behavior is an all too common occurrence in middle school classrooms with adolescents who exhibit EBD. As illustrated in the example, students with EBD can disrupt the learning environment and have difficulty establishing appropriate social relationships with peers and adults (Kauffman & Landrum, 2009). A key component of their maladaptive behavior is an inability to self-regulate (Blair & Diamond, 2008). Recently, researchers such as Rueda, Posner, and Rothbart (2005) have argued that self-regulation (SR), a person's intentional or effortful control over thoughts, feelings, and behaviors, is critical for academic, social, and behavioral achievement. For students with a behavioral profile like Zach's, teachers need to teach self- regulatory skills explicitly. Researchers have shown that doing so can result in improved student outcomes in both academics and behavior (e.g., Conduct Problems Prevention Research Group [CPPRG], 2010).

An individual's ability to use SR skills effectively or engage in effortful control (e.g., delay gratification, control impulses, moderate expression of negative emotions) relies on internal mechanisms, or cognitive processes, referred to as executive functioning (Miyake & Friedman, 2012; Rueda et al., 2005). Although executive functions (EF) are complex interrelated neurocognitive processes, they can be described best as an air traffic control mechanism in the brain that helps people produce goal- oriented action (e.g., Center on the Developing Child at Elarvard University, 2011). Miyake and Friedman (2012) theorized that when students engage in SR, they are drawing on this set of cognitive processes, which allows them to control their impulses, remember and use information, and change their way of thinking. An ever-increasing research base demonstrates how EF are at the core of self-regulatory abilities and are essential for social, emotional, and academic success (e.g., Blair & Diamond, 2008). In fact, Blair (2002) argued that EF is a better predictor of school readiness and success than students' prior academic knowledge or IQ when entering school.

Fortunately for students like Zach, adolescence is a pivotal developmental period for EF. Although EF begins to develop early in childhood and continues into adulthood, Zelazo, Carlson, and Kesek (2008) believe that adolescence is a peak time for cognitive growth. As such, it is a prime time for teachers to

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provide substantive and explicit instruction to students about how to enlist their EF and thereby strengthen their SR skills in the classroom.

Because adolescence is such an influential time to provide SR instruction in the classroom, we describe three domains of instruction —goal setting, emotion regulation, and social problem solving—that are central for developing effective self- regulatory processes for adolescents. For each of these domains, we will define the instructional area and describe how students might display SR deficits, using Zach as an example. We will then provide instructional strategies that can be implemented in the school environment and outline how school personnel could use these strategies to foster SR and address Zach's needs. Lastly, we will review existing SR curricula and highlight a program currently being developed for students with EBD.

SR in the Classroom

School personnel can target the instructional domains of goal setting, emotion regulation, and social problem solving to improve SR when teaching students with significant behavioral problems. Researchers have found that as students learn to control their thoughts, emotions, and behaviors, they can set goals, modulate emotions, and solve social problems more effectively (cf. Daunic et al., 2012; Davis & Levine, 2013; Lochman & Wells, 2004). Each of these skills is essential for school success and achievement over the life span.

Goal Setting Goal setting is the process of

identifying a goal and purposefully directing behavior to achieve it (Locke & Latham, 2002). According to Karoly (1993), individuals must connect their behavior to a personal goal(s) for effective modulation. Recognizing the difference between the current situation and an intended goal can help individuals better align their

T eaching Self-Regulation Skills t o Students

thoughts, emotions, and behaviors with their goal and guide their actions toward achieving it (Carver & Scheier, 2011). According to Gollwitzer and Sheeran (2006), successful goal setting includes the following:

1. identifying goals based on personal values and establishing commitment,

2. developing and initiating plans for how to reach the goal(s),

3. identifying and using resources and strategies to overcome barriers that might get in the way of reaching the goal(s), and

4. developing, monitoring, and evaluating plans used to reach goals.

