What is the Behavior Management Cycle?

Managing behavior is a big part of our job as educators throughout the school year, but it is especially important in the first weeks of turnaround for two reasons:

1. You are responsible for both the safety and the learning of your students, so you need to be in control at all times.

2. As students get to know you, they need to know that you mean business! Learning is top priority and excellent behavior is expected at all times. The more predictable and explicit you are, the better students are able to participate appropriately, and the less likely they are to misbehave.

So what is the Behavior Management Cycle?

The Behavior Management Cycle is a research-based, three-step approach to classroom management designed to enable teachers to motivate all students to follow directions quickly, get on task, and stay on task.

Step One: Clearly Communicate Explicit DirectionsTeachers need to tell students exactly what to do and how they are to do it.

Stop where you are. When I call your row, walk along the black line, place your jump rope in the bin, and line up. No talking. Row 1…

Step Two: Utilize Behavioral Narration Teachers need to immediately recognize students who are following their directions and narrate their behavior. Narrating the positive is a powerful tool to normalize constructive, on-task behavior in your classroom.

I see Darius took out his notebook quietly and immediately got to work.

Step Three: Take Corrective Action Teachers then need to calmly and firmly take corrective action with students who are not complying with their directions.

Jayla, you chose to talk when directions were to be at a level zero. Move your clip quietly and politely, return to your seat and get right to work.

In order to effectively implement the Behavior Management Cycle, each of the three steps must be delivered in a Strong Voice. For more information on Strong Voice, see the AUSL Signature Strategy Guide, or Teach Like a Champion by Doug Lemov..

AUSL Expectations

In the first year of AUSL’s Turnaround model, the primary focus is on the “P” of PASSAGE. P stands for Positive School Culture which consists of a safe, orderly school and classroom environment, and effective recruitment, attendance, and discipline policies. Managing behavior- motivating students to follow directions in classrooms, hallways, and on school grounds- is foundational to creating the safe and orderly school environment necessary to build a positive school climate. Without strong management, teaching and learning is interrupted, and precious instructional time is lost. Managing behavior is every adult’s responsibility at all times. All AUSL staff are expected to implement the Behavior Management Cycle effectively to create a safe, orderly learning environment.

During the first weeks of school, AUSL Turnaround Coaches will focus on how you establish your authority and get control of your classroom. Specifically, your coach will focus on how each teacher:

Teaches routines and procedures Executes transitions Builds community Manages student behavior

To that end, your use of high-impact Signature Strategies is of paramount importance: Strong voice 100% What to do Do it again Positive framing

What can you expect from your coach? High expectations for safety, calm, and order in all classrooms Specific guidance on techniques and strategies to improve classroom management

skills Frequent observations, feedback and encouragement as you build the learning

community Possible Real-Time Coaching around the BMC

Focus on Step One: Clearly Communicate Explicit Directions

The first step in motivating all students to follow your directions is to make sure that the students know “exactly” what you expect them to do to be successful in any type of learning activity: working independently, working in groups, going from one activity to another, or entering and leaving the classroom, etc.

In order to effectively implement Step One of the Behavior Management Cycle, each set of directions must be developed using SOCS (specific, observable, concrete, and sequential language) from What to Do. For more information on What to Do see the AUSL Signature Strategy Guide, or Teach Like a Champion by Doug Lemov.

Before giving directions: Attention signal!All directions begin with your attention signal. All students need to be quiet, still, and looking at you. It doesn’t make sense to tell students What to Do if they aren’t listening attentively. Do not talk over!

Give directions: Get specific!We often assume that students know what we mean when we say things like “pay attention” or “get busy” or even “work on page 58.” But these instructions are vague; even the students most eager to please you can’t read your mind. The more specific you are about what you expect, the more likely students are to follow your directions. Each set of directions should be specific, observable, concrete, and sequential (What to Do). Also, your attention should be focused squarely on delivering directions, not divided between any other classroom tasks. Square Up/Stand Still while delivering directions in your Strong Voice.

