The Master Teacher Blog

Other than our students themselves, time is the most important resource in any classroom. How time is spent is a key predictor of whether and how much learning will occur. The more time we spend managing behavior, the less time remains for teaching and learning.  

Of course, there is no magic wand that transforms distracted and disengaged students into fully committed and persistent learners. Some classes and students present more behavioral challenges than others, especially when one considers different learner populations and their unique needs. However, there are several strategies we can tap to shift the learning environment and create conditions under which students are more likely to choose acceptable and productive behavior.  

This crucial shift involves reducing our reliance on compliance to shape and manage student behavior and increasing our influence on student choices and actions. Compliance can make a difference when we are present or when consequences are imminent, whereas influence changes how students think, feel, and decide, regardless of our presence. Here are eight high-leverage practices that we can adopt to reduce our reliance on compliance and increase our access to influence. 

We can start by building credibility and demonstrating predictability. The trust and credibility we have with students form the foundation for much of what happens in the classroom. Students want to know that we will keep our promises, demonstrate expertise related to our instruction, and be consistent in what we expect and accept. They also want to feel our interest in their success and to be assured that we will be there to help them if they struggle. Students want to know that they can depend on us to be emotionally stable, consistently present, and focused on nurturing their learning.  

We build on this foundation by connecting our expectations to the purposes they serve. When students understand the reasoning behind our expectations, they are more likely to accept and try to meet them. We may need to take additional time early in the year to discuss expectations, the roles they play, and what meeting them looks and feels like. Of course, we also need to reinforce expectations when students forget and fall short. Expectations connected to clear purposes invite students to cooperate rather than resist.  

We can reduce distractions and off-task behavior by designing, teaching, and reinforcing routines that provide clarity and certainty in classroom life—as much as possible, anyway. Clear procedures, dependable schedules, and consistent transitions make acceptable behaviors easy for students to practice. Consistent storage and easy access to tools, materials, and other resources can reduce student frustration and confusion. Similarly, having consistent structures for student discussions, collaboration, and group work can reduce off-task and unproductive behavior.  

We lessen resistance by offering opportunities for autonomy and ownership. Students are more likely to accept and support what they choose and create. We might start by having students participate in establishing classroom rules and norms. Where practical, we might give students choices about learning tasks, strategies, and demonstrations of learning. Students can also play meaningful roles in setting learning goals and monitoring progress. Additionally, we might engage students in discussions and reflection regarding their experiences in the classroom and how they might be improved. 

We can engender additional cooperation by prioritizing questions over commands. Rather than telling students to “get to work,” we might ask them what their first step will be. When students are off task, we might ask what they think they should be doing rather than immediately directing them to the intended task. By framing guiding questions rather than issuing commands, we invite students to think, self-evaluate, and modify their behavior rather than resist a directive. These types of questions also preserve students’ dignity and promote responsibility.  

We further enhance the learning environment by focusing more on progress than on problems. There is an adage that where we give our attention is where we will spend our time and energy. Confirmation bias shows that when we spend most of our time looking for problems, we will find said problems—and we might even create more of them. On the other hand, when we focus on where we see progress, even in small increments, we are likely to see more of it. Students respond to what they see in our behavior. If we expect, notice, and celebrate progress, they are likely to respond by trying to produce more of it.  

We can make the environment even better when we commit to correcting with respect. It is inevitable that students will occasionally engage in unacceptable behavior. It is important that the behavior be addressed, but we need to be careful not to sacrifice our relationship with students in our correction. Our approach needs to communicate respect without accepting the behavior. Our consequences should be logical rather than punitive. We need to be brief, calm, and as private as possible. Our goal should be to restore learning, not embarrass, shame, or ostracize. In the process, we need to remain focused on the behavior as the problem, not the student. Misbehavior may be a decision, but it is not a character flaw. 

Finally, we can foster greater learning commitment by building student confidence through competence. Students find it difficult to commit to learning when they doubt they can succeed. We might start by scaffolding difficult work. As students make progress, we can celebrate, gradually remove scaffolding, and nurture independent learning. The more students experience success that they see as their own, the more confident they become, the more learning risks they are willing to take, and the longer they will persist when they struggle. 

We want to spend our time teaching, not managing behavior. Fortunately, we can shift the balance by intentionally building structures, creating focus, and nurturing relationships that reduce the temptations and opportunities for students to get off task, off track, and offline.