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Teacher Language: Reinforcing, Reminding, Redirecting, and Envisioning

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Strategies for reinforcing good behavior, effectively reminding students, and redirecting when needed in educational settings.

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Advancing Social and Emotional Learning - CASEL

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CASEL is helping make evidence-based social and emotional learning an integral part of education, preschool through high school.

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10 Morning Meeting Games & Activities for the Elementary Classroom | Back to School Tips

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Elementary School

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IN DEPTH PLAN WITH ME || First Week of 2nd Grade || Back to School Lesson Plans

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Elementary School

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Teaching Procedures, Routines, and Rules During the First Week of School in Fourth Grade

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High School

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The First Day of High School: Establishing Classroom Expectations and Building Relationships

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High School

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How to Prepare for your First Day of Teaching - High School Teacher Tips

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The ultimate goal of education is to mold young people into well-rounded individuals. That often includes making sure that the teaching and learning process flows as smoothly as possible.

In theory, your role as a teacher is to plan and deliver your lessons, and everything will fall into place.

Unfortunately, theory doesn't always apply in the real world. Truth be told, getting children to settle down and behave as expected is often a job and a half.

That's where positive behavioral management strategies shine.

Let's talk about some behavior management strategies you can tap into to enhance student behavior and allow teaching and learning to proceed as planned.

1. Maintain a Routine

Having a set routine is an important behavior management tool that helps to establish guidelines and behavior expectations.

A routine ensures that students know what's coming next, so you'll spend less time giving out instructions-freeing up time to do the real work.

Include the students in establishing a class schedule that works for everyone and give them responsibility for some routine tasks.

Don't leave out the notoriously disruptive students in your schedule-more often, a sense of responsibility can help reduce behavior issues.

When a student starts to slide out of your planned routine, use non-verbal cues like hand gestures to remind students of what they should be doing. Avoid verbal cues to keep the lesson flow uninterrupted.

2. Set Rules Together With Students

Just like a routine, rules help improve student behavior. However, if the classroom teachers set the rules themselves, the class may reject them.

That's why it's important to have an audience with your class to help set the rules.

When children take ownership of the rules, peer pressure works in your favor to enforce them and improve behavior management.

Also, have a guideline for how infractions will be dealt with. These guidelines help remove the feeling of being punished, so students will know what to expect when they're called out about their behavior.

Remember to enforce the guidelines impartially and consistently. If you slack on the enforcement even once, you create a loophole that everyone will want to take advantage of.

It's also important to remember not to discipline the whole class for one student's infractions. For example, disrupting class proceedings to deal with one student. This will likely alienate the whole class, who will feel wrongfully punished.

3. Create Stimulating Lessons

Imagine sitting through a meeting where the facilitator drones on for hours on end. You will probably start fiddling with your keys or just zone out right in the middle of it.

That's exactly how students feel when lessons aren't exciting. Monotonous classes are sure to bring out the worst in your students. To get rid of bad behavior, make your class activities as exciting and stimulating as possible.

Structure your activities to engage and involve your learners throughout the lesson. Strive to allow your students to uncover knowledge with practical activities.

Most importantly, vary your teaching methods, use plenty of aids, and make the work as interactive and fun as you can.

You can draw the attention of younger students by incorporating games and using plenty of actions in your learning time. With older students, try to stay relatable, for example, by referencing modern music or movies.

4. Use Positive Language

Negative language has a way of reinforcing the wrong behavior. Typically, kids like to do what they are told not to do. So, rather than create a vicious cycle of behavior challenges, use positive language.

For example, instead of saying, "Stop throwing those paper airplanes," you can say instead, "Can we all focus and pay attention, please."

Positive language makes the students feel respected, leading to better behavior.

Plus, positive language will encourage the kids to start speaking positively. For example, instead of saying, "This work is too hard for me," they will begin to say, "I can try my best."

It's also important to keep your body language positive. Smile more and frown less often. Model the behavior you want to see in your students. Studies have shown that students learn from the language and behavior that educators display.

Some of the outcomes of positive language approaches include:

A safe learning environment

A sense of responsibility

Self-discipline

Self-motivation

5. Develop a Relationship With Your Students

Get to know your students individually. Take time to find out their interests and dislikes. If your lessons are centered around what the learners like, you will find it easier to keep them engaged.

Also, knowing your students will help you identify some triggers for behavioral problems. For example, if a student suddenly starts lashing out and talking over you in a lesson, they may be going through some personal problems at home or facing issues like bullying at school.

If you know a bit about the child, you may be able to figure out the root of the problem. Instead of punishing the bad behavior, you can talk to the student or point them in the direction of help; for example, get them to see the school counselor.

One way of developing a good relationship with your class is by speaking positively about them to their parents and administrators.

Use notes and calls to update their parents on their positive behavioral changes. Or have the principal or a senior administrator drop in to commend their good behavior. Your students are more likely to feel like you are looking out for them and continue to improve.

6. Adjust Your Scoring Methods

Getting an "F" on an assignment is demoralizing. Typically, students who get poor marks are disruptive in class and deliberately fall short of behavior expectations to deflect from the real issue.

If you are dealing with a similar scenario in your class, use a less standard scoring method for grading classwork.

For example, instead of grading a paper with a specific score, simply put check marks where they got it right and point out areas of improvement. This unconventional grading can help reduce the overwhelming feeling of poor grades.

You may also turn it into a game. Use points to grade papers and give some rewards when a student reaches a specific number of points. Treating scores like a fun game helps motivate students to focus and improve their scores.

Developing a Positive Behavior Management System for Your School

Many years ago, the trusted classroom management approach was authoritarian. Teachers routinely meted out punishment or used stern warnings to keep the class in line. However, this method has been proven to have many shortcomings.

For one, it breeds an atmosphere of fear, hindering kids from making progress in their studies. Secondly, studies have shown negative long-term effects like behavioral problems, low self-esteem, or depression.

That's why turning to positive behavior management techniques is critical. Positive behavior focuses on understanding your students, becoming a role model, and promoting wholesome behavioral development.

Imagine this scenario: a child is hanging from a tree cursing at his grandma, refusing to get into school. The principal's office is bursting at the seams with pupils in trouble for one infraction or the other, and it's not even time for recess yet!
Sounds incredible?
That's what Dr. Michael Perry had to deal with in his first year as principal at Critzer Elementary in Virginia.

But then, Positive Action came to his aid with a curriculum designed to instill positive behavioral change, plus training for educators in using positive behavioral management in the classroom.

The result was a phenomenal decrease in behavioral problems, safe classrooms, and thriving learners.
"Four years later, Critzer is profoundly transformed. The school is fully accredited, meeting and exceeding federal, state, and local standards. It ranks among the highest academic performing schools in its district, and halfway through this year there have only been two suspensions."
If you're facing behavioral problems in your school, turn to Positive Action.

Positive Action offers a full curriculum package, counselor kits, and school climate kits designed to help teachers, students, and school leaders to implement positive behavior management systems.

For a comprehensive turnaround of your school, contact Positive Action today.

Positive Action's programs are tried and tested.

Most importantly, all packages are engaging, easy to use, and set to transform the classroom and school environment to help shape your learners into well-behaved positive thinkers, and well-adjusted individuals.

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6 Behavior Management Strategies for Your Classroom in 2023

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Get ahead of the game with these upcoming trends and strategies for classroom behavior management. Learn to tackle the challenge of social awareness head-on and make your students thrive!

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Behavior modification is focused on bringing about permanent change in a student’s behavior that is observable. The difference in behavior must be what the teacher desires. This involves rein…

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Behavior modification assumes that observable and measurable behaviors are good targets for change. All behavior follows a set of consistent rules. Methods can be developed for defining, observing, and measuring behaviors, as well as designing effective interventions. Behavior modification techniques never fail. Rather, they are either applied inefficiently or inconsistently, which leads to less than desired change. All behavior is maintained, changed, or shaped by the consequences of that behavior. Although there are certain limits, such as temperamental or emotional influences related to ADHD or depression, all children function more effectively under the right set of consequences. Reinforcers are consequences that strengthen behavior. Punishments are consequences that weaken behavior. Students' behaviors are managed and changed by the consequences of classroom behavior. To manage behavior through consequences, use this multi-step process:

1. The problem must be defined, usually by count or description.

2. Design a way to change the behavior.

3. Identify an effective reinforcer.

4. Apply the reinforcer consistently to shape or change behavior.

Consequences of behavior are directly related to the events that either come immediately before or after them. Table 4.2 provides examples of behavioral outcomes as they relate to various events.

Model

Techniques emphasized

Preventative classroom management

Effective teaching practices, frequent monitoring, clear rules and procedures, social praise, and so forth

Prosocial behavior

Systematic reinforcement, modeling of prosocial behavior, verbal instruction, role playing

Moral education

Classroom moral discussions of real-life dilemmas, hypothetical situations, and literature; role playing; student participation in school government

Social problem solving (SPS)

Direct teaching of SPS skills (e.g. alternative thinking, means-ends thinking), self- instruction training, dialoguing

Effective communication models

Values clarification activities, active listening, communication and interpersonal skills training for students and teachers

Focusing on Correction and Control of Misbehavior

Behavior modification

Direct instruction; reinforcement techniques, including social praise, material reinforcers, and tokens; punishment-oriented techniques, including verbal reprimand, response cost, and time-out; group contingency techniques such as the Good Behavior Game; behavioral contracting

Assertive discipline

Teacher assertion, systematic use of behavior modification techniques, continuous monitoring

Reality therapy

Confrontation questioning, classroom meetings, classroom moral discussions, social problem solving, behavioral contracting, logical consequences, time-out, preventative techniques such as democratic governance

Social skills training

Direct instruction, modeling and rehearsal, coaching, self-instruction, manipulation of antecedents and consequences

Aggression replacement training

Social skills training techniques, self- instruction (e.g. anger control training), moral discussions

Parent management training

Parent training in application of behavioral techniques

Family therapy

Variety of therapeutic and educational techniques, depending on the particular model

Behavior therapy

Variety of cognitive, behavioral, and operant techniques

From Bear, G.G. (1990). Modeks and techniques that focus on prevention. In A. Thomas & J. Grimes (Eds.), Best practices in school psychology (p. 652). Silver Spring, MID: National Association of School Psychologists; Copyright 1990 by the National Association of School Psychologists. Reprinted by permission of publisher.

Reinforcement and punishment follow a clear set of basic principles:

1. reinforcement or punishment always follows behavior,

2. reinforcement or punishment follows the target behavior as soon as possible,

3. reinforcement or punishment fits the target behavior and must be meaningful to the child, and

4. multiple reinforcers, or punishments are likely more effective than single reinforcers or punishments.

Reinforcement

Classification

Exhibited behavior

Consequences

Probable future effect on behavior

From Walker, J.E., & Shea, T.M. (1991). Behavior management: A practical approach for educators (5th ed.). New York: Macmillan; adapted by permission.

Although reinforcement and punishment can be equally effective in reducing specific target behaviors in the classroom, reinforcement is by far more effective in helping children develop alternative, more functional behaviors. When Jeremy was in third grade, his teacher instituted a procedure in which he would receive a tally mark if she looked over and saw that he was tipping back in his chair. She placed 4 Xs under each chair leg to remind him not to lean back. A more positive approach would be to let Jeremy earn a tally mark each time she looked over and saw that all four legs were down. This would reinforce the desired behavior. It is important to always begin with a number of reinforcing strategies before resorting to punishment as a means of reducing unwanted or aversive classroom behaviors.

Schedules

Schedules define and identify the amount of work required or the time that must elapse between reinforcers. Some schedules are continuous, providing a reinforcement or punishment every time the target behavior occurs. Fixed or variable interval schedules are time related, and fixed or variable ratio schedules are related to how much work is completed. Fixed schedules result in higher rates of performance than continuous schedules. In classroom settings, most teachers use fixed ratio interval schedules. They are effective because the child knows exactly what is expected and the requirements of performance are clearly spelled out. Keep in mind that variable schedules are not as good for shaping new behaviors but are excellent for maintaining well-learned behaviors.

A simple system to evaluate the most common classroom problems (e.g. talking out, being out of the seat, not focusing or paying attention, disruptive behavior) appears in Figure 4.4. Information obtained is usually observed at 15-second intervals. If any of the behaviors occur, whether once or more than once, a single notation is made for that interval.

Positive reinforcement

The appropriate application of positive reinforcement has repeatedly been demonstrated to increase both on-task behavior and work completion (for reviews, see Barkley, 1990; DuPaul & Stoner, 1994; Goldstein, 1995; and Walker & Walker, 1991). In the early elementary school grades, teachers exhibit a significant degree of positive reinforcement for desired behaviors (White, 1975). That is, when a desired behavior is exhibited, teachers frequently respond with a consequence that is likely to increase the reoccurrence of that behavior. Jeremy's first-grade teacher offered frequent praise when he was sitting quietly in his seat.

By middle elementary school and through secondary school, however, teachers begin paying increasingly greater attention to undesirable behaviors and less attention to appropriate behaviors. Unfortunately, paying attention to the undesirable behavior causes it to cease in the short run but occur more frequently in the long run.

Children with ADHD may often be more interested in tasks other than those on which the teacher is focusing (Douglas, 1972). This leads to significantly more nonproductive activity and uneven, unpredictable classroom behavior. Interestingly, the overall rates of negative teacher-child interactions involving typical students are also higher in classrooms containing children with ADHD (Campbell, Endman, & Bernfeld, 1977). According to reports, teachers are more intense and controlling when interacting with children with ADHD. Within school settings, children with ADHD appear to experience negative consequences because of their temperament and a performance history that often involves beginning but not completing tasks. Many teachers in this circumstance unfortunately tend to focus on the misbehavior rather than on the reduction or termination of the behavior. This may further disrupt the classroom by disturbing other students.

This naturally occurring pattern of teachers paying less attention to desirable behavior and more attention to undesirable behavior, as children progress through school, places children with ADHD at a greater disadvantage than their classmates. In the first few grades, when teachers appear to be making a conscientious effort to positively reinforce their students, the child with ADHD often does not receive his or her share of reinforcement. In the later grades, as teachers exhibit less positive reinforcement, perhaps because they feel that it is not needed, the child with ADHD is placed at even greater risk.