Whenever you give directions to students, be sure to communicate your expectations for how they are to behave related to three specific areas:

1. Expectations for Verbal Behavior Up to 80% of the disruptive behavior in most classrooms can be categorized as one form or another of inappropriate verbal behavior. This is worth repeating: It is likely that most of the management challenges you will face this year will involve some form of inappropriate talking. Get out in front of this potential problem and be vigilant in addressing it. Whatever you are planning—routine, procedure, independent work time, transitions, group work—think about what you expect students to do with their voices and communicate your expectations in no uncertain terms.

Experienced teachers would say that talking problems are the “easiest” to fix, but to eliminate unwanted chatter actually requires significant energy and vigilance on the part of the teacher. The minute you “slack up,” students will notice and the chatter will begin to spread like a virus; if you don’t tighten up quickly, their voices will begin to drown you out.

That is not to say you don’t allow talking. You will provide many opportunities for academic discussion and peer-to-peer talk because talking is an important way for students to process information. As the teacher, you need to demonstrate what appropriate and accountable talk sounds like, and allow students to practice it often while you give feedback.

You will have some students who struggle to regulate their verbal behaviors. Odds are, you’ll have students with various habits: the blurter, the mumbler, the

yeller, the noisemaker, the off-topic distracter, and the motor-mouth. While these behaviors are not acceptable, this range is natural, and there is a difference between defiance and acting out of impulsivity or habit. Students with bad habits or poor impulse control need strategies, reminders, and lots of practice to build their self-regulation skills. Be patient but firm—predictable routines, visual cues, and hand signals will help over time. With the help of your coach, you may consider creating individual behavior plans to address the needs of certain students who create severe disruptions.

Examples of setting expectations for verbal behavior: We are working at Voice Level One. Speak loud enough so that everyone can hear you.

2. Expectations for Physical Movement Whatever misbehavior isn’t related to verbal behavior will likely be related to physical movement. “Wandering” students pose several risks: safety (their own and that of classmates), disruption of other students’ learning; disruption of the physical environment; and undermining of the teacher’s authority as other students watch.

Again, you can prevent many of these problems by being specific in your expectations. When you plan, know exactly what you expect students to do with their bodies, and issue clear directions before every activity or transition.

As with verbal behaviors, you will likely have some students who struggle to move around appropriately in the classroom. Again, there’s a normal range. You’ll probably have a wiggler, a wanderer, a tapper, a kicker, a slowpoke, a racehorse, a klutz, and a sleeper. While these behaviors are not acceptable (and frustrating!), this range is natural, and there is a difference between defiance and acting out of impulsivity or habit. Again, students with bad habits or poor impulse control need strategies, reminders, and lots of practice to build their self-regulation skills. Be patient but firm—predictable routines, visual cues, and hand signals will help over time.

Examples of setting expectations for physical movement: Stay in your seat. In the hall, face forward, walk proud, do not lean on railings or walls, and

skip a square.

3. Expectations for Participation in the Activity As you plan for every learning activity, consider carefully what it is exactly that you want students to do. Tell students how you expect them to participate in the activity: how to appropriately interact with peers, how to complete a task, and how to engage in an assignment. It only makes sense that your students will be most engaged and successful in the learning community when expectations are

clear. You cannot hold students accountable for making up their own way of doing things, or not doing anything at all, if you have not told them explicitly what they should be doing.

Examples of setting expectations for participation: Play three rounds of the game. Take turns with your partner. When you finish, you may read your independent reading book or work on

your essay revisions.

After giving directions: Check for understandingBefore you release students to carry out your instructions, make sure that all students know exactly is expected in terms of volume, movement, and participation. Checking for understanding holds students accountable for listening when you give directions—it keeps students on their toes, it establishes that everything you say is important, and it reinforces your unwavering expectations. Checking for understanding can take place in several ways. The important thing is that you remember to do it, especially in the beginning of the year.

Examples:

Have student restate directions: Anandaz, please tell us what we are about to do. Signal: If you know what to do with your mouth, your body, and your brain when I

say go, give me a thumbs up. If you’re not sure, give me thumbs to the side or down.

