PROMOTING A

POSITIVE LEARNING

ENVIRONMENT

HANDBOOK

EDUC 4202 Student Teacher Interaction in the Classroom Term 1, 2017

Brianna Lush (a1667331)

Page 2 of 36

INTRODUCTION 4

PREVENTATIVE STRATEGIES 5

PRAISE 5

Strategies in Action: Praise 5

ESTABLISHING CLASSROOM ROUTINE 6

WITH-IT-NESS 6

LESSON MOMENTUM AND TRANSITIONS 6

EFFECTIVE LESSON DESIGN 7

Strategies in Action: Preparation 7

PRESENCE IN THE CLASSROOM 7

FEEDBACK 8

Strategies in Action: Feedback 8

SEATING PLANS 8

Strategies in Action: Introducing a Seating Plan 9

DEVELOPING STUDENT-TEACHER RELATIONSHIPS 9

PHYSICAL LEARNING ENVIRONMENT 9

SUPPORTIVE STRATEGIES 10

ADJUSTING THE ZONE OF PROXIMAL DEVELOPMENT 10

NAME DROPPING 10

FLEXIBILITY AND SPONTANEITY 11

MOTIVATIONAL CUES AND PROMPTS 11

PLANNED IGNORING 11

Strategies in Action: Planned Ignoring 12

INVOLVING STUDENTS IN THE LESSON 12

Strategies in Action: Involving Students 13

REMOVING SEDUCTIVE OBJECTS 13

PRAISING APPROPRIATE BEHAVIOUR 13

Strategies in Action: Managing Low Level Disruption 14

PROXIMITY INTERFERENCE 15

WHISPER TECHNIQUE 15

Strategies in Action: A Word About Uniform 15

CONTENTS

Page 3 of 36

CORRECTIVE STRATEGIES 16

SIGNAL INTERFERENCE 16

FORCED CHOICES 16

Strategies in Action: Forced Choices 17

REMOVAL OF STUDENT 17

Strategies in Action: Removal of Student 17

GLASSER’S TRIPLETS 18

DIRECT COMMAND 18

I MESSAGES 18

REMINDER OF THE RULES 19

MANAGING CHRONIC BEHAVIOUR 19

RELATIONSHIP BUILDING 19

BREAKING THE CYCLE OF DISCOURAGEMENT 20

PRIVATE CONVERSATIONS 20

Strategies in Action: The Unteachables 20

CONCLUSION 21

REFERENCES 22

APPENDICES 25

APPENDIX A: Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs 25

APPENDIX B: Positive Behaviour Leadership Model 26

APPENDIX C: Kounin Model 27

APPENDIX D: Myers-Briggs Type Indicator 28

APPENDIX E: Theory of Multiple Intelligences 29

APPENDIX F: Bloom’s Taxonomy 30

APPENDIX G: Sociocultural Theory of Development 31

APPENDIX H: Goal Centred Theory 33

APPENDIX I: Choice Theory 34

APPENDIX J: Teacher Effectiveness Training 35

APPENDIX K: Psychosocial Development Theory 36

Page 4 of 36

Effective classroom management is the key to developing safe, positive and supportive

learning environments for students. For a teacher to manage a classroom well, they must

be able to address misbehaviour successfully and efficiently to ensure that the learning

opportunities for all students in the class are not compromised. A range of strategies can

be used to effectively manage student behaviour in the classroom, which can be

considered in three main groups (Charles 2002):

- Preventative Strategies – those which prevent opportunities for misbehaviour

- Supportive Strategies – those which support students to change their behaviour

- Corrective Strategies – those which address misbehaviour directly

Having a thorough understanding of these strategies is important for all teachers to have in

their “tool-kit” for effective classroom management. Whilst these strategies are effective in

dealing with misbehaviour, they shouldn’t take away the importance of quality teaching, as

“no classroom management strategy will prevent discipline problems if effective teaching is

not taking place” (McInerney & McInerney 2002).

This handbook discusses a number of preventative, supportive and corrective strategies

for behaviour management and describes their application in the classroom.

INTRODUCTION

Page 5 of 36

Preventative discipline strategies are those which, when implemented in the classroom,

prevent the opportunities for misbehaviour to occur. By treating students sensitively,

providing an interesting curriculum and using effective teaching styles, it is possible to

prevent most misbehaviour, which in turn allows for ideal learning environments and

opportunities to be developed (Charles 2002). Whilst many of these strategies could be

considered as ‘standard classroom practices,’ their purpose in the classroom is significant

for effective classroom management and minimizing inappropriate behaviour.

PRAISE

According to Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs (see Appendix A), one of the foundational

needs is belongingness and love. Praise lets a student know that they are genuinely cared

for and accepted in the classroom environment. It is also a useful strategy for positively

reinforcing the behaviours and routines which are expected within the class.

