Effective Teaching and Classroom Management: One and the

same pedagogical approach

Food for Thought and Discussion for Save the Children program staff

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Produced by Save the Children Sweden’s Regional Education Office in South Asia, 2008

© Save the Children Sweden 2008

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Introduction
As an outcome of the UN Study on Violence against Children, Save the Children (SC) has
focused much of its protection and education work on the banning of corporal
punishment and other forms of violence against children and a considerable amount of
work has focused on the use of punishment in and around schools.
In order to promote changes in such educational practices and how the system addresses
physical and psychological punishment (including e.g. ridicule; sarcasm; name calling)
in children’s school experience, it is vital not to single out punishment from the overall
context of effective teaching and classroom management

Too often the remedy for behaviour problems has been reduced to notions of ‘positive
discipline’ as stand alone in-service workshops within educational systems. However, it
is important to integrate behaviour management into existing pre-service and in-service
teacher training as well as professional development and support programmes rather
than considering positive discipline as a specialized training. Thus, behaviour
management should be seen as integral to teachers’ overall capacity to effectively teach
and manage their classroom, enhanced through the use of pedagogically sound
techniques.
Interlinked to that, teachers need to better understand the diversity of their learners and
the non-academic factors that impact learning. Positive discipline trainings tend to
overlook why teachers punish students – often reasons that have little to do with
misbehaviour.

Teachers are responsible for guiding the holistic development and meaningful learning of
every student in their classroom. This paper discusses issues around how children feel
and behave related to teachers’ ability to create positive learning environments that
support participation and learning based on and modeling equal rights and
opportunities.

Many of us use the word discipline without being aware of the meaning of the word. The word ‘discipline’
comes from the same Latin root as ‘disciple’, meaning ‘follower’ or ‘pupil’. Discipline and disciple come
from ‘discere’, which means: to learn. In essence discipline means to teach and (role) model a set of
guidelines and rules to be followed and has little to do with punishment.

1. Recognising that children learn differently

Though teaching is generally a group activity, learning is very individual. Sometimes it is
difficult for teachers to realise that all students are different and learn differently. As
teachers plan for their teaching-learning activities, they need to keep this in mind.
Effective teachers are sensitive to such differences and take actions to accommodate them
so that, ideally, each child is provided an optimal learning experience.

Knowledge about how children learn, and understanding about what constitutes effective
teaching and classroom management has increased considerably over the past decades.
Schools and teachers can dramatically influence the extent and quality of learning for all

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students, and we know how. The emphasis must be on success, rather than on failings and
shortcomings. To make this possible, a learning environment needs to be created in
which all children feel safe and understood, and where they can reach their potential.

Effective teachers and classroom managers address the needs of students both in terms of
what they teach and how they teach.
 What do I want my students to learn?
 How will I enable them to learn it successfully?

To develop such a learning environment it is important that education officials, school

administrators, teachers, students, parents as well as parent teacher associations and
school management committees reflect on the quality indicators such as the following
which were derived from what students in one study said about what their teachers did
well1:

 Creation of a relaxed and enjoyable atmosphere

 Retention of control in the classroom
 Presentation of work in a way which interests and motivates students
 Providing conditions so that students understand the work
 Making clear what students are to do and achieve
 Judging what can be expected of a student
 Helping students with difficulties
 Encouraging students to raise expectations of themselves
 Development of personal and respectful relationships with students

Effective teachers know that behaviour problems are far less common in classrooms
where children are actively involved and interested, and in which they are appreciated for
who they are, where they come from and what they are able to contribute. Effective
teachers have also learned that they need to know their students’ background to be able to
understand non-academic factors that may impact behaviour, participation and learning.

As children do not learn at the same pace or in the same way, schools must accommodate
this reality and consider the extent to which education policies and practices lead to the
labeling of children such as ‘slow learners’ or to promoting the view that learning
abilities are limited or fixed. Also, the relevance of the syllabus and the language medium
of instruction are factors that children respond to through certain behaviours. Educating
the whole child – academically, socially and emotionally – is an important goal of
education in itself and teachers play their role in this process by taking into account and
responding to individual learning differences in every classroom.

2. Linking behaviour and learning outcomes

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Brown and McIntyre (1993: 28-9)

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How a teacher perceives behaviour management depends on how he2 sees his job as a
teacher and to what extent he believes that all children can learn. Learning outcomes and
behaviour are aspects of education which are very much influenced by teaching quality.
A teacher has some control over many factors that influence motivation, achievement and
behaviour of students. Factors such as a classroom’s physical environment, a child’s level
of emotional comfort and the quality of communication between teacher and students are
important factors that enable or disable optimal learning of individual children.

General principles:

1 Children’s behaviour is central to the learning process and is an intrinsic element of

education
2 Problems in behaviour in educational settings are usually a product of a complex
interaction between the individual, school, family, community and wider society
3 Social interaction based on mutual respect is a fundamental basis of an optimal
educational environment

Practical principles:

A. Equal opportunity and inclusion

* An individual’s needs and difficulties can vary over time and in different settings. Thus,
schools and teachers should avoid ‘labelling’ children and young people
* All children must have maximum access to the mainstream curriculum and classroom
activities, providing opportunities for cooperative learning that respects and makes use of
difference and diversity amongst learners.
* Policy, planning and action in the field of behaviour management should be anti-
discriminatory and conform to the principles of equal rights and opportunity.

