Tips For Promoting Group Responsibility

It's important early on to help children realize that they are not only individuals, but also members of many groups: friends, the class, their families, and the community.  For any group to “work,” each member has a responsibility to cooperate with the other members to achieve a common goal.  Each person must feel that he/she is a part of the group and that he/she has a stake in it.

The first way you can establish group responsibility in a classroom situation, family, or any other group, is by having each member take “ownership” of the group.  Often this is a simple matter of semantics – your choice of words.

• If you have been referring to “your” class, start referring to it as “our” class.
• Consciously use the word “we” when talking about behavior, responsibility, or expectations.  Compliment the group on what it is doing right, rather than correcting the one or two members who are misbehaving.
• Use positive statements whenever possible.  Example:  “I know that we understand why it is important to be quiet in a fire drill.”
• When you must correct a child, be sure to let the child know that it is the behavior you disapprove of, not the child.  Example:  “I know that you are a kind person.  That is why it upsets me to see you tease John.”
• If you have problems with follow-through, try reading together selected poems from Shel Silverstein’s collection Where the Sidewalk Ends.  “Sick” and “Sarah Cynthia Sylvia Stout WouldNot Take the Garbage Out” will not just make you laugh together; they may have a lasting effect on your child’s view of responsibility.

 

Behavior Bingo

I found this neat management plan at http://www.proteacher.net/

Below are a couple descriptions by two teachers telling how they used it:

Option 1

I learned about using Behavior Bingo, and some other systems earlier this summer in CHAMPS professional development training on classroom management. I learned to do it three ways: either you can look for something that someone in the class is doing that is a desirable behavior (like highlighting, taking notes, being a good listener, helping someone else), and then call a "Bravo" moment (or whatever bingo term you wish to use), and have that student come up to the board, and mark with a dry erase marker over a number (they have to pull a number out of a can/jar that matches those on the board)

The other way I have seen it done is by groups, if a group is on task, call a Bingo moment, at random, so the students never know which group will get picked....(same process as above)...

And, the last way I have seen it done is as a review of facts of some kind, math, english, spelling, etc....

The rewards could be simple, or more detailed depending on what you have time in your teaching day for. Some could be five minutes of chat time with your neighbor, or a big reward like popcorn and a movie, popsicles, etc.

Option 2

I use Behavior Bingo as a whole class management tool. Basically it's a hundreds board and when the whole class has all done something well in the classroom or received a compliment from someone they would get numbers drawn and we'd fill them in on the chart. It always varied as to how many numbers I would draw. They also knew that if they asked for bingo numbers, they would not get them. When they got 10 in a row, we would celebrate in some way as a class. When a "wild" was drawn I would select a student (randomly with sticks) to tell me which number they wanted filled in. Then if we later drew that number, we'd treat it as a "wild" again. 

Behavior Bingo Card

Make Your Own Bingo Card 

Tips:

• Keep ways to earn points posted
• Make them as positive as possible
• Come up with a list of rewards for class or individual student to earn beforehand
• Pull numbers out of a shoebox and discard until there is a bingo  

 

Strategies To Prepare Classrooms For Guest (Substitute) Teachers

I believe words are powerful.  In my opinion, one easy thing we can do to help with behavior problems in our absence, is to address our substitute teachers as guest teachers.  The prefix "sub" means below or under.  This sends a message of less importance.  I love how using the term "guest" teacher denotes that the person filling in is of the same level, and should be treated with the respect of a guest in our room. Whether you choose to use the term substitute or guest, the plan below is a great one to implement for when you are gone from your room.  :)

The following information was attained from Intervention Central website:

Guest teachers have one of the toughest jobs in the world. They are often expected to cover a classroom full of unknown students on very short notice. To make matters even more challenging, they typically show up in the classroom with little knowledge of school-wide procedures for responding to events such as specials, fire drills, and student dismissal.

Schools deal with the disciplinary fallout when guest teachers do not have access to the information that they need to be effective instructors and classroom managers. Students can be quick to misbehave when they sense that a guest teacher lacks confidence, is experiencing confusion, and does not know their names. Guest instructors may be equally quick to react by sending those misbehaving students straight to the principal's office. No wonder so many school administrators and teachers dread having guest teachers cover classrooms!