In addition to these four components, if-then plans can help students reach their goal(s) (Gollwitzer & Oettingen, 2011). If- then plans specify what an individual will do to maintain goal- directed behavior if a particular situation arises. Establishing if-then plans helps students begin the goal­ setting process, stay on track, and avoid temptations or competing goals. For example, if a student's goal were to maintain friendships, an if-then plan would be, "If a friend makes me angry, then I will take deep breaths, walk away, and talk to him when I calm down." When individuals use goal-setting skills effectively, they are better able to self-regulate and manage their emotions and behavior.

The behavior of students with EBD often indicates that they do not understand the need to set goals and commit to them, identify the resources necessary for attaining them, and identify barriers along the way that may make it difficult to achieve them. For example, without a clearly defined goal and plan to achieve it, Zach has no specific direction or reason to alter the classroom behavior that was undermining his chances to play for his school. Thus, targeting goal setting to strengthen Zach's SR could

help improve his behavior and increase the likelihood of more positive outcomes both inside and outside of school.

Similar to Zach, students who have little understanding of goal setting may display inappropriate behaviors because of an inability to align their behaviors to goals that are personally important to them. Each student will have a unique set of problem behaviors and goal-setting abilities that require individualized instruction. For instance, students might struggle with being able to identify their goals and the values that are important to them, whereas other students might be able to identify their goal but, without a clear plan, may be unable to keep that goal in mind and achieve it. Other students may be able to identify a goal and make a plan to reach it but struggle with enacting the plan, or they might lack the knowledge and skills to monitor successfully how the plan is going and adjust as necessary when barriers arise. Essentially, when students struggle with any aspect of the goal setting process, it can hinder their SR and the resulting ability to act appropriately in the classroom.

As shown in Table 1, there are research-based instructional strategies and activities specific to goal setting that school professionals can use to teach goal setting effectively in upper elementary and middle school settings (see e.g., Dawson & Guare, 2004; Kulman, 2012).

Emotion Regulation Emotion regulation is the ability

to manage an emotional state by monitoring, evaluating, and modifying emotional reactions in ways that are constructive and adaptive (Thompson, 1994; Zeman, Cassano, Perry-Parrish, & Stegall, 2006). According to Gross and Thompson (2007), the emotion process typically occurs in a four-step sequence:

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Teaching Self-Regulation Skills to Students

Table 1 Goal- S etting S trategies and A ctivities for U pper E lementary/M iddle S chool S tudents

I n s t r u c t i o n a l O b j e c t i v e s

Identify value-based goals • Students identify from a list of values those they find important

(e.g., family, success, education, honesty, kindness, friendship). • Students link their values to goals. • Students prioritize their goals. • Students identify whether they are committed to reaching their

goals. Identify resources and barriers

• Students imagine and brainstorm possible resources and barriers.

Create plans for goal attainment • Students imagine what goal attainment looks like. • Students visualize the steps to reach a goal. • Students outline their plans using manageable steps. • Students create if-then plans. • School professional models planning.

Monitor progress • Students monitor their progress through graphic organizers

(e.g., planners, agendas, timelines). • Teacher coaches/monitors the student's progress through a

daily check-in time. Generalization

• Teacher creates a culture for goal setting by having students set daily or weekly classroom goals.

• School professionals work together to ensure that students are working toward goal attainment in all school settings.

S u g g e s t e d A c t iv it ie s

• Students make bracelets or stickers to remind them of their goal and to stay on track.

• Students are paired with a goal commitment buddy to help them stay on track.

• Teacher reads examples of possible resources/barriers and has students identify and discuss each.

• Students use graphic organizers, planners, agendas, and timelines to outline their plans.

• Students create comic strips for goal-setting steps or if-then plans.

• Students role-play their if-then plans and discuss.

• Teacher creates a classroom poster to track students' progress toward completing goals.

• Teacher creates a bulletin board to celebrate goal-monitoring success.

• Students use their progress-monitoring sheets throughout the day and in all classes to ensure goal attainment.

1. a situation occurs that triggers an emotional response,

2. attention is directed toward the situation,

3. the situation is evaluated and interpreted, and

4. an emotional response is produced.