STRATEGIES IN ACTION: Praise

In her Year 7 Science lessons, Amy Alexander uses praise strategies to

maintain good classroom control. Amy takes any opportunity that she can to

shower praise on her students, from “thank you for putting your hand up” to

“that is an excellent answer, well done, fantastic effort” (see “Praise and

Preparation” 2:00). She realises that many of the students in her class live a

high-tension life and that they don’t necessarily receive that kind of praise at

home. Receiving praise at school is satisfying one of the basic needs that

any child requires (see Appendix A).

PREVENTATIVE STRATEGIES

Page 6 of 36

ESTABLISHING CLASSROOM ROUTINE

Establishing a new classroom routine allows students to clearly understand what is

expected of them. Establishing a new routine is “crucial for effective teaching and learning

later in the year” (McInerney & McInerney 2002), so it is important that routines are well

thought-out prior to introduction. Aspects of a classroom routine could include appropriate

entry into the classroom, preparation for class, classroom rules, acceptable behaviour and

logical consequences for behaviours, as well as any other school rules that are enforced.

Consistency is vital for the longevity of the routine. This strategy uses the Positive

Behaviour Leadership Model which guides students towards appropriate behaviours by

establishing rules and logical consequences (see Appendix B).

WITH-IT-NESS

Also referred to as having ‘eyes in the back of your head,’ with-it-ness is a key idea which

comes from the Kounin Model of classroom management (see Appendix C). It describes

the teacher’s ability to be aware of what is happening in the class at all times, allowing

them to act on situations efficiently and appropriately. Further to this, a with-it teacher is

able to ‘see into the future’ and predict situations which may occur, allowing them to

diffuse a situation before it becomes significant (AAE 2012).

LESSON MOMENTUM AND TRANSITIONS

Kounin identified that lesson momentum and transitions between activities are closely

related to class misbehaviour (see Appendix C). Stopping a lesson to address

misbehaviour significantly disrupts lesson momentum, so using strategies such as ignoring

and signal interference to manage minor misbehaviours allows the momentum of the

lesson to continue. Transitions between activities should be considered in advance to

ensure they are smooth and logical, which avoids any opportunity for students to lose

focus.

Page 7 of 36

EFFECTIVE LESSON DESIGN

Effective lesson design is important for maintaining focus, motivation and attention of the

class and includes consideration of the preferences for different personality types (see

Appendix D) and dominant learning styles (see Appendix E) to ensure that every student

has an opportunity to learn using their preferred learning style at some point during the

lesson, hence contributing to student motivation and attention. Learning activities should

be designed in a way such that they logically build in complexity from previous activities

(see Appendix F). Student attention span is also important to consider.

PRESENCE IN THE CLASSROOM

Effective teacher presence can reduce misbehaviour and involves being conscious of body

postures and gestures, movement around the classroom, volume, tone and pace of

speech, facial expressions, eye contact, confidence and showing professionalism and

passion for teaching and the subject area (McInerney & McInerney 2002). This relates to

the Kounin Model and the idea that teacher behaviours influence student on-task time (see

Appendix C).

STRATEGIES IN ACTION: Preparation

Amy Alexander uses thorough preparation during her lessons to ensure that her full

focus can be on managing the behaviour of the class. She ensures that all whiteboard

work is written on the board prior to the lesson (see “Praise and Preparation” 0:39) so

that there is no opportunity for students to misbehave whilst she is writing on the board

with her back to the class. After having the class for three weeks, Amy is fully aware that

there are a range of learning abilities within the classroom, which results in some

students working at faster rates than others. By having the whiteboard prepared with all

instructions for the lesson, students are able to independently identify where they are up

to in the lesson and what they need to achieve. Amy also uses colour coding of her

instructions on the whiteboard to make it extremely clear what students need to be

working on (see “Praise and Preparation” 4:40).

Page 8 of 36

FEEDBACK

Timely and positive feedback on student work is important for motivating and encouraging

students in their learning, as well as for developing trust between a student and teacher. It

is useful for students to reflect on their thinking and learning strategies and also points

them in the direction of areas where they need to improve. Specificity is vital in the

feedback process, as “the more specific the feedback, the more motivating it is likely to be”

(Brady & Scully 2005). A proportion of feedback should be in writing to ensure that

students have a permanent record that they can reflect on when they need to.

SEATING PLANS

Misbehaviour can arise from encouragement between students. Enforcing a seating plan

in a class allows the teacher to determine where students are seated around the room,

contributing to the overall management of the class.

STRATEGIES IN ACTION: Feedback

Phil Beadle places a large emphasis on student feedback and believes that it

is the bedrock to student success. He suggests that marking student work with

a high degree of rigour is one of the most significant ways to impact on student

learning by informing students of what they are doing well and the targets they

need to achieve to improve (see “Argument Tennis with Phil Beadle” 6:30).

When involved in the Unteachables program, Phil’s feedback at the conclusion

of the program clearly had a significant impact on the students, some of which

were brought to tears. Many of the students came from backgrounds where

encouragement and praise outside of school would be limited, so reading

about the feedback from someone who they had come to admire was an

important step in their journey (see “Unteachables” Episode 4).

