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Prezi presentation with an excellent breakdown of his strategies

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Setting and Maintaining High Behavioral Expectations (Ch. 6)

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Setting and Maintaining High Behavioral Expectations Differentiated Instruction for Student Acheivement - Teach Like a Champion - Technique 36 Lemov, Doug. Teach like a Champion: 49 Techniques That Put Students on the Path to College. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass, 2010. Print.

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Unconventional Teacher Tactics That Quell Bad Behavior

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Video to model for student proper behavior at

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The Basics of Rick Dahlgren's Refocus System

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The Basics of Rick Dahlgren's Refocus System

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Dahlgren

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Center for Teacher Effectiveness | Time To Teach

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Rick is one of the original program developers of Time To Teach and
owns the company with his son, Dr. Aaron Ross Dahlgren. Rick has
been training Time To Teach for over two decades.
He has extensive experience at the elementary, middle, and high school levels
including at-risk campuses as well as teaching this course at the university level.
He is a nationally renowned presenter and one of the nation's foremost experts on
classroom management. He is in great demand as a seminar leader and speaker at workshops and conferences throughout North America.

He knows what it takes to be a great presenter and he is looking for these qualities in you!

Rick is an energetic, entertaining, passionate, and inspiring trainer whose strategies have been presented to over 400,000 teachers! He is the first author of five education trade books including Time To Teach: Encouragement, Empowerment, and Excellence in Every Classroom and the extensive Resource Manual each participant receive at his seminars. Rick's classroom management strategies can be adapted for use with any existing program. His expertise, common sense approach, and humor keep his seminars (AND HOPEFULLY YOUR SEMINARS) fast moving, enjoyable and filled with ideas that will dramatically improve student behavior in classrooms everywhere! He is especially known for his understanding and success with the most challenging children and for his ability to communicate his wealth of strategies, techniques, tricks, and action plans with fellow teachers.

As a mentor, he has supported both new and experienced teachers by helping them refine their teaching techniques and eliminate classroom challenges. Would you like to join him in his endeavor to help our teaching colleagues become better teachers? It is THE professional and financial opportunity of a lifetime.

Join his elite team as they endeavor to help other teachers to "teach with passion and manage with compassion!"

1. Watch the entire webinar (click the icon)
The webinar provides vital information about our company and this opportunity. It was designed to answer your important questions. Serious candidates must watch the webinar in its entirety before contacting us. Sorry, no exceptions.

2. If you have not already, email your resume (click the icon)
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3. Schedule an interview with the CEO, Rick Dahlgren or Dr. Aaron Dahlgren (click the icon)
After you have 1) watched the entire webinar, and 2) sent your resume to us (by clicking the icon to the left) one of our secretaries will contact you to schedule interview with Dr. Aaron or Rick Dahlgren. Click the icon to indicate you are ready to have your interview. Please set aside 30-60 minutes. We will have a lot of questions to ask you!

4. Invitation
Are you the one we are seeking? We cannot wait to meet you and we look forward to our phone chat / interview. If you possess the "3 P's" (personality, professionalism, and passion) talked about in the webinar, we will immediately invite you to our next Train-The-Trainer session to join our elite team of national and international presenters.

If you are a consummate professional and a "top gun" teacher, I want you to help my company share our research-based and common sense methods which teachers can use immediately to improve student behavior in their classrooms! Your personality, combined with our program, will enable your attendees to become the Picassos of their classrooms! You will feel pride in helping schools increase API scores, improve AYP progress, and dramatically reduce their discipline referrals. Your attendees' lives will be forever changed after learning from you. Can you imagine yourself presenting a fast-paced, humorous and insightful seminar for our company? If you have a passion to help others, are extremely professional, and have a personality that will capture the attention of a room of teachers, let's talk! Talented teachers who present for my company and embody these qualities earn the top pay in the industry.

If you have questions of any kind, please do not hesitate to contact me!
I start my own seminars out with this quotation: "In God we trust, all others bring your data." Although it provokes chuckles, it is no laughing matter. We are research-based and have tremendous outcomes everywhere we train. We have the data to back this up. In fact, if you haven't already, visit our "School Success Data" page to see the school improvement data we are able to boast.
If selected to join our elite nation team you will train other teachers to:

"The presenter has a heart for children and teachers. He shares a wealth of information in an enthusiastic manner that can transform any classroom. No participant will leave this seminar bored or without the ability to put these strategies into practice immediately"
-Dr. Shirley Bonton, Deputy Superintendent

"Rick is full of energy and provides the most common sense strategies I have ever heard. And that is in forty years of teaching and attending conferences!"
-Terry Hawley-Smith, Principal

"The best seminar I've been to in years. It's one thing to know HOW to do something, it's quite another to TEACH someone else to do it. The presenter did both and now I'm enjoying teaching more than ever."
-Juana Collida, Elementary Teacher

"What a great lesson in humanity! I wish I would have learned Rick's powerful strategies for connecting with kids early in my career!"
-Jeff Elliott, Middle School Teacher

"This seminar wasn't like anything else I have ever been to. It was fun and filled with strategies that I can use with my students. I have a "tough class" this year and I can hardly wait to start trying these strategies in my classroom."
-Jeff Roland, High School Teacher

"This seminar was AWESOME. I would not have gotten through the school year without Rick Dahlgren's help. As much as I laughed, I learned even more."
-Gale Horton, Counselor

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Click Here for Rick Dahlgren, President & CEO's Personal Page | Center for Teacher Effectiveness

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Rick is one of the original program developers of Time To Teach and owns the company with his son, Dr. Aaron Ross Dahlgren. Rick has been training Time To Teach for over two decades. He has extensive experience at the elementary, middle, and high school levels including at-risk campuses as well as teaching this course [...]

