Designing%20Effective%20Classrooms

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Designing Effective Classrooms

• Cynthia M. Anderson
• University of Oregon

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In a Well-Managed Classroom

• Students are actively involved in their work
• Students know what is expected of them and are
  generally successful
• There is relatively little wasted time,
  confusion, or disruption
• The climate of the classroom is work-oriented,
  but relaxed and pleasant

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Well-Managed Classrooms Are

• Correlated with positive student outcomes
  (academic and behavior) and more engagement
• Important for preventing more serious problems
  among at-risk kids
• Able to prevent the development of problem
  behavior
• Strong management signals to kids that the class
  is a safe place to learn.
• Rated (by students, teachers, parents,
  administrators) as having more positive climates.

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In Ineffective classroomsWehby, Symons, Shores
(1995)

• Less than half of students hand raises or
  correct academic responses were acknowledged by
  teachers
•  
• Less than 2 praise statements per hour
• Most academic work consisted of independent
  seatwork
• Inconsistent distribution of teacher attention
• Compliance to a command generally resulted in the
  delivery of another command

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Effective Teachers Have
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Expectations and Rules

• Expectations are a foundation for the classroom
• Expectations defined
• School-wide expectations are foundation for
  classroom

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Expectations and Rules

• Expectations are a foundation for the classroom
• Derive rules from expectations
• Relevant for YOUR classroom
• What are problem routines, settings?
• What behaviors would you like to see more of?

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Your Classroom Vision

• What do you want your classroom to look like?
• What should it feel like to a class member?
• What do you want your students to accomplish?
• What do you want to accomplish?
• What should a visitor see?
• How would you like a visitor to summarize your
  classroom? Would they say this now?

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Expectations and Rules

• Expectations are a foundation for the classroom
• Derive rules from expectations
• Relevant for YOUR classroom
• Positively stated succinct
• Target observable behaviors
• Posted in public, easily seen place

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Mr. Wilhelms room
Be Safe Be Respectful Be Responsible
Walk facing forward Keep hands, feet objects to self Get adult help for accidents spills Use all equipment materials appropriately Use kind words actions Wait for your turn Clean up after self Follow adult directions Be silent when lights are turned off Follow school rules Remind others to follow school rules Take proper care of all personal belongings school equipment Be honest Follow game rules
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Expectations and Rules

• Develop general classroom rules
• Develop rules for problematic routines

• Rules for Routines
• What is the expected behavior?
• What is the signal/cue for the expected behavior?

How do you clean up?
What do you do during group work?
What do you do when the bell rings?
What do you do when you enter the room?
How do you get help?
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Classroom Routines
Starting the day put personal belongings in designated areas turn in homework put instructional materials in desks sharpen pencils and gather necessary material for class be seated ready to start class by 830
Entering the classroom use a conversational or inside voice keep hands, feet, objects to self walk move directly to desk or assigned area
Working independently have materials ready work without talking raise hand to ask for help keep working or wait quietly for assistance when the teacher is helping someone else put materials away begin next activity when finished
Asking for help always try by yourself first use the classroom signal for getting assistance keep working if you can or wait quietly
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Elementary Example

• Lining Up
• Neatly place books and materials in your desk.
• Sit quietly when you hear the quiet signal.
• Quietly stand up when your name (or row) is
  called
• Push your chair under your desk
• Quietly walk to the line
• Stand with hands at your sides, facing forward,

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Secondary Examples Routines

• Class Discussion
• Prepare for discussion by reading the required
  assignment in advance.
• Wait until the other person is finished speaking
  before your talk.
• Stay on topic.
• Respect others opinions and contributions Use
  appropriate expressions of disagreement.

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Expectations and Rules

• Linked to school-wide program
• Positively stated succinct (3-5)
• Observable behaviors
• Posted in public, easily seen place
• Enforced consistently

Rules routines Provide Structure
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Action Planning

• What are your classroom rules?
• Do 80 of students consistently follow rules
  without reminders or prompts?
• Are there other problems occurring in your room?
• Consider
• Are your rules linked to the Tier I school
  intervention?
• Do your rules reflect common discipline problems?
• Do all students know and understand your rules
  and consequences?
• Are your rules clearly stated, positively worded,
  and few in number?
• What changes could you make to your rules?

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Effective Teachers Have
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Teaching Expected Behavior

• Build off School-wide expectations
• When to teach
• Beginning of year
• Before and after natural breaks
• When the data suggest teaching is needed
• For individual studentsafter rule violations
• How to teach.

