Behaviour > Hot seat: sue cowley

Hi Helen,

Low level disruption is the bane of many teacher’s working lives. To an extent, it’s a natural part of young people’s behaviour. It is worth thinking about what happens to your own behaviour when you’re in a staff meeting or on a training course. Do you always listen carefully and stick to the tasks set, or do you sometimes drift off task and indulge in a bit of social chat?

Having said that, there are certainly lots of approaches you can try to encourage your students to stay on task. First, I’d keep your tasks short and focused, and use very clear targets. Set a very specific time limit for the task - say five minutes - and keep reminding the students of how long they have left. Be clear about how much they must achieve in this time - five ideas, three questions answered. And when they do achieve what you’ve asked, give out some rewards.

Another useful approach is to set up the occasional task as a ‘competition’. When I’m training teachers, I will frame an activity in this way, and then get them to analyse the effect this has on their approach and their behaviour. Most of the time, it makes them get down to work quickly, and stay focused on the task throughout. You can’t do it too often, though, or it loses its impact.

If the tasks you’re setting are for individuals, and involve writing, I would consider asking for complete silence in the room while the students are completing the task. After all, it’s helpful for their concentration, and it’s important for them to learn how to do this so they’re ready for their external exams. Before you ask, though, be sure that this is achievable in your school without huge amounts of stress and conflict. And be clear about what the sanctions are for those who don’t comply.

I do hope that helps. It may take you some time and stress to change your students’ bad habits, but it’ll be worth it in the end.

Best of luck!

Sue

• Peer Mentoring - A Personal Journey
• Manage That Class - Year 8 - Friday

What do you recommend is the best way to cope with challenging behaviour. I have a child on my placement that cries whenever her key worker goes out of the room and won't stop untill she comes back in. We have tried to distract her but it doesnt work would be grateful for any ideas.

Hi Stacie

With very young children, it takes time to form attachments and bonds to the new people in their lives. This child has obviously built up a bond with her key worker, but it may be a while before she responds in the same way to you.

If it’s not already happening, you could ask the child’s key worker to let her know when she has to leave the room, and how long she’s going to be away. You might also ensure that this child is busy and involved in an activity before the key worker leaves the space.

Don’t forget that many young children will be unsettled and upset when they first start at a nursery or pre-school setting. This is entirely natural, and in a way it is part of the process of developing emotional resilience. It can feel heart breaking when you hear a child cry, but for the majority of children it isn’t long before they learn how to settle into the new environment.

I do wonder whether there is something in this child’s home background that is causing her to react in this way? Perhaps a separation or loss in her family? It might be worth just enquiring in confidence with her key worker about that.

In the meantime, I’d keep going with the distractions. With very young children I usually plump for something funny and a bit crazy - making a cuddly toy speak to her or pulling a funny face. If it makes you feel daft doing it, it will usually work!

I do hope that helps.

Sue

Any ideas how to limit the number of questions asked in a large group exercise? (39 students) Often I spend all lesson answering questions as the students are so inquisitive but just don't get through the material

Hi Claudine,

That sounds like a very big class! I assume there’s some reason (team teaching maybe?) why you’ve got that many students in your class?

In answer to your question, here are some suggestions. You might try asking the students to write down any questions they have, and then pick out a few to answer during a plenary, perhaps the questions of those students who have worked particularly hard during the lesson.

You might also encourage the students to split up into groups, and to talk amongst themselves to find the answers. You could set a few of the best questions as a homework task. Or you could ask the students to identify which questions they most want answered, and base the next lesson around them.

Do remember, though, that you don’t have to answer every question that a student ever asks! Some classes will use this as a way of pulling their teacher off track, because our natural response is to try to answer. And while we’re busy answering questions, the students don’t have to do any other, perhaps harder, activities. A very wise head teacher once told me: ‘Be reasonable, but don’t reason with them.’ If you don’t have time to answer every single question, then just don’t do it.

You could also try setting a limit for questions during a single lesson (say five) and when that limit is reached, students must make a note of any further questions they really want answered.
Of course, the last thing you want to do is to quash their natural curiosity, but aim for a sensible balance between Q&A and other activities.

I hope that’s useful.

Sue

• The Primary A-Z of... - Effective Questioning
  
• Secondary Assessment - Assessment for Learning: Questions and Answers
  

Do you have any suggestions on how to to stop my voice sounding anxious when dealing with the class?

For instance when children are continuing to talk when reminded to be quiet and having praised other children for appropriate behaviour.

Hi Zarah,

I’m very lucky in that I had some voice training as part of my degree, but I’m aware that this is a real area of concern for a lot of teachers.

Before you open your mouth to talk, make sure that you take some deep breaths to calm your nerves. Stand up tall, with your shoulders and body relaxed. Focus on making your voice come from your diaphragm, rather than from your throat. (If you’re not sure how to do this, practice at home first!)

Take regular drinks of water while you’re teaching, and avoid using too much teacher talk. Look out for the signs that your children are losing their focus, and when you see them start to fidget, move quickly into getting them on task and active.

When you’re trying to get your class quiet, focus as much or more on non verbal signals, as on using your voice. Children will usually respond much better to a noise (some claps, shaking a tambourine) than to the sound of their teacher’s voice. Some other suggestions are to download a ‘countdown’ clock onto your interactive whiteboard, or to write the class a message on the board asking them to be silent. The more you have to ask for quiet, the weaker you make yourself appear. The more you can get silence in non verbal ways, the more you appear to be confident and in control.

Maybe Find yourself a voice training course and book a place on a course, as a good starting point.

Finally, it can help to pretend that you feel confident, even when you don’t really feel it inside. Put on a strong and confident ‘teacher character’ and you might find that this filters through into how you sound.

Best of luck.

Sue

• They Didn't Teach Me That - Voice
  
• Lessons from Beyond the Classroom - Policing Challenging Behaviour
  

Do you have any suggestions on how to reduce my talking time in the classroom? Usually I become the only speaker in my classroom without being able to control it and become conscious of it too late. I would be grateful for any ideas.

Hi,

This has always been one of my bad habits,I think a lot of teachers are guilty of talking too much! I did some filming recently for Teachers TV, and most of the teachers I worked with mentioned this as an area of concern for them too.

First, it might sound really obvious, but make sure you have a good sized, accurate watch with a very clear face. And then refer to it at least every five minutes! If possible, get a clock put up in your classroom in a position where it’s in your direct line of sight when you’re doing whole class teaching.

Set yourself a fixed limit for teacher talk, no more than ten minutes when you’re introducing the lesson. If you’re sure you won’t stick to this, ask a student volunteer to raise a hand and remind you when X number of minutes is up. Think about your explanations ahead of time, and aim to make them clear, concise and easy to understand. When you plan your lessons, incorporate lots of student discussions and activities into the session.

When you do address the class, use an interactive ‘Q&A’ style, where you ask for student responses every minute or so. Make it an active part of the lesson, rather than a lecture by the teacher.

And if all else fails, buy yourself a timer with a loud bell. Set the timer before you start to speak, and explain to the students what you’re doing and why. And when the bell goes off, stop talking, no matter how painful it feels!!

Best of luck with it, let me know how it goes.

Sue

• Teaching With Bayley - Too Much Talk
• Behaving With Cowley - Out of the Classroom
  

I have recently gone back to teaching after taking a couple of years of to have children. I am getting a lot of classes with challenging behaviour which is very stressful and often do a different class every day. I don't have time to build relationships or put strategies in place that I normally would with my own class. Often you are unaware of specific problems and difficulties and have to produce a lesson quickly. Problems range from low level disruptions to major outbursts from the children, I find myself shouting a lot to get things done. I was a classroom teacher for seven years and hardly ever raised my voice but supply teaching is very difficult, much harder!!
Any tips would be appreciated.

Hi ‘classic’,

Having done supply teaching myself, I know just what a challenge it can be. You very quickly realise that many of the techniques which work with your ‘own’ class are little or no use with someone else’s! Mind you, it certainly gives you a perspective on how different schools are, and it also forces you to think more about what kind of approaches will work best in different situations.

