MAIntaining Positive Discipline (link to OPAL main page)

Considerations: Maintaining Positive Discipline (OPAL subpage)  

Please always refer to the OPAL site for the most updated information.

CONSIDERATIONS   (Text from OPAL)

Consideration 1: Building Positive Teacher–Student Relationships (^)

• Understand your students.

Positive teacher–student relationships (TSR) are those wherein students perceive that they are respected, supported, and valued by their teachers (Doll et al., 2004). They are characterised by recurring social and emotional interactions between teachers and students.  

Every student wants to be noticed, valued, accepted, and supported. Understanding them as individuals with their own strengths, concerns, interests, needs, and behaviour demonstrates your respect for them as human beings. Students also feel cared for when you show interest in them.  

(^) Please note that students with special educational needs (SEN) (specifically with social skills difficulties) might not be comfortable when being singled out in front of a group for you to give focussed attention.

This interpersonal relationship between you and your students contributes to their learning as you provide them with emotional and academic support. The building of positive TSR will require sustained effort from teachers, who are guided as a fraternity by the Teachers’ Vision of ‘Lead, Care and Inspire’.
 

• Communicate care and respect.  

Positive TSR form the bedrock of positive discipline. They are based on mutual respect and care, and are to be kept within socially accepted norms and the Code of Conduct of the Teaching Profession.

  
Be sincere, engaged, responsive, open, and willing to provide both academic and emotional support. E.g., you can show care and respect by listening to and investing time with students through teacher–student interactions and conversations. 

 
(^) Take advantage of varied communication platforms to informally chat with your students during break time and/or between lessons to break the ice. Some students may need more opportunities before they are comfortable enough to relate to their teachers.

You can also demonstrate care by sharing inspirational stories to encourage them. To empower students and to communicate respect, you may allow them to voice their ideas, to make decisions, and to take responsibility for their plans and actions. When supporting students, encourage them to problem-solve by reflecting on setbacks with them and by guiding them to develop alternate plans.

To conclude, when establishing positive TSR, it is thus important to understand your students and demonstrate care so as to provide appropriate support to help students manage their behaviour in class. It is important for you to be mindful of your own biases and values which may affect your perspective of your students and how you interact with them. Your personality and style (e.g., beliefs and expectations of students, approach to handling misbehaviour) also strongly influence students’ responses to you. Hence, while being firm, do be open-minded and understanding towards their behavioural responses.
 

• Affirm and appreciate your students.  

Affirm students’ strengths and encourage their efforts, and not just their abilities or achievements. Keep a lookout for students’ positive behaviour, and let them know that you appreciate them for putting in the effort when it is demonstrated.  You can also drop them digital notes and include emoticons to accompany text through their SLS assignments, or provide audio feedback to affirm them for their efforts.

In a positive classroom culture, affirmation of students’ positive behaviour occurs more frequently than correction of inappropriate behaviour. You can cheer students on for renewed effort and celebrate their successes by using words of encouragement to motivate and to affirm them. When praising, you can describe the specific positive behaviour or action that the student has done well and reinforce it. You can also add on a reason (e.g., how the behaviour benefits themselves or shows concern for others) to motivate the student to do it again.

  
With positive TSR built by the affirmation and appreciation shown, students are more ready to accept rules, procedures, and disciplinary actions that follow as consequences to the infractions of the said rules and procedures. Teachers who enjoy positive relationships with students experience fewer behavioural problems in their classrooms.

  
(^) When giving affirmation, be specific rather than general. Praise the effort or process rather than the outcome. Sometimes, public praise may backfire when used with some adolescents as they can feel embarrassed and may be teased by their peers. These students may appreciate private encouragement. 
 

Consideration 2: Preparing an Environment for Positive Discipline (^)     

• Set up an organised physical classroom.  

Create learning environments that are inviting and well-organised, as this encourages positive teacher–student and student–student interactions. Attention to seating arrangement, arrangement of resources, and physical space for movement and interaction can help create classrooms that feel safe and well-organised. E.g., students should be seated facing the direction of focus, whiteboards should be cleaned, and students should have only necessary materials on their desks. The storage and placement of Personal Learning Devices (PLDs) in the classroom (e.g., lockers, cabinets) are important considerations for learning with PLDs. Also, while conducting virtual lessons conducted via video conferencing platforms, it is essential to ensure a secured access to the platforms so that students feel safe to join the virtual class. Time and effort are needed to prepare the environment for positive discipline right from the start of the year with a new class, and this needs to be maintained for the teaching and learning processes throughout the year.  

(^) Create clear physical boundaries. This may help students with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) to anticipate what will happen in each space and to learn the appropriate behaviours expected at each space.

(^) A daily class schedule detailing broad activities for the day will assist students when transiting between venues and spaces.  

