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---

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t.w;;

Los Angeles ~ London ~ New DelhiSingapore ~ Washington DC

SAGE Publications Ltd

1 Oliver's Yard

55 City Road

London EC1Y iSP

SAGE Publications Inc.

2455 Teller Road

Thousand Oaks, California 91320

SAGE Publications India Pvt Ltd

B 1/I 1 Mohan Cooperative Industrial Area

Mathura Road

New Delhi 110 044

SAGE Publications Asia-Pacific Pte Ltd

3 Church Street

#10-04 Samsung Hub

Singapore 049483

Editorial Arrangement O Neil Denby 2015

Chapter 1 O Neil Denby 2015 Chapter 13 o Joanne Pearson

Chapter 2 O Robert Butroyd 2015 2015

Chapter 3 O Fiona Woodhouse Chapter 14 O Neii Denby 2015

2015 Chapter 15 O Jan Barnes 2015

Chapter 4 O Jonathan Glazzard Chapter 16 O Sue Cronin and

2015 Sandra Hiett 2015

Chapter 5 O Rod Robertson 2015 Chapter 17 OO Jonathan Glazzard

Chapter 6 O Simon Evans 2015 2015

Chapter 7 O Matthew Crowther and Chapter 18 o Ian Quigley 2015

Michael Lamb 2015 Chapter 19 O Angela Gault 2015

Chapter 8 O Nina Barnes and Chapter 20 O Jonathan Glazzard

Jayne Price 2015 2015

Chapter 9 O Jan Barnes 2015 Chapter 21 O Neil Denby 2015 '

Chapter 10 O Ed Southall 2015 Chapter 22 O Jayne Price and

Chapter 11 OO Neil Denby 2015 Fiona Woodhouse 2015

Chapter 12 O Joanne Pearson Chapter 23 O lan Quigley 2015

2015 Chapter 24 O John Trafford 2015

First edition published 2008.

Second edition published 2012, reprinted 2014.

Commissioning editor: James Clark

Assistant editor: Rachael Plant

Production editor: Tom Bedford

Copyeditor: Audrey Scriven

Proofreader: Martin Noble

Marketing manager: Lorna Patkai

Cover design: Naomi Robinson

Typeset by: C&M Digitals (P) Ltd, Chennai, India

Printed and bound in Great Britain by Ashford

Colour Press Ltd

MIXPaper hom

~,SC responslWe sources

„ao FSC' C011746

Apart from any fair dealing for the purposes of research or private study,

or criticism or review, as permitted under the Copyright, Designs and

Patents Act, 1988, this publication may be reproduced, stored or

transmitted in any form, or by any means, only with the prior permission

in writing of the publishers, or in the case of reprographic reproduction, in

accordance with the terms of licences issued by the Copyright Licensing

Agency. Enquiries concerning reproduction outside those terms should

be sent to the publishers.

Library of Congress Control Number: 2015932149

British Library Cataloguing in Publication data

A catalogue record for this book is available from

the British Library

ISBN 978-1-4739-0792-8

ISBN 978-1-4739-0793-5 (pbk)

At SAGE we take sustainability seriously. Most of our products are printed in the UK using FSC papers and boards.

When we print overseas we ensure sustainable papers are used as measured by the Egmont grading system.

We undertake an annual audit to monitor our sustainability.

ThisCrawin NcUniveHe h~in NeHightin IC'

His aand 1.

I remHe towith I ~alwaywealt:

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~~ -

BEHAVIOUR STRATEGIES IN CHALLENGING CLASSROOMS

7. Manage behaviour effectively to ensure a good and safe learning environment

• have clear rules and routines for behaviour in classrooms, and takeresponsibility for promoting good and courteous behaviour both in classroomsand around the school, in accordance with the school's behaviour policy

• have high expectations of behaviour, and establish a framework fordiscipline with a range of strategies, using praise, sanctions and rewardsconsistently and fairly

• manage classes effectively, using approaches which are appropriate topupils' needs in order to involve and motivate them

• maintain -good relationships with pupils, exercise appropriate authority,and act decisively when necessary.

