Mastering Classroom Behavior Management: Essential Strategies for Effective Teaching

1. An Introduction to Behavior Management Thad Green, LSSP

2. Why Does This Stuff Matter? A few depressing statistics* *Teaching Interrupted: Do Discipline Policies in Today’s Public Schools Foster the Common Good (May, 2004) -- a random sample of 725 middle & high schools and 600 parents, as cited by Tricia Skyles

3. 49% of teachers, “complain they have been accused of unfairly disciplining a student”

4. 51% of teachers in urban schools “strongly agree” that “if it weren’t for discipline problems” they “could be teaching a lot more effectively”

5. 85% of teachers believe that new teachers, “are unprepared to deal with behavior problems.”

6. 33% of teachers say they have, “seriously considered quitting because of student behavior”

7. 50% of new teachers resign within their first 5 years.

8. Critical Points Behavior management is a set of learned skills. If they haven’t been taught, they probably aren’t being used. Learning behavior management skills is not easy. Just because they have been taught doesn’t mean they have been learned.

9. The Inevitable Triangle

10. The Inevitable Citations • Sprick, Randy (2009). CHAMPS: A Proactive & Positive Approach to Classroom Management, 2nd Edition. Eugene, OR: Pacific Northwest. • Greene, Ross (2008). Lost at School: Why Our Kids with Behavioral Challenges are Falling Through the Cracks and How We Can Help Them. New York, NY: Scribner. • Grove, Tom (2007). The Inner Wealth Initiative: the Nurtured Heart Approach for Educators.Tuscon, AZ: Nurtured Heart Publications.

11. The Inevitable Acronym: STOIC • S= Structure • T= Teach expectations • O= Observe behavior • I= Interact positively • C= Correct fluently

12. Structure

13. The Purpose of Structure • Good structure ensures that helpful interaction is easier than unhelpful interaction. • Classroom teachers define ‘helpful’ and ‘unhelpful’ for themselves. • There is no One Right Way.

14. Orientation • Spatial blueprint of the room: • Desks • Materials • Displays • Temporal blueprint of the day: • Activities • Transitions

15. Structuring Things • Different classroom arrangements change:

16. The Grid • Most space efficient • Encourages student interaction • Very limited access to students

17. The Rows • Space efficient • Some student interaction • Limited teacher access from front

18. The Columns • Space efficient • Much less student interaction • Good teacher access from front

19. The U • Least space efficient • Least student interaction • Excellent teacher access from center

20. The Clusters • Somewhat space efficient • Maximum student interaction • Good teacher access to all students • Some students must move to see teacher

21. Structuring Activities • Your classroom procedures are what you need from your students in order to teach effectively. • Because they are based on your needs, your students may not know what they are. • In order to teach what you need, you must first recognize what you need.

22. The Art of CHAMPSification • C= Conversation • H= Help • A= Activity • M= Movement • P= Participation • S= Success

23. Conversation: • Who is allowed to talk during this activity? • What topics can they talk about? • How loudly can they talk? • How will you regain their attention?

24. Help • When a student has a question, whom should they ask? • What kinds of questions can they ask? • When a student needs to talk to you, how do they let you know? • How rapidly will you respond when they give that signal?

25. Activity • What is this task designed to teach? • What is the physical product of this task? • How does a student know when the task has been finished? • What should they do when they are done?

26. Movement • Everyone moves all the time. • What range of movement is allowed? • Where can they go? • Should students signal a need to move? If so, how?

27. Participation • What actions show that a student is engaged in this activity? • How can a student respond to a compliment? • How can a student respond to a correction? • How will you help to make the activity engaging?

28. Critical Points • You will spend time dealing with behavioral issues. Time invested in the beginning usually saves time later. • If you don’t clearly understand your needs and expectations, your students won’t either.

29. Teach Expectations

30. The Social Contract • Teaching expectations allows your students to become part of the environment you have created. • The first stage of any relationship involves learning what each person expects from the other.

31. The Process of Teaching • Prepare – know what you want • Explain – describe what you want • Model – show what you want • Review – practice what you want

32. A few possibilities • T-chart – looks like, sounds like • Role-play – act out with students • Visual displays – non-text icons

33. When to teach expectations? • As often as possible • Especially before a new or difficult • Activity • Transition • Semester • In more depth as time goes on

34. A note about technology • It’s important • It’s so important that it’s taught two ways: • Explicitly, via separate lessons devoted to it • Implicitly, via integrated lessons that embed technology within academic curriculum

35. It’s all Greek to me • Techne= the means by which things are done (as in, ‘technique’) • Logos= word (as in, ‘dialog’) • Technology= words about how things are done

36. Behavior Management = Technology • Behavior training needs to be routinely integrated into academic lessons.

37. Common Myths • “The students are old enough to know how to behave.” • “The students should be able to figure out what I want them to do on their own.” • “The students will do it because I said so.” • “I shouldn’t have to repeat myself.” • “If they haven’t gotten it by now, they’re never going to get it.”

38. A Moment of Math • P = D – S • Such that: • P = problem behavior • D = demands within a particular setting • S = skills available to meet demands

39. Definition of a Bad Teacher • There aren’t any. • P = D - S

40. Definition of a Bad Student • There aren’t any. • P = D - S

41. Definition of a Bad LSSP • There aren’t any. • P = D - S

42. Definition of a Bad Administrator • There aren’t any. • P = D - S

43. Definition of a Bad Parent • There aren’t any. • P = D - S

44. Uncommon Truths • Everyone has behavioral skills – but they might not be the right skills for the current situation. • Everyone wants to succeed – but they may not believe that success is really possible. • School is the best place for behavioral problems to occur.

45. A Brief Note About Privilege • Benefits that everyone should receive, but that only certain people do. • Benefits that no-one should receive, but that certain people do. • It is very difficult to see privilege in action until you don’t have it.

46. The bilingual classroom • Every community has a unique language of behavioral expectations. • Every classroom is its own community. • Teach the language.

47. Critical Points • Pre-teaching is necessary, but probably won’t be sufficient. Every behavior is a teachable moment. • Recognizing the moments requires observing your students.

48. Observe Behavior

49. The Purpose of Observation • Observation measures change. • Observation triggers change. • Data keep us honest.

50. Data! The Three Laws of System Management: • If it ain’t writ down, it ain’t real. • No data, no meeting. • Paranoia is a way of life.