Behavior
Management
Materials available on thenewPE.com
Question
• Think-Pair-Share
• What are some keys to or strategies for effective
behavior management? Write your responses.
• Not all behavior management/behavioral support
methods are created equal.
Why Important
• Increased learning/time on task
• Better perception of PE & PA (not a joke)
• Increased teacher satisfaction and fewer departures
from the profession (#1 reason Ts leave)
• Increased safety
• Increased social skills/responsibility
• Be prepared for any school environment
Without control, you have nothing
When does managing behaviors begin?
• When a student misbehaves?
• No, long beforehand
• This presentation:
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3.
Creating a Positive Atmosphere
Designing a Proactive Management Plan
Instructional Interventions
1. Creating a Positive
Atmosphere
Learning names - Be persistent, knowing a student’s name
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greatly increases their accountability (WPHS)
Practice during attendance
Label a photograph (get permission)
Past yearbooks
Use names when addressing (greet and dismiss)
Squads/assigned location grid
Brief note/description in attendance roster or adjective with
name (Blue-eyed Brianna)
Check names during assessments/assignments
Name games at start of year
Positive strategies
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Model from teachers you enjoy/enjoyed
Post records (fitness, coop)
Play music
Tell students/class what they are doing right
• Teachers who are always negative get tuned out and it
makes PE & PA less enjoyable
• Strive for at least one positive per negative (1:1)
Positive Gymnasium
• Non-naked gym – makes physical education and
physical activity more educational and inviting.
It’s your classroom!
• Posters
• Pictures of students/
activities
• Wall/floor art
• Project for the art dept
WPHS
Teacher Expectations
• You set the bar/tone for your gym
• What standard of behavior am I
expecting during this presentation?
• You’re going to listen, raise your hand, not talk with
others, and work on problems given. End of story!
Anything other than that and you’re going to hear from
me!!
• Got to be FIRM – beware laughing, joking when
inappropriate
2. Prevention - Designing a Proactive
Management Plan
1. Prevention – set yourself up for success
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80% of behavior management issues are related to TEACHER
PLANNING (Lavay, Frency, & Henderson, 2006)
• Poorly planned lessons = poorly behaved students
• Boring activities, waiting in line, not enough equipment, already mastered
skills (developmentally inappropriate), groupings, inadequate directions, too
many transitions
• Make every class engaging and FUN. Incorporate activities with high activity
time & use small sided games that reduce the “fishbowl” effect
• Consider the following:
• Complexity of drills, number of partners, amount of equipment, area of
playing surface, setting (gym v. outdoors), teaching styles
2. Prevention - PE Syllabus
Provide for middle and high school classes. It’s basically a
contract between the instructor and students. Includes :
• Rules for the class
Day 1 Orientation
Sample syllabi
• Donegal MS, Athens Area HS, Daniel Boone MS, Tamaqua
Area HS,
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Organization
• Set yourself up for success:
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A
B
C
D
E
• If control is challenging, do not have students sit on
top of or next to one another; you are asking for
trouble. Spread them out.
• Consider using a grid with numbers and letters on
the wall.
• Have Ss sit where they are after an activity instead
of all in the center circle
4
2. Prevention – Planning
Transitions
• Transitions are a danger area in a lesson
• Think about the following:
• Moving from one area to another, equipment, grouping, timing,
how many transitions
• Goal is short, sweet and clear
1. Preinstruction – Planning
Transitions
• Transition - What would you say? 24Ss, 6th gr.,floor
hockey dribbling
2. Prevention – Assessment
• In some schools, PE is not part of the grade. Work to
change that.
• Penn. Standard 10.4.12D (~NASPE 5) – “Assess and
use strategies for enhancing adult group interaction in
physical activities.”
• Level of Involvement Scale (Farmington, Naugatuck)
• Elements of Hellison’s Model
2. Prevention – Assessment
• Make sure you are assessing students in the
standards and all 3 domains (P, C, A)
• Students are more likely to behave and learn if they
know they are accountable
• Rubrics from skill classes
• Net & Wall, Fitness Wellness
2. Prevention – Creating Routines
• Tasks that are repeated frequently benefit from
establishing routines to ensure consistency and reduce
confusion
• Routines eliminate confusion and increase instructional time.
• Do not leave any part of a routine open to interpretation
• CONSISTENCY!
• What are some examples of routines for a PE?
• Practice
• Answers
2. Prevention
• Stressing character or human virtues
• Lots of research in this area
• Check out charactercounts.org and character education
• Example from SSW
2. Prevention
• Hellison’s Model of Personal
and Social Responsibility
• Sequential so students can
compare and move-up the
levels over time
• Hellison in-action
• Examples: 1, 2
2. Prevention
• Post Hellison’s model on the wall or just the level 5
behaviors (age appropriate).