,~

Creating a positive classroom environment in which pupils are safe, secure and ableto learn wi11 underpin everything that you do as a teacher. In 2014, Ofsted reportedthat deeply worrying' persistent low-level disruption in classrooms frequently pre-vented learning, had a detrimental impact on the life chances of some pupils, andwas a contributor to good teachers leaving the profession (Ofsted, 2014). Never hasthe behaviour of pupilsreceived so much attention in the media and been so highon the agenda of Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Education. It is critical therefore notonly that school leadership teams apply a robust behaviour management system, butalso that teachers are well equipped to deal with all levels of pupil behaviour.Wherever you are on the continuum' that Rogers (2011) describes, you will need todevelop a range of effective management skills for all situations. Rogers states that:

There are a number of well-established theoretical positions addressing behaviour man-agement and discipline in schools ... ranging front explicit teacher control' (for example,particular forms of assertive discipline) to non-directive approaches (for example, teachereffectiveness-training. These positions' on a continuum, are in part philosophic, in partpedagogic and in part psychological —all have implications for one's values and practicesas a teacher. (2011: 6)

Effective management of pupil behaviour is one of the most fundamental skllls to idevelop as a teacher. From how you organise your classroom, through to the way inwhich you interact with pupils, outstanding teachers have both the confidence and the i,;

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Page 5: s226h4848.subnets.newman.ac.uk Exchange 12-07-2018 08-07-07 · 3 Church Street #10-04 Samsung Hub Singapore 049483 Editorial Arrangement O Neil Denby 2015 ... • have clear rules

u~ s~~as .~au~ o~ x~~a uta~ ~a~ o~ a7q~ aq II?n~ noli ~e~ nod are ~uapi3,~~o ~a~~,l ~uruaas?t P unoa~ anouz uza~ ~~?~1aj aze nod 31 •ss~j~ a~ jor~uo~

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~cn~uajj~u~ u~im ado pug astu~o szT .~a~d~ ~ uy sd~r~ o~In~u i pd ui~(aon uags~~o ~)

io3 u~jd u~~ no~i mou saaptsuo~ ~ .3 u

an~uaq oum zo spaau z~jn~i~.~Ed Lid?~ ua~pl?u~ — uouiuzo~ ssaj aa~ ~~u~ sansst a~~~

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•~uauzuozinua ~utuzeaj zno~ u? a~~aa pug ~~~ uossaT .zno~ ui saau~o n~ou uo

a~zduzT u~~ Itdnd pan~uaq-~[am ~ u~tnd I~ap nod reou ua~~ •uzooassej~ a~ u~u~im uoT~

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-_ t :. __~~ _ J

BEHAVIOUR STRATEGIES IN CHALLENGING CLASSROOMS i~43

f1 It1 ~ Ct111SBefore any task, it is vital you communicate your expectations to pupils. What does •II~i~success look like? How will they know if they are doing well? Sometimes showing ~'pupils what a good one looks like' (often abbreviated to WAGOLL) can avoid confu-sion (which often leads to distraction) and allow pupils to focus more on the "~~expected outcomes rather than interpreting the tasl~. How wIll the task end? What areyou expecting pupils to do and how are they expected to conduct themselves? Howmuch time do they have? An effective technique to refocus the class after an activity I ,is the use of a visible timer (there are many versions available online). When the timeruns out (with or without an audible alarm), pupils have a clear ending and newbeginning to a part of the lesson. Don't be afraid to cut a task short. If pupils are ~ ~losing interest, or have begun to complete the task before its expected end, adapting I'iyour lesson around this is essential. Allowing a task to dwindle can open the door ~ ~~to poor behaviour.

