Managing inappropriate behaviour, Rewards and Consequences
Look for the cause of the behaviour
Firstly, we need to remember that students do not behave inappropriately just for the sake of it. All behaviour happens for a reason and to achieve a desired result, whether it be to get attention, to get out of work, due to being bored with the lesson, or to get someone to stop doing something. I believe in looking at the cause of the behaviour and trying to assess what the student's goal is with the behaviour they are displaying.
According to Porter (2000, p. 142) "Glasser believes that disruptive student behaviour arises because school work does not meet students needs. In particular, both what they are being asked to do and how teachers relate to them can violate students' need for power. This leads to failure and, in turn, students' view of themselves as failures leads to apathy, delinquency and withdrawal from school and home, all of which cause loneliness". This emphasis the important of students' seeing value in the learning experiences we provide and how we communicate with and relate to them.
When dealing with disruptive behaviour, Bill Rogers (1997, p. 27),suggests that what we can do is:
- "recognise the student's goal
- Plan to avoid feeding the goal - be strategic
- Use a balance of short and long term corrective measures balanced with encouragement".
This is particularly important when students have the same inappropriate behaviour frequently. The Functional Behaviour Analysis model, based on the theories of behaviourists, such as B.F. Skinner, provides a framework to assess the motivation for behaviours and allows us to focus on the behaviour itself, rather than the student. There are several online resources that provide information about this and the A-B-C of Behaviour which looks at the antecedents, behaviours and consequences of students' behaviour. To assist in identifying the causes of students' behaviour an Antecedent-Behavior-Consequence (ABC) Chart can be used.
Instructional Tools Related to Functional Behaviour Assessment can be found in a link on the references page.
Have a visual warning and consequence system in the classroom
I have observed and used a very simple visual system to let students know how their behaviour is going in class. I have seen this model used from Years 1 to 7 and it seems to be effective at both ends of the age groups.
It is simply a traffic light system, with three large circles, red, yellow and green. I print all the students' names on paper, laminate them and cut them out. I use blu-tack to stick their names to the green traffic light circle. The traffic light circles are at the front of the classroom on the wall. If a student starts to display inappropriate behaviour, such as talking while the teacher is talking they are reminded of the class rules regarding that or other classroom rules relevant to the displayed behaviour. If the behaviour happens again then their name is moved to the yellow traffic light. At this stage it is their last chance before moving to red where they will have a consequence for their behaviour. I have found that students really do not like their name being on yellow or red as everyone else can see it and they usually want to get back to green as soon as possible. I have found that the first person to start chatting, who is moved to yellow is usually enough of a signal to reduce the occurrence of the same behaviour in other students. Once a student is moved to the red circle it means there will be a consequence for their behaviour. The following day, all students start off on the green circle again.
I have used this method for all types of behaviour in the class, but mostly for students talking out of turn and disrupting the class.
Rewards
I am not a big fan of giving out material rewards for good behaviour too frequently. The first reason is that it can become costly, and secondly I would rather the students develop intrinsic motivation to do the right thing in class. I do not agree with using lollies and junk food as rewards and have found that developing a good relationship with students and the students feeling valued in the classroom is a reward in itself. "When they have a meaningful relationship with their teachers and each other, students will work well (Glasser, cited in Porter, 2000, p. 141)
We need to be careful if we give out rewards as sometimes we might not notice the students who are well behaved all of the time, and only focus on encouraging those who are not. There is a danger of being unfair by using rewards so it is important to think carefully about how you will treat everyone equally. Small stickers are very much loved by young children, and I have observed how proud young students are when they have received a sticker for something positive they have done. To make this type of reward system work, I believe you need to focus on certain behaviours to reward, so students understand clearly why some might get a sticker and others might not.
Students respond well to positive acknowledgment of their good efforts, behaviour and attitudes. If I notice a student working really well I will speak to them briefly alone to let them know how I feel, eg: "Georgie, you have done a fantastic job with your artwork, I really like your original design and you have shown you really thought about it and planned it, well done!". I find students really appreciate you noticing the small things about their work. To a student who normally does not complete much work I would notice when they do make an effort and say something like "Thanks for your great effort in Maths today Jamie, you really did well to finish the worksheet". Recognition of peer support in the classroom is a useful way to reward students. Students who provide tutoring and support to peers could be given recognition of "academic leadership" as discussed by Porter (2000, p. 152).
Notice good behaviour and give feedback
I like the idea of noticing students who uphold the classroom rules and demonstrate the values of the student behaviour agreement, and recognising this. I believe in giving immediate feedback, even if it just a thumbs up or a smile, to let the students know you have noticed will have a positive effect of them. Depending on their age the rewards will differ. Young students might like a sticker, certificate, stamp, or lucky dip, whereas older students might prefer private praise, free choice activity in class time or may appreciate acknowledged with a certificate at assembly. I believe a record should be kept of which students receive awards and why, so we can ensure we are being fair to all students. Students who are known as 'difficult' will still always have good points to notice and we need to make sure we do notice these and give positive encouragement.
Giving consequences for inappropriate behaviour
I agree with Bill Rogers (2004) that one of the most important things about giving consequences is "Certainty rather than Severity" If students are certain you will follow up on inappropriate behaviour consistently, even if it is with 'deferred consequences' (2006, pp. 145-146), they will be more likely to respond to warnings or reminders about behaviour, especially if the consequences are predictable. I believe this approach, being certain to follow up, is preferable to making threats that are not carried through. Even though as teachers we are often time poor and extremely busy, you can make a note in your diary, or have a daily form you fill out of any inappropriate behaviours you need to follow up on. If you are a part time teacher this is one way to ensure you don't leave it too long, or forget to follow up.