Positive reinforcement programs should begin at the level at which children can succeed and be positively reinforced. All too often, teachers set up wonderful behavioral programs but set initial criteria for success too high. The child with ADHD in this system rarely reaches success. Problem behavior must be defined operationally and then a level of baseline occurrence must be obtained. At first, provide reinforcement when the child is at or slightly better than baseline. For example, in first grade, Jeremy was out of his seat 10 times during a work period, so his teacher provided reinforcement when he was out of his seat no more than eight times. As the child succeeds, the necessary criteria for reinforcement can be gradually increased, requiring fewer out-of-seat behaviors during a given time period.

Response discrepancy observation method

You may also want to determine the amount of time a student exhibits on- and off-task behavior. One simple behavioral observation method is called response discrepancy because it allows you to record a discrepancy between the target student and a typical class peer (Rhode, Jenson, & Reavis, 1992). Figure 4.5 presents a form to use for this system. To begin, match the target student with a same-sex peer who exhibits typical classroom behavior. Next, check off the type of activity: class, small-group activity or independent activity. The observation period lasts 15 minutes, and behavior is recorded at 10-second intervals (for a total of 90 intervals). The left side of the box is used for the target student and the right side is used for the classroom peer. At the end of each 10-second interval, record a + for on-task activities or - for off-task activities for each student. Ignore behaviors between the recording points. At the end of the 15-minute observation period, compute the percentage of on-task behavior for each student. This may be accomplished using the formula provided in Figure 4.6 (Rhode et al., 1992).

Talking Out

Spoken words, either friendly, neutral, or negative in content, are directed at either the teacher without first obtaining permission to speak or unsolicited at classmates during inappropriate times or during work periods

Out of Seat

The child is not supporting his or her weight with the chair. Up on knees does not count as out-of-seat behavior.

Attention Problem

The child is not attending either to independent work or to a group activity. The child is therefore engaged in an activity other than that which has been directed and is clearly different from what the other children are doing. This includes the child's not following teacher directions.

Disruption

The child's actions result in consequences that appear to be interrupting other children's work. These behaviors might include noises or physical contact. They may be intentional or unintentional.

Figure 4.4. The Talking Out/Out of Seat/Attention Problem/Disruption (TOAD) System. (From Goldstein, S., & Goldstein, M. [1990]. Managing attention disorders in children: A guide for practitioners [pp. 93-94]. New York: John Wiley & Sons. This material is used by permission of John Wiley & Sons, Inc.)

Figure 4.5. Behavior observation form.

From Rhode, G., Jenson, W.R., & Reavis, H.K. [1992]. The tough kid book: Practical classroom management strategies [p. 271. Longmont, CO: Sopris West; Reprinted with permission of Sopris West, Inc.

When Jeremy was in third grade, a volunteer completed this type of observation for Jeremy and a peer while they were engaged in a small-group activity. Jeremy had been on task for 34 of the intervals. He had been off task for 56 of the 90 intervals. His total time on task was 34 / 90 X 100 or approximately 38% of the time.

In contrast, Jeremy's peer had been on task for 78 of the 90 intervals and had been off task for 12 of the intervals. His total time on task was then 78/90 X 100 or approximately 87%. As a general guideline, if a student is on task less than 60% of the time and the peer's average is 85% or more, the target student's attention to the task is problematic. If both students' on-task behavior is below 60%, the problem may be more related to classroom management (Rhode et al., 1992). When compared with his peer, Jeremy appears to be much more distractible and off task.

As a general rule, observe a student in two different settings or two different types of activities. Some students are only off task and distractible when presented with tasks they find uninteresting. Other students are distractible only during specific subjects, such as in a math class. Keep in mind that students' attention varies depending on the type of task, the difficulty of the material, the type of activity, the setting, and the classroom management skills of the teacher.

Positive reinforcement should follow immediately after good behavior. It should be specific and initially continuous, slowly moving to an intermittent schedule. Material reinforcers provide the child with something tangible. Social reinforcers are more versatile, and, even if material reinforcers are used, a kind word from the teacher should always accompany them. It is also easier to increase behavior than decrease it. Thus, when choosing a target behavior, it is preferable to focus on behaviors to be increased rather than on those to be decreased. Shea and Bauer (1987) described the following process to apply positive reinforcement effectively:

Select a target behavior to increase, define the behavior, and choose a reinforcer.

Observe the child and watch for the behavior.

Reinforce the target behavior every time it is exhibited.

Comment in a positive way about the behavior when providing reinforcement.

Be enthusiastic -and interested.

Offer assistance.

Vary the reinforcer.

Rhode, Jenson, and Reavis (1992) provided a well-defined model for reinforcement in the classroom. This model, presented in Table 4.3, is an excellent summary of reinforcement contingencies.

Be certain to select reinforcers that are age appropriate and not necessarily time-limited. Most important, do not deny students their basic rights (e.g. lunch, bathroom use, playground time) and then define these rights as positive reinforcers. At times, the use of a reinforcement list or menu can facilitate choosing a reinforcer that is meaningful to the child. You can provide a list of enjoyable or free time activities and ask the child to rank them by preference. You can ask the child what he or she might do with free time, where he or she might like to sit, what he or she might like to learn about, and also what kinds of activities make him or her feel needed, proud, and important in the classroom. Finally, one question to consider inquiring of every student is " 'What is the very best reward in this class that you could get for good work and behavior?"
Click to see Figure 4.6. Formula for the response discrepancy observation method.
Selection of reinforcements

Some consequences that teachers provide for children are irrelevant and neither strengthen nor weaken the behavior they follow (Bushell, 1973). Many teachers believe that placing stars on a chart as a reward or providing a prize are consequences that work with all children. Some children are motivated by these consequences; others are not. Furthermore, children with ADHD may find these consequences salient one day but lose interest in them quickly the next day. Therefore, the fact that certain consequences follow a child's behavior may neither strengthen nor weaken the chances for that behavior to reoccur. Bushell (1973) referred to consequences that are irrelevant as noise, neutral consequences that have no effect on the behavior. Teachers must evaluate whether chosen consequences are positively reinforcing or simply noise. A reinforcement menu or inventory completed jointly by you and the child ensures that the former rather than the latter will occur. Sample reinforcement menus across grade levels appear in Figure 4.7.

Ms. Adams met with Jeremy when he was in her second-grade class to select some reinforcers that would increase his time on task. Jeremy quickly offered several suggestions. He wanted time to look through books about dinosaurs, to read joke books, and to play with blocks. He also wanted time for drawing and art projects. Ms. Adams explained that each morning they would decide what assignments needed to be completed before break. When he completed the assignments, he could choose his reward. Ms. Adams also adapted the assignments. Jeremy was expected to write in his journal, but he could answer the questions about his reading orally.

Paine, Radicchi, Rosellini, Deutchman, and Darch (1983) found that the five most frequent reinforcement ideas suggested by elementary school students were additional recess, free time in class, material reinforcers, field trips, and games in class. Intermediate grade students more frequently favored activities that involved interaction with teachers, including acting as an assistant in grading papers, carrying on a discussion, or playing a game on a one-to-one basis. As previously discussed, reinforcers take on different values for different individuals.

You must develop a hierarchy of the behaviors that you would like to see the child exhibit. For example, in response to out-of-seat behavior, many teachers may initiate a reinforcement system to increase in-seat behavior. Although the child may earn multiple reinforcers for remaining in his seat, this does not guarantee that he will engage in constructive or appropriate behavior while remaining seated. Often, multiple reinforcers and multiple levels of reinforcement must be initiated. For example, in first grade, Jeremy was provided with one reinforcer for sitting and a second reinforcer for working while sitting.

Robinson, Newby, and Ganzell (1981) used a token reinforcement system for successful completion of four tasks, two involving learning to read and using vocabulary words and sentences and two involving teaching these tasks to other students. Tokens were exchanged for access to a pinball machine or electronic game. Using a reversal design, the token intervention program resulted in a nine-fold increase in the mean number of tasks completed over the baseline level and significant improvement in performance on the school district's standardized weekly reading level examinations. A reduction in disruptive behavior was also anecdotally reported. This reinforcement system was managed by a single teacher working with 18 children, all of whom had received diagnoses of ADHD. Walker and Shea (1991) also described an in-depth model of structuring a token economy successfully in the classroom.

Immediately

The I stands for reinforcing the student immediately. The longer the teacher waits to reinforce a student, the less effective the reinforcer will be. This is particularly true of younger students or students with severe disabilities. For example, reinforcer effectiveness is limited if the student has to wait until the end of the week to receive it.

Frequently

The F stands for frequently reinforcing a student. It is especially important to frequently reinforce when a student is learning a new behavior or skill. If reinforcers are not given frequently enough, the student may not produce enough of a new behavior for it to become well-established. The standard rule is three or four positive reinforcers for every one negative consequence (including negative verbal comments) that the teacher delivers. If, in the beginning, there is a great deal of inappropriate behavior to which the teacher must attend, positive reinforcement and recognition of appropriate behavior must be increased accordingly to maintain the desired three or four positives to each negative. The reinforcer can be a simple social reinforcer such as, "Good job. You finished your math assignment."

Enthusiasm

The first E stands for enthusiasm in the delivery of the reinforcer. It is easy to simply hand an edible reinforcer to a student; it takes more effort to pair it with an enthusiastic comment. Modulation in the voice and excitement with a congratulatory air convey that the student has done something important. For most teachers, this seems artificial at first. However, with practice, enthusiasm makes the difference between a reinforcer delivered in a drab, uninteresting way and one that indicates that something important has taken place in which the teacher is interested.

Eye contact

It is also important for the teacher to look the student in the eyes when giving a reinforcer, even if the student is not looking at him or her. Like enthusiasm, eye contact suggests that a student is special and has the teacher's undivided attention. Over time, eye contact may become reinforcing in and of itself.

Describe the behavior

D stands for describing the behavior that is being reinforced. The younger the student or the more severe the disability, the more important it is to describe the appropriate behavior that is being reinforced. Teachers often assume that students know what it is they are doing right that has resulted in the delivery of reinforcement. However, this is often not the case. The student may not know why reinforcement is being delivered or may think that it is being delivered for some behavior other than what the teacher intended to reinforce.

Even if the student does know what behavior is being reinforced, describing it is important. First, describing the behavior highlights and emphasizes the behavior the teacher wishes to reinforce. Second, if the behavior has several steps, describing it helps to review the specific expectations for the student. An example is, "Wow, you got yourself dressed - look at you! You have your socks on, your shoes are laced, your pants are on with a belt, and your shirt has all the buttons fastened and is tucked in." This is much more effective than saying, "Good job dressing."

Anticipation

Building excitement and anticipation for the earning of a reinforcer can motivate students to do their very best. The more "hype" the teacher uses, the more excited students become to earn the reinforcer. Presenting the potential reinforcer in a mysterious way also builds anticipation.

Variety

Just like adults, students get tired of the same things. A certain reinforcer may be highly desired, but, after repeated exposure, it loses its effectiveness. It is easy to get caught up in giving students the same old reinforcers time and time again. However, variety is the spice of life for everyone. Generally, when teachers are asked why they do not vary their reinforcers, they indicate that it worked very well once. It is necessary to change reinforcers frequently to make the reinforcement more effective.

From Rhode, G., Jenson, W.R., & Reavis, H.K. (1992). The tough kid book: Practical classroom management strategies (p. 34). Longmont, CO: Sopris West; Reprinted with permission from Sopris West, Inc.

Negative reinforcement

Negative reinforcement requires the child to work for the removal of an in-place, unpleasant consequence. The child's goal is to get rid of something that is unpleasant rather than to earn something that is desirable. In a negative reinforcement model, instead of working to earn a positive consequence, the child works to distance him- or herself from an aversive consequence. Negative reinforcement is often used in the classroom to manage problem behaviors. Teachers inadvertently pay attention to a child who may not be complying and withdraw their attention contingent on the child's compliance. Surprisingly, this strengthens rather than weakens the noncompliant behavior. The next time a similar situation occurs, the child again will not comply until confronted with the aversive consequence (i.e. the teacher's attention). Negative reinforcement is often seductive and coercive for teachers. It works in the short run but in the long run is likely to strengthen rather than weaken the undesirable behavior.

Many of the same variables that affect positive reinforcement-immediacy, frequency, consistency-affect negative reinforcement. Behaviors that in and of themselves may not be negative become negative reinforcers when paired with certain events. For example, a teacher approaching a child who is not working quickly becomes a negative reinforcer, even though the action itself, the teacher walking up to the child, does not have a negative connotation (Favell, 1977). Clark and Elliott (1988) found that negative reinforcement was rated by teachers as the most frequently used classroom intervention. Children with ADHD often experience negative reinforcement because of their temperament, which makes it difficult for them to complete tasks; their consequent learning history reinforces them for beginning but rarely for finishing.

Reinforcement Menu: Kindergarten

Reinforcement Menu: Third Grade

Reinforcement Menu: Tenth-Grade Geometry

Main Courses

Play the piano

Paint

Look out of the window

Use the toys at the back of the room

Work with puzzles

Use model clay

Move a chair to another place

Choose a carpet piece to sit on

Use the computer

Cut and paste

Talk to a classmate

Drink

Hug

Use colored chalk

Swing feet

Walk around in the back of the room

Watch a science video

Sing

Main Courses

Go to the library to work on a special project related to a study unit

Arrange the game shelf and pick a game to play

Listen to a story with earphones

Work in the art corner

Read and record a favorite story with expression and clarity

Work on scrapbook for history project using magazines in the room

Leave 5 minutes early for lunch

Be line captain

Be in charge of taking attendance

Get a drink at any time without asking permission

Be in charge of passing out papers and other class materials

Be excused 15 minutes early to clean erasers and chalkboard

Main Courses

Challenge someone to a game of chess

Use the computer

Do extra credit problems to raise grade

Make up a quiz and give it to the class

Sit at the teacher's desk while doing homework

Prepare the bulletin board using display of student's choice

Write a letter

Read

Play charades

Discuss past or forthcoming athletic or social events

Have a creative exhibit period (i.e. show-and-tell for older students)

Be excused 15 minutes early to clean erasers and chalkboard

Daily Specials

Monday: Visit first grade

Tuesday: Finger paint

Wednesday: Play a game with teacher

Thursday: Make a mural

Friday: Use the computer

Daily Specials

Monday: Watch a video

Tuesday: Use the computer

Wednesday: Be a group leader

Thursday: Add another piece to class mural

Friday: Help plan the Friday group activity

Daily Specials

Monday: Appear as a guest lecturer in another math class

Tuesday: Do a special crossword puzzle involving geometry concepts

Wednesday: Play a math game with another student

Thursday: Construct a special paper model using geometrical figures

Friday: Solve mysteries involving mathematical solutions

Figure 4.7. Sample reinforcement menu. (Toward Positive Classroom Discipline, 3rd ed. by H.F. Clarizio 0 1987. Reprinted by permission of Pearson Education, Inc., Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458.) Figure 4.7.

