When establishing classroom rules or guidelines for behavior teachers should?

Classroom rules and procedures are essential for a productive learning environment. If teachers do not take time at the beginning of the year to set these up properly, they are rushing into a year without providing students with the consistency they need. If rules and procedures are implemented correctly, this sets the tone for expectations, and students as well as the teacher will have a much more successful year.

Talk to Fellow Teachers

The first thing teachers should do (especially if they are a first year or have moved to a new school) is talk to their colleagues. Experienced teachers can give excellent insight and advice to new teachers. This will give them guidance, but will also help them to know what other teachers are doing so that they know what is consistent across a grade level or the entire school. Every teacher wants to do their own thing, but it is important that there is some consistency so students and parents know what to expect.

Focus on Respect

When establishing rules and procedures it is so important to focus on teaching kids to respect each other as well as adults. A great book to read when working with your students to create classroom rules and commitments is Do Unto Otters by Laurie Keller. This book focuses on manners and why it is important to treat others the way we want to be treated.

Getting students involved in helping create the classroom rules and commitments ensures they are invested because they were a part of the process, as opposed to being given a set of rules by the teacher.

Another idea is to type up the rules and commitments to create a classroom agreement and have students sign it. This makes them feel so important, and if they break a rule or commitment, when the teacher discusses it with them they can remind them they are letting down their classmates because they are not keeping their commitment to the agreement.

Some schools also have character education programs that support teaching respect, caring for others, being honest, etc. There are some great ones out there (The Leader in Me, The Hero Builder), but if your school doesn’t have one you can always implement your own version of this so that students understand how important these qualities are in life.

Classroom Management

If you spend the time creating rules with students as mentioned above, then your job is to reinforce those rules consistently. If this happens, you can really reduce unwanted behavior and keep students on the right path.

Another way to help students follow the rules is by keeping them engaged. If students are engaged, then they do not have time to misbehave. High engagement can be implemented with rigorous academic tasks as well as making classroom procedures and expectations easy to follow so students know exactly what to do and how to do it.

You can also have a student of the week that is a go-to student to ask if someone forgets what to do. This student could be identified by wearing a special hat, sash, or name badge. This also helps with behavior, because this could be an incentive. If teachers focus on the positive things they see students doing, then that also highlights wanted behaviors instead of calling out students who are doing the wrong thing.

Choose Logical Consequences

When students do choose to misbehave it is important to make sure their consequences are logical and reasonable. For example, if a student chooses not to do their work during class, then they can have a working lunch where they must complete it when they finish eating. Another example would be if a student writes on their desk with a marker, then they should be required to clean it off and write a note of apology to the teacher and custodian.

The best way to focus on positive behavior is to reward those who are doing the right thing. Our school uses PBIS, and when we see students doing what is expected, we give them “star bucks” and they can spend them on the star cart to buy a prize; or they can choose to save them for a bigger prize such as being on the school news or having lunch with the assistant principal or principal. Some free things that they can buy are a no shoes pass or a hat pass.

Work within District Guidelines

Teachers should also make sure anything they choose to implement in their classroom follows district guidelines. This is critical for legal and accountability purposes. If you are ever unsure, set up a time to talk with your school’s administration. They can help guide and advise you to make sure you are following best practices, but also adhering to what is expected and approved.

Imagine you are a mechanic… Today is your first day on the job. You arrive to work around 7:30 a.m. and your boss orders you to your designated workstation with almost no direction. You know that as a mechanic your job is to fix cars, but you do not know how to check-in new customers, where your tools are located, how much time you’ve been allocated for each task, how to finalize a job, and so forth.

Fast forward six months… Your boss still has yet to teach you the rules of the game. You’ve picked up on some key routines and located a handful of tools, but your days aren’t nearly as productive as they should be six months into your new gig. To make matters worse, your boss is now punishing you for not excelling at your job even though he hasn’t given you the tools and knowledge to do well. Often times, this punishment comes as a surprise, with little to no explanation on how you can improve your future performance. Now, not only are your days less productive, but your attitude has taken a turn because you’ve reached a point of frustration.

Unfortunately, this is how far too many students are set up at the beginning of each school year. On the first day of school, students arrive in a new and exciting environment, knowing their primary goal is to learn and grow through their educational experience.

As an educator, it is important to start exploring each student’s performance right off the bat; this helps to effectively determine academic and behavioral needs. But it is important to remember that skill sets will vary year to year, and even for the strongest students generalization may be difficult when they first enter the novel environment of a brand new school year.

Teachers often assume that students already possess the academic repertoire that they need to be successful learners. Furthermore, teachers often make the assumption that students already know the rules of their new classroom, or will simply pick them up as the year progresses. This ambiguous method for establishing classroom rules and routines can be a major setback that often leads to additional barriers as the year continues.

Establishing consistent classroom expectations is a key foundational principle of classroom management. Creating clear boundaries and steady routines help students understand what is expected of them throughout each school day. This type of consistency allows students to direct their focus on learning rather than playing the guessing game when it comes to expected behaviors. This approach helps students avoid learning bad habits from each other, or wasting valuable time picking up bits and pieces as they go.