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Managing a Classroom

Every teacher faces a challenge when it comes to managing his or her classroom. The decisions and actions a teacher takes in this area can be the difference between peaceful productivity and complete chaos. The actions and attitudes of the teacher during the first few class sessions set the tone for the rest of the term. Because it is so important, the most effective teachers create a classroom management plan well in advance of the first class session. Although some management techniques will change depending on the students and grade level, many of the underlying basic strategies of classroom management remain the same. The strategies we'll discuss in this lesson involve rules, the learning environment, student engagement and student-teacher relationships.

Rules

For most teachers, the foundation of a managed classroom is a clear set of rules and consequences. Teachers need to establish general rules of conduct to ensure the classroom runs smoothly. Imagine you teach a fifth grade history class. What kind of rules would you create? The rules that are needed change with every class, and most teachers agree that the students should be included in creating them. The general strategy is to have an idea of what rules are needed, but then include the students in actually creating them as well as the consequences for breaking them. When students have a say in the matter, they have ownership in what has been decided and are more motivated to follow the rules.

It's recommended that teachers devote a portion of the very first day of class to coming up with rules and consequences. Starting with a short list of categories, like 'General Classroom Behavior' and 'Use of Materials,' the teacher facilitates discussion, and the students create a set of rules expressed in their own language.

Most teachers agree that it's best to create only a few rules (5-8 is the rule of thumb), as it's too hard to remember a long list. Of course, teachers also need to determine how they will personally enforce the rules and consequences as well as how to handle conflict. We discuss strategies for discipline and reducing undesirable behaviors in another lesson.

This strategy for creating rules could also be used to determine routines for each class. Unlike rules, rituals and routines don't have consequences, but they are an important part of managing the classroom. They are the repeated activities that students learn to expect as part of your particular class. For example, you could create a routine in your history class where you always write the schedule for the day on the board, along with directions for an extra activity if any students finish early. Knowing what to do and being able to predict what comes next makes students feel competent, which not only helps them learn, but also contributes to a positive learning environment.

Learning Environment

The learning environment greatly affects students and their learning, so it's also an extremely important part of classroom management. The learning environment is the way the classroom works and feels. It includes the physical environment as well as the social or emotional environment within the classroom. Teachers want all students to feel motivated, challenged, supported and physically comfortable. The right management strategies lead to a positive learning environment, which promotes productivity and respect.

The physical environment includes physical aspects such as desk arrangement, decorations, lighting, temperature, etc. This is the way the classroom works. Imagine that history class you teach again. How would you arrange the desks and decorate the room? Each physical aspect can affect learning and creativity as well as the ability to concentrate and maintain attention. It's important that the space be attractive, well lit, comfortable and clean. The physical environment is often the first impression of the class as students enter and conveys the teacher's approach to managing instruction and learning. For example, if you arranged the desks in your history classroom so they are clustered into groups and facing each other, it promotes interaction and shows that you - the teacher - value collaboration. If there are stations set up throughout the room, it indicates that the class will be engaging and hands-on.

When students walk into a classroom every day, they need to feel ownership. Their creations and projects should be on display, as the more they see themselves in the environment, the more they feel valued. They should also feel confident of where to find anything they may need, such as supplies or a place to turn in their assignment.

Beyond the physical environment, the learning environment also includes the social and emotional aspects of the classroom. This is the way that the classroom feels. Students thrive in environments where they feel safe and respected and where there is an atmosphere of purposefulness and confidence in learning. This is certainly not always an easy task for teachers, but there are many strategies that help to create this type of environment. One strategy is to build and maintain positive student-teacher relationships, which we'll discuss later in this lesson.

Another strategy is to give students an opportunity to express their opinion and contribute ideas. We already talked about including them in creating rules, consequences and routines, and that is a strategy that goes a long way towards creating a positive learning environment. It keeps them involved and invested in the subject.

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classroom management techniques - video & lesson transcript | study.com

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Classroom Management Techniques - Video & Lesson Transcript | Study.com

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Every teacher faces a challenge when it comes to managing his or her classroom. The decisions and actions a teacher takes in this area can be the difference between peaceful productivity and complete chaos. The actions and attitudes of the teacher during the first few class sessions set the tone for the rest of the term.

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Behavior & Classroom Management Strategies

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Wild classroom? Need help? Use this board to find behavior management tips and strategies for classroom management! You'll have things back under control in no time! Ideas for your Kindergarten, 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, and 6th grade classroom!

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Creating a positive classroom culture can be a challenge, but it's a crucial element in making a class run smoothly. In the video "New Teacher Survival: Classroom Management" featured below, Dr. Jackie Ancess of Columbia University says you want a classroom to be an "orderly and safe space so that the kids can learn what you want them to learn."

Often this means setting (and enforcing) standards for appropriate classroom behavior. Identifying expectations for students and holding them to those expectations gives them a sense of stability and increases class unity. Classroom management doesn't necessarily mean telling kids, "Don't do that," but rather creating a culture where the class understands, "We do this to be successful learners."

