Preventing Inappropriate Behaviour in the Classroom
"The key question we need to ask is: "How can I prevent, or minimise, unnecessary hassles or problems...?" - Bill Rogers (2006, p. 108)
As I mentioned in 'Create a Positive Classroom Environment', when students are engaged with interesting and varied activities they can see value in, the risk of inappropriate behaviour is reduced. It is always preferable to prevent inappropriate behaviour from occurring rather than dealing with it after it has happened. This section is aimed at providing practical strategies to reduce the chance of inappropriate behavior.
Allow for flexible learning goals
Students will be more motivated if they are allowed to have a say in some of the things they will be learning. For example, in an integrated unit topic, the teacher can discuss with students what will be covered, and then ask students to make suggestions of things they are interested in about that topic, and these can be incorporated into the lessons for the term, into student assignments and class discussions. As Marzano and Pickering discuss, (2003 p. 52) allowing students to have input into what they will be learning about "not only has the potential to increase students’ interest in the topic, but also conveys the message that you are concerned about their interests and are making an attempt to include those interests in your instruction".
Keep students informed about what they will be doing
Especially when teaching long lessons, I like to give the students an overview of what they will be doing in the lesson block. I believe when the students know what is ahead and how long they will be doing something for it allows them to feel more comfortable and settled. If it is a long lesson I always get them to have a quick break, drink and stretch in the middle of the lesson before changing activities, or getting into group work. The break is usually only for 3 or 4 minutes, but this is enough to give them a break without wasting time. Counting down from 10 out loud is a good way to get students back in their seats quickly. During long lesson blocks always have a variety of activities to keep students interested, as well as catering for different learning styles.
The "What to do when I'm done poster".
Tom Daly, the author of the book "The ADHD Solution: How to Turn Any Disruptive Child into Your Best Student" has several very practical strategies on his DVD "7 Days to a Perfect Classroom", that aim to prevent inappropriate behaviour occurring in the classroom. In my experience teaching both adults and children, and from observing other teachers, it is essential that students always have something to do. Tom believes "his most critical skill is his ability to pinpoint specific strategies that transform children with ADHD, while reducing the frustration of teachers, parents and other students in the classroom". I believe his strategies can be applied to any classroom whether there are students with ADHD or not.
I believe one of Tom Daly's suggested strategies makes a big difference in keeping the classroom running smoothly and have personally noticed a positive difference when students always know what to do next, after completing a task. This strategy is the "What do to when I'm done poster".
When students are completing an activity, individually or in groups, there will always be some fast finishers. If you have planned activities for the students to choose from when they finish a task early there is no reason for them to be unoccupied with work, but they also have a choice of what they do. Providing a variety of activities they can do independently while others are still working will keep them busy with something educational or organisational and allowing you to continue helping students who require assistance. I have seen what happens when students finish early and have nothing else to do and usually it involves chatting with their neighbours and often disrupting those who are still working.
Use Acronyms for your 'When I'm done Poster' and make up a few and change them every couple of weeks. Here is one idea from Tom Daly and you can make up your own.
"Write - poems, songs, letters
Organise - backpack, binder, desk
Read - textbook, magazine
Draw - Maps, pictures, artwork"
You could also make up thematic posters based on your integrated unit.
Another fun idea is to have a Question Box, from which students draw out a laminated question card, and then go and find the answer. If you have computers in the classroom the students can use the internet to research the topic, or if not have questions that can be found within the classroom, from books or from practical activities. For example, have students look up facts on various topics, or specifically on the integrated unit topic. Have students do practical activities, eg: 'Measure the doorway and find the perimeter', how many square metres is our classroom?'
Peer tutoring is another strategy that I have seen to work well for the fast finishing students. I have seen the benefits of this particularly in Maths, where the fast finishing student acts as a tutor to another student. This promotes good relationships between the students, allowing the 'tutor' student to feel they are doing something very worthwhile, and as students will have strengths in different areas, different students will have opportunities to use their strengths to help others at different times..
Set up a cross-age tutoring/Buddies program
In his DVD, Tom Daly also suggests setting up a cross age tutoring program which I have seen to be very effective in 3 local schools where I live. One school focuses on PE activities, another on PE, The Arts, and ICTs and the other on a different type of activity each week. One of the things I like most about this idea is that you can give students authentic and purposeful learning experiences that are also of benefit to another group of students.