f rep is io and c ells I ~ III1~anagrng acces~~brls~y d,f e t i n h nge ~

Another considerable contributor to straying off tas1~ in lessons is a pupil who simplygives up. As soon as a pupil is off task, the likelihood of poor behaviour increasesgreatly. Pupils who are on task generally demonstrate predictable behaviours.', However pupils who are off task are far less predictable. The reasons for straying offtask can va . As well as the den ers of re etitive tasks in lessons u ils can alsorY g P ~ P P

I ibecome bored through a lack of challenge. It is incumbent on you to deliver explana- I'tions of tasks concisely and with clarity, and develop differentiation strategies that willenable pupils of all abilities within a class to access the work and make appropriateprogress (see Chapter 14).But how is that achieved? There are a number of effective strategies available toyou, many of which start at the planning stage of your lesson. Asking yourself simple j ~,questions such as what if they don't understand this?' and what if they grasp thisvery quickly?' will help you begin to create more scaffolding around a topic for ~iweaker puplls, or a greater challenge for the moxe able. Consider the needs of yourpupils when you are planning lessons. How well do you know each individual? For iexample, will your pupil with poor literacy be able to access the main activity Once '~ jagain we are pulled towards the fundamental expectation that you must know yourpupils. You will have to know their needs, what they will respond to and how they ~ Iwill res and to it. You won't alwa s et this ri ht but the more familiar ou are with ~

P Y g g Y ~a class, the more you can reduce the risk of poor behaviour developing through ~Ina r e t sl ~

pp opriat a ~s.I

i

~ ~~ ,

i

-~~

~ I_

,s . - _

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~~~Go~~a~~~ to secondary t~~~ 6ra

It is easy to focus differentiation entirely on .sup

porting weaker,pupls in lessons,

However it is just as important to give an appr

ppriate challenge, This does not neces-

sarily mean creating many different resources fo

r the same activity. Be creative. You

could have a range of questions that span fr

om simple to extraordinarily difficult

within one activity, or you could develop quest

ions that allow for a range of answer

depths —through the use of technical vocabul

ary, or the application of a concept to

real fife, or the projection of an idea arising fro

m a pupil's own questions around a

topic. ft is important to allow all pupils access

to more difficult questions and chal-

lenges. Never assume that a lower ability pupil

will not want to attempt harder tasks.

(t is unfair to deny them that opportunity, On a s

imilar note, don't underestimate how

much challenge you wil! need to provide for so

me pupils. There will be those who will

not have to struggle with anything you ask them

if you stay within the boundaries of

your provided curriculum. Don't be afraid of g

iving them access to material that wi(I

truly test their understanding beyond the need

s of the curriculum. If they are not

finding anything challenging, you run the risk

of losing your most able pupils.

~I~nagrng re~iection hand ~ontritionj

When, dealing with poox behaviour, ther

e is a need not only for pupils to be

punished

in accordance with your school's behaviou

r policy, but also for them to accept t

hat dleu

behaviour was inappropriate. Often a

pupil can be punished without refle

cting upon

their actions, and so the process itself is i

neffective. For example, consider a girl

who leas

sworn at another pupil during a lesson.

She is given a detention for half an

hour after

school the next day. During the detenti

on she sits in silence until the time is

up, then

goes home. At no point during this proc

edure has she reflected upon her

behaviour, or

taken any responsibility for her actions

. She may have sat for thirty minu

tes rl~inkine

about what she is going to do that eve

ning, or worse, grown increasingly

fntst~zfed ;i~

you for the injustice of the punishment a

s she believes she did nothing wrong.