As part of the process, students like Zach, who obviously need to regulate their emotions, must be able to identify and label emotions accurately, judge the emotion intensity, and identify the casual triggers. Thus, being aware of emotional states can enable students to be more effective in their implementation of emotion regulation strategies. According to Gross (1998), individuals can learn to modulate prepotent (e.g., predominant and powerful) responses such as aggression by

1. selecting or modifying the situation (e.g., changing a route to school because of bullies),

2. changing their focus or attention (e.g., thinking about a silly situation to reduce anger),

3. altering their thinking (e.g., when not doing well on an assignment, thinking positively about how to do better on future assignments), and

4. modulating their responses (e.g., using relaxation techniques to calm down during an argument to control negative actions; using mindfulness to be in the moment and nonjudgmental).

When students w ith emotion regulation difficulties have access to a variety of strategies, they are better able to manage their emotions and experience more positive outcomes.

Students who have internalizing an d /o r externalizing behavior problems (e.g., depression, anxiety, aggression, impulsivity) typically have emotion regulation deficits (Eisenberg et al., 2001). Behavioral outcomes are often unfavorable when students lack (a) an awareness of their own emotional state, (b) an understanding of how their emotions can affect their actions, and (c) the means to control their emotions. For instance, Zach often responds with name-calling and yelling during potentially provocative situations (e.g., when working with peers) and clearly struggles with emotion regulation. If he were able to identify his emotions (including their intensity and triggers) and had access to one or more of the four strategies suggested by Gross (1998) to modulate them, the outcome might be more positive. Thus, receiving instruction in emotion

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regulation is crucial in helping Zach gain greater control over his emotions and behavior.

Zeman et al. (2006) believe that students who have difficulty modulating strong m aladaptive responses to emotionally provocative situations have a limited repertoire of control strategies and thus tend to react automatically, w ithout thinking. Some students may have trouble identifying and labeling an experienced emotion, whereas others might be unable to identify the circumstances that trigger a particular emotional response. Both of these skill deficits can inhibit their ability to choose the most effective emotion regulation strategies. Other students may not know any emotion regulation strategies or have the skills to implement them in different circumstances. For instance, students might be unable to modify a situation that triggers an emotional response or shift their attention or w ay of thinking to diffuse the intensity of their emotion. Lastly, students may not know how to alter their behavioral responses to their emotions. Essentially, when students struggle w ith any part of the emotion regulation process, it can impede their SR and adversely affect their behavior. Table 2 shows instructional strategies and activities to foster student emotion regulation abilities.

Social Problem Solving Social problem solving is a

multistep cognitive-behavioral process prompted when an individual encounters an interpersonal problem (Nezu, 2004). As with goal setting and emotion regulation, solving a social problem successfully requires individuals to engage in effortful control to regulate their thoughts, emotions, and behaviors.

According to Smith and Daunic (2006), five steps generally make up the social problem-solving framework:

1. identifying that a problem exists, 2. defining the problem and

the goal, 3. generating solutions, 4. evaluating solutions and enacting

the chosen solution, and 5. evaluating the outcome.

Although the five steps are often taught sequentially, the process becomes more cyclical and flexible as students become more proficient and, eventually, enact the steps automatically. Using these steps makes it more likely that students will solve social problems successfully, cope with challenging situations, and improve their behavior. An essential component of problem-solving instruction is teaching individuals how to approach the problem-solving process positively, systematically, and constructively (Nezu, 2004). Through use of a problem-solving framework, students learn how to think rather than zvhat to think, enabling them to generalize problem-solving skills to a variety of situations (Polsgrove & Smith, 2004).