Cross-age tutoring or a Buddies program will be of huge benefit to all the students involved. Once a week your class visits with another class and students are paired up, or sometimes in small groups, and they either do literacy based tasks, or other activities, such as PE or art and craft, with the older students helping the younger students. One of the main benefits I have observed from this type of program is that among the older students, those who may not be as popular, or who may be having problems with certain learning areas, will find themselves in a position where they are looked up to and valued as a big brother or sister figure. I have seen students with low self-esteem suddenly become more confident in this situation and they have been more than capable of helping the younger students with various activities such as reading, craft or using ICTs. I also noticed that the more difficult students changed quite significantly in their attitude when they were in a mentoring situation and were being looked up to by a much younger student. As Pollard Slaughter states with regard to cross age tutoring in literacy, (1993, p.11) "both the tutors and the tutees usually take these sessions very seriously, so few behavioural problems occur".
This type of activity is fun for students and they are engaged in a type of cooperative learning situation where they will both benefit from each others success. Activities can be carried out separately and then used in the Buddies program. I had a group of Year 7 students write a book for their Prep Buddies using the program 'Storybird'. The students were highly motivated to use this program and were always on task, focused and looked forward to sharing their stories with their Buddies. If the Buddies program has a focus on literacy there are many benefits to both groups of students and if the program is fun students will be motivated and less likely to have any inappropriate behaviour during this time, or in activities related to it. Pollard Slaughter (1993, p. 11) discusses that in cross-age reading tutoring programs the "tutored child received immediate feedback from the older student in a relationship that may not be as threatening as working with an adult", and that these tutored students "tend not only to do better academically but also to express more positive attitudes toward school and academic subjects".
Be aware of how you are speaking to the students
It is really important to consider how we are speaking to students. Sometimes a student may interpret what we say in a way different to what we intended so we need to be mindful of the messages we are giving to students, as this can influence how they react to what we say and also influence behavior in the classroom.
Edwards and Watt (2004 p. 168) state that "teachers must be able to communicate genuine acceptance of their students by developing effective communication flows in helping relationships with students." They suggest using "preventative I- messages" (p. 169) when communicating with students as "these messages let students know, ahead of time, what teachers might need or want."
One example of a "preventative I-message" is :" ‘I’d like to discuss what you plan to have ready on your report for Friday so I can anticipate what I need to prepare for that day.": (p. 169). This is preferable to saying something like "You'd better make sure your report is done by Friday" or "Don't come to me on Friday and say you haven't done your report!".
I believe the way we speak to students can have a significant effect on how they respond to us and by using positive and supportive language the students will have more respect for the teacher as they will feel they are being treated with respect themselves.
Be Assertive
I have had a few teachers tell me about the saying "Don't smile until Christmas" in order to manage students' behaviour but I don't agree with this idea. I think the idea is to be assertive, without being aggressive. I don't believe you have to be mean and angry to get students to behave, but rather the opposite. As Silver points out (2003, p. 27) being assertive means being "forthright, definite and positive. When teachers give students definite expectations and consistently demonstrate that they mean what they say, the students will respond positively".
As a new teacher I believe being assertive is a challenge, so we need to practice using assertive language, even in front of a mirror, or to no one, to get ourselves used to it. After observing assertive teachers it is obvious that you can be assertive and still smile and create a warm and positive learning environment.
Some of the suggestions I find useful from Silver (2003, p. 30) include:
Prevent the classroom getting too noisy
Sometimes noise levels in the classroom will rise when students are involved in group work, waiting for a lesson to start, or moving from one activity to another. To prevent this happening students should be clear on what level of noise is acceptable and the teacher needs to put something in place so students are aware of this. I have observed that some teachers prefer absolute silence while students are working, but others are not bothered by students talking while doing group work. Each teacher will have different standards about what level of noise is acceptable.
Bill Rogers (2006) discusses noise levels in the classroom , reasons for noise levels rising and strategies to ensure noise does not escalate to an acceptable level.
Firstly, at the beginning of the year teach the students what level of noise is acceptable during different types of activities. Also explain to students why different noise levels are needed in different circumstances.
Bill Rogers (2006. p.65) suggests modelling "partner voices" to younger students and use role play to have the students demonstrate they understand this as well as different voices such as "quiet work talk", "whisper" and "playground voice". When the students understand the noise levels associated with these it is easier for a teacher to remind a student to use their "quiet work talk" rather than just telling them to be quiet.