A few tips that might help you. First, always make sure that you have as much information as possible about the systems at the school before you enter the classroom. When I was supply teaching, I always asked particularly about the school rewards system, and also the ‘on call’ system for emergencies. I would literally grill the deputy or whoever my contact at the school was, until I got the information I needed! I could then enter the classroom and say ‘I’ve got three yellow reward slips to give out today, let’s see who wants to earn one’, and that would help me get the class’s attention in a positive way. I could also feel confident that, should some serious misbehaviour arise, I knew what the school’s system was for dealing with it.

Something else I would always do, is try to match the style that I used to the class I was teaching. I can remember one Year 7 maths class, where I lined the children up outside the room and then insisted that they worked in silence. (I had to do my best impression of a ‘strict’ teacher to achieve this!) But at the same school I had a Year 10 class in which a handful of students patently had no intention of working for me. In that class, I said quietly ‘come to the front if you want to learn something today’ and gathered the well motivated students around me in a group so that we could get on with the lesson.

I hope something in that helps. Just remember one of the joys of supply teaching is that, if you really don’t want to, you don’t have to go back!

Best of luck.

Sue

• Primary Supply Teachers - Practical Tips
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Hi

i have a child in my class with downs syndrome and am struggling to manage his behaviour. He has a morning 1:1 and an afternoon 1:1 and the way they both work with him is very different. However, the biggest issue is his stubborn behaviour and lack of respect for any adult authority. I have asked for further support and have met with his parents who were extremely helpful, however, they said that they had been through this stage at home and could deal with it in their capacity, it is very different in a class of children. Alongside the stubborn-ness, we experience regularly hiding under tables, hiding outside or running away, licking chairs and tables, refusing to move away from the doorway to let others in etc etc. HELP!! Any thoughts.

A child with downs syndrome can be a very challenging and stubborn young person. I have supported a child with downs syndrome for nearly three years. Previous to this I have studied downs syndrome as a module for a dissertation and have been on training workshops specifically for downs syndrome with the Downs Syndrome Association. Obviously dealing with a six year old child is far from dealing with a teenager but the strategies are the same.

I have found the most important aspects of dealing with challenging behaviour is consistency and strength of character. Especially in the tone of voice that is used it is no good speaking to a child with downs syndrome the way you would to a normally cognitively developed child. They respond to authoritative tone and autocratic style of leadership and support. They find it difficult to initiate thought processes (even though you think - how can they be so stubborn or naughty!) this is a natural trait of children with downs. I work alongside another learning support we have weekly reflective meetings and work to an IBP to acheive small steps and try to use the same song sheet. This is important as if you give an inch to a child with downs syndrome they take the whole mile! I have been there believe me they can manipulate you and can be extremely loving.

I have been under the table, run up corridors etc and rolled around the carpet, toilet trained and taught him to sit at lunchtime. Contact the Downs Association they will support and put you in contact with other teachers in your area for support and guidance. The most important thing is to build up a support circle they love people and friends and being the centre of attention. I have heard of people starting up friendship clubs e.g Kit Kats and lemonade on a wednesday in a class room all round time to chat with his peers. Choose members wisely as they will peer support. This club could be used as a incentive for the child used in a visual diary. (if you do this then you get this sounds like bribary but it works) also a cool book is a good behaviour tool-photos of good examples of behaviour.

They love to look at themselves very egotistical. Remember there will always be a gap it only gets bigger all you can do is try to narrow as much as possible. Behaviour is one the biggest issues for children with Downs Syndrome as they simply are extremely self centred at the best of times - use this as a learning vehicle.

Good luck

M

Hi ‘bumblebeazy1’,

I see on the website that you’ve been given some really great advice already by Michaela Jayne, who’s got experience in working with children who have downs syndrome. An additional suggestion from me would be to have a meeting between yourself and the two support staff, and to set down some ground rules and targets that everyone is going to apply. As Michaela Jayne points out, consistency is absolutely vital in dealing with children’s behaviour, never more so than when a child is good at manipulating adults.

Something else that Michaela Jayne mentions is the idea of setting up a support group, to develop the child’s confidence within his peer group. I think this is a great idea; I’m frequently surprised at how sensitive children can be to those who are ‘different’. It might also be worth having a general discussion with your class about how best they can support you in dealing with this child’s behaviour. You don’t need to be too specific about this, just ask them some questions about ‘what we should do when someone in our class is being silly’.

I do hope that helps. Get in touch with the Downs Association as suggested (www.downs-syndrome.org.uk) and get as much support and advice as you can.

Best wishes

Sue

• School Stories - Dalgard Skole in Trondheim, Norway
• Primary Special Needs - Tackling Challenging Behaviour 2

Any tips for helping classes discuss and share ideas - without descending into anarchy? I'm a maths teacher and don't have long class discussions - I'm happy with questionning techniques - but I find Citizenship / PSHE seems to demand more whole class discussions which often get too out of hand.

Help!

I teach science and have to teach PSHE to years 9 to 11.

Some pointers I use include secret question boxes where a student can deposit a question any time in the lesson. (Amazingly NOT disruptive). "Washing lines" of questions or comments, again students attach their questions and queries to it. I leave 10 minutes at the end of the session to select at random and answer. Like any other class, at the start have a clear objective on the board. Use flip chart and brainstorming a lot. Questionnaires on just about anything with plenty of feedback. Allow music in the room when they are working in groups! Plenty of work in 4s or 6s with a plenary to feedback. PSHE has to be "different", but still achieve the principle aim for the lesson. Hope this helps.

Hi Peter,

Some fantastic ideas here from Patricia and Pauline. I’ll add a couple of more ideas of my own, and then you can try them all out on your kids!

First, I'd say that you might need to reiterate the ground rules for discussions. Perhaps because the students are used to not doing so much Q&A in maths, they find it hard to adapt their approaches for PSHE? Talk with your class about your expectations of how they should behave. Ask them what kind of behaviours you might see from them that would show you they are listening (eye contact, silent attention, active participation, etc.)

Insist, as an absolute, that they will listen to each other in silence, just as you would insist on when they’re listening to you. And if they do start talking over each other, either make the speaker pause until the class is silent, or stop the discussion task altogether and choose another activity.

Of course, discussions don’t always have to involve the whole class - often small group discussions with feedback at the end work best. A great approach for group discussions is to use a ‘doughnut’. You ask each group to nominate a scribe; this person then takes notes as the group talk. After 5 minutes or so, all your scribes stand up and ‘doughnut’ (i.e. move on to the next group). The scribe then summarises the discussion. You can repeat this approach until the scribes have ‘visited’ every group.

One more thought (speaking as a drama teacher now!). A fictional format is a great way to keep PSHE discussions on task. For instance, you might have a ‘council meeting’ or a ‘court room’. Allocate roles to different students, giving one of your stronger characters the role of ‘chairperson’ or ‘judge’. Then get them to approach the task in character, taking on the mature adult role and hopefully behaving like a mature adult as well.

Hope something in that helps.

Best of luck

Sue

• Action! Teacher Video - Secondary PSHE and Citizenship
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Hello. Do you have any suggestions for dealing with a student who is chronically negative about every and all things. The student will respond to any request with a loud, negative and often irrational response. Her responses may include expressions of self-doubt, but are usually quite dramatic in presentation and distracting. Other students do not want to work with this student. I have tried all sorts of things to try to help this student think positively about tasks with little results. The student will refuse to do work, or will complete work very poorly. It is difficult to assess this student and gain a sense of where this student is academically. Thank you for your thoughts.

Hi ‘rleduc’

Negative students can really suck the energy and enthusiasm out of you. Nothing you try seems to make a difference, but still you get drawn back to them time and again to try and make a difference.

I do have a suggestion, although it’s perhaps the hardest thing of all to do. And that’s to ignore this student completely when she’s being negative. You may well have tried this already, but I’m afraid persistence is the key. She’s probably taken years to build up this habit; she’s not going to change over night.

Rather than acknowledging the negative response, you have to develop selective hearing. Respond in a relentlessly positive way, ignoring anything negative that she says. Give her a choice - she can do the work, or sadly she must suffer the consequences of refusing. Probably the best way to explain this is to give you a quick example.