This week, our playlist highlights a mix of techniques for fostering classroom management and a productive classroom culture. Some of these approaches may take a bit of time to set into motion, but several of the videos give tips you can try tomorrow.

Video Resources

1. Using a Number System to Streamline Class Routines

Ms. Ramos uses numbers to teach students accountability and reliability. Her system helps students feel that they have a specific place in the class while minimizing disruptions.

2. Setting the Tone from Day One

This video highlights the importance of setting and enforcing expectations for classroom behavior at the beginning of the school year.

3. Creating a Positive Classroom Culture

In this video, Ms. Saul involves her students in helping manage the class and adhering to goals and expectations that they've set for themselves.

4. Attention Getter: Say the Secret Word

In this classroom, Ms. Ramos has a secret weapon: a secret word that alerts her class to stop what they're doing and listen to her.

5. New Teacher Survival Guide: Classroom Management

This video lays out 7 great tips to help transform a classroom.

6. Caring and Control Create a Safe, Positive Classroom

This is a wonderful look at how to approach discipline from a positive perspective. Ms. Sinclair enforces her class contract not by reprimanding students, but by praising them for their good behavior, making them a model for others. She also performs a quick, daily assessment of students' feelings at the start of class, building trust and providing a sense of catharsis.

7. Ms. Noonan: Managing Transitions

See how Ms. Noonan demonstrates how repetition of key words and phrases can create a tempo and structure for the classroom, signaling to students when something is expected of them. Ms. Noonan's strategy requires students to pay extra attention in the lesson, as the transition prompts change regularly, and are usually questions related to concepts they have just learned.

8. Choreograph Your Classroom

See how Ms. Saul devotes a lot of thought to the flow of her lessons, directing students' movements and ensuring no time is lost with traffic jams or uncertainty over what to do next.

9. The 3 B's: Managing Classroom Interruptions

In this video, Ms. Abdul Wajid very clearly defines boundaries for her students when she is meeting with others either individually or in small groups. These kinds of rules of thumb inspire respect and understanding.
Elizabeth Weiland is Teaching Channel's Advertising and Licensing Account Manager. Follow her on Twitter, @ElizabetWeiland.
[caption id="attachment_95864" align="aligncenter" width="216"] Click the image to find more blogs on staying engaged with your professional development.[/caption]

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Video Playlist: 9 Strategies for Effective Classroom Management

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Creating a positive classroom culture can be a challenge, but it's a crucial element in making a class run smoothly. In the video "New Teacher Survival: Classroom Management" featured below, Dr. Jackie Ancess of Columbia University says you want a classroom to be an "orderly and safe space so that the kids can learn what you want them to learn."

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School Improvement Network | Frontline Education

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With our extensive course libraries, formerly EDTRAININGCENTER (ETC), you can be sure that all of your employees are receiving the training they need, whether they are teachers, substitutes, paraprofessionals or new hires.

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Effective classroom management reduces student misbehavior

Good classroom management goes hand-in-hand with student discipline. Educators from the novice to the experienced need to consistently practice good classroom management to reduce student behavioral problems.

To achieve good classroom management, educators must understand how s ocial and emotional learning (SEL) influences the quality of teacher-student relationships and how that relationship influences classroom management design. The Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning describes SEL as "the process through which children and adults acquire and effectively apply the knowledge, attitudes, and skills necessary to understand and manage emotions, set and achieve positive goals, feel and show empathy for others, establish and maintain positive relationships, and make responsible decisions."

Classrooms with management that meets academic and SEL goals require less disciplinary action. However, even the best classroom manager can use a few tips at times to compare his or her process with evidence-based examples of success. These seven classroom management tactics reduce misbehavior so teachers can focus their energy on making effective use of their instructional time.

In their book, The Key Elements of Classroom Management, Joyce McLeod, Jan Fisher and Ginny Hoover explain that good classroom management begins with planning the time available.

Discipline problems generally occur when students become disengaged. To keep them focused, teachers need to plan different blocks of time in the classroom. Allocated time accounts for the total span of teacher instruction and student learning. Instructional time covers the time teachers spend actively teaching. During engaged time, students work on tasks on their own. And in academic learning time, teachers prove that students learned the content or mastered a particular skill.

Each block of time in the classroom, no matter how short, should be planned. Predictable routines help structure blocks of time in the classroom. Predictable teacher routines include opening activities, which ease transitions into class; routine checks for understanding and routine closing activities. Predictable student routines work with partner practice, group work, and independent work.

According to a 2007 report sponsored by the National Comprehensive Center for Teacher Quality, highly effective instruction reduces but does not fully eliminate classroom behavior problems.

In the report, Effective Classroom Management: Teacher Preparation and Professional Development, Regina M. Oliver and Daniel J. Reschly, Ph.D., note that instruction with the ability to encourage academic engagement and on-task behavior usually has:

Instructional material that students find educationally relevant;

A planned sequential order that is ​logically related to skill development at students' instructional level;

Frequent opportunities for students to respond to academic tasks;

Guided practice;

Immediate feedback and error correction.

The National Education Association offers these recommendations for motivating students, based on the premise that students need to know why the lesson, activity or assignment matters:

Give students a voice.

Give students a choice.

Make instruction fun or enjoyable.

Make instruction real or authentic.

Make instruction relevant.

Use the technology tools of today.