Page 9 of 36

DEVELOPING STUDENT-TEACHER RELATIONSHIPS

Positive student-teacher relationships are important for developing mutual respect

between students and the teacher. Relationships can be built by getting to know the

names of students quickly, using eye contact, meeting and greeting students as they enter

the class and being interested in their other hobbies and passions. Extending the

compassion that is shown to students during lesson outside of the classroom (ie at lunch

time or lesson change over) also grows these relationships.

PHYSICAL LEARNING ENVIORNMENT

The physicalities of the learning environment can have a huge influence over the

behaviour of a class. These physicalities could include temperature, lighting and

classroom arrangement. When required, adjustments should be made to these

physicalities to allow the desired behaviours to be promoted.

STRATEGIES IN ACTION: Introducing a Seating Plan

During his first lesson with a reputable Year 9 class, David Torn introduced

his seating plan by explicitly indicating each student’s allocated seat, one

student at a time (see “Tough Love” 1:58). Whilst David admitted he could

have put a diagram on the board, allocating seats in this way avoids 10

minutes of the lesson being wasted with students saying “I don’t know where

I’m sitting” and wandering aimlessly around the classroom – an ideal

opportunity for misbehaviour. He uses this method as a strong dominance

trick for the challenging class, which clearly indicates who is in charge of the

classroom, and also uses it as an opportunity to learn each student’s name.

Page 10 of 36

“Despite your best efforts, students will at times become restive and can easily slip into

misbehaviour” (Charles 2002). Supportive discipline strategies are used to encourage

students to get back on track with their work and think about their actions without directly

interceding in their behaviour. Supportive strategies generally do not carry consequences

with them. Instead they can be integrated naturally into the lesson when the development

of behavioural issues is anticipated.

ADJUSTING THE ZONE OF PROXIMAL DEVELOPMENT (ZPD)

The ZPD was identified by Vygotsky as the distance between what a student can do

independently and what they can do with assistance (see Appendix G) (Bocher et al.

2003). Behavioural issues can arise when tasks are set below or above the ZPD – tasks

below the ZPD can be too simple for students and lead to boredom, whilst tasks above the

ZPD can be too complex and lead to frustration and anxiety. In both cases, learning is not

promoted. The teacher needs to be aware of each student’s ZPD and scaffold learning up

or down to allow students to be working in their ZPD and hence becoming actively

engaged.

NAME DROPPING

Name dropping involves simply stating a student’s name when the teacher has observed

that the student is not on task, not paying attention or beginning to misbehave. This could

be used by saying the student’s name once to capture their attention or by saying the

student’s name followed by a question about the content of the lesson. Name dropping

causes a student to ‘prick up their ears,’ making them realise that the teacher is aware of

their actions and that their attention should be focused on the lesson (Levin & Nolan 2003).

SUPPORTIVE STRATEGIES

Page 11 of 36

FLEXIBILITY AND SPONTANEITY

Sometimes even the most well thought-out lessons do not go to plan, and it is in these

circumstances that a teacher should use their discretion to adjust the lesson

spontaneously. This strategy relates to the Kounin Model and the idea that teacher

behaviours influence student on-task time (see Appendix C).When a teacher can observe

that an activity is not going well or students are generally not paying attention to the lesson,

the lesson could be changed ‘on the spot’ by:

- Changing the current activity completely

- Physically take the class to a different learning environment

- Shortening the time allocated for an activity

- Extending the time allocated for an activity if there is valuable learning occurring

- Involving students in the explanation of concepts

MOTIVATIONAL CUES AND PROMPTS

During lesson instruction, cues and prompts can encourage students to focus their

attention on the lesson and remain on-task. If it is obvious that a student is distracted,

using a cue such as “Jonny, listen carefully because after this explanation I am going to

ask you a question” directs the student to be listening and gives them prior warning that

they will need to provide an answer. The teacher can also use cues and prompts to

scaffold the student’s response if they are having difficulty to avoid them experiencing

embarrassment. Cues and prompts can also be used to reiterate the expected behaviours.

PLANNED IGNORING

Planned ignoring is particularly used to manage attention seeking behaviours. Students

who display these behaviours do so in an effort to attract the attention of the teacher,

which can impact on the momentum of the lesson. By ignoring these behaviours, the

student will eventually realise that it has no effect and will gradually stop doing it. Bill

Page 12 of 36

Rogers also emphasises the importance of planned ignoring of secondary behaviours (for

example, the eye rolls and sighing). This strategy uses Goal Centred Theory and the idea

that an individual’s actions are an attempt to satisfy their own needs (see Appendix H).