Researchers agree that students with behavior problems typically display deficiencies in social problem­ solving skills (Smith & Daunic, 2006). In our earlier example, Zach reacted automatically with aggressive acts toward objects and peers, displayed an inability to generate sufficient alternative solutions and evaluate them, and was unable to carry out a plan for reaching his goal. Zach is typical of students who need interventions that target social problem solving. Deficits in goal setting and emotion regulation make it difficult to align behaviors with goals and manage emotions, both of which are key to solving interpersonal problems that include strong emotions. For instance, some students may not be able to identify whether or not a social problem exists (e.g., a student who unknowingly infringes on a peer's personal space and does not notice the peer is upset) or may incorrectly interpret social cues (e.g., mistaking an accidental bump in the

hall as an intentional aggressive act). Other students may realize that there is a problem, but they have trouble defining it (e.g., a student knows he is angry but cannot figure out the problem causing it). Other students may realize a problem exists and identify a goal but generate few solutions, sometimes limited to those that are aggressive and lead to negative outcomes (Smith, Lochman, & Daunic, 2005). Students with social problem-solving deficits may simply choose the first solution that comes to mind, often clouded by intense emotions, and react impulsively, failing to think of more positive alternatives. Lastly, students might fail to reflect on the outcome of the enacted plan and therefore may not realize the problem still exists or has been only partially solved or that a new problem has arisen. In essence, challenges with any component of the social problem-solving process can adversely affect the student's ability to use SR in the school setting or elsewhere. In Table 3, we outline some instructional strategies and several activities to promote student learning of social problem solving.

SR Instruction

School professionals must devote significant instructional time to enhance the self-regulatory skills of students with EBD effectively. SR is key to students' ability to control their behavior, and according to researchers (e.g., Eisenberg, Smith, & Spinrad, 2011; Matthews, Ponitz, & Morrison, 2009), it has been associated with both social and academic achievement. By teaching students the skills to work through difficult situations and control their thoughts, emotions, and behaviors, SR instruction has the potential to improve student behavior and reduce the amount of time personnel devote to discipline. Maximizing the success of SR instruction requires adequate instructional time, assessing and monitoring student progress, and

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T a b le 2 Emotion Regulation S trategies and Activities for U pper E lementary/M iddle S chool S tudents

I n s t r u c t i o n a l O b j e c t i v e s

Identify and label emotion • Students identify their emotions through bodily feelings (e.g.,

breathing quickly, clenched fists, upset stomach). • Students learn defining characteristics of a variety of emotions

(e.g., anger, sadness, joy) so they can name a particular emotion.

• Students identify the intensity of an emotion they are experiencing.

Identify emotional triggers • Students identify situations and circumstances that cause

them to react emotionally.

Enact strategies • Students learn the following emotion control strategies:

o Situation: Students modify a situation they are in to change their emotional response.

o Attention: Students shift their focus or attention away from their intense emotion (e.g., use distraction),

o Think: Students alter their way of thinking about a situation to change their emotional state (e.g., think more positively and compare to a past experience with a positive outcome),

o Respond: Students use calming techniques to reduce the intensity of their emotion to alter their actions (e.g., counting, breathing techniques, mindfulness).

S u g g e s t e d A c t iv it ie s

• Students watch short video clips, record identified emotions, and discuss as a group.

• Students create a collage to depict different feelings and emotions.

• Students evaluate the intensity of their emotion using a student- or teacher-created emotion thermometer or scale.

• Students identify triggers during hypothetical situations and discuss.

• Students use a journal to help them identify their emotional triggers.

• Students discuss how characters in a book or movie can alter or modify the situation to control their emotions.

• Students generate a list of things they can do to distract themselves when feeling overwhelming emotions.

• Students generate a positive and negative list for an emotional situation they are experiencing and discuss with a school professional or a trusted peer.

• Students draw and describe a calm place that they can refer to while using calming techniques, such as mindfulness.

providing practice for students to acquire and generalize these skills.

Instructional Time Ideally, SR instruction would be

an integral part of the school curriculum, yet within the current context of high-stakes evaluations and initiatives, there is an intense focus on academic achievement, often at the expense of students' emotional and behavioral health. Although school professionals have a limited amount of time and resources, SR instruction can be integrated feasibly throughout the school day. For example, during language arts instruction, teachers can use books that have characters who use goal setting, emotion regulation, and social problem solving within the context of the story. In addition, teachers can foster SR knowledge within social studies instruction, using the activities outlined in Tables 1 to 3 and relating those instructional

strategies and activities to the topic being studied. Further, teachers can align SR instruction within writing lessons by having students create SR journals to explore their personal goals, emotions experienced, and social problems encountered, along with accompanying SR strategies.

