Let’s kick things off with a summary of how to effectively solve behaviour management problems in any classroom, then we’ll look at the specific scenarios of learners disrupting others and learners challenging your authority.

Five Steps for Solving Behaviour Management Problems

• To deal effectively with any behaviour issue you must be proactive and decisive.
• Base your decisions on an analysis of what is happening and why you believe it is happening.
• Be aware that multiple solutions can be found to most problems and that part of becoming better at behaviour management involves trying things out, seeing what works and what doesn’t, and then using this information to make improved decisions in the future.
• When you act, remain positive and assertive, remind learners of your expectations and give them a choice.
• Do not expect all problems to disappear straightaway. On many occasions you will need to keep applying your solution over time to habituate learners into a new way of acting. Be persistent!

Scenario 1: Learners Disrupting Others

Explanation

A learner seeks to disrupt the whole class, the people sat near them, or the group with whom they are working.

Solution 1

Try to identify the cause of the disruption.

If it is a regular pattern of behaviour, the learner in question may think this behaviour is acceptable or may have an attitude toward your lesson that needs modifying.

If it is a seemingly random occurrence, the learner in question might be having a bad day, be over-stimulated after lunch, or have some problem with accessing the work.

Having identified the cause of the disruption (by talking to the learner in question) you will be well placed to deal with it.

As part of this, you might choose to ask the learner how they would deal with it if they were in your shoes.

Turning the behaviour around like this is often highly effective.

It helps the learner empathise and to see their own behaviour from an external standpoint.

Solution 2

Isolate the learner in question by asking them to move somewhere in the classroom where they can work on their own.

This could even be to your desk, or to a spare space next to your desk.

As you do this, be sure to explain why you are doing what you are doing.

Tie the sanction you are applying to the behaviour in which the learner has engaged.

Stress that learning is everyone’s number one priority, and that you cannot accept behaviour that goes against this.

Indicate the learner now has an opportunity to make a positive choice and change their behaviour.

Make sure they can access the work before leaving them in their new position.

It is important to demonstrate that sanctioning their behaviour does not make you any less likely to help and support them with their learning (and this sends a powerful message about your desire to work in their best interests).

Solution 3

If the disruption comes during paired or group work, explain to the learner that you have certain expectations about how learners should behave while taking part in this.

Stress that you use such activities because of the benefits they bring in terms of learning.

Indicate what behaviour you would like to see from the learner in question and say why this is important, as well as why it will help them, you and others.

Be clear that the learner now has a choice: to change their behaviour based on what you have said, or to continue as they are.

Tell them that if they opt to continue, the consequence will be that they do not take part in paired or group work for the time being.

If they change their behaviour, be sure to praise the process. Make sure the learner knows you have recognised their positive choice.

If they do not, follow through on the sanction.

Scenario 2: Learners Challenging Your Authority

Explanation

A learner challenges your authority.

This could be in response to a request, the application of a sanction, or through the breaking of a classroom norm.

Solution 1

If a learner challenges your authority in front of the whole class, try to avoid turning this into a stand-off in which one of you must back down.

This usually escalates the situation and causes further problems.

Address the behaviour rather than the learner, stating why it is inappropriate and how it makes you feel (the latter is hard to argue against, though keep it brief).

For example:

• ‘Laura, what you have just done is not how we expect learners to behave in this classroom. It upsets me that you would talk to me in that way and damage the learning of the class. I wouldn’t talk to you like that, and I know you can behave more positively.’

Here we are seeking to defuse tension and make the learner reflect on the consequences of their actions, as well the alternative choice they could have made.

If the behaviour persists, the learner will need to face a sanction such as being asked to leave the room.

If it stops, you should still follow up by talking to the learner about what happened and what led them to behave like this.

You might do that shortly after, or you might wait until the end of the lesson.

Just make sure you do talk to them.

This is crucial because talking to the learner about their behaviour is a sanction in itself (i.e. the learner doesn’t want to have to have the conversation and understands you are only having it with them because of how they chose to behave).

Solution 2

Sometimes learners can challenge your authority in a way that is hard to deal with then and there.

For example, you might be more concerned with the learning of the remainder of the class than devoting your energy to dealing with a learner who is making silly remarks.

In this situation, make a mental note of the behaviour and ask the learner to stay behind at the end of the lesson.

Talk to them about how they acted, making it clear that you observed what they did and are unhappy about it.

Tell them that you do not expect it to happen again and that, if it does, you will escalate the situation by informing a relevant senior member of staff such as a head of year or team leader.

Part of this solution is showing the learner that what they though they got away with, they actually didn’t get away with.

This demonstrates to them that you are observing behaviour and making a note of anything that is remiss.

And that you will always follow up on it.

Solution 3

On occasion, a learner’s challenge to your authority may be so severe that you have no choice but to go directly to the application of a sanction, bypassing the process of seeking behaviour change.

For example, a learner may come into your lesson late, ignore you, and start shouting across the room to their friend.

In these situations, it is good to apply the sanction immediately, to stress the unacceptability of the behaviour, but to remain calm as you do this.

The temptation can be to react emotionally because of the surprise and severity of the behaviour.

You may decide that the situation warrants an emotional response, of course.

But make this a decision rather than a reaction – you can then control it and use it as a means through which to stress disapprobation.

After the sanction has been applied, ask yourself why the learner acted in this way – they are unlikely to have done it for no reason.

When you go to speak to the learner, disarm them by starting with the following:

• ‘I’m really surprised you would behave towards me like that. I’m worried that something must have happened to cause this – can you tell me where your behaviour has come from?’

This undermines the learner’s expectations if they are expecting conflict, and makes it clear that, while you will pull them up on poor behaviour, your primary aim remains, at all times, to help and support them.