INVOLVING STUDENTS IN THE LESSON

Involving students in the lesson can be an effective way of generating interest and

motivation for learning. Students could be involved by pointing out something on the board,

explaining a concept in their own words to the class or being allocated a specific job. This

strategy can be particularly useful for engaging kinaesthetic learners. (See also

STRATEGIES IN ACTION: Managing Low Level Disruption)

STRAGEGIES IN ACTION: Planned Ignoring

In her Year 10 class, Nicola Lamb uses planned ignoring to manage two

girls who are constantly talking and drawing her attention away from the rest

of the class. Upon reflection of her lesson with John Bayley, she identifies

that the girls want to have her as a friend which results in their attention

seeking behaviour. Nicola uses planned ignoring by going ‘cold’ towards the

girls when they are doing the wrong thing (eg. calling out over the class,

talking about irrelevant topics during class) and showering them with praise

when they are doing the right thing (eg. hand up before speaking, working

quietly on task). The girls don’t particularly enjoy when the teacher which

they admire goes cold against them, so during the lesson they tend to

remain on task and display appropriate behaviours so that they can be on

Nicola’s ‘good side’ (see “Girl Talk” 9:35).

Page 13 of 36

REMOVING SEDUCTIVE OBJECTS

This strategy can be used with little disruption to the lesson to remove objects which are

distracting students. Simple objects can be quietly removed from a student’s reach,

however removing more personal objects such as mobile phones could cause

confrontation. Situations like this require caution and often an agreement about when it

can be collected again.

PRAISING APPROPRIATE BEHAVIOUR

Praising appropriate behaviour is a strategy which reminds students of the behavioural

expectations that have been set in the class. Examples of praising appropriate behaviour

could include “thank you for putting up your hand” and “well done to those who have been

waiting quietly outside the classroom.” (See also STRATEGIES IN ACTION: Managing

Low Level Disruption).

STRATEGIES IN ACTION: Involving Students

David Torn uses a quick activity at the end of his lesson with a reputable

Year 9 class to finish the lesson on a positive note. He shows an image

where students have to guess the hidden object. David involves students by

allowing them to quietly discuss their ideas with their peers before actively

coming to the board to point out what they think the hidden object is,

ensuring that each student is praised for their effort even if their answer is

incorrect. The slightly challenging task also creates some friendly

competition amongst peers, adding to the interest and motivation toward the

activity (see “Tough Love” 10.45).

Page 14 of 36

STRATEGIES IN ACTION: Managing Low Level Disruption

French teacher Jane Wright finds her Year 7 class challenging to control due to

constant, low level disruption and attention seeking behaviour. After discussion

with John Bayley, she implemented a number of strategies during her lesson which

resulted in greater control over the class and on-task work.

- Signal interference: John suggested using signal interference to tactically

ignore calling out from two girls in the front row by holding out an open hand

in the direction of the girls. In doing so, it indicates that the teacher has

control of the class and that the behaviour of the girls is not appropriate.

Using a non-verbal strategy also meant that the momentum of the lesson

was not disrupted (see “Attention Seekers” 4:10)

- Praising ideal behaviour: Jane made a significant effort to praise and

encourage the ideal behaviours that she was expecting from the class. She

used this strategy to promote the desired behaviours among the entire

class, hoping that those left out from receiving the praise would want to be

included in that and hence change their behaviour (see “Attention Seekers”

9:08, 10:19 and 10:40)

- Whisper technique: Jane used the whisper technique when she noticed a

student who was wandering off task. In doing so, she was able to privately

address the behaviour and suggest to the student what she needed to work

on (see “Attention Seekers” 11:15)

- Proximity: Jane’s position in the classroom was near the most disruptive

students in the front row for majority of the lesson, to exert authority in the

class and keep a close eye on the challenging students.

- Involving students in the lesson: Students are often more likely to be

interested in watching their peers than the teacher. Jane asks for a

volunteer to do an activity at the beginning of the lesson and showers praise

on her for completing the activity correctly (see “Attention Seekers” 8:43).

Page 15 of 36

PROXIMITY INTERFERENCE

Proximity interference involves the teacher positioning themself close to a disruptive

student. Having an authoritative figure within close distance to a misbehaving student

usually causes them to move back to on-task work. Proximity interference can be used

without disruption to the flow of the lesson, and when used in conjunction with signal

interference, it creates a very effective classroom management strategy. (See also

STRATEGIES IN ACTION: Managing Low Level Disruption).

WHISPER TECHNIQUE

The whisper technique is used to quietly talk to students about their behaviour. It is an

opportunity for the teacher to draw a student’s attention to their behaviour in a private

manner, depriving them of public attention and reminding them about the expectations

which they are required to follow. This strategy relates to Choice Theory and the idea that

an individual attempts to satisfy their own needs (see Appendix I). Proximity is also an

important aspect of the whisper technique which creates an effective strategy to guide

student behaviour back on track. (See also STRATEGIES IN ACTION: Managing Low

Level Disruption).

STRATEGIES IN ACTION: A Word About Uniform

David Torn subtly uses the whisper technique to alert students about the

state of their uniform as they enter the classroom. Whispering prevents

public attention and allows the correspondence to be purely between the

teacher and student. Proximity is also used by David when he stands at the

door as each student enters the classroom, displaying authority and control

to the class (see “Tough Love” 1:12).