A number of simple, effective ways exist to deal with this problem. If you are using negative reinforcement, pay attention to the student until the assignment is completed. Although this too is negative reinforcement, it teaches the child that the only way to get rid of the aversive consequence (i.e. your attention) is not just to start but to complete the task at hand. As an example, you may move the student's desk next to your desk until that particular piece of work is completed.

A second alternative involves the use of differential attention or ignoring. The term differential attention applies when ignoring is used as the negative consequence for exhibiting the undesirable behavior, and attention is used as a positive consequence for exhibiting the competing desirable behavior. This is an active process in which the teacher ignores the child engaged in an off-task activity but pays attention immediately when the child begins working. Many teachers avoid interaction with the child when he or she is on task for fear of interrupting the child's train of thought. It is important, however, to reinforce the child when working so that a pattern of working to earn positive reinforcement rather than working to avoid negative reinforcement is developed.

Secondary school teachers at times complain that if they ignore the adolescent with ADHD during an hour-long class, they never have the opportunity to pay positive attention as the student may never exhibit positive behavior. Waiting, however, even if one has to wait until the next day, is more effective in the long run than paying attention to off-task behavior.

You need to make a distinction between off-task behavior that disrupts and off-task behavior that does not disrupt. Differential attention works effectively for the latter. However, when a child is off task and disturbing his or her neighbor, you may find that being a negative reinforcer holds an advantage in stemming the tide of an off-task behavior that involves other students as well. Differential attention alone has been demonstrated to be ineffective in maintaining high rates of on-task behavior and work productivity for students with ADHD (Rosen, O'Leary, Joyce, Conway, & Pfiffner, 1984). In part, we suggest that many factors other than teacher attention maintain and influence student behavior.

Differential attention is a powerful intervention when used appropriately. Once the strategy of ignoring inappropriate behavior is employed, it must be continued despite escalation . If not, you run the risk of intermittently reinforcing the negative behavior, thereby strengthening its occurrence. For example, if you decide to use differential attention for a child's out-of-seat behavior but become sufficiently frustrated after the child is out of his or her seat for 10 minutes and respond by directing attention to the child, the behavior will be reinforced rather than extinguished. The 10 minutes of ignoring will quickly be lost in the one incident of negative attention. If the teacher yells, "Sit down," the child has received the desired attention by persisting in a negative behavior.

Madsen, Becker, and Thomas (1968) evaluated rules, praise, and ignoring for inappropriate behavior in two children in a typical second-grade classroom and in one child in a kindergarten class. The results indicated that in the absence of praise, rules and ignoring were ineffective. Inappropriate behavior decreased only after praise was added. Others have demonstrated the importance of praise in a general education classroom (Thomas, Becker, & Armstrong, 1968). Specifically, whenever teacher approval was withdrawn, disruptive behaviors increased.

Overall, however, the research on differential attention with children with ADHD has been inconsistent. Rosen and colleagues (1984) evaluated the results of praise and reprimands in maintaining appropriate social and academic behaviors in second- and third-grade children with ADHD. Children's on-task behavior and academic performance deteriorated when negative feedback was withdrawn but not when positive feedback was omitted. Students' on-task behavior remained high, even after 9 days of no praise from the teacher. Acker and O'Leary (1988) demonstrated that the use of only reprimands for behavior management without positive consequences does not lead to dramatic improvement in on-task performance when praise is added. Dramatic deterioration in on-task behavior was observed when reprimands were subsequently withdrawn, even though the teacher was still delivering praise for appropriate behavior.

Children with ADHD perform as well as typical children with a continuous schedule of reinforcement but perform significantly worse with a partial schedule of reinforcement (e.g. reinforcement is provided only sometimes), which is typically found in most classrooms (Douglas & Parry, 1983). Praise is important for the development of other attributes in human beings, such as self-esteem, school attitude, and motivation toward academics (Redd, Morris, & Martin, 1975). In addition, the opposite is also true: A large amount of punishment can negatively affect emotional development and self-esteem.

Modeling

Through modeling, observation, and then imitation, children develop new behaviors. Modeling can be as simple as having a child watch another child sharpen a pencil. By watching the model, a child can learn a new behavior, inhibit another behavior, or strengthen previously learned behavior (e.g. saying "thank you"). To use modeling effectively, you must determine whether a child has the capacity to observe and then imitate the model. In classroom settings, a student's response to modeling is influenced by three factors: 1) the characteristics of the model (e.g. is this a student whom the other students like and respect?), 2) the characteristics of the observer (e.g. is this child capable of observing and imitating the behavior), and 3) the positive or negative consequences associated with the behavior. Children are more likely to respond to teacher modeling when they view their teachers as competent, nurturing, supportive, fun, and interesting. Children are also more likely to imitate behavior that results in a positive consequence.

Younger children have been reported as more frequently imitating others than older children. Children consistently model someone whom they value or look up to. They also imitate the behavior of a same-sex child more often than that of a different-sex child. They model someone whom they perceive as successful and socially valued regardless of whether the teacher perceives that child as successful and socially valued. Finally, if a child observes a model being reinforced or punished for certain behavior, this influences the likelihood that the child will then model that behavior.

Modeling is a powerful tool, often underutilized by teachers. When teachers are cheerful and enthusiastic, their attitudes are contagious. When they are respectful of students, students respect each other. When teachers are patient, fair, consistent, and optimistic, their students exhibit these traits as well. Teacher behavior sets the tone for the classroom environment.

In 1970, Kaplan described a ripple effect in transactions between teachers and misbehaving students that affected not only those students but also the entire classroom. Teachers who were firm reduced the problem behaviors both from the first child who misbehaved and from those students who saw the initial problem behavior. When teachers enforced rules, the ripple effect worked in their favor. When they failed to follow through with rules, the ripple effect worked against them. Furthermore, the misbehaving student's social standing in the classroom was also an issue. When teachers successfully managed the behavior of high-status troublemakers, their control tended to benefit the entire classroom. Likewise, the ripple effect when high-status offenders were not managed increased negative behaviors among others. Finally, when managing a disruptive behavior, it is important to focus on tasks and behaviors rather than on approval. In the latter situation, teachers may focus on their relationship with the disruptive student when trying to get that student to behave. This strategy, unfortunately, is usually ineffective over the long term.

Shaping

Waiting for the appropriate target behavior or something close to that behavior to occur before reinforcing the behavior is referred to as shaping. Shaping can be used to establish behaviors that are not routinely exhibited. Walker and Shea (1991) described the steps to effective shaping:

1. Select a target behavior and define it.

2. Observe how often the behavior is exhibited.

3. Select reinforcers.

4. Decide on close approximations and reinforce successive approximations to the target behavior each time it occurs.

5. Reinforce the newly established behavior.

6. Reinforce the old behavior on a variable schedule, and begin reinforcing the new behavior on an every-time or continuous schedule. The key to successful shaping is to reinforce closer approximations and not reinforce lesser approximations.

Any behavior that remotely resembles the target behavior should initially be reinforced. Prompts can be used and then faded. Shaping can be used for all kinds of behavior in the classroom, including academics. Steps toward successive approximation, however, must be carefully thought out; otherwise, behaviors that are not working toward the desired goal may inadvertently be reinforced.

Punishment

Punishment suppresses undesirable behavior but may not necessarily eliminate it (McDaniel, 1980). In some cases, suppression may be of short duration, and when the punishment is removed, the behavior may reoccur. Punishment can involve presentation of an unpleasant consequence or the loss of a pleasurable consequence following the occurrence of the undesirable behavior. Punishment is designed to reduce the probability that the behavior that precedes it will reoccur. Although punishment is an efficient way of changing behavior, it can become seductive and reinforcing for classroom teachers and can be overused. The greatest problem with punishment is that it does not provide an appropriate model of acceptable behavior. Furthermore, in many classrooms, punishment is accompanied by an emotional response from the teacher. Although most teachers consider punishment as involving a reprimand, time-out, or loss of an activity such as recess, in many classrooms, physical punishment designed to embarrass children into submission is still used, even though it has a high emotional cost. Shea and Bauer (1987) made a strong case for minimizing the use of punishment, especially more severe punishment, such as embarrassment or spanking, because these interventions are likely to erode self-esteem and further impair an already strained teacher-student relationship. When punishments are used, these guidelines should be followed:

1. All students are aware of which behaviors are punished and how they are punished.

2. Appropriate models for acceptable behavior are provided.

3. Punishments are offered immediately, consistently, and fairly.

4. Punishments are offered impersonally.

5. A natural or logical consequence should be used as often as possible.

6. The student being punished must understand the relationship between his or her behavior and the punishment.

Loss of the privilege during which the inappropriate behavior is exhibited is fair. Warning, nagging, threatening, and debating, however, should be avoided. In other words, act, don't yak. Punishment can exert a complex, negative effect in the classroom and on teacher-student relationships. Furthermore, when less punishing interventions are combined with positive reinforcers, they tend to be effective in the long run. In 1946, Anderson and Brewer reported that teachers using dominating behaviors of force, threat, shame, and blame had classrooms in which children displayed nonconforming behavior at rates higher than in classrooms in which teachers were more positive and supportive. Personal hostility from teachers and punishments in an atmosphere containing minimal positive reinforcement and emotional warmth are unproductive. To be effective, punishment must be related in form to the misbehavior. It must be consistent, fair, and just; must be delivered impersonally; and must not involve the assignment of extra work that is unrelated to the act for which the student is being punished. Opportunities must also be offered for the student to exhibit and receive reinforcement for more appropriate behavior.

Reprimands are the most frequent punishment used by teachers. Contacting parents, losing privileges, and time-outs come next in frequency. Reprimands include a statement of appropriate alternative behavior. Students respond well to short reprimands followed by clear, directed statements. Effective reprimands are specific, do not humiliate the child, are provided immediately, and are given with a firm voice and controlled physical demeanor. They are often backed up with a loss of privilege, including a statement encouraging more appropriate behavior. Attempt to describe the behavior that you observe, rather than how you feel about the certain behavior. Instead of telling a student that he or she is rude for interrupting, make a statement such as, "You have interrupted me three times. I will answer your question as soon as I finish the explanation."' This should be delivered in a calm way and in a way that does not embarrass the child in the presence of others. Jeremy had complained to his mother that his teacher was always yelling at him to keep still or be quiet. Feeling particularly upset one afternoon, Jeremy wrote his fifth-grade teacher the letter presented in Figure 4.8. Fortunately, after reading this letter, his teacher understood that yelling was an ineffective way to deal with Jeremy's behavior.
Figure 4.8. Jeremy's Letter
Abramowitz, O'Leary, and Futtersak (1988) compared the effects of short and long reprimands in an alternating treatment design. Over the course of the study, short reprimands resulted in significantly lower off-task rates than long reprimands. Prudent reprimands that are immediate, unemotional, brief, and consistently backed up with consequences are clearly preferred to lengthy reprimands that are delayed, loud, emotional, and not matched to consequences. Abramowitz and O'Leary (1991) suggested that immediate reprimands result in much lower rates of off-task interactions with peers but do not change rates of off-task behaviors that do not involve peers. The authors hypothesized that non-interactive, off-task behavior may be an avoidance response to difficult schoolwork. Interactive, off-task behaviors may be reinforced by peer attention and modified more effectively by the timing of feedback. Consistent reprimands are clearly superior to inconsistent reprimands for minimizing calling out and other disruptive behaviors (Acker & O'Leary, 1988). When misbehaviors followed with reprimands versus ignoring are evaluated, however, reprimands are not particularly effective in managing off-task behavior. Reprimanding every incident of off-task behavior did not prove to be any more effective than reprimanding one quarter of misbehavior incidents. Increasing consistency in these low-rate situations does not appear to lead to significant differences (Pfiffner, O'Leary, Rosen, & Sanderson, 1985).

Furthermore, the intensity or aversiveness of the initial delivery of the reprimand may be critical for children with ADHD (Futtersak, OLeary, & Abramowitz, 1989). In this study, children were exposed to teachers who delivered either consistently strong reprimands from the outset with immediate brief and firm close proximity to the child or reprimands that increased in severity over time. Results supported the hypothesis that gradually strengthening initially weak reprimands was less effective for suppressing off-task behavior than the immediate introduction and maintenance of full-strength reprimands. In addition, reprimands are more effective when delivered with eye contact and in close proximity to the child (Van Hauten, Nau, MacKenzie-Keating, Sameoto, & Colavecchia, 1982).

Response cost

Response cost is a punishing technique that translates to the equivalent of losing what you possess or have earned. Earned consequences are considered reinforcers. When they are lost, this is response cost. The child places in jeopardy what he or she has earned as the result of inappropriate behavior. In many situations, response cost in the form of a penalty or fine is combined with positive reinforcement. To be effective, more reinforcers must be earned than lost. Response cost is often used to reduce off-task behavior and improve compliance with directions.