A typical school day is loaded with disruptions, from announcements on the PA system to a student acting out in class. Teachers need to be flexible and develop a series of plans to deal with anticipated classroom disruptions, which rob students of precious in-class time.

Prepare for transitions and potential disruptions. Consider the following suggestions:

Place lesson objectives and resources in an area of the classroom where students can see them. Tell students where they can find lesson information online. In the event of a fire drill or lockdown, students know where to access information.

Identify the typical times for student disruptions and misbehavior, usually at the start of the lesson or class period, when topics change or at the conclusion of a lesson or class period. Be ready to re-task students when they get off the established routine(s).

Greet students by name at the door to get a feel for their moods/temperament. Engage students immediately with independent opening activities.

Diffuse conflicts (student-to-student or student-to-teacher) in the classroom with a series of steps: by re-tasking, by engaging in dialogue, by temporarily relocating a student to a designated "cooling off" area or, if a situation warrants, by speaking to a student as privately as possible. Teachers should use a non-threatening tone in private talks with misbehaving students.

As a last resort, consider removing a student from the classroom. But first alert the main office or guidance department. Removing a student from the classroom gives both parties a chance to cool off, but it should never become a routine practice.

The physical environment of the classroom contributes to instruction and student behavior.

As part of a good classroom management plan to reduce discipline problems, the physical arrangement of furniture, resources (including technology) and supplies must achieve the following:

The physical arrangement eases traffic flow, minimizes distractions and provides teacher(s) with good access to students.

The classroom setup assists with transitions between various classroom activities and limits distractions.

The classroom setup supports quality student interactions for particular classroom activities.

The design of the classroom physical space ensures adequate supervision of all areas.

The classroom setup contains clearly designated areas for staff and students.

More "

Teachers must treat all students respectfully and equitably. When students perceive unfair treatment in the classroom, whether they are on the receiving end of it or just a bystander, discipline problems can ensue.

There is a case to be made for differentiated discipline, however. Students come to school with specific needs, socially and academically, and educators should not be so set in their thinking that they approach discipline with a one-size-fits-all policy.

Additionally, zero tolerance policies rarely work. Instead, data demonstrates that by focusing on teaching behavior rather than simply punishing misbehavior, educators can maintain order and preserve a student's opportunity to learn.

It is also important to provide students with specific feedback about their behaviors and social skills, especially after an incident. More "

Educators should set high expectations for student behavior and for academics. Expect students to behave, and they likely will.

Remind them of expected behavior, for example, by saying: "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."

According to the Education Reform Glossary:

The concept of high expectations is premised on the philosophical and pedagogical belief that a failure to hold all students to high expectations effectively denies them access to a high-quality education, since the educational achievement of students tends to rise or fall in direct relation to the expectations placed upon them.

In contrast, lowering expectations -- for behavior or for academics -- for certain groups perpetuates many of the conditions that "can contribute to lower educational, professional, financial, or cultural achievement and success." More "

Classroom rules must align with the school rules. Revisit them regularly, and establish clear consequences for rule-breakers.

In making the classroom rules, consider the following suggestions:

Involve students in all aspects of creating the classroom management plan.

Keep things simple. Five (5) simply stated rules should be enough; too many rules make students feel overwhelmed.

Establish those rules that cover behaviors that specifically interfere with the learning and engagement of your students.

Keep the language appropriate to the developmental level of the students.

Refer to rules regularly and positively.

Develop rules for various situations in and out of school (fire drill, field trips, sporting events, etc.).

Use evidence-based practices to see how rules work -- or not. Monitor the effectiveness of school-wide rules using data.

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Seven Ways to Take Control of Your Classroom

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Effective classroom management reduces student misbehavior Good classroom management goes hand-in-hand with student discipline. Educators from the novice to the experienced need to consistently practice good classroom management to reduce student behavioral problems. To achieve good classroom management, educators must understand how s ocial and emotional learning (SEL) influences the quality of teacher-student relationships and how that relationship influences classroom management design.

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Ten Effective Classroom Management Techniques

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Ten Effective Classroom Management Techniques

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Raising our voice to get students' attention is not the best approach, and the stress it causes and the vibe it puts in the room just isn't worth it. The students will mirror your voice level, so avoid using that semi-shouting voice. If we want kids to talk at a normal, pleasant volume, we must do the same.

You want to also differentiate your tone. If you are asking students to put away their notebooks and get into their groups, be sure to use a declarative, matter-of-fact tone. If you are asking a question about a character in a short story, or about contributions made by the Roman Empire, use an inviting, conversational tone.
#2 Speak only when students are quiet and ready
This golden nugget was given to me by a 20-year veteran my first year. She told me that I should just wait and then wait some more until all students were quiet.

So I tried it; I fought the temptation to talk. Sometimes I'd wait much longer than I thought I could hold out for. Slowly but surely, the students would cue each other: "sshh, she's trying to tell us something," "come on, stop talking," and "hey guys, be quiet." (They did all the work for me!)

My patience paid off. Yours will too. And you'll get to keep your voice.
#3 Use hand signals and other non-verbal communication
Holding one hand in the air, and making eye contact with students is a great way to quiet the class and get their attention on you. It takes awhile for students to get used to this as a routine, but it works wonderfully. Have them raise their hand along with you until all are up. Then lower yours and talk.

