Managing Student
n Randy Sprick and K Daniels
Teachers need to know how to manage
the mechanisms that promote positive
student behavior.
A
re teachers made or born? Recently, with
the awareness that teachers are the primary
factors affecting student success (Rice,
2003) and the current emphasis on hiring
“high-quality teachers,” this perennial
discussion has resurfaced with a vengeance. Such
publications as the New York Times and the New
Yorker are weighing in with fascinating articles on
what makes teachers effective and how they get
that way.
Teachers are a combination of who they
are and what they’ve learned—with a bit more
emphasis on what they’ve learned. It helps to be
a born comedian or a motivational speaker, but it
isn’t necessary. What is necessary is a great desire
to teach children and knowledge of how to manage student behavior to keep students engaged
academically and behaving responsibly. (Knowledge of how to effectively deliver instruction is
equally important, but beyond the scope of this
article.)
Managing student behavior and improving
student motivation involves knowing what to
do, when to do it, and how to do it. Put another
way, teachers need to know how to manage the
mechanisms that will have a positive impact
on student behavior. Some teachers do this
instinctively, without any training. They avoid
power struggles, communicate high expectations,
remain calm in difficult situations, and inspire
and motivate even the most recalcitrant
students. For those who do not come to this
instinctively, however, those skills can be learned.
Administrators have the responsibility of ensuring
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that the teachers in their schools know about
those mechanisms and have access to tools that
manipulate them effectively.
The Right Tool for the Job
Here is a slightly silly analogy that highlights the
importance of tools and strategies in teaching: You
wake up suddenly, and for some bizarre reason,
you are behind the wheel of a car—a car that is
careening down a winding mountain road. You
look down at the speedometer. The car is doing 70
mph and gaining momentum. Although you may
have a split second of panic, you know you need
to take control or you are going to sail right off the
mountainside. You grab the steering wheel and hit
the brakes. No brakes! Your palms are sweaty and
your heart is racing, but you manage to keep the
car on the road. What do you do next? No time
to think. You try shifting down and that slows the
car somewhat. You grab the emergency brake and
pull it up slowly. Thankfully, the car responds. By
downshifting and using the emergency brake, you
are able to bring the car to a stop.
Now imagine that you’ve never been in a car
before. You wake up behind the wheel in the same
situation. You’ve seen pictures of cars and you are
vaguely familiar with the functions of steering
wheel, gears, and brakes, but you’ve never had any
training in how to use them. What do you think of
your chance of survival?
When you’re driving a car, you are managing
the mechanisms that allow you to safely maneuver several thousand pounds of plastic, metal,
and glass. If you know how to manipulate those
Copyright National Association of Secondary School Principals, the preeminent organization for middle level and high
school leadership. For information on NASSP products and service, visit www.principals.org.
BEHAVIOR
mechanisms, your chances of survival in a car are
better than if you don’t. In addition, when you
know how, you can even enjoy the complex and
dangerous process of driving a car.
Teaching is similar. Teachers who lack both instincts and training are likely to panic when faced
with students who misbehave and are very likely
to try to “control” the students, thus getting drawn
into power struggles. On the other hand, the most
skillful behavior managers manipulate variables
to prevent misbehavior and enhance motivation.
When they encounter a behavior problem, in
seconds they can mentally run through a series of
options that promise a solution. The option they
select may not always work, but they have a much
better chance of managing the situation than those
teachers who have no knowledge of the mechanisms of classroom management.
The more training that administrators can give
teachers in the way of identifying and manipulating the mechanisms that shape student behavior
and the more that teachers have the opportunity to
master those mechanisms, the better able they will
be to intelligently (even unconsciously) prevent
problems, increase student motivation, and evaluate
and address problems calmly when they do occur.
Knowledge of a full and varied set of mechanisms
is empowering, giving teachers the confidence to
reach even the most difficult of students.
A Framework for Mastery
The acronym STOIC can describe the major variables that teachers can control in their classrooms:
structure, teach, observe, interact, correct.
Structure the classroom for success. The way
the classroom is organized (e.g., physical setting,
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instruction on big-picture ideas, such as behavschedule, routines and procedures, quality
ing respectfully and responsibly, and also on
of instruction, and so on) has a huge impact
plays and patterns, such as whether students
on student behavior. Therefore, effective
can talk or get up to sharpen pencils during
teachers carefully structure their classrooms
independent work. Periodically throughout the
in ways that prompt responsible student
year, they go back and reteach all of the basics
behavior.
until the class achieves mastery.
Teach behavioral expectations to
Effective teachers
Collect data as an intervention. Another
students. Effective teachers overtly teach
know the mechanisms
tool relates to the O in STOIC—observing
students how to behave responsibly and
to manage student
and using meaningful data. The most comrespectfully (in other words, to be successbehavior, motivate
mon type of behavioral data that teachers can
ful) in every classroom situation—teachercollect is a frequency count—the number of
directed instruction, independent seat work, student achievement,
times a particular behavior occurs. They can
cooperative groups, tests, and all major
and create safe and
develop a behavior counting form to collect
transitions.
nurturing classroom
this data, which will give them quantitative
Observe and supervise. Effective
climates.
data they can use to make decisions about
teachers monitor student behavior by
possible interventions. Interestingly, the act of
physically circulating whenever possible
counting behaviors frequently becomes an effective interand visually scanning all parts of the classroom frequently.
vention in its own right.
