MANAGING STUDENT BEHAVIOR

Positive Consequences

When we think of consequences, we usually think of that word as a negative, a punishment, but consequences can also be positive reinforcement. Of course, when a student doesn't follow the classroom rules and procedures, students need to know there are consequences (punishment) for their actions. However, there are positive consequences that can help that can help to run the classroom much more smoothly. When students do a good job of following rules and procedures, their willingness to be a positive influence in the class should be recognized and acknowledge (Marzano). I believe positive reinforcement is one of the most important things a teacher can do. Instead of always punishing the students for not following the rules, when they do follow them, offer some positive reinforcements. 

One of the ways I offer positive reinforcement is by giving non-verbal signs. When a student answers a difficult question or helps out a classmate, I would give them a thumbs up as a sign of a job well done. When I see a group of students engaged and are on task, I would give them a smile with a nod showing that they are doing a good job. A lot of times, I would simply compliment my students if they do a good job of cleaning the classroom or have behaved nicely throughout the day. 

In addition to non-verbal and simple verbal affirmation, I have also offered some tangible recognition for students that have shown great behavior in class. What I have done in the past was to give students who have shown excellent behavior to be the first group of students to go to lunch. Student hate waiting in the long line for lunch, so rewarding students with this privilege is actually a great reward for these students. I do not do this often as I am afraid that students would only be motivated by the rewards. According to Marzano, if students' attention becomes focused on external rewards as opposed to tasks in which they are engaged, their performance begins to diminish (2007).

Use Home Contingency

Another way to encourage students is to send a note or email to the parents or guardians telling them what a good job their child is doing in class. For my 6th grade English class, students had to do a powerpoint presentation. I wanted to show their parents what a good job they had done, so I recorded all of their presentations and sent them to their parents. I wanted the parents to know that their child has been working hard on the project and the parents would also appreciate me showing the progress their child has made. Involving the parents in this type of positive reinforcement is a great way to acknowledge the student's behavior.

Negative Consequences

In addition to positive consequences, teachers need to know what to do when unwanted classroom behavior occurs. Withitness is one of the most well-recognized classroom management techniques. This is when the teacher is proactive in the classroom by being constantly aware of what is going on in the classroom. The teacher should move around the room often to notice behavior and attitudes in the classroom. The teacher needs to let the students know that he knows what is going on. In doing this, he can often stop a disagreement between students before it starts. I have had to do this quite often as several boys in my class tend to get into a heated argument that sometimes leads to fights. I have learned to be more aware of what is going on around the classroom and have prevented many extended behavioral problems in the class.

When a student is being disruptive, I can offer non-verbal gestures to that that I am not happy about the student's behavior. When a student is chattering with another student while I am teaching, I would start walking towards the disruptive students and just look at them letting them know I need it to stop. With the younger class, I have also used non-verbal signs by putting my finger to my mouth to show the student to be quiet.

Direct Consequences

If Withitness or non-verbal signs do not work, the teacher can move to the next level and give the student a direct consequence for the unwanted behavior. Direct consequence involves explicit and concrete consequences for inappropriate behavior (Mazano). For my middle school students, a version of time-out may be simply be losing some of their recess time. The students have actually discussed this as a class and agreed to lose their lunch break if there are constant behavioral issues in the class. So, as a direct consequence, students have lost some of their recess time by not following the rules. There is also a method of overcorrection which involves engaging students in activities that overcompensate for inappropriate behavior (Mazano). Marzano gives an example of overcorrection when a student rips the pages of a book, he is required to repair the pages of all books in the class. With this type of punishment, the student is asked to overcompensate for the damage he has done. 

Use Home Contingency

When direct consequences do not work, then the teacher can contact the students' home to discuss the situation with the parents. By involving the parents or guardians, this will usually solve any behavior issues. I haven't had any behavioral problems that extended past direct consequences, so I haven't contacted any parents regarding this matter. However, if direct consequences do not work, I may have to contact the parents.

Below is a flowchart that follows what I have described above.

Reference

Marzano, RJ. (2017). The Art and Science of Teaching. Alexandria, Virginia: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development. Retrieved from: https://s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/platform-user-content/prod-copy/get_help_resources/activity_resources/module4/The_Art_and_Science_of_Teaching.pdf