Classroom & Behavior Management

Classroom & Behavior Classroom & Behavior ManagementManagement

Dawn WetherellDawn WetherellKMIS CTCKMIS CTC

What is Classroom Management?

In The First Days of School, Harry Wong states, “Classroom management is the practices and procedures that allow teachers to teach and students to learn.”

Classroom Management

Teacher’sRole

InstructionalStrategies

Procedures &RoutinesDiscipline

The Ideal Teacher:

According to Julia G. Thompson, author of Discipline Survival Kit for the Secondary Teacher

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0WXhtyVs9Gk

The Teacher-Student Relationship

1.1. Show interest in your Show interest in your studentsstudents

2.2. Knowledge of your subject Knowledge of your subject matter. matter.

1.1. Class controlClass control1.1. What does this mean?What does this mean?

From First-Year Teacher’s Survival Kit, by Julia G. Thompson

Dressing AppropriatelyDressing Appropriately

• According to Harry According to Harry Wong, Wong, ““We are We are walking, talking walking, talking advertisements for advertisements for who we are.who we are.””

• Educators should Educators should dress for respect, dress for respect, credibility, credibility, acceptance, and acceptance, and authority.authority.

Effective InstructionEffective Instruction

Movement is the keyMovement is the key• Quick access to any student at

any time• Be comfortable moving around

your room• Being in close proximity to a

misbehaving student deters bad behavior

Effective Time Management Curbs Discipline Problems

• More engaged a student is the better he behaves

• Students tend to be more distracted during these 3 phases of instruction:

»The beginning of class»Transitions»The end of class

Ideas for the Beginning of Class

• It is ESSENTIAL It is ESSENTIAL that the students that the students have an activity to have an activity to complete as soon complete as soon as the bell rings.as the bell rings.

• Take roll while the Take roll while the students are students are working on the working on the assignment.assignment.

• Have your students:Have your students:– Create a test Create a test

question.question.– Illustrate important Illustrate important

information.information.– Scan the dayScan the day’’s s

reading assignment.reading assignment.– Take a mini-quiz.Take a mini-quiz.– Draw a cartoon.Draw a cartoon.– Summarize the Summarize the

previous dayprevious day’’s topic.s topic.

According to Julia G. Thompson, author of Discipline Survival Kit for the Secondary Teacher

Ending Class Without Ending Class Without ChaosChaos• The end of class The end of class

should be as should be as structured as structured as the beginning.the beginning.

• Closing exercises Closing exercises will provide a will provide a constructive constructive review of the review of the dayday’’s lesson.s lesson.

• Be sure that Be sure that youyou dismiss the dismiss the students and not students and not the bellthe bell.

More ideas to try from More ideas to try from Julia G. Thompson:Julia G. Thompson:

– Rapid-fire drillsRapid-fire drills– Predict the next Predict the next

lessonlesson– Review homework Review homework

directionsdirections– Show a relevant Show a relevant

cartooncartoon– Play a game for Play a game for

bonus pointsbonus points

An Effective Discipline An Effective Discipline PlanPlan

3 most important 3 most important student behaviors to student behaviors to teach on the first days of teach on the first days of school are:school are:

– DisciplineDiscipline – ProceduresProcedures– RoutinesRoutines

“If you do not have a If you do not have a plan, you are planning plan, you are planning to fail.to fail.”” From The First Days of School,

by Harry Wong

Class Rules

Abide by the RulePositive Consequences:

REWARDS

Break the RuleNegative Consequences:

PENALTIES

Your Discipline Plan

The Rules About RulesThe Rules About Rules• Wong writes, “The function of a rule is

to prevent or encourage behavior by clearly stating student expectations.”

General Rules:General Rules:Respect others.Respect others.Be polite and Be polite and

helpful.helpful.

Specific Rules:Specific Rules:Be in class on Be in class on

time.time.Keep your hands, Keep your hands,

feet, feet, and objects to and objects to yourself.yourself.

What are the advantages and disadvantages to both?