Page 16 of 36

Despite having preventative strategies in place, at times misbehaviour issues will arise in

the classroom. Corrective discipline strategies are used to manage this misbehaviour

directly. When teachers use these strategies, it is important that they do so in a positive

manner while also remaining calm and respectful. By approaching misbehaviour in this

way, students can be guided back to acceptable behaviour in a manner that avoids further

confrontation or rebellion (Charles 2002).

SIGNAL INTERFERENCE

Signal Interference is a non-verbal strategy that clearly indicates to a student that their

behaviour is inappropriate without disrupting the entire class. For this strategy to be

effective, it is important that the signal is clearly directed at the student and that the

teacher’s expression is business-like, so that there is no chance for the signal to be

misinterpreted (Levin & Nolan 2003). Examples of signal interference could include giving

an evil eye, pointing, head shaking and holding out an open hand. Whilst this strategy

could be used in a supportive manner, it becomes corrective when it is specifically

targeting misbehaviour.

FORCED CHOICES

Using forced choices is a strategy which is commonly used by Bill Rogers, but also relates

to Choice Theory, which reminds students that they are responsible for their behaviour

(see Appendix I). Forced choices involve instructing a misbehaving student that they have

to choose between this or that to correct their behaviour – with ‘or’ being the keyword. An

example of this could be “Jessica, you can choose to put your phone away or I will have to

confiscate it for the remainder of the lesson.” The consequences associated with the

choice must be logical to manage misbehaviour effectively.

CORRECTIVE STRATEGIES

Page 17 of 36

REMOVAL OF STUDENT

In situations where a misbehaving student is causing whole class and lesson disruption, it

may be necessary to remove them from the classroom for a specified period of time. This

could involve making them wait outside or asking them to see another member of staff.

Removing a student from the class does mean that their learning opportunity is limited, so

this strategy should be used as a ‘last resort’ when other supportive and corrective

strategies have had no effect.

STRATEGIES IN ACTION: Forced Choices

In a new English class, Bill Rogers notices that three girls have rearranged

the classroom furniture to a corner of the room. After introducing himself to

the girls, he directly instructs the girls to move the furniture back to its

original position in the class. However, after some confrontation from the

girls, he uses a forced choice and leaves the girls to decide what they are

going to do – “If you choose not to move the table back, then we will have to

have a little chat at lunchtime” (see “Bill Rogers Video 5” 1:46).

STRATEGIES IN ACTION: Removal of Student

In her Year 7 French class, Jane Wright’s attention is constantly being drawn

to an attention seeking student at the front of the room. The student is off

task and distracting others, as well as drawing attention from the teacher

which limits the instructional time for the rest of the class. After using name

dropping, reminders and some ignoring, Jane asks the student to wait

outside the classroom, allowing more of her attention to be on the lesson

rather than the disruptions (See “Attention Seekers” 4:52).

Page 18 of 36

GLASSER’S TRIPLETS

The Glasser’s triplets strategy was developed by William Glasser who proposed three

questions that could be used to guide students back to appropriate behaviour. To avoid

confrontation, it is suggested that the teacher uses three statements instead of questions

(Levin & Nolan 2003). Using Glasser’s triplets to address misbehaviour involves the

teacher saying to the student ‘this is the behaviour, these are the rules, this is what you

need to be doing.’

DIRECT COMMAND

Direct commands are used to instruct misbehaving students about what is expected of

them at that time. It is not used in a pleading manner, but instead is a direction for a

student to stop their misbehaviour. Examples of using a direct command could include “I

want you to be quiet and listen” and “Put your worksheet on the desk and write your name

at the top.”

I MESSAGES

“I messages” are a three-part message which highlight to the student the impact of their

misbehaviour on the teacher and/or class. I messages involve a description of the

behaviour, a description on the effect of the behaviour on the teacher and/or class, and a

description about the teacher’s feelings about that effect without a negative consequence

or direct command (Levin & Nolan 2003). An example of an I message could be “When

you forget to bring your homework in (part 1), I can’t check all the work at the same time to

see if everyone is ready for me to teach the next topic (part 2). This makes me feel very

frustrated at the waste of time (part 3)” (McInerney & McInerney 2002). This uses Teacher

Effectiveness Training and the idea that good communication promotes positive

relationships and prevents misbehaviour (see Appendix J).

Page 19 of 36

REMINDER OF THE RULES

When clear rules and routines have been established in a class, reminding misbehaving

students of those rules can encourage them to think about and change their behaviour. If

the reminder does not cause a student to change their behaviour, it is vital that logical

consequences follow to express the importance of the rules and routines which have been

set.