Teacher: Rebecca, I want you to get on with your work now, thanks.
Rebecca: This work is stupid, I’m not doing it.
Teacher: Rebecca, I’m really looking forward to seeing how well you can do the work. Get it done now, ‘cos I really want to let you go to break on time.
Rebecca: I said I’m not doing it. I hate this work and I hate your stupid lessons.
Teacher: Rebecca, you’ve got ten minutes left to finish. If you choose not work now, you’ll have to work in your free time, and neither of us wants that, do we? C’mon, let’s see how well you can do it.
Rebecca: I said I’m not doing the work, it’s stupid and so are you.
Teacher: [ignoring her] Back in five minutes to see how well you’re doing, thanks, Rebecca!

At that stage, the student has a choice - one that’s entirely hers to make. Your only job is to follow through with the consequences you’ve outlined. Walk away, and focus on all those students in your class who are being positive, who are doing their work, and who do deserve your attention!

At the same time, I would double check that this student doesn’t have some kind of underlying issue (perhaps with literacy) that is causing her to put up a ‘front’. Talk to your SENCO to get a full picture of what’s going on.

Good luck with it!

Sue

• Teaching With Bayley - Attention Seekers
  
• Peer Mentoring - A Personal Journey

Citizenship is a subject that allows for students to have debates and discussions. Make sure that you have set your ground rules. Such as respect each other, listen to each others points of view, only speak when you have indicated with your hand that you wish to speak. The control is very much up to the teacher. Make sure you have focus questions that need to be answered and help with assessment. Think about what you want them to learn and what new learning can take place.

What can be done with the student that flatley refuses to do as you ask. Is very disruptive and rude and takes four members of staff to become involved before anything can be done to remove that student? At the moment I have a student in mind that, despite counselling and a loving environment he is still like this. He does not know when to stop. There has been many meetings with the school. He will be excluded if this behaviour continues.

Thanks

Matthew

Hi Matthew,

I do so wish there was a simple answer to your question. These days there are some very troubled students in mainstream schools, students whose needs are probably not best served by an ‘inclusive’ environment. Perhaps, in a smaller, specialised school with a higher staff to student ratio, this student would have more chance of staying out of trouble, and actually doing some learning. Is there any way you can look into finding a special school locally where they deal with children who have behavioural problems? (I appreciate that this could be difficult).

I suspect you’ve tried all the classic interventions - lots of positive reinforcement, meetings with parents, anger management courses, special needs support, IEP, and so on and on. Does your school have a smaller referral unit, where this student could work in a less challenging (for him) environment, so that other students and teachers don’t have to suffer when he’s rude and disruptive? Or if you’re at primary level, do you have a separate nurture group where he can learn all those social skills that he’s obviously missing?

It breaks my heart to say it, but there are some students that we will never ‘reach’. Too much damage has been done even by the time they arrive at primary school, let alone when they move on to the more challenging environment of secondary. I know most of us came into teaching to ‘make a difference’, but we are not social workers, we are teachers. At some point the needs of the majority have to be put first.
Sorry if that all sounds rather negative. Keep trying, but don’t beat yourself up if you don’t succeed with every child. Be pleased that you are able to say ‘I tried my best’.

Best wishes

Sue

• Teaching With Bayley - Oh! What a Lovely War
  
• Primary Special Needs - Tackling Challenging Behaviour
  

I am a MFL teacher and, moreover, one who is not a native speaker of the students' L1. I have been instructed to conduct the class entirely in the target language, the administration going so far as to tell students that I cannot converse in their native language. In almost all of my classes, the extraordinary range of student abilities and interest levels makes the class hour quite a struggle-- sometimes even basic instructions are not understood by some of my students, and many are indifferent to the material. Classes are becoming less and less productive. What are some concrete tips for classroom management that can overcome the "language barrier"?

Thanks for any help that you can offer,

Alicia

I spent some time producing two-sided grids with about twenty things a pupil and another twenty a teacher might say in the target language along with a clear picture.

These really work but you do to spend time training the pupils - about a hour. I remember covering some pupils in a history lesson two weeks later and them asking me for a piece of paper in German.

I haven't used it with all classes but should do really.

However, only using target language in a lesson may work with a small number of well-motivated and well-trained classes BUT we teach real classes.

A better target is to increase the amount of spontaneous TL from them. Trying to use it solely can be counter-productive.

Might be able to email grids which are in publisher format.

Hi Alicia,

I always feel for MFL teachers, because I appreciate that it can’t be easy to teach a subject that needs so much speaking, especially when it’s all meant to be in the target language.
You’re going to have to utilise lots of non verbal approaches and visual back ups, to get your message across. And you’re going to have to be willing to feel a bit daft in your lessons. Think about the way we communicate when we’re faced with a completely new language - we tend to turn to physical forms of communication, slowing down our speech, lots of hand gestures and so on. When you speak, use your facial expressions, your hands, your tone of voice, as much as you possibly can. Really exaggerate the way you speak and use your body, to get the students to understand what you mean.

Let me give you an example (I’m going to keep this basic, I was never the world’s greatest linguist). Say I want to get the word for ‘hello’ across, I go up to some students, shake hands, smile, nod a bit, and say ‘bonjour’ or buenas dias’ or ‘bom dia’ or whatever. If I do that for long enough, some of them will say it back to me in return (although I might feel very silly while I’m doing it). Similarly, if I need the class to say ‘I run’, I demonstrate the movement, as I say the word. Or even, better still, I get them to do the demonstrations!

Now once you’ve got going with this (which I’m sure you’re already doing to an extent), you’ve then got to get creative with props. If I want to teach words for clothing, I bring in some items and get the students to model them, and we create an impromptu fashion show. The same with foods, which we sell at a market, and so on and on.

I don’t think the occasional word in English is the end of the world. But if you want to hold out against that temptation, there are a couple of other options. For nouns, you can always do a quick drawing or download a picture onto your IWB. And for the really weak students, why not team them up with more able students, who can act as ‘translators’ when it’s most needed?

I do hope something in that helps.

Sue

• Lessons from Beyond the Classroom - Policing Challenging Behaviour
  
• KS3/4 Modern Foreign Languages - Actions Speak Louder
  

I teach a mixed group of students who are all female; the majority of which are keen to learn.However there are a couple who are very rude and often swear in class which obviously disrupts the rest.Although I address them in class about how to behave I often feel that this falls on deaf ears. This is my first year of teaching and would welcome any advice you could give me as I feel my lack of experience shows in situations like this.

Hi ‘clarest’

The classic problem in your first year is that you’re nervous about putting your foot down with the students. You don’t want to say ‘this is how we behave’ or ‘no that is not acceptable behaviour’ because the students might well challenge you or refuse to do as you’ve asked. But unfortunately, once they realise that you’re not going to enforce the boundaries, they will happily push and push at the limits of acceptable behaviour.

It is absolutely fine to say: ‘It is not acceptable to be rude or swear in my classroom.’ And you should back this up by saying: ‘If you choose to break this rule, the consequences are …’. The tricky bit comes next - if they do break the rule, you’ve got to follow through on what you’ve threatened. You have to make sure that the sanction is served, or the lesson won’t be learned.

Try this great tip I was given in my own first year as a teacher. Keep a copy of your school behaviour policy close at hand. When a student does something that infringes the policy, say: ‘I notice that you’ve sworn. Now, do you see here in Clause 2, sub-section ii of our school policy, it says ‘students must use acceptable language at all times’. I’m afraid that I have no option but to apply the appropriate sanction.’

Remember, you’re not there to make them behave, you’re there to teach them. Behaviour management is about setting the standards and making sure that the students comply; that way you can get on with teaching and they can get on with learning.
I do hope that helps. Bear in mind that it will all seem much easier next year, when you’ll be confident to set your expectations out in your very first lesson with a class.

Best of luck.

