Classroom Behavior Management That Works: Proactive Strategies

Interruptions?  Antsy kids?  Transitions that go awry?

We had a wonderful turnout for our New Teacher Community Event on October 27^th.  Seasoned Brookline teacher, Rick Cass, was our featured speaker.  Our focus was Classroom Behavior Management That Works a topic that challenges experienced and novice teachers.   

Rick was insightful, thoughtful, entertaining, and all who attended left inspired and with many strategies.  We’d love to hear from all of you.  What works?  What doesn’t?  What else have you tried? 

This New Teacher Community blog is designed to be interactive…leave a comment at the end with one of your strategies.  Or, ask us about a challenge and maybe our collective wisdom and experience can help you solve it.

Highlights of wonderfully useful things to remember and think about from Rick’s talk:

·      A teacher must demonstrate four essential qualities:

              1. Be prepared

              2. Strive to make people feel comfortable and safe

              3. Be committed to our work

              4. Be enthusiastic and interesting (and editors note, be interested).

                  From Robert DeBruyn: The First 60 Days of Teaching

·      Communicate early and often.  Strive to send a message of positive expectancy.  Send updates highlighting upcoming events and curriculum topics to your classroom families.  Keeping parents involved means that everyone is not only on top of what’s going on in the classroom but is also accountable.   Make proactive phone calls home and enlist your classroom parents as partners.

·      Build a classroom community. Take time to learn about your students.  Create rules with your students.  Rick’s watchword: “A classroom environment with unknown or unclear expectations becomes a setting for behavior problems.” (From, Robert Trussel, Classroom Universals to Prevent Behavior Problems.)

·      Think about the language you use to ask your questions or to set your expectations.  Use an agenda to communicate clear expectations for each lesson you teach. Be clear with what you mean.

·      Remember “Grandma’s Rule:  Activities that are more demanding or challenging should be followed by reinforcers: “Eat your vegetables and you can have dessert.”

·      Some ways to teach and reinforce classroom behavior (or as we called it on Saturday, “Rick’s gadgets!”)

GIVE ME FIVE!

1.     Eyes on the Speaker

2.   Mouth quiet

3.   Body still

4.   Ears listening

5.   Hands free

        

SLANT (for younger students)

1.     STOP: moving and talking

2.   LOOK: at me and at an assignment’s directions/or at the teacher

3.   LISTEN: Use the strategy

4.   ACT: Compete assigned tasks and evaluate your performance

                 

        

SLANT (for older students, from the University of Kansas)

1.     S: SIT up straight

2.   L: LEAN forward

3.   A: ASK questions

4.   N: NOD your head

5.   T: TRACK the teacher

Dear NTC BLOG readers---

PLEASE ADD SOME OF YOUR STRATEGIES FOR MANAGING BEHAVIOR…WE ALL CAN LEARN FROM EACH OTHER!

OUR NEXT NEW TEACHER EVENT WILL BE IN FEBRUARY 2013!  KEEP TUNED FOR MORE INFORMATION!