Title: Virtual Instruction: Precorrection

Narrator: Virtual precorrection, secondary, example and non-example.

Ms. Shawnes has a rule about putting phones away during class, but has noticed that several of her students seem to be on their phones during virtual instruction. She is particularly concerned about Noah, who consistently appears to be using his phone during class.

To reduce the occurrence of this behavior, Ms. Shawnes reminds the class about the rule “Put phones away during class.”

In this example, Ms. Shawnes decides to post the rules on her virtual background to help everyone meet the expectation. This also serves as a good reminder of the rules for Noah specifically.

In addition, before class, Ms. Shawnes discusses the expectation with Noah.

Ms. Shawnes Hey, I noticed it was pretty hard for you not to use your device in class, especially when I was giving directions. To help you focus on what’s happening in class, I’m going to remind everyone to put their phones away before I give the next set of instructions, because I really don’t want to embarrass you.”

Noah: [low voice] Alright.

Shawnes: “Show me where you’ll put your phone during class so it’s not a distraction.”

Noah: “Uh, you know so it’s not a problem, I can put it right here next to my laptop.” [places phone to the right side of his screen]

Ms. Shawnes: [Smiling] “Um Noah, your phone is still where you can see it. Don’t you think that’ll be a distraction?”

Noah: “Knowing me, probably. But you know what I can do. I can put it on a charger out of my reach so it’s not a distraction for me for class. I will be right back. Alright, I should be all focused now.”

Ms. Shawnes: I believe that’s a very good place to put your phone! And I think it’ll be easier for you to pay attention now, don’t you?

Noah: [nods] Yeah, I agree.

Ms. Shawnes (to everyone): “Hey everyone! Thanks for coming today!” “Please remember to put your phones and other distractions away so we can all be fully engaged.

[pauses to give them time to do so; shots of students appearing to put devices away]

Thank you for putting your devices away.

Please take out your notes on our book, “Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry.” We’re going to talk about how some of these characters resolved conflicts in this last chapter. Before we get started, I want you to pick one character you’d like to focus on in our discussion and type their name into the chat.

Narrator: To review, the teacher delivered precorrection accurately. She

• Identified the context and potential problem
• Established the behavioral expectation
• Adjusted the virtual environment to set Maggie up for success
• Provided an opportunity to practice the expected behavior
• Provided immediate and specific reinforcement when Noah engaged in the expected behavior
• Developed a prompting plan that she implemented when Noah was not adhering to the behavioral expectation

Title: Virtual Precorrection Secondary/Non-Example

Narrator: In this non-example, Ms. Shawnes attempts to use precorrection to help Noah meet the rule “Put phones away during class.” However, her implementation falls short. Notice what happens when she fails to provide an opportunity for Noah to practice the expected behavior.

Even though Ms. Shawnes anticipated that phone usage would be problematic during virtual instruction and developed and went over classroom expectations and the rule regarding phones with her class, Noah continues to use his phone during instruction.

As such, Ms. Shawnes posts the rules on her virtual background to remind Noah to put his phone away.

Ms. Shawnes also meets with Noah privately.

Ms. Shawnes: “Hey Noah, I noticed that you didn’t put your phone away when I asked you to and you weren’t really concentrating. So, next time I give everyone directions to put their phone away, I’d like you to do that as well to help you focus in class. I don’t want to call you out and embarrass you in front of all of your classmates. Do you understand?”

Noah: [nods head] “Yes.”

Ms. Shawnes (to everyone): “Hey everyone! Thanks for coming today!” I want to remind everyone to put your phones away so that we can focus on our discussion for today.

[pauses to give them time to do so; shots of students appearing to put devices away].

Thank you for putting your devices away. Please take out your notes on our book. We’re going to be going over “Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry.”

We’re going to talk about how some of these characters resolved conflicts in this last chapter. Before we get started, I want you to pick one character you’d like to focus on in our discussion and type their name into the chat.

Ms. Shawnes: Noah?

Narrator: To review, Ms. Shawnes implemented some of the precorrection steps correctly. She:

• Identified the context and potential problem
• Established the behavioral expectation
• Adjusted the virtual context
• Developed a prompting plan

She provided a whole-class prompt and a private prompt for Noah.

However, she failed to provide an opportunity for Noah to practice the expected behavior. As a result, the spot that Noah chose for his phone still allowed him to read messages as they popped up on his screen, so it remained a distraction. Had Ms. Shawnes provided an opportunity for practice, they could have identified a better location for the phone.