Transitions
Before a transition from a whole class activity to independent work, group work or other activity, make sure the students know exactly what to do and can tell you, and remind them of the appropriate noise level to observe. It has to be clear to students what is expected of them or some will start saying "What do we do now?" if they have not been paying attention, and this can be very frustrating, if you have to repeat yourself.
I have observed the best way to avoid this is to give the students an instruction about what they are doing next and then ask someone to explain back to you what they will be doing. As well as that I like to ask "is anyone unclear about what they need to do?". Do this before the class moves to the activity. It can also help to give students a time limit, or count down from 20 for them to be sitting in their groups or ready to start the next activity. Remind students to use their "inside voices" (p.63) while moving around the classroom and their "partner voices" while in group-work.
Use a noise meter
A useful tool to monitor the noise levels in the classroom is a "noise meter" as discussed by Rogers (1996, pp. 66-67). You can make a poster which is displayed at the front of the classroom, or as Rogers suggests, have one on each group table for younger grades. This is an excellent way of reminding students about keeping noise to an appropriate level with a visual cue and you can nominate noise monitors during group work, a responsibility some students will really enjoy having. The poster will show 4 levels of noise with drawings of students in the class in different situations, with a dial and movable arrow in the middle, like a clock face. For example, one picture can be of students sitting with their hands up, and this can be used as the lowest level of noise, and as a reminder for students not to call out. Another picture might be of students sitting talking together to show partner voices and another of students with mouths wide open, indication too much noise! The teacher turns the dial to indicate what the current noise level is and this serves as a visual cue for students to modify their noise level. A similar device could be made using a poster that looks like a thermometer, with the top area in red, and the bottom area blue, with sections of colour to represent the different noise levels.
As I mentioned in 'Create a Positive Classroom Environment', when students are engaged with interesting and varied activities they can see value in, the risk of inappropriate behaviour is reduced. It is always preferable to prevent inappropriate behaviour from occurring rather than dealing with it after it has happened. This section is aimed at providing practical strategies to reduce the chance of inappropriate behavior.
Allow for flexible learning goals
Students will be more motivated if they are allowed to have a say in some of the things they will be learning. For example, in an integrated unit topic, the teacher can discuss with students what will be covered, and then ask students to make suggestions of things they are interested in about that topic, and these can be incorporated into the lessons for the term, into student assignments and class discussions. As Marzano and Pickering discuss, (2003 p. 52) allowing students to have input into what they will be learning about "not only has the potential to increase students’ interest in the topic, but also conveys the message that you are concerned about their interests and are making an attempt to include those interests in your instruction".
Keep students informed about what they will be doing
Especially when teaching long lessons, I like to give the students an overview of what they will be doing in the lesson block. I believe when the students know what is ahead and how long they will be doing something for it allows them to feel more comfortable and settled. If it is a long lesson I always get them to have a quick break, drink and stretch in the middle of the lesson before changing activities, or getting into group work. The break is usually only for 3 or 4 minutes, but this is enough to give them a break without wasting time. Counting down from 10 out loud is a good way to get students back in their seats quickly. During long lesson blocks always have a variety of activities to keep students interested, as well as catering for different learning styles.
The "What to do when I'm done poster".
Tom Daly, the author of the book "The ADHD Solution: How to Turn Any Disruptive Child into Your Best Student" has several very practical strategies on his DVD "7 Days to a Perfect Classroom", that aim to prevent inappropriate behaviour occurring in the classroom. In my experience teaching both adults and children, and from observing other teachers, it is essential that students always have something to do. Tom believes "his most critical skill is his ability to pinpoint specific strategies that transform children with ADHD, while reducing the frustration of teachers, parents and other students in the classroom". I believe his strategies can be applied to any classroom whether there are students with ADHD or not.
I believe one of Tom Daly's suggested strategies makes a big difference in keeping the classroom running smoothly and have personally noticed a positive difference when students always know what to do next, after completing a task. This strategy is the "What do to when I'm done poster".
When students are completing an activity, individually or in groups, there will always be some fast finishers. If you have planned activities for the students to choose from when they finish a task early there is no reason for them to be unoccupied with work, but they also have a choice of what they do. Providing a variety of activities they can do independently while others are still working will keep them busy with something educational or organisational and allowing you to continue helping students who require assistance. I have seen what happens when students finish early and have nothing else to do and usually it involves chatting with their neighbours and often disrupting those who are still working.
