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Managing Student Behaviour
How do I deal with
low level disruption?
•
Reflection: what you understand by the
expression ‘low level disruption’? What does this mean to you? What is
acceptable behaviour in your classroom? What is not? How do you show this to
your students?
•
Define what it is that needs to be challenged
•
Set clear boundaries and expectations from the start
•
Be consistent in your approach
•
Look at ways of dealing with the disruptive behaviour
without taking time away from other learners e.g. non-verbal
How do I deal with
inappropriate comments?
•
Do not show the pupils that you are shocked by
comments made
•
Redirect students to the central issue sourced within
the comment
•
Explain to the pupil why it is inappropriate to make
the comments.
•
Make reference to school policy in order to
de-personalise the incident
•
Always deal with it in line with school policy: do not
avoid the issue if it is school policy to challenge it.
•
Establish a respectful learning environment by clearly
outlining your behavioural expectations from the start.
What should I do if
a fight a breaks out between pupils?
•
Always deal with incidents in line with school policy
•
Aim to defuse incidents before they arise: look for
the trigger signs
•
Reflection: think of a class you are
currently working with now. What are the trigger signs? What actions are you
currently taking? What is the impact? What would you change?
•
Send a responsible child for additional help from
another member of staff immediately
If you feel that you need to restrain
a pupil tell them loudly that you are doing it to prevent themselves or
others from being hurt. Warning: be aware of school
policy before deciding on possible strategies or
actions.
What should I do if
a pupil verbally/physically threatens me?
•
Tell the pupil that there will be a consequence for
their behavior
•
Walk away from the student immediately and report the
incident to a senior member of staff: do not leave it until later to report the
incident
•
Reflection = Consider if the
threat is personal or directed towards the role. What is implied by this
statement? How does it impact on your approaches to teaching and learning?
Discuss this reflection with your Induction tutor or a senior manager
Behavior for
Learning
How do I create a
positive learning environment?
Please see - “Ten small steps towards sanity” (With
thanks to Abraham Moss High School - Manchester) –
10 Small Steps Towards Sanity
Effective
classroom leaders never begin a discipline transaction with a student by
“firing the big guns” first. They use the lowest level
strategy appropriate to the level of disruption being caused by the student.
This Key Classroom Strategies sheet outlines the 10
Small Steps that you can draw upon to enable you to manage even more smoothly
student behaviour in your classroom.
Step 1 – Focus on Positive
Behavior First
•
When effective teachers give a clear direction to
pupils they always make a conscious effort to praise those pupils who choose to
follow the direction. They consciously set out to create a positive climate in
their classroom by using the key strategy of Catch Them Being Good
•
Less effective teachers focus first upon those pupils
who are not following their direction and by consistently using Catch
Them Being Bad the atmosphere in their classroom is constantly focussed
upon failure.
Frequently, simply focussing upon those pupils who are making good
choices about their behaviour can quickly encourage others to follow their
example. Effective teachers then acknowledge the new, positive choice these
pupils have made with a subtle gesture (smile, nod, etc.) to act as
reinforcement.
•
Acknowledging the positive choices of a pupil who is
sitting near your targeted (off task) pupil can frequently cue in the targeted
pupil. The closer proximity of the praised child to the targeted the more
successful this strategy is likely to be.
Example:
The teacher notices that Nicola isn’t following her
directions to put down her pen and pencil and looking at her. However, Jarrell
who is sitting next to her has followed directions well. She says:
Jarrell, thank you for putting down your pen and
looking at me. Well done.
Nicola puts down her pen and looks at the teacher. The
teacher recognises this by smiling and saying:
Thanks Nicola
Step 3 – Using Physical
Proximity
•
Effective teachers use their ability to regulate their
physical proximity to individuals or groups of pupils as a key behaviour
management tool.
•
However, these teachers are careful to ensure that
their body language is not interpreted by the students as intimidating or
threatening. They do not invade the student’s personal space nor do they “loom”
over the student. Equally, they do not engage in “the look” by attempting to
stare the pupil into compliance.
This strategy works particularly well if it is combined with
Positive Cueing whilst gradually moving closer to the student.
Example:
The teacher has noted that Mark is not working quietly at the word
processor. She begins to move around the room in the general direction of Mark
whilst praising
those
pupils who are appropriately on task:
Carl, (a
desk away from Mark) thanks for working quietly.
She
continues to move between the students each time getting a little closer to
Mark:
Martine, (next
to Mark) I like the way you are working on your own. Thank you.
