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Kerwin Rae on Instagram: "This applies to both parenting children and leading your team.

Whatever you focus on expands."

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Kerwin Rae on Instagram: "This applies to both parenting children and leading your team.

Whatever you focus on expands."

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88K likes, 591 comments - kerwinrae on October 21, 2023: "This applies to both parenting children and leading your team.

Whatever you focus on expands."

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teacherskind on Instagram: "This is legit 🤣

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#motivationteachermemes #love #teacherspayteachers #learning #teach #teacherinspiration️
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#teacherstuff #teachertrainer #teacherstatus #teachersofthegram #teacherprobs #teachertribe"

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teacherskind on Instagram: "This is legit 🤣

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#teacherstuff #teachertrainer #teacherstatus #teachersofthegram #teacherprobs #teachertribe"

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21K likes, 79 comments - teacherskind on September 20, 2023: "This is legit 🤣

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Build Relationships with Students: Best Part of Teaching - Kelsey Reavy | Teacher hacks, Whole brain teaching, Student teaching

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Build Relationships with Students: Best Part of Teaching - Kelsey Reavy | Teacher hacks, Whole brain teaching, Student teaching

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Aug 31, 2020 - The number one determinor or whether you are going to have a good school year is your ability to build relationships with students…

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A positive place to visit when you need a little inspiration to keep you going.

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https://www.amazon.com/Childrens-emotional-understand-emotions-Decorations/dp/B0C6ZQV13Q/ref=asc_df_B0C6ZQV13Q?tag=ushpadpinsp-20&hvdev=m&hvpone=626746608127&hvptwo=2680072522188&hvqmt=4260607993890&hvadid=4672928966826&psc=1&pp=0&epik=dj0yJnU9ajg4ZzZkSGFxZGZaRkRoa2FTMER2bkh3QTYtLVpXek8mcD0xJm49N1hFbHlUY0ppSmhGc2FFLUZzMUdsZyZ0PUFBQUFBR1VsdGdr

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Cooperative Learning is a great strategy to use in every classroom. It d… | Collaborative learning strategies, Cooperative learning strategies, Cooperative learning

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Cooperative Learning is a great strategy to use in every classroom. It d… | Collaborative learning strategies, Cooperative learning strategies, Cooperative learning

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Apr 7, 2022 - Cooperative Learning is a great strategy to use in every classroom. It doesn’t matter the age or ability of the students, cooperative learning can be…

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Teacher Hacks And Tips ✏️📝📌 on Instagram: "@teacherslovehacks collabs // An amazing idea presented by @mskellibelli. If anyone has any questions @mskellibelli is more than happy to answer them. Be sure to follow @teacherslovehacks and @mskellibelli if interested in such content.

 #primaryteacher #studentlife #studentproblems #student #classroommanagement #teacherstruggles #teacherproblems #iteachtoo #iteachthird #teachersofinstagram #teachersfollowteachers #tptteacher #texasteachertribe #teachersofig #teachers #teach #teachergram #teacherspayteachers #targetteachers #iteach123 #iteach345 #firstyearteacher #texasteacher #teacherinterview"

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Teacher Hacks And Tips ✏️📝📌 on Instagram: "@teacherslovehacks collabs // An amazing idea presented by @mskellibelli. If anyone has any questions @mskellibelli is more than happy to answer them. Be sure to follow @teacherslovehacks and @mskellibelli if interested in such content.

 #primaryteacher #studentlife #studentproblems #student #classroommanagement #teacherstruggles #teacherproblems #iteachtoo #iteachthird #teachersofinstagram #teachersfollowteachers #tptteacher #texasteachertribe #teachersofig #teachers #teach #teachergram #teacherspayteachers #targetteachers #iteach123 #iteach345 #firstyearteacher #texasteacher #teacherinterview"

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3,386 likes, 39 comments - teacherslovehacks on October 12, 2023: "@teacherslovehacks collabs // An amazing idea presented by @mskellibelli. If anyone has any quest..."

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The purpose of this article is to provide an overview of the highlighted topic. For a full consultation, and personalized assessment plan, schedule an appointmentwith one of our specialists.

More about Variations Psychology

Variations Psychology is a group practice specializing in diagnostic testing to identify psychological conditions. Our primary focus is Educational Psychology, guiding families on beneficial pathways toward student success and training educators in effective strategies to maximize student potential.

Our comprehensive evaluations test for conditions that impact mental health and development such as ADHD, autism spectrum disorders, depression, anxiety, learning disorders, and developmental delays.

In addition to diagnostic services, we offer Independent Educational Evaluations (IEEs) of K-12 students to assess needs for accommodations in school and determine their appropriate placements. IEEs provide an objective second opinion on existing IEP and 504 Plans.

For K-12 and post-secondary students, we offer evaluations to assess needs for accommodations on standardized tests, college entrance exams (e.g. - SAT, ACT, AP Exams), and graduate and professional licensing exams (e.g. - MCAT, LSAT, GRE, CBEST, NCLEX, GMAT, CA Cosmetology Exam, CA Contractors State Licensing Exam, CA Bar Exam). Schedule your free 15-minute consultationto learn how our diagnostic services can support you and your family.

Variations Psychology is located in Newport Beach, CA and provides psychological testing to residents throughout Orange County and its surrounding areas including Newport Beach, Newport Coast, Irvine, Shady Canyon, Laguna Beach, Laguna Hills, Coto de Caza, Corona del Mar, Costa Mesa, Yorba Linda, Dana Point, Laguna Niguel, Aliso Viejo, Mission Viejo, Pelican Hill, Crystal Cove, Rancho Santa Margarita, San Clemente, Lake Forest, Huntington Beach, Sunset Beach, Seal Beach, and more.

References:

Shinn. M.M. (2018). 8 Tips to Create a Mentally Healthy Classroom. Psychologically Speaking. [Variations Psychology blog post]. Retrieved from https://www.variationspsychology.com/blogs/8-tips-to-create-a-mentally-healthy-classroom

Shinn. M.M. (2019). The Teacher's TCIT School-Kit. Psychologically Speaking. [Variations Psychology blog post]. Retrieved from https://www.variationspsychology.com/blogs/the-teachers-tcit-toolkit

Shinn, M. M., & UC Davis PCIT Training Center (2019) Course of Treatment Manual for PCIT-TC. Unpublished Manuscript. Retrieved from https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5993624ea803bb955170130a/t/5c8e78b0c8302569d10fdb51/1552840881981/PRIDE+Skills+for+Teacher+-+Shinn%2C+2019%2C+Variations+Psychology+v.BW3.19.pdf

Timmer, S., Hawk, B., Lundquist, K., Forte, L., Aviv, R., Boys, D., & Urquiza, A. (2016) Coping and Relaxation Skills 1. PC-CARE: Course of Treatment Manual. Unpublished Manuscript. UC Davis Children's Hospital. Retrieved from https://pcit.ucdavis.edu/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/47_Coping_LittleKids-Aubrey-edits-8.6.18.pdf

Timmer, S., Hawk, B., Lundquist, K., Forte, L., Aviv, R., Boys, D., & Urquiza, A. (2016) Coping and Relaxation Skills 2. PC-CARE: Course of Treatment Manual. Unpublished Manuscript. UC Davis Children's Hospital. Retrieved from https://pcit.ucdavis.edu/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/48_Coping_BigKids_6-9yrs-Aubrey-edits.pdf

Timmer, S., Hawk, B., Lundquist, K., Forte, L., Aviv, R., Boys, D., & Urquiza, A. (2016) Coping and Relaxation Skills 3. PC-CARE: Course of Treatment Manual. Unpublished Manuscript. UC Davis Children's Hospital. Retrieved from https://pcit.ucdavis.edu/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/Coping_Older-Kids_9-13yrs.pdf

Urquiza, A., Zebell, N., Timmer, S., McGrath, J., & Whitten, L. (2011) BE DIRECT. Course of Treatment Manual for PCIT-TC. Unpublished Manuscript. Retrieved from https://pcit.ucdavis.edu/wp content/uploads/2012/08/48_BEDIRECTrevised.pdf

How to Cite This Blog Article:

Shinn. M.M. (2020). BE DIRECT! 8 Teacher Tips for Getting Students to Listen. Psychologically Speaking. [Variations Psychology blog post]. Retrieved from https://www.variationspsychology.com/blogs/be-direct-8-teacher-tips-for-getting-students-to-listen

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Psychologically Speaking: 8 Teacher Tips for Getting Students to Listen - Variations

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BE DIRECT! 8 Teacher Tips for Getting Students to Listen Calling all teachers! Do you struggle to get students to listen to instructions? Check out this week's blog for our top tips on giving effective commands and building student compliance.

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What are assessment for learning strategies?

Assessment for Learning is a process of gathering information about students' knowledge, skills and understanding in order to inform teaching. It can be used as an ongoing part of the curriculum or it may take place at key stages such as end-of-year exams. The purpose of AfL is not just to test what you know but also to help teachers plan their lessons so that they are more effective.

The term 'assessment for learning' was first coined by Professor David Coleman who wrote his seminal book Assessment For Learning: A Framework for Understanding published in 1995. He defined AfL as follows:

" Assessment for learning is any activity which seeks to gather evidence on how well pupils have mastered specific aspects of subject matter."

In this way, AfL has been described as "a means of assessing student achievement". However, there is no single definition of AfL because each school will use different methods depending upon its own needs and resources. In addition, some schools choose to combine AfL with other forms of assessment such as formative assessments, summative examinations and portfolio work.

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Why do we assess?

Assessment is an integral part of the teaching process. It allows us to explore any improvements in learning outcomes that need to be addressed. This knowledge of student achievement can then be feedback into our teaching practice and inform us of how to move our students forward.

There are many reasons why schools should assess learners' progress regularly throughout the year. These include:

* To ensure all children achieve high standards

* To provide feedback to parents/carers

* To identify areas where improvement is needed

* To monitor attainment against national targets

* To demonstrate effectiveness of teaching

* To improve teacher practice

* To support continuous professional development

* To promote good citizenship

* To encourage self reflection

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Assessment for learning strategies

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How do assessment for learning strategies work?

AfL takes two main approaches - direct observation and questioning. Direct observation is the most common form of assessment, but it can be time consuming to carry out in a classroom setting. Questioning provides an alternative method that allows teachers to assess students' knowledge more quickly than they would with direct observation alone.Many of our members schools have been using the block building methodology as formative assessment strategies.

This type of assessment digs deeper than just questioning. As children build what they know, they reveal their true understanding of the lesson content. Similar to using concept maps, the mental models reveal their complex structure of knowledge or schema. What are questions used for?

If you are interested in developing open-ended questions as an effective feedback tool, you might be interested in looking at the universal thinking framework. As well as outlining essential actions involved in learning, the framework also provides essential questions related to different types of student learning. These are designed to dig deeper than multiple choice questions and can form the backbone of a really effective assessment tool.

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Assessment for learning strategies and outcomes

Asking questions as an assessment for learning strategy

You should always try to get answers to any question posed during class. However, asking questions after every lesson isn't practical because it's too disruptive to the flow of instruction. Instead, you can ask a few key questions at the end of each unit or chapter and then use them as assessments in your final exam.