(^) Visual tools can assist in communicating key information to students with ASD. However, proceed with caution so as not to overstimulate them.

(^) Auditory tools may enhance auditory simulation, e.g., use of soft furnishings, carpet caps.
 

• Set up and practise the rules and class routines.  

Create common understanding of rules by encouraging your class to construct their shared expectations together. You would want to align the class rules with the school's values to ensure consistency with school-wide expectations. For rules to be effective, they need to be specific, stated positively, age-appropriate, and displayed at a visible location for all students and teachers. Extend the rules and routines into the online space to promote healthy and responsible use of information and communications technology (ICT) in school and at home.
You can also establish routines to encourage orderliness by telling students how the routines and class rules are interconnected, explaining their rationale, making students aware of the consequences for not following them, and getting students to practise these routines. (^) These routines include the following: Starting the lesson in a timely fashion, entering and exiting the classroom during lessons, systematic collection and distribution of materials, asking questions during lessons, and how you will signal for students’ attention.  Also, you can introduce regular classroom routines for digital literacy with the use of PLDs, such as managing personal schedules using online calendaring and managing digital files, and getting students to close their PLDs when you want them to focus their attention on you, or to pay attention to specific instructions you are giving.  

You need to remind and to reinforce the rules and routines consistently, and to affirm students when they adhere to them. Teaching and modelling the rules and routines enhance understanding of expected behaviour and the consequences. This will support a shared understanding of the rules and routines amongst your students, and eliminate temptations to break the rules or not follow the routines.

Setting up and practising rules and routines consistently across subjects and teachers would be particularly helpful to supporting students with SEN or who have been newly transited to the school. 
 

• Explicitly teach and reinforce values as well as social and emotional skills.  

A positive environment makes behavioural problems less likely to arise when students develop a sense of belonging, and when they acquire the skills of accepting and respecting others, of communicating effectively, and of focusing on solutions to problems that arise.
 

Teach and reinforce values as well as social and emotional skills so that students know how to manage themselves and to demonstrate care and respect for one another in their daily interactions both in the physical and digital environments. Help them develop good habits and learn responsible behaviour. Students can inculcate values and develop social and emotional competencies through Character and Citizenship Education, as well as through your daily interactions with them. Look out for teachable moments to reinforce social emotional skills. You can also create opportunities for positive interactions and design structures to allow students to help and to support each other in authentic settings. Through multiple touchpoints, students can internalise the values, develop good habits and demonstrate responsible behaviour. 
 

• Encourage help-seeking and create safe reporting channels.

You can encourage help-seeking behaviour by guiding students to recognise it as a sign of resilience and not as a sign of weakness. Teach them the difference between telling tales and reporting, and equip students with help-seeking and help-giving skills.  For students who are often left out or less socially accepted, encourage help by assigning socially skilled students to buddy with them. You can supervise their interactions and check in with them regularly. You can also consider implementing Circle of Friends for students who require more intensive support.
 

You can provide safe reporting channels (e.g., use of weekly journals, email messages) for your students. It is important to attend to all reports. Students who are victimised or witness hurtful behaviour may not seek help from adults as they think their teachers will not believe them and will not follow up on their reports. It is also critical to maintain students’ confidentiality and to assure students that their identities will not be disclosed to others, unless they indicate an intention to harm themselves or others, or when someone is hurting them, or they are psychologically distressed. For such cases, you can seek advice from or refer them to the School Counsellors.
 

 Consideration 3: Identifying Areas for Development  

• Analyse the causes and look for possible solutions.

When an issue arises, observe the context and speak to the students involved to discuss the issue. Inappropriate behaviour can be a result of lapses in your preventative efforts. E.g., ineffective routines, inconsistent messaging by teachers, poor teacher–student rapport or lack of acceptance among students could trigger inappropriate behaviour. Identifying areas for development involves identifying and rectifying situations in the classroom that may lead to negative or disruptive behaviour. You can refine existing routines or put in place new routines, if necessary. Work with fellow colleagues teaching in the same class to ensure that everyone models the shared expectations and is intentional in shaping the social climate of the class. Identifying areas for development continually takes place as you teach, as you assess and evaluate students’ work, and as you interact with the students in and out of the classroom.
 

Sometimes, the issues may be better understood when you understand the students’ home environment. As parents are the primary stakeholders, you can consider involving your students’ parents as partners to help identify and to rectify issues promptly. Contacting the students’ parents to enlist their help and to discuss the possible causes of their behaviour may be helpful. Parents can also be involved in making, enforcing and monitoring plans to help their child. It is important for class teachers and relevant school personnel to be informed of what is communicated to parents to ensure consistent messaging from all adults supporting the student. Students with additional needs will need targeted support in school to learn successfully, and early identification helps them to get a head-start on strengthening their development and well-being through early intervention.
 