Teaching Matrix
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Evaluate effects of instruction

• Collect data
• Are rules being followed?
• If not ask..
• who is making them?
• where are the errors occurring?
• what kind of errors are being made?
• when are they being made?
• Summarize data (look for patterns)
• Use data to make decisions

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Effective Teachers Have
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Acknowledgement Tips

• Simple systems are best
• High frequency of acknowledgement is key
• Acknowledgement contingent on behavior
• Avoid threats and response cost
• Avoid removing opportunity for acknowledgement

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Acknowledgement Systems

• Whole class systems
• Small-group systems
• Individual student systems

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Whole-Class Acknowledgement

• Best for.
• Discrete activities
• Situations when each instance of correct behavior
  can be acknowledged
• Embed within other systems
• Examples

Work completion
Attendance
Timely transitions
Limit attention to peers
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Small Group Acknowledgement

• General
• Students divided into teams
• Points allocated based on student behavior when
  game is in effect
• Rewards delivered periodically (end of day, end
  of week) based on points earned

The Good Behavior Game
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Rationale for use

• Large body of empirical support
• Easily modified for
• Different class sizes
• Age groups
• Ability levels
• Activities
• Daily variations in the classroom

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Using TGBG

• When will TGBG be used?
• Times when all students are expected to meet
  established behavioral expectations
• Times that are difficult in your room
• What behaviors will you target?
• Define 1-3 appropriate behaviors and/or 1-3
  inappropriate behaviors

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TGBG

• Independent Work

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Hurray! Oops.

• Respectful
• Safe
• Responsible

• Out of seat
• Disruptive
• Talking out

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TGBG

• Group Work

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GOs STOPs

• Respectful
• Safe
• Responsible

• Out of seat
• Disruptive
• Talking out

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Using TGBG

1. When will TGBG be used?
2. What behaviors will you target?
3. What will you use for rewards and what is the
   schedule?

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Sample Rewards

• Stickers
• Line up first
• Break/special activity
• Quiet break at end of day
• Points toward large reward

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Using TGBG

• When will TGBG be used?
• What behaviors will you target?
• What will you use for rewards and what is the
  schedule?
• Begin with n pointslose points for rule
  violations
• Begin with 0 pointsearn points for rule
  following
• Combination

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Using TGBG

• When will TGBG be used?
• What behaviors will you target?
• What will you use for rewards and what is the
  schedule?
• Team with most (fewest) points wins
• Everyone over the bar wins

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Using TGBG

1. When will TGBG be used?
2. What behaviors will you target?
3. What will you use for rewards and what is the
   schedule?
4. Introduce game to your class
5. Use the game

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TGBG When Things Go Wrong

• Sabotage
• Consider forming separate team
• It used to work but now it doesnt
• Consistent use?
• Verbal arguments about contingencies?
• Considerations
• Random reinforcers and criteria
• Have someone observe your implementation to
  problem solve
• One student ruins it for the rest

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Acknowledgement Systems

• Whole class systems
• Small-group systems
• Individual student systems
• Acknowledgement contingent only on that students
  behavior
• Examples

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Individual Student Systems

• Acknowledgement contingent on individual student
  behavior
• Examples
• Race car
• Red light
• Card system
• Advantages
• Allows system to be tailored for specific
  students
• Limitations
• Less opportunity for positive peer influence
• Difficult to be consistent

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Individual Student Systems

• Considerations
• If you use a response cost be sure students can
  earn positives as well
• Is it workingare the same students doing well
  and doing poorly each day?
• Watch out for shaming as a strategy
• Avoid drawing attention to negative behavior

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• This is the second time you have poked Jason, go
  flip your card.
• I didnt poke him, I just touched him.
• It looked like a poke to me, go flip your card.
• You are SO unfair! What about Bernie? She is
  messing with Lias hair!
• Right now I am talking to you, go flip your card.
• Mumbles under breath
• Tonya, please go flip your card now or you will
  need to go to the principal
• Slowly gets up, stomps to front of room in
  exaggerated manner and turns card
• I dont care about your cards anyway!

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Effective Teachers Have
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Common Strategies

• Verbal reprimand
• Time out
• Demerit or fine
• Detention
• Writing assignment
• Deprivation of some reward/response cost
• Office referral

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When They Dont Work

• Intervention is in place without the
• Systems
• For defining and teaching expectations and rules
• For responding to errors
• For acknowledging appropriate behavior
• Data
• Strategies for monitoring student behavior
• Consequence doesnt match function

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Why do we behave?
Modeling? Accident? Instinct?
Why Do we keep behaving?
IT WORKS!
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Effective Consequences for Misbehavior Require a
System

• Applied consistently
• Immediate feedback
• Pre-determined plan for major, minor, repeat
  violations
• Linked to context

Requires a plan developed BEFORE the problem
occurs for Major, minor, and repeated problems
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Strategies Tips for Teachers

• Avoid stopping lesson to respond to student
  misbehavior
• Use immediate consequences when feasible
• Pick your battles

But.....
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Effective Teachers Have
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Is Your ClassroomManagement SystemWorking?
How Would you Know?
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Are My Changes Making a Difference?

