Misbehavior in most classrooms consists mainly of student passivity, general aimlessness, and massive time wasting These problems are best resolved by teaching in ways that keep students attentive and responsibly involved in the classroom

Students talking, goofing off, daydreaming, moving about the room Jones found that one or more of those four behaviors were present during about 95 percent of the classroom disruptions that hindered teaching and learning Teachers lose around 50 percent of classroom time dealing with these behaviors Jones believed the best way to reduce this was to clearly communicate class requirements to students and follow through with class rules

Jones found that students in typical classes were passive rather than active Their passivity was brought on in large measure by the teaching methods being used in most classes, which did not require students to participate actively or show accountability in the early phases of lessons Once lesson transitioned to independent student seat work, waving hands would into the air because students didn’t know what to do Teachers would then begin chasing from student to student, repeating the same information they tried hard to provide earlier in lesson

Another key of wasting time was that students either had scant knowledge of the procedures they needed to follow or chose not to follow them The lack of knowledge or disregard of it, resulted in apathy and inaction He states that the standards in any classroom are defined by whatever the students can get away with If teachers do not take the time to teach expectations and procedures carefully, they will invariably get whatever the students feel like giving them Jones concluded that teaching and enforcing classroom procedures is one of the most important, yet most neglected, areas of classroom management

He says that all highly touted efforts to improve education don’t mean a thing until they are translated into workable practices in the classroom He suggests that his approach be conceptualized and initiated as a five-tiered system

To help teachers make maximum use of time available for instruction, Jones recommends establishing a classroom structure that gives close attention to rules, routines, and responsibility training He includes incentives to help with responsibility training, which teaches the class to save time rather than waste it He stresses that the best way to manage behavior problems is to prevent their occurrence, and that the best preventive strategy involves attention to room arrangement, class rules, classroom chores, and routines for beginning the class

Setting limits clarifies that the line that separates acceptable behavior from unacceptable behavior Jones urges that teachers use the first class session to discuss the class rules that set limits on behavior and allow teaching and learning to occur as intended Explain how you will show your approval and appreciation when students follow rules properly, along with what you will do when students misbehave Demonstrate body language, such as eye contact, stares, or physical proximity He says teachers are most effective in setting limits when they use their bodies correctly but say nothing and take no other action

Jones’s teaching approach where the teacher says, the students see, and the students do Says that too many teachers spend the majority of time presenting information which makes the students get disengaged from the lesson Effective teachers put students to work from the beginning, they present information and then quickly have students do something with it He implemented (VIPs) visual instructional plans They are graphic or picture prompts that students use as guides for completing processes or activities VIPs are displayed in the room, and students are taught to consult them for guidance instead of raising their hands and waiting for the teacher

Jones features incentives prominently as a means of motivating students and teaching them to be responsible He found that some of the most effective teachers use incentives systematically, while less-effective teachers use them improperly or not at all Incentives help conserve time which is returned to the students in the form of preferred activity time

Jones saw that independent seat work was susceptible to four problems: wasted time, insufficient time for teachers to answer all requests for help, high potential for misbehavior, perpetuation of student dependency on the teacher Jones’s solution was to first organize the classroom seating so that all students can be reached quickly Teachers should also use visual instructional plans or graphic reminders displayed in the room that provide clear examples and step-by-step instruction Lastly he says to minimize the time used for giving help to students Learn to give individual help in 20 seconds or less, a tactic that eliminates student dependence on your presence and enables you to provide help as needed to all students quickly