MANAGING CHRONIC BEHAVIOUR ISSUES

For students that have chronic misbehaviour issues, the combination of preventative,

supportive and corrective strategies may have no impact on their behaviour at all. These

chronic behaviours usually occur as a result of significant underlying issues, many of

which are related to the student’s life outside of school, so Goal Centred Theory is used to

understand that this behaviour could be an attempt to satisfy an individual’s needs (see

Appendix H). Despite these issues, students still need to learn how to control their

behaviour. Commitment, persistence, patience and self-control from the teacher are vital

for successful management of students with chronic behaviour. It is recommended that

this occurs inside the classroom, and there are several strategies which teachers can take

to achieve this (Levin & Nolan 2004):

RELATIONSHIP BUILDING

Building a positive relationship is one of the most effective strategies to help

students with chronic misbehaviour. A student may not have had an opportunity to

develop a positive relationship with an adult, and so in doing so, it indicates to them

that the teacher is ‘on their side.’ Steps to relationship building include considering

why the behaviour is occurring, developing a sense of empathy with the student,

being aware of other cues and behaviours that reveal the student’s personality and

Page 20 of 36

as a teacher, constantly being aware of your interactions with the student (Levin &

Nolan 2004).

BREAKING THE CYCLE OF DISCOURAGEMENT

Most students with chronic behaviour issues have had plenty of experience with low

self-esteem and failure, leading to a constant cycle of discouragement. This cycle

can be broken by teachers providing opportunities which assist students in meeting

their needs for significance, competence, power and generosity (Levin & Nolan

2004).

PRIVATE CONVERSATIONS

Once a relationship has been established, teachers can use private conversations

with a student to begin to influence their behaviour. These conversations can be

constructed in a way such that the student becomes aware of the issue and its

impact, leading to the development of some solutions or agreements which are

going to assist the student with changing and managing their behaviour.

STRATEGIES IN ACTION: The Unteachables

When taking on the role of teaching a group of students with chronic

misbehaviour issues, Phil Beadle’s initial goal was focused on relationship

building. He involves games to learn the students’ names and provides

opportunities to talk about their experiences with school. He works to build

their self-esteem by asking the students to complete a Multiple Intelligences

test, which he used to personally encourage the students and also to

understand how the students were going to learn best. For two students he

knew would be challenging, he took a moment to talk with them privately,

asking open questions about what makes them ‘tick’, what they think about

schooling and end by agreeing on some simple arrangements about

managing the students’ behaviour in the class (see “The Unteachables”

Episode 1).

Page 21 of 36

The preventative, supportive and corrective strategies and their applications described in

this handbook can be used collectively to effectively manage misbehaviour in the

classroom. In all cases, consistency is essential.

Whilst a number of strategies have been discussed here, the list is not exclusive and there

are many more strategies which are effective at managing misbehaviour. Due to differing

class dynamics, a selected strategy may not have the same effect on every student, so it

is important that teachers trial a range of strategies until a combination is found which has

the desired effect.

CONCLUSION

Page 22 of 36

Armstrong P (2017) “Bloom’s Taxonomy”, Centre for Teaching, Vanderbilt University,

accessed 28 March 2017, https://cft.vanderbilt.edu/guides-sub-pages/blooms-taxonomy/.

Arthur-Kelly M, Ford M & Lyons G (2003) “Classroom Management Theory”, Classroom

Management, Cengage, pp.1-35.

Association of American Educators (AAE) (2012) “Withitness: Being Aware of What’s

Going on in the Classroom”, accessed 24 March 2017,

https://www.aaeteachers.org/index.php/blog/764-withitness-being-aware-of-whats-going-

on-in-the-classroom.

Bartlett, Biehler, Bryer, Dobozy, Scevak & Snowman (2009) “Personal, Social and

Emotional Development”, Psychology: Applied to Teaching, Wiley, pp. 63-75.

Bocher S, Duchesne S & Krause K (2003) “Cognitive Development”, Educational

Psychology for Learning and Teaching, pp. 39-69.

Brady L & Scully A (2005) “Generating and Sustaining Interest”, Engagement: Inclusive

Classroom Management, Pearson, pp. 45-67.

Charles, CM (2002) “Finalizing a Personal System of Discipline”, Building Classroom

Discipline, 7th edition, pp. 235-251.

Dinkmeyer D (1961) “Understanding Children’s Behaviour”, The Elementary School

Journal, vol. 61, no. 6, pp. 314-316.

Huitt W (2007) “Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs”, Educational Psychology Interactive,

Valdosta GA, Valdosta State University, accessed 26 March 2017,

http://www.edpsycinteractive.org/topics/conation/maslow.html.

REFERENCES

Page 23 of 36

Institute of Educational Assessors (IEA) (2017) “Principles of Assessment”, PowerPoint,

The University of Adelaide.

Levin J & Nolan JF (2003) “What Every Teacher Should Know About Classroom

Management”, Every Teacher Classroom Management”, Pearson Education Inc. pp. 25-72.

Levin J & Nolan JF (2004) “Classroom Interventions for Chronic Problems”, Principles of

Classroom Management: A Professional Decision-Making Model”, Pearson, 4th edition,

pp.193-221.

Luongo N (n.d) “Bloom’s Taxonomy”, Saint Peter’s College.

McInerney DM & McInerney V (2002) “Classroom Management and Cooperative Group

Work for Effective Learning”, Educational Psychology – Constructing Learning, pp. 243-

274.

Northern Illinois University (n.d) “Howard Gardner’s Theory of Multiple Intelligences”, pp.

1-9.

