Consider the following two scenarios:

The first is Ella, a 4th grade student who has been having behavior problems in class

- she is frequently leaving her seat, which on occasion escalates into talking to or bothering

other students. She shows non-compliance and occasional disobedience when asked to return

to her seat. Ignoring Ella doesn't work – She simply seems to escalate from wandering, to

talking, to bothering. On the other hand, paying attention to her behavior and especially

reprimanding her will cause Ella to resist and engage in power struggles with the teacher.

Ella's academic skills are generally below average – her reading skills are well below

the other students and she is clearly embarrassed by reading aloud in class. Her math skills

are stronger, but as word problems are becoming more common, her reading skills get in the

way. Ella has good social skills, so you suspect that she can fool you and the others into

thinking she knows an assignment she really doesn't understand. Recently, you've noticed

that Ella's become more vocal in her defiance when asked to return to her seat and you worry

that she could become a real behavior problem. Ella's parents are strong supporters of the

school and are happy to be involved with working with you on Ella's problems.

The second scenario is Mr. Jones, a 6th grade teacher who finished his student teaching

a year ago. He is approaching the end of this first year of teaching and is concerned about

the general state of chaos in his classroom. It seems as if he has to send a constant stream

of students to the office despite repeated harsh warnings to them. He is worried about

making it through his probationary period. His principal has visited his room twice and

both were days that students seemed disinterested and disengaged with his lessons. The principal

observed that the majority of students were off-task, passing notes, talking with each

other, and making hand gestures when Mr. Jones was looking at the his overhead presentation

on the screen. It was also observed that at least 60 percent of the students did not have

the math text on their desk. The problems were more common in the back of the room where

the principal was observing. The principal asked Mr. Jones what he thought the reasons

were that students who were successful in previous classes were suddenly having problems

with his class. Mr. Jones is searching for answers to improve the behavior in his classroom.

Analysis

Although the goal of teaching is to establish an environment in which children can learn,

as the two scenarios have shown, students often engage in behavior that distracts themselves

and others from that task. Mild or serious disruptions can range from simply failing

to do assigned work through bothering or bullying others, to severe aggression towards classmates

and the teacher. The case of Ella is fairly typical of the types of mild student disruptions

a teacher is likely to encounter in class; however, there is rarely only one problem

when a child is misbehaving. Understanding how these problems fit together and what causes

them can ultimately provide insights into how to intervene.

Think about the case of Mr. Jones. Here is a situation where the teacher contributes

to the chaotic state of the classroom. A conversation with Mr. Jones quickly reveals that he is

questioning his competence to teach. Fortunately, classroom management, the ability to handle

and reduce student misbehavior, is a skill that can be learned by Mr. Jones or any other

teacher.

Classrooms are complex environments. When students enter a new classroom at the beginning

of the year, they bring with them varied previous school experiences and widely differing home

histories. Likewise, as the teacher, you enter the classroom with a set of expectations and

a history of experience working with children.

Even the most skilled teachers struggle sometimes with classroom management. Clearly, there

are some students whose behavior would pose a problem in any classroom. For the majority

of students, however, behavior can be shaped by appropriate and skilled classroom management.

The purpose of this module is to introduce a set of skills that enable teachers to establish

and maintain a classroom in which the amount of time students spend actively engaged in

learning is maximized, while disruptions are minimized.

Overview

This module will provide an introduction to ways of identifying and understanding classroom

management problems. We will begin by looking at Mr. Jones's whole class situation first

because understanding how classroom management affects the entire class is critical before

one can hope to make sense of an individual case such as Ella's. By examining Mr. Jones's

situation we will illustrate various aspects of instructional and management strategies

that set the context for student behaviors. Then we will look at Ella's case to provide

strategies in defining the problem(s) when the problem is primarily an individual one.

That section will begin with a review of some strategies that have shown to be counterproductive

in dealing with student behavior problems and then will follow up with considerations

of teacher attention, Functional Behavior Assessment and Individual Behavior Plans – strategies

that can be used when an individual level of intervention is necessary. Ultimately,

in order to be effective, teachers need both an understanding of how to structure their

class to maximize learning for all students and specific skills to deal with individual

students.

Classroom Management Defined

Classroom management can be defined as a collection of teaching strategies that promote the self-regulation

of behavior by students, in order to enable them to take maximum advantage of the available

learning time. Our ultimate goal is to encourage and motivate each student to be fully engaged

in the learning task, not to focus on misbehavior. If the focus is on misbehavior, a behavior

vacuum is created - the targeted problem may decrease, but is often replaced by another

undesirable behavior. However, by increasing appropriate behaviors, simultaneously problem

behaviors decrease. When students are fully engaged in learning they are not distracting

others from learning or causing the teacher to stop teaching.

A note on self-regulation. Ideally, teachers should not have to spend their time telling

students what they should be doing, but rather students need to internalize teachers' expectations

so they can be independent learners. The overall focus of this module is on moving from reacting

to student misbehavior to preventing student misbehavior.

Part 1: Classroom management strategies for preventing misbehavior

What could Mr. Jones have done differently to improve his classroom situation? There

are a variety of well-tested strategies that can increase most students' engagement with

learning tasks while reducing the likelihood of problem behaviors.

This section of the module begins with a description of the physical layout and instructional and

curricular strategies that set a context for a well-managed classroom. The next section

examines strategies for communicating expectations for classroom behavior through rules and procedures.

Finally, a three tiered model of prevention will be highlighted as a framework to conceptualize

efforts to promote an effective learning community.

