Top 10 Tips for Classroom Discipline and Management
1. It's Easier to Get Easier
Many teachers make the mistake of starting the school year with a poor discipline plan. Students quickly assess the situation in each class and realize what they will be allowed to get away with. Once you set a precedent of allowing a lot of disruptions, it can be very hard to start better classroom management and discipline techniques. However, it is never tough to get easier as the year goes on. While you don't have to follow the adage, "Never smile until Christmas," it does have its merits.2. Fairness is Key
Students have a distinct sense of what is and what is not fair. You must act fairly for all students if you expect to be respected. If you do not treat all students equitably, you will be labelled as unfair students will not be keen to follow your rules. Make sure that if your best student does something wrong, they too get punished for it.3. Deal with Disruptions with as Little Interruption as Possible
When you have classroom disruptions, it is imperative that you deal with them immediately and with as little interruption of your class momentum as possible. If students are talking amongst themselves and you are having a classroom discussion, ask one of them a question to try to get them back on track. If you have to stop the flow of your lesson to deal with disruptions, then you are robbing students who want to learn of their precious in-class time.4. Avoid Confrontations in Front of Students
Whenever there is a confrontation in class there is a winner and a loser. Obviously as the teacher, you need to keep order and discipline in your class. However, it is much better to deal with discipline issues privately than cause a student to 'lose face' in front of their friends. It is not a good idea to make an example out of a disciplinary issue. Even though other students might get the point, you might have lost any chance of actually teaching that student anything in your class.5. Stop Disruptions with a Little Humor
Sometimes all it takes is for everyone to have a good laugh to get things back on track in a classroom. Many times, however, teachers confuse good humor with sarcasm. While humor can quickly diffuse a situation, sarcasm may harm your relationship with the students involved. Use your best judgment but realize that what some people think as funny others find to be offensive.6. Keep High Expectations in Your Class
Expect that your students will behave, not that they will disrupt. Reinforce this with the way you speak to your students. When you begin the day, tell your students your expectations. For example, you might say, "During this whole group session, I expect you to raise your hands and be recognized before you start speaking. I also expect you to respect each other's opinions and listen to what each person has to say."7. Overplan
Free time is something teachers should avoid. By allowing students time just to talk each day, you are setting a precedent about how you view academics and your subject. To avoid this, overplan. When you have too much to cover, you'll never run out of lessons and you will avoid free time. You can also fill up any left over time with mini-lessons.8. Be Consistent
One of the worst things you can do as a teacher is to not enforce your rules consistently. If one day you ignore misbehaviors and the next day you jump on someone for the smallest infraction, your students will quickly lose respect for you. Your students have the right to expect you to basically be the same everyday. Moodiness is not allowed. Once your lose your student's respect, you also lose their attention and their desire to please you.9. Make Rules Understandable
You need to be selective in your class rules (no one can follow 180 rules consistently). You also need to make them clear. Students should understand what is and what is not acceptable. Further, you should make sure that the consequences for breaking your rules are also clear and known beforehand.10. Start Fresh Everyday
This tip does not mean that you discount all previous infractions, i.e. if they have three tardies then today means four. However, it does mean that you should start teaching your class each day with the expectation that students will behave. Don't assume that because Julie has disrupted your class everyday for a week, she will disrupt it today. By doing this, you will not be treating Julie any differently and thereby setting her up to disrupt again (like a self-fulfilling prophecy). Read a personal example of this with my best teaching experience.http://712educators.about.com/od/discipline/tp/disciplinetips.htm
Philosophies Underlying Classroom Discipline
Often, when discipline strategies are needed, there is an underlying need that goes deeper and lasts longer than a single strategy will satisfy. Philosophies will enable one to look at and analyze whether there is a deeper need and will enable one to make the changes or adjustments necessary so that when new strategies are used, they have a lasting benefit. In my opinion there are two considerations regarding when to discipline. One is teacher comfort. The other consideration is expressed by Sun Tsu in the Art of War. He states that the superior general does not fight battles. A gifted general gets into battles and fights his way out brilliantly. A lesser general usually wins his battles and a poor one loses them. The superior general does not fight any major battle because he uses the power of his armies in a timely and strategic manner before the need for a battle arises.
This concept can be applied to discipline. A teacher should not have to fight any major battles. However, there may be other factors that affect a teacher's control of the outcome of a classroom discipline situation. These factors need to considered -at the same time-.
First, teacher comfort determines whether or not discipline will be applied. The teacher will discipline when a certain discomfort level is reached. That level is usually first determined by the teacher's view of what is proper classroom conduct or behavior. This view is affected by what the teacher has been raised to think is acceptable from the school system which he attended as a student, the institution that trained him, and what the other teachers and the administrators of the school he is teaching at do and expect. For instance, a teacher may think that certain behavior is acceptable but knows that the administration feels differently. Or perhaps the reverse is true.
The teacher may have been formally trained in discipline techniques but that is often not the case. I have not met a teacher who felt that their teacher training courses adequately equipped them to deal with discipline issues in their classroom. Therefore, once teachers decide that discipline is necessary, most have to rely on techniques which they saw used when they were students in school. Also, perhaps the teacher whose classes they taught as student teachers gave them some advice.
Some teachers don't discipline because of fear. Others don't discipline because they are trying to 'work with' the problem students. Others don't discipline because they don't know what to do.