• Collect baseline data
• Implement new program with fidelity
• Compare baseline performance to intervention
  outcomes

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When Your System doesnt work

• Basics are not in place
• Rules are known by all and viewed as fair
• Classroom is orderly and works
• Curriculum matches academic level
• Needed materials are available
• Problems with acknowledgements
• Not reinforcing
• Schedule of delivery is too thin
• Problems with arrangement (e.g., classroom,
  groups)
• Problems with rule enforcement
• System is confusing
• Schedule is complicated
• Competing classroom management systems
• Plan for disruptions (e.g., substitutes)

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Establishing Effective Classrooms Across the
School
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Why Involve the PBIS Team?
We have books, web-sites, And our teachers have
been to SO many presentations.
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Isnt that enough? Shouldnt our teachers just
DO IT already?
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Training Outcomes Related to Training Components Training Outcomes Related to Training Components Training Outcomes Related to Training Components Training Outcomes Related to Training Components
Training Outcomes Training Outcomes Training Outcomes
Training Components Knowledge of Content Skill Implementation Classroom Application
Presentation/ Lecture
Plus Demonstration
Plus Practice
Plus Coaching/ Admin Support Data Feedback
10 5
0
30 20
0
60 60
5
95 95
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Joyce Showers, 2002
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Classroom Management Should be Part of SWPBS

• Classrooms are part of schools
• Role of SWPBS team
• Delineate office-managed versus classroom-managed
• Provide clear and efficient process for
  documenting time out of class
• Training on linking Tier I of SWPBS to classroom
  management
• Create climate for positive and proactive focus
  on classrooms

Office vs room
Time out of class
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Roadblocks (Real and Imagined)

• Some teachers dont want help (and they are the
  ones who REALLY need it)
• No one on the team is skilled in classroom
  management
• We dont have the resources to do this
• Who has time for this?
• What do we do?

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Developing a System for Addressing Classrooms
Across the School Requires.

• Knowing what areas to focus on
• An action plan
• Access to tools
• Access to resources
• Key person who oversees implementation

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What Areas to Focus on
?

• Deriving rules from expectations
• Classroom routines
• Using instruction to facilitate desired behavior
• Effective acknowledgement systems
• Good instructional practices
• Consequences for problem behavior
• Room layout

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Determining Where to Start

• Let data be your guide
• Conduct assessment of your school
• Teacher self-assessment
• Peer- or administrator-conducted observations

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Greathow do we use this for our whole school?
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Peer or Administrator-Conducted

• Goal
• Obtain information about classroom functioning
• Progress monitoring
• Key considerations
• Who observes
• Administrator
• Peer
• When does observation occur
• Random times
• Teacher-determined

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Next Steps

• Assessment Now you know what to focus on
• Changing classrooms requires that classrooms are
  a priority
• Use faculty meetings
• Use grade-level meeting structure
• Changing systems requires effective instruction
• Description of what to do and why
• Opportunities to practice
• Feedback

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Step 1. Instruction

• Modalities
• Modules
• Readings and discussion
• Small group workshops
• Delivery
• Space out deliveryfocus on one topic at a time
• Use good instructional practices

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Other Resources to Consider

• Coaching Classroom Management Strategies and
  Tolls for Administrators and Coaches
• Sprick, R., Knight, J., Reinke, W.M., McKale,
  T. (2006). Pacific Northwest Publishing.
• CHAMPs A proactive and positive approach to
  classroom management
• Sprick, R. Garrison, M., Howard, L. (1998).
  Pacific Northwest Publishing.

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Other Resources (on your site)

• Expectations and rules
• Classroom rules worksheet
• Sample rules
• Teaching rules and routines
• Designing classroom routines matrix
• Acknowledgement systems
• Acknowledgement ideas
• Implementing the Good Behavior Game procedures
  manual
• Consequences for problem behavior
• Consequences for problem behavior matrix
• Flowchart for office- versus classroom-managed
• Time out of class form

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Step 2 Provide Opportunities to Practice

• Be sure all teachers understand what is expected
  after each lesson
• Consider grade level collaboration around lesson
• Opportunities for discussion
• Share ideas about implementation
• Problem-solving brainstorming

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Step 3 Feedback

• Create small learning communities
• Possibilities
• Grade level team
• Buddy system
• Core group of master teachers
• Teachers observe one another
• Teachers may provide feedback and helpful hints
• Administrator walk-through
• Re-administer self assessment
• Feedback
• Corrective feedbacktips
• How will you acknowledge behavior change?

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Develop an Action Plan

• Guides implementation of classroom systems
• Begin with obtaining teacher buy-in
• Identify steps to be under-taken
• Who is in charge?
• What will occur?
• What is the timeline?
• What is the outcome?

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Summary Next Steps

• Effective classroom management is a skill
• Foundation Apply instructional expertise to
  behavior management
• SWPBS Really implementing means

Classroom teachers are implementing too!