(^) For students who may need intervention support, enlist the help of Allied Educators (Learning and Behaviour Support) or Teachers Trained in Special Needs.
 

• Observe closely as your students work and adapt your instructions accordingly.

Identifying areas for development also involves being alert to signs that your students are not meeting classroom expectations. When you respond to the situation and make the necessary accommodations, your students can participate effectively in the learning activity. Watch carefully to make sure that your students are on task and know what to do. If they are talking to one another or seem to have many doubts that require clarifications, respond by walking them through the directions again or by creating a visual that they can follow. You can include additional scaffolding questions at appropriate times to guide students through their online assignments. If they become disengaged, it may be an indication that the pace of the lesson is too slow or that the instructional strategy is not sufficiently engaging. Refer to the Pedagogical Practices within the Lesson Enactment Teaching Process for more ways to deliver lessons effectively.

• Identify student(s) who seem to have signs of distress.  

When students display signs of distress, it may indicate that they are in need of additional support. The following are common distress signals in students that may indicate the need for additional support:

• Displaying out-of-character behaviour

• Injuries that are unexplained

• Sudden changes in appearance, interests or habits

• Temperament changes

• Rebellious or aggressive behaviour

• Extended absence or deliberate social withdrawal

• Struggling to pay attention or increased lethargy

• Sending or posting moody or morbid messages

When the distress signals are present in combination or in more extreme or long-lasting forms, this may be more indicative that your student is experiencing significant emotional and social distress. Seek help from your School Counsellor when in doubt, and refer students who are severely distressed to your School Counsellor.  

• Speak with students to find out the stories behind their behaviours.

Having one-to-one conversations with your students can be useful in helping you understand them and uncover the reason(s) behind their behaviour. Be patient, empathetic, and open when engaging in conversations with your students. Ask questions to encourage the students to speak and to show that you are listening. Paraphrase what the students have said objectively to make sure you understand accurately. 
 

(^) In diagnosing areas for development, it is important not to take the students’ behaviour personally nor react to them impulsively or emotionally. Instead, try to determine the causes and look for possible solutions. 
 

(^) Some students with learning needs, such as Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD), will need more explicit coaching which can include developing and monitoring of personal goals, a consistent routine, and an organised and predictable physical environment.
 

Consideration 4: Monitoring and Managing Behaviour (^)

• Monitor, observe, and show that you notice.  

In class, move amongst the students periodically to observe them. Be aware of what is happening outside the classroom as well. Using a class list, you can note down the frequency, intensity, duration, and location of the disruption or good behaviour from the individual students. 

(^) There may not be a need to single them out in front of the class in order to preserve their dignity. You can use the data to study if there is a pattern of misbehaviour, or to note the good behaviour of the students.
 

To help your school’s Student Development Team plan suitable programmes that meet students’ needs and that reinforce the learning of values and skills, alert them about common acts of misbehaviour or trends that you observe of your students. 
 

• Understand the reasons for the behaviour.  

Monitoring and managing behaviour involve observing, understanding, and managing students’ behaviour. These take place throughout the learning process and are a longer-term process for behavioural change. Ultimately, the goal is to develop students’ self-discipline and good character, and not just immediate compliance.  

It is important for you to understand that behaviour is a form of communication, which can be learnt, and is a response to the environment. To learn more about these critical concepts on behaviour, click here. Before proceeding to correct student behaviour, it is important to consider why students behave the way they do, and to provide help where necessary. This helps you to deal with the root of the problem rather than treat the overt symptoms alone. These causes may include ineffective organisation of classroom routines and teaching, negative peer relationships, assumptions of teachers and students, and gaps in students’ socio-emotional competencies.  It is also important to help students understand and manage the emotions behind their different behaviours. In doing so, you will help students to manage their behaviour in class.  

You can invite fellow teachers to come together to offer their observations about the students in the class. Consolidate the observations and carry out Antecedent-Behaviour-Consequence behavioural analysis to uncover factors that sustain students’ repeated inappropriate behaviour.  In addition, you can determine and address the underlying needs that the students are trying to communicate through their inappropriate behaviour.

It is also important to help students understand and manage the emotions behind their different behaviours. E.g., students may need guidance to recognise and to regulate these emotions. By equipping students with relevant social and emotional skills, you can help them to better manage their behaviour in class.

•  Respond to behaviour accordingly.  

 In promoting a positive class learning environment, the goal is to work towards a caring class culture, where your responses to students’ behaviour involves an appropriate balance between those of kindness and firmness, where dignity and mutual respect are valued.  

Managing behaviour is also about taking action to acknowledge positive behaviour, and to stop and replace negative behaviour. It is also about helping students learn skills for positive behaviour, and empowering them to understand and to take responsibility for their actions. Regardless of students’ behaviour, you need to actively model respect and positive interactions, both in the physical and digital environments, and model the appropriate social and emotional competencies when you respond to students’ acts of misbehaviour.  

