A collaborative effort between the West Virginia State Department of Education and the National
Center to Improve Personnel Preparation
Classroom Management
Best Practices Checklist
Helping You Link PD to Best Practice
☐ Yes ☐ No
1) I have a clear vision for my classroom that includes the following: a) what I want
my classroom to be like; b) what my classroom should look like; c) what I want my
classroom to feel like to a class member or visitor; d) what I want my students to
accomplish; and e) what I want to accomplish.
☐ Yes ☐ No
2) I have guidelines for my classroom and these guidelines are consistent with
school-wide system, use assessment as guide, and are individualized.
☐ Yes ☐ No
3) I balance giving attention to appropriate behaviors and inappropriate behaviors.
☐ Yes ☐ No
4) In my classroom, I give more attention to the student that does it correct rather
than the student that does it incorrect.
☐ Yes ☐ No
5) I do not use traditional strategies for dealing with inappropriate behavior, such
as: time out, demerits or fines, detention, writing assignments, or reward
deprivation.
6) When there is repeated inappropriate behavior in my classroom I:
☐ Yes ☐ No Re-teach expectations/rules
☐ Yes ☐ No Change seating arrangements
☐ Yes ☐ No Conference with parent or student
☐ Yes ☐ No Use peer mediation
☐ Yes ☐ No Develop student contracts
☐ Yes ☐ No Provide choices
☐ Yes ☐ No Remove tempting items from the classroom
7) When there is inappropriate behavior in my classroom, I use:
☐ Yes ☐ No Humor & allowing the student to “save face”
☐ Yes ☐ No Re-direct the student
☐ Yes ☐ No Assure that the student fails to earn a privilege
☐ Yes ☐ No Allow for the opportunity for restitution or an apology
☐ Yes ☐ No Verbally and non-verbally prompt or cue the student
☐ Yes ☐ No Reward alternate positive behavior and peers for appropriate
behavior
☐ Yes ☐ No Allow wait time between my request and follow through
☐ Yes ☐ No Use planned ignoring
☐ Yes ☐ No Teach a replacement skill or desired behavior
☐ Yes ☐ No Give a cool-off pass with reflective time
☐ Yes ☐ No
8) When addressing inappropriate behavior in my classroom, I make sure the action
taken matches the severity of the behavior.
☐ Yes ☐ No
9) When there is inappropriate behavior in my classroom, I determine function of the
behavior because understanding the function helps me determine what a good replacement
behavior is, so as not to replace the behavior with escalated behavior.
☐ Yes ☐ No
10) I provide opportunities for parents, and students to contribute ideas and notify all
parents of the new discipline procedures prior to implementation.