Sue

• Secondary Behaviour and Attendance - Changing Challenging Behaviour

Hi Sue

I work just a day a week at a small village school, where there are 19 children from Y 3 to Y 6. That number sounds like a dream to those who have classes of 30+ (and would have to me until I tried it!)The trouble is, the effect of this has been that the children are used to lots of adult support, and don't do well when asked to work on independent tasks, particularly individually. During the teaching input, they listen poorly, as they always feel they'll be able to ask again instantly. Amongst three Y 6 boys in particular there is constant low level disruption at these times.

Any advice on how to encourage independent learning here? The fulltime staff at the school are asking the same question, by the way; it's not just me!

Hi KJC,

Let’s deal with the poor listening during teaching input first. If the children are going to understand what they have to do, and do it independently, then it’s vital to get this right. I assume that you’re trying all the usual approaches - waiting for silence, rewarding good listening, sanctioning those who won’t. I saw a teacher at work the other day who talked with her (Year 5) class about ‘what does good listening look like?’. I suspect this would be a good topic for you to discuss with your class. Are they making eye contact, sitting still, listening in complete silence?

Next, I’d have a look at the way that staff explain tasks. If the class have worked on some examples together, if the children are 100% clear about what they have to do, how long they have to do it, how much they must do in that time, then there is little need for adult support, except for the very weakest students. If this is all done, it is absolutely fine for you to say that you’d rather not help, and that ‘I’d like you to do that independently’.

Once you’ve got the listening during whole class teaching sorted, and the children clearly understand the tasks, you can then move on to encourage more independent learning. One approach you can use to achieve this is to set up some activities as a ‘test’. Insist that the class work in silence, as they will have to do during their SATs tests. In fact, when children are doing individual writing, there’s no harm at all in asking them to always do it in silence - that way everyone can concentrate.

Another good idea I’ve seen in primary classes, is a ‘Got a Question?’ poster. This lists the various steps you should follow if you have a question. These run something like:

1. Think for yourself
2. Talk it over with a friend
3. Look it up
4. Think again
5. Ask a teacher.

Finally, I’d suggest constant reminders about where these children will be going next September! At secondary school, there will be very little hand holding available.

Hope something in that helps.

Sue

• Behaving With Cowley - Classroom Routines

Dear Sue

How does one deal with 'humming' in the classroom started by one at one end of the classroo followed by another pupil following suit as soon as I face the board?

Thes are Year 7 pupils - 23 in the Maths class.

Ronca

Hi Ronca,

This is the classic ‘it’s fun to wind up my teacher’ behaviour - it’s tricky for us to deal with, because it’s so hard to identify the culprit.

My first bit of advice is to make sure you don’t get wound up by it, because if you do, you give the children the satisfaction of knowing that they can ‘get at you’. If at all possible, I would just simply ignore it. They will soon run out of steam.

What often happens, though, is that the other students start to complain - ‘Miss, can you stop them humming?’ One useful response to that might be ‘What humming? I can’t hear any humming.’ If you’re not responding to or even hearing the humming, it completely loses its purpose.

But if you’re determined to ‘deal with it’, then your best bet is to turn it around, so that it becomes a positive rather than a negative. ‘Great idea!’ you might say, ‘let’s all have a quick hum to get us in the mood for work.’ At this point, you could take up a kind of hippie style meditation pose, thus making the hummers look like very silly (and yourself too, but that’s almost a pre-requisite for being a teacher).

And above all else, don’t let the hummers get you down!

Sue

• Manage That Class - Year 8 - Friday
  

I'm a supply teacher, so in principle, I don't work with the same group of pupils all the time, but sometimes I do some days at the same school. I already know that windy or bad weather days affect pupils. In those days they get really high and they look more nervous, fidgety and chatty. (Suggestions about what to do to get them focused are welcome) Some days ago,in a year 2 class I had a pupil with ADD who was ok during the morning, then the afternoon became windy, it started to rain etc. I came to the class after lunch and seated everybody for group time. He was laughung, moving in all directions, disrupting my explanation. I told another pupil to escort him where he goes when he needs to calm down. The boy refused to do so and hided himself under the table. After that it was a circus. It was impossible for the rest to pay attention to me. I know I didn't handle this situation well. What should I do next time?
Thank you

Merc

Hi Merc,

I think many teachers will be nodding in recognition at your question. Outside factors can have a huge influence on pupils’ behaviour. Wind, rain, a full moon, an important football game, eating sweets at break.

The thing to remember for the future is to know when to be flexible. Some days, a class will be in the right mood for really hard work, so you capitalise on that. Other days, you’ll notice just a few minutes into a lesson that they are completely wild and just not in the right frame of mind for focused work at all.

At this point, you need to make a decision: plough on with the activity regardless, with the children probably learning very little; or abandon it and quickly think up something else to do. Often, in these situations, your best bet is to do some fun activities that will really engage the children. Some drama games, some art, some music. It’s that old saying about not flogging a dead horse.

With your boy who had ADD, I would hope that the school would have some kind of system for removing him from lessons where this was essential. In that situation, I would have sent a trustworthy pair of children with a note to the office, asking for immediate support from senior staff. I also wonder if he had missed his medication that lunchtime?

I do hope that helps.

Sue

• Behave to Learn with Bayley - Fidgeting
• Primary Special Needs - Tackling Challenging Behaviour 1
  

Hello Sue

I work in Primary and teach MFL to each class for an hour every two weeks, which obviously makes it difficult to build relationships with the children. Over the last term, the behaviour of one child has become increasingly difficult - constantly off-task or disturbing others. When I speak to him, he denies it and if I ask to speak to him outside the classroom, to avoid having the class as an audience, he refuses to comply. He has signed a contract with his class teacher that he will co-operate with staff but this is not working. I'd like to know how to prevent these incidents from escalating and how to manage the behaviour. Thanks

Hi Nikki,

My first thought would be: what does the school behaviour policy say you should do if a child is constantly disrupting a lesson? Check the system, and follow through on the sanctions that you have available. Don’t feel guilty for doing this - you have every right to consider the needs of the whole class.

I’d also want to have a chat to the SENCO to see whether this behaviour is indicative of behavioural special needs, and whether this child has an IEP. That might give you more information about the best approaches to use with him.

Another thought would be to look at the various options for rewarding this child if he does behave well, and finding something that really makes an impact on him. For instance, you might offer to make a positive phone call home if he can behave for the entire lesson (check first with the relevant senior member of staff before doing this).

Don’t feel, though, that you need to negotiate with this child to stop things escalating. Often, the opposite is the case - so long as you calmly and reasonably apply the school system, you teach him that he must cooperate or there will be consequences. See my advice on using ‘the choice’ in the ‘help with negativity’ question above.

Hope that helps!

Sue

• Teaching With Bayley - Attention Seekers
• The Primary A-Z of... - Rewards and Incentives
  

Hi
do you have any tips about how to smooth the transitions between tasks with challenging classes. I can get them settled at the start and the class will work but if I stop them to review then change tasks they won't be quiet.

Hi ‘edvtham’

To an extent, this is normal behaviour. When I do INSET in schools, I get the staff to think about how they behave during my transitions. Often, there is all that ‘opening your book with your mouth’ that we accuse our children of! To my mind, a minute or so spent moving between tasks is not a huge problem - they need some time off to relax.

However, if it’s turning into more like 5 or 10 minutes to get them settled again, then there’s clearly a problem. It comes down to a couple of things. First, you need to become expert at explaining the next task, clearly, concisely and in as short a time as possible. Give a clear cue for starting ("when I say go"), then set targets ("you have 2 minutes to come up with 5 ideas"), then do a clear count down, using your voice to suggest a sense of pace and urgency.

Another possibility is to use an egg timer, to show the class how much time they’re wasting (and if appropriate, to make them "earn back" this time from you). Turn the egg timer over to show wasted time, then put it on its side to keep that time for later payback.

Good luck with it.

Sue

• Primary NQTs - From One Thing to Another
  

I am coaching a graduate teacher who has a Grade 4 boy I regard as a bully. He pushes kids around in a sly way, such as snatching things out of their hands and throwing the items on the floor, or standing at the door tripping them as they come in. My teacher is constantly working on his behaviour but he throws tantrums and creates even more distraction. He has told his mother the teacher picks on him. Mother went to the Principal with this story and my Grad feels very distressed. How would you handle this?

