In today’s classroom, students have become more confrontational with teachers and show little interest in following rules and authority. Classroom management is undoubtedly a major component for successful teaching. According to Willis, punishment and rewards are no longer effective for managing student behavior since many of the homes of the students are more hostile than our classrooms; therefore, students must learn to take ownership of their environments. When students intrinsically desire to do better, they do better. Barbara Coloroso says that students are given a gift when they are taught to ask the question; “What’s in it for me”? (Willis, 1996).
We all have those students who are
known to have behavioral issues and who somehow feel entitled to disrupt the
classroom or who show disrespect because “everyone knows that is how they are”. All
teachers recognize that merely posting rules on the walls in the classroom will not
fix the problems with defiant or attention seeking students. Therefore, students need a
reason to behave and the questions of what’s in it for me?, must be answered. While each new school year, I seek to find new solutions for improving management strategies in my own classroom as I
realize that strategies must be updated because students actually become bored with the norm.
I have
been guilty in some situations of being reluctant to call the home of a certain
student because of the assumption of not receiving the needed results through
a phone call. Much to my surprise, I have learned that behind the disruptive
child is often a caring parent who becomes embarrassed and hurt to hear about
her child’s behavior. That parent is often the one who seeks to correct the
child but has not identified the real needs of the child and may compensate for
the lack thereof with materials kinds of appeasements in hopes of changing the
child’s behavior. While that parent may delay getting additional supports for
the student, the child is steadily developing behavioral patterns that are self-
destructive and damaging for the school climate. In this article, I wish to share
some of the strategies I am using in my classroom this year, hoping they prove
successful for my situation, and will support your ideas in the classroom. I hope to provide you with feedback throughout the year as I teach in an urban school with many challenging behaviors to address.
ClassroomDojo
Firstly, I am utilizing the www.classroomdojo.com
in my classroom which is an online forum for communicating with parents and
students, and for students to earn points; for being on task, for good
behavior, and for being prepared in class. In the music classroom, of course
certain supplies are needed and serve of utmost importance for a student’s
success. Classroomdojo.com is a good site and is free of charge. Posting a sign in
the classroom for how the students can apply their earned points on the site, provides
excitement and an incentive for achieving, earning points, and as a reminder to
use the classroomdojo.com site. So far the challenge has been ensuring that all
parents receive the invites.
Behavior Bucks
Behavior bucks support the idea
that students can redeem themselves when they fail. With behavior bucks, students have opportunities
to buy back their dignity. As they behave, they receive a one dollar behavior buck
that can buy away a demerit. When consistency is apparent, they can receive a
five dollar buck for buying a “star” in the classroom. The students are invited
to take part in this challenge.
The FAIR PLAN
The FAIR plan appears to be a viable plan that can work in
the classroom as the acronym FAIR represents; F=function for the behavior may be
for escaping a task, obtaining a thing, attention seeking, or sensory motivated;
A=accommodations strategies, I= Interaction strategies, and R=Response strategies.
ABC notes are recommended to be taken by
the teacher about the troubled student. A=note the events that occurred before
the students behavior, B=Description of the student’s behavior, C=immediate
response to the student’s behavior from teacher and students. The ABC notes will
provide teachers with triggers and skill deficits.
Teachers must take the time to do ABC notes and can develop
a chart similar to this for each disruptive child. As a music specialist, I
find that each class has at least one to two children with severe behavior
problems and traditional approaches are not always effective for them. The FAIR
plan informs the teacher of exactly what behavioral function she is dealing
with and encourages one to intelligently address the problem. According to Rappaport
& Minahan, (2012) one should complete the ABC notes while regularly providing information
for addressing the needs of the students. Once the behaviors have been
analyzed, one should prepare a behavior plan. Although one’s school may have
programs currently in use for improving student behavior, results are not always
apparent when a defiant child is in the room, as a teacher is often left to
deal with the issues alone without the needed feedback. The FAIR plan can support the
teacher for providing needed feedback.
ABC Notes for: Student
Time
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Activity
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Antecedent
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Behavior
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Consequence
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Scott W. (1996). Finding Alternatives to control and
compliance. Managing Today’s Classroom. 38(6)
