Managing Classroom Behavior and

Discipline
Pedagogy 1
1. Identify the primary causes of misbehavior
2. List the guidelines for handling common misbehaviors
3. Use strategies to help learners demonstrate responsible personal and social behaviors (e.g., mutual respect,
support for others, safety, and cooperation) that promote positive relationships and a productive learning
environment.
4. Develop an effective behavior management plan.
Traditional scolding and suspensions do not appear to improve such situations
(Eby, Herrell, & Jordan, 2005).

Research shows that the typical response of waiting for misbehavior and then punishing it is much less
successful at changing and controlling behavior problems than planning for prevention of discipline problems
and creating more productive learning environments in schools on the whole (Gushee, 1984).
Five Primary Causes of Misbehavior
1. Boredome

 Even in the most engaging lessons, it can be a challenge to have the attention of every single student.
 Try using manipulatives in your lessons
 Group activity, break up the students further into pairs to share what they are learning with their partners
before sharing with the entire class
 use simple games
2. Need for Attention

 Try giving quiet students more attention

 For students who love the spotlight, give them tasks that require them to be in front of the class or a group of
students
 3. Power

 especially important to children who feel their lives are seriously out of balance.
 There is not much you can do to change their home surroundings, but there are steps you can take that can
minimize the impact at school
 Limit the choices:
For example, you can say, “If you would rather do this assignment at recess, that’s okay with me.” Some
children get power by being passive-aggressive.
With this type of display for power, it may be possible to create a plan in which the teacher chooses in which
areas to give choices and which areas are nonnegotiable
4. Revenge

 Children who constantly demonstrate revengeful behavior often feel like they don’t belong. These might be
the students who are constantly complaining about classroom rules not being fair
 The best thing to do is to build trust with reflective listening.
 “I can see you are hurting right now. Tell me about it.”
 You may also want to teach through stories
 and other examples that revenge generally only escalates problems.
5. Self-Confidence

 too much self-confidence or not enough.

 For those who feel completely inadequate, you will need to teach them that even if they can’t do everything
perfectly, they can at least try different things
 To break this cycle, break down tasks into small steps, give no criticism while they are working on
something, and encourage every positive step forward.
 Do not pity or mother them; instead, set up opportunities for their success. If you refuse to give in to their
helplessness, they will in time find something they enjoy and can be good a
 For students who have too much confidence, foster their desire for autonomy by giving them challenging
learning activities
Six Guidelines for Handling Common
Misbehaviors
1. Structure—Structure—Structure

 a structured approach is one in which students know exactly what is expected of them, which behaviors are
acceptable or unacceptable, what the consequences for each behavior, and what the time frame is for each
expected behavior
2. Negotiate

 Consider negotiating with a struggling student.

 Give them guidelines and then let them choose what to do. Sometimes you may need to adjust some of your
expectations and negotiate with students to reach common understandings, such as when and how
assignments need to be done.
3. Deal with Problems Quickly

 It is imperative to deal with problems promptly, with minimal instruction time lost (Wong & Wong, 1998).
 4. Use Direct Language

 Tell your students exactly what you want, using specific mention of the behavior you want to see or the
behavior you do not want to see
5. Know Your Bottom Line

 All teachers need to know where they draw the line between working with a student and deciding that the
student has misbehaved enough.

 Be aware of school policy and have a plan for when to send a student to another teacher’s classroom, when
to call the parents, when to send a student to the principal, or even when to call the police.
6. Follow Up

 .Once a crisis has passed, make a point of talking to the offending student during the day. If possible, express
something positive but make a connection, even if it is neutral.
 With every problem, it is important to keep a log. This will help a teacher if problems involve more parties
in the futures
Disciplinary record binder:
 it is very important to keep a record of what problems have arisen, which solutions the teacher has tried, and
whether they have worked. If a problem escalates, the teacher has documentation to show how each step was
managed along the way.