Response cost may be the most powerful means of managing consequences for children with ADHD or other disruptive behavior problems (Rapport, Murphy, & Bailey, 1982). In a traditional model of response cost, many children with ADHD may immediately go bankrupt. Alternative systems have included adjusting the ratio of the number of reinforcers provided for each positive behavior versus those lost for negative behavior as well as increasing the number of opportunities to exhibit positive behavior and receive reinforcement. In the former case, six points might be provided for the appropriate behavior but only one point lost for the negative behavior. In the latter case, increased opportunities are provided, making it easier for children to earn a greater number of points, thereby decreasing their chances of going bankrupt when they exhibit negative behavior. A slightly altered form of response cost has been found to be quite effective with children with ADHD (Rapport, Murphy, & Bailey, 1982). Under this system, the child is initially provided with a maximum number of points or tokens to be earned during a school day and must work throughout the school day to retain those reinforcers. Some impulsive children seem to work harder to keep their plates full rather than attempt to fill an empty plate. Possibly because they have a long history of not working well for positive reinforcement, a system in which they are provided with all of their reinforcement initially and must work to keep, a response cost system may appear more motivating or attractive to them.

A substantial body of research documents the effectiveness of response cost in the classroom (Kazdin, 1982). One of the earliest studies (Rapport, Murphy, & Bailey, 1982) compared response cost and stimulant medication for task-related behavior in a group of hyperactive boys. The response cost procedure resulted in significant increases in on-task behavior and academic performance. Stimulant medication was notably less effective. Pfiffner and colleagues (1985) found that response cost in the form of lost recess was more effective than reprimands in maintaining on-task behavior. Response cost has also been compared with reward alone. Both conditions resulted in a twofold increase in academic output or reduction in inappropriate classroom behavior and a corresponding increase in on-task behavior. Children often do not show a differential preference for either reward or response cost procedures (Hundert, 1976; Iwata & Bailey, 1974), but they appear to maintain treatment gains better during fading and withdrawal of response cost than they do in response to traditional rewards (Sullivan & O'Leary, 1990).

A response cost system can be as simple as chips in a cup, marks on a chart, or marbles in a jar. A more complex means of managing response cost includes electronic devices such as the Attention Training System (Gordon & Davidson, 1981; Rapport, 1987). The Attention Training System is a remote-controlled counter that sits on the student's desk. This device provides the student with a digital readout showing the number of points he or she has earned. Using a remote control device, points can be added or removed from anywhere in the classroom, contingent on the child's on- and off-task behavior. By not having to move within physical proximity of the child, the teacher avoids becoming a negative reinforcer when the child is off task. DuPaul, Guevremont, and Barkley (1992) demonstrated the efficacy of response cost contingencies for managing classroom behavior and academic productivity using the Attention Training System. Response cost contingencies led to marked improvements on task-related attention and a reduction in ADHD symptoms during work time.

For response cost to be effective, the procedure must be used for most, if not, all, of the classroom day (Morgan & Jenson, 1988). The number of students in the program must be manageable, and highly motivating rewards must be provided. If not thought out well and managed effectively, response cost can backfire and increase classroom problem behaviors (Burchard & Barrera, 1972).

Response cost can be difficult to implement. Though it may be as simple as chips in a cup placed on the student's desk, many teachers inadvertently become negative reinforcers when they approach the child to remove a consequence, thereby building failure into a potentially useful model. When students who become bankrupt quickly or who are oppositional from the start are placed in a group contingency situation with built-in failure (e.g. everyone must earn the reinforcer or no one has access to it), the result is often greater rather than fewer classroom problems. Morgan and Jenson (1988) suggested the following guide-lines for using response cost in the classroom:

1. Use the procedure for most, if not all, of the classroom day for the target behavior.

2. Make certain the number of students with whom you are using the program is manageable.

3. Make certain there are more opportunities for success than for failure.

4. Build in additional incentives, including additional reinforcers that can be earned at the end of the week, by retaining a minimum number of reinforcers through the week.

5. Consider incorporating self-monitoring techniques in which students can administer response cost independently when they recognize a rule violation.

Time-out

Time-out from reinforcement excludes children from the opportunity to participate with others and receive any kind of positive reinforcement. Time-out is by far the best known disciplinary technique among teachers. It is also the most likely to be overused and misused in the classroom. Although a brief time-out of a few minutes duration can exert a positive influence on classroom behavior when applied appropriately, many teachers apply time-out ineffectively as often as effectively (Walker & Walker, 1991).

The least restrictive form of time-out consists of removal of certain reinforcing activities or objects from the misbehaving child for a short period. Time-out, in a restricted environment outside of the classroom is the most extreme form of this type of discipline. The child cannot see the classroom nor interact with others.

The effectiveness of time-out is well established; however, additional research is needed to identify specific situations, parameters, and procedures associated with the success of time-out for children with ADHD. Clearly, time-out holds a low probability of directly affecting children's ADHD symptoms for the better. Time-out can be quite effective for noncompliant children, but for children with ADHD, you must distinguish between noncompliant behaviors and behaviors resulting from ADHD.

In general, for time-out to be effective:

1. students should be separated from reinforcement,

2. the time should be short,

3. confrontation should be avoided,

4. verbal interaction should be limited, and

5. a time-contingent release should be provided (Bean & Roberts, 1981). Time-contingent release refers to the amount of time and the contingencies (e.g. sitting quietly) required to earn release. These contingencies should be explained and provided to the child prior to entering time-out. Children warned less in time-out also respond better (Roberts, 1982).

The length of time-out is also critical in determining effectiveness. A 4-minute time-out was found to be significantly better than a 10-second or 1-minute timeout among a group of elementary school students (Hobbs, Forehand, & Murray, 1978). Long periods of time-out constitute seclusion and lose their punishing value. It is also important for the time-out activity to be less reinforcing than the setting or activity from which the child is being removed. If a particular activity the child is leaving is non-reinforcing, this child may in fact learn to misbehave as a means of going to time-out to do something else. Work should not be missed due to time-out. Time-out should be boring, uninteresting, and something the child places last on his or her list of chosen school activities. The effectiveness of time-out depends on a number of factors, including the child, your ability to apply the intervention consistently, the child's understanding of the intervention, the rules governing the intervention, characteristics of the time-out area, duration of timeout, and the ability to evaluate the effectiveness of time-out quickly. If time-out does not work in the first few interventions, an alternative strategy should be considered. Eight parameters should define the use of time-out (Scarboro, & Forehand, 1975):

1. A warning that time-out may come should be offered.

2. The child should be consistently removed and placed in time-out when the behavior reoccurs.

3. A specific location should be defined for time-out.

4. A specific duration for time-out should be set.

5. The consistent schedule for time-out use should be defined.

6. A defined behavior should lead to time-out.

7. Clear contingencies should be defined for the child to be released from time-out.

Time-out can be effective in typical classroom settings because it restores order by removing the child who is disrupting class, by reducing the opportunity for peer approval that maintains some children who disrupt, by reducing the opportunity for students to manipulate situations, and by allowing the student to demonstrate appropriate behavior before exiting time-out. In elementary classroom settings, time-out should be from 2 to 5 minutes. If a student is not in control, an additional minute should be added. Teachers should not force resistant students into time-out but should seek help from the principal or other school personnel. Finally, as soon as possible after time-out is over, something positive in the student's behavior should be reinforced. Table 4.4 contains a list of dos and don'ts for time-out. Table 4.5 contains a thorough list of procedures for implementing seclusionary time-out.

There are many things you can do to minimize the need to use time-out. Make sure that classroom activities are more reinforcing than time-out. Provide students with ample but not excessive opportunities to comply. Provide disruptive students with additional positive consequences for not requiring time-out in a given time span.

Do explain the total procedure to the child before starting time-out.

Don't start the procedure without explaining time-out to the child first in a calm setting that is not emotionally charged.

Do prepare a time-out setting for the child that is clean, well-lit, and ventilated.

Don't just pick any place. Make sure it isn't too dark, too confining, dangerous, or not ventilated.

Do pick a place or situation for time-out that is boring or less reinforcing than the classroom.

Don't pick a place that is scary or that could be more reinforcing than the classroom.

Do use a set of structured verbal requests with the child, such as the recommended precision request format.

Don't threaten the child repeatedly with a time-out.

Do remain calm, and don't talk with the child when he or she is being taken to time-out.

Don't get into a verbal exchange with the child on the way to time-out or while the child is in time-out.

Do place the child in time-out for a set period that you control.

Don't tell the child to come out of time-out when he or she is "ready to behave."

Do require the child to be quiet for 30 seconds at the end of the time-out period, before being let out.

Don't let a child out of time-out when he or she is crying, screaming, yelling, or having a tantrum.

Do use a short period of time (e.g. 5-10 minutes).

Don't use exceedingly long periods.

Do require the child to complete the request that led to time-out or missed academic work.

Don't allow the child to avoid compliance to a request or miss academic work by going to time-out.

From Morgan, D.P., & Jenson, W.R. (1988). Teaching behaviorally disordered students: Preferred practices (p. 36). New York: Macmillan; reprinted by permission.

Table 4.5. Seclusionary time-out procedures

1. Seclusionary time-out should not be used unless all other procedures have been tried and failed. This should be a last effort technique.

2. Seclusionary time-out should never be used without a parent's written consent.

3. Seclusionary time-out should be used only if it is listed as an approved and agreed-on technique in a student's individualized education plan (IEP) by the IEP team. The student should only be placed in time-out for approved behaviors on the IEP, such as aggression, severe noncompliance, or destructive tantrum-throwing.

4. Seclusionary time-out is defined as removing a student from a reinforcing classroom setting to a less reinforcing setting. This setting can be another classroom, a chair or desk outside the classroom, or a room specifically approved for time-out. If a room is used for time-out, it should be used only for time-out and no other purpose (e.g. storage, counseling students, special academic work area).

5. The time-out setting should be well-lit, well-ventilated, non-threatening, and clean. It must also have an observation window or device.

6. The entire time-out procedure should be explained to the student before it is implemented, prior to the occurrence of misbehavior that results in its use.

7. If misbehavior occurs, identify it. For example, tell the student in a calm, neutral manner, "That's fighting; you need to go to the time-out room." Tell the student to remove his or her jewelry, belt, and shoes. Tell the student to empty his or her pockets (in order to check for such items as pens, pencils, paper clips, knives, and so forth). The student's socks should be checked for these types of items also. If the student does not comply with these requests, call for help and then remove the items and check the pockets yourself. No other conversation should ensue.

8. When a student is placed in the time-out room, he or she must be constantly monitored by a staff member. The student must never be left alone.

9. When a student is placed in the time-out room, the following information should be placed in a time-out log:

Name of the student

Date

Staff member responsible for monitoring student

Time in and time out

Target behavior warranting the procedures

10. The student should be placed in the time-out room for a specific period of time. A recommended formula is 1 minute per year of age (e.g. 10 minutes for a 10-year-old child).

11. If a student is screaming, throwing a tantrum, or yelling, he or she should be quiet for 30 consecutive seconds before being released from the time-out room. This 30 seconds does not begin until the original designated time-out period has lapsed.

12. Communication between the supervising staff member and the student should not take place when the student is in the time-out room (i.e. do not talk with the student, threaten the student, or try to counsel the student at this time).

13. Do remain calm while taking a student to the time-out room. Do not argue with, threaten, or verbally reprimand the student.

14. If a student refuses to go to the time-out room, add on time to the specified time-out duration (e.g. 1 minute for each refusal, up to 5 minutes).

15. If a student refuses to come out of the time-out room, do not beg or try to remove the student. Simply wait outside, and sooner or later the student will come out on his or her own.

16. If the student makes a mess in the time-out room, require him or her to clean it up before he or she leaves.

17. Once the time-out period has ended, return the student to the ongoing classroom activity, making sure the student is required to complete the task he or she was engaged in prior to the time-out period. This ensures that students do not purposely avoid unpleasant tasks by going to the time-out room.

18. All staff members should be trained, and this training documented, before time-out procedures are started.

19. To ensure the effectiveness of time-out, the reinforcement rate for appropriate behaviors in the classroom should meet the recommended rate of three or four positive responses to each negative response (and never fewer than four positive responses per contact hour).

20. Data should be collected on target behaviors. If time-out is effective, these behaviors should decrease shortly after the technique is started. If they do not, check that the procedure is being used correctly, and the reinforcement rate for appropriate behavior in the classroom is high enough; consider another technique for possible use.

21. The use of time-out should not be threatened (e.g. "If you do that again, I will put you in the time-out room"). Rather, the technique should be combined with a precision request, such as "I need you to stop kicking your desk." If the student persists, the time-out procedure should be used, and when the student comes out of the time-out room, the precision request should be restated ("I need you to stop kicking your desk").

22. The student should be reinforced for not needing time-out.

From Rhode, G., Jenson, W.R., & Reavis, H.K. (1992). The tough kid book: Practical classroom management strategies (p. 65). Longmont, CO: Sopris West; Reprinted with permission of Sopris West, Inc

Consequential versus Rule-Governed Behavior Due to their inhibitory problems, children with ADHD may function quite well under appropriate external or environmental consequences but struggle to develop the internal self-monitoring skills to govern their own behavior. This latter issue was referred to by Barkley in 1981 as "problems following rule-governed behavior." Children with ADHD may acquire behavior at a rate similar to others but take longer to learn to self-manage that behavior in the absence of external consequences and cues. Thus, even when appropriate reinforcers are located, the child with ADHD requires a greater number of successful trials to make the transition to self-management. In part, this speaks to the difference between behavior modification and behavior management. Teachers are repeatedly taught that if they provide consequences appropriately, within a reasonable period of time, children's behavior will change. Success is usually based on the child's continuing to demonstrate the desired behavior when consequences are removed. When this model is applied to children with ADHD, many interventions are often deemed to be failures. For the child with ADHD, demonstrating a behavior in the presence of consequences is not synonymous with having developed the self-management skills to use the behavior. Focus on behavior management. That is, the intervention is deemed successful if the child's behavior is modified in the presence of consequences. As consequences are removed and the child's behavior regresses, this should not be interpreted as failure but rather as too quick a change in the schedule of reinforcement. The child has yet to make the transition from consequentially managed behavior to rule-governed behavior for that particular task.

