Introduction
Classroom management is easily one of the most important aspects of leading a group of learners. How a classroom is organized and how student behaviors are reinforced and managed is key in creating a learning environment that is orderly, yet welcoming. One where students know and understand the expectations of the classroom and of themselves.
Positive Behavior Management
Positive behavior management focuses almost always on recognizing and rewarding desired behaviors, while choosing to minimize the undesirable behaviors. Essentially, it’s this: Reward the positive. Ignore the negative. Ignoring negative behaviors does not reinforce them. It takes away the fuel, so to speak. Like snuffing out a fire.
What Does Positive Behavior Management Look Like?
Because classroom management is so important in maintaining a positive and safe learning environment for students, I developed a few different tools for teachers, including myself, to help manage classroom behavior.
Younger learners are more visual learners by nature, so having something colorful and eye-catching is essential to keeping them engaged with the tool. Each of the products below focuses on positive behaviors, and helps you ignore the negative ones. It is important to note that very disruptive behaviors should be addressed appropriately and in the moment.
No-Prep Clip Chart | Classroom Management
Fun No-Prep Reward Punch Cards | Classroom Management
No-Prep Reward Coupons | Classroom Management
The great thing about these products is that you can use them for an entire class to instill community and accountability, or you can use them for each student in your class, or you can use it in a more differentiated way by using it with only select students who need extra help.
Final Thoughts
Positive behavior management can be so effective and powerful. However, sometimes, students don’t always follow your expectations, no matter how much you front load expectations and reinforce good behaviors. There will be times where students misbehave. This is where communication between teacher, parent, and student is absolutely essential. Parents are teachers’ allies in the classroom. They can reinforce and encourage positive behaviors at home that will transfer to behaviors in the classroom. However, they cannot work on improving specific behaviors or reinforce good behaviors with the student if they are not aware of what is going on.
When reflecting on how a student behaves, or misbehaves, it’s not not only important to look at the actual behavior, but also the motivation behind the behavior. In other words, ask yourself what could have caused the student to act in a certain way. If you, as a teacher, can understand the motivations behind why a student does what he or she does, you can not only address that concern, but also get to know the student a little better and be able to help him or her navigate your classroom expectations in a way that makes sense to them. This helps the student become more self-aware of their own behaviors and helps them understand how it impacts their learning, and impacts others.
There is no one-size-fits-all approach when it comes to classroom management. With the right tool(s), parental involvement and support, and a little patience, your classroom can run much smoother and much more learning will naturally happen as a result!
Products Mentioned in This Post:
- No-Prep Clip Chart | Classroom Management
- Fun No-Prep Reward Punch Cards | Classroom Management
- No-Prep Reward Coupons | Classroom Management
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