Model: Invite two students to demonstrate following directions, narrating the expectations for verbal, movement, and participation behavior as they do so.

Non-model: Invite two students to demonstrate the incorrect way of doing something while everyone else watches. Have other students tell the models what to correct, then have them do it again correctly.

Getting started: Cue !When you give the cue, you are signaling that it is time for students to carry out your directions. First you gave explicit instructions, then made sure all students know what to do. Now it’s time for students to do their job: carry out the instructions exactly as stated.

Often when you give directions to the students, they will be eager to begin the activity before you are ready for them to do so. They may just hear the first thing you say and not listen to the rest. You can get ahead of this by prefacing your directions with a reminder. Simply tell students not to start the activity until you give the cue or signal.

Example cues:

“Go” “Begin” “Start now” “On 3” “Show me” 3 finger snaps Point both index fingers at class

Focus on Step Two: Utilize Behavioral Narration

The second step of the Behavior Management Cycle is to provide immediate positive feedback to students who follow directions using a technique called behavioral narration.

How to use behavioral narration effectively:

To be effective, positive feedback needs to be immediate, specific, and frequent.

When you finish giving directions, immediately scan the class, look for students who are complying, and in a clear voice loud enough for all to hear, simply narrate, or describe specifically what compliant students are doing (i.e.,”Johnny is working at level zero”).

Benefits of behavioral narration:

Reinforcement of good choicesNarrating correct behavior reinforces for students that they made a good choice in following directions.

Significant decrease in disruptive behaviorResearch indicates that teachers who provide effective positive feedback can reduce disruptive behavior by over 30%. Students who are off task can scan the room to see what the expectations are and may be motivated by the chance to be “celebrated” with behavior narration.

Repetition of directionsBy describing the behavior of students following directions, you are essentially repeating the directions for all to hear, again. Students who are off task now have another chance to fix their behavior and meet the expectation.

Teacher demonstrates “with-it-ness”Students observe you constantly scanning, monitoring, and acknowledging behavior in a positive way, so they know you are “on top of it.” You won’t need to rely on negative “gotchas” to convince students you are all-knowing and all-seeing. As a result, students are less likely to think you won’t notice or aren’t really paying attention to what every student is doing, and are more likely to follow directions.

Positive framingBehavioral narration trains you to focus your attention on the positive, in this case, those students who are following directions (as opposed to those who are not). Narrating the positive normalizes it, or sets excellence as the standard. Teachers who are struggling with student behavior tend to focus on those students who are not following instructions, and their classroom narrative can quickly become negative, replete with nagging, badgering, and giving “air time” to exactly the opposite behaviors the teacher intends to reinforce.

Eliminates the drawbacks of praisePraise is judgmental. Behavior narration is simply descriptive. When teachers say things like, “I love the way Amy is working quietly,” or “I’m so proud of how quickly the boys used the restroom. Great job, gentlemen.” etc. they are making judgmental statements regarding what they do and do not like. The truth is, some students are motivated to do what their teachers like, but others are not.

If teachers are constantly telling students how much they like what students are doing, or what a good job they have done, or how proud they are of how the students are behaving, students will likely become desensitized to the praise, diminishing its value dramatically. Behavioral narration is a matter-of-fact description of the students’ on task behavior. Teachers will find they can use it consistently without feeling phony. Even more important, students are not likely to tire of the teachers’ positive comments, and will continue to be motivated by them.

Caveat for Special Educators: For teachers working with students with behavior deficits (students identified, or at risk for identification, as Behaviorally Disordered or Emotionally Disturbed), it is appropriate to use praise statements, i.e. “Thank you for sitting silently,” “I like the way you have made a good choice and are working at a level zero.”

Research suggests that students with Emotional Disturbance (ED) respond better to praise, though they are very unlikely to receive praise in their classrooms.

In order to change student behavior, it is recommended that teachers use a praise-to-correction ratio of 4:1. Behavior Narration can make this high level of praise possible.

For students with ED, praise statements explicitly reinforce that the choice they have made is the correct one and will encourage the likelihood of that behavior being repeated in the future.