• Use closure questions related to personal and social
responsibility (thumbs up/down, touch answer on wall, 1
question quizzes)
• Ask questions:
• Did someone help some today? How?
• Who said something that encouraged someone?
• How would a level five person get equipment? (prompting)
2. Prevention
• Game Face - – appropriate tone and demeanor (firm, organized,
purposeful). Exude a confidence that you WILL keep the class
under control and certain behaviors ARE expected and those
contrary will NOT be tolerated
• Be dynamic and motivating while teaching (ON STAGE).
• “You’re awesome,” “great hustle,” “someone has got their game on today”
– Mr. Pulisciano, Cheshire, HS
• Provide continual feedback, this reminds students the teacher is
engaged with and monitoring class
• Circulate around the gym - don’t “root” in one place.
• Keep things moving & watch for activities “petering” out
• Awareness talk – whole class discussion when something
happens (ignoring most often makes things worse)
2. Prevention - “Catch Being
Good”
• Write names of students who did something good on the
board (opposite the norm)
• Secret Student - Draw a name from a pile of paper
scraps containing all the student's names. Keep this
name a secret. The students know (from you having told
them) that this selected person will be watched to
determine if they have behaved well and the class is
deserving of a reward.
From: www.behavioradvisor.com
More on “Catch Being Good”
• The Raffle Ticket System - Award cut-up pieces of paper
to kids who are on task, answer questions, etc. Don't be
stingy. There will only be one drawing at the end of the
period or day...thus only one prize given away
• Name on the Board – Kids who behaved properly that
day.
From: www.behavioradvisor.com
More on “Catch Being Good”
• Bell system - Use a kitchen timer. Tell the students that
you will be evaluating their behavior at the moment the
bell sounds and offering a reward later. Set the timer for
any time between one minute and twenty minutes
(shorter times for classes that misbehave more
often). Do not let the students see the timer.
• Student of the day gets to be line leader or the person
right after line leader (very coveted either way!)
From: www.behavioradvisor.com
Using Reinforcers
 Token Economy
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Whole class – accumulating points toward a class reward
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Example: “If we’re good, we have time for the fun games planned”
Example: At the end of each class, the teacher writes a class’s score
(0-100) on the board. 10 point deductions are made during class for
not following the rules. The class with the most points at the end of a
month gets a reward.
Example: Create a chart that tracks the number of stickers a class
earns for “good” behavior. Once a class earns 10 stickers for example,
a reward is administered.
Individual – collecting PE bucks or school bucks (usually
with principal’s picture) towards a reward you specify
Prevention
• Firmness – Is it easier to start loose and become
more firm or start firm and loosen up? Why?
• T/F: Endeavor to be friends with your students?
Prevention
Building Rapport
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Have fun; show your personality (within reason)
Smile when appropriate and have a good sense of humor
Demonstrate concern for students
Relate to students in and out of classroom (talk before/after class)
Get to know their world (Facebook, break dancing club)
ALWAYS remember though, you are the teacher and not one of
their friends
If students “like you” they are less likely to misbehave and
will fear “letting you down.”
3.
Interve
ntions:
When
Problems
Arise
YOU ARE NOT BEING MEAN!!!!!!
• Don’t feel guilty about discipling
students!
• You are teaching them self control,
discipline, character, appropriate
standards of behavior.
• These are VALUABLE LESSONS –
You are in fact doing them a favor.
• Better to learn now as opposed to
later.
Notice Misbehavior
• This sounds self evident but
it’s not.
• Many STs fail to notice
obvious things like chatting,
tapping sticks, moving
around on the floor.
• To miss little things is
human, many little or major
things is poor management.
3. Types of Authority
• Think of it like the three types of
parenting:
• Authoritarian – dictator, hostile
• Permissive – laissez faire (non-assertive,
hands off)
• Authoritative – firm, calm, confident
• May fluctuate but authoritative is
generally the best
1st Line of Defense
1st line of defense: non-invasive strategies. Use when you
want to stop misbehavior but want to avoid verbally
addressing it. Using non-invasive techniques makes
class less negative and also increases instructional
time by not having to devote time to the misbehavior.
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Proximity
Eye contact
Hand gestures
Vocal variety
Name in a sentence
- Series of Consequences
• Develop a series of consequences that works for you. Here is an
example.
