Classroom Behavior Management:
A Dozen Common Mistakes and What
to Do Instead
PATRICIA M. BARBETTA, KATHLEEN LEONG NORONA, AND DAVID F. BICARD
Patricia M. Barbetta is a special education associate professor and strand leader at Florida International University, Miami. Kathleen Leong Norona is a school psychologist in the Miami-Dade County Public Schools, Miami, Florida. David F. Bicard is director of research and staff development at Hawthorne County Day School, New York.
ABSTRACT: This article presents a dozen common classroom management mistakes that teachers make, followed by suggestions as to what we should do instead. The mistakes pre- sented are committed frequently at many grade levels and in all types of learning environ- ments. The recommended suggestions are rel- atively easy to implement and useful for all types of learners.
KEY WORDS: behavior, classroom man- agement, functional assessment
O ne of our primary responsibilities as teachers is to help our students learn. It is difficult for learning to take place in chaotic environments. Subse- quently, we are challenged daily to create and maintain a positive, productive class- room atmosphere conducive to learning. On any given day, this can be quite a chal- lenge. In our attempts to face this chal- lenge, we find ourselves making common classroom behavior management mis- takes. This article is designed to presents some of these common mistakes followed by suggestions as to what we should do instead. The mistakes presented are com- mitted frequently, at many grade levels and in all types of learning environments. Each suggestion is relatively easy to implement and useful for all types of learners.
We have based our suggestions on sev- eral assumptions and beliefs. First and foremost, teachers have considerable influence over student behavior. This is particularly true if interventions begin early and are supported at home. Next, most student misbehaviors are learned and occur for a reason. It is our job to deter- mine those reasons and teach appropriate behaviors to replace those misbehaviors. We believe that prevention is the most effective form of behavior management. That is, the most efficient way to eliminate misbehaviors is to prevent their occur- rence or escalation from the beginning. Using a proactive approach also allows us to focus more on teaching appropriate behaviors rather than eliminating negative behaviors. Our experience tells us that management systems should be flexible enough to meet the changing needs of our classrooms. Finally, students, parents, and other professionals can be effective part- ners in behavior management.
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Mistake #1: Defining Misbehavior By How It Looks
When attempting to change misbehav- ior, we often describe it by only how it looks (e.g., calling out, hitting, getting out of seat). Defining misbehavior by how it looks only provides us with an incomplete picture of the behavior; it tells us little about why it occurred and doesn’t help much in our behavior-change efforts. For example, a student who is off task is a common classroom problem. If two of our students are off task regularly, they may or may not be off task for the same reason. If they are off task for different reasons, our approaches to change their behaviors may need to differ. Actually, a strategy that will eliminate the off-task behavior of one stu- dent might worsen the off-task behavior of the other. Defining a misbehavior by how it looks tells us nothing about why it occurred and often doesn’t help in our behavior-change efforts. Just because two behaviors look the same, doesn’t mean they are the same.
Instead: Define Misbehavior By Its Function
To develop a better strategy to manage misbehaviors, we need to ask ourselves, “What was the function of this misbe- havior?” Or more simply, “What did the student gain from the misbehavior?” Though our students’ misbehaviors appear to occur for no reason, they do serve a purpose, otherwise they would not occur. Although some behavior prob- lems are the result of organic issues (e.g., hyperactivity) most misbehaviors func- tion for one of two following reasons: (a) to get something (e.g., attention from another student or teacher, gain a privi- lege, get a toy) or (b) to avoid something (e.g., schoolwork, teacher demands). For example, the two off-task students men- tioned previously—one student might be off task to get our attention, whereas the other might be off task because his or her assignment was too difficult. For the attention-seeking student, we could ignore his or her off-task behavior and only give him our attention when he is behaving appropriately. For the academ- ically frustrated student, a change in his or her assignment (e.g., fewer problems to solve, clearer directions) might elimi-
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nate the off-task behaviors. Clearly, these misbehaviors serve dissimilar functions and need to be solved differently.
Mistake #2: Asking, “Why Did You Do That?”
Although we are tempted, it is not a good idea to ask our students, “Why did you do that?” First, many times our stu- dents will not know the reasons why they misbehaved. Second, we often will not like their answers. For example, if Victor is playing at his desk during our lesson and we ask him why, he may very well say, “Because this lesson is so boring.” We are not likely to be pleased with that response.
