Classroom management
Elizabeth Karakehagias
Educational Consultancy Group
educongr@hotmail.com 12/04/2012
1
What is challenging
behaviour?
Constant calling out
Interrupting
Distracting others
Distracting the teacher
2
Code of conduct
• Does the school have a policy or a
code of conduct that includes
procedures?
• Whose responsibility is it to
establish and monitor the code of
conduct?
• Are there common classroom rules?
3
Guidelines for Defining Behavioural
Expectations
• 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
4
Why 3-5 Rights and
Responsibilities?
• Easier to learn and remember than a long
list of specific behavioural expectations
• Posting them creates 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
5
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:
o Students should bring all their equipment to class
o Students should listen when others are speaking
o Students should be on time
o Students should attempt all work
6
Rights and Responsibilities in the
Classroom (2)
• Their Communal responsibilities include:
o Students should encourage others to bring all
their equipment to class
o Students should encourage others to listen
when others are speaking
o Students should encourage others to be on
time
o Students should encourage others to attempt
all work
7
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:
o Students should pass all objects hand to hand
o Students should speak politely
o Students should keep their hands to
themselves
8
Rights and Responsibilities in the
Classroom (4)
• Their Communal responsibilities include:
o Students should encourage others to pass all
objects hand to hand
o Students should encourage others to speak
politely
o Students should encourage others to keep
their hands to themselves
9
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?
10
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
11
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, rollmarking, going to the toilet
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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.
References
• “The developmental management approach
to classroom behaviour.”
Ramon Lewis