NOTA MATHEMATIC 19/7/10

Effective Strategies for Classroom Management

Angela L. Snyder, Ph.D.
Kevin S. Sutherland, Ph.D.
Problem Behavior Research Center
Virginia Commonwealth University

Basic Rules of Thumb

You catch more flies with honey than with vinegar
Behavior is
a function of its environment
strengthened or weakened by its consequences
Past behavior is the best predictor of future behavior
You can only know if a behavior has changed by observing future
behavior

Guiding Principles of Effective Classroom Management

Explicitly defined desired behaviors
Integrated management strategies within instruction
Students are active participants in the learning environment
Being proactive,
proactive, not reactive
reactive

Proactive Behavior Management Involves:

Clearly communicated rules and expectations for student behavior
Ongoing positive and corrective feedback
Fair and consistent treatment of students
Developing and maintaining a schedule or routine
Monitoring peer interactions
Modeling desired behavior

Positive Reinforcement
Behavior change generally occurs when consequences are attached to
behavior
The idea behind positive reinforcement is that a reward is given when
a desired behavior occurs, thus increasing the likelihood of that
behavior occurring again

Reinforcement Do’s
Contingent
reinforcement received only after performing the target behavior
Pair tangible reinforcement with verbal praise
Consistency
Immediacy
 reinforcement must be presented immediately after target behavior
if not, may inadvertently reinforce intervening behavior

Promoting Academic Engagement

Edwards & Chard (2000)
Teacher engagement = student engagement
Recommendations
Plan instruction with high levels of teacher engagement
Actively work with students on whole class or group projects
Monitor independent work
Cue appropriate behavior
Frequent Opportunities to Respond (OTR) to academic requests

Strategies to Limit Behavioral Acceleration (Walker, Colvin, & Ramsey,

1995)
Avoid escalating behaviors
Maintain
calmness
respect
detachment
Crisis-Prevention Strategies
Establish negative consequences beforehand
Follow through

The Good Behavior Game (Barrish, Saunders, & Wolfe; 1969)

What is it?
A behavior modification program that improves teachers’ ability to
define tasks, set rules, and discipline students
Allows students to work in teams in which they are responsible to
the rest of the group.

What is it? (Continued)

The Good Behavior Game is a group-contingency classroom
management strategy that aims to reduce disruptive, aggressive,
off-task and shy behaviors
Good behavior is promoted by rewarding teams that do not exceed
maladaptive behavior standards.

Team Competition
Students compete for special privileges and rewards.
When problem behavior of any team member occurs, check marks are
recorded for that team.
If the check marks for a team remain at or below a pre-set number (ie.
4) by the end of the game, the team wins.
All teams may win if their check marks do not exceed the pre-set
number (4).
Implementing the GBG Materials:
Scoreboard and Timer:
Blackboard for Game Winner Scoreboard
Timer
Rewards:
Tangible items such as stickers or candy
Enrichment materials such as arts, crafts, or games
Special activities in the classroom

Getting Started
Define rules and behavioral expectations
Determine who the team members are
Assign a Team Leader

Behavioral Expectations and Rules Talking out/verbal disruption:

talking without being permitted by the teacher, whistling, singing,
yelling, or making other sounds.

Rule – We will work quietly.

Rules, continued
Aggression/physical disruption:
disruption: physical contacts such as hitting,
kicking, pushing, making someone stumble, hair pulling, pinching,
throwing objects, pencil fighting, intentional pencil breaking, taking
or destroying property of others.

Rule – We will be polite to others. Rules, continued

Out-of-seat:
Out-of-seat: getting out of the seat without permission. Includes
standing up, jumping, or walking around the room.

Rule – We will get out of our seats only with permission.

Rules, continued
Noncompliance:
Noncompliance: breaking rules, disobeying the teacher.

Rule – We will follow directions.

Rules, continued
Concentration problems:
problems: not staying on task, easily distracted, not
paying attention.

Rule – We will pay attention.

Good Behavior Game Teams

There should be 3 teams for each classroom with 4 – 5 members per
team
The teacher will assign each child in the class to a team, making sure
that teams contain equal numbers of socially withdrawn children,
aggressive/disruptive children, and children with concentration
problems.

