Behavioral Management in your Classroom Created by: Lauren Bamsey

On your first day.. It is very important to discuss with your cooperating teacher any rules and procedures he/she may have. He/she may want you to follow their rules completely. They will tell you what they expect of you when it comes to dealing with student behavior and every cooperating teacher is different. All you have to do is ask them!

Behavior Problems Happening? Bad behavior in a classroom can seriously disrupt an entire lesson or at least the majority. Every classroom has children who are typically disruptive in a class. This powerpoint has a few suggestions on how to control a class without being “the meanest teacher in the world!”

Have set rules! From day 1, have a set list of rules for your students to follow. Go over these rules on the first day of class and tell them the consequences of breaking these rules. It is important not to change the consequences depending on the student. They may see this as playing favorites and get offended. It also may cause others to see that they are capable of getting away with more than they previously thought.

Procedure vs. Rules In the workshop with National Teacher of the Year, a point was made to always keep procedures separate from rules. An example of a procedure would be having a box for students to turn in their homework. If they bring it to the teacher’s desk, do not punish them. Just state the procedure every day until they learn.

Procedures vs. Rules The students will learn the procedures of the classroom, and if they break those, the teacher should not get mad. This is one great way to keep the punishing to the minimum and to “not be so mean.” If a student breaks a RULE, then the consequences should be enforced.

Reward your students! Rewarding your students is a great way to see improvement with behavior. If the student is willing to answer a question in front of the class, ALWAYS respond to their answer in a positive manner! Even if the answer is wrong, if you stay positive, the student will want to answer questions in the future.

Reward your students! Reward your students who are staying on task. Saying phrases such as “Lauren and Erinn, thank you for doing your work quietly” will encourage other students to behave as well. Most students love to hear they are being noticed when they are doing what they are supposed to be!

Reward your students! If homework is assigned and the students are failing to turn it in, a system could be created to encourage the students. An example would be putting a tally by the students’ names who turned in their work everyday and having a small prize at the end of the week/month.

Get to know your students It is very important to know your students and their personalities well. If you watch your class carefully, you can see which of the students are more likely to be distracting. Also, some students purposely try to derail the class. If you know who these students are, you can better recognize when it is about to happen and stop it before it even starts. *It is important to still let these students speak, but allow enough time for them to make a point and then get the class back on track.

Get to know your students A fun idea given by the National Teacher of the Year is to have a bulletin board just for your students. Have them bring in a picture of something or someone that is special to them and pin them all on the board. It is a quick way to learn something about your students and is a way for a teacher to relate to their students. It also shows that you care about their interests and will help them to open up to you.

Stay Positive! As long as you, as the teacher, continue to have a positive attitude throughout your day, the students will also. They will feel that you want to be there with them, and the day will run more smoothly! My cooperating teacher gave me some great advice I want to share with you: If you are having a bad day, tell them. Don’t hide it and then bite their heads off later. They will understand that you are human too and will be happy you told them the truth. They will also know that it is NOT the day to mess around and be silly!