Your actions need to be appropriate to the severity (frequency, intensity, and duration) of the behaviour and the students’ needs. When students misbehave, avoid power struggles and possible escalation of the situation by staying neutral and refraining from taking things personally. You can learn about general strategies to defuse acts of misbehaviour here and specific ways to defuse meltdowns here.  

After responding to the inappropriate behaviour, you can ask the student to meet you after class instead of confronting the student in class. This minimises disruption to the class learning and preserves the student’s dignity. The one-to-one conversation allows you to guide your students to reflect on the impact of his behaviour away from the presence and pressure of their peers. This student could also consider the perspectives and feelings of others, where applicable.

You can also ignore disruptive behaviour as a strategy to deal with attention seekers. On the other hand, you ought to acknowledge and encourage good behaviour, so that you are not giving your attention only to students who misbehave.  

(^) Your actions can be tiered so that they are appropriate to the behaviour. E.g., mild responses such as non-verbal signals and verbal responses can be used to get your students’ attention. You can warn them of the consequences of offences committed. More moderate responses and punitive measures may be used to correct problems where mild responses do not work. Actions need not always come from you. You can also apply positive peer pressure or get peers to help one another correct the undesirable behaviour. For students who persistently misbehave, you may also involve other teachers, the School Counsellor, the Student Development Team, or the Discipline Committee, and parents as partners, with the aim of helping these students behave better.  

• Manage confrontation and conflicts.

In managing conflicts, you can reinforce the values and skills that have been taught, or revisit classroom rules and routines. In one-to-one conversations with the students involved, use questions to re-direct them, to help them think about their behaviour, and to guide them to resolve the conflict. If students are emotionally affected, attend to their emotions and assess if they are coping. When both parties are ready, you can bring them together and facilitate reconciliation. You can consider allowing students to mediate on their own in cases where disruption is minimal and students’ safety is not compromised, but be ready to provide support, if necessary.  

Educate the rest of the classmates sensitively about the misbehaviour they have observed, and avoid referring to specific students. Build care and acceptance among students so that they will be more mindful not to press the ‘hot buttons’ of their peers and to avoid escalating emotionally intense situations. You can seek help from other stakeholders (e.g., subject teachers, peers, and parents) to reinforce prosocial behaviour in the student and be a positive influence on the student. Leverage different forms of social support to build up students’ support network. Refer students who persistently misbehave or display social, emotional, or behavioural difficulties to the school’s Student Development Team or the School Counsellor. These could be warning signs of more serious issues. Early assessment of the risk factors and timely interventions are crucial for helping these students manage their behaviour better. You can consult the Allied Educator (Learning and Behavioural Support) for support needed for students with SEN.

(^) You need to help students take responsibility for their behaviour by showing them what they have done, giving them ownership of the problem, and allowing them the opportunity to fix the problem and to restore harmony. Use questions to re-direct students, to help them think about their behaviour, and to guide them to resolve the conflict. Persistent aggressive and anti-social behaviours are warning signs of more severe behavioural problems.  

(^) Early assessment of the risk factors and ensuring timely interventions are crucial. You may also seek help from the school counsellor and the Student Development Team or Discipline Committee.  

Consideration 5: Implementing Positive and Negative Consequences

• Provide a range of consequences for positive behaviours and implement consequences for negative behaviours.

Implementing positive and negative consequences refers to carrying out the actions that have been agreed upon between you and your students as a result of your students’ positive or negative behaviour. Positive consequences affirm students’ positive behaviour, and negative consequences discourage negative behaviour.  They should be consistently put in place so that students are clear what is considered desirable behaviour and what is not. This contributes to a predictable environment and develops a sense of safety in students. You need to implement consequences in ways that empower students to take ownership of their behaviour and that foster a positive class community.  

Have a clear set of expectations about student behaviour for the class. To affirm students for their positive behaviour, we can praise students or provide privileges such as having an activity that is of interest to students, assuming an appropriate responsibility, and having the first choice in selecting materials for their work (if applicable). E.g., allowing students to source for related online resources (e.g., educational videos) using their PLDs to share with their peers to learn some of their interest areas. Be mindful to help the students understand the purpose for why their good behaviour is helpful so as to build intrinsic motivation.

If students are disruptive in class, you can remind them of the possible negative consequences and provide them the opportunity to rectify the situation. If students persist in misbehaving, mete out consequences that allow them to fix the problem, reconcile with the affected students, and practise positive behaviour taught. When implementing consequences, you need to model mutual respect by speaking calmly, being clear and firm, and focussing on the behaviour instead of the person. Ensure the well-being of students by communicating care and concern. Assess their emotional well-being before meting out the negative consequences. Negative consequences should not be humiliating to the students or harmful to the physical well-being of the students. Never deprive students of food, water, recess time, or learning in response to their failure to meet behavioural expectations.  