Underlying all discipline is the teacher's basic philosophical attitude which students feel, and the best techniques in the world will have limited effectiveness, or have effectiveness for a limited time without the foundation of a sound philosophy.
1.) If a teacher will concentrate closely it will become apparent that there are usually one, two, or three students that lead out in behavior either positive or negative. Make a mental list of those who are leading in negative behavior. Discipline those students, not the entire class. Quickly removing a negative leader has an impressive effect on the others. [You may have to remove two or three students.]
2.) During this process the orderly students will support and approve, at least tacitly. The 'middle group' will go with whoever has the controls and power. The problem students will either submit or be removed from class. Usually, when one or two students are dealt with, the others see the reality of the situation and comply. Interestingly enough, I have seen some of the toughest students realize, after a discipline incident involving someone else early in the semester, that I had control of the class, and never cause any problems at all. It is as if they had lots of experience with using and receiving force and they understood where it was better than the others.
3.) In dealing with individual students I usually give someone three direct warnings regarding unacceptable behavior during a single class before I send them to the office. If the behavior stops, I still note the occurrences in the grade book [See: Keeping a Grade Book Record ] for future use. Now I don't allow each student three warnings and I don't allow an individual student three warnings each day. If the behavior stops within three warnings, then I usually choose some other way to deal with the behavior than send the student to the office.
Again, if the student will not stop the behavior after three instructions, send him to the office. Teachers cause themselves a great deal of problems by not sending such a student to the office and instead deciding to talk to them after class. The effect of non-action is that the student has decided the level of behavior in the classroom.
4.) For students who are not immediately removed, a conversation after class about the behavior and possible consequences is effective. Do not tell the student specifically what the consequences may be. Some may simply decide that they don't mind those consequences. Let some questions or doubt remain in their minds. Also a phone call to a parent helps. If you tell the student that you are going to call, they may go home and tell their version of the story first and then it takes 15-20 minutes longer in conversation for the parent to realize that you are not the type of teacher that their child has reported you to be.
http://teacher2b.com/discipline/phildisc.htm
Common Issues in the Classroom
(for some reason it's not copying across. you can find it here http://www.kotesol.org/files/Common%20Issues%20in%20the%20Classroom.doc)
Behavior Management Issues: Avoiding Power Struggles in the Classroom
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Learning to avoid the trap of the power struggle is a skill teachers must continually practice if they are to have a well-managed classroom. The first lesson in dodging this teaching pitfall is to think about disengaging from the situation. It is critical, that when faced with escalating student behavior, a teacher remain calm and in control. This means keeping your emotions in check! Showing frustration and anger or attempting to intimidate an oppositional student, during a power struggle, will probably only escalate the defiant behavior and make the situation worse. Teachers can make the choice not to participate in the conflict- it takes two to power struggle. (However, by choosing to remain calm, a teacher does not choose to ignore misbehavior. Remaining calm is only part of resolving the problem.)
Some things which can help you remain calm are:
Deep breathing: This will help you clear your mind with a fresh burst of oxygen and give you a moment to pause and think about how you will respond.
Use a "professional voice": Be sensitive to the tone and pitch of your voice when addressing a student - especially in a behavior management situation. If you speak calmly and professionally, you will be interpreted as feeling calm. This perception of calm indicates to students you are in control of the situation. Reacting in a manner which shows stress indicates you are in the same place as the student - about to lose control. If both you and the student lose control, the power over the classroom is "up for grabs", so presenting the perception calm helps you keep control of your domain.
Be brief: The fewer words you have to say, the less likely it is you can be misinterpreted. Peppering a defiant student with comments and questions provides the student with a great deal of negative attention (which is what they may be seeking) for misbehavior. The shorter your answer is, the less power it gives the student. If possible, ignore: Students will occasionally try to suck you into negativity by making irritating comments. If the remark is mild enough -ignore it. Don't give them fuel for the power struggle fire! However, if it is serious enough to merit a response, briefly and professionally explain why the remark is inappropriate then impose an established consequence. Do not try to play word games with students.
The goal of disengaging from power struggles is to allow time to use tactics which interrupt the student's increasing defiant behavior and help deescalate their anger. Once disengaged from the situation, the following tactics may be helpful in interrupting the student's negative behavior and give you a chance to help deescalate the power struggle.
Distract: If you catch defiant behavior as it is just beginning, try to move the student to a more positive activity.
Remove early: When you see a student beginning to become irritated, try finding a neutral reason to remove them from the classroom. For example, have them get supplies from the art room or run an errand down the hall. The idea behind this is that once the student is away from the source of irritation, they can calm down prior to returning to class.
Offer a break: Let students know they need to calm down before you will address the problem. It helps if you have space set aside in the classroom where they can be directed and if you have discussed the procedures for using it.
Listen and ask: Paraphrase back to the student what you understand them to be saying. Listen to the response and then ask open-ended questions. Giving students a little time to vent can help avoid major power struggles too.
Most importantly, in handling power struggles in the classroom, remember you are a professional and act accordingly! Also, it takes time and practice to develop the skill of managing power struggles - if you are willing to learn from your mistakes, the process will go faster!
http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/213650/behavior_management_issues_avoiding_pg2.html?cat=4
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