• West Philadelphia HS
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Verbal or non-verbal warning or reminder
Adjust level of involvement score
Phone call home (sometimes earlier, depends on home)
Community service
• Lunch – students given 10 minutes to get lunch, report to gym, eat (usually with me),
then perform some service (dust mop gym, pick up trash, set-up for next class). This
was a great time to get to know the student and just talk
• After school – similar to above
• Assignment (from fitness/health textbook)
• Referral to administration (dreaded pink sheet)
• Parent conference – 3 way with me, student, and parent(s)/guardians(s)
• Students are in lunch detention until this is completed
Strategies for Misbehavior
• Planned Ignoring – use when behavior (what is reinforcing) is
benign, short, and doesn’t affect the group (nudges their friend).
• BE CAREFUL – DO NOT ignore too much or it will get worse
• This is a frequent error with beginning teachers
• Wait time – can’t get to the next activity or the culminating activity
until proper behavior is displayed. Don’t overuse!
• “I’m waiting for everyone to listen.”
Strategies for Misbehavior
Verbal interventions
• Don’t nag or plead (shows weakness) – follow through
•1 warning or zero
warnings is enough!
• If you warn 5X’s, students learn they can misbehave 4 times
before a consequence.
• 3 strike rules – not a fan
Strategies for Misbehavior
Time Out – removing a student from an activity
• Avoid calling it time-out in middle school or high school, can be insulting.
Instead say:
• “Sit out for a moment please.”
• Do not allow students to avoid selected activities
• DO NOT make time out reinforcing
• i.e. Talk, explore, engage passers by, get involved
• Only under severe conditions should a student be sent to the
office/principal
• Administrators want to know you can handle your classroom
• Using Time Out as a Learning Experience
• Verbally debrief situation (why, how improve, etc) when a student
returns from time-out if you have time
• Time Out Worksheets (good crosscurriculars as well): 1, 2
Talking Bench
• Students attempt to resolve their own dispute.
• Student answer a series of age-appropriate Q’s
• What caused your disagreement?
• Explain how you felt.
• What solution did you agree on?
• Two options:
• Have the questions on the wall. Students answer the questions
verbally and the teacher questions students to determine if the
conflict was appropriate resolved. If yes, the students return to
activity, if not, the students return to the talking bench.
• Each student write their responses on a form which is given to the
teacher
• Example
Strategies for Misbehavior
• Exclusionary – similar to time-out but student remains
a part of the lesson with some restrictions
• Examples:
• Move back from the circle where everyone is sitting
• Student is not allowed to speak or answer questions
• Student is not allowed to work with certain other students during the
remainder of class or for a period of weeks/months
• Restricted Play (elementary) – students are still participating
in activity but with restrictions
• Example: in a bowling group but can’t bowl, in a tag game but can’t
tag, playing soccer but can’t shoot
Strategies for Misbehavior
Verbal Reprimands
• Concise
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Listen please (not “stop talking”)
Hands to yourself (not “stop it”)
"What should you be doing right now?"
Look and sound like you mean it! Have a good “game face!”
• Expanded – Telling students what behavior is unacceptable and why
• Eli, please hold onto the ball. I find it distracting as do other students.
• Book: “Joy, interrupting is impolite. It makes it difficult for others to follow my
instructions. Please wait until I have finished to ask a question.”
• DO NOT ridicule, insult, demean
• If a student loses face, you’ve lost them (peer reputation is powerful)
• Students will turn against you
• NEVER yell at students or use disrespectful language (that is a loss of control
on your part)
Strategies for Misbehavior
• Talking with Students
• 1 on 1
• I messages, active listening (echo), decide upon a
solution together and get student to verbally agree to it,
avoid the never ending lecture
• Avoid “power struggles” in front of the class because the
student is on stage and most likely, they won’t back down
• Better to talk individually with students while the rest of the class
is active
Strategies for Misbehavior
• Contracts – behaviorally focused agreement between
you and a student
• Daily report – often used in combination with a contract
• Premack Principle – reward students with activities they
choose independently.
• Letter of Apology - Have the off-task student write a
letter of apology to the injured party which is signed by
the parents.
• Personal examination – Reflect on one’s actions and
how it affects others. Turn in to the teacher.
Difference in Health
• Seating assignment
• When in doubt, don’t allow to pick spot (alphabetical,
allow to sit anywhere FIRST DAY only)
• Changing activities every 15 minutes
Practice
• ST Scenarios - Work in groups and decide how
your groups would respond to the situation.
Conclusion
• If an approach isn’t working, try something else.
• Seems obvious but isn’t
• The power of REFLECTION
Conclusion
Build a Comprehensive Strategy – Find what works
for you!
1.
2.
3.
Creating a Positive Atmosphere
Designing a Proactive Management Plan
Instructional Interventions
Conclusion
Develop your
Find the
Materials
• http://thenewPE.com