You can also reference the shared expectations that have been established, and help students see a cause and effect between their behaviour and the consequence(s) applied. Keep parents informed of the actions taken by the school as well as any changes in students’ behaviour (e.g., skipping lessons, returning home late).  

Consequences should be differentiated for different types of behaviour and students. E.g., the consequences for disengagement from learning will be different from that for fighting or defiance.  The consequences should be appropriately ‘sized’ depending on the context.  You should also consider whether the consequences are still relevant and effective for the students. In general, carrying out the agreed consequences develops trust and respect between you and your students, and this contributes to maintaining positive discipline. Review consequences periodically and stop using those that are not found to be effective in changing students’ behaviour.

(^) Be firm and fair when implementing the consequences with the goal to sustain positive discipline. Appropriate consequences for acts of misbehaviour should be carried out as long as the student understands and is aware that his actions have consequences. Thus, the reason for either the positive or negative consequences must be clear to your students. The immediacy of the consequences also affect their effectiveness. In general, the more immediate the consequences, the better.  

• Use language that promotes competence and ownership.

What you say matters. Help students see the link between their efforts and the consequences by using statements such as ‘Because you have…, you have earned/lost/gained…’ or ‘Your behaviour/choice will earn/cost you…’. Helping students understand and reflect from their point of view promotes competence and ownership.

Consideration 6: Managing Tasks Simultaneously

• Pre-empt disruptive events or behaviours and manage them when they happen.

Managing tasks simultaneously refers to your ability to be aware of what is happening in the classroom at all times while managing two or more learning tasks. This requires you to pre-empt and promptly respond to demands in the classroom. When events in the classroom do not happen as planned or expected, your effective and quick response will refocus students’ attention on the learning and will restore the sense of safety in the environment. 

Be mindful about what is happening in the classroom and what may happen that may affect the flow of learning. E.g., a student may come late and interrupt the class when the lesson is ongoing. The hardware, software, or both, may fail when you intend to do an online demonstration to the students.   

Have a back-up plan that keeps the class meaningfully engaged whenever you have to manage disruptive events or behaviour. You need to proactively teach and practise the back-up plan with students in advance, and they must be aware of the consequences for not following the plan, such that they are responsible for their actions. Display the plan in class so that all teachers can refer to it for consistency.

• Have knowledge of your students’ progress.

In other words, be clear about and keep in mind the levels of students’ understanding and their learning gaps for a particular topic or subject. You can better understand your students’ learning gaps through data points collected via the SLS Heatmap or other question types. Look around regularly to identify students who are disengaged due to various reasons, and promptly engage them in the learning process while still holding the attention of the rest of the class. Subtly remind students that you are paying attention to their behaviour during the lesson.  

LESSON EXAMPLE(S)

Primary Level

(Science) Example 1

Mr Chai is both the form teacher and Science teacher of a primary five class. He has set the class expectations for his students to come prepared for lessons by bringing their learning materials and stationery, and by staying on task during class work.

To ensure that his students meet the class expectations, Mr Chai monitors and manages his students’ behaviour. He walks around the classroom to monitor the students’ progress in their work, and guides the students who need additional help. He also takes note of students who do not have their stationery or workbook ready, and reminds them of the agreed consequences.  

While most of the students are on task, Mr Chai notices that Samantha and Sanjeeta are whispering to each other. Assessing that the misbehaviour is not severe, he walks near them to signal his awareness of their whispered conversation. The girls work quietly for a while and continue to whisper to each other. Considering the extended duration of their misbehaviour, Mr Chai walks towards them again and speaks in a calm and firm tone, ‘Girls, both of you are still whispering to one another. A better choice that you can make is to work on the exercises.’ The girls quieten down but after a while, they start to write messages to each other.  

To avoid escalating the situation, Mr Chai chooses to interpret the girls’ misbehaviour as an indication of their close friendship instead of intentional disrespect towards him. He takes a deep breath to compose himself before going over to check on their progress, and realises that they still have quite a bit more to go before completing the set work.  Knowing the importance of modelling respectful behaviour, he speaks in a soft yet firm voice and reminds the girls of the consequence if they continue to be off task. ‘Girls, by writing messages to one another, you will not be able to complete the work within this lesson. In that case, I will have to change your seats so that you will not get distracted by each other and can get on with completing the exercises. Alternatively, the faster you can complete your work now, the sooner you can continue with your conversation later at a corner where you won’t be a distraction to other students. It is your choice.’  