Flicking the lights off and on once to get the attention is an oldie but goodie. It could also be something you do routinely to let them know they have three minutes to finish an assignment or clean up, etc.

With younger students, try clapping your hands three times and teaching the children to quickly clap back twice. This is a fun and active way to get their attention and all eyes on you.
#4 Address behavior issues quickly and wisely
Be sure to address an issue between you and a student or between two students as quickly as possible. Bad feelings -- on your part or the students -- can so quickly grow from molehills into mountains.

Now, for handling those conflicts wisely, you and the student should step away from the other students, just in the doorway of the classroom perhaps. Wait until after instruction if possible, avoiding interruption of the lesson. Ask naive questions such as, "How might I help you?" Don't accuse the child of anything. Act as if you do care, even if you have the opposite feeling at that moment. The student will usually become disarmed because she might be expecting you to be angry and confrontational.

And, if you must address bad behavior during your instruction, always take a positive approach. Say, "It looks like you have a question" rather than, "Why are you off task and talking?"

When students have conflicts with each other, arrange for the students to meet with you at lunch, after or before school. Use neutral language as you act as a mediator, helping them resolve the problem peacefully, or at least reach an agreeable truce.
#5 Always have a well-designed, engaging lesson
This tip is most important of all. Perhaps you've heard the saying, if you don't have a plan for them, they'll have one for you. Always overplan. It's better to run out of time than to run short on a lesson.

From my own first-hand experience and after many classrooms observations, something that I know for sure: Bored students equal trouble! If the lesson is poorly planned, there is often way too much talking and telling from the teacher and not enough hands-on learning and discovery by the students. We all know engaging lessons take both serious mind and time to plan. And they are certainly worth it -- for many reasons.
Share with us your classroom management experiences: What specific challenges are you having? What strategies have worked well for you and your students? Please share in the comment section below.

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5 Quick Classroom-Management Tips for Novice Teachers

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When it comes to managing a classroom, most of what we learn as new teachers is trial by fire. It's also smart to heed the advice of those who have walked -- and stumbled -- before you. If you are struggling with discipline, here are five tips that you can start using right away.

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Get instant ideas from other teachers on how to manage your toughest behavior challenges. Just click on a behavior issue below.

ANNOYING CLASSROOM DISTRACTIONS
How can a teacher prevent irritating classroom behaviors?
1. The students and teacher should first discuss and then write a "group" contract adopting acceptable classroom rules and procedures by the end of the first week of school.

2. Periodically review the rules and procedures of the classroom until the students can successfully adhere to them.

3. Use simple verbal reprimands when the misbehavior occurs. Make sure that they are to the point, moderate in tone, and private (e.g., "Stop talking and work on your math problems, please").

4. Give praise to the entire class as frequently as possible (e.g., "Thank you for working so quietly, "or "I'm delighted to see you all working so well today").

5. A student who continually exhibits an unacceptable behavior (e.g., out of his/her seat) might profit from an "individualized" contract pinpointing the "desired" behavior (e.g., remaining in his/her seat) and delineating the consequences (e.g., if goal is reached, then student will receive designated reward or recognition).

6. Intervene as soon as possible in order to prevent the misbehavior from occurring (e.g., say "Harry, may I help you with your assignment?" when the student begins to show signs of frustration).

7. Use facial expressions to convey to the student that the misbehavior was not totally overlooked. Circulate around the room frequently, to avert potential behavior problems.
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ANTAGONISM WITH AUTHORITY
What can be done to help students improve their interaction with authority figures?
1. Provide opportunities for students to change their hostile and aggressive energy into socially acceptable channels such as sports, clubs, crafts, hobbies, etc.

2. Give students reading and/or writing assignments that deal with antagonistic behaviors, and ask them to comment on different socially acceptable ways of handling conflict situations.

3. Praise the students whenever they are cooperating with other adults (e.g., "That was very kind of you to help her find her keys").

4. Talk to the student in private to ascertain the reason for his/her misbehavior.

5. Provide the students with models of appropriate communicative behavior through role-playing activities.

6. Encourage students to strive for greater self-control in as many situations as possible.

7. Emphasize to students the difference that exists between acceptable communication in school and that which is used at home and/or in the community.

8. Contact parents and/or administrators when there is no other way of resolving the conflict situation.

9. Refer the student to appropriate staff members (e.g., the Child Study Team, if the student frequently displays uncontrollable verbal hostility). Keep anecdotal records to support your concerns.
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BEHAVIOR PROBLEMS
What steps can be followed to resolve a child's constant mis behavior?
1. If possible, meet with the child and describe in exact terms the behavior you find unacceptable in the classroom.

2. During the discussion, explain the reason(s) why you find the behavior unacceptable.

3. Be sure the child understands that it is not he/she who is unacceptable, but rather the behavior.

4. Let the student know exactly what will happen if the problem continues.

5. If the misbehavior occurs again, follow through with the previously planned disciplinary action.

6. Throughout the process, keep the parents and the principal informed of the progress or lack of progress.

7. If the child continues to misbehave and you feel that you have utilized all of your options and resources, send the child to the principal's office. Explain to the child that he/she is welcome to return when he/she is ready to follow the classroom rules.
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BOASTFUL, ATTENTION-SEEKING STUDENT
What can be done for a student who is constantly disrupting the class in order to gain the teacher's attention?
1. Give the student a position of responsibility in the classroom and encourage him/her to set a good example for others (e.g., passing out papers).

