Proactive Tips for Behavior Management

Deal with misbehavior, quickly, consistently, and respectfully.

For the past several months, I’ve observed a freshman English class at Bellingham High School. When I’m not directing instruction, leading the class or working with small groups, I usually observe the lesson with one eye on the clock, timing activities and transitions, as well as noting method used for instruction. Until I began this journal, it never occurred to me to look for management techniques because the class is so well-behaved. But, once I took a closer look, I realized that much of the students’ good behavior can be attributed to proactive measures taken by the instructor to prevent management issues from becoming just that—issues in the first place.

Most of the behavior management techniques seem to fly under the radar of anyone in the classroom because the instructor follows this general policy: deal with misbehavior quickly, consistently and respectfully. In the paragraphs following, I have broken down what this policy looks like in the classroom…

Misbehavior is a disruption to the teacher’s effectiveness as an educator. The time spent dealing with misbehaving would be better spent teaching the more compliant kids. Therefore, misbehavior is dealt with quickly and consistently with class-defined consequences.

Non-verbal communication: Body language, facial expressions, gestures, eye contact, and physical proximity can all be highly effective in promoting self-control by the student. It is important that a teacher is aware enough to recognize when misbehavior may occur, and to have non-verbal methods to prevent escalation. In one of our course readings, Kounin refers to this level of awareness as “withitness”. From my observations, “withitness” is the single most effective proactive behavior management skill a teacher can develop.

Reminders/Requests: It is possible that a verbal reminder of the classroom rules and consequences will be all that is necessary to stop student misbehavior. For example, when a student lays their head down on the desk, the teacher just reminds them, chin up or you’ll lose participation points. Sometimes the reminder is all that’s needed to keep the student from completely checking out.

Redirecting Behavior: Upon an act of misbehavior, a teacher may describe the action to the student and suggest an acceptable alternative action. The student usually only has to be reminded of what he or she is supposed to be doing. For example, “Instead of reading that newspaper, I would like you to work on your homework for the next five minutes. You can read the paper later.” This strategy goes along with using positive language and “start” messages rather than “stop” requests or questions that are inappropriate (i.e. stop reading the paper OR can you stop reading the paper?).

Dealing with attention-seeking students: If a teacher ignores an attention seeking student, the misbehavior usually escalates to a level which eventually cannot be ignored. Therefore, it is best if the teacher can redirect the student’s behavior, and attempt to give the student attention when he or she is not demanding it. This method encourages students to seek motivation from within, instead of depending on attention from without. For example, there is a young man who consistently talks out of turn. The instructor often directs questions toward him when she is checking to see if students understood her directions or lecture information. This not only gives him the opportunity to talk, but it puts his input to good use, providing reminders for the rest of the class.

Avoid Power Struggles: It is important that the authority figure in the classroom not engage in power struggles with students. It is best to redirect a power-seeking student’s behavior by offering some position of responsibility or decision making. Cushman suggests offering the student two choices. For example, if a student does not want to participate in an activity, you can provide them with the choice to participate now, or silent read and lose participation points, then walk away.

Address the behavior, not the character of the student: The teacher has the power to build or destroy student self-concept and personal relationships. Good communication addresses the situation directly, letting the student decide whether their behavior is consistent with what they expect of themselves. When a student is acting inappropriately, best to pull them aside and simply ask if they think their behavior is appropriate and why or why not. The student will generally own up to what they were doing wrong. Never humiliate a student in front of the class (we saw an example of that in Michie).

Invoking Consequences: To be effective, consequences must be applied consistently. They should never be harmful physically or psychologically to the student. When they are invoked, the student should understand that he or she has chosen them by misbehaving. Cushman suggests that consequences should fit the misbehavior. So, if a student is tardy and your policy is for the student to stay late after class, be consistent and ask the student to wait for an equal amount of time that they were late in arriving.

Prevent Escalation: Sometimes students are unwilling to listen to the teacher. At this point, a teacher can help prevent misbehavior from escalating by talking (and listening) with the student privately, and rationally discuss the problem behavior. The privacy enhances the possibility for a constructive discussion. Confrontation with an unwilling student could make the teacher appear weak in front of the class. Some kids just thrive off the attention, especially when it’s warranted by other kids. Removing the audience will often times deflate the student’s anger or irritability.