Three Keys to Using Punishment Effectively Timing, intensity, and consistency are the three keys to using punishment effectively and appropriately in the classroom. The punishing procedures should be initiated as soon as possible after the aversive behavior is exhibited and should be as closely related to the misbehavior as possible. Furthermore, if punishments are too mild, they will not be effective and may slowly habituate the child to tolerate or adapt to more intensive or lengthy punishments. If too intense, however, punishments are not only abusive but likely create other problems. Be conservative when using punishing techniques but make certain their intensity is appropriate. To be effective, punishments must be consistent and predictable. Following punishment, you should return the child to the situation without expecting overt guilt, making efforts to reassure or reinforce the child. A consistent schedule of punishments should also be used. A continuous schedule of punishment for a specific targeted behavior is best. Finally, it is valuable to attempt to find out what drives the misbehavior and work toward managing the environment to minimize causative factors. As noted previously in this chapter, children who are experiencing LD may misbehave out of frustration. This may also be the case for children who are experiencing anxiety or depression. By identifying the child's goals and misbehavior, you can present more appropriate opportunities and methods to reach the child's goals. When used appropriately, punishment can make a positive difference; however, punishing interventions should always follow efforts at using reinforcing interventions to model and shape appropriate classroom behavior.

Conclusion

The effective use of behavioral and cognitive strategies in the classroom may appear daunting even to experienced teachers. However, changing your behavior and strategies is often the most efficient and effective means of improving all types of classroom behaviors, both disruptive and non-disruptive. Through practice comes proficiency. The building block of emotions and behavior likely contains the largest and most diverse set of problems encountered in the classroom. By first understanding these problems and seeing the world through the eyes of your students, and, by then developing and using a set of intervention strategies on a regular basis, problems of emotions and behavior can be effectively managed and changed in the classroom.

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The effective use of behavioral and cognitive strategies in the classroom may appear daunting even to experienced teachers. However, changing your behavior and strategies is often the most efficient and effective means of improving all types of classroom behaviors, both disruptive and non-disruptive.

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Middle School...

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The First Days of School: Setting the Tone For Your Classroom

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Middle School...

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The First Days of School: Teaching Procedures Through Activities

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Beginning Teacher Talk with Dr. Lori Friesen

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How to Give Consequences Without Being Mean: Classroom Management with Heart

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CLASSROOM AND BEHAVIOUR MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES

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Managing Child Meltdowns & Tantrums - Tips From A Board Certified Behavior Analyst

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How Do Teachers Manage Student Behavior with a Student's Dignity in Mind?

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The SEI Teacher | Boston on Instagram: "My name is Nicole and I’m going to help you with your classroom management just like I’m helping all these people right here @theseiteacher #teacherproblems #teacher #teachersofig"

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21K likes, 249 comments - theseiteacher on December 23, 2024: "My name is Nicole and I’m going to help you with your classroom management just like I’m helping all these people right here @theseiteacher #teacherproblems #teacher #teachersofig". 

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Diego Napoles on Instagram: "Simple Classroom Management Tip: Positive Notes Home #teachers #teachertips"

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4,223 likes, 4,319 comments - mr_napoles on August 10, 2025: "Simple Classroom Management Tip: Positive Notes Home #teachers #teachertips". 

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A GREAT chapter with so many ideas for the K-5 classroom - lesson ideas for many content areas!

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Muniz, Chapter 10_ Culturally Responsive Lessons for Students, K-5 -Classroom Man. & Motivation Handbk

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19 Strategies for Transitions in the Classroom - Classroom Management Expert

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In the dynamic setting of a classroom, transitions play a crucial role in maintaining order and momentum throughout the day. Educators often rely on a range of strategies to facilitate smooth transitions, such as visual cues, timed activities, and clear expectations. Exploring the best practices for managing transitions can significantly impact the flow and efficiency […]

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Looking for some tried and true classroom management strategies that will actually work in your classroom? Look no further. They're all here.

Classroom management was a huge struggle for me when I first started teaching. Okay, struggle is putting it a bit nicely. It may or may not have escalated to the point that I found myself crying in the back hallway because I just couldn't face my first period class.

But thankfully that's not the end of the story. With the help of amazing mentors The First Days of School, consistent practice, and a huge dose of God's grace, I finally found some classroom management strategies that actually worked and eventually turned things around.

And, oh what a joy to finally get to the point where my class was (for the most part) controlled, focused, on task, and learning effectively!

I was teaching, my students were learning, and it was amazing.

That's where you want to be, too, right? I mean, none of us got into teaching because we couldn't wait to deal with classroom management issues! We want to actually teach. To see those light bulbs go off. To make a difference.

But in order for that to happen, we have to create a conducive learning environment, and that requires a strong foundation of great classroom management techniques.

In this post, I'm compiling all of my best classroom management strategies with links to explore each in more detail. I hope they'll be helpful for you!

Ready to dive in? Here's some of the topics we'll be covering in this article:

Classroom management strategies to
DEVELOP THE RIGHT DEMEANOR

To be an effective teacher (and be any good at classroom management), you have to have the right demeanor. That boils down to a few main things:

Don't get fooled into thinking you have to choose between being nice or being strict. You can be both, and I'd argue you must be both.

Go deeper: What to Do If You're Told You're Being Too Nice

2. Focus on being respected rather than being liked.

We all want our students to like us, but if we make that our goal, we're going to run into some serious classroom management problems. Instead, focus on earning your students' respect and creating a learning environment where they can learn and grow.

Go deeper: If You want Your Students to Like You

3. See yourself as your students' mentor, not their friend.

We all want to be there for our students, support them through challenges, and make a real difference in their lives. But if you think that being their friend is the way to get there, you're going to create more problems than you solve. Instead, view yourself as your students' mentor. This means you're there to help, support, and guide them, but there's clear respect, not a peer-to-peer relationship.

If you'd like more help putting together your plan, consider joining us in Classroom Management 101. In this self-paced online course, we'll walk you step-by-step through the process of developing and then implementing a strong classroom management plan.
Click here to find out more about Classroom Management 101.

Once you have your plan ready, it's time to put it in place. But it's not enough to simply say "okay, this is what we're going to do." Here's some ideas for what to do instead:

If you're trying to turn things around mid-year, use a classroom shake-up to force a bit of a reset. In a classroom shake-up, you change something in your classroom - whether it's switching up a routine or physically changing something in the room. The purpose is to grab your students' attention and get them to ask what's going on - to show not just tell them that things will be different. Then, you can explain the new procedure/expectation.

Find out more: How a Shake-Up Can Revolutionize Your Classroom Management Plan.

Teaching strong procedures is one of the most important classroom management strategies ever. It's not enough to simply tell students what to do. You have to invest the time into training and practicing. I recommend a 4-part process for teaching procedures: explain, practice, correct, and redo. I explain all four parts in this article here: How to Teach Procedures that Your Students Will Actually Follow.

Executing your new classroom management plan is not going to magically solve all your problems. You also need to be ready to deal with the issues when they arise. Here's some strategies to help you do that:

The advice "don't sweat the small stuff" has its place, but it certainly does not work when you're trying to start the school year right, reset your classroom, or teach a new procedure. I wish we could let the little things go, but, honestly, if you do, the little problems don't stay little. They grow into bigger and bigger problems. (Believe me. I've learned this lesson the hard way, too.)

Instead, be looking for the first problem and deal with it right away. That doesn't mean you lambast the kid or slap him with a detention for saying one word. But it does mean that you kindly address the issue - every time. It could be as simple as reminding them of the correct procedure and asking them to redo it. As you consistently deal with the small problems, students will see that you actually mean what you say and will get used to following class guidelines.

Go deeper: Read more about the why we need to deal with problems while they're still small.

It is so hard to be consistent, but consistency is a huge key to classroom management success. Simply decide what you are going to do and then do it. Consistently. And if you miss one time, don't let that derail you. Determine to get back on track the next opportunity you get.

Read more: How to Be More Consistent in Your Classroom Management

As important as consistency is, sometimes we need to break from our plan and give a student some grace. The question is - how do we know when to stick to our classroom management plan and when to give grace? Well, the key is to always do what's best for the student, not what's easiest for us. We talk more about it in the article below:

Go deeper: 4 Questions to Know When to Give Grace as a Teacher

We tackle in-depth how to handle various classroom problems from chatter and blurting to outright disrespect to class clowns in Classroom Management 101. Find out more about the complete classroom management course here.

Organization plays a huge role in successful classroom management. Mostly because if you're not organized, you get flustered, add chaos to your classroom, and create lulls that students have to fill with something (and we all know that something is typically not so good). So, here are some classroom management strategies to help you be more organized:

It's easy to spend so much time creating a beautiful classroom that you end up dropping the ball on its actual functionality. Check out these important tips for setting up your classroom: Setting Up Your Classroom: 9 Practical Things You May Not Have Thought Of

Keeping track of who has and hasn't turned in what can be a nightmare - but not if you have a good system. Here's some tips to help you track your missing work: Simple Solutions to Track Missing Work

Your classroom will run more smoothly if you're not trying to do everything yourself. So get your students involved by delegating more responsibility to them. Ask yourself, "What am I currently doing that my students could do instead?" We go into detail about how to give students meaningful classroom jobs here.

I hope you've found these classroom management strategies helpful, but the truth is that classroom management is nuanced. Unfortunately, one missing element can throw everything off and frustrate your best intentions.

That's why we've created Classroom Management 101 - the complete, organized system that ensures you don't miss any of the crucial elements necessary for successful classroom management. We'd love to have you! You can get all the details here:
Find out more about Classroom Management 101.

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30 Powerful Classroom Management Strategies You Can Implement Right Away

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Looking for tried and true classroom management strategies that will actually work in your classroom? Look no further. They're all here.

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It's impossible to deny the effects of students' emotions, relationships, and decision-making skills on their learning skills. While nobody - no matter their age - can live their life by their emotions, there are ways to tailor lesson plans in an effort to make everyone a success.

Classroom management ties inextricably into social-emotional learning (SEL) because they're both moving parts that change with the passage of time. Where one student may have needed academic intervention at the start of the school year, they may be sailing along nicely come the middle of the year.

Thus, classroom management and social-emotional learning are adaptable and able to meet everyone's needs as social and emotional growth takes place. Below, we're going to break apart the ins and outs of SEL and demonstrate the impact classroom management has on this manner of learning. In the end, you'll have the framework for a behavioral management plan that can be implemented, tracked, and highly successful.

Social-Emotional Learning

Before we begin, let's take a moment to examine the fine print of SEL. SEL can only be achieved when teachers acquire an in-depth look at students' history because this form of learning targets how students manage their emotions, achieve goals, maintain healthy relationships, and make good decisions.

Knowing where a student is "coming from," so to speak, allows a teacher to manage their course material with this in mind. Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning (CASEL) created a popular framework that addresses five core competencies for SEL. These will help teachers tailor their lesson plans according to each student's needs:

1. Self-Awareness - CASEL defines this as the ability to recognizes students' emotions to see how they impact personal behavior. A firm grasp on students' self-awareness allows the teacher to set realistic expectations regarding strengths and limitations.

2. Self-Management - This element includes the ability to self-regulate emotions. With a strong grasp on self-management, teachers can help students manage their stress levels and impulse control.

3. Social Awareness - Social awareness allows both students and teachers to empathize with others from diverse backgrounds and cultures. This can help teachers encourage students to recognize behavioral norms and adjust accordingly.

4. Relationship Skills - Healthy relationship skills revolve around the ability to communicate clearly, listen well, resist peer pressure, and offer help to others.

5. Responsible Decision-Making - Perhaps as a culmination, this element involves the ability to make respectful choices in social situations, based on norms, and the ability to evaluate the consequences of actions.

With these five elements in mind, teachers can go on to create an impartial environment for students. SEL addresses each individual's social and emotional progress as they advance through their classes. The goal is to see an improvement in all-around behavior and, thus, an improvement in academic success.

Classroom Management

If you're here, you already know what classroom management looks like. In includes planning, preparation, nurtured relationships, and ongoing observation. As such, it's easy to see why SEL pairs well with classroom management. Here are five elements of classroom management that positively impact SEL:

1. Steady Routine

In order to tailor your lesson plans according to each student's needs, it's necessary to have a complete understanding of each student's social and emotional capabilities. If you develop a steady classroom routine, then students may not have to tackle a surge of stress that comes from not knowing what to expect.

2. Clear, Concise Instructions

If instructions are provided in such a way that they're clear, concise, and easily understood, this, too, will lessen the emotional burden placed upon students. This can include written down instructions and even visual instructions on your SmartBoard.

3. Designated Course of Action

Clearly establish where students are to sit when they're completing their work and where students are to turn in their work. What happens upon the completion of their assignment?

Are they allowed to take a book from the library? Can they get started on another assignment? A clear course of action ties in neatly to a steady routine, clear instructions, and understood expectations.

4. Personal Conferences

What better way to manage students' shifts in social and emotional behaviors than 1-on-1 conferences? Spend time meeting individually with students to see how they're feeling about their assignments and social interactions with peers.

This will enable them to express themselves to you more fully and enable you to see where their comprehension is with regard to various classroom activities.

5. Recorded Observations

As you take note of students who are excelling in one area and falling behind in another, this will help you tailor your assignments for each individual need. Perhaps one student requires more time to complete assignments.

Meanwhile, what if another needs to have a secondary assignment lined up because he or she will inevitably finish fast and still need to be challenged? Either way, ongoing data collection will always prove critical when individualizing students' behavioral management plans and helping them succeed.

The Impact of Classroom Management on SEL

A steady routine, clear instructions, and personal attention will establish a safe classroom environment for all learners, no matter what philosophy you're focusing on. But, they work especially well when intently focused upon the social and emotional aspects of a student's capabilities.

Here are added ways in which classroom management positively impacts SEL. No matter your position within the school system, you can implement any (or all) of these tactics today.

A Growth Mindset

It's possible to create a growth mindset for all your students because, no matter where they are today, they can be somewhere better tomorrow. From the start of the school year, make it clear to students that everyone will make mistakes and some will excel in one area while others will excel in another.

Push students to persevere through the hard times so that they can return their focus to more pleasurable activities. Help them advance through their tricky multiplication problems so they can return to their work in geometry, for example. When all is said and done, praise their perseverance as they move into a more comfortable activity (which can also be lauded since they're doing well there, too).