2. Post a chart in the front of the room delineating the rules to be followed when responding. For example:
1. Raise your hand if you wish to talk.
2. Wait to be called on.
3. Listen while others talk.

3. Assign the student a special project of interest and let him/her present the report to the class.

4. Ignore the student's annoying comments, but give praise when the student describes his/her real achievements.

5. Assign the student to a small group in which he/she must participate primarily as a follower.

6. Provide recognition and positive attention whenever possible.

7. Model appropriate behavior every day for the student, so that he/she can see what is expected of him/her (e.g., role-playing by teacher and/or peers).

8. Arrange parent conferences to discuss any factors that may be contributing to the student's problem in school (e.g., sibling rivalry).
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CALLING OUT IN CLASS - RESPONSE #l
What do you do with a student who calls out answers or comments during class?

1. Discuss your expectations with the class. Make up rules and consequences at the very beginning of the school year.

2. Keep a frequency record in your grade book of the calling out, and increase the severity of the consequence in direct proportion to the frequency of the "calling out."

3. With children in the middle grades and older, divide the class into two groups and make a game out of questions and answers. Each team scores a point for each correct answer. If a team member calls out an answer out of turn, that team loses a set amount of points.

4. Praise the student who does not call out, but waits to be called on.

5. Ignore the calling out. Do not acknowledge having heard it.

6. Use a strict behavior-modification program to lessen and ultimately extinguish this behavior.

7. Examine the reason for the calling out. Is it for attention? Do you tend to overlook calling on this student? Is the calling out a result of an inability to sit still? Does this child have a learning disability? React to these symptoms appropriately.

8. Contact the parents. Try an at-home reward system for good days (days in which calling outdid not occur). This will involve sending a note home daily.

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CALLING OUT IN CLASS - RESPONSE # 2
What can you do about children constantly calling out in class, even when they are supposed to be working quietly at their seats?
1. Be sure that the students know what you expect of them concerning this problem. Describe what procedure you want them to use to get your attention, and explain why they should not callout in class.

2. If students' calling out is a major problem, hold a class meeting and ask the children to make recommendations for solving this problem. This would include the type of discipline to be used for the children who continue to disturb the class by calling out.

3. Be consistent and persistent in disciplining the children who call out.

4. If a child communicates with you by calling out, make your only reaction one of displeasure and do not answer the question or fulfill the request.

5. Tell the class that if calling out in class only occurs a certain number of times during the week, you will do something special with them on Friday afternoon. Peer pressure is then utilized to solve the problem. In the weeks that follow, calling out will lessen, as students anticipate the special Friday activity.

6. Calling out may be motivated by the student's enthusiasm, or by the fear that he/she will forget what he/she wanted to say. Have students keep a pad and pencil on their desk to write down a thought they might forget. That way they can refer to it when they finally get called upon. Be sure to give everyone a chance to answer something -- even the slower thinking students!

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CLASS CLOWN
How can you deal effectively with a "class clown"?
1. Let the student know in private how you feel about his/her unacceptable behavior, and explain what is expected of him/her. Try to form a trusting relationship with this student. Listen to his/her feelings and expectations. Try to channel his/her talent for humor into something more productive, such as creating a class play or dramatic skit.

2. If you think it would be beneficial, try role-playing with this student. Give him/her the role of the teacher who is trying to teach a lesson. You take on the role of the class clown and exhibit the same behaviors that he/she does in class. This may be a learning experience for the entire class!

3. Explain to the student that the solution to his/her problem is his/her responsibility as well as yours. However, if the "class clown" behavior continues and it affects the level of learning for the rest of the class, then the responsibility for the solution will lie with him/her and the administration.

4. Try to find the curriculum areas in which the student is interested. Give him/her some independent work in these areas and observe any change in behavior.

5. Let the child gain the attention of the class in such a way that it has a positive effect on the class. The student could conduct mini-lessons, lead study groups, assist students, or make other contributions that will benefit the entire class.

6. Ask for the assistance of a counselor to investigate various possible reasons for the child's need to be the "class clown."

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HYPERACTIVITY - SHIFT IN ATTENTION
What can be done for students who frequently shift their attention and/or interests in class?
1. Assign the student some type of classroom responsibility that he/she looks forward to doing(e.g., collecting completed work, delivering messages, etc.).

2. Carefully arrange the student's work area to minimize classroom distractions (e.g., study carrels, room partitions, etc.).

3. Plan individual and/or group lessons that foster the development of analytical abilities in your students (e.g., a step-by-step approach to solving everyday problems).

4. Refer the student to a specialist and/or school nurse to check on visual and auditory deficits.

5. Provide your students with firm but fair classroom rules. Make sure you consistently adhere to the consequences of breaking rules.

6. Use social reinforcers frequently and as soon as possible (e.g., physical nearness or contact, a smile or frown, etc.).

7. Prepare a variety of short lessons to maximize student attention and participation (e.g., manipulation exercises of 15 to 20 minutes in duration).

8. Make suggestions to parents about the possible use of various nutritional diets (e.g., the Feingold diet).

9. Regularly incorporate "relaxation" techniques into the daily classroom routine. Use them whenever the student is in need of them.

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HYPERACTIVITY AND DISTRACTABILITY
How do you manage the "hyper" student and the student whose ability to screen out irrelevant stimuli is limited?
1. Employ hands-on activities.