Instead: Assess the Behavior Directly to Determine its Function
The function of a behavior is the purpose it serves the student (i.e., what the student gets from it). As stated previously, most misbehaviors serve a getting or an avoiding function. To determine a behavior’s func- tion, we need to study what is happening in the classroom before and after it occurrs. This information-gathering procedure is called a functional assessment. An Antecedent-Behavior-Consequence (ABC) chart can be used as a functional assess- ment tool. An ABC chart has three columns on which we record the behavior and what happened before and after it. The standard way to make this chart is to separate a sheet of paper into three columns and label the first Antecedent, the second Behavior, and the third Consequence. When the misbe- havior occurs, it is written down in the behavior column, then the observer records what happened immediately before (recorded in the antecedent column) and after its occurrence (recorded in the conse- quence column). To make data collection simpler, a modified ABC chart can be used that contains several predetermined cate- gories of teacher or peer antecedent behav- ior, student responses, and consequential events (See Figure 1).
A functional assessment gives us a more complete picture of the misbehavior by including the environmental ante- cedents and consequences in its descrip- tion (Alberto & Troutman, 2003). Once we determine the function of a misbehav- ior (“why” it occurs), we need to teach and reinforce an appropriate replacement behavior that serves the same function as
the misbehavior. For instance, if a func- tional assessment reveals that Olivia teas- es her friends at recess because it is the only time that she gets their attention, we need to teach Olivia appropriate methods to get peer attention, such as sharing or asking to be invited to join in a game. A functional assessment might reveal that changes in our teaching methods are needed. For instance, if Ricardo tends to act out during math class, a change in how or what we are teaching may be in order. The problem might be that Ricardo is missing some prerequisite math skills. By reviewing those prerequisite math skills, we could reduce his frustrations and act- ing out, and maximize his learning.
Many times, an ABC analysis is all that is needed to determine a functional assess- ment. For complex behavior problems, a more detailed, multifaceted functional assessment may be needed. At those times, we should contact a behavior-management specialist, school psychologist, or other trained professional for a more thorough assessment. Conducting a functional assessment can be time consuming. How- ever, research shows that behavior-change programs designed from this process tend to be more effective than those begun with- out the comprehensive information pro- vided by this assessment (Kamps, 2002). For additional information on conducting a functional assessment, we recommend visiting the Center for Effective Collabo- ration and Practice Web site at http:// cecp.air.org/fba/.
Mistake #3: When an Approach Isn’t Working,
Try Harder When a management approach isn’t
working, our first tendency is to try harder. The problem is that we most often try hard- er negatively. We make loud, disapproving statements, increase negative conse- quences, or remove more privileges. This does not do anything to teach appropriate behavior. Instead, our increased negativity results in impaired student–teacher rela- tionships and increases the likelihood of our students feeling defeated.
Instead: Try Another Way
When an approach is not working, instead of trying harder, we should try another way. Some examples include ver-
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https://cecp.air.org/fba
Student’s Name: __________________________________________ Date(s): ______________
Check all that apply each time the student engages in the inappropriate behavior.
What Happened Before? Behavior What Happened After?
___ Academic Task requested ___ Academic task too easy ___ Academic task too hard ___ Academic task unmotivating ___ Academic task long ___ Academic task unclear
___ Teacher reprimand ___ Asked to go somewhere ___ Peer teasing ___ Peer encouragement
Other: _____________________ ___________________________ ___________________________
___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___
___
___
1. Talk-outs in class 2. Noncompliance 3. Verbal aggression 4. Inappropriate language 5. Disruptive 6. Not completing work 7. Fidgeting
8. _______________________
9. _______________________
Get/obtain ___ Adult attention ___ Desired activity/item ___ Peer attention
Avoid/escape ___ Academic task ___ Teacher request/demands ___ Teacher correction ___ Classroom ___ Peer social contact
Other: _______________________ _____________________________
Note. This is only a partial functional assessment form. The complete form would include several opportunities to record ABC assessments.
FIGURE 1. Antecedent-Behavior-Consequence (ABC) functional assessment form.
bal redirecting, proximity control, rein- forcing incompatible behaviors, changing the academic tasks and providing addi- tional cues or prompts. These approaches are more effective, simpler to use, and create a more positive classroom climate than trying harder. If two of our students, Danny and Sara, are talking in class, instead of reprimanding them, we could walk in their direction (use proximity control), make eye contact, and provide a nonverbal cue to get on task. This approach allows Danny and Sara to save face with their peers and promotes teacher respect.