Pressbooks Sites (n.d) “Lesson 1.6: Howard Gardner’s Multiple Intelligences Theory”,

accessed 26 March 2017,

https://openoregon.pressbooks.pub/collegereading/chapter/lesson-1-6-on-howard-

gardners-multiple-intelligences-theory/.

Wikipedia (2017) “Myers-Briggs Type Indicator”, accessed 28 March 2017,

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Myers%E2%80%93Briggs_Type_Indicator.

Wikipedia (2017) “Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs”, accessed 28 March 2017,

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maslow%27s_hierarchy_of_needs.

Page 24 of 36

VIDEOS

Bill Rogers (n.d) “Bill Rogers Video 5”, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EWjBVdcpw7M.

Teaching with Bayley (2011) “Attention Seekers”,

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pXhtwDK4oHw&t=3s.

Teaching with Bayley (2011) “Girl Talk”,

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q3OxKAxpOdo.

Teaching with Bayley (2011) “Praise and Preparation”,

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KkXRjrSsMQg&feature=youtu.be.

Teaching with Bayley (2011) “Tough Love”,

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ec0v4kzYkCY.

Teaching with Bayley (2013) “Argument Tennis with Phil Beadle”,

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zr2xdjQPH4I.

Unteachables, Episodes 1-4.

Page 25 of 36

MASLOW’S HIERARCHY OF NEEDS | Abraham Maslow

Much of Abraham Maslow’s research investigated the driving factors which lie behind

human motivation. From his research, he proposed a hierarchy of needs which every

individual aims to satisfy. In this hierarchy, an individual cannot move to a higher level until

the lower level needs have been satisfied. The hierarchy can be divided into two sections:

deficiency needs and growth needs (Huitt 2007). Maslow stated that it was impossible to

satisfy the growth needs (needs that lead to learning and development) unless all of the

deficiency needs have been satisfied first. If an individual feels as though they are deficient

in one of the lower needs in the hierarchy, they will act in a way that aims to remove that

deficiency, and often that presents itself as misbehaviour. Teachers can use this theory to

assist in satisfying the deficiency needs of misbehaving students to allow them to be ready

to move into a place of growth and learning.

Figure 1: Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs (Wikipedia 2017).

APPENDICIES

APPENDIX A

Page 26 of 36

POSITIVE BEHAVIOUR LEADERSHIP MODEL | Bill Rogers

The Positive Behaviour Leadership Model developed by Bill Rogers is based upon the

idea that all disciplinary practices should “empower students to be accountable for their

own behavioural choices, respect the rights of others to learn, be safe and be respected,

and build facilitative positive relationships” (Arthur-Kelly et al. 2003). The principle of

shared rights and responsibilities is significant in this model and the teacher plays a vital

role in leading the students to understand and commit to this. Rogers suggests that

students can be guided towards appropriate behaviour by establishing rules and logical

consequences, developing a positive class tone and adopting a decisive teaching style

(Arthur-Kelly et al. 2003).

APPENDIX B

Page 27 of 36

KOUNIN MODEL | Jacob Kounin

Jacob Kounin’s model of classroom management – the Kounin Model – focuses on the

behaviours of teachers which have a strong influence on student on-task time and hence

minimize inappropriate behaviour. Kounin identified ‘with-it-ness’ (the ability to be aware of

and foresee situations which are occurring in the classroom), the ripple effect (positive and

negative behaviour can influence other students in the classroom based on how the

teacher reinforces or deals with the behaviour, respectively), avoiding satiation (the

strategies that are used to maintain student focus and motivation) and movement

management (lesson momentum and transition between activities) as the key behaviours

(Arthur-Kelly et al. 2003).

APPENDIX C

Page 28 of 36

MYERS-BRIGGS TYPE INDICATOR

The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) is based on theoretical work by Carl Jung. The

indicator is determined through an extensive questionnaire and provides information about

an individual’s personality preferences, in particular how they perceive the world and make

decisions. The way that a student learns is influenced by their personality preferences, and

teachers can take this into consideration to create lessons where all personalities are

catered for. The test indicates preferences for extraversion versus introversion, sensing

versus intuition, thinking versus feeling and judging versus perceiving. A breakdown of the

personality types can be seen in Figure 2.

Figure 2: The 16 different personality types that can be determined from the Myers-Briggs

Type Indicator (Wikipedia 2017).

APPENDIX D

Page 29 of 36

THEORY OF MULTIPLE INTELLIGENCES | Howard Gardner

Gardner’s Theory of Multiple Intelligences states that “human potential can be tied to one’s

preferences to learning” (Northern Illinois University n.d). Gardner’s theory involves nine

intelligences (capabilities and skills) and suggests that each individual has a preference to

which intelligence they use to demonstrate their abilities. The nine intelligences can be

seen in Figure 3. By taking this theory into consideration, teachers can design lessons

which allow all students to have the opportunity to learn in a way that suits their preference.

Figure 3: The nine intelligences which make up Gardner’s theory (Pressbooks Sites n.d).