Generalization In addition to devoting

instructional time to teaching SR, it is important to reinforce the use of SR skills throughout the day to support generalization. School professionals in different settings should collaborate to ensure that skill generalization occurs within the school environment. Effective collaboration will require that school professionals maintain open communication, establish regular meetings to plan and discuss instruction, and monitor students' progress. When school professionals work together, students are more

likely to use their SR skills across school settings.

Designing SR Instruction Self-regulatory instruction can be

grouped into strategies for teaching goal setting, emotion regulation, and social problem solving. Although it is not necessary to incorporate every strategy when teaching SR, it is essential to select those that are appropriate to meet student needs. Selected strategies outlined in Tables 1 to 3 can be combined to create an individualized unit of self-regulatory instruction for a student who may be struggling with SR. The following is an example of how Zach's teacher worked with other school professionals to create an intervention plan for Zach, with the intent of improving and optimizing his self- regulatory skills.

After recognizing that Zach's behaviors were not improving despite previous supports and strategies, Ms.

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BevondBehavior

______ /

Table 3 Problem-S olving S trategies and A ctivities for U pper E lementary/M iddle S chool S tudents

I n s t r u c t i o n a l O b j e c t i v e s S u g g e s t e d A c t iv it ie s

Identify that a problem exists • Students learn to identify cues (e.g., emotions, thoughts,

behaviors) that signal a problem exists. Define the problem and the goal

• Students use their feelings and observations to help them describe the problem.

• Students define the problem such that it is connected to a goal and can be solved.

Generate solutions • Students learn how to come up with multiple solutions to solve

a problem (e.g., brainstorming, using solutions from past experiences, imagining what someone else would do).

• Students generate a variety of solutions. Evaluate solutions and enact

• Students learn how to evaluate each solution to determine which will be most likely to help them reach their goal (e.g., pros and cons of each one).

• Students learn how to choose the best solution and create a plan.

• Students learn communication skills to enact their plan effectively (e.g., knowing their audience, using active listening, being aware of body language).

• Students learn how to enact the chosen plan. Evaluate outcome

• Students learn to determine whether the problem was fully, partially, or not solved.

• Students look at hypothetical scenarios to determine which clues indicate that a problem exists.

• Students make a list of possible problems and define each in a way that is connected to their goal and is solvable.

• Students use a journal to record a list of solutions they tried in the past that did or did not work well.

• Teacher pairs students with a problem-solving buddy to help them come up with solutions.

• Students create a poster of effective solutions to common problems and discuss pros and cons of each.

• Students role-play their possible solutions or plans to determine potential outcomes and problem resolutions.

• Students create artistic posters that list effective communication skills.

• Students have a discussion about a scenario or role-play to determine what happened when their plan was enacted, how well it worked, and what they should do next, based on the outcome.

Allen collaborates with other school professionals (i.e., school psychologist, school counselor, behavior resource teacher, paraprofessional) to determine how best to proceed. After some brainstorming and research on behavioral interventions, the group decides to provide an 8-week unit of instruction for Zach and other students with similar behaviors to improve their ability to regulate their own behavior.

Ms. Allen provides goal-setting instruction in the first two weeks by teaching Zach and other students in a small group the goal-setting process. Part o f M s. Allen's instruction includes the use o f a goal-setting graphic organizer, as shown in Figure 1, to help them learn goal-setting skills. She creates a similar graphic organizer to help students track their progress. Ms. Allen also has her students role-play their if-then plans. Because of this instruction, Zach is able

to identify and set a goal to obtain good grades so he can try out for the team. Using the graphic organizer, Zach makes a plan to make good grades, creates if- then plans for anticipated barriers, and uses the graphic organizer to monitor his progress. Ms. Allen provides feedback and encourages Zach and the other students to apply these skills across settings.