The following are some examples of good questions that could be asked:

* What did I learn about this topic?

* How does this relate to other topics we've studied?

* Why do I need to know this information?

* Is there anything else I didn't understand?

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How do assessment for learning strategies improve learner outcomes?

Assessment is a key component of any educational system. It helps to identify the strengths and weaknesses in learners, which can be used as feedback to improve their performance. Assessment also provides an opportunity for students to demonstrate what they have learnt through various means such as written assignments or practical demonstrations. However, it has been observed that there are certain limitations with traditional forms of assessments. For example, many teachers find them time consuming and difficult to administer.

In addition, some students may not perform well on these tests due to lack of preparation or anxiety about being tested. This leads to poor student engagement and low motivation levels. Therefore, we need to look at new ways of assessing our learners so that we can get more accurate information from them. One way of doing this would be by using technology-based methods. The use of digital tools allows us to collect data quickly and efficiently without having to rely on human judgment.

These technologies include computer based testing, online quizzes, video recording, etc. They provide opportunities for educators to assess how much knowledge learners possess before they start teaching them. Embedding these strategies in your approach to teaching will help you achieve better results. The mental modelling strategy using the building blocks enables teachers to assess the levels of understanding in an engaging activity. This approach to deep thinking helps students to develop conceptual understanding and strengthens the learning process.

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Assessment for learning as a feedback loop

Getting started with assessment for learning strategies

Daily assessment strategies include Multiple Choice Questions. An MCQ is an open ended question where there are several possible answers. Students must select only one response from among four or five options. This type of formative assessment strategy provide teachers with valuable information about how their students understand concepts. Teachers may use these daily assessment strategies to determine if students have mastered content areas by asking them to identify which concept best describes the topic being taught. For example, when teaching vocabulary, teachers might ask students to choose between synonyms, antonyms, homophones, and polysemes.

In addition, teachers often use MCQs to assess whether students have learned key terms related to specific topics such as science, history, math, etc. When using this type of task it is important to make sure that all items on the test are relevant to your course material. If you do not want to give students practice at answering questions outside of class then you will need to create new ones specifically for testing purposes. It is recommended that you write out each item before giving it to students so that you can ensure that they fully comprehend its meaning. You can find many examples of MCQs online including those created by Khan Academy.

Short Answer Questions Short answer questions require students to respond to a prompt with either a single word or phrase. There are two main advantages to using this form of questioning. First, because students cannot guess wrong, they tend to think more carefully about their responses than in other forms of assessment. Second, since students are required to explain why they chose certain words or phrases, they learn to express themselves clearly.

However, like any form of assessment, short answer questions can be misused. Some instructors use them simply to see who has memorized the most facts. Others use them to gauge students' ability to synthesize knowledge into coherent explanations. To avoid misuse, it's essential to teach students how to constructively analyze written work.

Whichever daily assessment strategy you choose to use it's important to make it engaging for your class. A good summative assessment should be fun and where possible, have a game-like quality.

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Using feedback effectively

Classroom feedback is a very important part of the teaching process. It can be used to help students understand their strengths and weaknesses, as well as provide them with information about how they are doing in class. Feedback also helps teachers identify areas where instruction needs improvement or revision.

Task-focused feedback provides specific suggestions for improving student performance on assignments, tests, projects, etc., while formative assessment focuses more directly on what students know and don't know at any given time. In this chapter we will discuss ways that you can use classroom feedback to improve your teaching practice.

The following sections describe different types of feedback:

* Classroom feedback forms

* Student response systems

* Peer review

* Self-assessment tools

* Formative assessments

* Summative evaluations

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Formative and summitted assessments

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Understanding different types of task focused feedback

Feedback has been defined by many sources as "the act of providing an evaluation of someone's work". The term may refer specifically to written comments from others who have observed the person performing some task; it may include verbal comments made during discussions or meetings; or it may simply mean giving a grade to a paper or test score. Regardless of its source, feedback should always be positive. If negative, corrective action must follow immediately so that the situation does not continue to deteriorate.

There are several reasons why feedback is necessary. First, if people do not receive feedback when they make mistakes, then they cannot learn from those errors. Second, without feedback, there would be no way to evaluate whether individuals were meeting expectations. Third, feedback allows us to see our own progress over time. Fourth, feedback enables us to compare ourselves against other people. Finally, feedback gives us insight into how effective our methods are working.

There are two basic kinds of feedback: summative and formative. Evaluative feedback tells us something about the quality of a product or service. For example, after reading a book, I might give myself a rating based on my overall impression of the text. This type of evaluative feedback is called summative because it summarizes all aspects of the experience. On the other hand, formative feedback indicates only one aspect of the experience for instance, the level of understandin g demonstrated by a particular group member. Such feedback is usually provided verbally rather than through writing.

Summative Feedback as an assessment for learning strategy

A summary evaluation is often referred to as a final exam or report card. It includes grades, scores, percentages, rankings, and/or ratings. These results indicate whether the individual met his or her goals or exceeded them. They tell us nothing about the process used to reach these conclusions.

However, summative evaluation is useful for comparing groups of learners within a single course or across courses. An important distinction between summative and formative evaluation is that the former involves evaluating outcomes whereas the latter evaluates processes.

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Using assessment for learning strategies for making improvements to learner outcomes

A total of 576 learners completed questionnaires before and after participating in the course. Results indicated significant increases in all four areas measured by the questionnaire: knowledge about the subject matter; confidence in understanding concepts related to the subject matter; ability to apply what they have learned; and interest in pursuing further studies in the area.

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Embracing technology to enhance assessment for learning

Technology has revolutionized the teaching process by providing teachers with various tools to enhance learning outcomes. Using technology to enhance assessment for learning is a good opportunity for teachers to promote student learning outcomes.

By incorporating technology into their assessment process, teachers can use the feedback loop to provide detailed feedback to students. Feedback is a critical form of feedback that provides students with the necessary information to improve their learning. Using technology allows teachers to provide descriptive feedback that answers students' questions and provides them with evidence of their learning.

For example, teachers can use mini whiteboards or polling apps to assess student learning and provide immediate feedback. These tools can be used to assess student understanding of concepts, answer exam questions, and provide a form of feedback that supports the learning process.

Technology allows for creativity in assessment, which can help students engage in the assessment process, rather than viewing it as a separate task.

Overall, using technology to enhance assessment for learning can be an effective way for teachers to promote student learning outcomes. By providing students with detailed feedback and utilizing creative forms of assessment, teachers can support students in their learning journey and provide them with the tools necessary to succeed.

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Evidencing Learning

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What learning theory is AFL based upon?

AFL improves learner outcomes by providing a framework for the design of instruction and assessment. Learning theories are used to guide instructional decisions, such as how much time should be spent on each topic in an educational program or what type of questions will best assess student knowledge.

If you are interested in learning more about research and practice please do subscribe to our weekly newsletter.

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Strategies for Assessment for Learning: All the research and techniques you need for making AFL happen in the classroom.

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Recently I spoke at the Bett conference in Abu Dhabi about teacher motivation and what schools and teachers can do to increase employee motivation. In Drive, Dan Pink advocates 'Autonomy, Mastery and Purpose', suggesting schools and teachers should be more focused on engaging teachers in their learning through self-direction. Learning is not something that can be done to you, it is something that we need to seek for ourselves. Teachers have a high need to be able to self-direct their own learning and a need to feel challenged and fulfilled.

We need to feel our work is important

We need to feel as though we are able to make a difference

We need to feel good at what we do, that our work is appreciated and we belong and feel part of a team

If your teachers have a void in their motivation then you will never have a great school it is as simple as that, nothing is more important than your people and making them feel valued. Abraham Maslow was an American psychologist who created the Hierarchy of Needs. This theory put forward the idea that humans must have their basic needs met in order to pursue their own personal growth and development. Maslow's needs can be applied to employee engagement, see the picture below.

Picture courtesy of http://www.hrzone.com

Survival- We know this is a basic need. This includes the need to have a job, a salary that pays the bills, and a sense of financial independence.

Safety- When we have a job, we need to know that this is secure.

Belonging- People need to feel like they're part of a team, that they are a part of something bigger. As employees, humans need to know their individual contributions are valued by their employer. If your school is setup around team principles, then this sense of belonging and "camaraderie" should come almost naturally.

Importance- This need dovetails into the "belonging" need in the sense that individuals need to feel like they're important to a team and the overall organisation. This need is quite prevalent inside of organisations such as busy schools, where the need to engage employees on a personal level becomes harder for higher level management.

Self-Actualisation- Most employees have some level of ambition and want to achieve more than where they're currently positioned. Giving them opportunities for growth, learning, leadership and advancement gives them all of the tools they need to begin to self-actualize within your school's walls. When they reach this point, and are taking full advantage of the tools made available to them, they inspire others along the way and create a ripple effect of employee engagement.

How do we encourage more staff to reach the levels of self actualisation? How do we get them to go the extra mile? A combination of ensuring needs are met and behavioural nudges.

1. If our outstanding teachers feel like they don't need to improve or aren't motivated to learn, then perhaps it is time for us as a profession to raise the bar and redefine what it means to be an outstanding educator.?Hargreaves and Fullan in professional capital suggest that teaching like a pro means you are continuously inquiring into and seeking to improve your teaching and seeing yourself as part of the wider teaching profession and contributing to its development. This clearly a definition beyond someone who just gets outstanding results.

2. There is no limit to learning and as we are the role models to our young learners, for me engaging with PL is a credibility issue, if I was about to have an operation, I would expect that the doctor was uptodate with the latest in medical research, if I needed a lawyer to represent me in a court of law, then I would expect they knew the most uptodate versions of that law and as teachers we should be engaging with the most up to date thinking on how we learn.

It is about creating that mindset shift to recognise that PD is not something that should be bolted on but it should be part of our daily practice. Also accepting that some staff will need behavioural nudges .Important also that leaders give teachers the time, space and support with the tools they need to innovate and collaborate. Curriculum making way for teaching and learning, rather than the other way round.

"TALIS data show that teachers benefit from collaboration with their colleagues, whether in professional development activities or team teaching. While collaboration may require adjustments to teachers' schedules, the benefits to teachers' practices - and to teachers'morale - are likely to outweigh any administrative inconveniences." OECD TALIS 2013

What tools should we be using to innovate and how can we promote collaboration?

There has been a rise in recent years of teachers taking charge of PL at grassroots level through Twitter, Educational blogging and Teach Meets. Twitter has completely changed my outlook, increased my knowledge on pedagogy and leadership like no other medium I have encountered. For me it embodies what professional learning should look like:

Continuous- rooted in your everyday practice. For your own learning to have an impact on the student's learning it should be sustained

Autonomous- Owned by you, driven by you, you decide when, where and how much

Personalised- You tailor it to your areas of interest, subject specific pedagogy

Encourages self reflection- it makes you think

Best of all it is free and available 24/7 you do not even have to get out of bed, professional development in your pyjamas!

A great way to connect with like minded educators, get practical advice and share innovative ideas and resources

How do you get staff involved? Through educating them about the benefits of using it and producing guidance for beginners, a sustained mentoring approach to the use of social media.