is it rear

sonable to expect her to come to you

after the lesson and talk through

what she did

without support and guidance from you

? Be conscious of the need to r

estore broke:

relationships and to talk Chraugh seri

ous behavioural incidents with any o

f the P° Fib"

involved. Again, it should be stressed

that you are the adult. Tf you don't

address ~~>>~

resolve the issue, there is every chance

that the pupil involved wilt be comin

g into } ~'~

newt lesson bearing a grudge, or worse,

over time may stop attending your

lessons ~~`~

structured questioning goes a long way

in helping pupils to reflect on their

actions. ~~~ ~"

did yon do that?' will most likely be m

et with I don't know'. You 1~noR' tl'`~~ `~~

inappropriate behaviour, don't you?' w

ill also prompt an answer that do

es not «~l~`~"

thedishDeh

PuPtheanyPollc

TIfrYiwtF

All tml~oprof:mintlentPupai~.~i~ri coicxty

arc 1

Sc~o~i

f~

7 I ~.

}~i

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BEHAVIOUR STRATEGIES IIV CHALLENGING CLASSROOMS

the pupff to thirik. Furthermore, demanding an apology will often result in a reactive,disingenuous response. Try instead to discuss who is affected by the pupIl's actions.Delve deeper until they have realised that not only did the event affect the teacher andpupils involved, it also affected their parents, the rest of the class, the Teaching Assistant,the learning, and so on. Once you feel they have realised the true extent of the issue,any apology will at least be sincere, and the slate can be wiped clean for the new lesson.Following such discussions, mutually agreed targets are far more likely to be effective.

145

Acknowledging positeve behaviocer

All too often the focus on negative behaviour can be at the expense of those pupilswho are modelling good behaviour, effort and attitude. Pupils who never cause aproblem, and who can always be relied upon, do not deserve to be ignored. Bemindful of how much attention you give to good behaviour. Praise can be an excel-lent tool to encourage pupils to adopt the behaviours of others. Be aware that somepupils may not like being publicly praised —often it can cause embarrassment orar~ciery about how other pupils will react to them. However there are other ways torecognise behaviours that meet or exceed your expectations. Letters, postcards ortexts home, school-based rewards, written praise in booksr a quiet word when othersare on task —the key here is that in whatever way is most appropriate to the pupIl,good behaviour is acknowledged and not taken for granted.

Make addressing positive behaviour a focus for your observations. Talk to teachers abouthow they have reinforced positive expectations as a way to prevent poor behaviour. Developsome routines that you can use in your own teaching for different age ranges. For example,you could develop a positive behaviour reward scheme, some good behaviour stickers, aweekly .phone call. home to a different pupil, or email a picture of the 'best looking' class-work to that particular pupiPs parent.

„~ ,'' i'

i'`

{'

~; ~ ;,

'i

( 1f> iI~''+, j

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1~6 TRAINING TO TEACH

Irrvolv~ng other stakeholders

When dealing with poor behaviour, it can be easy to lose focus on the wider options

available to you. You do not have to tacl~le behaviour on your own. You have line manag-

ers, Heads of Department, form tutors, Heads of Year, Assistant Head Teachers in charge

of behaviour and learning, and often the most effective stakeholders —parents. If a

pupil

is persistently disruptive, parental involvement can often prove very effective, and

almost

certainly necessary. Wouldn't you want to know if your child was getting into trouble at

school? OF course some parents are more supportive than others, but you should never

ignore the option by pre-empting the parental response. A note in their pupil planner or

a phone call home will let the pupil know that their behaviour in school is not separate

from their behaviour at home. The same approach should be taken for good behaviour

too. Often a good phone call home for a pupil who has often been a problem, but in a

particular lesson was exceptional, can really motivate that pupil to change their attitude

towards your lessons. There will almost certainly be a wealth of behavioural strategies

available to you through your school's behaviour policy and procedures as well. Subject

reports, whole school reports, time-out cards for pupils displaying aggressive behaviour,

and removal rooms are all likely to feature at your school.

Being consistent is a key skill for teachers. From a pupil's perspective, consistency

equates to fairness and fairness commands respect. If some pupils are seen to be getting

away' with things, whilst others are punished for relatively little, this can create tension

in the classroom and lead to confrontational behaviours. However consistency is

not

something that will come easily, and in tnith, it is often more sensible to be unfair.