Assign a Team Leader

Each team will have one team leader. The team leader will be in
charge of handing out prizes, and helping the teacher with activities
for his/her winning team.
If the team has a socially withdrawn child as a member, the teacher
should choose him/her as the leader of the team. If the team does
not have any members with withdrawn behavior, the teacher should
rotate leadership among the members of the team.

Teams, continued
If one child is responsible for a team repeatedly losing, the teacher
should create a 4th team (for that child) for several weeks in order to
prevent rejection of the offender and low team morale.

Procedures
1st Week
• Divide the class into 3 teams. Try to arrange classroom seating
according to the 3 teams.
• The classroom rules (mentioned previously) should be constructed
with the class and read out loud every morning.
Decide how long the game should be played each day, starting with
short intervals (ie. 15 minutes)
Procedures, continued
2nd Week
• Determine a start and stop time for each day, and if you will play
multiple times in a day.
Explain how the game works and tell them the consequences for
breaking the rules.
Explain that teams with 4 or less check marks during the play time
wins a daily prize, and that all teams can win.
Tell them that, in addition, at the end of the day the winning teams will
get a star placed on the scoreboard next to their team, and at the
end of the week, the team(s) with the most stars, get a special
reward.
Begin the Game
First Day of the GBG:
Set the timer for 15 minutes and announce the beginning of the game.
During the game, each time a team member violates a rule, stop what
you are doing and place a checkmark on the board for that team.
Tell the class what the rule violation was, who did it, and then praise
the other teams for behaving well.

Playing the Game

When the timer goes off, review with the class the number of check
marks per team and announce the winning team(s).
Immediately hand out the reward (tangible, such as stickers or candy)
to the winning team(s) and offer praise to the winning team(s). The
non-winning teams should do quiet seatwork with no special
attention from the teacher.

Playing the Game, continued

Second Day of the GBG:
Erase the blackboard of the previous day’s check marks before the
students come in.
Announce that the class will again play the game for 15 minutes,
repeat that the teams are the same, review the classroom rules and
the 4 check marks or less criteria for winning the game.
Remind the class that the game will be played throughout the week,
and the team(s) that won most often will be the Weekly Winner(s)
and will be given a special privilege.
Weekly Winners
At the end of the week, the Weekly Winner Team(s) will get a star
with a happy face at the right-hand side of the GBG score board. The
reward should be a little more special (e.g., popcorn party). Again,
non-winners should engage in quiet seat work with no special
attention from the teacher.
GBG Procedures Throughout the Year
Continuing After the First Week:
• On the first day of Week 3, review the progress of the class and
solicit their opinions about the game. At this point, the students
should choose a special privilege for Weekly Winners that week. This
gives all the students a long-term goal to work toward.
• In the early weeks of the game, begin with tangible rewards that are
distributed immediately following the game. When all 3 teams are
winning consistently, begin to include intangible rewards.

Throughout the Year, continued

If all 3 teams continue to win consistently with both tangible and
intangible rewards, start lengthening the time the game is played.
When all 3 teams are winning consistently with a longer game time,
begin altering the reward delivery time. For example, if the game is
played from 9:00am to 10:00am, the students should be told at the
end of the game that rewards will be distributed after lunch. If the
teams continue to win consistently, the teacher may play the game
early in the morning and distribute rewards at the end of the school
day.
What to do if all 3 teams are not consistently winning
• If too many disruptive children are on one team, you may need to
rearrange your team composition.
If all 3 teams are losing, you may need to give different tangible
rewards immediately following the game and/or shorten the game
time.
If several students are consistently responsible for a team losing, you
may consider forming a 4th team or using individualized behavior
management strategies.

What to do, continued

When you split into the 4th team, do not make it appear to be a good
thing or a privilege. Explain that the students are being moved so
that their team can win the GBG and that they must remain on the
4th team until they win the GBG for 3 consecutive sessions. When the
4th team has won 3 consecutive games, the students may return to
their original teams.