In my own school teachers use it for consuming and learning, we've created our own hashtag #DESClearn to share relevant articles to our community and also a great way to share success about your school. Using Twitter is a two part process. The first part is as a consumer, where you follow people, read their tweets, and learn from them. Also think about how you can share and contribute to others learning. You get what you give! The more you feed into the community, the more you will get back from it and the more it will become useful to you.

Similarly the proliferation of thoughtful education bloggers has probably done more for the professional development of teachers that follow them than any other kind of traditional inset. I have learnt a great deal that I might otherwise have missed from current ideas about good practice to educational research and policy. Writing a blog is also a great tool for reflection. Another fab way to share your ideas, resources, reflections.

Further to developing collaboration online, Teach Meets have seen an increase in offline collaboration. Teach Meets involve getting 100 or so educators into a room, 3hrs of free CPD by teachers for teachers. People sign up to present for 2 or 7 minutes, sharing their good practice, practical innovations and personal insights into teaching.

What impact does a Teach Meet have?
Our SPARK ignites:

Fun and Confidence - There is a tangible effect on wellbeing, the Teach Meet bounce, an incredibly positive atmosphere and energy, there is something about having 100 passionate teachers in a room that makes anything seem poosible!

Creativity and innovation - thought provoking , whether presenting or taking away new ideas you can use in your classroom the next day.

Overcoming the OK PLATEAU- the evidence which suggests that after a few years of teaching you reach a plateau, experience alone after this point does not make you any better, but taking control of your own learning, attending Teach Meets, reading blogs, undertaking some research are ways to revitalise your teaching practice.

Collaboration - Great Teachers are great learners and this is a fab tool for collaboration, sharing best practice and next practice- allows individuals to build up a knowledge and learning network with other teachers beyond their schools.

PL is not an add on, once you have that mindset change, everything on the outside will change along with it. Engage with tools that put the continuous into your continuing professional development, Twitter, blogging, teach meets, engaging with with a PLC both on and offline. When you have the right people around you, you elevate your capabilities as an individual. People influence your emotions, your motivation, your actions, so engaging with the right people around you, with the right mindset means your learning and that of your students will fly.
For leaders- Top Ten Tips for staff motivation
@Dubai_Teachmeet

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MOTIVATIONAL MONDAY! Tips for increasing Teacher motivation

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Recently I spoke at the Bett conference in Abu Dhabi about teacher motivation and what schools and teachers can do to increase employee motivation. In Drive, Dan Pink advocates 'Autonomy, Mastery and Purpose', suggesting schools and teachers should be more focused on engaging teachers in their learning through self-direction.

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Nicole Elsasser on Instagram: "💡 Do you have a student refusing to complete work? Try these steps! 

Teach your student how to figure it WHY they’re making  that choice. 

Here’s how:

#1. Sit down for a one-on-one conference together. Calming say something like, “I noticed you’re choosing to (describe behavior). It’s important that you complete your (activity) because (what they gain from doing the activity). I want to help but need to know why you’re making this voice.”

#2. Share a THINK sheet with the student and ask them to circle any reason that might be causing this behavior. ** This is important because it takes the pressure of figuring it out or naming it out loud off the student. They’re often already feeling embarrassed or overwhelmed. 

3. Now that you know the WHY behind the behavior, you can work along with the student to make a plan of action. 

 👍 Behavior issues often disappear when you build relationships with your students and work together as a TEAM. 🥰"

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Nikki Elsasser on Instagram: "💡 Do you have a student refusing to complete work? Try these steps! 

Teach your student how to figure it WHY they’re making  that choice. 

Here’s how:

#1. Sit down for a one-on-one conference together. Calming say something like, “I noticed you’re choosing to (describe behavior). It’s important that you complete your (activity) because (what they gain from doing the activity). I want to help but need to know why you’re making this voice.”

#2. Share a THINK sheet with the student and ask them to circle any reason that might be causing this behavior. ** This is important because it takes the pressure of figuring it out or naming it out loud off the student. They’re often already feeling embarrassed or overwhelmed. 

3. Now that you know the WHY behind the behavior, you can work along with the student to make a plan of action. 

 👍 Behavior issues often disappear when you build relationships with your students and work together as a TEAM. 🥰"

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10 Student Check-In Activities to Connect and Understand | School social work, Social emotional workshop, Feelings activities

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Make your own happiness a priority

Stay healthy

Indulge in personal time

Be part of a support group

Look for the positive in every day

Prepare ahead of schedule

Schedule your time daily, weekly, etc.

Take things seriously, just not too seriously

Switch things up in the classroom: decorations, seating, lesson activities etc

Step back and let the students do more

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Consequences That Teach Better Behavior (Instead of Punish) in 2023 | Classroom behavior management, Classroom behavior, Teaching classroom

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Consequences That Teach Better Behavior (Instead of Punish) in 2023 | Classroom behavior management, Classroom behavior, Teaching classroom

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IRIS- (CBMP) Classroom Management Strategies 

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IRIS- (CBMP) Classroom Management Strategies 

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Page 1: Creating a Classroom Behavior Management Plan

Behavior management can be challenging for elementary teachers of any experience level, but it's often especially so for new teachers like Ms. Amry. Although most behavioral issues are minor disruptive behaviors such as talking out of turn or being out of one's seat without permission, occasionally students engage in more serious behaviors like defiance, verbal threats, or acting out.
disruptive behavior
Any action or verbalization that interferes with classroom instruction and impedes other students' ability to learn.

The good news is that many disruptive behaviors can be minimized, or even avoided altogether, if teachers consistently implement comprehensive classroom behavior management. Getting an early start can help, too. The more time teachers spend addressing behavior management before school starts, the fewer behavior problems they are likely to contend with during the school year.

For Your Information

Disruptive behaviors can result in:

Lost instructional time (according to some sources, up to 50%)

Lowered academic achievement for the disruptive student and peers

Heightened teacher stress and frustration

Decreased student engagement and motivation

Inequitable and disproportional disciplinary referrals

Greater teacher attrition

Before they can begin to create a comprehensive behavior management system, teachers must have an understanding of the key concepts related to behavior and of foundational behavior management practices. If you have not already done so, we recommend that you visit the first IRIS Module in the behavior management series to learn more about each of these all-important topics.

Once teachers feel comfortable with these key concepts and foundational behavior management practices, they are prepared to create a comprehensive classroom behavior management plan (subsequently referred to as a classroom behavior management plan). This plan should be thoughtful and intentional, and it should contain the core components described in the table below.

Action Plan
A well-thought-out timeline for putting the classroom behavior management plan into place. It includes what needs to be done, how it will be done, and when it will be accomplished.

As they develop these components, teachers should give them proper and serious consideration in order to minimize the need for subsequent revision, as well as to avoid the need to reteach them to their students in the event they were not clearly articulated in the first place. That said, the components of a behavior management plan are not written in stone. They can and should be revised or adjusted as circumstances dictate.

Listen as Lori Jackman discusses how a classroom behavior management plan can help a teacher enter the classroom with confidence. Next, Melissa Patterson talks about the importance of being flexible and making changes to the plan as needed.

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View Transcript
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Transcript: Lori Jackman, EdD

For an individual teacher who's just been hired to be able to walk in with a plan of what are you going to do when a kid misbehaves, or what are you going to do for the kids who behave, and what are your expectations, and how are you going to teach it to the kids, so to be able to walk in with that that first day kind of helps them cross the threshold of their classroom a bit more confident than the teacher who's, like, "I'll figure it out. I'll figure it out," which is what I was told in my teacher prep programs. "Don't worry. You'll figure out that discipline thing once you're there." I think it gives them an air of calmness when they stand up and introduce themselves to their students those first days of "I'm your teacher, and here's the plan for helping us all behave."

Transcript: Melissa Patterson

I think the biggest piece of advice is to have that behavior management plan, but then to make sure that you leave room for flexibility. Because you can create the best plan but then go in and find that it's not going to work in that specific classroom. So leaving room for flexibility, understanding that things change at the drop of a hat, and that you're going to have to make changes. But I think the flexibility has to be there for student input as well. You can create a plan, but if you go in and you set all of these hard, concrete rules you're going to have a lot of student pushback. But if you involve students in creating their environment, you're going to have a lot more success when the students feel like they have some kind of control over their own space.

Research Shows

Students whose teachers implement the core components of a classroom behavior management plan exhibit less disruptive, inappropriate, and aggressive behavior than do students whose teachers do not use such practices.
(Alter & Haydon, 2017; Mitchell et al., 2017; Simonsen et al., 2015)

Returning to School

Students returning to in-person learning may initially engage in disruptive behaviors more frequently and with more intensity than is typical following summer break. In addition to a slide in academic skills, some students may exhibit decreased rates of appropriate school-related social skills. Others may be enthusiastic and overly social and fail to immediately comply with classroom rules and procedures. To help elementary students successfully navigate their initial reentry to more traditional in-person classrooms teachers can:

Welcome and greet students with enthusiasm and genuine concern for their well-being.

Teach students social emotional learning (SEL) skills (e.g., responsible decision making, identifying emotions).
social emotional learning (SEL)
A process through which students gain the knowledge and skills to develop self-control and self-awareness in order to manage emotions, build healthy identities, and maintain positive relationships.

Make additional time available to individual students for guidance and emotional support.

Promote high expectations but recognize that increased time will be needed to remind students of appropriate behaviors.

Teach students organizational and study skills strategies to help promote academic success, which in turn leads to less disruptive behavior.

Provide prompts for appropriate behavior.

Establish an easy home-school communication system (e.g., communication folder).

Activity

As you work through this module, you will have the opportunity to put each of these components into action. Every time you see the laptop icon displayed on the right, you will be able to create a component of your classroom behavior management plan and save it in the Behavior Plan Tool. When you have finished the module, you'll be able to print out your plan.

High-Leverage Practices

The practices highlighted in this module align with high-leverage practices (HLPs) in special education-foundational practices shown to improve outcomes for students with disabilities. More specifically, these practices align with:

HLP7: Establish a consistent, organized, and respectful learning environment.
HLP8: Provide positive and constructive feedback to guide students' learning and behavior.
HLP9: Teach social behaviors.

HLPs, which all special education teachers should implement, are divided into four areas: collaboration, assessment, social/emotional/behavioral practices, and instruction. For more information about HLPs, visit High-Leverage Practices in Special Education.

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IRIS | Page 1: Creating a Classroom Behavior Management Plan

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Behavior management can be challenging for elementary teachers of any experience level, but it's often especially so for new teachers like Ms. Amry. Although most behavioral issues are minor disruptive behaviors such as talking out of turn or being out of one's seat without permission, occasionally students engage in more serious behaviors like defiance, verbal threats, or acting out.

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Instructional Strategies & Learning Activities Resource Chart Fa2022

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Sep 25, 2022 - Knowing how to prevent teacher burnout is essential. But, it’s not just what you need to be doing. It’s also what you need to STOP doing.

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Apr 3, 2018 - As I write this, it’s March, the time when many educators begin planning for the next school year, and when teachers have to start de…

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Sep 22, 2019 - If you are suffering from teacher burn and want to quit teaching, From self-care to classroom management and organization, it’s covered here!