Confused? Consider the pupil who is particularly rowdy or problematic when arriving at

your door. Once in your lesson, they chat noisily to their neighbour —but you don't want

them to. You speak to them about their behaviour, but a few minutes later they are doing

it again, and despite further warnings they follow a similar pattern. If you strictly

follow

your behaviour system, that pupil will probably have a detention at this point. But you

are only three minutes into the lesson. You now have no ammunition left, and that pupil

is possibly going to be with you for the new fifty-seven nvnutes. Furthermore, they will

most likely have become frustrated with you now too, as in their mind they haven'hhbd

a chance to settle and already find themselves' in a detention. So now they mig

thinking I can behave how I want, because I've already got a detention', and become

confrontational. This may seem like an e~reme example, and hopefully in your school

it is. You may well have a system whereby pupils displaying this kind of behaviour

are

removed from your room, but be aware that there are pupils who will frequently displ~tY

this kind of behaviour. They cannot be removed from your room three minutes after die

start of every lesson. As a~ teacher therefore there wIll always have to be an element ~~

commona few meYou willappropri~enormoustolerate n

~~~

Thinkreputaiother ~with it;now? P~reasonihave us

~K~hilst conoften withithrough onfar good bthere is noempty thre<as some oftations if yc

Regardlessalways be r.frequent asthat a situatforever. Hoythem and ~1pplicable t~

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BEHAVIOUR STRATEGIES IN CHALLENGING CLASSROOMS

common sense and fle~biliry when punishing a pupil. It may be that some pupils needa few more verbal warnings before you start to drill through the consequence system.You will know when enough is enough, and when lines have been crossed despite anappropriate warning —and that line may well sit slightly differently for each pupil. Theenormous difficulty therefore is to be as consistent as you can, without appearing totolerate misbehaviour in some puplls more than others.

t~ ~h~ugh~Think back to when you were at school. Was. there a child who had a badreputation? A child who for some reason seemed to get away with more than theother pupils? What behaviour did he or she display? How did the teacher dealwith it7 Was it effective? What are your thoughts about how that child behavednow? Perhaps with hindsight you can see a clearer pattern to the behaviour, or thereasoning behind it, or you can think of strategies that the teacher used or shouldhave used.

~~

Whilst consistency in behaviour management may need to be constanfly re-evaluated,often within a single lesson, one hung that must never be compromised is followingthrough on both punishments and rewards. If you say you are going to send a letter homefox good behaviour, then you must do so. If you say a pupil will be in detention, thenthere is no room for leniency. As soon as your sanctions and rewards are perceived asempty threats and promises, then you have lost one of your most valuable tools, as wellas some of your credibIlity. Pupils will no longer strive to please you or meet your expec-tations if your promises of letters and phone calls home lead only to disappointment.

What if the behaviour becomes more challenging?Regardless of your school, your experience and your consequence system, there willalways be more challenging behavioural situations that occur. These wIll become lessfrequent as you become more experienced, and develop the ability to spot the signsthat a situation is about to escalate, but it would be naive to assume they will go awayForever. How you deal with those situations will very much depend on what caused[hem and who they involved. However here are some general guidelines that areapplicable to most scenarios.

<. ,. ;~w

4, r

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148 TRAINING TO TEACH

Stay calm

Behaviour spreads behaviour. If the most authorita

tive person in the room begins to

panic, then pupils will inevitably reassess the situa

tion and begin to panic themselve

s.

Just like when a toddler grazes a knee and looks

to the parent's expression before

deciding how to react, children wi11 Iook to you t

o gauge the severity of a situati

on.

Your reaction to the pupils) who have caused t

he incident is also important. If

they

are causing disruption foz example, and you panic,

then the control you have, or ev

en

their perception of your control, will disappear, T

hat control may have been the one

