Maintaining Order
Once established, the order of the learning environment must be maintained for learning to proceed progressively and smoothly. Disruptions to the order of the lesson bring an immediate halt to the task at hand, and the teacher must then focus attention away from learning and onto reestablishing order. It is better for all concerned that order be maintained.
MAINTAINING APPROPRIATE BEHAVIOR
Maintaining order begins by establishing acceptable behavioral practices of both teachers and students. In doing so, each knows the expectations for the other and for themselves in the learning environment. Effective managers have several strategies for establishing and maintaining appropriate behavior.
Communicate Behavioral Expectations and Work Standards
Reinforcing and restating expectations for conduct and work is necessary for maintaining order. Rules and expectations need to be stated to establish behavior, but they need to be restated for those behaviors to continue. Gentle reminders, posted slogans, or simple rewards for "best effort" are all ways that effective managers remind students of the class performance standards.
Monitor Student Behavior Closely
Effective class managers constantly observe and monitor their students. Research has reveled several monitoring practices and characteristics of effective class managers. First among these characteristics is withitness, or being so closely attuned to events and student actions that the teacher can anticipate and prevent problems before they occur or become serious. Because beginning teachers tend to focus strongly on what they have to do, they often miss what the students are doing. More experienced teachers have developed techniques to survey the class and monitor potential problems. For example, in most classes, a minority of students account for the majority of off-task and disruptive behavior. An experienced teacher knows to observe these students at regular intervals to check on their activities.
Being able to undertake and overlap multiple tasks at once is another characteristic of an effective manager. Teachers are often asked to respond to a student request, repair equipment, or stop a student argument - all while continuing to teach the class. Experienced teachers are able to prioritize these tasks so that learning for the majority of students continues while they deal with extraneous demands. For example, a student may come to class with an extensive medical excuse that needs to be reviewed by the teacher. An experienced teacher would ask this student to wait a minute while he/she got the rest of the students involved in their learning activities. Once the majority of the class was appropriately active, the teacher would then turn attention to the waiting student. Keeping first things first is an important principle for all effective managers.
The ability to maintain the momentum of the lesson through the use of signals and well-timed activities is a third characteristic of an effective manager. Well-planned lessons and lively pacing of the class help teachers maintain the continual flow of activities that keeps the momentum moving in ways the teacher intends. Clear, consistent signals speed along transitions and also contribute to the momentum of the learning.
A fourth characteristic of an effectively managed class is variety and challenge in the lesson activities. Students who are actively engaged in meaningful, interesting, and challenging teacher-planned activities are focused on the task at hand, which leaves them little time or motivation to pursue off-task endeavors. A well-planned lesson is a key factor for establishing a learning environment with interesting activities and appropriate levels of student challenge.
Finally, effective managers reward appropriate and exemplary behavior. Often teachers are quick to punish the inappropriate and ignore the appropriate. "Catch a kid doing good" is one way an outstanding teacher once described a most effective management strategy. Cataloging a list of "don'ts" has a limited effect. It must be balanced by the "dos" so that when a student is or has been consistently contributing to the effective order of the class, he should, in some way, be recognized for that contribution.
CORRECTING INAPPROPRIATE BEHAVIOR
Despite the best laid plans, well-formulated rules, and practiced procedures, inappropriate and disruptive behavior will occasionally occur. From time to time, hopefully not more than that, a teacher is called on to intervene in a student's actions and correct inappropriate behavior. Most often, these interventions are minor, but once in a while, major interventions are required.
Minor Interventions
Minor interventions are required when the rule infraction has not caused a serious disruption to learning, endangered anyone's safety, or damaged equipment. Types of behavior requiring minor interventions include tardiness, talking out, inattentiveness, mild forms of verbal or physical abuse, or misuse of equipment.
The key to disciplining disruptive behavior is to view what students do in the context of the class. For example, talking out may not be disruptivee if it advances the knowledge of the class in an appropriate manner. Effective managers ask themselves two questions when assessing whether disruptive behavior needs to be dealt with quickly: Is the behavior public? Is it contagious? If the student misbehavior is visible to other people in the class (i,e, it's public) and it is potentially dangerous (i.e., It will pull others away from the task at hand), then the effective manager responds in a way that terminates the chance of reocurrence - usually by reinforcing the rules.
A teacher has several options to terminate the inappropriate activity or reduce the chance of reoccurrence. Simply ignoring the behavior is one option. This should be chosen only if the teacher believes the action was a one-time occurrence that isn't likely to happen again or gather the attention of the class. Sometimes, however, a teacher will need to overlook the behavior to understand the motives behind it. However, you must be careful not to ignore the behavior simply because you don't know what to do. Again, a well-formulated and practiced set of rules will help here.
