Statement of Behaviour Management
Over the past four years of practical experiences, voluntary teaching experiences and my history as a gymsports coach, I have witnessed, experimented and developed a variety of behaviour management ideas and techniques…
Setting clear expectations of what behaviour is acceptable and unacceptable is the first step to creating a classroom environment that is safe and manageable. Students should have input on creating a class list of behaviour expectations and consequences for not meeting these expectations. This will encourage ownership over their actions and acceptance of the consequence if they do not behaviour acceptably. The teacher also needs to get to know students so they can be aware of any outside factors that may affect their behaviour, as well as be ready to deal with certain behaviours or reactions to consequences.
I believe in positive reinforcement rather than negative identification of poor behaviour. When teaching, I try to acknowledge and praise students who are doing the right thing, in front of the whole class, so other students strive to match their behaviour to get that praise. This makes for a classroom where students are given the chance to do the right thing, rather than punished for doing the wrong thing. As well as praising students for specific actions, I use positive motivation and encouraging statements as students are working.
The above actions also link to Glasser’s Choice Theory, which is something I use in my classroom. Students should be given the opportunity to make good choices. If a student has made some poor choices in terms of behaviour, they are reminded that their behaviour is their choice, and they can change it. This puts students in control and responsible for their behaviour.
I also use Skinner’s Rule-Ignore-Praise strategy for some behaviour. Having set out clear behaviour expectations for the classroom, if a student is not following them I will ignore that behaviour if safe and appropriate to do so. However, when that student changes that behaviour and does it the right way, I ensure that I acknowledge this so they know I appreciate when they do the right thing.
Instruction is also a pivotal element to maintain behaviour expectations, especially with the younger years. Communicating clear instructions to students, and having them repeated back to ensure they understand is important so everyone knows what is expected. Reminding students of these instructions will ensure students can stay on task and carry out the task correctly.
Finally, taking the time to talk about the rules and discuss how the students and the teacher feel the classroom is going will enable the class to make any changes to improve behaviour and management.