Creating Your Class RulesCreating Your Class Rules

• Only have 3 to 5 rulesOnly have 3 to 5 rules• Have students help create rules.Have students help create rules.• State rules positively.State rules positively.• Make the rules easy for you and your Make the rules easy for you and your

students to remember. POST these in your students to remember. POST these in your classroom.classroom.

• Be able to enforce the rules consistently.Be able to enforce the rules consistently.• Remember: Remember:

– Rules deal with behavior, not procedures. Rules deal with behavior, not procedures.

Discuss how to do Discuss how to do this.this.

Rewards• Harry Wong emphasizes, “The best reward is the satisfaction of a job well done.”• Some examples include:

»Praise»A note home (Good News Cards)»Student of the day, week, or month»Tangible rewards»Work posted »Certificates of Honor»Coupons

Penalties•KMIS follows KMIS follows the established the established

PBIS PBIS procedures.procedures.

Enlist Parent Support• Make positive parent contact before you Make positive parent contact before you

need their assistance with a problem.need their assistance with a problem.• Contact parents as soon as you see a Contact parents as soon as you see a

change in their childchange in their child’’s behavior s behavior patterns.patterns.

• Parents can be one of your biggest Parents can be one of your biggest allies in managing the studentallies in managing the student’’s s behavior.behavior.

Procedures and Routines• Harry Wong writes in The First Days of

School, “The number one problem in the classroom is not discipline; it is the lack of procedures and routines.”

• Wong also states, “A procedure is simply a method or process for how things are to be done in a classroom.”

• Procedures answer the question, “What do I do when…?”

What are Routines?Routines are something that is done at the

same time in the same way every day (or on any regular schedule).

Importance of routines: • Help manage behaviors.• Provide predictability.

• Provide structure.• Provide steps toward a specific goal.

Classroom Procedures That Must Become

Routine:1. Beginning of a period. Do students know what to do?

2. Quieting a class. Do students know how you will quiet them down?

3. Students seeking help. Do students know how to get your attention?

4. Movement of students and papers. Do students know how to move about the room and pass papers in?

5. End of period. Do students know who or what will dismiss them at the end of the period?

From The First Days of School, by Harry Wong

Procedures to ConsiderProcedures to Consider

• Entering the Entering the classroomclassroom

• Getting to work Getting to work immediatelyimmediately

• End of class End of class dismissaldismissal

• Participating in class Participating in class discussionsdiscussions

• Changing groupsChanging groups• Turning in papersTurning in papers• When you finish earlyWhen you finish early

• Asking a questionAsking a question• Responding to fire, Responding to fire,

severe weather, and severe weather, and tornado drillstornado drills

• Leaving the Leaving the classroomclassroom

• When visitors arriveWhen visitors arrive• Keeping a notebookKeeping a notebook• InterruptionsInterruptions• Getting classroom Getting classroom

materialsmaterials

From The First Days of School, by Harry Wong

You Must Teach Procedures!

EXPLAINEXPLAIN

REHEARSEREHEARSE

REINFORCEREINFORCE

4 Actions That Helped Me and Will Help You Too!

• Maintain a professional relationship with students and fellow colleagues.

• Be fair and consistent with students regardless of who they are.

• Use class time wisely to avoid misbehaviors.

• Take an interest in students’ extracurricular activities.

Behavior Management– enticement– guidance– direction– positive

recognition•praise•thanks•rewards.

• Discipline results in:– change for the

better– motivation– compliance– cooperation– production– positive bonds.

• an iron-handed approach:– controlling– demeaning– berating– punitive– coercive.

• Attempts to force compliance result in:– superficial

compliance– alienation– less motivation– resistance.

DISCIPLINE IS NOTDISCIPLINE IS NOT

ConsistencyConsistencyConsistency = predictability

– Inconsistency promotes the belief that rules aren’t really important.

– Consistency helps students see the value of appropriate behavior.

– Students may start to “gamble” if consequences are delivered inconsistently.

– Avoid threats or promises you cannot or will not keep.

The human brain The human brain automatically ignores the automatically ignores the

negative word: negative word: ““stop, not, no.stop, not, no.””

Do not think of a pink toad!

Plan to ignore. Ignore: “See no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil.” Effective ignoring Attention sustains behavior, positive and negative.