In addition to goal setting, Ms. Allen plans to include instruction in emotion regulation skills because ofZach's difficulties with controlling his emotions in the classroom. She decides to provide two weeks of whole-class instruction because most of her students would benefit from these skills. She teaches the students to identify triggers and bodily feelings that signal they are getting angry. Ms. Allen also teaches specific strategies to control anger as soon as it is recognized, such as counting, distraction, thinking

positively, or modifying the situation. For practice, Ms. Allen has her students participate in role-plays. Ms. Allen could set up role-plays similar to the one shown in Table 4, where students first act out an g ] emotionally charged situation and then apply learned strategies to the scenario. Given that Zach’s difficulty modulating emotions occurs across settings, Ms. Allen works with her team to encourage and reinforce Zach's use of his emotion regulation strategies throughout the day.

To provide comprehensive and targeted SR instruction to meet all of Zach’s needs, Ms. Allen collaborates with Mr. Burton, the school counselor, to provide Zach and several other students with skills to employ when encountering social problems. Zach and his peers learn how to approach a problem with optimism and a sense o f self-efficacy, identify resources and obstacles, set realistic goals, and use the problem-solving steps in real-

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T eaching Self-Regulation Skills t o Students

F i g u r e 1 Graphic O rganizer for H elping S tudents C reate and T rack If-Then P lans

How I W ill Accomplish M y Goal

M y If-Then Plan r a \

if f

Then

* ^ (Situation) ^ (1 will...) J

Monitoring M y If-Then Plan

Notes:

YES / N O

YES / N O

YES / N O

YES / N O

YES / N O

life problematic situations. Ms. Allen, Mr. Burton, and other school professionals encourage and reinforce Zach when he uses these problem-solving skills in different settings. Because of the targeted instruction in SR provided by this team of school professionals, there is a noticeable and significant improvement in Zach's behavior.

As shown in our scenario, teachers and other school professionals can

include SR instruction to improve student outcomes. To maximize these outcomes, a vital aspect of programming is collaboration across school personnel. Approaching the teaching and support of self-regulatory skills as a team will ensure consistency of instruction and reinforcement for students. Teachers, counselors, and other team members can use teachable moments throughout the day to

reinforce and foster the generalization of the skills they teach. By so doing, school professionals can play a key role not only in improving students' behavior in school but also in equipping them with the skills to control their cognitive, emotional, and behavioral choices to achieve lifelong success.

SR Curricula

No doubt, a curriculum can help ease the amount of teacher planning time by providing step-by-step instructional guidance and student activities. Several curricula target elements of SR for a variety of age groups and student needs. As shown in Table 5, Tools for Getting Along and Promoting Alternative Thinking Strategies (PATHS) are examples of preventative programs that target the SR needs of students in general education settings. Tools for Getting Along, a universally implemented, evidence-based social problem­ solving curriculum for upper elementary students with a focus on anger management, is effective for improving students' social problem­ solving knowledge, abilities, and EF skills and decreasing aggression and anger (e.g., Daunic et al., 2012). The PATHS program is a universally delivered curriculum for students in preschool through sixth grade that targets aspects of SR, including emotional literacy, social competence, self-control, and interpersonal problem solving. Studies have shown that PATHS and Tools for Getting Along can effectively improve social competence, behavior problems, self- control, and on-task behavior (e.g., CPPRG, 2010; Daunic et al., 2012).

Although several universal programs designed for students with moderate SR problems exist, other curricula have been created to target SR for students like Zach who have more significant behavioral needs. One example, Coping Power, is a targeted intervention for aggressive students in upper elementary and middle school. The student

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Table 4 Emotion R egulation Role-P lay U seful for P racticing L earned S trategies

Narrator:

Tia: Lin: Joanne: Tia: Joanne: Narrator: Freeze!

Joanne:

Lin: Narrator:

Joanne:

Lin: Narrator:

Role-Play Scenario Joanne has just made friends with a new girl in school, Lin. But one girl, Tia, has just started picking on Lin and Joanne.

The first time it happened, Joanne thought Tia's behavior was wrong and stopped the girl from saying mean things. But it keeps happening, and Tia convinced other girls to join in. Both girls are feeling really down about how Tia is behaving. Lin and Joanne see Tia in the hallway.