Use Acronyms for your 'When I'm done Poster' and make up a few and change them every couple of weeks. Here is one idea from Tom Daly and you can make up your own.
"Write - poems, songs, letters
Organise - backpack, binder, desk
Read - textbook, magazine
Draw - Maps, pictures, artwork"
You could also make up thematic posters based on your integrated unit.
Another fun idea is to have a Question Box, from which students draw out a laminated question card, and then go and find the answer. If you have computers in the classroom the students can use the internet to research the topic, or if not have questions that can be found within the classroom, from books or from practical activities. For example, have students look up facts on various topics, or specifically on the integrated unit topic. Have students do practical activities, eg: 'Measure the doorway and find the perimeter', how many square metres is our classroom?'
Peer tutoring is another strategy that I have seen to work well for the fast finishing students. I have seen the benefits of this particularly in Maths, where the fast finishing student acts as a tutor to another student. This promotes good relationships between the students, allowing the 'tutor' student to feel they are doing something very worthwhile, and as students will have strengths in different areas, different students will have opportunities to use their strengths to help others at different times..
Set up a cross-age tutoring/Buddies program
In his DVD, Tom Daly also suggests setting up a cross age tutoring program which I have seen to be very effective in 3 local schools where I live. One school focuses on PE activities, another on PE, The Arts, and ICTs and the other on a different type of activity each week. One of the things I like most about this idea is that you can give students authentic and purposeful learning experiences that are also of benefit to another group of students.
Cross-age tutoring or a Buddies program will be of huge benefit to all the students involved. Once a week your class visits with another class and students are paired up, or sometimes in small groups, and they either do literacy based tasks, or other activities, such as PE or art and craft, with the older students helping the younger students. One of the main benefits I have observed from this type of program is that among the older students, those who may not be as popular, or who may be having problems with certain learning areas, will find themselves in a position where they are looked up to and valued as a big brother or sister figure. I have seen students with low self-esteem suddenly become more confident in this situation and they have been more than capable of helping the younger students with various activities such as reading, craft or using ICTs. I also noticed that the more difficult students changed quite significantly in their attitude when they were in a mentoring situation and were being looked up to by a much younger student. As Pollard Slaughter states with regard to cross age tutoring in literacy, (1993, p.11) "both the tutors and the tutees usually take these sessions very seriously, so few behavioural problems occur".
This type of activity is fun for students and they are engaged in a type of cooperative learning situation where they will both benefit from each others success. Activities can be carried out separately and then used in the Buddies program. I had a group of Year 7 students write a book for their Prep Buddies using the program 'Storybird'. The students were highly motivated to use this program and were always on task, focused and looked forward to sharing their stories with their Buddies. If the Buddies program has a focus on literacy there are many benefits to both groups of students and if the program is fun students will be motivated and less likely to have any inappropriate behaviour during this time, or in activities related to it. Pollard Slaughter (1993, p. 11) discusses that in cross-age reading tutoring programs the "tutored child received immediate feedback from the older student in a relationship that may not be as threatening as working with an adult", and that these tutored students "tend not only to do better academically but also to express more positive attitudes toward school and academic subjects".
Be aware of how you are speaking to the students
It is really important to consider how we are speaking to students. Sometimes a student may interpret what we say in a way different to what we intended so we need to be mindful of the messages we are giving to students, as this can influence how they react to what we say and also influence behavior in the classroom.
Edwards and Watt (2004 p. 168) state that "teachers must be able to communicate genuine acceptance of their students by developing effective communication flows in helping relationships with students." They suggest using "preventative I- messages" (p. 169) when communicating with students as "these messages let students know, ahead of time, what teachers might need or want."
One example of a "preventative I-message" is :" ‘I’d like to discuss what you plan to have ready on your report for Friday so I can anticipate what I need to prepare for that day.": (p. 169). This is preferable to saying something like "You'd better make sure your report is done by Friday" or "Don't come to me on Friday and say you haven't done your report!".
I believe the way we speak to students can have a significant effect on how they respond to us and by using positive and supportive language the students will have more respect for the teacher as they will feel they are being treated with respect themselves.
Be Assertive
I have had a few teachers tell me about the saying "Don't smile until Christmas" in order to manage students' behaviour but I don't agree with this idea. I think the idea is to be assertive, without being aggressive. I don't believe you have to be mean and angry to get students to behave, but rather the opposite. As Silver points out (2003, p. 27) being assertive means being "forthright, definite and positive. When teachers give students definite expectations and consistently demonstrate that they mean what they say, the students will respond positively".
