geoffPETTY
Stay ‘with it’ for good class behaviour
We all know how just one or two badly behaved students can absolutely ruin a lesson. But the route to calm, attentive learners lies in teachers being really on the ball, using ‘with-it-ness’. Geoff Petty delves into this strategy, explaining some practical steps you can take to nip any signs of trouble in the bud.
Can you get your students to behave better? The evidence is emphatic – yes you can! What’s more, we know how. Robert Marzano summarised all the rigorous studies on behaviour management, using real teachers in real classrooms, in a ‘meta-study’. These experiments tell us what teachers have made work in careful trials, rather than reporting hunches, theories or wishful thinking. Marzano’s meta-study describes four basic
approaches found to improve behaviour in classrooms. Their effectiveness is compared in the table below.
Comparing the effectiveness of aspects of classroom management
Summary of experimental data from Marzano (2003)
Rules and procedures Strategies to clearly and simply express rules and other expectations of student behaviour. Also to justify these persuasively from the teacher’s and students’ point of view. For greatest effect, the rules are negotiated with students.
Teacher-student relationships Strategies to improve the rapport, and mutual respect, between teacher and student.
Geoff Petty is an expert on teaching methods and the author of Teaching Today and Evidence-Based Teaching. Read a short review of Geoff’s latest book on page 36. Visit his website at
geoffpetty.com
Disciplinary interventions The effective use of ‘sticks and carrots’ to enforce the rules described above.
Mental set: main component ‘with-it-ness’ Strategies to develop your awareness of what is going on in your classroom and why. A conscious control over your thoughts and feelings when you respond to a disruption. The main component of mental set is ‘with-it-ness’.
34 ISSUE 39 • SPRING 2020 inTUITION
Decrease in number of disruptions (Average for the studies)
28%
It was a surprise to many that what worked best for most teachers was an aspect of ‘mental set’ called ‘with-it-ness’, a term coined by Jacob Kounin (1970). It means awareness of what is going on in every part of your classroom, and a quick response to any disruption you discover as a result of this wariness. This is important as it prevents a potential vicious circle. With-it-ness strategies stop misbehaviour spreading, and make it more likely you correctly determine and deal with ‘who started it’. It also prevents students gaining any prolonged satisfaction from misbehaviour. For example, when students talk when they shouldn’t, if you usually step in before they have even completed their first sentence, then they get little out of their misdemeanour, so it’s less likely to be repeated. But if students can often enjoy a chat for a minute or so before you do anything about it, then talking becomes worth the telling off.
31% 32% 40%
With-it-ness strategies 1. Scanning When working with small groups or even individuals, make sure you face the rest of the class. Periodically scan the class. Try to get eye contact with as many students as you can. This is easier to do from the edges of the classroom than from the middle. To begin with you might need to stop briefly what you’re doing with the group or individual to scan. But very soon you will be able to scan and help students at the same time.
2. Intervene promptly The moment you notice a disruption, or something that might escalate into one, make your attention known. Fix the offending students with eye contact, and if necessary walk over to them. Stay near them a bit (but keep scanning the class from time to time). Proximity and eye contact are often enough to stop disruptive
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