Those are some really ugly clothes you are wearing. Did your mom pick them out for you? (softly and looking down). No... (says to Tia) Tia, I've told you to leave Lin alone. Hey, not your business. You gonna blab to the teacher like a big baby? You're such a loser! (says to Lin) Just go on and ignore her. Joanne and Lin walk away. But the girls notice that Tia is whispering with another friend and is making faces at them. Joanne can feel that she is getting angry because her hands are clenching into fists, her stomach is tightening, and she is

starting to grind her teeth.

Role-Play Strategies

1. Select or M odify the Situation (says to Lin) You know what? Who cares! Let's just keep going. Next time, let's not walk down this hall to get to class.

We will take a different way Yeah, that's a good idea. Tia and her crew are always in that hall. Joanne and Lin walk away and take a different way to class the next day.

2. Modulate Response (says to self) I am getting really mad, and I know I am about to lose it. Okay, I need to change how I'm reacting to Tia.

(says to Lin) I'm going to go cool off for a bit. I'll see you later. Ok, don't let her get to you. I'll see you in class. Joanne had an understanding with the school counselor that she could cool down in her office when upset. Joanne used

some relaxation techniques to calm down. This way, Joanne was able to control her response to Tia's behavior.

component, typically delivered in schools, fosters SR skills that include social problem solving, goal setting, awareness of emotions, and coping strategies. The parent component of Coping Power is designed to improve positive parental involvement to further support students' learned skills. The Coping Power program has demonstrated positive effects on students' classroom behavior, aggression, social competence, and problem solving (e.g., Lochman &

Wells, 2004). In addition to this exemplary program, others designed to foster aspects of SR that can be implemented within school settings are Positive Action (Beets et al., 2009) and Second Step (Frey, Nolen, Edstrom, & Flirschstein, 2005).

Although programs such as Tools for Getting Along and Coping Power include self-regulatory instructional components and are effective at meeting the needs of students with behavioral problems, they do not

include explicit, comprehensive instruction in the three domains that make up SR. One curriculum, I Control, currently being developed and tested for students with EBD, focuses explicitly on the three components of SR as well as targeting skill development in EF. As such, the I Control curriculum is an innovative SR program for middle school students with EBD based on the most recent neurocognitive research on executive functioning (Cognitive-Behavioral

Table 5 Self-R egulation C urricular R esources

P r o g r a m F o r m a t L e v e l W e b s it e

Tools fo r G etting A lo n g Universal 4th-5th h ttp :/ / 0ducation.ufl.edu/behavior-management-resource-guide P rom oting A lternative T hinking

Strategies Universal PreK-6th http:/ / www.channing-bete.com/prevention-programs/paths /

paths.html Positive A ction Universal K-12 https://www.positiveaction.net Second Step Universal PreK-8th h ttp ://www.cfchildren.org/second-step.aspx C oping Power Targeted 4th-8th http://www.copingpower.com/ l Control Targeted 6th-8th h ttp :// education.ufl.edu/cognitive-behavioral-research-group/

i-control/

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Research Group in Education, 2015). It is made up of four units devoted to fostering SR through instruction in goal setting, emotion regulation, and social problem solving, with direct training of EF skills through novel computer games. In each of the units, worksheets, whole- and small-group activities, and role-plays help students with EBD learn and practice taught skills. I Control is currently being piloted to determine its effectiveness in improving students' SR knowledge and abilities.

C onclusion

Students with EBD consistently display behaviors that are indicative of deficits in SR and weaknesses in underlying EF (e.g., Mattison, Hooper, & Carlson, 2006; Polsgrove & Smith, 2004). Although school professionals have disciplinary programs in place to address student behaviors, their effectiveness would be improved by using strategies or curricula that explicitly target SR deficits as a fundamental aspect of behavioral programming (Osher, Dwyer, Jimerson, & Brown, 2012). Further, teachers, counselors, and other school personnel must work together to promote students' generalization of SR skills across multiple settings. Ultimately, when school professionals actively collaborate in cultivating the SR abilities of students with EBD, they are better preparing their students to excel in the classroom and beyond.

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