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Effective Classroom Management Strategies for New Teachers | Effective classroom management, Classroom management strategies, Classroom management techniques

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Dec 8, 2022 - It’s time to teach, but you need to manage your classroom in order to do that well. Check out these 7 classroom management strategies.

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Targeted Intervention: How to Handle Difficult Classroom Behavior | Emotional support classroom, Classroom behavior, School wide positive behavior support

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Jan 17, 2021 - Exploring research-based systems and strategies to use in your middle school or high school classroom when difficult classroom behaviors arise

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How To Handle Students Who Will Ruin Your Day If You Hold Them Accountable Smar… in 2023 | Classroom management, Classroom management plan, Teacher and student relationship

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Sep 20, 2023 - This article explains what to do when a misbehaving student has all the power in the teacher-student relationship.

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I've taught high school for 15 years. However, I vividly remember the tremendous struggles I had my first years teaching. Classroom management was not something that came naturally to me. It takes every teacher a few years to find their footing and feel comfortable leading a classroom.

Here's my best classroom management advice for high school teachers. I broke it down into 9 simple reminders that I think can help any secondary teacher have great classroom management.

1) Know Your Kids

First and foremost, you need to learn your students' names as soon as possible. This is a way to make an immediate connection and show right away that you care about them as people. There are teachers in October who are still learning names. Don't be like that!

There are several great ways to learn names quickly and I promise you they're worth the effort. If you can greet each student by name at your door on Day 2 (or even as they leave on Day 1), it will have an immense impact toward limiting problems throughout the year.

Here's a few ways to make the name-learning process easier:

A seating chart - simple & still as effective as always

Name tents on desks - students can create these on the first day and decorate them. The visuals will help you to connect each face & name.

Introductions - have each student introduce themselves and say facts about them. You can make it fun by passing around toilet paper and telling students to take as many squares as they like. When it gets all the way around, they have to give a fact for each square. You can also do M&Ms and each color goes with an ice-breaker question.

Attendance software - if your school has a software with student pictures, use them to quiz yourself at night

Selfies - If you have devices in the room, have students take selfies holding up their names. I like to use some historical props I've collected over the years to make it fun. I do stations on Day 1 and make this one of them!

2) Procedures Prevent Problems

You probably heard this over and over in your education classes. That's because it's true! Routines allow students to know what's going on and get right to work.

Then, at the beginning of the year I'll set expectations about how we transition between activities, where backpacks go (not in the aisles!), how they can use the restroom/get water, how to turn in papers, how to exit class, etc. Many of these are up to your personal preference as the teacher, but if the students know the routine, it makes class so much simpler throughout the school year.

3) ...But Then Mix It Up

Once you have your routines down and progress through the year, there is a tendency for things to get stale. Those same routines that made life easy in September and October can start to feel boring.

4) Anything You Can Do Before Class, Do Before Class!

This is one I learned over time and is especially important if you're using any technology. I get to school early and make sure I have everything ready to go for all my classes.

The daily procedure will be the board so students can see exactly what we'll be doing that day. I'll have any papers for printed and ready to go at the front of the room, assignments ready on Google Classroom, and any websites or videos pre-loaded in case of tech-glitches.

Sure, you can do some of these things during class, but even if it takes you 30 seconds to open YouTube and go to a video, that's MORE than enough time for kids to get off-task. Even worse - the internet is down and that video you planned on watching won't load.

If you take the time to get everything ready before class starts, it will save you incredible amounts of frustration, and allow you more time in class for covering your content.

5) No Down Time!

This one took me a long time to really master. There's no way when you're first starting out to really know how long your lessons will take. Do you talk a lot or a little? Are your students talkative or not? Do you enjoy those tangents that lessons sometimes take or do you need to stick to the curriculum?

All of these are things you figure out over time. An activity that takes 25 minutes for one teacher might take you 20 or 40. It will vary by class also. But one thing you never want to have is down time. This is when you finish everything in your lesson and see there are still 10 minutes left in class.

Telling students they're free the rest of the period is a recipe for disaster. So, at the beginning of the year you want to over-plan for every lesson. Have enough stuff planned to take 2 whole periods. It's better that than your class flies through everything and you're stuck with unruly kids for the last 5 minutes of class.

6) Engaging Activities

I hate to say it, but look what we're competing against for kids' attention and what they're used to. As much as I'd love to conduct each class with a Socratic Seminar and have students questioning their assumptions in a learning circle, it's not something that I can expect will consistently keep them engaged.

Kids need an array of class activities that hit learning standards through varying ways. This can be primary source analysis one next day, then a stations rotation, cooperative learning, interactive notebooks, webquests or digital notebook activities, PBL, Kahoot and games, etc.

No matter how fun or engaging an activity is, kids will get bored of it if you over-do it also. Add a variety of different activities so students are consistently engaged.

6) Clear & Consistent Expectations

This is one you surely heard in your teacher training classes and it really is true. You need to have a standard level of expectations for what you allow and don't allow in class. Then you need to stick with it. If you have a rule that there's no phones in class, you can't allow then one day when there's extra time. It may seem ok, but that's how problems slowly begin.

Also, never threaten consequences you aren't ready to follow through on. If it's detention, calling home, or sending to the office, you have to follow through. So, always think about if you're really ready to write a student up or kick them out of class.

8) Invest in a Course or Training

9) Be Silly

While you're sticking with those clear and consistent expectations, you can also keep your class under control by being silly. When I would notice that kids' attention spans were starting to drift, I would pronounce a word wrong. It's totally dumb but would snap their attention back.

Thanks for Reading

That's all for now! Do you have any great classroom management suggestions? If so, please let me know through Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram!

I'd love to learn how you manage your classroom and we can all become better teachers together!

Free Resources!

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9 Classroom Management Tips for Teaching High School

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I've taught high school for 15 years. However, I vividly remember the tremendous struggles I had my first years teaching. Classroom management was not something that came naturally to me. It takes every teacher a few years to find their footing and feel comfortable leading a classroom.

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Exequiel Hernandez, Max and Bernice Garchik Family Presidential Associate Professor, The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania: More than anything else, it's the students. I think of the love and responsibility I have toward them. They're putting an enormous amount of trust in me, hoping that they'll learn something useful for their professional and personal development. They're also paying a lot of money for each minute of class. If I can make it about them and not me, it's really motivating.

Lilian Ajayi-Ore, adjunct professor, New York University School of Professional Studies: I am inspired by my passion for teaching and my intrinsic commitment to supporting students in the classroom and in navigating their careers post-program.

"More than anything else, it's the students."

Exequiel Hernandez

Pedro Monagas Asensio, STEM education professor and research professor, Polytechnic University of Catalonia: Being a reference and a guide to my students-while avoiding being a theoretician without practical resources-is what motivates me. I always try to ensure my syllabus has content and practical meaning to stimulate my students. I also try to set an example for my students, both as a person and as a professional, and connect with them as much as possible. After graduation, many of my students working in the industry consult me and inform me of their professional advances.

I am also motivated by having the ability to make educational visits to industrial companies and to invite professionals to my classroom to give my students a master class.

Susan Lee, lecturer at the Centre for English Language Communication, National University of Singapore: Meeting new students, testing iterations of teaching approaches, and refreshing and customizing content that reflects dynamic changes in reality are all immensely rewarding experiences of teaching term after term. It always excites me to motivate students to learn and apply skills in their world immediately.

It's a priority for me that students recognize the relevance and usefulness of classroom learning in authentic settings. This includes integrating examples that are current and of interest to my students. Often, these are drawn from research and reflections of related trends and news. Last year, as the demand for office space fell during the pandemic, I created a proposal-writing task that required real estate students to suggest ways to re-configure office spaces for lease. Discussing real-world challenges and relevance motivates students to communicate their ideas more persuasively.

Nellie El Enany, assistant professor, School of Business, The American University in Cairo: I get excited about learning new things-whether it be through podcasts, documentaries, or the news-and always want to share what I learn with my students. I want to not only teach my students and pass on invaluable information, but also inspire them, particularly when it relates to how they can be activists-social or corporate-and changemakers in society.

Before the start of term, I always think about classes that were fantastic. I wonder if they will be the same and hope that they will be even better, and perhaps that desire to make each term more exciting and innovative than previous ones is what drives me to start all over again with a new dose of passion.

"I became more active in participating in academic events and programming-working with my departments on critical initiatives and offering myself as a resource."

Lilian Ajayi-Ore

"I am often refreshed and recharged with a mini routine change or engagement in novel challenges. Learning something new is my energy booster."

Exequiel (Zeke) Hernandez is the Max and Bernice Garchik Family Presidential Associate Professor at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. He studies how global networks created by human migration and corporate partnerships affect the innovation, internationalization, and performance of organizations. He has won three Emerging Scholar awards and was selected by Poets & Quants as one of the Best 40 Under 40 business professors in the world. He also provides training to executives from leading companies globally.

Lilian Ajayi-Ore is a faculty member at Columbia University and New York University School of Professional Studies. She teaches digital marketing, interactive marketing, and data analytics. She is also a digital marketing strategist and big data analytics executive with over 16 years of industry expertise helping brands and organizations identify key market trends and implement marketing strategies.

Pedro Monagas Asensio is a STEM education professor and research professor at the Polytechnic University of Catalonia, Spain, CRESCA Food Safety and Control Research Center.

Susan Lee is a lecturer at the Centre for English Language Communication, National University of Singapore. She designs and facilitates workshops on English as a medium of instruction, professional communication, job interviews, networking, and internship preparation. Besides communication-related subjects, Lee is currently teaching a Critique and Expression module she developed on film adaptation.

Nellie El Enanyis an assistant professor in the School of Business at The American University in Cairo. El Enany teaches human resource management, entrepreneurship and innovation, international business, and entrepreneurial leadership for solving critical global issues. El Enany's research interests center on issues of identity, including identity construction, stigma, legitimacy, and identity work.

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What Motivates You to Teach-and Inspires You When You Need a Boost

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We recently asked our educators to share what motivates you to come back to the classroom each term-no matter the challenges-and what strategies you use to give yourself a burst of inspiration when needed. Here's what you had to say.

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TOP Motivational Video for TEACHERS | Professional Development | Jeremy Anderson

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Student Motivation - 20 Ways Teachers can Motivate their Learners

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What makes a good teacher great? | Azul Terronez | TEDxSantoDomingo

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Every kid needs a champion | Rita Pierson | TED

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Best Motivational Speaker For TEACHERS | Professional Development  | Jeremy Anderson

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Improving teacher motivation has been on the forefront of many administrators' agendas for some time now-whether that's because of the alarming teacher turnover rate or because teachers tend to forget about their own needs. Whatever the case may be, longevity in the field of education is dependent upon us teachers, and if we want to avoid burnout, we must stay motivated.

Here are a few teacher motivation strategies that have worked for me.

1. Set Daily Intentions

There was a moment in my career when my motivation was severely lacking. I felt tired and drained because I was teaching during the day and pursuing my master's degree at night-I was definitely getting burned-out. I brought up these concerns with a colleague, and she suggested that I start setting intentions for the day each morning before I even got out of my bed. I had to clearly determine what I wanted to achieve that day, such as intending to stay calm when things got loud or taking time to get to know my students better, and then set out to achieve that goal. Each morning I would think of what I wanted to achieve and then at night, before I went to sleep, I would check back with myself to make sure I achieved my goal. After about a week or so of setting intentions, I found that this trick did in fact help motivate me.