She bends down by the side of Martine and gives her
some positive attention. As soon as mark begins to work she switches attention
to him and focuses upon his positive behavior.
Step 4 – Refocusing With
Questions
•
Casual questioning can be a powerful tool in the
repertoire of the effective teacher. They can be used to refocus a pupil’s
attention onto the task in hand without giving unnecessary attention to the
inappropriate behaviour.
Example:
The teacher gently approaches the student (or group of
students), paying no attention to the inappropriate choices being made and
simply asks a gently redirective question:
How’s it going? Do you need any help?
Mohammed, is there something you need help with?
Sylvia, do you need me to look through the work you’ve
done so far?
She then leaves the student refocused on the work with
an expectation for continued compliance:
I’ll be back in a moment to see how you’re getting on.
•
Simply giving the student a brief, private
direction followed by “waiting time” (not expecting instant compliance but
allowing a few seconds for the student to modify their behaviour) can be
extremely effective. It is particularly effective with those students who
respond with poor choices if they are publicly reprimanded.
The teacher notices that Martin has stopped focussing
on his maths work. She quietly moves over to his side and says: Martin, I need you to go back to answering
these questions.
She then moves
away to give him some waiting time. During this time she is praising those
students who are making good choices. As soon as she notices
Martin
beginning to move back on task she praises his efforts.
Step 6 – Acknowledging and
Redirecting
•
Rather than challenging students’ attempts to argue,
distract or deflect, smart teachers use acknowledgement followed by redirection
and expectation of compliance.
The teacher notices Wayne is chatting with Shaquib rather than
concentrating on the task. She moves over to them.
T: Shaquib. Wayne. I need to go back on task now
thanks.
W: I was only asking Shaquib what the Science
homework was.
T: I
realise you need to make sure that you know what your science homework
is and you can ask Shaquib at the end of the lesson
(Acknowledgement) and right now I need you to go back on
task (redirection) thanks (expectation of compliance).
She now gives some waiting time and is ready to praise
Shaquib and Wayne as soon as they start to comply with her request.
Step 7 – Giving a Rule
Reminder
•
Giving a private, assertive reminder of the classroom
rule can be a very effective strategy for students who continue to choose
inappropriate behavior.
By referring to your rules you are, to a certain
extent, depersonalizing the discipline transaction. You can remove the “because
I say so” element that many students take as an opportunity to escalate a
challenge further.
Chantelle, our rule for answering questions is hands up. I’d likes you to
follow that now please.
Step 8 – Give a Clear
Choice
•
Articulating the consequences of continued,
inappropriate choices puts the locus of control within the student. Equally, as
with rule reminders, it dramatically reduces the “because I say so” element in
the discipline transaction.
The teacher
notices that Sharon is out of her seat again and chatting with her friend.
Sharon, I need you to choose to go back to your seat
and get on with your work. If you choose not to then you will be choosing to
sit separately for 5 minutes.”
Step 9 – Giving “Time Out”
Time
•
Moving a student to a different seat for a set period
of time can be very effective, especially if given as a choice, even with older
students.
The purpose of moving seat is not to punish the
student. Rather, it is to remove the student from a situation in which they are
continuing to make poor choices and to refocus them back onto the task.
The teacher notices that Neil is continuing to refuse
to get on with his work despite her less intrusive strategies. She moves over
to him and as privately as is possible in the circumstances says:
Neil, you have chosen to work away from the others for
5 minutes. Go to the front seat now thanks.
After Neil has completed his time out the teacher
repairs and rebuilds the relationship by saying:
Neil, thanks for doing you time out. Do you want to
choose to go back to your seat now or would you find it easier to stay where
you are?
Step 10 – Exit
•
If students continue to significantly prevent you from
teaching and/or other students from learning it is appropriate that they be
exited from the classroom. However, it is important that we remember that an
exit is the most invasive strategy available to us in the classroom and, with
very few exceptions, should always be preceded by strategies designed to
support the student in making better choices.
•
Effective teachers use their exit strategies calmly
and assertively whilst paying a minimum of attention to the inappropriate
behaviour. They always let the student know that it is the inappropriate
choices that they are being exited for and not because the teacher dislikes
them as a person. They also let the student know that they will be accepted
back into the classroom as soon as they begin to make choices that are more
acceptable.
•
Effective teachers realize that if they have to
continually exit a student it may be as much a problem with the way in which
they are managing the student as it is with the student himself.
*****
Tags
B.Ed