Classroom expectations are guidelines put in place to assist students and teachers in maintaining structure. These guidelines are developed for students to understand what types of behaviors are expected of them throughout the duration of the school day. It also allows teachers to focus more heavily on academics. Giving students the opportunity to participate in establishing the set of expectations they will be required to adhere to is an essential part of this process, as it will aid in building buy-in and make it more likely that students will practice each behavior appropriately.

When developing classroom expectations, it is important to focus on what both you and your students as a whole view as the necessities that lead to maintaining consistent and productive classroom structure. When creating expectations, teachers should adhere to the key principles in order to prevent an overabundance of guidelines, which can change the classroom dynamic from one focused on learning and academics to one focused on routines and regulations. It is very important the classroom expectations are thorough, specific, and easy to remember.

Reinforcing Student Behavior

Classroom expectations provide students with guidelines for appropriate scholarly behavior. Identifying what types of behavior is expected allows students to build their own repertoires of skills and problem-solving approaches. Enhancing this type of constructive skill set will allow students to be more productive and successful within the classroom. Increased rates of success and independence, build student confidence, which often results in higher rates of positive performance.

Similar to the constructive guidance provided by clear classroom expectations, teachers are given direction to provide student feedback. Establishing well-defined expectations for the classroom gives teachers a set of positive behaviors to reinforce. Positive reinforcement increases the frequency of behaviors. If teachers are able to positively reinforce the observable behaviors defined within the classroom expectations, students are more likely to engage in those behaviors. Additionally, this approach encourages educators to focus on positive behaviors rather than punishing less favorable responses.

A Classroom Without Expectations

A classroom without consistent student expectations lacks the necessary structure that students require to be successful. Reliable guidelines allow teachers to closely anticipate student behavior. This type of anticipation makes it possible for teachers to plan for expected barriers as well as focus more heavily on academic needs. While it is often easier to catch students “doing something wrong,” without classroom expectations, teachers are frequently punishing rather than reinforcing behaviors.

Without clearly defined expectations, students are left to figure out for themselves what is considered the right behavior versus the wrong behavior. This takes significant time and is typically learned through error. But by establishing expectations early on, and reviewing them repeatedly, more time can be devoted to teaching and learning.

Creating Classroom Expectations

Expectations should be created to meet the needs of each classroom. They should also be individualized to each specific class, but generalized to all students in the room. Additionally, classroom expectations should be stated positively. This gives the teacher a set of observable behaviors to reinforce. It is important that classroom expectations are stated clearly to minimize ambiguity.

When determining expectations, it is crucial to ensure that each expectation is well-defined, achievable, and necessary to the success of the classroom. The content of classroom expectations should be consistent with the behavioral and academic goals of the school.

Common behavior expectations:

• Raise a quiet hand
• Use appropriate language
• Keep hands and feet to self

Common academic expectations:

• Track with your finger
• Make corrections as you go
• Answer on signal

Training Up Classroom Expectations

Classroom expectations should be taught and practiced in the environment in which they will be applied. Real-life application allows students to learn and generalize the necessary skills to be successful students.

Expectations should be taught and reviewed regularly throughout the duration of the school year. It is important for students to continue monitoring their behavior as the year progresses to minimize backslide. In addition to visually posting expectations throughout the classroom, it is important to frequently review, practice, and discuss these expectations. Often this means a daily review at the start of the school year, cutting back to reviewing a couple times per week as the year progresses. Frequent maintenance helps students master their behavioral skills and ensures long-term retention.

There are a variety of strategies to consider when teaching and reviewing classroom expectations. Each strategy provides a different element to successful learning.

Strategies for training

• TEACH: By starting with a clearly defined expectation, and stating why it is important for student success, teachers can minimize confusion and help build buy-in.
• MODEL: Modeling what each expectation looks like helps students better understand what is expected of them.
• EXAMPLES VS. NON-EXAMPLES: It is just as important for students to understand what resembles an inappropriate response. This allows students to know what a positive behavior looks like and what types of behaviors could potentially cause trouble. It is not uncommon for students to engage in inappropriate behaviors due to a lack of understanding or difficulty in distinguishing between appropriate and inappropriate responses.
• PRACTICE: Allowing students the opportunity to practice classroom expectations gives them the chance to engage in appropriate behaviors and facilitates long-term retention.
• REFLECTION: Reflecting on personal behavior gives students the chance to identify positive responses and determine what behaviors to work on.

The goal in any classroom should be to maximize student success through academic and behavioral achievement. This can be done by instituting consistent and reliable classroom expectations and routines. By ensuring that expectations are essential to student success (and achievable with the proper training strategies), teachers can obtain maximum classroom efficiency. Additionally, building strong classroom management helps promote long-term student success. Alleviating stressors, such as common behavioral concerns, within the classroom helps the teacher focus on teaching and the students to focus on learning.

What are the things that you need to consider in making your classroom rules?

How should teachers implement strategies to establish classroom norms and expectations?

Are a set of rules and guidelines that are imposed by the teacher that the class must follow?

What are the behaviors that a teacher should avoid to manage a classroom efficiently and effectively?