2. Update Your Workspace

For years, people have talked about how the way offices and personal workspaces are decorated has a direct effect on employees' productivity and motivation. But I didn't realize how much of a difference it could make until I updated my own space. I was once losing motivation and having trouble concentrating when spending time at my desk. I decided to surround myself with things that made me happy. From pictures of my family and pets to my favorite flowers and inspirational decor, I took control of my workspace and created an environment that truly motivated me.
Further reading: 10 Ways to Avoid Teacher Burnout
3. Embrace Motivational Quotes

One of my favorite motivation strategies is to read, post, and display inspirational quotes about teaching-such as "Teachers who love teaching teach children to love learning" or "Today you lead the school, tomorrow your students will lead the world." These quotes inspire me to keep going because they remind me why I chose this career path in the first place, and they encourage me to be the best educator I can be.

4. Try Something New

Oftentimes, teachers feel unmotivated when they've been doing the same routine for a long time. I've found that changing things up a bit is a great motivator. For example, I used to start the day with my students doing seat work. As I got into yoga in my personal life, I decided to start the school day with a morning yoga session. The students would come into the classroom, and we'd have a quick morning meeting followed by a yoga sequence. Sometimes all you need to do to stay motivated is change up your routine or add something new and exciting to your day.
Further reading: How Do You Grow Your Teaching Career (Video)
Teaching is a profession where you must stay motivated, so take matters into your own hands. Once you do, you'll realize that self-motivation is the best motivation of all! How do you stay motivated in the classroom? Share your tips in the comments below.

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Feeling Burned Out? 4 Teacher Motivation Tips to Keep You Going

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Improving teacher motivation has been on the forefront of many administrators' agendas for some time now-whether that's because of the alarming teacher turnover rate or because teachers tend to forget about their own needs. Whatever the case may be, longevity in the field of education is dependent upon us teachers, and if we want to avoid burnout, we must stay motivated.

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Throughout my years teaching middle school, I have had the experience of seeing many "work refusals". These are the situations when kids, for a variety of reasons, just refuse to start the work you give them. They might shut down and rest their head on their desk or lash out in anger, shouting about how they just will not complete your assignment. This can be extremely frustrating for educators, especially when teaching a well-designed lesson that you thought would go so well! Let me say that sometimes our lessons themselves can have little or no impact on whether or not a student refuses to work. There are quite often bigger challenges at play that we'll delve into. Quite honestly, even with a special education background, my college and training did not really prepare me for what to do when students refuse to work. These are skills and strategies I had to develop on the ground running while working with young adults. It's an area I'm especially passionate about because all kids deserve to learn and feel good about themselves. It's always important to remember that kids who are refusing are reaching out for help in some way, and you CAN be the one to help them.

Let me say that we ALL have bad days here and there! If a student puts their head down during a lesson and won't finish an assignment because of a headache, it doesn't mean you need to sound the alarm. This article specifically focuses on the students who repeatedly refuse to complete work and need specific targeted strategies to help them overcome these challenges.

What does work refusal look like? Really, it can be different for every student. Some students put their heads down and don't pick them up, despite encouragement and prompting. Other students will look you straight in the eyes and say, "I'm NOT doing it!" while they are clearly expecting a response from you! Other kids might just ignore your directions completely and continue doing what they want to do, whether that is coloring, reading, or any other activity they are engaged in. All of these behaviors are work refusals because they are avoiding doing the tasks that the adult is expecting.

What are the reasons for work refusal? If a student is outwardly refusing to do work in the classroom, there is always a reason. Quite often, we don't know the individual reasons. Some students have had a history of trauma. Again, we may or may not know about the potential trauma. Other students might be dealing with social or emotional challenges at home or in their personal life. Some examples might include a family divorce, a new baby at home, the death of a family member, and feelings of loneliness with a parent working increased hours. Those truly are just a few small examples. Sometimes, when the challenges in a child's life become so difficult for them, they can have a need to control parts of their life that they can control (like doing work in school or not). Some learners might be diagnosed with oppositional defiant disorder, while others aren't. Other times, a child or teen may truly be bored and not interested in the topics. Regardless of the actual reason, it's important to take a step back and recognize that the child or young adult is struggling with SOMETHING, whether or not we can see it. Thinking in this way encourages educators to be solution-focused, which is what really matters anyway.

Important note: This entire article is intended to be a bank or toolbox of strategies for teachers to consider when kids are struggling. I know that classroom teachers cannot do it all, and they shouldn't be expected to. Schools need to support educators in these tough situations, and that includes support from admin and other support staff. Additionally, the biggest changes are made when the teachers, families, and the student work together. Please know that if you are dealing with these very challenging classroom situations, I want to have your back, not put more on your plate.

Strategies are meant as supports. They're interventions and techniques you can put in place to try and work towards your goal of helping the student get back on track. However, strategies are not a magic wand. They might take time to work or some won't work for your particular learner. And even the most perfect classroom management and support strategies won't fix every problem or challenge. With all that said, strategies can make a difference for your struggling learner. When you're not sure what direction to go, they're worth a try. There is no one-size-fits-all approach, so it is about finding what works for you and your learners. With all that said, I hope you can find some of these strategies and ideas helpful.
Here are some simple do's and don'ts for kids who refuse to do work: DON'T:

Don't just punish. If a child or young adult is struggling with some social or emotional challenges at the moment, a punishment is only going to push them away further. Your punishment will appear as harsh, mean, and uncaring. I know that educators do not intend for punishments to feel that way, but for many students, they do, including those with trauma in their past. This isn't to say you should "let the student get away" with any behavior. Instead, you can use logical consequences, which I explain below.

Don't send the student out of the room. I can't stress this enough! As an educator, I know this is sometimes a preferred option because it deals with the situation swiftly. It does not fix the problem, though. In fact, it will most likely make it worse in the long-term. The student might feel anger and resentment towards you. The message you are sending is that you can't deal with the situation and you need to send the student out to another teacher or the principal. If a student is just sitting at their desk and refusing to work, it should not be a reason to send them out of class. Kids and young adults are getting much more education being in your room and hearing the discussions than being in the principal's office.

Don't get in a power struggle. No one ever wins in a power struggle! So much energy is wasted is wasted and even if the student eventually complies, it will be filled with resentment. Read up on more ways to avoid power struggles.

Don't just assume the child is lazy. So many times, it is often actually easier for the child to comply and do their work and refuse. So, it's clear that there is something else in play. Reframe your thinking to remember that the child is struggling and needs your support.

Don't act out of frustration or anger. When you start to feel frustrated due to a child's behavior, remember this phrase: "He's not giving me a hard time, he's having a hard time." There is no shame in taking a deep breath and walking away from a situation. As adults, it's important we are calm and collected so we can make the best choices in each situation. It's okay to feel frustrated with a situation, just don't act on that frustration.

Don't use threats. You might be tempted to say things like, "If you don't do your work, I'm going to call your parents," or "Finish this or you can't go to gym." Sometimes, these threats can only make a student dig their heels in deeper and you might regret what you've said later on. Instead, be mindful about what you say and make sure your consequences fit the crime.

Don't embarrass the student. Again, publicly calling the student out might result in a power struggle or escalating the situation. Instead, consider ways to privately support the student to help both of you get what you need.

Do:

Keep teaching. Just because a student doesn't lift their pencil up, doesn't mean they're not listening and learning. Continue teaching, talking, and even involving that student if they want to participate. Remember that the ultimate goal is to educate the student, not force them to work. If they are in the classroom, keep teaching them!

Give wait time. When a student refuses work at first, sometimes all they need is a little wait time. It's okay to let them have their head down or keep their arms crossed. Give some time and wait to see if they come around within 5 minutes or so.

Ignore the small behaviors. If the student crumples up the paper, breaks their pencil, or scribbles all over it, avoid the impulse to tell the student they shouldn't do that or give any further instructions. When things like this happen, the student is either agitated or attention-seeking. One intervention that will help in this instance is just giving space.

Be reflective. Consider what you could be doing that might be triggering the student to refuse to work. For example, are you using a harsh tone? Did you embarrass the student by calling them out for something right before? Sometimes, there isn't anything apparent, but it's always worth considering first!

Focus on the relationship. For many kids, relationship is everything. Put the work aside for a bit. Spend time with your student during lunch, talk with them after class, and really just get to know them. Teach them about you as a person, too! Once a relationship is built, many times your students will have a much easier time working for you because they know you care. This isn't a quick process, but it's always important and worth it. Read up on more ways to build relationships with kids and young adults.

Consider learning challenges. Sometimes students refuse work due to social and emotional challenges, but other times it might be because they think the work is just too hard for them. Consider if the student needs interventions with reading, writing, or math. Sometimes learners might even need direction instruction with executive functioning skills to help them get started and work through challenges. If you are a regular educator, consider discussing the student with the special education teacher or interventionist to get some ideas and strategies.

Meet with the student privately. It's important that this is seen as supportive and not punitive. Talk to the student, ask them what's going on, and problem-solve about how you could help. You might say, "I noticed your morning work isn't being finished, what is going on with that?" When meeting with a student who is struggling to complete work, the most important thing is to just listen! Try to avoid interjecting your own thoughts about what's happening or giving your point of view. Let the student talk and sometimes you might be amazed at what you learn. Perhaps the student shares that they hate where they sit because someone keeps talking to them, or that they haven't been getting any sleep at night due to a crying baby. Be open-minded, listen, and be prepared to problem-solve with the student to help them.

Use logical consequences (and consider them ahead of time). Logical consequences are outcomes from behavior that make sense. For example, if a student is refusing to finish their morning work, a logical consequence would be using some break time later in the day to finish at least 5 problems or sending it home as homework to be done later.

Discuss those consequences with the student. Consequences shouldn't be a surprise to your student. Let them know ahead of time in a positive way. For example, you might say to the whole class, "Everyone needs to finish their work so we can finish watching the rest of the movie."

Use de-escalation strategies to help calm the situation. In the moment, it can quickly become a power struggle when a student outwardly tells you they are not doing the work. It is critical to know how to de-escalate a situation. My favorite strategy has always been saying, "Let's talk about this later." It gives you the perfect way out of a heated situation with a student while letting other students around know you're not ignoring the behavior, you're just dealing with it later. Read up on more de-escalation strategies and use this free printable de-escalation strategy worksheet.

Give choices. For students who struggle with work completion, consider giving limited choices for assignments. Limiting the number to two is usually best so that it's not overwhelming, but it still gives control and choice. You might say, "Would you rather write about this prompt in your journal or draw a scene from the text and write a sentence about it?"

Consider reducing work. Another one of my favorite ways to give choice is to allow the student to choose which 10 problems they will finish. Similarly, you might ask the student to complete only 1 of the 3 essay questions. Sometimes educators have argued that this is making it too easy on the student. Of course, the ultimate goal is to get the student back to completing all the work, without a doubt. However, when a student is outright refusing to do work, completing just one item over none is a success. We all have to start somewhere.

