How to Build Classroom Discipline

Keep your class productive with classroom discipline.

In the absence of classroom discipline, time is wasted, students' safety is put at risk and chaos ensues. To ensure that your class is productive and educational, you must set up a clear classroom discipline plan and train students to abide by classroom rules. By starting at the beginning of the year and being consistent and firm, you can increase the likelihood that your classroom is a safe and learning-rich environment.

Instructions

1. Select no more than 10 rules. An extensive list of rules and regulations will overwhelm your students and likely decrease the effectiveness of your discipline plan. As a general rule of thumb, your rule list should consist of 10 or fewer broad rules under which many misbehaviors can be placed.

2. Set reasonable yet firm consequences. All rules should be paired with consequences. While you do not want your consequences to be overly harsh, you also don't want them to be so lenient that your students do not mind receiving them.

3. Clearly communicate the rules to students. Present your rules to students in the first several days and weeks of school. Read over the rules daily, discuss them and practice following them to ensure that students are fully informed of the expectations that govern their behavior.

4. Speak in the "language of choice". Whether a student behaves or misbehaves in class is a decision that each student makes for himself. Make it clear to students that following the rules is a choice, but if they fail to follow them, there will be consequences for the path they elected to follow. If, for example, a student is out of his seat and you have asked him several times to sit down, present him with a choice. Say, "Bobby, you have two choices. You can sit down as I have asked you, or you can go down to the principal's office and explain why you couldn't sit down. Take two minutes and make your choice."

5. Give the child time to respond. When you present a choice or give a command, give the child time to decide how he wants to proceed. Allow at least a minute for the student to think and make his final decision. This gives the student the opportunity to process his options and select the most appropriate one.

6. Avoid raising your voice. Speaking louder, or even yelling, are natural responses when you find yourself angry. However, yelling is counter productive. Many students feed off of a teacher's anger. If your allow the students to see that they can get you angry, the most precocious class members will do it again in the future. Whatever happens, keep your cool.

7. Apply consequences consistently. Your rules will be ineffective if you do not dispense consequences when they are broken. If you have a set consequence for a rule, you follow that plan and give the consequence without exception.

References

• Scholastic: Classroom Management and Discipline
• California State University: Classroom Management Plant