Techniques in action
Throughout the past eight months I had read about, witnessed and tried a litany of behavior management techniques. (See Appendix II for the complete list). I have chosen seven that portray different aspects of classroom management in specific situations of which I have been a part of which I have observed.
CARD SYSTEM
a5- Card Wall, Kindergarten
My first experience with an official behavior management system was the one employed by my CM in the kindergarten placement. He had a portion of the wall covered with nineteen small envelopes, one for each student. Inside each of these were four index cards: green, yellow, blue, and red. All students started the day on green and progressed through the colors if they misbehaved. Usually [1] students who moved to blue before recess had to sit against the wall during those fifteen minutes. Occasionally, students who remained on green all day were allowed to choose from the prize box. For students who frequently moved their cards, there were discussions with parents so as to create continuity between school and home. For example, one boy, Jake, talked frequently during class, which often prevented him from completing his work. Any day that he left school with a poor behavior report, he would have a toy taken away at home that he would not receive back until he had a good day. As a warning, my CM would sometimes remind him about his toys and how he had to stay on green in order to play with them at home. One day, Jake approached me with his eyes wide and explained this system to me [2]. Jake was very aware of the consequences of his actions, both positive and negative, but seemed flummoxed when I asked what his plan was to stay on green all day. I tried to lead him to the concept of following directions and not talking without raising his hand, but I remained unsure if he grasped that he theoretically had the power to determine his behavior report.
A6- Prize Box, Kindergarten
A6- Prize Box, Kindergarten
The enactment of the system in my placement was very punitive with no opportunity for redemption; once a student moved to yellow, the best he could hope for was to stay there for the rest of the day and not progress deeper into the colors. Unfortunately, turning a card often provoked a negative response from students, whether it be stomping, crying, or refusal to turn the card. I believe these actions could have been avoided had the CM or I been able to counsel the students that they had the ability to return to green by behaving well the rest of the period/day. Alas, my CM did not set up the system as such. As a result, students would work themselves up to the point that they could not focus on the lesson. Consider the following vignette, as documented in a journal entry: Ram refused to sit down when directed to do so by the CM. The situation escalated and, as Ram was already on a red card at that point, he ran out of the room. Ram was furious when he was brought back to the classroom and could not refocus on his work. Who could blame him? What was the point of trying if he had already reached the worst color card and there was no way to return to a less severe one?
A7- Journal Entry, Oct. 11, 2012
A8- Ram's Alphabet Book Page, Nov. 21, 2012 |
In general, Ram did the bare minimum in class. During my pull-out small group lessons, I did not use the card system. His work product (see below) was significantly better than his usual output. For his page of the alphabet book, he had written more words than anyone else in the group. He seemed very proud of his effort as well. While it is a stretch to say that this was due to operating outside of the car system, it is the case that he did not have the threat or constant reminder of a red card hanging over his head all period.
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Positive reinforcement
A9- FIELD NOTES, APR. 2, 2013
As much as I can, I acknowledge students who are meeting or exceeding expectations. A new policy in third grade, implemented to stop the chatter that occurs as the class walks down the halls, is bubble cheeks. Most students have found it amusing and, as long as they are doing it, they cannot talk. In this incident, the ripple effect of my praise is quite visible. If I compliment a few students on their bubble cheeks, I soon have ten other dramatically inflated cheeks shaking in my direction fishing for a compliment.
While positive reinforcement usually achieves my goal in the moment, I do worry about the issues Porter raises. The students are doing what I want because they want my positive attention. What about making them realize the value in being quiet in the hallway so as to not disturb other classes or to hear teacher instructions? Praise of students who are comporting themselves well does leave me with an inkling of using them. While they seem to appreciate the compliment, I am doing it to indirectly call out those who are not falling in line. A few weeks ago, I did exactly that and the misbehaving student muttered behind my back that I only said I liked that another student was being quiet because he was talking. I was flabbergasted and ignored the comment. The jig was up! I felt uncomfortable being called out on my manipulation techniques, pushing me more towards Porter’s line of thinking.
While positive reinforcement usually achieves my goal in the moment, I do worry about the issues Porter raises. The students are doing what I want because they want my positive attention. What about making them realize the value in being quiet in the hallway so as to not disturb other classes or to hear teacher instructions? Praise of students who are comporting themselves well does leave me with an inkling of using them. While they seem to appreciate the compliment, I am doing it to indirectly call out those who are not falling in line. A few weeks ago, I did exactly that and the misbehaving student muttered behind my back that I only said I liked that another student was being quiet because he was talking. I was flabbergasted and ignored the comment. The jig was up! I felt uncomfortable being called out on my manipulation techniques, pushing me more towards Porter’s line of thinking.