Guidelines for using behavioral narration:

1. The 2-second rule: Once you give the cue, take a breath, scan the entire room, and look for those students following directions. Right away, within 2 seconds of the cue, describe what you see 2 to 3 individuals or small groups doing correctly.

2. Use a clear, audible voice: Set a tone that is both matter-of-fact and positive. Let your students know that you are watching their behavior carefully.

3. Focus your attention: Your attention should be focused squarely on your students, not be divided between other classroom tasks. You may want to Square Up/Stand Still as you become familiar with the BMC.

4. Narration is not equal opportunity: Give more frequent narration to those students who struggle to follow directions. The more you narrate, the more motivated these students will likely become.

5. Once a minute: Keep the momentum going. Once you get the behavior you expect, help students keep it—narration not only recognizes compliant students, but restates the expectation—so no one forgets. Once every minute or so, narrate someone whose behavior is on target. Over time, you’ll refine the technique of maintenance narration so that it flows into the rhythm of your instruction, and you’ll notice that students need it less frequently. Here are a few examples:

The teacher is conducting a direct instruction lesson with the class. Every time she finishes a point in the lesson she scans the class and narrates students who are engaged in the lesson. “Javion and Katrina are in learning position. Their eyes are tracking me, their hands and feet are still, and their mouths are closed.”

During independent practice, the teacher walks around the room and confers one-on-one with students. Between conferences, she scans the room and narrates students on task. “The students in the back of the room are working on their assignment without talking. I see some of the students have finished their assignment and have begun working on revising their essays.”

The teacher has a small reading group working with her while the other students are working independently at their seats. As she finishes reading with each student she looks up, monitors the class and narrates students who are staying on task. ―Kaya, James, and Jeremiah are still staying in their seats and reading without talking

6. Give points! Combine behavior narration with your whole-group incentive system to encourage all students to work together to earn a reward for the whole class. Whenever you observe students following directions, narrate their behavior, and also let the class know the students have earned a point that will move the class closer to its reward.

Caveat for Special Educators: Combining Behavior Narration with positive incentives can be especially effective for students with challenging behaviors. By linking Behavior Narrations to concrete and immediate reinforcers, you shorten the feedback loop between good choice and good result, strengthening the relationship for students.

Example: Direction: Go directly back to your seat at a level 0.

Narration #1: Lakeisha is going directly to her seat. (Teacher gives point on Lakeisha’s chart)Narration #2: Thank you Lemuel, for going to your seat at a level 0. (Teacher gives Lemuel a point)

7. Use nonverbal techniques (hand signals, eye contact, and proximity), lightning-quick public corrections, and other interventions from the 100% strategy to redirect students while narrating: These techniques will keep students on their toes and show students that you don’t miss a beat. It should never come as a surprise to students when you move to step three.

Examples: Look directly at one student when narrating another student’s positive

behavior. After stating the expectation for silence, the teacher walks toward the

corner of the room where students continue to whisper, on her way, narrating the front of the room that is quiet.

When a student turns around in line at the bathroom, the teacher motions by making a circle with her index finger, reminding the student to turn around.

Focus on Step Three: Take Corrective Action

One you have clearly given effective directions, and narrated the behavior of students who are complying, if you still have students who are engaging in inappropriate behavior, you need to move to the third step of the cycle and take corrective action.

Guidelines: How to take corrective action effectively

In order to effectively implement Step 3 of the Behavior Management Cycle, teachers must have an established hierarchy of consequences. For more information on hierarchy of consequences refer to your Summer Turnaround Training Academy packets, or connect with an AUSL Turnaround Coach.

In order to be effective, corrective actions must be provided: Immediately after the students start disrupting (Kounin 1970) In a calm, matter of fact manner (Jones 2000) As a choice to the student (Canter 2006) From a discipline hierarchy (Newcomer 2009) Every time students engage in disruptive behavior (Sprick, Garrison, & Howard,

1998)

Follow the 10-20 Second Rule According to research, teachers have only 10-20 seconds from the time they cue the students to begin following their directions to correct any off task or disruptive students, or the number of such students will quickly grow (Kounin 1970). Narration should take 5-10 seconds, so you will have time to switch gears to corrective action within 20 seconds.

