Individual Student Corrections
So far we have focused on preventing behaviors that are inappropriate or annoying. The advice has all been proactive or forward-looking: plan classroom space thoughtfully, create reasonable procedures and rules, pace lessons and activities appropriately, and communicate the importance of learning. Although we consider these ideas important, it would be naïve to imply they are enough to prevent all behavior problems. In this chapter, we will explore methods to address student behavior that does not meet established expectations.
Learning Objectives
By the end of this chapter, you will be able to:
- Correct off-task behavior using the least invasive intervention necessary.
- Narrate what students do well, not what they do wrong.
- Differentiate between acknowledgment and praise.
- Identify when to apply a consequence versus a correction.
- Apply conflict resolution strategies.
Individual Student Corrections*
For various reasons, students sometimes still do things that disrupt other students or interrupt the flow of activities. At such moments the challenge is not about long-term planning but about making appropriate, prompt responses. Misbehaviors left alone can be contagious, a process educators sometimes call the ripple effect (Kounin, 1970). Chatting between two students, for example, can gradually spread to six students; rudeness by one can eventually become rudeness by several; and so on. Because of this tendency, delaying a response to inappropriate behavior can make getting students back on track harder than responding to it as immediately as possible.
There are many ways to respond to inappropriate behaviors, of course, and they vary in how much they focus on the immediate behavior compared to longer-term features or patterns of a student’s behavior. Smith, Fisher, & Frey (2015, p.71) proposed the following decision-making matrix to help teachers determine how to best intervene.
| Decision-Making Matrix for Responding to Problematic Behavior | |||
| What is the function of this behavior? | Does this warrant immediate intervention?
[“Yes” answers indicate that immediate intervention is needed] |
Should intervention be delayed or deferred?
[“No” answers indicate a possible need to delay the intervention] |
What are the ways to intervene? |
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| Why? | When? | When? | How? |
There are so many ways to respond that we can describe only a sample of the possibilities here. None are effective all the time, though all work at least some of the time. We start with a response that may not seem on the surface like a remedy at all—simply ignoring misbehaviors.
Ignoring misbehaviors*
A lot of misbehaviors are not important or frequent enough to deserve any response at all. They are likely to disappear (or extinguish, in behaviorist terms) simply if left alone. If a student who is usually quiet during class happens to whisper to a neighbor once in a while, it is probably less disruptive and just as effective to ignore t