Aspects of Classroom Management

There are a number of ways in which effective teachers structure their classrooms, their

instruction, their curriculum, and their rules and procedures to maximize the likelihood

of a positive and effective learning climate. In this section, we will review those findings

in the areas of:

1. Physical Arrangement of the Classroom 2. Characteristics of Instruction

3. Student Interaction with Curriculum

For each area, we provide a set of questions that can help you in evaluating and perhaps

restructuring your own classroom to create the optimum environment for learning.

Classroom Physical Arrangements

Imagine a classroom where it is difficult for students and teachers to find assignments,

desks and tables are haphazardly arrayed, and traffic does not flow smoothly. It is

easy to see how inappropriate behavior could be generated as students wander around in

confusion or bump into each other.

Mr. Jones for instance, agreed with the principal that the problems were worse in the part of

the classroom that was furthest from his desk. Simply restructuring the room can be very

beneficial. Relative to the physical arrangement of the room, we could ask the following questions:

How does the seating arrangement promote or inhibit classroom interaction? Can the students

see the teacher or do they have to move their chairs or turn their desks in order to do

so?

How does the seating arrangement promote or inhibit students' interaction with each other?

How does the arrangement of students' desks and work space accommodate normal traffic

patterns? When they turn in homework/seatwork? When they gather and put away materials that

are used frequently?

What is displayed on the walls of the classroom? Do the materials displayed contribute to a

sense of community in the class? Are class rules posted?

The layout that seems to be most functional is one where all the students face the teacher.

This arrangement will be best for classroom flow in most situations. However in some cases,

small clusters of desks facing each other can be useful if the students are working

collaboratively in small groups. It is up to the teacher to determine the most productive

classroom design based upon their individual teaching style and instructional activities

– a teachers who regularly employs group work may prefer clusters while a teacher who

favors individualized instruction may find the separate desks most dynamic.

Characteristics of Instruction

Imagine looking out at your class and seeing nothing but glazed over eyes, blank stares

out the window or fidgety movements in chairs. That image is something teachers dread. Mr.

Jones experienced this during his math lessons when the majority of students were off-task,

passing notes, socializing with each other, and making hand gestures when they thought

he could not see. What suggestions would you make for Mr. Jones that would help him engage

his students?

Questions to consider concerning the characteristics of instruction that predict better student

attention are:

How are lessons introduced? Are students given a "preview" of what is to be covered through

advanced organizers? Are prerequisite concepts or previously covered material reviewed?

Did the teacher capture and keep student attention with humor and enthusiasm?

Does the pace of the lesson provide appropriate challenge for all students?

Is there a high level of student response in the lesson? How were the students motivated

to become engaged in the lesson?

Are there smooth transitions between activities?

This knowledge comes from hundreds of observed classroom teachers who promoted the highest

levels of achievement and the lowest levels of disruption in their classroom. The teachers

that best kept their students on track exhibited behaviors such as clearly telling students

what they were about to cover and reviewing previous concepts as they introduced their

lesson. Those teachers also worked to capture and keep student attention through enthusiasm,

the use of humor, and a well-paced lesson. Among the most important discoveries from

this research was that the more students were actively engaged in a lesson—through the

pacing of questions and answers or through hands-on learning—the more they actually

learned from the lesson. You may have noticed that from your own classroom experiences.

Have you experienced disturbances in classroom flow when changing from one topic or activity

to the next? Studies have shown that more than 30 transitions can occur in a day in

a classroom, accounting for approximately 15% of classroom time. Making transitions

planned and organized can be an important aspect to creating a smoothly functioning

learning environment.

Student Interaction with Curriculum

Children and youth are by nature active and energetic. If they cannot understand the academic

material put in front of them, a natural response will be to put their energy and attention

elsewhere. Each teacher can recall students who get frustrated with their school work

and end up distracting themselves or others.

Thus, it is important to find out if the material being presented is at a level that students

can understand. Due to a range of abilities and skills among students, this understanding

is highly specific to the individual. It is very valuable to ask students how much of

their assignments they clearly understand. The answers may surprise you and can often

provide a key to better instruction for students who are having difficulty. Potential questions

to ask students are:

What was the assignment?

What materials/books were you supposed to have for this assignment?

What are the rules that the teacher wants you to follow?

If you are working in groups, what is each person's role?

On this particular problem, how did you get that answer?

Where do you turn in your assignment?

What are you supposed to do after you finish this assignment?

Do you think this work is something you can do? Is it too hard? Too easy?

If you can't do it, what kind of help do you need?

What happens after math each day?

We know that students learn best when work is appropriately challenging. Asking students,

especially those who are having difficulty, how well they understand what their assignment

was, what materials they need to complete it, or how they need to complete it, can provide

insights into any breakdowns in their learning. Asking specific questions, such as how they

got an answer or if they understand what the question is asking, provides an opportunity

to assess their comprehension of classroom processes.

There is a strong relationship between academic failure and misbehavior. Constantly monitoring

the extent to which assignments and instruction are understood is an important method of preventing

classroom disruption. Although it may be unrealistic to assess all students' understanding on a

frequent basis, a sample of students can be interviewed to make sure most students understand

the material.

In order for a student to benefit from your instruction, three things must occur. First,

as just noted, the student must have the prerequisite skills and knowledge to complete the lesson.

Second, the student must be motivated to accomplish the task. Finally, there must be adequate

time allocated for the student to complete the task successfully. A breakdown at any

of these three points can lead to student disengagement from academic tasks, and increase