Use student interests. Find out topics the student enjoys doing and learning about. That might be anything: soccer, dirt bikes, drawing, animals, dance, or even a certain television show. The topics and ideas are endless. Then, use bits of those topics in your instruction to hook the learner and help them feel more interested.

Provide accommodations. Giving accommodations doesn't necessarily make an assignment easier, it just gives more options for how the student approaches the task. Allow a student struggling with reading to listen to audio books. If a student isn't writing, allow them access to a laptop. Give out a calculator to a student who gets fatigued with math problems (provided the math skill isn't calculations themselves). Give a word bank, provide multiple choices, let the student use manipulatives, and so on.

Take turns. In line with accommodations, one simple strategy to try (when you can) is to take turns writing and completing problems with the student. For example, you can complete the first problem and write it down on the student's paper. It helps to think aloud while you're solving the problem, as this models the behaviors you want to see. Then, have the student complete the second problem. Next, you would complete the third and so on. This is a more collaborative approach that sometimes eases kids and teens into working and finishing their assignments.

Think about trends. Is the work refusal only happening during math? Or maybe during partner work? Maybe it's only in the morning or in the afternoon? Think about these trends and really delving into the data can help inform your judgements about what's really going on.

Plan breaks. All kids and teens need a break sometimes. Consider adding a preferred activity right after the assignment you want your student to complete. Another option is to schedule meaningful brain breaks.

Provide different writing utensils. This idea seems crazy, but sometimes it works! Give options for writing such as gel pens or colored pencils instead of just a plain old pencil. Sometimes, the freshness of a new tool can help kids get over that road block of starting. It's worth a try.

Consider interventions for task initiation. Our skills for task initiation are like the motor that starts us up. When kids and young adults lack these skills to get started, it can be extremely frustrating for everyone involved. Sometimes, kids don't actually know HOW to start a challenging task or assignment. It's important to consider if these skills are lacking when a child or young adult isn't completing work, because they can be taught. Read up more on this blog post focused on interventions for task initiation skills.

Create an incentive plan, if needed. Sometimes educators are opposed to incentives plans, and I agree they shouldn't always be a first strategy. However, there is a time when they can a struggling student work towards their goals. You might develop a contract that outlines what the student is responsible for and what incentives the student will get by completing work. A contract sets the tone that you will stick to your word so you expect that the student makes an effort to do the same. Find out what the student would like to work for, remembering that each individual student is motivated by different things (I've had some students who want silent drawing time and others who want to help the custodian, for example). My favorite way to find this out is by using a reward inventory. You can visit here to see more about my reward inventories, behavior plans, and contracts.

Collaborate with families. It's important to note that the first time you call the family shouldn't be to mention that the student isn't working. I'm a huge believer in always calling to share something positive first. With that said, it is important to share concerns about students who are struggling to work in class. Be mindful of how you communicate this with families, too. Rather than saying the child is "refusing to work," share that they are "struggling with getting started even on assignments that are at their level." Collaborate to discuss if anything is going on outside of home with the child and if there are any other strategies you as the educator can try. Often, parents are more than willing to talk with their child and sometimes (definitely not always) this even fixes the issue from the start.

Focus on your own self-care. This is definitely not stressed enough in the world of education. Working with students who are refusing to work can be emotionally draining. Take time to focus on yourself when you can. You can't pour from an empty cup.

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What To Do When a Student Refuses to Work

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Throughout my years teaching middle school, I have had the experience of seeing many "work refusals". These are the situations when kids, for a variety of reasons, just refuse to start the work you give them.

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The Ultimate Classroom Management Plan for Secondary Teachers

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A classroom management plan is a necessity for any teacher and should include a core classroom management philosphy and classroom management strategies for organization, student engagement and rapport, core polcies, procedures, systems and more!

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As an educator, you're constantly navigating changes and challenges. From dealing with sudden schedule shifts to managing student behavior, you have a lot to juggle each day. On top of it all, you're trying to keep up with the needs of your students and your own life.

It's understandable if you feel overwhelmed. You may be looking for ideas on how to practice self-care - or how to find time to practice self-care. To help with this, we asked our Understood Teacher Fellows to share ways they take care of themselves.

Here are five ideas for practicing self-care as a teacher.

1. Set and maintain boundaries.

From planning lessons to calling families, teachers often take their work home with them. But it's important to schedule your day to include an actual end time, as well as time for breaks and self-care practices.

Students often use graphic organizers and visual schedules to organize information. Those same tools can help you process your thoughts and prioritize tasks - whether in the classroom or at home.

For example, when-then sentences can help you set and maintain boundaries. You might write, " When I finish writing the class newsletter, then I take a short walk." Post your when-then sentences near your work station as a visual reminder of your self-care commitments.

Shira Moskovitz, a fifth-grade special education inclusion teacher in Sunnyside, New York, has a suggestion for setting boundaries: "Schedule time for meals, and actually turn off the computer during that time."

2. Acknowledge moments of gratitude or joy.

Look for moments of joy and connection and hold on to them. Try writing down humorous moments, something that made you smile, or something you're thankful for.

You can write these moments in a journal or jot them down on a note on your desk. You can also share these moments with your students and ask them to share their own.

3. Reflect on your feelings and needs.

It's important to recognize and name your emotions. When you're aware of a new feeling, take a moment to reflect:

Name the feeling and why you may be feeling that way.

Think about what you might need at that moment and in the future.

For example, you might say, "I'm feeling overwhelmed because there's a lot of information about new technology my school is using. I need a five-minute break. Then, I need to write down my questions and identify a person on my team to problem-solve with."

You also may want to schedule a time in your day to reflect on your emotions and needs. Journaling, art, music, and other creative outlets can help you process how you're feeling.

"Take time for yourself each day to do something that is not technology-related," says Stephanie Doyle, a third-grade language arts teacher in Roanoke, Virginia. "Take a walk, sit outside, read your favorite book, go on a hike, exercise, or just hang out with your family doing something enjoyable."

4. Recognize what is and isn't in your control.

With a rapidly changing world, it can seem like there are more questions than answers. This can cause worry and anxiety. One way to gain perspective is to recognize what is within your control and what isn't.

For example, you might worry about how being exposed to stressful or bad news affects your students' learning. Consider making a simple T-Chart to write down what is and isn't in your control: One thing in your control is the ability to provide your students with a sense of security through classroom routines. One thing outside of your control is how much news kids are exposed to outside of school.

5. Use self-care routines throughout your day.

Starting and ending your day with self-care practices can be very helpful. Consider starting your day with a guided meditation and ending your day with gentle stretches.

And throughout the day, aim for small moments of self-care: Stop to reflect on your feelings when you're upset. Pay attention to self-talk. Can you talk to yourself the way you would talk to a friend? Remind yourself what is in your control when you're anxious.

Looking for more self-care strategies to get started?

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Practicing self-care: 5 tips for teachers

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Learn five self-care routines for teachers. Get tips for how to practice self-care during busy teaching days.

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Learn to shine bright- the importance of self care for teachers. | Kelly Hopkinson | TEDxNorwichED

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"The strength of our student relationships makes the difference in translating our passion for teaching into their passion for learning." ~ Beth Morrow
Teaching is one of the most challenging professions because it involves working with young people whose brains are still developing and who may struggle with their behavior and in interactions with fellow students and teachers.

At Alludo Learning, we provide dynamic professional learning environments for teachers. While many of the missions in our Content Catalog are focused on pedagogical knowledge, we also believe in teacher self-care, which can help to improve teacher retention rates.

One topic that we have made it a point to include involves learning how to set healthy classroom boundaries. Here is our explanation of why classroom boundaries are essential, plus nine examples of boundaries that teachers should implement in the classroom.

Table of Contents

1. Why Are Boundaries Important for Teachers?

1. Boundaries Foster Healthy Teacher-Student Relationships

2. Boundaries Ensure Student Safety and Build Positive Environments

2. How Can Teachers Set Boundaries with Students?

1. Define What's Appropriate and Aligns with Personal Values

2. Set Boundaries Early in the Term (in Most Cases)

3. 9 Examples of Classroom Boundaries

4. How Do Teachers Deal with Students Who Don't Respect Personal Boundaries?

1. Be Direct and Empathetic

2. Regulate Your Emotions

3. Compromise When Necessary

4. Listen to Intuition

5. Enforce Consequences

5. Alludo's Take

Why Are Boundaries Important for Teachers?

The topic of boundaries is one that often comes up in therapy but doesn't get mentioned often enough in the workplace. That should change because when teachers set healthy boundaries in the classroom, they're modeling boundary-setting for their students.

Boundaries Foster Healthy Teacher-Student Relationships

Boundary setting is one element of social emotional learning (SEL) and something that once learned, will help students throughout their lives.

When we conducted our survey to create our Teacher Happiness Report, we found that having good relationships with students was an essential component of teacher happiness. Teachers specifically said that having opportunities to innovate and have an impact were particularly important to them, and those are both things that can happen more easily when teachers set healthy boundaries.

Boundaries Ensure Student Safety and Build Positive Environments

Another reason that teachers should set boundaries in the classroom is that good boundaries help to keep students safe and keep classrooms a pleasant place to learn. When disruptive behavior isn't managed properly, it can negatively impact everybody in the classroom.

Setting firm and reasonable boundaries lets students know what's expected of them and puts everybody in the class on the same level in terms of expectations. Everybody knows what and what not to do and that makes it possible for the teacher to manage other aspects of the environment more easily.

How Can Teachers Set Boundaries with Students?

There are some boundaries between students and teachers that exist thanks to school and district rules. When that's the case, it's still the responsibility of teachers to maintain those boundaries. It's also teachers' responsibility to create and articulate other boundaries.

Define What's Appropriate and Aligns with Personal Values

Before any teacher can set a boundary with students, they need to consider both what's appropriate and what aligns with their personal values. For example, some teachers might feel comfortable giving out their personal phone number to students; others may not. Those who do will need to spell out when it is appropriate to use that number.

It's essential at this stage to define the parameters of the boundary for the teacher's comfort. Spelling out the specifics will help the teacher communicate and enforce the boundary with students. A teacher who gives out their phone number to students might tell students only to use it between certain hours or only for specific circumstances. Boundary planning should also include setting consequences for violations while keeping student development in mind.

Set Boundaries Early in the Term (in Most Cases)

Boundaries work best when they are introduced at the beginning of a relationship, so teachers should plan accordingly. Lay out boundaries for students clearly, making it specific what is expected of them and what the consequences will be if they disregard a boundary. It's best to set the boundary using positive language rather than negative language because students are more likely to comply. For example, "You'll get some free time if you finish the assignment by 10:15" rather than "You'll lose your free time if you don't finish the assignment by 10:15."

Of course, life doesn't always go according to plan. Sometimes, a teacher may find it necessary to create a new boundary when something happens to require one. In that case, the boundary should be communicated as quickly as possible after the event.

You can communicate a new boundary with three simple steps:

1. State what the boundary is

2. Explain what will happen if the boundary is violated

3. Tell students what you would like to do instead

Clear communication is essential because students will understand exactly what is being requested of them.

