Antecedents

Teachers can often become overwhelmed by all the factors over which we have limited to no control. Don’t be distracted: there are so many that we can control that will have a substantial impact. 

Most of your students can behave appropriately under most circumstances: this site is not for them! When assessing the conditions you create in your classroom, keep the students who are disrupting learning for themselves and others  in mind. Things that you and most students may be perfectly comfortable with may be creating problems for these students.

It can be very difficult for teachers to observe their own classrooms. It’s like asking a fish to describe water. Asking a trusted colleague for an honest and objective observation of the conditions that may be contributing to misbehavior is an invaluable tool.

Tone/Mood of the classroom

As Hiam Ginott says, “It is my daily mood that makes the weather (in the classroom).” Just like some adults have pains before rain, some students are more sensitive to this.

Noise

During instruction, directions, and learning new skills, many students need distractions limited. Noises spilling in from hallways is a distractor that can make it difficult for some students to concentrate.  

Amount of movement

As with noise, they key having control over the amount and the time. Some students cannot pay attention unless everything is still, others might become anxious if they cannot fidget.

Arrangement/traffic patterns

Certain students need to be away from high-traffic areas. While you consider where to seat a student, don’t forget to also consider everything (and everyone) along the path that student will likely take around the room.

Expectations

Most students know the general rules of school before they even begin. They soon learn that while some rules remain constant (like no hitting), others change based on the situation (inside/outside voice). Many learn this quickly and can pick up cues from peers, but some students with behavior problems need to have these rules explicitly taught and reviewed often.

Procedures

We know that many problems can be prevented by improving the procedures and students’ mastery of them, and this can be even more important with students who are having difficulties. Using consistent procedures with consistent phrases to describe them improves retention (“we line up quietly,” “the pencils are in the green bin”). Some students may continue to need review long after others have mastered them.

Curriculum presentation

Learning difficulties can lead to bad behavior, and academic accommodations should be a part of the behavior plan for students with learning difficulties.

Communication

Don’t assume that all students will understand facial expressions, idioms, and sarcasm. Consider students’ response to your body language, personal space, tone, and cadence: students can have different responses to these.

Consequences

Consequences from the past become antecedents of the future. This is true of positive and negative consequences.

Consistency

There can be a great comfort in consistency, and some students need it more than others. This is not only true for schedules and procedures. Your consistent response to their behavior builds boundaries and trust.

Meeting Basic needs

Maslow has his famous hierarchy, but I like this list from William Glasser (The Quality School, 1990)

                                        Survival

                                        Love/Belonging

                                        Power

                                        Freedom

                                        Fun

-- Survival

Includes basic physiological needs: Sleeping, drinking, eating, using the bathroom and safety from harm. This also extends to the security we get from predictable rules and routines.

--  Love/Belonging

 Individual relationships as well as group identity (class, team).

--  Power

Competence, achieving difficult goals. Consider: If every day you came to work and were told you were horrible at your job, despite efforts to improve, how long would you continue trying? What kind of attitude would you have?

--  Freedom

How often do you give students choices? “My way or a negative consequence” doesn’t count. You make hundreds of decisions per day, which of these can you share with students?

•      Use pencil or pen

•      Choose from different kind of paper

•      Do your math or spelling first

•      Do it as a group or individually

--  Fun

As with Power above, if opportunities are not provided for them to have fun appropriately, they will find their own way.

What happens if these needs are not met? We can either provide opportunities for these needs to be met, or they will find a way to meet them on their own, perhaps inappropriately!