Teachers can take proactive steps to prepare students to be on their best behavior when a guest teacher is in the classroom. This intervention (a) provides a group reward if the class as a whole behaves well and (b) provides individual consequences when a particular student misbehaves.

Materials:

• Guest Teacher Feedback Form and Sample Apology Letter to Guest Teacher 

Preparation:

• The classroom teacher creates a short menu of feasible, appropriate class-wide rewards.

Steps in Implementing This Intervention:

Step 1: Introduce the Guest Teacher Intervention to the Class. Set aside 10-15 minutes of class time to present the intervention.

• Open the discussion by asking students to share their thoughts about the difficulties of being a guest teacher. List these ideas on the board.
• Tell students that guest teachers are an extension of the school's teaching staff and should be accorded the same respect as the classroom teacher. Emphasize that your expectations for student behavior are no different when a guest is covering the room than when you are present.
• Inform students that guest teachers who cover your classroom will keep a close eye on student behavior and will deliver a report back to the teacher at the end of the day. If the guest teacher decides that the classroom behavior has been sufficiently positive, he or she can inform the teacher that the students have earned a class-wide reward. If any student should misbehave in the presence of the guest teacher, that student will later need to write an apology letter to them.
• Using the overhead, take students through the sections of the Guest Teacher Feedback Form [word document]. In particular, emphasize the guest teacher’s power to decide (a) what individual students merit special mention for positive or negative behaviors and (b) whether the entire class deserves a collective reward for appropriate behavior.
• Show the Sample Apology Letter to Guest Teacher [word document]. Tell the class that any students singled out for misbehavior will be expected to write a letter of apology.
• [Optional but recommended] Inform students that parents of anyone who misbehaves will also receive a call from the classroom teacher to discuss the child's problem behaviors. Furthermore, the parents will need to read through and sign the student's letter of apology to verify that they read through it and talked the situation over with the child.

Step 2: Implement the Intervention: When a guest teacher is scheduled to cover your classroom:

• If possible, take time just before the day that a guest teacher will be in the room to remind students that you expect them to behave appropriately. Briefly review the main points of the intervention (i.e., group reward for positive behavior, individual letter of apology and parent conference for misbehavior).
• Leave a copy of the Guest Teacher Feedback Form out for them to complete at the end of the day.

Step 3: Promptly Follow Through with Intervention Consequences:

• As soon as you return to the classroom, be sure to read through the guest teacher's feedback and respond accordingly.
• If the class has earned a group reward, either select a privilege, prize, or activity from the reward menu yourself or have the class vote on a reward from the menu.
• Praise any student noted by the guest teacher as having been especially helpful and well-behaved. [Optional] Give these students small individual rewards.
• Send any students reported by the guest teacher as having misbehaved to a quiet area (e.g., corner of the classroom, in-school detention room) to write out their letters of apology. If necessary, help the students to address the envelopes and mail the letters.
• [Optional but recommended] Follow up with a call to students' parents to discuss the students' misbehavior. Send a copy of the letter home with the student for parent signature.
• If the guest teacher requests on the feedback form that he or she would like to be contacted, call, write, or email him or her to find out more about how the their day went in your classroom.

Troubleshooting

The guest teacher did not fill out the feedback form. With all of the demands on their time, guest teachers may occasionally forget to leave the completed feedback form for you at the end of the day. Tell your students that reminding the guest teacher to complete the form might earn a child special mention as being helpful and help the entire class to earn a reward. If, however, the form is not filled out when you return to the room, see if you can get the teacher’s phone number or email address to check in with him or her about how the day went.

If you cannot get in touch with the teacher, you might collect a little circumstantial evidence about how your class behaved while you were gone. The office, for example, could check whether any students were sent from your room to the principal with disciplinary referrals, while neighboring teachers in the same hallway could describe for you what they observed going on in the room. If this indirect evidence suggests that the class kept its behavior within appropriate bounds, give them the reward!

References

• A special thanks to Cheryl Wlodarski, a teacher at a middle school in Central New York for contributing many of the ideas in this guest-teacher strategy!