Instead of increasing negative conse- quences, we should increase the frequency of contingent praise for appropriate stu- dent behavior. Teacher praise is easy to deliver and is one of the most powerful tools available to us. In fact, praise (or some type of reinforcement) should be included in all approaches to behavior change. For example, when Jamal is off task, instead of reprimanding, we should find another student who is on-task and praise that student. This will reinforce the on task student and has the added benefit of notifying Jamal of his misbehavior,
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without singling him out. When using praise, we should remember that it is effec- tive when it is provided immediately (min- imally before the next opportunity to per- form the behavior again), specifically (by identifying the behavior as we praise), and frequently.
Our most challenging students, such as students with severe emotional and behavioral problems, often need the most reinforcement, yet they often receive the least. Descriptive research of classrooms for children with behavior disorders shows low praise rates of only 1.2 to 4.5 times per hour (Gable, Hendrickson, Young, Shores, & Stowitschek, 1983; Shores et al., 1993; Van Acker, Grant, & Henry, 1996; Wehby, Symons, & Shores, 1995). This trend needs to be changed.
Finally, when we find ourselves mak- ing more stop than start requests, we need to reverse our behavior. For example, instead of asking Sam to stop talking, ask him to work on his assignment. When he complies, provide praise. For excellent resources on practical, positive classroom management techniques, see Rhode, Jen- son, and Reavis (1992) and Kerr and Nel- son (2002) in the appendix.
Mistake #4: Violating the Principles of Good Classroom Rules
Classroom rules play a vital role in effective classroom management. Howev- er, rules alone exert little influence over student behavior. Too often, rules are posted at the beginning of the year, briefly reviewed once, and then attended to min- imally. When this is the case, they have lit- tle to no effect on student behavior.
Instead: Follow the Guidelines for Classroom Rules
There are several rules for rule setting that, when followed, help create orderly, productive classrooms that teach appropri- ate social skills along with the academic curriculum. To be more effective, our classrooms should have four-to-six rules that could govern most classroom situa- tions. Too many rules can make it difficult for students to comply and for teachers to enforce. Along with other professionals (e.g., Gathercoal, 1997; Paine, Radicchi, Rosellini, Deutchman, & Darch, 1983), we see benefits to students actively participat- ing in rule setting. When students play an
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active role, they begin to learn the rules, and they are more inclined to have rule ownership. The rules become their rules, not our rules. To include students, conduct several short rule-setting meetings the first few days of school. For these meetings to be effective, we need to share with our stu- dents the rule-making guidelines (e.g., the rules need to be stated positively, they have to be observable and measurable, conse- quences need to be realistic). With guide- lines in place, students often select rules similar to the ones we would have select- ed. Without guidelines, students are inclined to make too many rules, make rules that are too stringent, and make those that are not specific enough.
Classroom rules should be simple, spe- cific, clear, and measurable. The degree of rule simplicity depends on the age and ability levels of our students. For younger students, we may want to include pictures in the rule posters. Rules are specific when they are clear and unambiguous. For example, the rule “bring books, paper, and pencils to class” is much clearer than the rule “be ready to learn.” Clearly stated rules are easily observed and measured. The classroom rules should be posted.
Another characteristic of effective rules is that they are stated positively. Positively stated rules are “do” rules. Do rules provide information as to how to behave and set the occasion for teacher praise. An example is “Raise your hand for permission to talk.” Conversely, nega- tively stated rules or “don’t” rules tell stu- dents what not to do and encourage us to attend to student rule breaking. An exam- ple of a don’t rule is “Don’t call out.”
Some teachers develop subrules that correspond with each of the major class- room rules. For example, a classroom rule might be, “Follow classroom expecta- tions.” One of the corresponding subrules for line behavior could be “Keep your hands and feet to yourself.” Once the sub- rules are set, we need to teach or role play appropriate behavior by having mini- lessons (3–5 minutes) several times a day for the first few weeks of school. Some teachers continue to review subrules prior to each activity or periodically, depending on their students’ needs. A simple, quick way to review is to have a student volun- teer to read the posted subrules prior to each major activity.
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We consistently need to carry out the consequences and noncompliance of our classroom rules or they will mean very lit- tle. If our students follow the rules for group work at the learning center, we should verbally praise them and provide additional reinforcement as needed (e.g., stickers, extra free time). On the other hand, if the classroom consequence for fighting with a peer is the loss of recess, then we must make certain that we follow through. We need to make clear the con- sequences for following and not follow- ing the rules (Babyak, Luze, & Kamps, 2000).