Hi ‘impact teaching’

It’s great that you are supporting your graduate teacher in this way. Before I give any tips, if you don’t mind, I’d like you to take a moment to examine your own feelings about this child. Inevitably, for every teacher, there are some children that we just don’t actually like all that much.

From your description, this boy comes over as a very unpleasant character. Perhaps he is, but what you’ve got to be careful is that your feelings about him don’t subconsciously transfer themselves into the way you interact with him, or the way you graduate teacher feels towards him. Please be aware that this is not meant as a criticism - it’s one of the hardest facets of being a teacher, to treat all children equally, and I’ve certainly not been entirely successful doing it myself with every student I’ve ever taught.

The way that the boy’s mother has behaved, going to the principal to complain, gives you an insight into where this boy’s behaviour is coming from. Sadly, some children do come from homes where their parents excuse their misbehaviour, and they see themselves as ‘above the law’. I’d advise your grad not to worry about this too much - we all come across challenging children in the course of our teaching careers, we have to build confidence in our own professionalism and keep faith in ourselves when others complain about our methods. It’s an important lesson to learn, although it’s a shame that your grad had to learn it so soon!

In answer to your question - what can you do about it - I’d hope that your Principal has not taken this child’s complaints at face value. I would advise your graduate teacher to keep a written account of the kinds of behaviour he or she is facing, which can go towards finding the best methods of long term support for this boy.

I’d also suggest that you talk to your graduate teacher about how you normally deal with this child - applying sanctions, finding ways to reward him, trying to boost his self esteem. Does your school run any kind of peer mentoring videos? For children, advice from their peers often makes a greater impact than that from their teachers.

I hope something in that helps - my final thought would be to aim to feel pity for this boy rather than cross with him. It sounds like he is finding it hard to fit in within his peer group. He sounds rather a sad and lonely character.

Best of luck.

Sue

• The Children's Champion - Combating Bullying
• Primary Special Needs - Communicating With Parents

   

Hi Sue,

In your opinion is there any way of maintaining classroom behaviour without having to use detentions and sanctions?

I would love to be able to achieve the above as.

I look forward to your response.

Kind regards,
Lawrence Clark

Hi Lawrence,

Yes, I do think it’s possible. But whether it can happen in most schools, or with most classes, is another question entirely!

Let me give you an example. I once had a GCSE drama class. They would enter the room, sit down in a circle and fall silent, waiting for the lesson to begin. I would then teach them, without ever needing to turn to giving a sanction. We had fun together, we worked together, we just generally got on with the learning.

One day, one of my students quizzed me about it. "Miss," she asked, "why is it that we just sit down, fall silent, and then get on with the work?" I didn’t quite know what to say. Clearly, they loved the subject. Clearly, there were good relationships between the students in the class. I’d hope that the way I taught them had something to do with it. I suppose the truth was, they couldn’t be bothered to mess around, because the alternative (doing drama) was much more appealing.

Sadly, in most situations, there will be at least one child (and probably more) who doesn’t want to be in your class, or who hates your subject, or who just isn’t motivated by school. If you don’t establish ground rules and follow through when the students don’t comply, then mayhem will probably be the result.

Funnily enough, where teachers get the early setting of expectations just right, and follow through on the sanctions they give at the start of their time with a class, you can mostly maintain good behaviour without sanctions. The students don’t misbehave and earn sanctions, because they know there is absolutely no point.
I’d love to know what you think!

Sue

• Secondary NQTs - Classroom Encounters with Cowley
  
• Primary NQTs - Managing Behaviour

   

Hello Sue,
I am a TA and work 1:1 with a Year 5 boy who has cerebral palsy. We have a good relationship and he works fairly well just with me but partner him with anyone or put him in a group, he messes about and just doesn't concentrate at all. Any tips would be very much appreciated.

Hi Annie Louise,

To be honest, I’ve not actually worked with any children who have cerebral palsy, but I can give you some general tips about encouraging focus during group work, that might be helpful.
Firstly, I would talk with him about the kinds of behaviours that show you he is working well with you. What sort of things can he do that show you his is concentrating, listening, paying attention? Talk, for instance, about how eye contact shows you this.

In group activities, I’d try using some kind of visual indicator, to show when it’s each person’s turn to speak in the group. A ‘conch’ or a "speaking stick" is quite fun for children. It might also be that he would benefit from having something to do while he’s in a group situation, for instance a pen and paper to doodle with, a pipe cleaner to fiddle with.

When introducing group tasks, I would chunk them down into small pieces, so that he only has to hold his focus for a very short amount of time. Reward him when he does manage this, and then gradually build up the length of time for which he must concentrate.

I hope that helps. I would also ask to be sent on some training courses to learn more about the needs of children who have cerebral palsy, if you haven’t already done so.

Best wishes.

Sue

• Behaving With Cowley - Group Work
  

Classroom Presence - any tips in dealing with classroom presence in in a Primary school group situation. I seem to have my 'whole class' classroom presence developing but seem to struggle with asserting my presence in independent/group work and this leads to children losing their focus and minor behavioural issue occur.

Any tips?

Hi ‘natk’

I’m afraid that I’m not completely clear about the exact problem - is it that you can’t pull the class back together when they’re working in groups, or is it that the children don’t appreciate your input when you work with a single group?

Anyway, I’ll deal with both! First, getting a class back to you when they’re working in groups. It tends to be noisy in a classroom during group work, so before you set the children off, establish the ‘silence signal’ that you’re going to use.

Make this something that will be heard over the din - your voice won’t be, so choose something like a musical instrument, a noise, or a body position instead (e.g. ‘when you see me raise my hand, I want you all to raise a hand too and pay attention’). When you do need to stop the class, use your signal and then wait until you have everyone’s attention. In fact, before you even set them off to work, make sure that you set very clear targets about how long they’re going to have, and how much they should aim to do. This will tend to keep them on task and focused.

Second, giving input to a single group. In a way, this is not your role. If you’ve set a task that must be done in groups, I would be tempted to leave the children to it, to see what they come up with. When I set a group task on an INSET day, the thing I actively avoid doing is going in to sit with the groups, because what happens is that this puts them off the task. They tend to freeze up, or instead focus on saying what they think I want to hear. Group work is one of the few situations in your classroom when you get a breather - stand back and make the most of it for a while!

Finally, remember when you set off a class on a group task where you’re going to give input, pause for a minute or two before you dive in to help anyone. This will allow you to see whether any groups aren’t on task, or whether any individuals might be messing around. Once you’re happy, move to work with one group, but keep an eye on the rest of the class at the same time.

And don’t worry, after a while you really do develop eyes in the back of your head!

Best of luck.

Sue

• Behaving With Cowley - Group Work
  

Hi Sue
I have been reading the issues raised on this web-page with much interest... and am pleased(?) to know i'm not alone with the problems i am facing - from whistling and humming amongst pupils to not settling down or listening to me. I feel this stems from a lack of respect for me and am well aware of this fact as the poster in the Teachers' room tells me each day 'You are not born with respect... you must earn it' - how do I earn the respect of twenty four EFL 5yr olds who are not responding to my attempts of 'behavioural strategies' long enough to engage them in their learning?!

Hi ‘missmia’,

I’m glad you’re feeling that you are not alone in facing problems - many, perhaps most, teachers will struggle in their classrooms from time to time. But because we tend to be pretty much alone in there, it can feel like we are the only ones suffering. Believe me, I’ve faced pretty much every problem that has been mentioned on here, and I’ve certainly not managed to solve every single one of them in my own classroom.

Anyway, in answer to your question, I’m afraid that it takes time. With some classes (perhaps many) you have to try anything and everything and just keep plugging away until you find something that works. It can feel like you’re not making any progress, but often just something as simple as keeping the children in their seats represents a huge leap forwards.
Look around yourself for support - can other teachers advise you, are there training courses you can attend, or you might read one of the many practical behaviour management books that are now available.

It won’t happen overnight, but if you give it time you will make progress. There’s not space here for me to list all the strategies you might use to move things forward.