Both Samantha and Sanjeeta acknowledge Mr Chai by nodding and choose to put away their notes. Eventually, all the students, including Samantha and Sanjeeta, manage to complete and submit their workbook at the end of the lesson. Mr Chai praises the class for being ready to learn, staying on task, and completing their work on time. He affirms their effort in taking responsibility of their own learning. As Mr Chai hands over the class to the teacher taking the next period, he briefly and quietly shares about what has happened, so that the teacher can continue to monitor the students’ behaviour and to reinforce positive ones.

Example 1

At the start of the year, Ms Aisha prepares her class environment for positive discipline. As her primary four class consists of students coming from different primary three classes, one of Ms Aisha’s priorities is to help her students develop a sense of belonging to the class. She adopts a cluster seating arrangement to encourage student–student interactions while ensuring a visually open layout. This allows her to observe the happenings in class and to ensure that all students can see her at all times. She works with her students to decorate their class noticeboards with their own photographs and birthday charts. She also designs a duty roster for different groups of students to take turns to take charge of the cleanliness of their classroom.

To encourage her students to take ownership of their behaviour, Ms Aisha decides to co-construct a set of shared expectations with them. To facilitate the session, she explains the school values to her students and invites them to brainstorm as she writes their ideas on the board. The students discuss and decide on the most important and relevant ideas through voting. Ms Aisha rephrases the selected ideas to ensure that the expectations are positively phrased. Examples in the final list include ‘We will listen and keep our eyes on our teachers or classmates when they speak.’, ‘We will always put in our best effort.’, and ‘We will treat others as we would want to be treated.’. She also discusses the possible consequences of not meeting these expectations and encourages students to seek help if they encounter hurtful behaviour. At the end of the session, she writes the shared expectations on a poster, which she places on the board to help students remember them.

As Ms Aisha sets up routines with her class, she also wants to create opportunities for students to have positive interactions, including structures that will allow them to help one another. She decides to have a buddy system to pair students up, so that the pair can keep each other informed of what is going on in school when one of them is absent. She also structures time to get students to write appreciation notes to one another and have them posted on the class noticeboard. Whenever there are pockets of time during lessons, she uses short games and activities to get her students better acquainted with one another. At the start of such activities, she reminds students to apply relevant social and emotional skills that they have been taught. She praises students who are helpful towards their peers and often encourages her students to support one another, emphasising the school values of care and harmony. She reminds the students that she is always available for them to turn to when they need her help.

Example 2

Ms Dyana is the form teacher of a primary two class. She believes that building positive teacher–student relationships, as well as establishing clear class expectations and routines will help create a safe and caring environment for her students, allowing effective learning to take place.  

During the start of the new academic year, Ms Dyana, together with her co-form teacher, Mdm Fong, spend the initial weeks getting to know the students in their class. They conduct a check-in activity to foster a caring peer culture and to monitor the well-being of their students. In addition, both teachers understand that giving students a voice will motivate them to take ownership of their behaviour and learning. The teachers facilitate a discussion with their students about class rules and routines, to help them to develop a shared understanding of the expected behaviour and learning attitude in class, as well as the agreed consequences if these expectations are not met. 

During term time, Ms Dyana prepares her class for a school trip to the zoo. She reinforces the positive behaviours to be expected on the trip by aligning them with the school values taught, and reminds them about the class rules and routines. Before the trip, Mdm Fong and Ms Dyana group the students and assign each student a buddy to take care of one another. The teachers ask the students to describe what they understand as showing care and respect for one another. This helps to establish a peer network of care and support, and provides opportunities for students to interact amicably and to seek help from one another when needed. The teachers discuss and plan for anticipated misbehaviours or additional support needed by students in case any student behaves inappropriately. The planned response will be for one of them to engage the affected student while the other looks after the class. In reviewing the worksheets planned for the cohort, Ms Dyana recognises that some of the students may not be able to complete the planned activities during the trip, and that this could lead them to feel frustrated or disengaged. She thus differentiates the assignment by providing more guiding words and pictures to help these students in responding to the questions.

During the trip, Ms Dyana makes a conscious effort to monitor Andrew, a student who is observed to be more active and easily distracted. He is keen on learning but usually needs more support to keep focused on tasks. At a particular point, she notices that Andrew seems distracted and refuses to join his group in completing an assigned task. He starts to distract his classmates, and some of his group members are visibly frustrated with him. Ms Dyana walks up to Andrew, leads him to an inconspicuous place and engages him in a conversation. 

Ms Dyana reminds Andrew of the agreed expectations they have established in class before the trip. Throughout the conversation, Ms Dyana remains calm and demonstrates care and respect for him. However, Andrew appears to disregard Ms Dyana’s advice. Ms Dyana then speaks in a firm and stern voice, and reminds Andrew that she will have to take him out of the activity if he continues to be uncooperative during groupwork, as that is the consequence the class has agreed upon prior to the trip. Andrew agrees reluctantly and rejoins his group. However, he continues to behave inappropriately and is visibly upset. 