If a teacher decides a form of action is necessary, he/she should take that action quickly to terminate the inappropriate behavior while it still requires only a minor intervention. Waiting for the problem to become larger or hoping it will simply go away are often not options that effective managers take seriously. If action is called for, they initiate it quickly to stop small problems from becoming larger ones.
Changing the pace of the class or changing the activity is another alternative. This action has the effect of turning the attention of the class to the task at hand and away from the inappropriate activity. For example, students tend to be disruptive when bored. If you notice students talking among themselves, playing with equipment in inappropriate ways, or showing other signs of boredom, it may a signal to change the activity.
Proximity is another strategy that serves as a minor intervention. Moving closer to the student will often cause the offending behavior to cease. Similarly, redirecting the student's behavior toward the task at hand is yet another effective technique. The teacher might call the student by name and ask if she/he needs some assistance, use the student in a demonstration, or use the student's name in a description of an activity that shows application of the concept or skill being learned.
Realizing that misbehavior often occurs when students are unsure of what to do or when they're waiting or bored, the teacher may provide additional information. Clarifying instructions and directions ensures that learning tasks and responsibilities are explicit. Leaving no doubt as to the teacher's expectations for student behavior often serves to bring students back on-task. When clarifying or reexplaining an activity, attempt to control any annoyance you may feel (no matter how justified). Keeping a cool, professional demeanor will reinforce the students that you're serious about their learning and not easily distracted from that mission. An important consideration is to keep the momentum of the class moving in directions that promote learning. Minor interventions are intended to maintain that momentum.
Moderate Interventions
If a student threatens the learning environment by disrupting learning, causing minor injury, or damaging property, then more rigorous measures are required. It is particularly important to closely adhere to the established rules and consequences at these times. Effective managers use rules and procedures for handling class disturbances more often than less effective teachers. Of note, the fairness of a teacher is often measured by willingness and ability to treat misbehavior in a consistent fashion - regardless of which student commits the offending act.
A warning is often the first response to disruptive behavior. The teacher should advise the student to stop the inappropriate behavior and make the student aware of the consequence of its reoccurrence. If the behavior occurs again, the consequence must be administered without hesitation. To fail in this duty is to lose credibility as a class manager. Students must know why punishment is being given, and the full duration of the punishment should be served. The teacher should also convey that the action has caused the need for the consequence, and it doesn't reflect personal feelings of the teacher toward the student.
In most instructional situations, a time-out, or time away from the group, is an effective deterrent. No one likes to be excluded from a group, and physical removal for short periods of time can reinforcee the point that participation in a group - any group - requires that accepted rules be followed. If a time-out fails to deter inappropriate behavior, the teacher needs to consider a fine or penalty. The precise nature of the fine or penalty depends on the circumstances involved. In a high school class, an appropriate penalty may include a detention or an after-class conference. Learning activities should never be used as a punishment. Writing essays or running laps may be important learning activities and should not, therefore, be considered punishment.
Major Interventions
Fortunately, severely disruptive behavior is a rare occurrence in classes and schools. Unfortunately, it's becoming more common. Because vandalism, robbery, theft, and assault do occur in sport and school settings, a teacher must be prepared to handle such situations.
When a serious disruption occurs, the teacher must find a way to remove the student from the class. The student is posing a serious threat to the other students, and it's unlikely the class can proceed in this student's presence. Keep in mind that when removing a student from class, a teacher is still responsible for the welfare of the remaining students; you can't leave the class unless another adult is present to supervise. You may send a student to the office or to retrieve another adult while you stay with the class. Once another adult arrives, then you can leave the class with the offending student.
If a student poses a threat to the safety of classmates and it's not possible to remove this student from the class, then the next best course of action is to remove the other students from the immediate vicinity. Again, they need adequate supervision. At no time should teachers place the students or themselves in danger. In a school setting, an administrator should be made aware of the situation and appropriate policy followed. If the student's action constitute a crime, the police must be contacted. Because of the importance of getting another adult into the class and given the remote locations in which sport and physical education instruction often takes place, it would be wise for a teacher to have a plan of action for evacuating students and for securing appropriate adult aid in an emergency.
Before the student returns to class, it's suggested that the teacher meet with parents, administrators, and other teachers so that the offending student's future actions in class can be carefully monitored and the rules of the class can be made explicit to all involved parties. The teacher should also meet with the student before reentry in the class so that an understanding and agreement regarding the expectations and rules can be reached. In some cases, it may be best to write a student behavioral contract that clearly identifies the appropriate behavior and inappropriate in-class behavior, as well as rewards and consequences for complying with or breaking the contract.
Characteristics of an Effective Classroom Manager:
- Provides clear instructions and directions;
- States desired behaviors, attitudes, and work standards frequently;
- Stops disruptive behavior quickly;
- Uses rules and procedures to deal with disruptive behavior;
- Focuses on the tast at hand and the curriculum rather than misbehavior;
- Provides signals to start and stop activity;
- Rehearses and consistently enforces procedures.