Teachers attend to negative behavior twelve times more frequently than they attend to positive behavior

Use proximity praise for youngsters near them who are doing the correct thing

Use proximity control with younger students who are avoiding work or attempting to gain something besides attention

Skills and PracticesSkills and Practices


Address negative behavior that cannot be ignored Attend to people exhibiting positive behavior

first Pause State the rule Ask for a solution “Take care of it” Wait Reinforce the positive behavior


Attention is one reason children act out. A soggy potato chip is better

than no potato chip. If you’ve never had a crisp

potato chip, you don’t know the difference.

Skills and PracticesSkills and Practices Offer choices.

Think “win-win.” Redirect attention to a desired activity

Offer an activity that teaches or measures the same skill, but through a different activity, in a different setting, or at a different time.

Everybody works harder on activities they have chosen and in which they are vested.

– Avoid “if-then” ultimatums; try “when-then” contingencies.


Pick your battles. Ask yourself, “What’s the worst thing that

will happen if….” Ask yourself, “What’s the best thing that will

happen if…”


Avoid power struggles. Power struggles result when children are

given “win-lose” scenarios, i.e. “I win; you lose.”

Skills and PracticesSkills and Practices• Giving and Getting Respect

– Set up kids for success• Establish routines.• Use proactive cooperation.• Discuss behavioral expectations before an activity.• Give hints and cues to help them be successful.• Catch them being good.• Recognize effort, not success.• Point out progress.


Evaluate before you speak.– “Will my action help or hurt the situation?”– “Will my action help the child become a better

problem-solver?”– Avoid judgment statements.– Address the behavior, not the character of the child.– Ask leading questions which help the child determine

what is right and wrong and help him make a better decision.

– “Will my action help the child gain self-control?”


Offer only choices you intend for them to have and which they are likely to choose.

Avoid: “Do you want a to go to the office?” “Are you ready to begin work?”

Instead: “You have the opportunity to make some choices here. What have most of your classmates chosen to do in this situation? Do you think that’s a choice that would end well for you right now? Great! Shall we get started?” “When everyone gets out their book, then we’ll be able to get started.”

Make sure you can deliver what you promise. Offer choices when the child is in a position to make good choices.

Few people make good choices during the middle of a “crisis.”

Skills and PracticesSkills and Practices Make yourself available.

You must be trusted and respected before relationships can develop and lasting change take place.

Make a leading statement, then wait for the child to approach you.

“You seem upset about something. Let me know when you’re ready to talk about it.”

“We need to talk about what happened in class today. Think about it for a few minutes, then we’ll talk.”

Skills and PracticesSkills and Practices Listen.

Really listen. Listening does not mean talking. Reflect. “I hear you saying…” “That really made

you angry.” Know when to probe and when to wait. Silence is a valuable listening tool. Help explore options vs. giving advice.

“Some people would….Do you think that could work for you next time?”

Strategies Strategies

– Help misbehaving children learn new and better ways:

• Talk TO them, not AT them.• Keep your voice at conversational level.• Avoid lecturing.• Exhibit self-control.• Seek win-win solutions.• Point out the positive, then the negative.• Separate the behavior from the kid.

– Like the youngster; dislike the behavior.• Sandwich constructive criticism between compliments.

Strategies for Active Strategies for Active StudentsStudents

Provide opportunities for physical movement.– Ask fidgety students to erase the

blackboard, run errands, distribute materials.

– Build physical activities into the daily schedule.

– Use something besides withholding recess as negative consequences.

– Discussion: Name other ideas.

Mottoes to live byMottoes to live by

Every day is a new day. Everybody starts with a clean slate.

Never ever personalize anything a child says or does.

Mottoes to live byMottoes to live by

“Equitable,” “fair,” “just” does not always mean “the same.”

Evaluate each child’s needs and capabilities.

I have better personal and interpersonal skills than children do.

I will choose and use more effective tools than those chosen by the unskilled people in my realm of influence.

Classroom Management, Kimberly Dyan Hoy,Classroom Management, Kimberly Dyan Hoy,Pendleton High SchoolPendleton High School

Dr. Thomas [email protected]

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Classroom & Behavior Management