thing preventing an escalation of the problem. You

r judgment in these situations wll

l

be crucial. If you are panicking, or angry, ar stres

sed, then you may not be of the r

ight

frame of mind to male the best decisions to diffiz

se a situation.

Avoid confrontation

Some pupils will want confrontation. As a profes

sional you will need to zemove as

many

opportunities for them to confront you as possible.

Staying calm is of course a Iiey f

actor.

But consider how you will respond to a pupil in the

se situations. Shouting at them is

likely

to frustrate them further, or embarrass and humiliat

e them, to which they will of

course

respond negatively Something as simpXe as engaging

with them may be enough for t

hem

to confront you. Often the best strategy is to calmly tel

l a pupil their behaviour is inapp

ropn-

ate, and then immediately move on with the lesson

—focusing your attention on other pu

pils

who axe promoting more positive behaviours. This

essentially removes the pupil's

audience

and gives them no-one to focus on. Some pupils w

ill try to craw you into an

argument.

Don't let them. Even if it means they have the last word' and y

ou move on, this is better

than running the risk of a full-blown argument wit

h a child who in such circu

mstances will

have no desire to negotiate or acknowledge what

you have to say. Yau can always

repn-

mand them in private after the lesson. 'I'kiis does not

have to be on show to every

one.

,F~ ~hough~

When addressing poor behaviour, the tone

with which you address

pupils is

something you will need to carefully consider. A

good tip here is to imagi

ne the

' parents of the pupil you

are speaking to standing next to therT~

. Would you berate

the child in front of them in the same way as in f

ront of the class? What is the

most

likely response from a child if you react to their

behaviour by shouting at them

and

humiliating them in front of their peers? Of cou

rse they need to be punishe

d with

an appropriate (and proportionate) response, but

consider when, where and hoW~

So

r~s~~todeinfciall

0

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Often by shouting at a pupil, you are risking them shouting back at you. Whatwould you do then? Shout louder? Where does it end? Use a more rationalapproach. You are the adult. Be firm, but do not risk losing control of the situationby getting (or acting) angry. Speak to the pupil privately or one-to-one whilst therest of the class continue working.

Ignore selectively

Sometimes selective hearing can be the best approach. If a pupil has been difficult, andas you move on from their behavioural incident you hear them mutter under their breathsomething that you at best can only assume is insulting, remember that you do not haveto be drawn straight back into the incident you_ were just moving away from. You candeal with it after the lesson, or when the rest of the pupils are on task. The pupil

T involved is most likely muttering under their breath for more attention — be it from thefriend sat newt to them, or in hopes that you will be drawn straight back into the incident

1 all over again. Imagine how this would play out if you did confront them again:

• `What did you say?'se • Nothing.'t • `Yes you did, I heard you.'

;r • `No you didn't.'

ll You're getting nowhere. And the lesson has stopped again. Remove the audience,~- reduce the problem.

~4ppliea~e~e~ to pri~a~y and early years teaching

It is less likely that you will become embroiled in a war of words with a muchyounger pupil, or find yourself being whispered about by them. However it is impor-tant to acknowledge that similar problems do occur:

Removing the audienee — in primary school and early years, the audience ismore likely to be the pupils themselves rather than attempts to provoke the

(Continued)

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150 TRAINING TO TEACH

(Continued)

teacher. It therefore may be necessary to move the problematic pupil away from

their peers, or selectively move their peers away from them.

~~lec.~i~ely ig~ori~~ — it may be that a pupil is becoming increasingly frus-

trating by asking the same questions over and over again, such as'what do we

do now?' or 'why?', or simply stating they 'can't do it / I don't know what I'm

doing'. This may be their strategy for more attention, one-to-one help to avoid

independent work etc. You could try selectively ignoring such calls if you are

confident they are distractive tactics, or alternatively encourage more proactive

language in your classroom such as getting pupils to ask themselves 'what

