No one goes into the teaching field anticipating joyful days spent managing student behavior. Instead, new teachers look forward to sharing their love of English, biology or another subject with students. Before students can learn subject area content, however, the classroom must be managed effectively. Otherwise, students will not be able to concentrate, will not feel safe, and as a result, will not learn.
Preventative Approaches
The best approaches to behavior management in the classroom are preventative approaches. If you can stop a problem before it begins, valuable instructional time will not be wasted. Ways you can prevent undesirable behavior in the classroom include establishing classroom routines, setting clear expectations, using effective instructional strategies and conducting regular class meetings. As you gain experience, you will develop a set of strategies to nip bad behavior in the bud. The "look" has been used by many teachers to gain instant control over a particular student's behavior before it goes too far.
Documentation
Most school administrators expect teachers to keep good documentation regarding their behavioral management strategies. Teachers are expected to have a plan in place to deal with misbehavior, and have that plan in writing. For example, a first offense may get a silent warning; the second, a verbal warning and the third, a written warning or referral to the office. You can document your behavioral interventions with students by keeping a log that contains the student's names. When you must warn a student or impose a consequence, jot down the date, the intervention and the consequence. This documentation is useful when you must talk to a parent about her child's misbehavior or justify to the administration why you have referred a student to the office.
Common Mistakes
One mistake that rookie teachers often make is to take the behavior at face value. A student may be off-task and receive consequences for this behavior. However, the behavior will not be corrected if the underlying cause is not addressed. It is entirely possible that the student has family problems, a lack of sleep, attention deficit disorder or another factor that prevents him from giving his work his full attention. Effective classroom management dictates that underlying problems that drive behavior be addressed.
Lack of planning can also create behavioral problems in the classroom. Students who do not know what to expect from day-to-day may act out. Transitions should be smooth and predictable.
Another common mistake is being inconsistent. As a teacher, you must always mean what you say and can never make a statement that you are unable to follow through on. Many students with behavioral issues do not have clear limits established at home, and may hear threats that are never followed through on, or that are followed through on sporadically, ie: "If you don't turn off that television right now I'm going to throw it in the trash!" To maintain order in your classroom, you must let students know the rules and follow through with their enforcement every single time they are violated. This is not being mean, it is letting students know what to expect and providing them with a predictable, and thus safe, environment.
Behavior Management Plans
As a teacher, you should establish a behavior management plan for your classroom. Post the rules where all students can see them, and provide students and parents with an individual copy of your classroom expectations, along with the consequences students can expect if those expectations are not met.
Some students have individual behavior management plans. These are commonly referred to as "BIPs." These plans are prepared by the student's special education committee and provide you with guidelines to follow to prevent and redirect misbehavior. These are legal documents and are never optional.
Parental Support
A crucial component of classroom behavior management is parental support. While some parents will be more supportive than others, you can increase the overall level of parental support you receive by contacting parents early in the year. Let them know that you are glad to have their child in your class and give them your contact information so they can email or phone you when necessary. Contact parents regularly by email, note or phone to let them know about their child's accomplishments. Students love this and will work hard to please you. Another benefit is that when you call parents to inform them about a behavioral problem, you will already have a relationship with them, which will lead to better results.