9 Examples of Classroom Boundaries

Here are some examples of healthy classroom boundaries for teachers to use:

1. Courtesy. All students will treat one another and the teacher with courtesy and respect. For younger students, teachers may need to add specificity (no name calling, for example) to make sure kids understand.

2. Honesty. A teacher may promise to always be honest with students and to ask the same in return.

3. Promptness. All students will arrive at class on time and complete assignments on time. The teacher should specify steps for the student to take if they feel they won't be able to complete an assignment by its due date.

4. No touching. Both young children and teens may need a boundary that prevents them from inappropriate or aggressive touching.

5. No cross-talk. Cross-talk and interrupting are both issues in the classroom and teachers can make it clear that only one person has the floor at any given time.

6. Productivity. When students are given time to work, they should be working. This boundary may require some specificity around what a student may do if they finish an in-class assignment early.

7. Personal time. If a teacher allows students to contact them personally outside of class time, it's essential to specify when (which hours) and why students may contact you. This boundary may also be useful for teachers and parents.

8. Responses. It's common for teachers to give students or parents their email address, but there should be a reasonable time frame for the teacher to respond. A healthy boundary might say that the teacher will respond within 24 hours or only before 8:00 at night on a school night.

9. Behavior outside the classroom. Teachers who live in small communities may often run into students or parents outside of school. A good boundary to set would be that there's no discussion of school in public or during chance encounters.

Articulating boundaries like these can help teachers maintain a peaceful and happy classroom environment and minimize behavioral issues with students.

How Do Teachers Deal with Students Who Don't Respect Personal Boundaries?

When a student crosses a boundary, there are things the teacher can do to respond and they can vary depending on the boundary that was violated, why it was violated, and the specific circumstances.

Be Direct and Empathetic

If one or more students violate a boundary, the teacher should deal with it directly and empathetically. Individual students should be addressed one-on-one. Try to find out what's going on with the student and explain what they need to do differently.

Regulate Your Emotions

As a teacher, it may be tempting to waive boundaries when a student asks for help, but it's not always healthy to do so. It's important to remember that you are the one setting the boundaries and in most cases, it's best not to make exceptions.

Compromise When Necessary

Boundaries don't always need to be carved in stone. If a student is in genuine distress, the teacher may need to make an exception to a boundary for the well-being of the student. For example, a student might need to meet with a teacher outside of the usual classroom hours and in some cases, that may be a reasonable request.

Listen to Intuition

Intuition is a powerful tool and listening to it can help teachers make decisions when they're unclear about how to react to a student ignoring a boundary. A gut-check moment can help teachers understand what's required.

Enforce Consequences

While it's important to be compassionate, it's also necessary for teachers to follow through on the consequences of a boundary violation. Boundaries are meaningless without consequences and students won't respect the boundaries set by teachers if the teacher backs down.

Alludo's Take

At Alludo, it's our mission to provide teachers with the opportunity to learn and grow. We do it by incorporating elements of gamification into our dynamic learning environment and making it easy for teachers to participate in professional development.

Because we understand the importance of boundaries, we have included microlearning activities and missions related to boundary-setting in the Alludo Professional Development Content Catalog. Our Setting Boundaries mission includes activities to help teachers set boundaries with students, colleagues, and parents. Setting boundaries with all parties contributes to teacher happiness and job satisfaction, helping school districts to minimize teacher turnover and burnout.

Help Teachers in Your District Set Healthy Classroom Boundaries with Alludo

When teachers understand how to set healthy classroom boundaries, they can focus on what's most important: connecting with students and helping them learn and grow. The nine boundaries we've listed here are a jumping-off point to help teachers understand which boundaries are needed and how to maintain them.

Experience personalized learning for all levels of educators with a free trial of Alludo's professional development platform. You'll enjoy:

Hundreds of core topics

Asynchronous microlearning activities

Timely and specific feedback

Analytics that show learning impact

Access anytime, anywhere

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9 Examples of Boundaries to Implement in the Classroom

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When teachers understand how to set healthy classroom boundaries, they can focus on connecting with students and helping them learn and grow.

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Like a lot of teachers, one of my biggest sources of happiness is making other people happy.

As a kid, nothing pleased me more than volunteering for a classroom job, and nothing broke my heart more (and made me cry) than feeling like I had disappointed someone.

My people-pleasing tendencies continued into adulthood, where yeses became the currency I doled out to seek approval. Could I lead a hike for new teachers on my day off? Of course! Was I willing to take on that new club at lunch? Absolutely! In my mind, making people happy meant I was doing something right.

What I began to realize is that making other people happy sometimes came at the expense of my own needs.

Leading a hike meant I didn't have time for a solo run, and letting kids into my classroom at lunch meant I lost the time I had at midday to recharge. Eventually, I became more tired and less present both in my classroom and outside of it.

And, like many teachers, I was told to practice "self-care." It's a current buzzword, particularly after difficult pandemic school years. Unfortunately, many people think they can give "self-care" to teachers by gifting scented candles or sending a meditation app. While those things can be nice-I love my Calm app!-actual "self-care" means focusing on myself. I can't actually practice self-care if I say yes to everything.

Drawing clear boundaries is a much more difficult part of self-care practice that many people, especially educators, struggle with. Focusing on ourselves is already hard, but it's especially hard in a profession whose culture is built around concepts of service or, even, sacrifice.

It took conversations with my therapist, lots of reading, and becoming a mom to realize my concept of boundaries needed to be reframed. I had always seen boundaries as creating distance. Instead, boundaries are a way of showing trust, care, and confidence. Setting clear boundaries means that I not only trust them to respect me but that I trust myself enough to know what I actually need.

The Boundary Equation

Once I saw boundaries in this way, it became easier to practice. The "no" didn't have to feel mean. I use this equation: Appreciation/validation + a clear statement of my needs = healthy boundary. With students, I make it a point to validate their feelings as well as explain the reasons for my boundary. Here's what it looks like in a few different scenarios:

You're asked to participate in a new committee: "Thanks so much! I'd love to, but with my other commitments, I wouldn't be able to engage in a meaningful way. It's best if I pass."

You're selected to lead a Saturday morning training: "Thanks for asking. I'm not available, so let's find another time."

Students want to meet with you or stay in your room when you're unavailable: "I appreciate that you want to be in here, but I need to prepare for class. Staying here is not an option." Note: This year, I posted my classroom boundaries for my students so they had a clear understanding from the outset.

Being clear about my needs gives both of us the opportunity to have a deeper, richer relationship because they trust me to be transparent instead of just saying yes and not fully participating. I found most people understanding and appreciative of my honesty. Wringing someone's arm doesn't feel good.

When Others Don't Honor Your Boundaries

Of course, there are times when the other person has still been insistent about crossing boundaries-including my students. This is when it's important to remember that setting boundaries not only allows me to be fully present, but also models the practice for my child and students. I want my kid and my students to clearly and confidently state their boundaries as well, even when it feels hard to do so-including with me! I remember this when someone pushes on a boundary I've chosen, and simply continue to say, "I appreciate you telling me that. This is what I'm capable of doing," before restating my boundary.

It's also important to remember every situation is nuanced. There are times when I have to work outside of the normal boundaries I set for myself because the context calls for it, and there are a few occasions where, if I'm the adult in the situation, I've pushed past boundaries (my kid sometimes doesn't like diaper changes, and yet ...). I focus more on boundaries as a way for us to use a sense of shared respect and care of my and others' needs.

While there are times it feels tempting to still "sacrifice," I remember that if I'm burnt out, it actually hurts my ability to care for others. People who know I'm in a role of caring for others should want me to prioritize self-care (the real kind). That's the kind of relationship that is best not only for our students but for everyone in our community as well.

What kinds of boundaries do you set as a teacher? Let us know in the comments!

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How to Say No as a Teacher Without Feeling Mean

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As a teacher (and human), it can be hard to say no. Find out how to set boundaries as a teacher from one who even has an equation for it.

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To be the best for your students, you need to be the best you. And that can't happen without setting some boundaries for yourself. Find your balance and avoid burnout, stress, and that overwhelmed teacher vibe with some time management and self-care.

Start with these 5 key boundary-setting tips

1. Stick to a finite grading time.

It's easy to lose hours to school work. But too much time spent grading can lead to burnout faster for you and less quality feedback for your students. Your mind gets tired and you can become agitated. Feedback is important but, if it's not quality, there's no point in getting it back quickly.

Block out a couple of hours to work. And do your work. However, when the time is up, wrap it up. Stick to that time frame. On those rare nights when you find yourself with less work to do, get ahead. Put together those lesson plans for next week, or the week after. Stay on track and stay consistent, but stay within a time limit.

2. Schedule student help hours.

Being there for your students doesn't have to mean being there around the clock. Yes, you need to be mindful of the expectations of administrators when it comes to staying at school until a certain time, but you absolutely can determine a set schedule and encourage your students to come to you during those times for help or questions.

Post the times you are free during the day and available after school to provide support and guidance to your students. Let parents know that this is a good time for phone calls or emails with a letter home and/or post on your school's website.

Scheduling specific times in advance will ease the mind of your students and parents while encouraging them to seek out your help.

3. Stick to the rules. No exceptions.

No matter how empathetic you are or how sad your student's story may be, the truth is, when you start bending and breaking rules, everyone suffers. There is a fine line between understanding and enabling - and you need to stay well on the understanding side of that line.

Set clear and reasonable rules up front and simply follow them. If you say up front that you don't accept late work, then don't accept late work. It's really as simple as that. If you don't, you'll constantly be trying to decipher the legitimate circumstances from the excuses - and, as a caring and devoted teacher, it will weigh heavily on you. As hard as it is for you, set the rules. Stick to it. Protect your boundaries.

4. Take a non-negotiable break for yourself.

It's easy to get lost in all you have to do. Find time for yourself in your day and protect that like a mama bear guarding her cubs.

A break will help you tackle the rest of the day. Make your lunch adults-only. Choose one of your planning periods to be alone. Close your classroom door, go to the break room, or take a walk. Whatever is going to give you a break from the hectic nature of the day. You spend a lot of time with your students, so make sure you spend some time with yourself or with other adults too.

5. Make each day a fresh start.

Kids say the darndest things - and sometimes they are hurtful. You can't take it personally.

Discipline and managing student behavior is a difficult part of being a teacher. Holding on to the negative behavior of your students drains you. It makes each day harder, and each incident harder to deal with. Don't dismiss it, but don't wallow in it either. Start each day fresh, holding onto your positive attitude like you hold onto that first cup of coffee.

Creating boundaries and taking care of you is an important part of being a teacher. Let go of the guilt that can come with drawing lines in the sand. Protect your peace and find the balance you need to make it a great year for everyone in your classroom.
Ashley is an award-winning copywriter and content expert with more than a decade of proven results for national and local clients. From brainstorming high-end conceptual content to styling sentences that engage and convert, she's got a knack for shattering the status quo. When she's not in full-on writing mode, she's hanging out with her rascal of a puppy and discussing the plausibility of unicorns with her 8-year-old daughter.