APPENDIX E

Page 30 of 36

BLOOM’S TAXONOMY | Benjamin Bloom

Bloom’s Taxonomy was created to classify cognition into six levels, which increase in the

degree of complexity (Luongo N n.d). The model is hierarchical, meaning that one cannot

progress to an upper level without having mastered the lower level first. Teachers can use

Bloom’s Taxonomy to design learning activities throughout a topic. Figure 4 shows the six

levels and the types of tasks which are associated with the level.

Figure 4: Bloom’s Taxonomy (Armstrong 2017).

APPENDIX F

Page 31 of 36

SOCIOCULTURAL THEORY OF DEVELOPMENT | Lev Vygotsky

Vygotsky developed the Sociocultural Theory of Development on the idea that learning

occurs via social interactions. Vygotsky believed that learning happens following

interactions with the environment and people around us, which leads us to develop new

skills by understanding what stimuli are considered to be important (Arthur-Kelly et al.

2003). Hence, the Sociocultural Theory of Development suggests that we don’t learn

because we have developed, instead we develop because we have learned. Vygotsky

identified the Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD), which is the range of tasks that a child

can complete with the assistance of others. Once a child has received help for a task, they

should be able to complete it independently. Learning occurs when tasks are located in the

ZPD. The complexities of these tasks are located ‘just out of reach’ of the student’s current

ability, creating the right amount of challenge for a student, sparking motivation and

curiosity. The assistance which is given to students to complete the tasks is referred to as

‘scaffolding,’ where teachers gradually build students up to the level and quality of thinking

that is required to complete the task. If the complexities of a task are located above or

below the ZPD, misbehaviour can begin to occur, as shown in Figure 6.

APPENDIX G

Page 32 of 36

Figure 5: The Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD) is the distance between what a

student can already do and what is currently beyond their reach (IEA 2017).

Figure 6: The behaviours which could be displayed following tasks in and around a

student’s ZPD. The ‘stretch zone’ is the ZPD, the ‘comfort zone’ is what the student can

already do and the ‘panic zone’ is out of the student’s current ability (IEA 2017).

Page 33 of 36

GOAL CENTRED THEORY | Rudolf Dreikurs

Humans have a significant need and desire to belong to social groups (Arthur-Kelly et al.

2003). Though his research, Rudolf Dreikurs suggested that misbehaviour is motivated by

a desire to achieve one of four goals to satisfy the need for belonging – attention, power,

revenge or displaying inadequacy (Dinkmeyer 1961) – and hence a child’s misbehaviour

could be understood if the underlying goal was identified. Goal Centred Theory involves

teachers identifying a needs-based explanation that underlies a student’s misbehaviour

and to then determine alternative methods for those needs to be met (Arthur-Kelly et al.

2003).

APPENDIX H

Page 34 of 36

CHOICE THEORY | William Glasser

Choice Theory was developed by William Glasser in response to the idea that all

behaviours come as a result of an individual’s best attempt to satisfy their own needs at a

given time (Arthur-Kelly et al. 2003). Glasser developed the idea of each individual having

a ‘quality world’ which appears as the ‘ideal life’, and suggested that student behaviour

was driven by an internal desire to pursue that world. Choice Theory is a preventative

approach to classroom management which teaches that an individual is purely responsible

for their own behaviour (Arthur-Kelly et al. 2003). Teachers can lead students to needs

satisfaction by aligning the learning environments to the quality worlds of the students,

resulting in appropriate behavioural choices (Arthur-Kelly et al. 2003).

APPENDIX I

Page 35 of 36

TEACHER EFFECTIVENESS TRAINING | Thomas Gordon

Thomas Gordon developed his Teacher Effectiveness Training Theory by believing that

students are capable of independent problem solving and self control if they are supported

to do so in an appropriate manner. Through open and honest communication between a

teacher and student, positive relationships are able to be built which contribute to the

prevention of misbehaviour. The theory emphasises that misbehaviour is motivated by

needs-satisfaction. The established relationships allow a teacher to talk to a student about

the effect of their misbehaviour and the actions which can be taken to encourage the

student to change their behaviour to those which are expected (Arthur-Kelly et al. 2003).

APPENDIX J

Page 36 of 36

PSYCHOSOCIAL DEVELOPMENT THEORY | Erik Erikson

Erik Erikson’s Psychosocial Development Theory is founded on the idea that an

individual’s personality changes throughout their lifetime and that specific development in

personality occurs following a successful resolution of a psychosocial crisis. Despite the

word ‘crisis’ usually indicating a negative event, Erikson has defined a crisis as a situation

in which an individual is encouraged to adjust to new guidelines and expectations,

however they are not yet ready to act on these demands fully (Bartlett et al. 2009). The

theory is divided into 8 stages of psychosocial development, with the two most crucial

stages for school-age children being the “Industry versus Inferiority (6-11 years)” and the

“Identity versus Role Confusion (12-18 years)” stages. Teachers are able to use this

theory to understand the personality changes which occur in school-age children to better

understand the motives behind their misbehaviour and hence support them appropriately.

APPENDIX K