parts of this task do I understand, and which parts can I start now?'.

e-escalation o confrontational behaviour

Sometimes a trigger may induce even more challenging behaviour or a l

ost temper.

Learn to spot the signals that behaviour might be about to deteriorate —rai

sed voices,

a higher register of voice, unusual behaviour such as a refusal to participa

te from a

normally compliant child. Learn to read body language as well —children wil

l posture

before a confrontation so look out for signs like shoulders back, directed st

ares and

making fists.Control your reactions to avoid escal

ation. Faced with a threat' your body will want

to take you into a confrontation. Your adrenalin levels will rise, your emotiona

l barri-

ers will fall. You must, therefore, stay calm and in control. Model the behavi

our that

you expect from your pupils. Lowering your voice, for example, can often

be much

more effective than raising it, This in itself may be enough to defuse a situat

ion. You

will want to use the tools that work 90% of the time, so may resort to

reasoned

argument and an appeal to the pupil's sense of responsibility and commun

ity. So

you could try saying you are stopping other children from learning' or make an

appeal to their self-image, you're just making yourself look silly'. Consider t

hat you

are facing a young person who, for whatever reason, has lost his or her t

emper and

read the above —will these really work?

There are three major families of techniques that are proven to defuse chall

enging

situations. Each of these has variations and adaptations that you can develop f

or your

own situation.Model behaviour. Be excessively poli

te and make sure that you (and other pupils)

are not in anyone's personal space. Remain calm and collected. Acknowl

edge the

source of anger or frustration and empathise: I understand ~rhy you feel that way

,

but...' is a powerful opening,

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-_ - _ _- - -- -Jy -

BEHAVIOUR STRATEGIES IN CHALLENGING CLASSROOMS 157

Use the language of choice. Try not to close the door on a situation and allow chil-dren room to make their own choice. So, for example, saying either move away fromSean, Eddie or qou get to eat lunch with me' is more effective than an instruction withno options. Also allow for exit strategies —some of these may be built into a system,such as time-out cards or cooling-off' areas.

Distract. This is especially effective if you spot the signs of a situation developing.`Sean, that's a really excellent piece of work' or Fiona, I'd like you to explain how youdid that' can have the effect of engaging the brain and disengaging the misbehaviour.This can also be linked to giving responsibility: Sean, could you start collecting the mate-rials in, thank-you' effectively moves him away from Eddie and a burgeoning situation.

1'he behaviour iceberg

As a final thought on behaviour in the classroom, consider the behaviour iceberg. Thebehaviour you see from a pupil will rarely be based entirely on your lesson. Pupils areunpredictable, as we all are sometimes. Often as teachers we neglect to acknowledgethat we are only seeing a snapshot of each child on each day. We don't know whathappened the lesson before, at lunchtime, at home, or the night before on Facebook.All of these factors contribute towards pupils' behaviour in your lesson. You have verylittle, if any, control over that. Similarly, those pupils who perhaps display poor behav-iour on a regular basis may in fact be displaying comparatively excellent behaviourconsidering their circumstances. It is a sad fact that some pupils do not have a goodsupport network at home or with friends. In e~reme cases, pupils may not be living witheither parent, or may be victims of domestic abuse of worse. Some children may havesuffered such circumstances that they will be considered to be children in crisis' —namelythose pupils whose circumstances or experiences will place them outside normalparameters and thus will make your classroom even more challenging. Often thebehaviour of such children may be difficult to deal with, ranging from extreme passiv-iry (an unwillingness or inability to contribute) to attention-seeking episodes such astemper tantrums. Triggers for such behaviours could be illnesses, specialised medicalconditions, or periods of crisis in a child's life. At an individual level these can rangefrom family issues such as divorce, bereavement, sibling rivalry, and family illness (thatcould mean a child has carer responsibilities), to social issues such;, as domesticviolence/abuse, peer or group pressure to commit crime, bullying, and alcohol- ordrug-related issues, as well as seal and biological issues such as developing se~ualiryand pregnancy. Issues could be as simple as children seeking attention because theyare not loved to complex medical conditions that will require professional intervention.Children may have borne witness to events that have affected them, or be in cominuni-ties whose standards maybe at odds with those of their school. There are, for example,large groups such as refugees or asylum seekers who may carry horrific experienceswith them. There may be children who do not share the usual mores of a classroom,