Give a warning using choice languageAs you wrap up your initial narration of two or three individuals or small groups who are following directions, monitor those who are not doing so, and give a lightning-quick firm, corrective warning using choice language. Do not engage with students who attempt to argue. Simply restate the choice statement and, if necessary, move to the next level in the hierarchy.

Examples: Jason, you have a choice to make. Either sit back down or move your card. Teena, you can either get back to a level zero or have a silent lunch. Make your

choice.

Providing choice serves several purposes. First, it signals to the entire class that consequences are imminent. Second, it provides additional reinforcement of individual student responsibility for those students who need an extra moment to consider their response. Finally, there are some students for whom the “choice” breeds a sense of interpersonal control.

The most effective response you can make to students who are not following directions is to use your Strong Voice, restate your expectations, and follow up with the consequence they have chosen from your predetermined discipline hierarchy. Such clear, firm responses communicate to students that you are serious about following directions. In addition, when give students a choice as to whether or not they receive a consequence you place responsibility where it belongs—on the student.

Examples: Shaun, the directions were to sit and look at me without talking. You have chosen

to earn your warning. Nykira, students need to do their own work without shouting out. You have chosen

to go to time out.

Willie, the direction was to stay in your seat when you‘re working and your clip is already on yellow. You have chosen to go to lunch detention.

Be hypervigilantStudents will never believe you mean business unless and until they know you will take corrective action—provide disciplinary consequences—each and every time they choose not to follow your directions (Sprick, Garrison, & Howard, 1998).

Recognize when a student recovers from corrective actionAfter you provide a consequence to a student, look for the first possible opportunity to narrate the student as soon as they exhibit some kind of on-task behavior. Be sure to demonstrate to students you are not focused on addressing only inappropriate behaviors, but that you are committed to supporting their appropriate behavior as well (Canter 2006).

Example: Jackson is poking and talking to students sitting next to him on the rug so the

teacher calmly takes corrective action: “Jackson, you have chosen a warning. You are to be sitting still and quiet on the rug. Go change your card from green to yellow and come back to the rug. Sit still and be quiet.”

Jackson returns to the rug and he begins behaving appropriately so after a few seconds the teacher recognizes and narrates his behavior: “Jackson is sitting on the rug with his hands to himself, paying attention and not talking.”

Use professional judgmentConsistently providing corrective actions is critical to effective classroom management. But there will be times when you will need to use your professional judgment. For example, if student who is normally cooperative suddenly becomes highly disruptive or uncooperative, it may make sense to remove the student from the situation and arrange quickly to talk with the student to determine what, if anything, you can do to help the student be more successful in the classroom on a rough day.

What not to do: Don’t nag. If you nag, students know you don’t mean business and ignore you. Don’t threaten: Most threats are empty, and students know it, so they will keep

doing what they are doing. Don’t get angry: When you lose your temper, you lose students’ respect and trust.

Move in, move outThere may be times when students will continue to disrupt even after they have been given a warning or a consequence, and it can be tempting to engage with a defiant student. When this happens, it is not uncommon for the teacher to get angry and continue to give the student one consequence after another until the student ends up being sent out of the classroom. To avoid this, use the “move in, move out” technique to de-escalate the situation, calm, and redirect a misbehaving student.

“Move in.” To do this, move close to the student, show your concern and in a quiet, firm voice let the student know that the behavior is inappropriate. Do not be confrontational or physically intimidating. Remind the student of the consequences received so far and what will happen next if the misbehavior continues. Continue to use the language of choice so that the student is empowered to exercise agency:

Devon, I‘m concerned about how you‘re choosing to behave. You know how to follow directions. Now, you‘ve chosen to receive a warning and a consequence. One more inappropriate comment and you will have your parents called. Do you understand?