Hints

Create a Classroom Information Binder. One excellent idea to help guest teachers to exert greater control in the classroom is for every teacher to prepare an information binder designed explicitly for use by guest instructors. At a minimum, the binder should include:

• A student seating chart
• Building floorplan
• Copies of hall passes and office referral forms
• Phone numbers that the substitute should know
• Updated lesson plan
• Schoolwide emergency procedures

Check in on the Guest Teacher During the Day. With more and more classrooms equipped with telephones, some teachers exert a bit of extra classroom control when a guest is covering their room by calling in at several points during the day. Guest teachers are likely to appreciate these phone calls greatly! If they have questions about the classroom lesson or need to know what school-wide procedures to follow, the teacher can quickly supply this information. The teacher may also be able to advise the guest teacher about how to deal with a particularly challenging student's behavior or even problem -solve on the phone directly with the student.

How To Handle An Angry Parent

This information by Michael Linsin is so effective, we had to share...

It can be a nerve-racking experience.

Without warning, a parent appears in front of you. He (or she) is angry and wants answers. Right now.

Maybe he’s upset about a student picking on his son. Maybe he’s mad about how you handled his daughter’s recent misbehavior. Maybe it’s a homework issue, a test grade, or a misunderstanding about something you said to your class.

Whatever the reason, when confronted by an angry parent, your response should be the same.

Follow the seven steps below and you’ll be able to quickly calm angry parents, give them the answers their looking for, and turn them into lifelong fans.

Step 1: Just Listen

Your first step is to do nothing. Just listen. Don’t interrupt and don’t be in a hurry to jump in. Doing so will only make them angrier and more intent on making a big issue out of it. Respond only after they’ve gotten everything off their chest.

Step 2: Categorize

If the complaint is related to standardized teaching methods, curriculum, school policies, and other areas out of your control, then refer them to the principal without further comment.

If the complaint is in regard to your classroom management plan, homework policy, or classroom procedures, then politely explain why you do things the way you do. Without being defensive, educate them on how your program works to protect every student’s right to learn and enjoy school.

Be open, inviting, and personable, and they’ll walk away impressed with you and the way you run your classroom.

Note: Sending home a parent information packet during the first days of school will effectively eliminate most parent complaints.

If the complaint falls outside the first two categories, usually a behavior issue or incident, then proceed to step three.

Step 3: Empathize

Validate the parent’s feelings by telling them that you understand why they’re upset and why they feel the way they do. Keep in mind that just because something doesn’t seem like a big deal to you, doesn’t mean that it isn’t a very real concern to them.

Step 4: Take Responsibility

Whether or not you’re directly responsible for why the parent is angry is irrelevant. Take responsibility anyway. It’s the fastest way to diffuse their anger and is the right thing to do–for them and for you.

Simply say, “It’s my responsibility and I’m going to take care of it.”

Note: One of the keys to creating the teaching experience you really want is to take responsibility for everything that happens in your classroom. It can be both empowering and liberating. 

Step 5: Apologize

When you take responsibility, it’s only natural, and befitting, to apologize–even if you don’t entirely see things their way. You might say, “Hey, I’m sorry you had to come to me with this.” Or “Gosh, I’m really sorry this happened.”

Often, that’s all a parent wants to hear.

Step 6: Fix It

End your conversation by reiterating that you’re going to take care of the problem. But this time be specific. Say something like, “Rest assured, I’m going to see to it that Anthony doesn’t bother your daughter during reading time any longer.”

And then do it. Don’t let it wait. Fix the problem as soon as you’re able.

Step 7: Follow Up

After you’ve taken care of the problem, contact the parent to let them know. There is no reason to apologize again. And there is no need to go on and on. It’s over and time to move on.

Before ending the conversation, thank the parent for coming to you, and then ask them to contact you if they have any more concerns.

Note: The more inviting and accommodating you are to parents, the less they’ll complain, the less involved they’ll be in your beeswax, and the more they’ll want to support you.

Take Care Of Your Customers

It’s best to think of parents as your customers. If you take care of them, attend to their concerns, and make them happy, it benefits you and your business–which is to create the best learning environment for your students.

If, however, you greet their anger with some of your own, if you bristle, argue, or get defensive, then they’ll whisper about you to other parents and sully your reputation.

It doesn’t matter how off base you think they are, how rude they behave, or how badly you’d like to tell them to take a hike. You have the power to keep your cool, address their concerns with class, and turn their anger into enthusiastic support.