Classroom management

1. Classroom management Elizabeth Karakehagias Educational Consultancy Group educongr@hotmail.com12/04/2012

2. What is challenging behaviour? • Constant calling out • Interrupting • Distracting others • Distracting the teacher

3. Code of conduct • Does the school have a policy or a code of conductthat includes procedures? • Whose responsibility is it to establish and monitor the code of conduct? • Are there common classroom rules?

4. Guidelines for Defining BehaviouralExpectations • Identify Classroom rules and expectations • Establish School Rules (Rights and Responsibilities?) • Rules should be broad enough to cover all potential problem behaviours • Make rules positive • Post them in your classroom

5. Why 3-5 Rights and Responsibilities? • Easier to learn and remember than a long list of specific behavioural expectations • Posting themcreates a visual cue for students and staff to remind them of the rules • State rules positively – What TO DO!!! as opposed to what Not to do

6. Rights and Responsibilities in the Classroom (1) • In this classroom, students and the teacher have the right to do as much work as possible. Therefore, their Personal responsibilities include: • Students should bring all their equipment to class • Students should listen when others are speaking • Students should be on time • Students should attempt all work

7. Rights and Responsibilities in the Classroom (2) • Their Communal responsibilities include: • Students should encourage others to bring all their equipment to class • Students should encourage others to listen when others are speaking • Students should encourage others to be on time • Students should encourage others to attempt all work

8. Rights and Responsibilities in the Classroom (3) • In this classroom, students and the teacher have the right to feel comfortable and safe. • Therefore, their Personal responsibilities include: • Students should pass all objects hand to hand • Students should speak politely • Students should keep their hands to themselves

9. Rights and Responsibilities in the Classroom (4) • Their Communal responsibilities include: • Students should encourage others to pass all objects hand to hand • Students should encourage others to speak politely • Students should encourage others to keep their hands to themselves

10. Be Proactive! & less reactive • We need to explicitly teach expected and desired behaviour, rather than take the risk, or expect, that students “should know”, or they will figure it out on their own • Our tendency when students don’t follow behavioural expectations is to punish students rather than teach students… • Would we punish a student for not reading a word correctly?

11. Plan Ahead(before school year & each day) • Set habits early… rather than waiting to change students’ habits later • Before we can teach, reinforce, and enforce anything in our classrooms we must clearly define: 1. fair behavioural expectations 2. effective behavioural routines

12. Strategies to avoid disruption (1) Keep the lesson flowing: • Know exactly what you are going to do and have all necessary resources ready • At the beginning of the lesson tell the students the activities they are going to do • Set up an accepted and fully understood pattern for distribution of materials, roll-marking, going to the toilet

13. Keep the lesson flowing: (2) • Let students know when an activity is about to be changed so they prepare to finish what they are doing and mentally get ready for the next activity • Attend to the needs of the majority and have them engaged before dealing with individuals • Give all instructions clearly and concisely

14. Some important don’ts. • Don’t spend more time on any activity than necessary • Don’t interrupt a discussion or activity to jump from one thing to a different one • Don’t allow yourself to be sidetracked into answering irrelevant questions

15. Strategies to avoid disruption (2) • Keeping students interested. • Vary the volume, speed and tone of your voice • Be enthusiastic about what you are teaching • Vary the way you teach e.g. use a variety of procedures such as assignments, debates, excursions, group work • Move around the room • Ensure that the lesson content is challenging but achievable and whenever possible relevant

16. Strategies to avoid disruption (3) • Keeping students focused: • When asking a question, take a number of answers before saying whether they are correct • After asking a student to answer, allow a few seconds for them to answer • Collect and correct all homework

17. Strategies to avoid disruption (4) • Making students feel monitored. • Try to position yourself so that by lifting your eyes you can see all or most of the class • Try to make eye contact with as many students as possible during the lesson • When talking to one student do not become oblivious to the rest of the class

18. General tips for behaviour management (1) • Label the behaviour not the child • Children aren’t born with behaviour problems, they learn them • All behaviour has a purpose • What you see is what you can change • Nip behaviour problems in the bud • School needs to be seen as a good place

19. General tips for behaviour management (2) • Students and teachers both have rights and responsibilities to ensure a good learning environment • Consider the curriculum – tasks may be too easy or too difficult or just not motivating • Changes in the seating arrangements or time for certain activities • Children need freedom to move within clearly-defined limits

20. General tips for behaviour management (3) • Start on one aspect of behaviour first • Always be consistent and clam in your approach • Catch the child being good rather than focusing on the negative • Students need to feel they belong. Devise classroom rules (Rights and Responsibilities) • together

21. General tips for behaviour management (4) • All students want to feel valued and respected and to be part of the group. A positive self-image is vital. • It is important to communicate effectively with students. Make sure you listen to them. • Students need to know the consequences • Modelling and imitation are valuable techniques for students to acquire appropriate behaviour.

22. References • “The developmental management approach to classroom behaviour.” Ramon Lewis