In addition, effective teachers use meaningful data to obA middle school teacher attended a training about usserve student behavior, particularly chronic misbehavior, in
ing data-collecting tools as interventions. She wrote in an
objective ways and to monitor trends across time.
e-mail that she had a very tough student who had gotten
Interact positively with students. When students are
into a severe pattern of talking back to her and other teachbehaving responsibly, the teacher gives them attention and
ers: “When you presented the behavior counting card at
specific descriptive feedback about their behavior. Teachers
your session, I knew it had to work for my student and his
should focus more time, attention, and energy on acknowlbacktalking. I started last Friday and told him up front what
edging responsible behavior than on responding to misbewas going on. After five days, his chart looked like this: Frihavior—in other words, teachers should have a high ratio of
day-18, Monday-15, Tuesday-8, Wednesday-2, Thursday-1.
positive to negative interactions with students.
This worked so well that on Wednesday and Thursday he
Correct fluently. Teachers should plan their responses
would even stop himself and apologize!”
to misbehavior to ensure that they respond in a brief, calm,
Use a prop. If a teacher is having trouble getting one or
and consistent manner, increasing the chances that the flow
more students to follow directions, he or she can use a stopof instruction is maintained.
watch as an intervention. Here’s how it works: the teacher
tells students in advance that when they refuse to follow an
Creating Mechanisms
instruction (e.g., “You need to time out for two minutes”),
Using STOIC as a guideline, the diligent teacher can idenhe or she will simply start the stopwatch and record how
tify mechanisms (variables to manipulate) that will help
long the students spend refusing to follow the direction.
him or her establish a calm, safe, and orderly environment
In many cases, this simple procedure can work like
that is conducive to learning.
magic—even if there are no additional consequences. Why?
Here are four specific examples of procedures (mechaBecause the teacher is no longer trying to make the student
nisms) that teachers can manipulate to have a positive
comply, so it takes most of the fun out of noncompliance. It
impact in their classrooms.
sounds too good to be true, but it often works.
Teach behavior like a basketball coach. Many teachBe positive. Another tool teachers should know about
ers underuse the T of STOIC. Good coaches teach big
relates to the I in STOIC—interact positively. This tool is
concepts—such as teamwork, cooperation, and sportsmanthe “ratio of positive interactions (RPI),” which is the ratio of
ship—and they also teach very specific plays and patterns.
positive to negative teacher-to-student interactions. Teachers
At the beginning of the season, they do this in a manner
should plan to interact at least three times more often with
that makes no assumptions about what the players already
each student when he or she is behaving appropriately than
know; they cover all the basics. Then as the season progresswhen he or she is misbehaving. RPI is one of the most essenes, they teach and practice new skills as needed. And they
tial tools in a teacher’s tool kit. It fosters a caring classroom
do not hesitate to go back and practice the basics.
environment, creates positive relationships between teachers
Effective teachers do the same thing. They provide clear
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and students, and effectively changes student behavior.
Not long ago, a veteran high school teacher who was
extremely upset with student behavior in two of her classes
decided to try to be more positive with her students: “I
greeted each individual kid with a big smile. The kids
smiled back and said that I seemed to be in a good mood.
(Wow, if they see a difference, I have been grouchy.) I
got them started on the assignment with enthusiasm and
told them how this particular work will help them. I then
walked around with a pad of sticky notes. When I found a
student working, or asking questions, or cooperating with
other students to get the process, I wrote a personal, specific note thanking him or her for that behavior.
“I was amazed! They were working and happy. I was
happy for the first time in a long time in those classes!
Later in the day, I was chatting with an administrator, and
I said, ‘Hey, did you notice? I didn’t send one kid down to
your office today.’ He replied that not one of the kids in my
‘toughest’ classes had been sent to his office from any class
that day!”
of man for which we have not yet developed tools that
make an average person capable of competence and performance. In teaching, we rely on the ‘naturals,’ the ones who
somehow know how to teach” (p. 338).
But the truth is that if we rely on the naturals, it is only
to show the rest of us how to manipulate the mechanisms
of teaching. Effective teachers know the mechanisms to
manage student behavior, motivate student achievement,
and create safe and nurturing classroom climates. One of
the chief actions that school and district administrators
can take to ensure an effective teaching cadre is to provide
training, support, and coaching on how to manage those
mechanisms. PL
References
n Drucker, P. F. (1992). The age of discontinuity: Guidelines for our
changing society. Piscataway, NJ: Transaction Publishers.
n Rice, J. K. (2003). Teacher quality: Understanding the effectiveness
of teacher attributes. Washington, DC: Economic Policy Institute.
Managing the Mechanisms
Randy Sprick ([email protected]) is the director of Safe & Civil Schools and
the author of several books on positive behavior support, including CHAMPS: A
Proactive and Positive Approach to Classroom Management.
Peter Drucker (1992), the renowned business management
consultant, wrote, “Teaching is the only major occupation
K Daniels is a former teacher for Springfield Schools and currently works as a
writer and editor for Safe & Civil Schools.
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