Some behaviour will require immediate related consequences. For example, if students are expected to walk out of the classroom quietly when the bell goes, putting their chairs under their desks and picking up any papers nearby their desks, and some run out noisily, an immediate consequence would be appropriate. Refer to the student behaviour agreement and ask those students to return to their desks. Remind the students about the behaviour agreement and ask them what it was they did that wasn't appropriate. Then have the students leave the classroom in the appropriate manner. It may seem minor, but the students will soon learn that unless they leave the classroom quietly and as expected, they will always have to return and do it again.
The school will have some specific consequences for particular behaviours and these need to be applied consistently. These will likely be for physical violence, bullying and other serious inappropriate behaviours.
Within the classroom, it is important that the consequences we give to students for inappropriate behaviour are related to the behaviour. I believe it is important that consequences are given in a way that will support the modification of the student's behaviour. For example, if a student is repeatedly disruptive, sending the student out of the class to work alone or to time out can be appropriate, but only if the teacher discusses the problem behaviour with the student to help them understand how their behaviour is affecting others in the class and wasting time. If a student wastes teaching time and affects the learning opportunities of others then I believe they should be moved to work alone in a time out area until they can show they are able to work with the class group without being disruptive. Glasser's "Time Out" theory suggests providing a time out area where students are supervised until they are ready to work out their problems without further disrupting other students and the learning environment. (Porter, 2000. p. 154). The idea is not to punish them but to help them work out how they can solve the problem.
Rogers, (1997, p. 125) discusses "Natural Consequences", where there is a direct relationship between the inappropriate behaviour and the consequence. For example, if a student throws papers around the room and brushes pencil shavings onto the floor, a natural consequence for this would be to stay back after the lunchtime bell goes and clean up the classroom floor.
Personally, I am not fond of having students sit in 'detention' at lunchtimes with nothing to do as it is unproductive and unlikely to help change a student's behaviour. If a student is on detention during break time I believe the detention should involve a "related consequence" (Rogers, 1997, p.126). I once observed a situation where a student was caught out having deleted an entire project from a peer's online account. The student had also put offensive language into the peer's profile. The offending student was suspended for three days for this, but I would have liked to see him help his peer put the work back together again, write an apology for the hurt and inconvenience he caused his peer, as well as the student completing a task such as the '4W form' Rogers (2006) to help him to understand the implications of his behaviour. Completing a task such as a self assessment sheet can help students to think about their behaviour. As Rogers describes (2006, p. 100) the 4W form is a perfect example where after inappropriate behaviour, students in time out or detention are required to fill out a form about their behaviour, answering questions such as "What happened....?; "What rule or right was affected by your behaviour...?"; What can you do to change things...?" for example. These types of questions would be suitable for upper primary, but a similar concept could be used for lower school, with oral questions or other type of response material.
At the end of the detention period it is important to discuss the behaviour with the student in a supportive manner, and to offer assistance to the student to help them comply with the class rules. Obviously the teacher will know what type of activity will be most appropriate for their particular students. The point is that we do not want a student to think that time out or detention is a successful outcome from trying to get out of work, or that they can just sit there doing nothing, which is unproductive and will be of no benefit to the student. As Bill Rogers discusses, (2006, p.137), "we try to address the reality of the inappropriate of disruptive behaviour by applying a consequence that tries to gain some relationship between the behavior and its consequential outcome".
Deferred consequences
Bill Rogers (p. 143-144) also discusses that deferred consequences can often be more appropriate than an immediate consequence. Using language such as "if you ........then you........." or "when you ................., then you can .................." is more positive than using "no, you can't, because ......" (p. 77). I have used this method with a student who was always fidgeting with something during class time. Rather than confiscate the item, I would say to him "if you give me the ......... I will keep it and at the end of the lesson if you have completed your work then you can have it back. I used this with a student who was very hostile and often refused to do any work, but with this approach, it was possible to compromise and then he would get a lot more work done.
Some other useful strategies Rogers offers are:
- Tactical pausing. "The teacher briefly pauses in a spoken direction or reminder to emphasise attention, and focus (p. 78)) I have used this when a student starts chatting in class. Just stop and wait and look at them and quite often no words are needed before you can continue.
- Tactical ignoring: "Sometimes some minor behaviours are worth ignoring, responding to them will cause more disruption. Ignoring behaviour can assist in reducing the same behaviour. "A lack of any reinforcement can also shape behavior. If people receive no acknowledgment of their behavior, they will likely change that behavior until they receive some kind of reinforcement" (SIL 1999).
- Time out: to help students by giving them a place to cool off and think about their behavior, and as Rogers says, "it is also fair for the other students in that they, too, have a chance to refocus beyond the disruption to their basic rights".
Each teacher has a different personality, and will approach rewards and consequences with their own personal preferences, within the school behavior management framework. You need to find an approach you feel comfortable with and be consistent.
Lastly - don't be afraid to ask for help! Get background information on your students from teachers who had them the previous year. Network with other teachers, even getting together informally can be a great chance to discuss your challenges, and ask for support when you need it. It is more sensible to admit you need help and to ask for it, than to try and pretend you can cope and know everything when you really need some support. Asking for help shows you are proactive in improving your behavior management skills and that you are open to advice that might well be of great use to you.