2. Eliminate as many environmental distractions as possible.

3. Establish a well-defined work area for the child. This will help to limit outside activities that would detract from his/her concentration.

4. Use classroom aids such as headphones, tachistoscope, videos, etc. Provide for controlled exposures.

5. Pace activities realistically.

6. Incorporate gross motor skills into activities whenever possible.

7. Use bilateral activities, using hands and eyes in the lesson.

8. Make an obstacle course and have the students move through it at varying paces.

9. Use a timer. When the timer stops, students may have a short break. Never use a timer to speed up work, for it will cause tension and frustration rather than increase skill.

10. Use a "time-out" period to reward a hyperactive child who has spent time doing correct activities.

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LACK OF RESPECT
What do you do with students who show a lack of respect for adults, peers, their belongings, and the property of others?
1. The teacher should practice the 3 R's: Respect, Responsibility, and Reciprocity.

2. Role-play situations where there is lack of respect. For example: Someone fails a test and others make fun of that person. Follow with group analysis and discussion of the situation and alternative actions.

3. Clearly state the reasons for respecting other people's property. Publicly acknowledge those who demonstrate respect for others' property, so their peers can model their behavior.

4. Show videos dealing with respect and then discuss them. See Guidance Associates materials. Obtain materials from your county audio library.

5. Don't make unrealistic requests, dictate rules without explanations, or give an ultimatum that presents students with a boundary they might be tempted to cross because they feel it is unreasonable.

6. Listen to each student. Never assume that you know what the student is going to say to explain his/her actions.

7. Show that even though, as the teacher, you are in charge of the class, you respect the student and expect respect in return.

8. Never make idle, sarcastic threats (e.g., "How many times have I told you to sit down? I am going to have to take away your recess time for the semester unless you behave.")

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NEGATIVE RESPONSE TO REQUESTS AND RULES
What can you do when you are confronted with students who are negative about rational requests and/or rules?
1. Try to use these guidelines when establishing classroom rules:
a) Involve your class in making up the rules.
b) State the rules positively.
c) Keep rules brief and to the point.
d) Review rules periodically with the class.

2. Arrange private conferences with students to discuss the problem in depth.

3. Ask the student(s) to write down the disturbing behavior in a class logbook. Have them write some appropriate alternative ways of responding to negativity, for future reference.

4. Give students choices, in order to minimize negative reactions (e.g., "Would you rather stay an extra ten minutes and finish the exercise before lunch, or go to lunch now and finish it when you come back?").

5. Try to have frequent, positive interaction in the class (e.g., praise, group projects, discussions, etc.).

6. Make sure students clearly understand what is expected from them. (In some cases, it's the student's confusion that causes oppositional behavior.)

7. Handle difficult students individually outside the classroom, so that there is less chance that others will get involved.

8. Contact the parents, the principal, and/or the counselor to discuss the student's inappropriate behavior.

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16 Classroom Management Techniques You Need for Your Classroom

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Get instant ideas from other teachers on how to manage your toughest behavior challenges. Just click on a behavior issue below. How can a teacher prevent irritating classroom behaviors? 1. The students and teacher should first discuss and then write a "group" contract adopting acceptable classroom rules and procedures by the end of the first week of school.

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based on Rick Dahlgren's Refocus, by Katy Bates

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Classroom Management for the Middle School Teacher

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Classroom Management for the Middle School Teacher

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Proven classroom management tips & strategies.wmv

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See specifically techniques from Chapter 6, #36-42 Setting and Maintaining High Behavioral Expectations

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If you listen to some critics, TLaC is a book with sixteen chapters on making kids stand in line and not much else. I always find that ironic. First because there is great honor in doing the thankless work of building a respectful positive and productive classroom environment, and that fact would be clear beyond any plausible doubt to any one whose child actually spent significant time in a school where the behavioral environment was not that way. But it's also ironic because while I believe there's value and honor in engineering behavioral environments to make them positive and orderly, I deliberately waited until after the academic chapters in TLaC 1.0 to even mention behavior. In TLaC 2.0, the behavior chapters also come in the second half, but I am happy to say they are some of the chapters where I've learned the most. 100%, for example, is now broken out into four different techniques. And this time around I've tried to make the case for behavior a little more directly. Here's a draft of my intro to chapter 10, Setting and Maintaining High Behavioral Expectations.

There's something paradoxical about classrooms like Erin Michels', where the focus always seems to be on learning in its most rigorous forms. On a recent morning Erin asked her fourth graders to figure out the area of a complex, irregular polygon not in "square units" as most fourth grade teachers would but in "triangulous" units, for example. She called on a student, Jared, for the answer, and when he gave the correct answer she pressed him for more: "Go ahead, Jared. Tell us how you figured this out."

His classmates watched attentively as he sought to describe his thinking process in words. "I figured it out because at first I had to try and... first I had to trace around the whole entire shape."

"What were you tracing?" Erin interjected. "Use that mathematical language, Jared."

"The perimeter of the shape," Jared clarified as Michels encouraged him. His classmates followed him with their eyes and no noise broke the spell of his thought, "And then, after I traced the perimeter of the shape, I removed the shape and started counting each square unit," he continued.

Listening carefully, Michels asked for clarification: "Each square unit?" she asked.

"I mean each triangulous unit," Jared corrected, "And I kept going until I found thirty triangulous units."

