Part Eight of a Series Just for New Teachers

 Some Suggestions for Successful Interventions

One of the most difficult skills to develop as a new teacher is learning to intervene successfully when a student misbehaves. It is very easy to overreact or to react in anger and frustration or to just react without thinking through the end result of what your intervention could cause. The art of intervening effectively when there is a behavior incident takes time and practice and planning. Here are a few suggestions for how to think about making the kind of interventions that will make your classroom a peaceful and productive place for your students and for yourself. 

When a student misbehaves, it helps to think about the choices that you have when you intervene. There are really only two choices that you have once you decide not to ignore the problem and to take action. 

Although you have two choices, it is important to be clear about when you want to act. Here are some easy guidelines to help you think through what to do. 

Here are some of the easiest mistakes to make (and to avoid) when you are enforcing consequences. The one that teachers have reported to me that they find the hardest to avoid is to waiting for a response. Issuing a directive and then waiting impatiently for a student to comply is not helpful. Instead, calmly state the consequence and then turn away--giving the student a moment or two to process the consequence, overcome reluctance, and then comply. 

One of the most effective tools that teachers have in enforcing consequences to to issue a warning. While warnings can be effective, they lose their power if they are overused. 

Finally, one of the most frequently asked questions that teachers asked me in seminars was what to do when students don't seem to care about the consequences that they were given. Here are some questions to ask yourself if this happens in your classroom. 

Part Five of a Series Just for New Teachers

Prevention Is One Key to a Productive Classroom Atmosphere

Although difficult and challenging students can be found in every school setting, one of the most important hallmarks of a classroom where all students are supported and valued is that many possible problems have simply been prevented. Veteran teachers know that it is far easier to spend the time and effort necessary to prevent misbehavior rather than to have to cope with the stressful aftermath of a behavior incident. In the slides in this part of the series, you will find a variety of ways to prevent or at least mitigate classroom problems. 

The first five slides below are self-explanatory suggestions for ways that you can help the students in your classroom succeed. 

Although teaching equivalent replacement behaviors should also be an obvious solution to classroom management issues, it is often overlooked. Spend time throughout the school year teaching the behaviors that you want from your students. For example, instead of allowing students to congregate at the door to wait for class to end, take a few minutes to teach the behavior that you want to replace it. Instead of grumpily reminding students to not gather near the door, instead you could have them run through the procedures you have in place for ending class: stowing materials, packing up their belongings, picking up trash, etc.  Or, instead of telling students to stop horseplay at the start of class, teach them the routines you want them to follow as they enter the room and settle into the day's work. 

Checklist for the Successful Prevention of Behavior Problems--49 Ideas That Can Help

1. _____    Change pace of lesson to meet needs of students
2. _____    Provide transition activities between assignments
3. _____    Make sure students know the relevance of their assignments
4. _____    Deliver instructions in at least two modalities
5. _____    Praise good behavior as often as possible
6. _____    Teach and reteach classroom procedures
7. _____    Enforce classroom rules consistently and fairly
8. _____    Call a student’s home while a problem is still manageable
9. _____    Contact a student’s home early in the year to create a supportive relationship
10. _____    Stand in the same area of the classroom when asking for student attention
11. _____    Set reasonable and clear boundaries and help students observe them
12. _____    Present yourself in a professional manner at all times while you are at school
13. _____    Be specific when giving directions
14. _____    Make sure that your behavior directives are positive in tone
15. _____    Listen patiently when students are expressing themselves
16. _____    Provide a mixture of activities so that students can be successful
17. _____    Celebrate your students’ successes
18. _____    Make sure students have clearly expressed and obtainable goals
19. _____    Design and deliver engaging instructional activities that encourage active learning
20. _____    Model the courtesy you want from your students
21. _____    Provide motivational activities to inspire your students to want to learn
22. _____    Use encouragement to make sure that students know what to do to be successful.
23. _____    Establish classroom signals so that students can seek help appropriately.
24. _____    Follow school rules and observe school policies. Help your students to do the same.
25. _____    Try to ignore as much of the small stuff as you can.
26. _____    Make student success as visible as possible. Let students see their successes.
27. _____    Offer appropriate tangible rewards as often as necessary and effective.
28. _____    Encourage students to work together and help each other learn.
29. _____    Move close to a student who is just beginning to misbehave.
30. _____    Don’t turn your back on a class.
31. _____    Don’t ever leave a classroom unattended.
32. _____    Pay attention to the signs that your students are starting to be restless. Change the                    activity sooner rather than later.
33. _____    Offer plenty of formative assessments so that your students will know what to do.
34. _____    Stop horseplay as you as you can. It can quickly escalate into trouble.
35. _____    Avoid giving students “free time.”
36. _____    Carefully monitor your students throughout class. Move around.
37. _____    Start to build positive and caring relationships with your students early in the year.
38. _____    Present yourself as a well-prepared, knowledgeable teacher who is clearly in charge.
39. _____    Never lower your academic or behavioral expectations for your students.
40. _____    Offer help individually and to larger groups.
41. _____    Try offering your students as many options about their work as possible.
42. _____    Set up the traffic flow in your class so that students can move around easily.
43. _____    Say, “What are you doing to help yourself learn right now?”
44. _____    Make it easy for students to be willing to take a risk by encouraging an atmosphere of                tolerance.
45. _____    Be so prepared for class that you can focus on your students .
46. _____    Pay attention to the things that tend to trigger misbehavior and address them early.
47. _____    Provide activities where students can interact productively with each other .
48. _____    Arrange the desks in your classroom so that you can see every student and every                student can see you.
49. _____    Have students settle to work as soon as they enter class by providing them with                engaging and useful bell work activities.