A10- Interview, Apr. 19, 2013
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A few weeks after he made this comment, I interviewed the student about various classroom norms. I repeated the incident and asked how he felt when I complimented someone for doing what he was not doing. He replied, “When I see you do it…I get jealous.” He went on to nod agreement that it does make him want to do the right thing to get a compliment too (See video to left)). I asked another student, who often exhibits encouraged behaviors, a similar question and her response was almost identical, although she did leap more quickly to the strategy of imitating the student who received the compliment (See video to right). While it is clear that this behavior management technique works- two very different personalities admit the same thing- is this how I want my class to be? Students competing for compliments from me instead of intrinsically caring about doing the “right” thing and fostering a productive community? Can this sort of praise ever lead to intrinsic motivation or will students be hooked on it and unable to evaluate actions for their own worth?
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A11- Interview, Apr. 19, 2013
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Individual behavior checklist
A12- Adam's behavior checklist
Adam, discussed earlier as a disengaged student, rarely earned checks, the main behavior management tool of my classroom mentor. In February, I began a supplemental behavior chart for Adam. At the conclusion of each period, he and I would discuss whether he earned a check in all three categories. If so, he would receive a star and five stars earned him a reward certificate [3]. Although at first glance it may seem that it was more challenging for Adam to meet all three goals, in reality those are all things that need to be done in order for any student to receive a check from my CM. Breaking down for Adam exactly what a check entailed seemed to work. I believe that prior to this personal system, he felt that the awarding of checks was unpredictable and out of his control. Once it was broken down and he got used to the new system, he became much more honest and was able to self-assess, admitting particular instances when he did not meet one of the requirements. In fact, discord between his self-evaluation and my evaluation of him in these three categories shrunk considerably as the weeks passed. More importantly, he began to work much harder in class. On February 7, just a few days into this new system, Adam did not even complete an exit slip at the conclusion of a math lesson. Less than two weeks later, he completed an entire pre-assessment for the geometry unit, by far the most work I had seen him complete in one sitting since starting my placement.
A13- Adam's Geometry Pre-Assessment, Feb. 13, 2013
A14- PHOTO OF ADAM, FEB. 28, 2013
He eventually asked to graduate from this personal plan and return to the simple check system that the rest of the class utilized. After he assured me that he would continue his much improved behavior, I agreed. While there is little doubt that this was the right choice, primarily because his buy-in was essential, I do think that the combination of stopping that and beginning my two-week-takeover led Adam to feel neglected, and he reverted back to some of his prior behavior. Nevertheless, as Adam’s behavior improved, so too did his work product. Eager to participate to earn a check for the Trying Category, he seemed to pay more attention during read-alouds and direct instruction. He was also more willing to ask for help in order to complete the independent practice portion of lessons. More importantly, he took pride in his accomplishment; the picture below to the left is per his request on the first time he received five stars.
Students write notes
a15- DEMIYAH'S NOTE, MAR. 13, 2013
When students are especially upset about an incident, I have found it helpful to have them write a note about what happened. Consider the following vignette. Demiyah is a third grader who, according to both my CM and her second grade teacher, has undergone a serious transformation this year. Where she used to be excited about school and demonstrated a high effort in her work, she now sits with her head slumped on her desk for most of the morning. She breaks her silence most often to argue with a classmate. In mid-March, she allegedly looked over at a new student in the class and stuck the middle finger up at him. I was reading aloud during that time and did not see this, but I as numerous eye-witnesses reported it to me and the boy at whom it was aimed was distraught, I felt the need to address it. I approached Demiyah just before dismissal to discuss it with her and she did not attempt to deny it. She claimed to have made the gesture because he stuck his tongue out at her. I directed her to go home and write a note to me explaining herself (Left). What I received was heart wrenching and said a lot more than Demiyah had on previous attempts to get her to open up. I suspect that she felt more comfortable with this outlet than talking directly to me, as she is not very talkative- one morning in early April, she did not raise her hand or speak out for the entire three hours we were in the classroom (See below for field notes tracking her participation). At the end of the note, however, she says something so profound: “I don’t know why I can’t have a good day.” This is actually something with which I can help her, or at the very least, can check in with her regarding whether her day is going well or not. She lists a litany of problems, none of which are academic, but all of which affect her performance in the classroom.