Emotional Acknowledgement

One of the most crippling things a teacher can do is diminish a student's sense of self-worth. This is often unintentionally done when students don't feel heard. By acknowledging students' emotions - in the good times and the bad - you're setting them up for success.

Of course, this is not to say that they can be led by their emotions. Whether a student likes it or not, he or she will still be required to complete their tricky multiplication worksheet. However, their voice will be heard and, thus, their self-esteem won't be berated.

This is, of course, something to annotate in your notes. Determining which topic areas are a struggle and which ones are a breeze allows educators to anticipate how a student will respond to certain situations.

Celebrated Successes

Let's stay with the notion of making a student feel heard. Students need to receive as much praise as they receive correction. Consider creating a "Weekly Spotlight" section in the classroom where each student is showcased for something they did exceedingly well.

In this instance, no one is called out publicly (and possibly embarrassed). However, they can be made aware of (and celebrated for) their strengths. This is, of course, something to also be addressed in your personal conferences.

Relational Skills

One of CASEL's five pillars of SEL is relationship skills. These are best fostered in small groups or pairs. The skills learned within the safety and comfort of a small group or pair can then be translated into larger groups.

As the teacher, you can select alternating partners for each student. This teaches students how to cooperate with others to achieve a common goal and build community in the classroom. Within these small groups, whether they realize it or not, students will be forced to negotiate with others and come to understand their strengths.

Coping Skills

If you have a student (or students) who tend to struggle more with otherwise-commonplace activities, they may be more prone to frustration or disappointment. In these moments, you can provide them with a quiet space to regroup.

This can even be the place where you gather for those one-on-one conferences to affirm students' progress in the classroom. Once it's established as a safe space, it can always be returned to in times of need. Maybe you'll place a few pillows on the floor, a soothing lamp, and journaling materials.

Increased Reflection

On a regular basis, set aside time for freewriting or journaling. SEL isn't just for the benefit of the teacher. While teachers are understanding the manner in which emotions tie into a student's academic success, students can always learn more about themselves, too.

Turn the entire classroom into a "quiet corner" during this time. Dim the lights; play soft music. In the hubbub of what's sure to be occasionally overwhelming, you can turn portions of the school day into a time for quiet reflection. This may also be a nice time to conduct those individual conferences.

Community Building

Another regular expectation to rotate into the mix is classroom jobs. This will give students a sense of ownership over their classroom and (in some instances) give them something to look forward to. Classroom jobs also cultivate a sense of community among students.

Students can each take turns leading the line, passing out papers, cleaning the whiteboard, and more. You can also decide if this will be another opportunity for team building or individual success.

New Perspectives

Whenever possible, encourage students to take on their own perspectives and opinions. Use the reading time to ask students to voice their opinions on various characters and their actions.

Use journaling time to ask students to record their thoughts on various subject matters. All this allows them to foster a sense of ownership over their feelings and confidence in their self-expression.

What's the Overall Impact?

The overall impact of classroom management on SEL extends well beyond the happy days in the classroom. Empowering students to ascertain their personal strengths while making them feel valued and strengthened is something that will serve them well them throughout the entire course of their academic and professional careers.

By encouraging small group work, students are learning how to function on a team. By encouraging them to push through their difficult assignments to get to the ones they excel in, students are learning how to problem-solve. All this has the potential to promote a stronger character, temperance, and follow-through.

Although life is rife with emotional distress, you can foster an environment where students feel safe. And, even when the going gets tough, they'll have coping skills taken from SEL. They can journal, retreat to a quiet space, start their classroom job, or request a personal conference.

Classroom Management for Success

Classroom management is inextricably tied to social-emotional learning. The two pair perfectly well, but that's not to say it doesn't require diligence to sew these moving parts together.

Creating a behavior intervention plan requires insight into your current students and follow-through. As you know, it doesn't just start and stop with the creation of a classroom management plan. Regular updates and adjustments are also required.

This is where we come in. Here at Insights to Behavior, not only do we help you create, update, track, and report on behavior management plans, we also help you go beyond chronicling behaviors to determine underlying causes.

If you're a school counselor, special education director, school psychologist, or behavior interventionist, feel free to sign up for our free monthly series on managing student behavior.

If you're a Director of Special Education, schedule a 30-minute online personal demo of our software application.

Together, we can help you create a legally-defensible behavior intervention plans in under an hour. The improvements that will be felt in your classroom will be tangible, real, and - most of all - greatly beneficial to all your learners.

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The Impact of Classroom Management on Social-Emotional Learning

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It's impossible to deny the effects of students' emotions, relationships, and decision-making skills on their learning skills. While nobody - no matter their age - can live their life by their emotions, there are ways to tailor lesson plans in an effort to make everyone a success.

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Top 10 CLASSROOM MANAGEMENT Tips in 10 Minutes

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Classroom management consideratins that can apply across content areas...

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Classroom management consideratins that can apply across content areas...

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This article has been a long standing resource! Topics include: Preventative Discipline, Teacher presence, critical nature of teacher-student communications, and the shared agenda!

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Responsive classroom definition and link to website

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Physical Classroom environment impact on learners

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8 Classroom Seating Arrangements Teachers Love

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Are you struggling to set-up your classroom? Check out these tried and tested classroom desk arrangement ideas to get you inspired!

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If you've struggled with classroom transitions, you're not alone. Helping students move from one task to another can be a challenge, even for seasoned veteran teachers. But consider this: If you spent just 15 minutes on a classroom transition once a day for an entire school year, you'd lose 45 HOURS of instructional time!

That's about a week of school lost to transitions! Want to grab that time back? The teachers on the Teach Starter team sat down to take a look at the main three types of transitions and share some of our own tried and true transition strategies that can help you spend more time on teaching (and less time trying to get students back on track!).

What Is a Classroom Transition?

Put simply, a classroom transition is a process of moving from one lesson, space, or event to another during the course of the school day. They happen several times a day, and they can be simple or more complicated with a need to change locations and the collecting or swapping of books and equipment.

Transitions can present a challenge for students who see an opportunity to get chatty - or get a little unwieldy - and that can mean a challenge for a teacher to maintain classroom order. But getting this part of the school day down pat is key to classroom management, and fortunately, we've got some solid tips from our years in the classroom to help you get on track.

What Are the 3 Types of Transitions?

Students will make a lot of transitions throughout a school day - more than you might even realize - but you can easily break them down into three types of transitions:

Entering the classroom

Switching from one activity to another

Exiting the class

Seems overly simple? Let's break it down a little bit more. Here are just some examples of the classroom transitions you might expect to handle throughout the school day - depending on the grade level you teach - which all tie back to those three main types:

Transitioning from drop-off or the school bus into the classroom at the start of the day

Moving from carpet time to desk work

Coming back into the classroom after lunch or recess

Returning from specials (P.E., music, art, etc.)

Going to another area of the school such as the library, the cafeteria or the computer lab

Rotating from one small group activity to another

Explore our teachers' favorite classroom routines and resources.

Why Are Transitions Important in Teaching?

Transitions can be incredibly efficient if coordinated effectively. They give students a break by providing them the opportunity to get out of their seats and switch their focus to a new task.

Transitions give students an opportunity to stretch their bodies and take a break from learning - both incredibly important for maintaining concentration throughout the school day.

Classroom transitions can also be used to minimize disruption from restless students when timed appropriately. However, they can also cause excitability if mismanaged. So, now that we know why transitions are important, how do you make sure they're effective?

Great Classroom Transition Strategies

Prepare Kids for the Signals

Classroom management involves a lot of repetition of the rules and procedures, and that includes transition management. From the first week of school, work to let your students know the signals that you'll be using when it's time to make a transition, so they know what they mean and can quickly adapt.

A key to successful transitions is making sure your students feel in control and feel like they are managing their own time, so letting them know what to expect and do puts them in the driver's seat when it comes to making good choices!

Teach Starter Teacher Tip: Try our Attention-Grabbing Phrase Cards for a fun way to grab student attention! Whenever you're ready to stop an activity and move on to the next one, simply call out one of the phrases on the cards, and watch them snap to attention!

Cues are Key

Getting your students to quickly drop everything and prepare to change activities does take some practice. You need your students to know exactly what to do when you want their attention, and they need to do it fast!

Some cues that members of our teacher team swear by include:

1. Set up a countdown timer - play any of these free timers any time you need them.

2. Post a visual schedule in your classroom where students can see it. Five minutes before the transition, draw attention to the schedule and announce what will happen in 5 minutes. Then make an announcement at the 2-minute mark for students to start cleaning up to ready for their next activity.

3. Play music at a low volume in the classroom, and adjust the volume when it's time to transition. Again, it's important to prep students ahead of time for what to do when that music change occurs!

4. Set up a doorbell in your classroom to play when it's time to transition. You can find a variety of doorbells online these days with different sounds. Why not buy multiple and use different sounds to cue students for different activities - transitioning to new center activities, sitting quietly at their desks, and so on?

Manage Materials

If you are asking students to collect and organize their own supplies, make sure it is in a place they can all easily access without causing a traffic jam. Alternatively, give one of your students the materials manager job for a whole week so there's no confusion as to who's carrying what!

Teach Starter Teacher Tip: Print and post a classroom job chart so every student knows who is in charge of what!

Transition With Movement and Music

Transitions are a great opportunity to get your students up and moving - waking their brains up and giving them a good stretch. Instead of letting the movements get out of control, why not turn it into a little bit of fun?

Playing particular songs when you want your students to complete different transitions is a great way to train them to transition a certain way on cue, and the best part is that they know they only have until the song is up to complete the transition.

Move Your Body

Obviously, moving and grooving your body to music isn't really feasible when you're moving around the school grounds! So how do you make walking in the hallways interesting and engaging for your students?

There will always be a time and a place for a straight line quietly walking from one classroom to the next, but for those times in between, use our How to walk like a... Instruction Cards!

These fun movement cards encourage your class to concentrate on their walk through the school to ensure they complete the right actions. Their eyes are less likely to wander, their mouths are less likely to chatter, and their minds and bodies will be nicely exercised by the time they reach their destination!

Banner image via shutterstock.com/Prostock-studio

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5 Secrets to Classroom Transitions That Actually Work

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What are classroom transitions, and why are they important? Try these classroom transition strategies to save time during the school day!

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A look at how to set up a classroom that promotes shared responsibilities so that students are engaged in their community.

What is a democratic classroom? It's not a partisan space. It doesn't focus on political parties and their viewpoints. Instead, a democratic classroom engages students in living democratically by promoting values such as inclusion, voice, representation, and participation.

After prolonged periods of remote learning, our classroom communities have never been more relevant as spaces to nurture student agency, foster social belonging, and prepare our learners as active citizens. We can create this environment by establishing democratic classrooms: safe, inclusive learning environments, where students actively practice democratic values, understand their rights, and take responsibility for their behavior as both individuals and members of a community.

High-trust relationships and shared power between teachers and students

High degree of student voice and agency

Respect for children's ideas and contributions

Intentional sharing of diverse perspectives, including those about challenging issues

Use of dialogue and group decision-making, often through protocols

Development of the whole self, including students' critical consciousness

These are characteristics of the democratic classroom:

Practical Ways to Promote Agency and Participation With Students

Classroom setup: Start the school year by co-constructing features of the classroom with students and integrating their ideas into the design of the learning space. With your learners, consider the underlying beliefs and values that the classroom should promote. Using a Y-chart, ask them, "What should our classroom community look like, sound like, and feel like?"

For example, if students want a space that promotes collaboration and social belonging, how might a furniture layout help or hinder this? While rows of desks will limit social interaction, table groups will foster discussion and sharing. Make decisions with students about the placement of furniture and the nature of classroom decorations-for example, signs in students' home languages that reflect their beliefs and values. Think about what interactions might look like in the classroom space. How might this connect to the purpose of a space, such as promoting reflection? When and how should the teacher and students revisit the classroom design to see how it functions?

Reflect on how the classroom setup might communicate underlying power dynamics. For instance, does the teacher sit on a soft chair while the students are on hard chairs? Are all chairs directed toward the teacher? Does the teacher sit at a higher level than the students-for example, on a chair in a carpeted area, while children sit on the floor? How might such decisions promote or impede a democratic classroom climate?

Instead, we can shift power and share it with our students by decentralizing our classrooms. Using small group seating, not all physically directed toward the same classroom wall, we can promote agency and leverage the power of collaborative, peer-to-peer learning. When stools are placed in a circle for class discussion, students can speak directly to others in the class, instead of requiring constant meditation by the teacher. The traditional student-teacher ping-pong becomes a multiplayer basketball game. This allows us to move away from a teacher-as-authority stance and to the role of a learning facilitator as students develop communication and social skills.

Co-constructed class charter: Rather than creating classroom rules or expectations, co-construct a classroom charter with students. A charter is different because it focuses on students' rights as well as their responsibilities. It models how individual and group needs intersect, yet also deviate. As part of the design of a class charter, introduce students to a rights framework, such as the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child. Ask students to choose rights they believe need to be in place in order for them to learn. Next, given these rights, what are their responsibilities to ensure that these are upheld in the classroom community?

Importantly, the rights that students choose can't be taken away as punishment. However, the opportunity to infringe on other people's rights can be withdrawn. For example, a student can be stopped from exercising their freedom of speech if their words are discriminatory against others in the classroom. UNICEF Canada has more information about class charters.

Peaceful place: Peace begins with each student. If we want peaceful classroom communities, where students learn how to recognize their emotions and navigate conflict in productive ways, we need to teach strategies for being at peace. "A peaceful place" is a physical location in the classroom where students can reflect on their feelings, calm down, or resolve conflict with their peers. It may be a table at the back of the class, a play tent, or even a large cardboard box that can be painted by students.

By inviting students to identify, design, and decorate a peaceful place, we can introduce the notion of peace and set up classroom routines that promote personal and group well-being.

For instance, with elementary students, place paper, markers, and reading books in the space, so that students can use the area to cool off when feeling frustrated. Likewise, arrange a few chairs inside or next to the space to promote conflict resolution strategies such as recognizing emotions, using "I statements," and active listening. Importantly, a peaceful place should never be used for disciplinary purposes, such as a time out. Peace is a dynamic rather than passive concept, so ongoing practice and reflection on behavior is key. There's more information about this strategy in a book I wrote with Elizabeth O. Crawford, Worldwise Learning: A Teacher's Guide to Shaping a Just, Sustainable Future.