Tracking Behavior Interventions for a Difficult Class

Behavior Interventions for a Difficult Class

 

 

Difficult classes come in all types--the one where students come in after lunch wild from running through the halls, the one where students want to pack up early and never, ever do any work, the one where student punch each other when you are not looking, and the one where students shout out inane words in an effort to annoy each other and you. The list could be endless. Sigh.

 

When confronted with a difficult class, there are lots of viable options to take to help them learn to control themselves. One action that you can take is to be as systematic as possible in your approach. Here is a little form to help you do just that.

 

Behavior Interventions for a Difficult Class

Period__________ Major Concerns________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________________

 

Level of Success

 1: Not successful             2: Somewhat successful  but needs modification                  3: Successful      

Date of Intervention	Intervention	Level of Success
	Recorded or videoed self to determine how I could be contributing to the problem
	Asked a colleague to observe the class and provide feedback
	Analyzed the time use by students at the start of class, during various activities, and at the end of class
	Made sure that expectations are clearly expressed in several modalities and taught to students
	Made sure that procedures for all activities are in place and known to students
	Made sure that students are aware of the class rules and the positive consequences for following rules as well as the negative consequences for disregarding rules
	Held individual conferences with key students
	Held a brief conference with entire class to solicit their suggestions
	Used exit tickets or other written formats to elicit student suggestions
	Adjusted the pace and types of instruction
	Increased student choices or options for instructional activities
	Praised positive behavior of entire class
	Gave class positive labels to use to identify themselves
	Mad their successes as concrete and visible as possible
	Involved other staff members in creating solutions
	Involved the parents or guardians of students in creating solutions
	Shared a pleasant activity together to build a sense of community
	Made sure everyone has access to materials and supplies
	Worked with individual students to set and achieve goals
	Worked with entire class to set and achieve group goals
	Made sure that the level of work is neither too easy or too difficult so that students will find it easy to stay on task
	Used all available class time in a productive way
	Offered a variety of relevant learning activities including games and technology based instruction
	Taught students a courteous way to respond or to behave
	Included motivational activities in the lesson to increase engagement
	Provided opportunities for students to be in the spotlight for positive reasons
	Established signals for students to indicate that they need help
	Involved students in as many helpful roles in the classroom as possible
	Established ways for students to help each other in productive ways
	Offered a combination of tangible and intangible rewards
	Taught students how to modulate their noise levels
	Made it obvious that the purpose of class is to learn and not to misbehave
	Posed encouraging mottoes to remind students to stay focused
	Allowed students to redo a failed assignment for credit so that they have a reason to continue to work
	Communicated a strong belief in the ability that students have to succeed
	Established predictable routines so that students know what to do
	Provided different role models and mentors for students
	Appealed to a variety of learning styles in each lesson
	Established a time-out area in another area of the school so that students can gain self-control
	Gave a student a second chance
	Made sure the lesson was as exciting as possible
	Gave written and verbal directions that are easy for students to follow
	Made sure the traffic flow of the class is conducive to on-task behavior
	Offered frequent checks for understanding to reduce frustration
	Involved students’ interests in the lesson
	Acknowledged student effort
	Ignored as much bad behavior as was possible and prudent
	Asked students to help teach a lesson
	Varied instructional activities so that students could interact as well as work independently
	Kept expectations for academic and behavioral success high