Internship Post 3

Program Standard:

5.4 Managing Student Behavior by Establishing Expectations

Standards of conduct are clear to all students.

Interpretation:

Teachers must figure out ways of working with students to prevent bad behavior from impacting learning.

Evidence:

I have a particularly rambunctious 4^th period class. I’ve expended a lot of my time and effort and thought trying to come up with ways to get them to settle down quickly so that we can spend more time learning, and less time discussing why it’s not acceptable to refuse work, or wander around the classroom, or talk while I’m talking, or any of a dozen other misbehaviors they exhibit. It finally occurred to me to try being upfront and specific about my expectations for the class. But being upfront and specific about my expectations is not enough. I also had to stand by what I said – no student could be allowed to breach my behavior instructions. To allow such a breach is to allow inconsistency, which means my rules can be broken – and therefore freely ignored without penalty. This means that they WILL be freely ignored by my students, and the point of the exercise is rendered moot.

So I tried it. And I was a little surprised to find that it worked.

(Sorry, I’m not exactly an artist.)

My 4^th period ruffians were magically transformed into cooperative, diligent students who raised their hands and stayed in their seats. I didn’t yell, I didn’t have to call Security. They did what I asked of them, because I was upfront about what I wanted. I suspect my students have spent a lot of time wondering this year exactly what it is that’s expected of them in this class. Moving forward, I intend to continue using this strategy of telling them exactly what I expect, and then holding them to it.

Summary:

If you’re clear and upfront about what you expect from your students in terms of behavior, and you are firm about enforcing those behavioral norms, your students will behave.

Next Steps:

Continue to be clear about expectations

Continue to stick to these expectations and to enforce them When expectations shift because of different lesson styles, be sure to note what behaviors are expected of students.

References:

The brilliant minds of my mentor teacher (Mrs. Shaw) and field supervisor (Mrs. Huff), who suggested I try this.