The interaction demonstrates several strengths that are typical of a classroom with a culture of high academic expectations. The ratio is high, for example, and Jared does most of the talking and thinking, with Erin merely prompting him occasionally. Jared is asked not only to arrive at an answer but, even after he gets it right, to Stretch It, to explain his answer using technical vocabulary. And of course the problem is rigorous, complex, thorny and pushes Jared and his classmates to a stronger conception of what area is. Who knew that it could be defined in units that were not square?

Erin's classroom, you might observe, is the kind of place people imagine themselves working when they enter this profession; her conversations about math and science and literature are the kinds of conversations aspiring teachers hope to have. Truly, no one I am aware of enters this work because they love to tell students to pay attention or sit down or stop calling out. Most of us would all love to leave all that behind and ride off in the direction of why and how and can you use a more precise word to describe that? But of course none of the academic moments happen without a foundation of behavioral expectation-setting that is at times stoic, almost always consistent, and seasoned with love and tenacity. Jared's journey starts with his predictable attentiveness, and his classmates'- Erin can ask him a question and not fear that his classmates will shout out the answer or, worse, make some banal distracting "funny" comment as Jared takes the time to think. Only in such space is Jared's elaboration and self-correction possible. Only in such space can a teacher like Erin listen carefully to Jared's answer without distractions from inattentive classmates eroding her capacity to prompt him just so- "Each square unit?" Further, Jared's explanation is enlightening not just to him but to his classmates who, beyond eschewing call outs and hilarious bathroom humor at the critical moment, could still be slouched silently, entombing in a world that ignores the struggle towards knowledge and that features, instead, the lyrics to a recent pop song going round and round in their heads. But in Erin's class, Jared's classmates' heads move from Jared to Erin as if at a tennis match. They are attentive. They ignore for the moment the brightly colored manipulatives spilling out of ziplock baggies at their desks. When asked to write and reflect on the math, they spring into vigorous action. They are 100% ensconced in the previously unimagined world of area expressed in triangulous units.

Students, whether they realize it or not, rely on teachers to create such environments. Nonetheless, many observers misunderstand them and think they occur naturally. It's folly to think that-left to their own devices-a room full of people, almost any room full of people, will behave this way. Classrooms like Erin's cannot be achieved without meticulous attention to building the behavioral environment step by step. Ends and means are easily confused, and because effective classroom culture, when it is complete, is nearly invisible for stretches of time, some people will not see the work that goes into it; they will see teachers who don't talk to their students much about behavior and believe that the answer is not to talk about behavior much with your students. If you try to ignore behavior you will end up talking about little else, whereas if you are intentional about behavioral culture and establish clear expectations, behavioral issues will ultimately fade into the background as you talk about history, art, literature, math, and science. What you see in Erin's classrooms is not 'better kids' who miraculously behave. What you see is meticulous intentionality in its dormant state.

You must have order to have a learning-intensive classroom. When I say that, I am not talking merely about kids of color in urban classrooms. A friend of mine recently visited one of New York City's elite prep schools. He was impressed by the rigor of what they read and the encyclopedic knowledge of the teachers, not to mention their passion for their disciplines. But in several rooms, students threw paper wads at one another and mocked their classmates as they participated. Somewhere in that group, there is a student whose capacity to cure cancer or solve a municipal financial crisis has been eroded, just as there is a similar student across the river in the Bronx whose own capacity to cure cancer or solve a municipal financial crisis suffers from the same cause. Though my own focus is primarily on the student in the Bronx, all classrooms and all students deserve order, on both sides of the river, and all classrooms pose a potential challenge to achieve it.

And while some people fail to see that, there is another side to that coin. Orderly behavior without real and rigorous academics is an empty vessel. This is worth noting because the changes that occur in some classrooms when a teacher brings order to them can be so powerful they can be like catnip. Once you learn to get students to sit silently, the temptation can be to have them sit silently when they should be interacting. Once you teach students to line up in an orderly way, the temptation can be to line them up and keep them in lines. Beware: an orderly room must be orderly to allow academic rigor to thrive. Students must be silent so their classmates may speak in a climate of respect. They must line up quickly so they can get where they need to go for maximum learning. The goal is to get them quickly and quietly through the line and on the learning on the other side, not to keep them in quiet lines because it makes us feel more in control. I often tell skeptics of high behavioral expectations that just because a teacher can cause her classroom to be pin-drop quiet, does not mean she always must. It gives her an option she can exercise at will, not an obligation. And that reminder is good for those of us who believe in order as well.

The goal of course is to do that as efficiently and simply as possible and to maintain it with as little disruption to learning as possible. And though the concepts in this chapter may seem mundane, their results can be magical. Its methods are worthy of study, though few outside the front lines of teaching understand that value. The techniques here can be technical and nuanced. Watching champion teachers do the work so many beyond the walls of their schools struggle to acknowledge needs doing and watching them do it with finesse, skill, craft, passion, diligence- and without thanks- inspires me to share this summary of those teachers' knowledge and wisdom with you. It is, I am happy to say, one of the areas I've learned the most about since the first version of this book and I can't wait to share it.

High Behavioral Expectations, TLAC 2.0, Video

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On Behavior: The Intro to Chapter 10 (Video) - Teach Like a Champion

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If you listen to some critics, TLaC is a book with sixteen chapters on making kids stand in line and not much else. I always find that ironic.