“Move out.” At this point, you ask the student to make or demonstrate a choice, and give them the autonomy to do so by moving physically away, which could look like standing up from bending near the student, or moving a few feet away from an older student. With younger students, you may stay in close. Either way, continue to monitor the student.

Note: You may ask the student to come to where you are in the room, or to a location where peers may be less aware (doorway, hallway, time away spot). The point is to get the student “off stage” in order to back down from a defiant stance with their dignity intact, and to have this sidebar conversation without losing control of the rest of the room. Remember to continuously monitor the whole class. If you bend down to confer with a student, angle yourself so that your back is to as few other students as possible, and narrate the class once per minute.

When issuing corrective action: Students will test your limitsWhenever you set limits, you can expect that some students will test you to see if you do, in fact, mean business (Walker, et al. 2004). Here are some examples of defiant behaviors you can expect students to occasionally try to test your limits and suggestions on how to respond effectively.

1. Active resistanceWhen a student responds to receiving a consequence with an angry outburst, recognize the behavior as a strategy that has helped the student get their way in the past, either with other teachers or with family members at home. The student expects that you will give in to avoid the tantrum..

Response: Stay Calm The more upset the students gets, the calmer you need to become. Students feed off teacher emotional upset and use it to further fuel their own anger. Use de-escalation strategies such as move in, move out, simplifying directions into smaller steps, or allowing students to choose voluntary time away to refocus and regain their composure.

Whatever is motivating the direct challenge to your authority, remember that every other student in the room is watching to see how you respond. Let them see you calm, firm, and holding your ground. In the midst of responding, do not focus all your attention on one student’s extreme behavior. Continue to monitor and narrate the rest of the class once a minute to prevent other students from joining in the misbehavior, and to provide the constant repetition and reinforcement of your expectations.

If you are unable to de-escalate, seek assistance. If a student’s angry outburst becomes violent and endangers others, your first priority is everyone’s safety.

2. Passive resistanceWhen a student repeatedly pretends to ignore your directions or consequences in order to keep doing their own thing, this is also probably a strategy that has worked for them in the past, either with other teachers or family members. They are pretty sure that if they ignore you, you will eventually relent.

Response: Stay calmWhile it may be tempting to raise your voice or become animated to get this student’s attention, as with other scenarios, it won’t likely have the desired effect. Stay calm. Move in with a strong voice, no nonsense, but low volume and not confrontational, and give the student a simplified direction and a countdown choice. Begin the countdown and move out to let the student decide. Another option is to move in, ask if there is a reason the student is not following directions or if something is wrong with genuine concern. If you get a nod, allow the student voluntary time away until you have the rest of the class started on the next activity. If you get a head shake, or still no response, as in there’s no reason the student is ignoring your directions, repeat them and give the student a countdown choice. If the student continues to ignore and is not disruptive, you can continue on with the class, and at the next transition, or when the student re-engages with the class, follow through 1:1 with a consequence for the defiance.

If extreme defiance is a recurring issue, you will actually need to teach the student replacement skills and give them opportunities to practice—unlearn old habits—over time. Engaging in a battle of wills only reinforces the undesirable reaction. In the case of frequent active or passive resistance, consider agreeing on a signal the student can proactively give to let you know they do not want to comply for some reason—before they blow a gasket or shut down on you. When you see the signal, make a point to confer 1:1 with the student as soon as possible, listen to their grievance, and explain using positive framing why following the direction makes sense or is good for them. After conferring, move out and allow this student a little extra time to process and decide whether to follow your directions.

If the student decides poorly, move ahead with corrective action. If the student decides to comply, narrate the student as soon as they take even a small step in the right direction. This lets the student know that you notice and are pleased with their choice, and it also subtly lets anyone else who may have been paying attention to the challenge to your

authority that you are, in fact, in charge. Allowing students who resist your authority to express themselves, to experience you as genuinely caring and listening to their thoughts and feelings, will help them learn to trust you and they will likely begin to participate appropriately over time.