-- —

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i5~ TRAINING TO TEACH

often due to lack of experience (e.g. Roma children who have no background of edu-

cation). If these conditions are the basis on which a pupil has learnt acceptable'

behaviours, it is perhaps not surprising that their actions and reactions towards othersare considered appropriate by them and inappropriate by us.

~. ~; r

Unusual or trying circumstances don't make poor behaviour excusable, but may gosome way to make it understandable. In such cases, the best advice is still know your

class': it is important to be aware of children's circumstances so that you can showappropriate support and empathy. Remember, emotional support is one of the key

pillars of the effective classroom (Pianta and Hamre, 2009). Jennings (2014: 6) alsoemphasises the key role of emotional support:

Teachers who are skilled at providing emotional support respond to their students withwarmth and sensitivity, and they recognize, understand and are responsive to their stu-dents' individual needs and perspectives.

Again, the school's own systems are likely to provide the best way to deal with suchissues in an expert and professional manner.

• The prerequisite of positive learning behaviour is effective teaching that actively

engages pupils in their learning.• Negative behaviour can be minimised if you develop a positive classroom climate,

with effective classroom routines, where the pupils feel safe and secure,

Praise is the most powerful tool for building pupils' self-esteem in the classroom.

• One of your priorities, as a teacher new to the profession, must be to develop a

range of strategies for dealing with low-level ,disruption and also for maintaining

a professional approach to more challenging behaviour.

. ~ ~.

Jennings, P.A. (2014) Early childhood teachers' well-being, mindfulness, and self-compassion in

relation to classroom quality and attitudes towards challenging students', Mindfulness, 1-12.

Powell, S, and Tod, J. (2004) 'A systematic review of how theories explain learning behaviour

in school context', in Research Evidence in Education Libra~~. London: EPPI-Centre, Social

Science Research Unit, Institute of Education.Rogers, B. (2011) Classroom behaviour.• a practical ga~ide to effective teaching, behaviour man-

agement ctnd colleague support. London: Sage.

BermeCoy

Jenninrela

Ofsted

clasPianta,

conand

Rogers,ages

Coe etcome

Ofsted~Rclass

Visit httF

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BEHAVIOUR STRATEGIES IN CHALLENGING CLASSROOMS X53

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Coe et al. (2014) What makes great teaching?', The Sutton Trust. Avallable at www.suttontrust.com/wp-content uploads/2014/10/What-Makes-Great-Teaching-REPORT.pdf1 Ofsted (2014) Below the radar —low level disruption in the country's classrooms'. Available atwww, gov.uk/government/publications/below-the-radar-low-level-disruption-in-the-countrys-classrooms

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Bennett, T. (2010) The behaviour gzcrtc: behaviour management solutions for teachers. London:Continuum.Jennings, P.A. (2014) Early chffdhood teachers' well-being, mindfulness, and self-compassion inrelation to classroom quality and attitudes towards challenging students', Mindfulness, 1-12.Ofsted (2014) Below the radar —low level disruption in the country's classrooms'. AvaIlable atwww, gov.uk/government/publications/below-the-radar-low-level-disruption-in-the-countrys-classroomsPianta, R.C. and Hamre, B.K. (2009) Classroom processes and positive youth development:conceptualizing, measuring, and improving the capacity of interactions between teachersand students', New Directions in Youth Development, 121: 33-46.Rogers, B. (20ll) Classroom behaviour.• a practical guide to effective teachi~ag, behaviour man-agementand colleague support. London: Sage.

Visit https://study.sagepub.com/denby3e for extra resources related to this chapter.