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Tags: Mid-Career Teacher, New Teacher, Teacher Self-Care, Veteran Teacher

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Teachers: Set Boundaries to Protect Your Peace | Resilient Educator

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To be the best for your students, you need to be the best you. And that can't happen without setting some boundaries for yourself. Find your balance and avoid burnout, stress, and that overwhelmed teacher vibe with some time management and self-care. It's easy to lose hours to school work.

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After School Teacher Routine to Set Boundaries

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5 Boundaries I’ve Set as a Teacher That Have Changed My Life

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Teacher boundaries are important or you’ll end up exhausted, overwhelmed, stressed, and resentful. Here’s I started with one and build on.

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A Powerful Strategy for Fostering Student Motivation

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A look at how to adapt a well-established technique for boosting student motivation in distance learning or hybrid classrooms.

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Increasing Student Motivation & Participation | Center for Teaching Innovation

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Instructors have control over the learning environment, the course materials, teaching strategies, learning activities, and assessments. The way these are designed and aligned influence student motivation, which in turn impacts student learning.

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21 Simple Ideas To Improve Student Motivation

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While guidance from a teacher is important, allowing students to have choice and control is a useful strategy to improve student motivation.

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In operant conditioning, positive reinforcement involves the addition of a reinforcing stimulus following a behavior that makes it more likely that the behavior will occur again in the future. When a favorable outcome, event, or reward occurs after an action, that particular response or behavior will be strengthened.

One of the easiest ways to remember positive reinforcement is to think of it as something being added. By thinking of it in these terms, you may find it easier to identify real-world examples of positive reinforcement.

Sometimes positive reinforcement occurs quite naturally. For example, when you hold the door open for someone you might receive praise and a thank you. That affirmation serves as positive reinforcement and may make it more likely that you will hold the door open for people again in the future.

In other cases, someone might choose to use positive reinforcement very deliberately in order to train and maintain a specific behavior. An animal trainer, for example, might reward a dog with a treat after the animal shakes the trainer's hand and pauses for a count of five.

Examples of Positive Reinforcement

There are many examples of positive reinforcement in action. Consider the following examples:

After you execute a turn during a skiing lesson, your instructor shouts out, "Great job!"

At work, you exceed this month's sales quota, so your boss gives you a bonus.

For your psychology class, you watch a video about the human brain and write a paper about what you learned. Your instructor gives you 20 extra credit points for your work.

Can you identify the positive reinforcement in each of these examples?

The ski instructor offering praise, the employer giving a bonus, and the teacher providing bonus points are all positive reinforcers. In each of these situations, the reinforcement is an additional stimulus occurring after the behavior that increases the likelihood that the behavior will occur again in the future.

An important thing to note is that positive reinforcement is not always a good thing.﻿﻿ For example, when a child misbehaves in a store, some parents might give them extra attention or even buy the child a toy.

Children quickly learn that by acting out, they can gain attention from the parent or even acquire objects that they want. Essentially, parents are reinforcing the misbehavior.

In this case, a better solution would be to use positive reinforcement when the child is displaying good behavior. Instead of rewarding the misbehavior, the parents would want to wait until the child is behaving well and then reward that good behavior with praise, treats, or even a toy.

Different Types of Positive Reinforcers

There are many different types of reinforcers that can be used to increase behaviors, but it is important to note that the type of reinforcer used depends on the individual and the situation.

While gold stars and tokens might be very effective reinforcement for a second-grader, they are not going to have the same effect on a high school or college student.

Natural reinforcers: Occur directly as a result of the behavior. For example, a girl studies hard, she pays attention in class, and she does her homework. As a result, she gets excellent grades.

Social reinforcers: Involve expressing approval of a behavior, such as a teacher, parent, or employer saying or writing "Good job" or "Excellent work."

Tangible reinforcers: Involve presenting actual, physical rewards such as candy, treats, toys, money, and other desired objects. While these types of rewards can be powerfully motivating, they should be used sparingly and with caution.﻿﻿

Token reinforcers: Points or tokens that are awarded for performing certain actions. These tokens can then be exchanged for something of value.

When Is Positive Reinforcement Most Effective?

When used correctly, positive reinforcement can be very effective.﻿﻿ Positive reinforcement is most effective when it occurs immediately after the behavior. Reinforcement should be presented enthusiastically and should occur frequently.

A shorter time between a behavior and positive reinforcement, makes a stronger the connection between the two.

If a long period elapses between the behavior and the reinforcement, the weaker the connection will be.

The longer the time, the more likely it becomes that an intervening behavior might accidentally be reinforced.

In addition to the type of reinforcement used, the presentation schedule can also play a role in the strength of the response. These schedules of reinforcement can have a powerful influence on how strongly a response is and how often it occurs.﻿﻿

A Word From Verywell

Positive reinforcement can be an effective learning tool when used appropriately. Sometimes this type of learning occurs naturally through normal interactions with the environment.

In other cases, people are able to use this behavioral technique to help teach new behaviors. Some important things to consider when using positive reinforcement include the type of reinforcers that will be used and the schedule that will be employed to train the new behavior.

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Positive Reinforcement Can Help Favorable Behaviors

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In operant conditioning, positive reinforcement involves the addition of a reinforcing stimulus following a behavior that makes it more likely that the behavior will occur again in the future. When a favorable outcome, event, or reward occurs after an action, that particular response or behavior will be strengthened.

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A MiddleWeb Blog

The honeymoon is over. Or, at least, if you're like many teachers, it feels that way. Depending on where you live, you're 6-8 weeks into the school year. You're probably tired and the students in your care are probably beginning to make more poor choices than they did in those first blissful few weeks you were together.

Don't worry, it's normal. In fact, it's so normal that one of my favorite teacher bloggers, , has coined the acronym, DEVOLSON (The Dark, Evil Vortex of Late September, October and November) to describe how hard this season of the year can be.

One way to fight the pain of DEVOLSON is to refresh your systems for maintaining positive behavior in your classroom so that the hum of learning continues to sound sweet.

Ten Tips, Hints, and Reminders

1. When students misbehave, they are communicating with us. This is especially true for our "frequent fliers" - those kiddos who seem to test us all a great deal of the time. Try to listen. Get to the bottom of the need they are trying to meet. Is the student seeking attention? A sense of control? A release from fear of failure? Once you identify the need, you can work to proactively ward off poor behavior.

For more on identifying the need behind the behavior, order a copy of Cooperative Discipline by LInda Albert or read the series of short articles from Michigan State University. For strategies to be proactive in helping your students behave well, check out the PBIS World interactive page to find targeted strategies to promote good behavior (just click on your current issue!).

2. Misbehavior is an opportunity to teach. That's a good thing! That's what we do! The kids in our classes are going to run the world when we're old. We need to help them learn strong character traits such as respect, cooperation, assertion, empathy, and self-control. It may be hard but it will pay off for all of us in the long run. Nina Parish says it well in her Edutopia blog post,

"I found that thinking about behavior objectively, as a skill to be taught rather than simply as good or bad, was immensely helpful... Some children enter school without the self-regulation skills necessary for school success. We must meet these children where they are and teach them the skills they need to be successful in the classroom."

3. There is no point in thinking, "She should know better!" or saying, "I already taught that!" Kids do not yet have a fully developed prefrontal cortex; even if they wanted to always make good choices, it likely wouldn't be possible. We must model, reteach, and hold students accountable to the rules and values of the classroom.

This means developing consistent routines and procedures, modeling them, reteaching them often, and problem-solving with your class as a whole or individual students when needed. Angela Watson offers sage advice here, and seventh grade social studies teacher Stacey Belisle shares her method for collaborating to create and maintain rules and expectations here.

4. There is no shame in needing help. If you feel like you can't get through to your entire class or to a particular kid or two, reach out and ask for help. There is someone in your school who is good at and loves to work on ameliorating negative behaviors in students.

Watch an expert classroom manager in action, reach out to your principal, or get in touch with your school's behavior management/school improvement team, or your PLC. There is not going to be a panacea for every misbehavior, but you are more likely to find answers through collaboration than completely on your own.

5. Always remember that you deserve to be respected. Not only because you are a teacher but because you are a person. Enough said. If students are not showing you respect, demand it. The Power of Positivity blog can help you change the way you think and act so that you command respect.

6. When students misbehave, help them correct themselves by asking a series of questions. Try either of the two question sets below.

Set 1: What are you doing? What SHOULD you be doing? Will you please do that right now?

Set 2: Why do you think that is okay? Where did you learn to behave like that? Who in your life believes acting like that is okay? Can you stop behaving like that now, please?

7. The bottom line in classroom management and effective discipline is relationships! When we know our students as people and they know us, they are less likely to misbehave. Greet students in the halls and outside of your classroom. Get out in the community. Call, text, or email your students' families with good news or to share something interesting or funny they said. Reaching out to families for positive communication shows you truly care. Read about the power of a positive phone call.

8. Stay firm. Do not give "chances." Students must know we care about them enough to believe in them. As I always tell kids, "If I didn't love you, I'd let you get away with anything. But, darn your luck, I love you. It's my job to teach you to act right." Last week, a teacher at my school brought me some of the cherry tomatoes she grew in her garden. I bit into one of them and it was delicious!

I remarked, "Wow, Penny! These are the best tomatoes ever! They are firm and sweet!" Without missing a beat, Penny replied, "Yes! Firm and sweet, just like your discipline style and mine!" The point? Be a tomato! If there is a dichotomy between the descriptors firm and sweet, it's a false one.

9. Avoid giving your power away. While many principals (especially me!) are happy to collaborate, beware of using your administrator as a scare tactic (i.e.: If you do that again, I am going to send you to Mrs. Platt's office).

When the principal is viewed as a threat, there may be two unintended negative consequences. 1.) The office becomes a bad place. 2.) Students learn that the teacher is not the ultimate boss of them. Make sure kids know that YOU are in charge of your classroom. Read more on that concept in Jennifer Gonzalez' enlightening Cult of Pedagogy post.

10. HAVE FUN! LOTS OF FUN! Play, laugh, and dance with your kiddos! Whenever possible, incorporate games, jokes, and music into your lessons. Students who are happy are more open to learning, and that's the big picture goal, right?

Keep the mood of your classroom positive. When you feel like you might be getting frustrated or even angry with your class, step back and get your emotions under control. Read about strategies for keeping your classroom fun and even for using fun to teach discipline. Just as important, find strategies to keep yourself from losing your cool.

The Bottom Line

Educators, the truth is that without an orderly classroom where students understand and respect the rules, procedures, and expectations, teaching and learning are much harder endeavors. Yes, the meme to the right is, in part, true, but so is everything I shared above. Lead your classroom with heart and with smart tried-and-true strategies.

If you are interested in further reading, check out my recent post for Heart of the School. If you want a laugh, check out Principal Gerry Brooks ' videos on the essentials of classroom management. Funny stuff and some good advice too!

As always, I am interested in your thoughts. What are your best reminders, hints, and tips for classroom management? Please share in the comments. We're ALL better when we share ideas and collaborate!

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10 Tips for Maintaining Positive Student Behavior

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A MiddleWeb Blog The honeymoon is over. Or, at least, if you're like many teachers, it feels that way. Depending on where you live, you're 6-8 weeks into the school year. You're probably tired and the students in your care are probably beginning to make more poor choices than they did in those first blissful few weeks you were together.