Applying classroom rules and procedures
Introduction:
Teachers always expect students to follow the rules
and procedures in the classrooms. When students do a good job at following the
rules, they should be given positive reinforcement; when they do not follow the
rules and procedures, they should acknowledge their behavior with negative and
positive consequences.
(a) Positive reinforcement to
students who are following the rules and procedures
Students always need positive reinforcement from
teachers and parents when they are following the rules and procedures. I always
give immediate positive reinforcement when they are following the rules and
procedures, especially when other kids are not. I am teaching Grade Two in a
primary school at the moment. Students are really crazy about having
competitions with each other; even getting the compliments from teachers is one
of their competitions. Here are the steps that I will do:
(1) Use verbal and non-verbal acknowledgement
immediately
When
students do a good job, they always expect to get acknowledgement from the
teacher in public. Therefore, a simple “Good job!” or “Well done!” is really
effective to students. I have one little boy called Simon. He was always
talking in the class, or put his head on the ground. I tried to warn him
before, but it didn’t work. One day, he was really upset sitting down in the
class. He didn’t talk or do any strange behavior. I complimented him
immediately in front of the whole class: “Good job, Simon. You are really
well-behaved today.” The moment I said this, his eyes opened widely and sat
straightly immediately. From that day till the moment I am writing here, he
hasn’t shown any bad behavior in the class. Therefore, verbal acknowledgement
is more powerful than I thought.
Non-verbal
acknowledgements are also very effective. As my students are still very young,
I always give them a big smile, a thumbs-up sign or a big hug. They really
enjoy that.
(2) Use Tangible Recognition
I
ordered a stamp online for my students. I chose a thumb-up picture on my stamp.
Every time students follow the rules and procedures, I will mark the stamp on
their books. At the beginning of this term, I already told my students they can
change the gifts from me with 50 stamps or 100 stamps. 50 stamps can get a
small gift, and 100 stamps can get a big gift.
(3) Get Parents informed
At
the beginning of this term, I also told my students, once they get 50 stamps or
100 stamps from me, I will inform their parents about their good behavior at
school. Almost all children really want to get recognition from their parents.
So they will do everything they can to get acknowledgments from their parents.
I always use weichat or QQ (the most popular chatting tools in China) to inform
parents first or send sent messages to them.
(b)
Responses to students who are breaking the rules or not following procedures.
When
students break the rules or are not following procedures, consequences need to
be applied. I always tell them I will deal with the issue after the class.
(1) Give
a simple verbal request.
It’s
unfair to other students if the teacher deals with the issue in the class when
only one or two students show bad behavior. Therefore, I just use simple verbal
request:” Tom, I will have a chat with you in my office later, but now I need
you to be quiet.”
(2) Listen
actively to the student and action plan
I
always believe what our eyes see may not be the truth. Therefore, it always
pays to do some research after the class, like asking other students what’s
going on, then I will ask that bad behavior student privately. If you ask this
one in public, he/she will either be disturbed by other students, or too
sensitive to tell the truth. Once the teacher listens actively to the student,
this student’s anger level is decreased. Then the teacher can give an action
plan to the students.
(3) For
high-intensity students, get parents and the school involved
If
a student’s behavior threatens other students, the teacher and the school, can
get parents involved first. If parents refuse to cooperate, let your school get
involved. There is a boy called Vincent in our grade. He was caught stealing
twice already. After talking with the teacher of his class, he was caught
stealing again. The teacher in his class phoned his parents, and invited them
to come to school to deal with this together. But his parents refused coming,
saying they were busy. In this situation, our school have given out a suspension
to this student.
Conclusion:
When
students do or do not follow the rules and procedures, teachers need to be
aware of the different approaches to deal with different situations. These need
to be flexible and depend on the situation you are dealing with at any given
time. We need to be clear when giving praise and look to align it with correct behaviour. When dealing with minor disruption, it is best to park it for discussion after the lesson with those students causing the problem. The inclusion of parents in dealing with negative behaviour can't be understated. Parents are the first educators of their children. A joined up approach involving the school, parents and the child will help to advance the situation.
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