Personally, I would focus on three: stick closely to the behaviour policy as outlined by your school; aim to make your lessons as engaging, interactive and multi sensory as possible; and focus on the positive, rather than the negative, giving lots of rewards.

Finally, I’m sure that it’s not the entire class who are not responding, even though it can feel that way. Within those 24 children, at least four or five will be willing their classmates to start behaving. Four or five who really want to learn.

Stick with it!

Sue

• Believe in Yourself

   

Hello!

I would like to know if you have any tips on how to avoid pupils' disruption when they forgot a pen. I was wondering if you could think of a system where I would not have to stop the lesson to ask who has a pen to lend or to let the pupil buy one. Thank you very much for your help.
Amelie

I know it sounds simple, but I have come across this myself, and I now have a stack of very cheap pens with me for this very reason! Saves time and allows you to move on straightaway.

Hi Amelie,

Ah! The perennial pen issue. What always makes me laugh is when a kid comes in with a huge backpack, crashes it down on his desk, and then says "can I borrow a pen?" If he needs a pen, just what on earth is in the backpack!?

Anyway, Liz’s suggestion is certainly one approach to save yourself time and stress. Although it does worry me when teachers have to spend their own money just because the students can’t be bothered to equip themselves.
I’ve come across a few other approaches in my time - some I’ve used, others I’ve not tried yet, but plan to one day. Here are the highlights - see which one takes your fancy.

Option 1: The "girlie" pen. Have available a very pinky, purpley, generally glittery and totally girlie pen. Let it be known that this is the only pen you have available to borrow. Given that it’s quite often the boys who don’t have a pen, offer them this with a kind smile on your face. Only a very brave few will even consider taking you up on the offer.

Option 2: A Pen for a Shoe. This does exactly what it says on the tin. Yes, you can borrow a pen, but you will have to give me one of your shoes in return. Very few children will take you up on your kind offer. And those that do will always remember to return your pen.

Option 3: Don’t Dare Ask Me for a Pen. Make one of your class rules: "I arrive at class prepared to learn." Part of this rule is that all students must turn up with a pen. If they do not, and ask to borrow one, they earn an instant sanction (in my first school, it was a 15 minute detention for any of no tie/no homework/no pen). Once the students realise that to borrow a pen will earn them a detention, they will stop bothering you and borrow one surreptitiously from a mate.

I hope one of those appeals.

Sue

I need some help to keep my learners focus when they are in their computers doing research for their Media Producions. As soon as I leave them with a task, I find that most of them are watching UTube videos or checking their e-mails. Most of my learners are 16 to 20 years old on vocational courses in Media Production. They need to do research on video productions but I always find them tempted by the latest video in the web and not videos which could help them to develop a project.

Please how I can make them focus in their research and extract valuable information from what they watch?.

Thank you

Hi petroskina,

First, can I confess that I am about as IT literate as a three year old? In fact, to be honest I am probably less IT literate than many of today’s three year olds!

Anyway, I’ve faced this very problem with my own classes, when taking them to the computer room to type up work or to do research. You have two options, really, you either make it impossible for them to do this, or you make it unappealing for them to do this. What you have to accept, though, is that young people these days tend to flit from page to page of the internet, rather than staying focused on one site for a longer time.

To make it impossible for them to do this, would it be possible for you to download the pages you need and somehow make them available offline? Alternatively, could they somehow access the videos they need on a DVD player or laptop that isn’t connected to the net?

If that wouldn’t work, then you have to make it unappealing to them. There are two ways to do this. You could punish them if they do try it (probably not so useful with this age group). Your punishment could be making anyone you catch come off the computer for a fixed ‘time out’ - while they’re waiting, they could always do some writing instead! The other option is to make it unappealing because the work itself is more appealing - one thought I have is that you could set them a target to complete their work because you are going to set up a website and publish it online. Anyone who doesn’t complete it in time, doesn’t get their work uploaded.

There is one other possibility - that would be to accept that they will do this, but to take control of it by giving them a fixed timescale in which to do it. Say 10 minutes ‘golden time’ at the end of a session, when they can check emails and so on. This could be given in reward for really hard work in the rest of the lesson.

Hope one of those ideas is useful.

Sue

I teach an after-school drama class, with 11-14 year old girls. Whilst most get involved, there is one girl who refuses to engage in any of the tasks, and seems to go out of her way to block the creativity of the others, by mocking or disruptive behaviour. When addressed after the class, she seems genuinely upset at the thought of having to leave the class (which is not compulsory) but makes no adjustments when she comes to the next session. Any thoughts??
Liz

Hi Liz,

I’m afraid I’m a bit mean, and my first thought would be to give her a clear deadline. Either she cleans up her act or, after 2 warnings, she will be out for the rest of that term. You are putting your own time into running this club, why should this girl be allowed to ruin it for the others? It’s a tough lesson, but one that might be useful for her to learn.

My other thought would be to do some activities that focus specifically on why ‘blocking’ is such a problem in drama. Here’s a brief outline of one that I’ve used in my drama lessons. It’s called no, yes but, yes and.

Divide the group into pairs. One person is A, the other B. A is going to put a series of suggestions to B about what they should do later, e.g. ‘Why don’t we go to the cinema?’
First time round, B answers ‘no’ to every suggestion. Afterwards, talk about how this went - why is "blocking" such a bad idea when we’re doing drama?

Next, B answers "yes, but" to every question. For instance, "Yes but I don’t have enough money to buy a ticket." Again, talk afterwards about the effect that this had.

Finally, B answers "yes, and" to every question, e.g. "Yes, and then we could go for a burger". Talk about how different it feels when someone builds on and develops your ideas.

Hope that helps.

Sue.

• Teaching With Bayley - Girl Talk
  
• Teaching With Bayley - Showing Them Who's Boss

   

   

Hi

I've heard conflicting advice on classroom ethos when it comes to rewarding children. On one hand I've heard that it's better to use a lot of reward mechanisms to celebrate learners' achievement. On the other hand I have heard that focusing on reward gets learners into the mindset of only only working when they know there is a reward (e.g. sticker, merit point). I have some learners that only produce good work when they knew they are going to get something at the end of it (especially the low achievers). I'm thinking this has come from too much reward culture.

What are your views on this topic?

Thanks
Mike

Hi Mike,

You’ve picked on a real hot potato here! The more I talk to teachers and work with children, the more I realise how complicated giving rewards can be.

The absolute ideal is, of course, that every child would be continually motivated by a pure desire to learn. That education would be a reward in and of itself. But in reality, this is not the case, many children don’t have this sense of intrinsic reward. Some children are just unable to ‘defer gratification’, to understand that sometimes learning can be hard work or a bit boring, but in the long term it’ll be worth it.

I have seen reports of a couple of pieces of research that gave me lots of food for thought. The first was one where one class was asked to do a painting, with a reward promised at the end. Another class was just asked to do a painting for the sake of it. Surprisingly, those children who anticipated a reward at the end, made less effort with their art work. Clearly, ‘bribing’ the children isn’t particularly effective in terms of encouraging greater efforts.

The other second piece of research I saw was an experiment featured on a video, in which children were given a choice - one sweet immediately, or the whole packet if you can wait a few minutes. Those children who needed instant gratification (‘want sweet now!’) were likely to be doing less well at school. Those who could defer gratification went on to be far more successful in life.

My feeling is that, for those children who can’t defer gratification, we need to drop in rewards, little and often. But by far the most useful rewards are those that come as a surprise, or those that are about the relationship we have with them. A smile, an expression of delight in their work, these have far more long term value than yet another sticker.

All the best.

Sue

• The Primary A-Z of... - Rewards and Incentives

   

• Teaching With Bayley - Praise & Preparation

   

Any tips?
I have a Y8 class, bottom set (14/15 have SEN mainly BESD but some MLD) who are in most lessons together. I find that they are very babyish and they are often calling each other names and their disputes often carry over from their previous lessons so I can never find who started it. Any kind of independent work and they're out of their seats, calling each other names or flying off the handle at being called names. There are 3 members of staff in the room, myself, my trusted LSA and at the moment a student teacher who is team teaching the class with me but we still struggle to deal with everyone. There is one student who I can only get any kind of work out of by working 1 to 1 with him, otherwise he makes weird noises (like the guy on police academy) or calls the other kids Hitler. It is really getting me down and I leave each lesson with a headache and wondering what I could've done differently. I've tried positive praise, notes home, phone calls, DTs but nothing seems to work, their one aim in life seems to be winding each other up.