Ms Dyana then signals to Mdm Fong to look after the class. She takes Andrew out of the group activity again to check in on him. She acknowledges Andrew’s feelings, and this calms him down. Ms Dyana then guides him to reflect on the impact of his behaviour on others and reminds him of the shared expectations and consequences that have been established. She guides Andrew to understand the cause and effect between his behaviour and the consequence applied. Throughout the process, Ms Dyana is mindful to uphold Andrew’s dignity, and to develop trust and respect between Andrew and herself, as well as with the rest of the class. 

REFLECTION QUESTIONS

1. How can I establish high-quality positive relationships with my students? What can I do to be more intentional in knowing them as individuals? Do my students feel respected, valued, and supported in my class?  

2. Do my students understand the rationale for the rules? Have I helped my students understand these expectations clearly? Do my students perceive that the rules are fair and transparent?

3. When I see misbehaviour, do I tend to take it personally and react to it impulsively, or do I try to determine the causes and look for possible solutions?  

4. Are my students held accountable for their behaviour? Do I only act on my students’ negative behaviour, or do I also recognise their positive behaviour?

5. Are the consequences fair, reasonable, effective and timely? Do they commensurate with the behaviour, and are they developmentally appropriate? Do my students understand why I implement the positive or negative consequences?

OTHER LEVELS:

Secondary Level

(Computer Applications) Example 1

Mr Raju understands that for his Computer Programming Application (CPA) lesson on the use of Microsoft Excel to go smoothly, he needs to be able to manage tasks simultaneously. He anticipates possible difficulties that his students may encounter when following the complex instructions for the activities. To help his students accomplish the assigned tasks, he includes step-by-step instructions for carrying out the activities in the worksheets and goes through the instructions with the students using PowerPoint slides. In addition, he sets aside some time for the students to seek clarification on their doubts before allowing them to work on the computers. To keep students on task, Mr Raju disables their access to the Internet by using a computer laboratory management software (e.g., Junglebyte).

While the students are working on the task, he constantly monitors the learning environment to ensure order in the laboratory and task accomplishments. Mr Raju is aware of what is happening, and he communicates this awareness to the students by constantly scanning the class and attending to students who need his assistance. To minimise possible disruptions, a large, brightly coloured clothes peg is given to each group of the students to signal for help when they encounter problems. The purpose of having this clothes peg is to serve as a form of silent feedback to the teacher that help is needed. When the student needs help, he clips the peg on the monitor screen. After addressing the student’s concern, Mr Raju removes the clothes peg and places it on the table. In this way, the students' learning process will not be disrupted, and the completion of their tasks will not be delayed. When specific students require a longer duration of assistance, Mr Raju activates his backup plan: ‘Face the computer; Ignore distractions; Volume zero; Eyes on your work’, to ensure that the rest of the students are on task.

(English Language) Example 1

As Mrs Mani conducts English Language lessons for her secondary one students and interacts with them in and out of the class, she continually identifies areas for development for her students. E.g., she observes that seatwork is a challenge for some of her students whose attention may be difficult to sustain, resulting in off-task behaviour. She responds to this observation by designing tasks that provide adequate challenge, support, and motivation for subsequent lessons.  

Mrs Mani also notices that one of her students, Nick, tends to be disengaged in class and avoids making eye contact with her. She decides to have a one-to-one conversation with him to find out the reasons behind his behaviour. During the conversation, she asks questions to show that she was listening to him. Mrs Mani learns that Nick finds the lesson activities challenging but feels embarrassed about asking for help. Knowing that there may be other students who feel the same way as Nick, she prepares two colour-coded cards for each student. Students are to place a green card at the corner of their desks if they do not require help and a red card to indicate that they need help. Now that she is more cognisant of her students’ need for assistance, she engages those who need help in discreet ways, such as speaking to them in hushed tones.

There is one student in Mrs Mani’s class who is diagnosed with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), and he often disrupts her lessons. She decides to speak with the student’s parents to find out more about him. His parents reveal to Mrs Mani incidents and words that may aggravate their son and ways to motivate him. She learns that he needs more opportunities to move and to voice his thoughts. Hence, in her lessons, Mrs Mani gives him opportunities to take breaks to move, such as calling on him to clean the whiteboard or to collect materials. She also gives him paper to allow him to doodle or to write his thoughts without disrupting the lesson. When personal time and space are required, he is allowed to move to the ‘quiet space’ in the class where he can stand, stretch, or pace. Mrs Mani continues to engage his parents through telephone conversations, and they also support her by reinforcing some of the routines at home. Over time, she develops a positive relationship with the student as well as with his parents, and his behaviour in class improves.