The foundation beneath the Behavior Management Cycle: Building relationships with students

The consistent use of the steps of the Behavior Management Cycle will help you begin to motivate students to follow your directions and choose to get and stay on task. Research indicates there is another factor that can dramatically increase the teachers’ ability to influence students to choose to behave appropriately in their classrooms: the ability to build a positive relationship with all of their students (Marzano et al. 2003).

Why is building positive relationships such an important factor?

The more students feel their teachers have their best interest at heart, the more likely they will be to follow teachers’ directions (Canter 2006).

The key to building positive relationships is to gain the trust of students—convince them through words and actions that you truly have their best interest at heart. For most students, your demonstrations of fairness, consistency, and genuine interest in their lives will build trust fairly quickly.

However, there will be some students who distrust you, often because something in their experience taught them that teachers or other adults are not trustworthy. Not surprisingly, these are often the students who are disruptive or defiant, and difficult to motivate to follow your lead. With these students, you have to work harder at building trusting relationships and win them over to your team. Building trust with a wary student takes more time and effort, but it pays huge dividends. As a student begins to trust you, the management cycle, and a team of caring adults throughout the school community, not only does the defiance subside, but the student also feels safe, which allows him or her to focus on learning.

STRATEGIES TO BUILD POSITIVE RELATIONSHIPS

Greet students at the door Whenever possible the teacher should begin each day or period personally greeting each student entering the classroom. This is an especially effective way to connect in a positive manner with students who need to know teachers care about them and their success in the classroom (Mendler & Curwin 1999).

Talk with students about non-academic topics

One of the most effective strategies teachers can utilize to demonstrate their caring to students is to spend time talking with them about their interests, concerns and feelings (Good & Brophy 2003). Spending a few minutes at recess, during lunch or after school letting the students know that you are there to offer assistance, understanding, and a sympathetic ear can go a long way towards building trust.

Make positive phone calls to parents and guardiansOne of the most effective strategies to build positive relationships with students is to make positive phone calls to their parents when they have had a good day in class (Smith 2004). This works for several reasons: first, the students appreciate the teachers’ positive feedback to their parents or other caretakers; second, it also helps the teachers to build a positive relationship with the students' families, and can increase the support that families will give the teachers in their efforts with children.

Call students after a difficult day Students who have trouble trusting teachers often have difficult days at school. Older students often respond positively if you go out of your way and make a quick phone call to the student him or herself- not only the parents- before the next school day begins. You should discuss any difficulties that occurred during the day. Get the student’s input. Be sure to let the student know you care about his/her success and want to make the next day a more positive one. The last thing the most challenging students expect is to hear from their teacher in a caring manner after a difficult day. This can go a long way in changing how these students perceive you and your intentions.

Attend student events Another way to demonstrate caring and display a genuine interest in the lives of students is to attend events in which the students are participating, i.e., sporting events, artistic performances, etc. (Smith 2004). The impact of teachers taking the time to go out of their way to watch the students enjoy and participate in events can have a dramatic effect on the students’ perceptions of you as well as on their behavior.

Make home visits Many teachers find that going to their students’ homes is a meaningful way to demonstrate caring and interest in students and their families. Often families will begin to appreciate that you make the extra effort to spend time in the community outside of school. Over time it builds mutual respect and trust among adults and students. If you are interested in making a home visit, get permission from your administrator, arrange a convenient time with the family, and go with a colleague during daylight hours.

SUMMARY

The Behavior Management Cycle is a research-based, 3-step approach to classroom management. It is designed to enable teachers to motivate all students to follow directions quickly. The BMC relies on three explicit steps, delivered using a Strong Voice:

1. Clear Directions that meet all standards of What To Do to address expectations for student movement, volume, and participation

2. Behavior Narration that reinforces good choices and reiterates the expectations

3. Corrective Action that swiftly addresses students who make poor choices, using a hierarchy of consequences

The BMC is a powerful tool for creating safe and orderly classrooms in the context of trusting relationships where all students can learn. It is the expectation that all AUSL network teachers implement the BMC in their classrooms, in order to set all students up for success. Coaches and other personnel will be available to provide support to all teachers around the BMC, both planning and implementation.