Classroom Management

RADAR/Be Seen Looking - "Prevent nonproductive behavior by developing your ability to see it when it happens and by subtly reminding students you are looking. (TLC51)

• When to use it: Every few minutes and after giving key directions, take the time to scan the room . It only takes a few seconds and is an act of self-discipline. Scan the room like a radar and be seen looking assessing the state of your classroom.

• What it encourages: It encourages and improves on task behavior and discourages nonproductive behavior.

• How to use it: Scan the room like a radar using the Invisible Column, The Tiptoes, The Sprinkler, or The Disco Finger:

  • 1. Invisible Column - The teacher moves her head slightly to the side after giving directions as if she is trying to look around something (an invisible column) to make sure students are engaging.

    2. TipToes - The teacher stands for a moment on tiptoes while looking out over the room, double checking that the hard-to-see spots in the room are okay.

    3. The Sprinkler - A teacher swivels across the room like a sprinkler watering the lawn, randomly she moves back a bit in the scan and says, "Oh, I think I saw something I shouldn't see.... ha, No. everything is good." which makes the scanning less predicatable.

    4. The Disco Finger - Channel John Travolta and move your disco finger and follow it with your eyes. Checking all the places in the classroom and making your scan obvious to all, even those that are not likely to notice.

• Resources: Article, Video Elementary, Video Secondary

Make Compliance Visible - "Monitor that students follow through on a request in an immediate and visible way be setting a standard that is more demanding than marginal compliance. Be judicious in what you ask for, specifically because it will uphold the standard of compliance." (TLC52)

• When to use it: After giving directions.

• What it encourages: It encourages kids to stay focused and your classroom to remain orderly.

• How to use it: After you give directions and are in the process of scanning the classroom, narrate the following-through of at least two students who've followed instructions right away. Fix or improve at least one student if directions are not followed and compliance is low to set higher expectations.

• Resources: Article, Video

Least Invasive Intervention - "Maximize the teaching time, minimize 'drama' by monitoring for attentiveness and compliance and then using the least invasive intervention to get kids on task." (TLC53)

• When to use it: After monitoring or scanning the state of your students, you determine that students are off-task. A teacher will use the least invasive technique to get students back on-task and minimize the disruption of learning in her classroom.

• What it encourages: It encourages student participation, attentiveness, and compliance while keeping drama to a minimum.

• How to use it:

  1. Non Verbal Intervention - use a hand gesture or model the corrective action in which students are to take being as noninvasive to the learning as possible.

  2. Positive Group Correction - A quick verbal reminder to the entire group, not calling anyone out by name. The verbal reminder should be short words and about one second long, e.g. "I need to see everyone writing." You can also combine this with non-verbal intervention to target individual students.

  3. Anonymous Individual Correction - There are one or more students, but just a handful that are not being attentive. Instead of naming students and drawing attention to them, use a quick phrase such as, "I need three more sets of eyes." making eye contact with the students that are not attentive.

  4. Private Individual Correction - Talking with individual students but still preserving privacy. You could ask students to do a Think Pair Share then go a crouch down and speak to a non-attentive student using a voice that preserves as much privacy as possible.

  5. Private Individual Precise Praise - You walk over to a student and whisper positive feedback instead of criticism. This builds a defense against eavesdroppers who enjoy schadenfreude. This makes your private conversations unpredictable for when you need to use positive individual correction.

  6. Lightning-Quick Public Correction - Limit the time a student is "onstage" and focus on telling the student what to do right rather than what he is doing wrong, e.g. "John, I need you reading the first paragraph right now just like the scholars in the back row!."

• Resources: Article, Video, Video, Video, Video, Ineffective Classroom Video

Art of the Consequence - "Monitor your classroom for problems and catch them early. Use the 'Least Invasive Interventions' whenever possible to minimize disruption and maximize learning then. When called for use consequences by making them quick, incremental, consistent, and depersonalized. Allow students an avenue to bounce back and rejoin the learning." (TLC55)

• When to use it: When students have chosen not to follow directions, you have employed other strategies, and a consequence or punishment is called for allowing students a path where they can quickly "bounce back" and rejoin the learning. The principle is to get in, get out, and get back to the business of teaching.

• What it encourages: It encourages and reinforces sound decision making in students by giving them an opportunity to learn from their mistakes.

• How to use it: Similar to the least invasive intervention, the art of the consequence has a hierarchy:

  • Quick - an immediate consequence is often more effective than a larger consequence later.

  • Incremental - Small mistake, small consequence. If you go nuclear, heart-breaking consequences on the first mistake students remove their incentive to stay in the game. Think of a foul or yellow card versus being ejected from the game.

  • Consistent - Students should know that, "If I do A, then B will happen." If you aren't consistent and students aren't sure they will test you to find out where your draw the line. Consistently using the same language and same consequences will minimize disruption and move learning forward.

  • Depersonalized - Judge actions instead of people, keeping them as private as possible, keeping students "offstage" remembering a public stand-off derails learning in your classroom.

  • Included a Bounce-Back Statement - When you correct a student or they receive a consequence it can be emotional. Included a statement to nudge them back forward and help them persist in in the face of emotional duress, e.g. "One demerit. Pick up your pencil; get back to writing like I know you can."

• Resources: Article, Video

Preflight Checklist - Before a student can submit an assignment it must be signed off by a buddy, who checks to make sure all the required features are present.

• When to use it: Use it before submitting an assignment.

• What it encourages: It encourages a measure of accountability for the buddy to take the job seriously.

• How to use it: Before a student can submit an assignment it must be signed off by a buddy, who checks to make sure all the required features are present. When the teacher grades the assignment, if the items on the preflight checklist are not up to standard it is the buddy who is taken to task rather than the student submitting the assignment.

• Resources: Article, Video