Good behaviour management is seen as fundamental to effective teaching and learning. Without harnessing the skills and strategies needed to work magic with large groups of students and individuals with differing personalities, teachers can find themselves ineffective and lost in the job. As we all know, calm classrooms are pre-requisite to children’s learning.
As teachers, we receive training on behaviour management theory when we are studying initially and we put this into practice in our school placement experiences; and then we go out into the big bad world!
The first year is frightening – trying to figure out how to balance the behaviour strategies from positive reinforcement and encouragement to the disciplinary lead in the room to ensure a positive learning environment. But we have colleagues to ask for advice, we can use a variety of techniques within a school setting including a behaviour policy which gives us structure and we have further training courses we can take to help us continually develop.
Here are 5 strategies that most good teachers use every single day to get the best out of their students, even the most challenging. They do not require resources – just trial, error and patience.
As we know, the absolutely priority in effective behaviour management is the maintenance of a positive relationship with the child, as much as possible. Just because they might have done something bad, does not make them a bad person.
Give them a go and see how you get on!
1. Catch them doing good things
What does this look like in the classroom?
You have 30 students in front of you, and you notice that Johnny (who is usually a big talker and quite distracted) is focused and concentrating on his work. You would walk over to Johnny and quietly comment that he’s doing a great job and you can see that he is really focused and ask him to talk you through what he is working on.
You have caught him doing something good and have flagged it with Johnny.
What does this feel like for the child?
Their teacher has noticed that they are trying their best, remarked on it and shown an interest in what they are doing. They feel proud, confident and happy that they are being recognised in class.
Children are encouraged by positive reinforcement.
How can you apply this?
Keep an eye out for students doing the ‘right thing’ and praise them descriptively for it. You are investing in your relationship with them and encouraging positive behaviour and responses.
2. Tactical ignorance
What does this look like in the classroom?
This is trickier then catching them doing good things and requires that you work on your own patience. It is also a little bit harder to explain as it requires intuition in terms of the child you are working with and a long-term strategy.
You have 30 students in the classroom and notice that Johnny has not cleaned up his resources and papers from the previous activity, despite this being requested already. You have been down this road before with him and it could end up being a hullaballoo if being addressed head-on and take away from the learning time and experience of other students.
You decide to ignore the mess and continue on with the lesson where you will attempt to engage with Johnny in a positive way (potentially find a way to use strategy 1).
You will arrange to speak with Johnny at the end of the lesson or day privately where you will flag the positive interaction you have had with him (and other positive traits) and then you will express disappointment about his failure to comply with earlier instruction. You will enquire if there is anything going on with him and if he is enjoying school. You will offer your support and express your concern at his failure to comply. You will assure him that if there continues to be issues around compliance, then you will have to speak to other people (parents, principal etc.) as you would be worried about him.
What does this feel like for the child?
They did not do what they were told. They thought they were getting away with it. The teacher respectfully and kindly spoke to them. The teacher said nice things to them which made them feel good. The teacher noticed how they hadn’t done what they were meant to and said they were disappointed. They were still nice to them but they mentioned parents and the principal too and that they were worried about them. Child is confused as they expected to be given out to. The teacher has not punished them. Child feels a bit guilty and thinks they will try to just do what they are told with that teacher.
How can you apply this?
If you notice a negative behaviour, tactically ignore the behaviour. Don’t walk into a confrontation. Find a way to not have to “confront” the behaviour in the moment (unless it’s a health and safety risk of course!) and then address it later that day or the following day in a calm fashion. Express concern and disappointment and highlight consequences for continued misbehaviour. Speak to them with respect and kindness.
Please note: This strategy doesn’t work every time. It’s effectiveness can depend on the child’s maturity and personality. It can work well to nip negative behaviour in the bud for many students but it’s not for everyone!
Learn more about the CPD Course for Teachers HERE!
3. Success Criteria
What does this look like in the classroom?
You are about to start a simple writing task with students and there are certain things they must do to write well and be successful in this task. For example, they must use capital letters, full stops etc. Before you start the task, you share these pointers as a list on the board and ensure students are on board with this.
Let’s bring it up a level.
You are taking the entire class to the local park for games and a picnic. This is your first time taking them out of the school environment. You share the success criteria and rules of this outing with them. It is extremely important that they are compliant to these steps as it poses a safety risk if they are not. By applying the criteria shared, the outing will be a success.
What does this feel like for the child?
Expectations have been shared and they know what is expected of them. There are clear boundaries for them to follow.
How can you apply this?
Before you do something with your class, discuss the expected behaviour that will make the trip (or whatever it is) a success. For example, if you are bringing them into a city, they must hold hands in pairs, they must walk on the footpath only etc.
You can write these down with them and afterwards reflect on the criteria and how they got on. If the trip was a success, congratulate your class and point out why it was successful. If the experience did not go well, then read strategy 4!
Learn more about the CPD Course for Teachers HERE!
4. Follow-through
What does this look like in the classroom?
You are on the way to the local park for games and a picnic with 30 students. You had gone through the success criteria of the outing. On the way there, a child pushes another child on the footpath. Luckily, the pushed child was fine and didn’t fall onto the road with traffic. Nevertheless, this is an incident that needs to be dealt with promptly. You can’t turn a blind eye to this. You turn the entire class around and go back to the school. You do not go to the park for games and a picnic. You follow through with consequences and tell the group that unfortunately you cannot trust them to act responsibly at the moment. They will need to earn your trust again before you will arrange such an experience for the group.
What does this feel like for the child?
For the children that did nothing wrong, this feels very unfair.
For the child who pushed another child, they feel guilty as it is their fault that the entire trip did not go ahead.
All the children know that they teacher follows through with what they have said in terms of consequences.
How can you apply this?
The beauty of this strategy is that your hands are tied – you as the leader have done nothing wrong. It is the child or children who have misbehaved and were aware of the consequences. You just have to follow through with them. You don’t need to get angry or have an argument. All you need to do is highlight what has happened and what this means now. Then get on with it!
A teacher I know makes a point of making a scapegoat of one child on a low-stakes trip like a visit to the local park with a new class at the start of the year. This teacher points out that they learn quickly then that there is no messing and this type of behaviour should not crop up again in other trips, especially higher-stake trips which might be a trip to another town, city or country. We all know how stressful such outings can be – so if your students know you mean business and will follow through with consequences, they will behave in the manner appropriate.
5. Consistency
Simply put… It is the certainty of a sanction rather than its severity that makes it effective. If you say something, then mean it. The rules don’t change from Monday to Sunday. By providing children with consistent boundaries, they know where they stand and will flourish.
Good luck!
Learn more teacher tricks and tips from our upcoming CPD events for teachers HERE.
