Behaviour Management Report
The main issues I experienced pertaining to behaviour management were excessive chatting and lack of following instructions. While these behaviours can be frustrating to teachers, when we consider research that highlights how consistency is key to behaviour management (Zirpoli, 2008), a change to the classroom environment in the form of a new teacher entering the classroom could explain such behaviour. However, upon reflection, I believe I was also partly to blame. In my first couple of weeks, my instructions were not as clear and explicit as they could have been, something that was due to a lack of experience (Hildenbrand & Arndt, 2016). As clear, explicit instruction and expectations play a major role in the behaviour students exhibit (Goss & Sonnemann, 2017), this meant students were not aware of what was expected of them, perhaps explaining their behaviour.
In response to the aforementioned behaviours, the behaviour management strategy I used the most was positive reinforcement in the form of praise. Studies show how praise is the preferred form of positive reinforcement compared to tangible rewards because praise is shown to be more intrinsically motivating (Hidi, 2016). This is because praise makes the recipient feel fulfilment and pride in their behaviour, meaning they are more likely to emulate it again. Positive reinforcement also indirectly addresses negative behaviours, by communicating the exact behaviour desired. I found this to be the case on placement. Once I praised a student, for instance, “I love the way [student name] is showing their 5Ls, they are ready to learn”, I noticed that students who were not displaying such behaviour would change their behaviour.
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As Woolfolk and Margetts (2019) stress, behaviour management strategies, such as positive reinforcement are likely to be ineffective if they are used in isolation. Therefore, I used a combination of other strategies, one of which is the ‘quiet critters’. This was introduced to me by my mentor teacher as a way to regulate noise levels in the classroom. The quiet critters are ‘creatures’ made from pom-poms that live in a ‘soundproof jar’. They have a backstory, that is, the critters dislike noise; it makes them upset. Therefore, when the container is opened, students know that they must be silent. Once the container was opened, each student was handed a critter to sit with them at their desks for the lesson. It was important to use this strategy sparingly, to maintain its novelty; therefore, I only used it during handwriting lessons and tests, times where complete silence was important.
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While I followed the school’s behaviour rewards system of ‘dojo points’, I also implemented a new behaviour management strategy: “Secret Student”. Each morning, before school began, I would select a student, whose name I would place inside an envelope. This envelope was pinned to the whiteboard, in full view, yet out of reach of the students. Throughout the day, if students displayed undesirable behaviour, I would tell the students that I am paying special attention to the secret student to see if they are being a ‘safe, respectful learner’. At the end of the day, the secret student was revealed and given a choice of being rewarded with a sticker or double dojo points. If the secret student did not behave appropriately throughout the day, their name was not revealed. Doing this prevents
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embarrassment and shaming the individual student, something which Munns (2013) deems imperative in classroom management, while also not rewarding undesirable behaviour. When this occurred, I stressed to the entire class that it is okay to have a bad day and that we can try harder to be safe, respectful learners tomorrow. I also took this as an opportunity to discuss with students things we can do to be ‘safe respectful learners’ to set clear expectations of desired behaviour (Goss & Sonnemann, 2017). The “Secret Student” strategy held all students accountable for their actions, as nobody knew who the secret student was. This also motivated students to behave appropriately even when most students are not receiving a reward, thus promoting a sense of community and consideration for their classmates.
References
Goss, P., & Sonnemann, J. (2017). Engaging Students: Creating Classrooms That Improve Learning. https://grattan.edu.au/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/Engaging-students-creating-classrooms-that-improve-learning.pdf
Hidi, S. (2016). Revisiting the Role of Rewards in Motivation and Learning: Implications of Neuroscientific Research. Educational Psychology Review, 28(1), 61-93. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10648-015-9307-5
Hildenbrand, S., & Arndt, K. (2016). Student teachers' management practices in elementary classrooms: A qualitative study. Teacher Development, 20(2), 147-161. https://doi.org/10.1080/13664530.2016.1143869
Munns, G. (2013). Learning and behaviour. In Munns, G., Sawyer, W., & Cole, B. (Eds.), Exemplary Teachers of Students in Poverty (pp. 47-51). Routledge.
Woolfolk, A., & Margetts, K. (2019). Educational psychology (5th ed.). Pearson Australia.
Zirpoli, T. (2008). Behavior management: Applications for Teachers (5th ed.). Pearson Education.
Goss, P., & Sonnemann, J. (2017). Engaging Students: Creating Classrooms That Improve Learning. https://grattan.edu.au/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/Engaging-students-creating-classrooms-that-improve-learning.pdf
Hidi, S. (2016). Revisiting the Role of Rewards in Motivation and Learning: Implications of Neuroscientific Research. Educational Psychology Review, 28(1), 61-93. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10648-015-9307-5
Hildenbrand, S., & Arndt, K. (2016). Student teachers' management practices in elementary classrooms: A qualitative study. Teacher Development, 20(2), 147-161. https://doi.org/10.1080/13664530.2016.1143869
Munns, G. (2013). Learning and behaviour. In Munns, G., Sawyer, W., & Cole, B. (Eds.), Exemplary Teachers of Students in Poverty (pp. 47-51). Routledge.
Woolfolk, A., & Margetts, K. (2019). Educational psychology (5th ed.). Pearson Australia.
Zirpoli, T. (2008). Behavior management: Applications for Teachers (5th ed.). Pearson Education.