As a new teacher I believe being assertive is a challenge, so we need to practice using assertive language, even in front of a mirror, or to no one, to get ourselves used to it. After observing assertive teachers it is obvious that you can be assertive and still smile and create a warm and positive learning environment.
Some of the suggestions I find useful from Silver (2003, p. 30) include:
- " Do not begin instruction until all students are focused and attentive.
- Be sure your voice and body language are consistent with your words.
- Use direct eye contact and simple hand gestures to redirect off-task or inappropriate behaviour.
- Be warm and friendly and firm".
Prevent the classroom getting too noisy
Sometimes noise levels in the classroom will rise when students are involved in group work, waiting for a lesson to start, or moving from one activity to another. To prevent this happening students should be clear on what level of noise is acceptable and the teacher needs to put something in place so students are aware of this. I have observed that some teachers prefer absolute silence while students are working, but others are not bothered by students talking while doing group work. Each teacher will have different standards about what level of noise is acceptable.
Bill Rogers (2006) discusses noise levels in the classroom , reasons for noise levels rising and strategies to ensure noise does not escalate to an acceptable level.
Firstly, at the beginning of the year teach the students what level of noise is acceptable during different types of activities. Also explain to students why different noise levels are needed in different circumstances.
Bill Rogers (2006. p.65) suggests modelling "partner voices" to younger students and use role play to have the students demonstrate they understand this as well as different voices such as "quiet work talk", "whisper" and "playground voice". When the students understand the noise levels associated with these it is easier for a teacher to remind a student to use their "quiet work talk" rather than just telling them to be quiet.
Transitions
Before a transition from a whole class activity to independent work, group work or other activity, make sure the students know exactly what to do and can tell you, and remind them of the appropriate noise level to observe. It has to be clear to students what is expected of them or some will start saying "What do we do now?" if they have not been paying attention, and this can be very frustrating, if you have to repeat yourself.
I have observed the best way to avoid this is to give the students an instruction about what they are doing next and then ask someone to explain back to you what they will be doing. As well as that I like to ask "is anyone unclear about what they need to do?". Do this before the class moves to the activity. It can also help to give students a time limit, or count down from 20 for them to be sitting in their groups or ready to start the next activity. Remind students to use their "inside voices" (p.63) while moving around the classroom and their "partner voices" while in group-work.
Use a noise meter
A useful tool to monitor the noise levels in the classroom is a "noise meter" as discussed by Rogers (1996, pp. 66-67). You can make a poster which is displayed at the front of the classroom, or as Rogers suggests, have one on each group table for younger grades. This is an excellent way of reminding students about keeping noise to an appropriate level with a visual cue and you can nominate noise monitors during group work, a responsibility some students will really enjoy having. The poster will show 4 levels of noise with drawings of students in the class in different situations, with a dial and movable arrow in the middle, like a clock face. For example, one picture can be of students sitting with their hands up, and this can be used as the lowest level of noise, and as a reminder for students not to call out. Another picture might be of students sitting talking together to show partner voices and another of students with mouths wide open, indication too much noise! The teacher turns the dial to indicate what the current noise level is and this serves as a visual cue for students to modify their noise level. A similar device could be made using a poster that looks like a thermometer, with the top area in red, and the bottom area blue, with sections of colour to represent the different noise levels.
Students with Special Needs
If you have students with high support needs in your class it is important to seek out support from the relevant staff, the learning support teacher and the parents to support the needs of your students. A team approach involving the teacher, parents, learning support teacher and other relevant professionals will allow planning to cater for the diverse needs of the students. Students such as those with an Intellectual Impairment, ADHD, Aspergers and other forms of diversity will need a teacher who understands the challenges they face in the classroom environment. Professional Development will assist the teacher in learning about the types of behaviour that may occur, and why they occur, allowing a better understanding of how to support the students within the classroom environment, and in the playground. Be aware that students with special needs also have common needs with other students, such as wanting to belong, to have fun and to have freedom and power. As as students with special needs are often labelled we have to make sure we are aware, as stated by Kliewer, Biklen (1996 as cited in Inglis, 2011, p. that "Labels have a way of drawing our attention away from understanding the individual as a complex and competent person." as stated by K
Education QLD has information on various forms of disabilities and provide a resource for schools to request professional development and support .
Education QLD has information on various forms of disabilities and provide a resource for schools to request professional development and support .