Hi Kritur

Oh the joys of Year 8 bottom sets. Students this age are stuck in a kind of in-between world of puberty and tweenagers. They’re not quite grown up, they’re not still babies (although often they act as though they are).

From what you say, I suspect that you’re trying all the right approaches, and that it is literally a case of weight of numbers of difficult students foiling all your attempts.

My main advice would be to make life a bit less stressful for yourself, using whatever approaches you can get away with. If they work well in the computer room, then book yourself in for a few lessons. If you can justify it educationally, show a DVD related to your current topic. Often, long term topic work is good for very disruptive classes, especially if it’s related to their interests. I used a “football manager/pop group” topic once for a series of English lessons with a very similar sounding class.

You don’t say what your subject is, but I wonder whether there is any scope within it for looking at building more positive relationships (for instance in English, drama, PSHE or RE). Learning how to be kinder to each other is a legitimate learning objective!

Above all else, don’t beat yourself up over this. You’re trying your hardest and it sounds like the odds are stacked against you.

Hope that helps.

Sue

• Secondary Special Needs - Nurturing the New
  
• Secondary Special Needs - Supporting the LSA Team

   

   

What is the best way to deal with students who say "I can't be bothered" to do the work or "just tell me the answer" or when you ask them to stop doing something they say "in a minute"? I have tried all the "I would appreciate it if ...." etc. If I left the students alone it would cause less disruption but then they are not learning.

Hi Ann,

You’re entitled to insist that your students work, rather than saying that you would appreciate it if they did. After all, they’re in class/school to learn.

I would be cut and dried with these students. Say to them: “You have a choice, I want you to do the work now. Unfortunately, if you refuse to work now, I will have to apply the following sanction.” Of course, you’ve got to be willing to follow through with the sanction, and the sanction needs to be one they don’t want to earn. But hopefully they should soon learn to make the right decision.

Remember, too, that when a student says “in a minute”, this is probably at least partly designed to wind you up. Prove yourself unflappable by staying calm and simply reiterating the choice that they have.

You might also try setting targets, and making the lesson feel “pace-y” by using a fast, excited tone of voice, to see if that gees them up. It’s also worth considering the types of task you’re setting, and whether if you adapted these slightly, they would better interest the students.

Hopefully something in that helps!

Sue

• They Didn't Teach Me That – Voice
• Secondary NQTs - More Classroom Encounters with Cowley
  

With an extremely needy and challenging KS2 class, reducing transition times and limiting the number of children out of their seats at any time really helps. However, just lining up ready to move around the school (to assembly or PE for example) can easily become a flash-point for issues to arise. Lining up a group or table at a time can help, along with a very carefully planned lining up order - but even this isn't always enough. What are your top tips for trouble free transition for a difficult class from one location to another? Thanks!!

Hi Stuart,

When working with KS1 and KS2 children, I’ve found that giving a creative edge to routine tasks can work wonders. It’s almost as though it distracts them from the routine nature of the job, and captures their attention and interest.

For instance, when moving into line and around the school, I might ask the class to pretend that they’re moving in slow motion. Or that they’re police recruits (think Kindergarten Cop) or that they’re walking through glue. It can feel a bit odd at first, but sound convincing yourself and they may well go for it.

When you’re moving to PE, I’d use the allure of the lesson to encourage good behaviour. If they don’t line up how you want, then sit them back down again. It’s worth making the point that you will practise simple tasks until they are perfect. I’ve had drama classes ‘practising’ doing proper applause for 10 or 20 minutes. It’s a point you should only have to make once or twice before they get the message. If you insist on doing things properly, in the long run it will pay dividends.

Hope that helps.

Sue

• Primary NQTs - From One Thing to Another

   

I have a child that is very bright and able, but takes no pride at all in their work. The standard of presentation is poor, capitals and full-stops are missing, crossings and rubbings out abound, blak marks on page, the list goes on.

I have tried rewards for well-presented work, small rewards for small gains, parental involvement, sanctions and rewriting - I'm at a bit of a loss.

I'm sure it's something realy simple and a case of 'wood for the tress', so any help would be great - thanks.

Hi tcocking,

It’s always hard to answer this kind of question without knowing the child, but what I’m going to do is offer a series of suggestions, and perhaps one will fit the specific situation that you face.

My first suggestion is to try offering the child the chance to type up his or her work on the computer, perhaps as a reward for presenting it well in the first place. If this does lead to a really great piece of work, I’d then go on to display this on the wall.

My second idea would be to offer this child a tape recorder, because perhaps the messy work is a result of the ideas coming too thick and fast to write down neatly. The child can then get his or her ideas out, and then play back the words more slowly, and write them down.

My next idea is something that I’ve used very effectively with children who find it very hard to use punctuation. What you do is take a piece of text, tippex out all the punctuation, and then put it at the bottom of the sheet as a kind of ‘bank’ of commas, full stops, question marks, etc. The children must then add these back in, using up every last one. This is a good way to show your students how punctuation helps aid understanding of a piece of text.
Another thought is to give this child a real purpose to do a very neat and well presented piece of writing. Perhaps he or she could be chosen to write a letter to a local paper, about an event that’s gone on in your school this term.

Finally, from your description, I do wonder if this child has some kind of special need going on in the background, one that is not immediately obvious. This behaviour strikes me as reminiscent of obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD). Have a look to see how the child writes, and how all those crossings and rubbings out are happening. Are they indicative of some kind of compulsive behaviour?

I hope something in all that seems to fit with your student and helps you find a solution.

Best of luck.

Sue

How do you deal with the pupil who is determined to disrupt your teaching at any cost, and often comes into the classroom with this in mind, sometimes having recruited other members of the class to help? The pupil is known to be a big problem in the school, but must still attend your lessons.

Hi Reb1,

I’m afraid there’s no magic solution to this one. These students exist in pretty much every teaching situation you’ll come across.

As mentioned in previous answers, the best approach is to stick exactly to the school systems as laid out, in a calm and non confrontational way. Offer the student a choice - he or she can do as asked, or decide not to, in which case there will be consequences. Follow those consequences through, whilst still trying to search for positive methods or approaches that might work.

This is not always a recipe for long term changes in a student’s behaviour. Sometimes, perhaps often at upper secondary level, it is a bit too late in the day for that. But what it does do is hand back the reins to you - your role is to teach, behaviour management is only ever something that allows you to do that.

You’ll also need to take care that you don’t end up with a negative, self fulfilling expectation that the student is always going to be a problem. No matter how hard, try to maintain a positive mind set and look for the best rather than anticipating the worst.

Best of luck.

Sue

• Teaching With Bayley - Believe in Yourself
• Teaching With Bayley - The Need for Structure

what is best to do with a pupil who tries to have everything done without any disapproval from the teacher and if the teacher didn't agree, the pupil would do everything wrong,shout quarrel, or may break anything in order to make the teacher agree to let him do it.

Hi Tamer,

As I mentioned in a previous answer, I was once given a great piece of advice. That is: ‘Be reasonable, but don’t reason with them.’ You don’t have to reason with your children. Yes, they may react badly when you refuse to do so. But by refusing to get dragged into arguments, you are teaching them a vital lesson about life. We don’t always get what we want. And when we don’t get our own way, we can’t just throw our toys out of the pram until we do.

State clearly, firmly and calmly the behaviour you want from the child, and what the consequences will be if he doesn’t do what he’s asked. Then follow through every single time.

Good luck.

Sue

• Teaching With Bayley - Showing Them Who's Boss

I have a pupil in year 7 who is repeatedly name-called by pupils across all year groups. This happens outside of lessons and on the school bus. The pupil has some anger-management issues and is working hard not to retaliate or 'fly off the handle'. She does have a strong support network of a few friends. The name-calling itself could be judged as mild, but even so it it distressing for the child - although she may be using the situation to gain attention from staff memebers and friends. Apart from speaking sternly to the individuals after each event and encouraging the pupil to 'try to ignore it', are there any strategies that we may not have tried to stop or reduce the name-calling?