Pre-university Level

Example 1

In building positive teacher–student relationships with the students in her Civics Tutorial (CT) group, Mrs Tay seeks to understand each one of them as individuals. Through her interactions with them during the first few months, she observes that one particular student, Emma, is facing challenges adjusting to Junior College (JC). Emma experiences a form of visual impairment, struggles with school work, and expresses reluctance in participating in class activities and in discussions. After realising that colleagues teaching her CT group have shared similar observations and concerns, Mrs Tay decides that she needs to reach out more to Emma.  

Knowing the importance of communicating care and respect, Mrs Tay looks for opportunities to engage Emma in short conversations whenever she happens to see Emma in school. Although it may have been challenging to break the ice initially, the awkwardness eventually dissipates, and Emma becomes less reticent around Mrs Tay. Mrs Tay learns that Emma feels frustrated when facing the challenges in trying to keep up with her tutorial mates, when coming to terms with her impairment, and when learning to accept her appearance. Emma has even questioned why she was born.

Noticing that Emma has been dwelling on her shortcomings and has been feeling lousy about herself, Mrs Tay decides to focus on Emma’s strengths in their conversations to encourage her to learn to express her emotions. She starts by asking Emma about her interests, hobbies, and things that make her happy and feel proud about. Although hesitant at the start in responding to Mrs Tay’s questions, Emma eventually warms up to Mrs Tay and begins to open up by sharing about things close to her heart. Mrs Tay then realises that Emma, who has appeared to be a reluctant learner in class, loves playing the guitar and enjoys learning new musical arrangements by listening to and by emulating her favourite guitarist. Mrs Tay also learns about Emma’s dependability at home and about her caring ways towards her younger siblings. These conversations remind Mrs Tay of the importance of understanding her students as individuals with their own strengths, concerns, interests, and needs. Ever since Mrs Tay started such conversations with Emma, Emma has been appearing happier after their conversations, and has become more responsive in lessons, especially during CT sessions.

Mrs Tay also reveals to Emma her own personal stories of her JC days to help Emma realise that she is not alone in facing her challenges, and that there may be other tutorial mates who also have concerns of their own and who may need words of encouragement too.  

While Mrs Tay feels heartened by the positive change she sees in Emma, there are instances when she feels bad about not being able to put aside more time to reach out to other students. During such moments, she recalls the advice offered by her mentor on the need for her, as a teacher, to strike a balance and to take care of her own well-being as well. In particular, she remembers this quote often cited by her mentor: ‘Building positive teacher–student relationships needs time, but you must also take good care of your own health before you can help your students.’. She recollects how her mentor also explained to her the importance of leveraging positive peer support to encourage students to support and to learn from one another like a family.

Applicable to Any Levels

Example 1

To ensure that students are clear about what is considered desirable behaviour and what is not, Mr Yusof implements positive and negative consequences. He is aware that point systems may sometimes promote competitiveness among students. To avoid that, he decides to put in place a group point-system in which students are rewarded with points to reinforce their positive behaviour. These range from expected behaviours (e.g., handing in work on time, doing class duty, and keeping attendance at school or remedial classes) to behaviours that require greater effort or kindness (e.g., helping others). To foster collaboration among the students, instead of rewarding individual students or groups that have accumulated the most points, groups are awarded with certificates or privileges such as fun team-bonding activities when they meet the criterion of a certain number of points.

When co-constructing shared expectations with the class at the start of the year, Mr Yusof and his students agree on consequences that they would face for misbehaving in class. When a student misbehaves, Mr Yusof will first give him a warning. If the student misbehaves again, Mr Yusof will ask the student to sit at the ‘time-out’ space for five minutes and apply a calming down strategy, if necessary. The ‘time-out’ space is at the back of the class where it will not distract the rest of the class. It is a designated area for students who need that space to take a break before they are ready to be a part of the class again. During that time-out, the student is required to think about what he has done and what he should be doing instead to be more constructive. Mr Yusof will tell the student that he can join the class once he is ready to follow the rules of the class and behave according to class expectations. He will also remind the student that his behaviour is his choice. In this way, Mr Yusof makes the student responsible for his behaviour. As Mr Yusof’s lessons involve interesting activities, most students do not like the idea of being excluded from these activities and prefer to cooperate. They understand the rationale for the consequences and tend to refrain from misbehaving.  

For the few students who persist in misbehaving, Mr Yusof will have one-to-one conversations after class with these students. During these conversations, he will ask questions to find out the reason(s) behind their behaviour, and to guide the students to reflect on their behaviour, and to make amends through logical consequences. E.g., if a student has been disruptive in class, he will need to apologise to the rest of the class for disrupting their learning due to his inappropriate behaviour. Mr Yusof will also guide the students to enhance their self-management skills and to form new habits.