DEVELOP MEANINGFUL LESSONS
A20- Lesson, Mar. 13, 2013
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During lessons that students find interesting, they are generally more engaged and misbehaviors decrease. Unfortunately, due to mandates from the district and the principal, too much time is spent on tedious tasks. I imagine if the norm were relevant lessons, behavior would be better. As discussed herein, the lessons where my CM or I have more freedom does lead to more attentive and, not coincidently, better behaved students. Sadly, enjoying a lesson is the exception, not the norm. They suffered through the scripted curriculum for their K-2 experience and even now, there are some things we have to do and teach that are just plain boring [4]. Thus, I do not believe that students walk into class thinking they will care about a particular lesson and they are still caught a little off-guard when a lesson is actually of interest to them. Consider one from my take-over that involved making sense of a pop song’s [5] lyrics and considering how songs can inspire As seen in the video below, not all students are on task- notice the boy in the lower left of the frame who is playing with a pencil and paper almost the entire time. The rest of the room however largely seems to be engaged. They are certainly excited; the noise level was such that I rang the bell five times in the 15 minutes that were filmed. The “hook” of the lesson, watching the music video, is something atypical in the room and was meant to engage them. While ideally they would have been able to calm themselves a little more, I consider the hook a success since it captured their attention. Most importantly to me, the academic product was impressive. Students provided insightful responses (See video to the left). The lesson also resonated; the song became a theme song for the rest of the take-over and we listened to it at least once a day. I overheard students discussing it and some would announce out of the blue their favorite lines from the song and explain why it stuck with them. The objective, that students would be able to explain how music inspires them and identify their own sources of musical encouragement to persevere, was clearly met. One boy told me a couple of days after this lesson that he thought Justin Bieber’s Never Say Never song had a similar message to Hall of Fame. Thus, following the terms of this paper, specifically that behavior management was not the goal in and of itself, this strategy works to promote learning and keepings students on task. In reviewing this lesson clip, I would have liked to all students to be more focused consistently throughout the period, but as I cannot expect to change everything in one lesson, I settle for the higher level of care that they displayed.
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Signals
A21- JOURNAL ENTRY, OCT. 21, 2012
There have been several instances when I’ve established a “secret” signal with a student who has a particular behavior issue in class. For instance, there was a kindergartener that perpetually seemed to be in trouble. She was so energetic and eager about everything that she had trouble stopping her chatter and following directions. She would move through the behavior cards at a quick rate most days, and as noted above, that meant she often missed recess. To avoid this, I stepped in and made a plan with her. One week, we spoke briefly about her goals for the day (work on listening) each morning. I also suggested a signal that I could do that would warn her that she was straying from this plan and needed to focus. Those two days, I used the agreed upon signal (pointing to my own ear) several times, and each time resulted in her paying attention to my CM. I also caught her listening attentively without any extra prodding and caught her eye to give her a thumbs up for this stellar behavior. This particular student seemed to crave teacher attention and I think she really enjoyed this special connection with me (See Above- Journal Entry regarding this). At the time of implementation (October 2012), I could not imagine handling this while teaching an entire class. Fortunately, I now see it as something that could easily be managed. It is a simple way to prevent a specific behavior when I can sense that things are heading down a bad road and also give the child the attention they seek before they misbehave to generate that attention. Stopping a potential problem before it escalates allows students to focus on the lesson rather than react to a teacher’s response to misbehavior. Especially in this case, the student received extra reminders to listen, something that kept her on track and, more importantly, facilitated her learning.
Stopwatch
A22- PHOTOGRAPH, MAR. 19, 2013
After observing a couple of lessons early this semester, my Penn Mentor suggested that I develop a way to get the students’ attention rather than attempting to talk over them. I found it uncomfortable and not very effective to simply stand in the front of the room waiting. During my two-week take-over, I started carrying around a stopwatch at all times and any time I had to wait more than a few seconds for the students to settle, I would start the clock. I explained to the students that the goal was to get as close to zero by the end of the day as possible. The time on the clock at the end of the first day was 15:50. I spoke to the students that that equated to all of recess and that was an unacceptable amount of time to waste each day. As the week progressed, students became very vested in beating their record. At the end of the first week, they got the time down to 4:21 (See photograph to left- times from first 6 days of take over). I began to notice students monitoring each other, telling talkers to be quiet because I had the stopwatch going, which was quite effective. On the final day of take-over, the time was 2:52 (See Below- Photograph of best and worst times). A shortfall of this method was the potential for students to call each other out for keeping the watch running instead of accepting the group work required to stop the clock. I saw an inkling of this as students would take “shhhhing” their classmates too far and start yelling at them to shut up. All in all, however, it was an extremely effective behavior management strategy. Consider the sheer amount of time saved- thirteen minutes is a significant amount of time that could be better spent learning than waiting for students to settle down. Students caught on to this (See video below for student saying just that). Finally, those thirteen minutes that I did not have to wait for students to be quiet saved my patience for the more important business of teaching.
[1] I say usually because this was not a hard and fast rule, but something that my CM would announce in the morning, usually in response to being particularly frustrated.
[2] I was already aware of it from conversations with my CM and observation of his conversations with Jake’s father, but it was interesting to hear from a five year old’s perspective.
[3] I am aware of the excessive computational nature of this system. As a student teacher, however, I had to work within the system set up by my classroom mentor and this seemed like the most feasible option, given the constraint of not having my own overarching system.
[4] For example, the principal mandates a Constructed Response practice and revision every week.
[5] The Script’s Hall of Fame.
[2] I was already aware of it from conversations with my CM and observation of his conversations with Jake’s father, but it was interesting to hear from a five year old’s perspective.
[3] I am aware of the excessive computational nature of this system. As a student teacher, however, I had to work within the system set up by my classroom mentor and this seemed like the most feasible option, given the constraint of not having my own overarching system.
[4] For example, the principal mandates a Constructed Response practice and revision every week.
[5] The Script’s Hall of Fame.