Structures for discussion and dialogue: Students benefit from structures and protocols that enable them to feel safe and secure during discussions. This is especially true when speaking about current events that may be contentious or produce strong emotions in our learners. Structures and protocols provide predictability and help to scaffold the development of communication skills. For engaging students in conversations about social justice issues, Learning for Justice's provides a number of concrete tips. For example, when structuring critical conversations, teach students to "Restate, Contemplate, Breathe, Communicate" to manage emotions or use temperature-check strategies such as Fist to Five to understand students' comfort level.

Likewise, Facing History and Ourselves has a number of strategies that teachers can use before, during, or after discussions, such as "Big Paper" to promote silent conversations or "Cafe Conversations" where students take on the role of an assigned perspective in a small group discussion.

The democratic classroom fosters critical thinking, authentic participation, and social and emotional learning. It's a humanizing space that empowers our students. As American scholar and activist bell hooks says, this is "education as a practice of freedom." Part of creating a democratic classroom is being aware of how to set up our classrooms, establish community, and make space for students' diverse voices, opinions, and perspectives.

This is part of our hidden curriculum. Whether intentional or not, our choices communicate beliefs, values, and expectations to students. If we want our students to become active citizens, we must ensure that our routines, structures, and interactions mirror this aim.

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A look at how to set up a classroom that promotes shared responsibilities so that students are engaged in their community.

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Effective transitions are critical for effective classroom management, successful learners, and happy teachers. Time loss, and attention loss, during transitions can be a major factor in student learning. It can be a major hurdle that separates high-growth classes from low-growth classes. Here are a few tips to give your students a sense of urgency and mental focus during transitions.

In this post, you will find:

Why effective transitions are important for classroom management and instructional effectiveness.

A Simple Transition Tip

Video on "Tight Transitions"

Ideas to Master Effective Transitions

Let's start with why effective transitions are so important.

Why Are Transitions Important?

These are times when noise levels increase, academic engagement is absent, and movement is present. It's the perfect recipe for disasters or regaining mental focus. It all depends on your use of routine and effective transitions.

Transition Time = No Learning, which is good for the brain.

Smooth transitions = Increased learning time.

Time = A teacher's most valuable resource.

Bad Transitions = Unfocused learners, loss of time.

Chaotic Transitions = Unhealthy class climate.

There's a lot at stake here. So let's look at the simplest tip that I can give you. It also has a huge impact on classroom management!

Transition Tip: Time Limits & Countdowns

Save time during transitions by using time limits and countdowns.

During any transition, give time limits. 10 seconds, 20 seconds, 60 seconds...whatever you think is appropriate for an effective transition, and then make it a bit shorter. The students will move much faster with a little time pressure.

Be sure to remind students of the intervals as they pass. It looks this:

"Okay students, clear off your desks and take out your writing notebooks. You have 30 seconds."

Students start the transition.

Teacher gives the interval, "20 seconds left."

Students hurry up and then, "10 seconds left."

In the final stretch, use a countdown, "5, 4, 3..."

It really is as simple as that! If you want to boost the effectiveness of this transition tip, try a few classroom management ninja techniques.

Add music. Experiment with calm, energetic, instrumental, and other types to see which is best for your class climate.

Add choral response. When giving directions, use a routine choral response such as:

Teacher: Hey, hey, young scholars!

Class: Hey, hey, cool teacher!

Then give the directions.

Add team points. Motivate teams by giving group points to the quickest and quietest groups.

Let's ninja-proof classroom management with these Effective Transition techniques! Click To Tweet

Tight Transitions

This is a strategy in the Teach Like A Champion book (Amazon link).

To do this, teachers must break down procedures and map out the one right way to do them. One effective way to do this is to scaffold the transitions, teaching procedures step-by-step. It may seem like a waste of time or something for their homeroom teachers to do, but it is an investment and one that can pay off for months or years to come, depending on how long you teach.

This is about the social and emotional health of the class. Teachers must break down procedures and map out the one right way to do them. Click To Tweet

Mastering Classroom Transitions

Let's wrap up with a few ideas and tips from Todd Finley. You can read more in the full article at Edutopia.

He offers an interesting fact about the loss of time during transitions:

Botched transitions are not only embarrassing, they're lost time. If you save 15 minutes a day through more efficient transitions, that will result in 45 extra hours of instructional time per year. Therefore, shifting students from one task to the next is worth getting right.

-Todd Finley

And here are a few tips for transitions:

Secure students' attention.

Explain the procedure.

Prepare kids for the signal to start.

Initiate the transition.

Observe.

Sometimes transitions are just plain difficult. Here are a few questions that can help with reflection:

1. Where my directions vague?

2. Did I have too many steps in the directions?

3. Was it a routine transition, or was it new?

4. How can I make this transition a habit, a routine?

5. Did I use a signal? The same signal as always?

6. Did I have their attention when we started the transition?

7. When did the transition get off-track? Who caused it? What caused it?

Botched transitions are not only embarrassing, they're lost time. If you save 15 min/day through more efficient transitions, that will result in 45 extra hours of instructional time per year! @finleyt Click To Tweet

Effective Classroom Structures with Transitions

I hope this quick-read helps with building effective transitions into your class structure. Also, you can use the timers and tools to help with effective transitions: Class Dojo (for points, music, and timers), Online Stopwatch (fun timers for projection), Egg Timer (a simple timer for transitions).

If you enjoyed these effective transition tips, please consider sharing this article with a friend or colleague using the share buttons. And now, it's your turn. What tips do you have for transitions and classroom management? What questions do you have? Leave a comment below the related articles or Tweet Matt here.

Hey, Matt I just read your article on Effective Transitions! Click To Tweet

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Effective Transitions, Classroom Management - TeamTom Education

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Effective transitions are critical for effective classroom management, successful learners, and happy teachers. Time loss, and attention loss, during transitions can be a major factor in student learning. It can be a major hurdle that separates high-growth classes from low-growth classes. Here are a few tips to give your students a sense of urgency and mental focus during transitions.

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If you're a teacher, you know how important it is to establish clear rules and procedures for your classroom. But how do you make them fun and engaging for your students? Here are five activities and seven games that will help you introduce your rules and procedures in a funny and memorable way. these back to school activities are great for teambuilding to foster a positive classroom climate on the first days of school.

Also, check out the ultimate back to school classroom management checklist.

Rules and Procedures, Ways to Review

It's one thing to set rules and procedures with your classroom when you go back to school. It's another thing to have all the rule and procedures practiced so that you have effective transitions and a positive classroom climate.

1. The Rule Rap: Write a rap song that summarizes your main rules and procedures. Use rhymes, rhythm, and humor to make it catchy and easy to remember. You can even record it and play it for your students or have them rap along with you.

2. The Procedure Puzzle: Cut out pieces of paper with different steps of a procedure (such as lining up, going to the bathroom, or cleaning up) and mix them up. Have your students work in groups to put the pieces in the correct order. Then, have them act out the procedure for the class.

3. The Rule Relay: Divide your class into two teams and have them line up on opposite sides of the room. Give each team a set of cards with different rules on them. One by one, have the students run to the other side of the room, pick a card, and read it aloud. If they read a rule that applies to your classroom, they keep the card. If they read a rule that does not apply, they put it back. The team with the most cards at the end wins.

4. The Procedure Charades: Write down different procedures on slips of paper and put them in a hat. Have one student draw a slip and act out the procedure without speaking or making any sounds. The rest of the class has to guess what the procedure is.

5. The Rule Bingo: Create a bingo card with different rules on it. Give each student a copy of the card and some markers. As you go over your rules and procedures, have the students mark off the ones that match their card. The first student to get five in a row (horizontally, vertically, or diagonally) shouts "Bingo!" and wins.

Teambuilding Activities for the Classroom

Use these activities to encourage your students to build teamwork and practice the rules and procedures in a fun way.

Back to School Classroom Games

Toilet Paper Share

Bring a roll of toilet paper to class and have each student tear off as many squares as they want. Then, have them share one interesting fact about themselves for each square they took. This activity will help them open up and also teach them a valuable lesson about not wasting toilet paper.

Balloon Pop

Divide the class into pairs and give each pair a balloon. Have them blow up the balloon and write their names on it with a marker. Then, have them put the balloon between their backs and try to pop it by moving closer together. The first pair to pop their balloon wins. This activity will help them bond and also make a lot of noise.

M&M Game

Bring a bag of M&M's to class and have each student take a handful. Then, assign a different question to each color of M&M, such as "What is your favorite hobby?" or "What is something you are afraid of?". Have the students take turns answering the questions based on the colors they have. This activity will help them share their likes and dislikes and also satisfy their sweet tooth.1. Human Knot: This activity requires students to form a circle and grab the hands of two different people across from them. Then, they have to untangle themselves without letting go of their hands. This challenges students to work together, communicate effectively, and problem-solve creatively.

Marshmallow Tower

This activity requires students to work in small groups and use marshmallows and spaghetti (or other materials) to build the tallest tower possible in a given time limit. This encourages students to cooperate, plan, and experiment with different strategies.

Two Truths and a Lie

This activity requires students to write down two true facts and one false fact about themselves on a piece of paper. Then, they take turns reading their facts to the class and having the class guess which one is the lie. This helps students get to know each other better, practice their listening skills, and have some fun.

Blind Drawing

This activity requires students to pair up and sit back to back. One student gets a picture of an object or a scene and has to describe it to the other student, who has to draw it without seeing it. Then, they switch roles and repeat the process. This enhances students' verbal communication, listening comprehension, and visual imagination.

Scavenger Hunt

This activity requires students to form teams and complete a list of tasks or find a list of items around the school or the classroom. The tasks or items can be related to the curriculum, the school rules, or the teacher's interests. This motivates students to explore their surroundings, work as a team, and learn new things.

These are just a few ideas for games that you can play in your classroom on the first days of school. With a little creativity, you can come up with many other games that will help your students learn and have fun.

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Rules, Procedures, and Classroom Climate on the First Days of School - TeamTom Education

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If you're a teacher, you know how important it is to establish clear rules and procedures for your classroom. But how do you make them fun and engaging for your students? Here are five activities and seven games that will help you introduce your rules and procedures in a funny and memorable way.

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This has several great planning tools to think through the "why" behind classroom design.

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Physical Classroom Structure | Classroom Check-Up WP Engine Prod

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Effective physical layout of the classroom promotes positive teacher-student interactions, assists with smooth transitions, and prevents disruptive behavior.

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Not sure what category this would fall into but these are simple, basic routines

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Learning how to manage a classroom full of kids takes time and patience.

Novice teachers, understandably, "tend to focus on behavioral management (e.g., controlling student behavior and establishing rules)," while expert teachers have developed a "more comprehensive understanding of classroom management and its complexity," researchers explain in a 2021 study. By the time they've reached the middle of their teaching careers, educators tend to think about discipline holistically-how it's intimately connected to the clarity of their lessons, the effects of peer dynamics, or even the organization of their physical classroom spaces.

Misbehavior in the classroom, meanwhile, is not always what it seems. As students navigate the social terrain of the classroom, it's normal to expect occasional moments of defiance, says Stephanie Jones, a developmental psychologist at Harvard. Acting out is "not always a sign of intentional disregard or disrespect of others or of the rules" and can be a healthy part of a child's social and emotional development as they test boundaries, learn what consequences are, and assert their independence.

There's no silver bullet to keeping students on track and disruptions at bay-a 2021 study notes that being an effective teacher "requires the adaptive application of a repertoire of different classroom management strategies." Here are eight portable, easy-to-deploy strategies that can make a big impact as you attempt to keep the class focused on the vital academic work at hand.

1. 'The Look'

"Sometimes situations don't warrant words-mere eye contact or going to stand next to where a student is seated will do," writes Rebecca Alber, a teacher trainer at UCLA's Graduate School of Education. "Nonverbal classroom management tactics like these help keep everyone's dignity intact in the room." It's important to use "the look"-an arched eyebrow or a stern glare directed at misbehavior-moderately, both to maximize its effectiveness and limit its (modest) potential to stigmatize students if overused, says Alber.

Drawing on Jacob Kounin's concept of "overlapping," the researchers in a 2025 study suggest that experienced teachers often choose to respond quickly and unobtrusively, "without interrupting the intellectual flow of the instruction." By shooting a quick look, moving closer to the problem area, or deftly inserting the student's name into the lesson-"We're focused on the slope of this line, right, John?"-the teacher "conveys several messages the student and the classmates immediately understand (e.g., 'I saw that,' 'Stop it,' 'First warning') while still carrying on with instruction."

It can feel awkward, but younger teachers can practice techniques like "the look" at home and then try them out in the classroom before refining their techniques. Other educators we've interviewed discuss their preferred nonverbal cues directly with students, describing the intended effect of hand signals and glances to model expected behaviors.

2. Tone of Voice

What may sound authoritative to you may come off as authoritarian to your students.

In a 2022 study, researchers studied how elementary students reacted to typical classroom instructions-"It's time to start the lesson" or "Listen carefully," for example-delivered in tones ranging from demanding to neutral to supportive. While neutral and positive tones led to a warmer, more supportive classroom culture, stricter tones undermined trust and discouraged kids when it came time "to share secrets with their teachers," who subsequently missed out on important information related to bullying, hardships, and even the work students were proudest of.

Finding your voice will take time and practice, but "developing a calm, neutral, assertive voice is part of the teacher's own self-regulation," which in turn allows students to be "self-regulated and secure in the knowledge that the teacher will be receptive to them, but also in control," explains Linda Darling-Hammond, former professor at Stanford and current president of the Learning Policy Institute.

At Van Ness Elementary School, teachers actively work on tone of voice and then model self-regulation through its strategic use. "If we're talking in a voice that is too aggressive, we might accidentally be using fear to manipulate children's behavior," says Cynthia Robinson-Rivers. "Instead of helping them to gain that intrinsic motivation to do the right thing for the right reasons."

