Misbehavior often stems from academic deficits.Here are 8 research-based ideas on academic management..
1. Be sure that assigned work is not too easy and not too difficult. It is surprising how often classroom behaviour problems occur simply because the students find the assigned work too difficult or too easy. When assignments are too simple, the students may become bored and distracted. When work is too hard, the student is likely to feel frustrated and upset because he or she cannot complete the assignment.
2. Offer the frequent opportunities for choice. Teachers who allow students a degree of choice in structuring their learning activities typically have fewer behaviour problems in their classrooms than teachers who do not. Providing choices gives students a sense of autonomy and voice in their learning
3.Select high-interest or functional learning activities. Kids are more motivated to learn when their instructional activities are linked to a topic of high interest. Students may be energized to participate in academic activities if they believe that these activities will give them functional skills that they value.
4. Instruct students at a brisk pace. A myth of remedial education is that special-needs students must be taught at a slower, less demanding pace than their general-education peers. In fact, a slow pace of instruction can actually cause significant behaviour problems, because students become bored and distracted. Teacher-led instruction should be delivered at a sufficiently brisk pace to hold student attention.
5. Structure lessons to require active student involvement. Here is a powerful concept in behavior management: it is very difficult for students to be actively engaged in academics and to misbehave at the same time! When teachers require that students participate in lessons rather than sit as passive listeners, they increase the odds that these students will become caught up in the flow of the activity and not drift off into misbehaviour. Students can be encouraged to be active learning participants in many ways.
6.Give frequent teacher feedback and encouragement. Praise and other positive interactions between teacher and student serve an important instructional function, because these exchanges regularly remind the student of the classroom behavioural and academic expectations and give the students clear evidence that he or she is capable of achieving those expectations. Positive interactions are brief and can often be delivered in the midst of instruction.
7. Provide correct models during independent work. In virtually every classroom, students are expected to work independently on assignments. One modest instructional adjustment that can significantly reduce problem behaviors is to supply students with several correctly completed models.
8. Be consistent in managing the academic setting. A teacher must be consistent in enforcing his/her classroom rules.
By: Joselita R.Bañaga, Teacher 1 Luz Elementary School