Hi Simon,

In one primary school, I was introduced to the idea of ‘peer mediation’. This is a way for schools to deal with bullying, by using the students to mediate, rather than it being a dictate from adults. By handing over the reins to the students, and getting them to talk things through together, they are encouraged to think about how their behaviour affects others.

You might also like to look at this link: http://www.peermediation.org/peer/peer.html.
It sounds to me like you are trying all the right approaches. Could staff do some work on what bullying is, and on how it makes people feel, perhaps in drama or PSHE lessons? Also, might you try to get the main culprits (without saying this is why you have chosen them) involved in a project to make a video about bullying for the whole school to watch?

Hope that helps.

Sue

• Primary Support Staff - Peer Mediation
• Inspirations - The Scary Guy

I have two tips which may be useful to others regarding low level behaviour problems in secondary schools. The first is to have a really carefully thought out seating plan. This is invaluable in keeping good control. At the start of the school year make it your responsibility to ask colleagues about the behaviour of individuals and then make sure that any potential trouble makers are well separated. By definition the four worst behaved are at the four corners of the room preferably next to a well behaved pupil (not necesssarily of the opposite sex). Once this plan is in operation keep it the whole year and under no circumstances let anyone try to persuade you to make changes.

The second idea I have found works well is positive encouargement. We have a rewards system of house points at my school. I always start off the lesson with a quick recap test of maybe three or four oral questions based on the last lesson. I deliberately make them easy to give out as many house points as possible. A pupil can then lose their house point(s) during the lesson through negative behaviour as I never sign their diaries until the end of the class. Even poorly behaved classes are very keen to keep their reward until the end of the lesson.
Both of these ideas work very well - tried and tested over thirty years!!

Many thanks for sharing your ideas developed over years of experience, "ssmith4".

My only reservation on the seating plan would be to be sure that it doesn’t end up penalising those well behaved pupils who get stuck next to the worst.

I’m a great advocate of seating plans, but I do sometimes feel for the poor kids who get stuck next to the difficult ones!

Sue

I have a child in my Yr 5 class who consistently interupts and talks over everyone in the class (including myself), shouts out and constantly plays class clown. He has repeatedly been through the sanctions system - including parental involvement and being on report twice. This has made no difference to his behaviour. The report gave him two specific targets to meet which he managed in one or two sessions per day. His behaviour tends to be worse after lunch and it is having a significant effect on the concentration and progress of the rest of the class. He has been offered rewards - verbal praise, stickers, praise notes etc. What should I do next?

Hi "summerbaby"

As you’ve found, sanctions sometimes have very little impact on changing a child’s behaviour. The fact that he’s playing class clown, suggests that what he’s after is peer group approval. I would play up to this by using lots of whole class rewards, such as marbles in a jar - things that the class must work together to earn. Hopefully he won’t want to let the rest of the class down.

My other thought would be to give him something to do when he feels the urge to call out. One idea might be to give him a balloon which he can blow up rather than shouting. You might also try asking him up to the front to write up ideas on the board, or to do a presentation to the class.

Good luck.

Sue

• Primary Management - Challenging Children

I have a lower attainment year 8 class with two pupils who are prone to lots of silly comments, and at times unpleasant responses. If they choose the unpleasant responses I can go for more serious sanctions, but trying to build a working relationship with them whilst not letting the rest of the class feel this gains you more attention or it's unfair on them. They don't seem to want to respond to chances of responsibility, or are easy to catch being good - any ideas!

Thanks

Matt

Hi Matt

Year 8 students can be very immature, and have a tendency to show off in front of the class in the mistaken belief that it gains them peer group approval.

As I suggested to the previous poster, why not try some rewards that need the whole class to work together as a team? See the downloads section of my website (http://www.suecowley.co.uk/downloads.htm) for lots of ideas.

My other thought would be to try and catch these students outside of class, so that you can pay them positive attention without the rest of the class feeling hard done by. Chat with them in the corridor or in the canteen, or maybe try to get them involved in some extra curricular activities that you run.
Sometimes, a single type of reward can be the “key” to turning a student around. I had a Year 8 student once whose favourite reward was a positive phone call home. I ended up talking to his dad a lot! Speak to your SENCO and see if he or she can suggest what might work best with these boys.

Best of luck.

Sue

• The Primary A-Z of... - Rewards and Incentives

How would you deal with disaffected young boys who constantly disrupt to get the wrong kind of attention? Whatever you say is taken in a bad light ot turned around.

Hi Meera,

The classic advice for dealing with attention seekers is not to pay them any attention at all for negative behaviour. My rule of thumb is, if the behaviour is not immediately impacting on my ability to teach the lesson, I will defer dealing with it until I can do so in private. So, I might say “I’ll deal with you in a moment” and then set the class off on some tasks, so that I can move across to the child and talk to him without others hearing.

The other thing you need to do is to find ways that these boys can earn your attention in a more positive manner. Could you get one of them to hand out resources, another to write up some answers on the board, another to collect in the work?
With attention seekers, you have to fight your instinct, which will always be to give them your attention. As you feel yourself about to respond, look around the class and give your focus to someone who is behaving and working instead!

Good luck with it.

Sue

• Teaching With Bayley - Attention Seekers
• Teaching With Bayley - Underachieving Boys: Getting Involved

How to deal with an unwilling and non-motivated class of non-native speakers?

Hi Noury,

You’ve not given a huge amount of detail about your situation, so I’ll have to be quite general in my answer.

My favourite approaches to motivate a class include: upping the pace of lessons, using lots of non verbal signals in your teaching, adding plenty of tone and interest to your voice (non native speakers pick up a lot more from tone than from vocabulary), finding really engaging, multi sensory, activities, using lots of props, relating activities to things that the students are interested in.

Think about what motivates you in your life - what makes you work hard and put your heart and soul into something? And think back to your own school days as well - what kind of teachers made you feel that a subject was worth working hard at?

Best of luck.

Sue

• Teaching With Bayley - Independence Day

I have a child in my class, who, though he is only five years old, enjoys being remprimanded for poor behaviour. He regularly groans if he is rewarded, and celebrates with his friends when he is given a warning. I have done my best to avoid public rewards for this child, as they seem to encourage his difficult behaviour. But I would like to teach him to enjoy them. The other pupils are beginning to notice his attitude and I am concerned that I need to get to the root cause of his 'mild dissafection' before it develops into a permanent mind set. Any ideas?

Hi gwilson

I’ve had similar students in the past, although not ones quite so young. How sad that this child has already learnt not to celebrate his own success!

What you’ve got here is a peer group issue. This boy has learnt that, to be popular and ‘cool’ with his mates, he needs to show that he doesn’t care what his teacher thinks. To him, you represent “authority” and, by kicking against you, he shows that he is the tough guy. The “celebration” when he’s given a warning is a way of saying “I don’t care” - I’m sure deep down inside he really does.

With those students who don’t thrive on public approval, a quiet word outside of lessons can be useful. Try to catch him in the corridor or playground, and refer positively to something you’ve seen him do. This doesn’t have to be behaviour or learning related. In fact, it’s probably better if it’s not in the short term. Think about things that he might perceive as boosting his peer group profile - perhaps you’ve seen him being a good friend to others, or scoring a goal in football.

In class, stick to low level rewards, such as a kind word, or a smile. Aim to keep these as private as possible, rather than praising him in front of the class. Exactly the same applies to sanctions - aim as far as is humanly possible not to reprimand him in front of the class. For him, the loss of face is huge if this happens (imagine being told off by your head teacher in front of all the staff - it’s about the equivalent for him).

I’d also be tempted to try lots of whole class rewards, where the peer group must work together to achieve a good result. Things like marbles in a jar or similar are good for this. You can find a free download full of great ideas for rewards on my website (www.suecowley.co.uk/downloads).

Hope that helps.

Sue