3. Getting to Clarity

Preparing a well-thought-out lesson with very clear instructions doesn't just grease the academic wheels, it also helps to minimize student disruptions. In a 2018 study, researchers discovered that 15 percent of misbehavior was attributed to instructional factors such as "an instructor's failure to provide clear expectations or command of the classroom."

Christopher Pagan, a high school physics teacher, regularly surveys his students to gain a clearer sense of the clarity of his lessons. "The purpose of the survey is to give my students a voice to tell me what changes I can make and what practices I can implement to help them perform better in class," he says. The survey "has nothing to do with content. There are no questions about physics." A 2019 study backs his approach, revealing that highly effective teachers audit their materials regularly "to identify what was working or not." For academic work that involves complex instructions, ask students to talk you through what they think the steps are, and take notes on the whiteboard while offering clarifications.

4. Greeting Students at the Door

Spending a few moments at the beginning of class welcoming students-by greeting them as they enter the class or scheduling a morning meeting, for example-not only sets a positive tone, but also can boost engagement and reduce disruptive behavior. In a 2018 study (replicated with older students in another 2018 study), positive greetings at the door increased academic engagement by 20 percentage points while decreasing disruptive behavior by 9 percentage points, effectively adding "an additional hour of engagement over the course of a five-hour instructional day," according to the researchers.

More recently, researchers in a 2024 study explain that low-intensity classroom management strategies such as positive greetings at the door are effective at "defusing problems rather than exacerbating them" and allow students to see teachers less as arbiters of discipline and more as mentors and guides. When students feel welcome in the classroom, they're more likely to put genuine effort into their learning, the research shows.

5. Keeping Distractions In Check

In the battle for student attention, you're not going to beat the lure of electronic devices and whirring, flashing fidget toys. In a 2020 study, students who were seated by a classmate browsing the internet on a laptop scored 9 percentage points lower on retention tests than their distraction-free peers. Even those who couldn't glimpse the laptop screen were distracted, suggesting that they picked up on the subtle cues-a stifled chuckle or slouched posture-that signaled a lack of academic focus, the researchers found.

At the beginning of class, math teacher Rebecka Peterson asks her students to deposit their devices in a cell phone holder. "Don't make phones a big deal; it's just another procedure," she writes. If keeping devices out of reach isn't an option, you can create firm boundaries: "I have a doorbell in my classroom... and students know it means to put phones away and take AirPods out of their ears," writes educator Sarah Said.

Finally, be wary of fidgets that make noise, light up, or can be thrown. "There is not sufficient support for the implementation of fidget toys in the classroom," researchers explain in a 2023 study. That's because students who fiddle with fidget spinners, poppers, and balls-the most distracting of the bunch-tend to score significantly worse on academic tests and often affect the performance of nearby students, a 2019 study reveals.

6. Warming Up Your Cold calls

Many students are wary of participating in class discussions, often because they're shy, afraid to be seen as incompetent, or simply not interested in the topic. It's not uncommon to ask a question and hear crickets in response. Yet not all teachers approach cold calling the same way-a 2022 study found that the practice generally fell into one of two categories: "Encouraging and engaging on the one hand" or "confrontational and intimidating" on the other.

If you want to keep class participation on track, try warming up your cold calls. In the study, middle school teachers who couched their cold calls in an inviting, respectful manner-using language like "I'd like to hear some ideas," for example-were able to assuage their students' fears and anxieties about being put on the spot, leading to more fruitful conversations in which students felt "safe to take risks."

Over time, well-executed cold calling can decrease anxiety levels and increase class participation, since "once a student has participated a few times, it becomes easier to participate," according to a 2013 study. In fact, when teachers regularly integrate cold calling, participation increases from about 50 percent to slightly above 90 percent, the researchers found, and the approach can be especially helpful for typically quieter students, such as girls, according to a 2019 study.

7. Break Time!

A short break after a long lesson can keep students more engaged throughout the day, while reducing classroom disruptions. Brain breaks aren't a fad-they're backed by science and trusted by experienced teachers. A 2024 study, for example, found that 91 percent of K-2 teachers rely on intermittent breaks to refresh student attention spans and improve information processing.

In a 2021 study, scientists used brain imaging to analyze cognitive activity after elementary students engaged in short brain breaks-tossing balls, pretending to be cars and zooming around the classroom, or playing Simon Says, for example. They discovered that four-to-six-minute brain breaks improved "children's neural activity efficiency," leading to "significantly higher odds of being observed on-task" during later instructional periods.

Even older students benefit from brain breaks. In a 2020 study, a brief exercise break reduced off-task behaviors among high school students-gazing off, staring into space, or putting their head down on the desk, for example-by nearly half, making it "a feasible and practical approach" for older adolescents.

8. Let the Small Stuff Go

Trying to catch and fix every minor disruption might seem like a good classroom approach, but it often leads to more misbehavior in the long run. A 2016 study shows that calling students out for minor issues like daydreaming or brief chatter can erode their feelings of connection to the classroom, leading to even more misbehavior down the road. For some students, this negative attention can actually lead to a "negative reinforcement pattern" that "actually amplifies students' inappropriate behavior" over the long haul.

While a stern approach to classroom management may be necessary to combat severe or repeated infractions, it's better to start small and focus on de-escalating or defusing the situation.

When teachers react defensively to student behaviors, they "may become locked in a power struggle or an ineffective pattern of communication," writes special education teacher Nina Parrish. Remain calm and avoid using statements that begin with "You"-for example, "You never listen and follow directions. Don't get out of your seat again!"-which typically triggers defiant behavior. Instead, rephrase it to an "I statement": "I would like for all of my students to sit down, listen, and follow directions so that they know what to do next."

When kids inevitably push your buttons, take things slowly and approach each situation with calm and compassion. Educator Emily Terwilliger suggests playing out tense moments ahead of time: "Think through scenarios that might happen in your classroom and how you want to respond before the start of the year," she writes. "It will make those first redirects and interventions less intimidating."

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8 Small But Impactful Classroom Management Shifts

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How using subtle gestures, spatial awareness, and tone of voice can nudge your classroom toward smoother operations.

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The lead4ward Instructional Strategies Playlist provides educators with detailed descriptions for low-prep/high-yield instructional strategies, many of which are modeled and experienced in lead4ward professional development sessions! These easy-to-use strategies actively engage students in learning, provide practice without penalty, encourage student interaction and dialog, and allow educators to observe students’ thinking. Use these strategies with your district curriculum or high-quality instructional materials to increase engagement and help students comprehend, connect, and communicate content deeply!

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The lead4ward Instructional Strategies Playlist provides educators with detailed descriptions for low-prep/high-yield instructional strategies, many of which are modeled and experienced in lead4ward professional development sessions! These easy-to-use strategies actively engage students in learning, provide practice without penalty, encourage student interaction and dialog, and allow educators to

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Last updated by Linda Kamp on *

In this post you will learn ten important classroom routines and procedures to teach on the very first day of school. These are the procedures students will need right away and use most often.

The key to classroom management is consistency. I can't stress enough how important it is to teach rules, routines, and procedures beginning on the first day of school. It's critical that you are consistent and follow through with keeping students accountable and meeting your expectations. It is just as important to heap on the praise and acknowledge positive behavior along the way.

Establishing your routines and procedures takes time, consistency, and patience, so allow yourself plenty of time to reteach and practice when you need to.

Routines and Procedures to Teach Right Away

The easiest way I have found to introduce procedures is with a PowerPoint. During the first weeks of school I project certain slides at different times of the day as a visual reminder of what students are to do. You only have to make your PowerPoint once, then you have every year. You can easily add pictures which are helpful for younger students.

Arrival Routine

Teach your students exactly what you expect when they enter the door of your classroom. I always greet each student individually upon arrival. Then they may need to unstack their chair followed by unpacking their backpack, lunch box, folder, water bottle, etc. Again, always model where everything should go. Have morning/bell work on their desk if you do it, or on the white board ready to go. This will decrease the chances of students being off task. Once students can complete this routine independently you will be able to easily take attendance, complete lunch counts, meet with a student, etc.

Line Up Procedure

This is something you will probably do at least three times a day so it's very important to be consistent. Model for students how they will push in their chair and quietly walk to the line. Consider having a marker on the floor for the line leaders spot. Explain to students that they need to be facing forward, hands at the sides, and voices off. The first week of school I always allow plenty of time for lining up in case we need to do it more than once. If you put the time in now to set your expectations, then it will go smoother during the rest of the school year. Students will know they are being held accountable. Consider having a line leader, door holder, line monitor, and caboose as classroom leadership roles/job.

When arriving to and departing from specials, each special teacher will have their own expectations. Find out how they expect students to enter and leave their classroom. Make sure you are helping your students to be successful in specials by assuring they know how to correctly enter and depart their special area classes. This post has more lining-up strategies .

Getting Students' Attention

Hand signals work for all grade levels and minimize the interruptions while you are speaking or teaching. Like all other routines, introduce it early and practice, practice, practice. Create a chart to display for times students forget, so that you can point to the chart. See a list of 8 nonverbal cues for the classroom that really work.

Restroom Routines and Procedures

Teach restroom rules and your procedure for asking to go away. Create a hand signal for students to do when they need to use the restroom. Something different than simply raising their hand. For example, raising their hand with their fingers crossed. This way you can address the request without stopping your lesson.

Click the link to download a set of FREE Restroom Rules Posters.

Restroom passes or a sign out procedure are other options to consider. As always, be sure to model this for students and positively reinforce when it is being done correctly.

Routines and Procedures for Transitions

Transitions are something that happens many times throughout the day so it's crucial to model this for students and hold them accountable. Allow plenty of time to teach how you want it done, and practice so that you are not rushed. Show students how to push in their chair before walking quietly to the carpet, computers, or another area in the classroom. The expectation should be that transitions are always done quickly and quietly so as not to waste time or to distract other students.

For younger grades, model for students exactly where and how you expect them to sit on the carpet. Explain any supplies they will need to bring with them. Redo and repeat if students don't do it the way you've taught them.

Labeling Assignments

Create a no name rule and a student number system. This may seem like a minor detail, but there is nothing more frustrating than having papers turned in without names and trying to figure out whose is whose.

Teach this routine the very first time you give students a paper to complete. Show your students how you want all written work labeled before it is turned in. Establishing this habit early saves time later. Make it the practice for students to write their numbers next to their name on all papers they work on in class, and including homework, so that you can quickly put them in order and record grades. In my classroom, students write their name, number, and date. This is another great time to positively reinforce when expectations are met and refine when they are not. Number student mailboxes or cubbies too, so passing back graded work is quick and easy.

Getting a Pencil

Decide your pencil procedure and teach it the first time you ask your students to use a pencil. I use two cans for sharp and dull, and students make a trade when they need a sharp pencil. We don't sharpen pencils until classroom job time, just before dismissal, and sharpening pencils is one student's job.

Procedure for Walking in the Hallway

Teach students how you expect them to walk in the hallway. Your class will be in the hallway several times each day and you don't want to disrupt other classes while they're learning. It's frustrating when a noisy class walks by and distracts your students while you are teaching.

Don't be THAT class! Demonstrate how you expect students to walk in the hallway- voices off, facing forward, hands at their sides, etc. Stop your line and redirect students to correct any behaviors that are not following the procedure. Allow plenty of time for re-dos and practice. Make sure your students truly understand that you will hold them to these expectations. Establishing this protocol now will save you time and energy later.

Arriving/Departing Lunch and Recess

Use your school's lunch routine and procedures to help you establish a procedure for your class. Determine where students need to be dropped off first, how they transition if they go recess afterward, and where you will pick them up. Consider explaining this to younger students using pictures of your actual campus.

Demonstrate how students will buy their lunch, where to sit, and how to clean up after themselves. This is also a great time to reinforce lunch table manners! Remind students of the rules and expectations for walking and standing in line that you have already taught.

If students line up in a different spot for afternoon recess, be sure to show them where and explain that they will need to listen for a signal (bell, whistle, etc.) that recess is over and it is time to line up.

Be specific in your expectations for recess equipment. Once again, reinforce how you expect your class to stand in a line on the playground, as this will be another opportunity to practice.

Arriving/Departing Specials

This is another routine that will require you to familiarize yourself with you school's protocols and more specifically each special teacher individually. Each special teacher will have a routine for how they expect students to enter and leave their classroom but more than likely it requires the basics of walking in a proper line- voices off, facing forward, hands at their sides, etc. Make sure you are helping your students to be successful in specials by assuring they know how to correctly enter and depart their special area classes.

Dismissal Routine

Your end of the day dismissal routine will help ensure that all students are closing out the day correctly. Create a "pack and stack" routine with things students should do before they are dismissed. I use a PowerPoint template the first two weeks of school and project the slide when it is time to clean up and get ready for dismissal. Going forward I hang an anchor chart so all I have to do is point to it and remind students to follow the procedure.

Allow plenty of time, especially the first days of school, and teach students how to fill out any behavior logs, check their folders/agendas, collect papers from their cubby, and where to put them in their daily take home folders.
Download a FREE Routines & Procedures Checklist to get started! 10 Tips for Managing Meet the Teacher How to Plan the First Day of School You're Finally Here! First Week of School Activities What to Teach in Science at the Beginning of the Year
Show students how they will put their belongings (lunch box, folder, water bottle) in their backpacks and show them exactly how and where to stack their chairs. Teach students the order you need them to line up to go home. For example, bus riders first. Establishing a solid dismissal routine requires some time and patience in the beginning, it will be far less chaotic and stressful once students are able to follow the routine.

Establishing strong routines and procedures early is critical for classroom success. Investing the time to train your students at the beginning of the year will result in more learning time and a smoother running classroom.

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Happy teaching!

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10 Classroom Routines and Procedures to Teach Right Away

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In this post you will learn ten important classroom routines and procedures to teach on the very first day of school. These are the procedures students will need right away and use most often. The key to classroom management is consistency. I can't stress enough how important it is to teach rules, routines, and procedures ...

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First Week of School Classroom Management | Routines & Procedures

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Article - Rediscovering the Power of Reflection

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Article - Rediscovering the Power of Reflection

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There are days when, as educators, so many tasks are vying for our attention that our to-do lists feel endless. During these hectic days, reflection - a key piece of teaching and learning - is often the first thing to go.