B. Respect for all

* All persons involved in difficulties around behaviour have a right to have their views
and feelings taken into account at all times
* Policy and practice should actively promote mutual respect for schools, parents,
teachers and children without any prejudice

C. Positive approaches to behaviour

* In all circumstances positive approaches to behaviour issues must be used, while
making an effort to understand the (root) causes for certain behaviour from different
perspectives
* Interventions in response to unwanted behaviour should be the least intrusive
* The ‘behavioural environment’ should be evaluated at the starting point of all
interventions and work to improve the ‘behavioural environment’ should always be
accorded high priority

D. Organisational consistency and improvement

2
Though ‘he’ is used throughout this paper, it applies to both male and female teachers

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* Schools should recognise the importance of having clearly stated and shared values and
beliefs which underpin expected standards of behaviour, empathy and understanding for
difference and diversity and quality of relationships
* All involved in the school organisation (including children, keeping in mind their age
and evolving capacities) should be included in the process of determining and reviewing
values and beliefs

E. Working with children and parents

* The views and wishes of the child (keeping in mind his/her age and evolving
capacities) are of critical importance and must be heard and taken into account
* Working around behavioural difficulties should be done in partnership with
parents/carers wherever commensurate with the welfare of the children

F. Appropriate and effective agencies

* Provision for emotional and behavioural difficulties should be made by the most
appropriate agency, in most cases the mainstream school working in partnership with
parents
* In the best interests of the child, there must be close cooperation and agreement in
working practices between agencies

To be able to manage students that face difficulties in participation, learning or behaviour

requires insight into where these difficulties may come from and why and when they
arise. A teacher has to care for many different students, including those from poor,
disadvantaged families, students who may have to work before or after school, children
from different ethnic, religious or language minority groups and those with a variety of
learning difficulties or disabilities. Children may come to school hungry or tired, or they
may not have been able to do homework because of lack of electricity or parents who are
not able to help them with their school assignments. It is important for a teacher to know
a child’s socio-economic and family background to be able to understand these non-
academic or social factors that influence learning and behaviour. These factors cannot
directly be altered, but understanding them will enable a teacher to place a student’s
“learning failure” or “misbehaviour” in perspective and create learning environments that
reduce rather than increase the effects of such. Children may be at risk of negative and
meaningless school experiences if a teacher does not understand the whole child and
his/her background, and is not ready with responsive, effective instruction and classroom
strategies.

When seeking explanations for lack of achievement or for behaviour problems, a teacher
needs to be prepared to consider inadequacies in the learning content, process and
environment rather than inadequacies in the child. He needs to reflect on what he teaches
and how he teaches. What does he say and do in the classroom to develop understanding?
How does he introduce new topics? Does he spend enough time explaining purpose and
relationship to previously taught information and skills to enhance on-going meaningful
learning?
A teacher must however not only look at social backgrounds, but also at what happens
inside the classroom. How students behave is often a reaction to factors within the school.

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A teacher needs to reflect on the learning environment he has created and whether this
engages all children actively and meaningfully. Do teachers involve all students – also
those at the back of the classroom? How do teachers ask questions? It is important for a
teacher to investigate how his style of teaching can affect progress and behaviour of
different students. Teachers plan and organizes the environment of the classroom,
determine the detailed curriculum to be presented to the students, as well as its sequence
and pacing, the overall structure of the lesson (how much and what kinds of student
listening and activities), the feedback mechanisms to know how each child is ‘getting on’
and the correctives to be taken. Timing, pacing and sequencing of different teaching-
learning interactions is an essential part of classroom management and many behaviour
problems can be avoided by improved management of the classroom environment and
activities.

Effective teachers and classroom managers address the needs of children both in terms of
what they teach and how they teach. Though teaching is generally a group activity,
learning is very individual. Effective teachers are sensitive to these differences and take
actions to accommodate these so that, ideally, each child is provided an optimal learning
experience.

3. Managing classrooms for better teaching and learning

Teachers decide where children sit in the classroom. This may appear an unimportant
decision, but it is not. The seating arrangement in a classroom can enable or disable
interaction, as well as impact student behaviour and attitudes. Thus, it is important to
decide who will sit where and during which activity, based on the teacher’s knowledge of
his/her students.
Research
shows that
children
sitting farthest
away from the
teacher have
the fewest
interactions
with them, are
the least
involved in
classroom
activities, and
have the
lowest
achievement
scores.
Photo: Els Heijnen-Maathuis

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Implications of such findings are obvious: teachers need to find ways to be physically
close to their students, especially those who experience problems with learning. A teacher
who manages his classroom by walking around can be close to every learner at different
times. Therefore, a pair of comfortable walking shoes may be a necessary teaching tool.

4. Teacher perceptions and expectations

Apart from imparting knowledge and skills, teachers also help children to define their self
image. From daily interactions with teachers, children learn whether they are considered
important or insignificant, bright or slow, liked or disliked. Teachers transmit these
messages by the way they speak to children, their facial expressions and gestures, and by
the amount of time they devote to each individual learner. Often teachers point out
students’ deficiencies more than praising them for their efforts and noting improvements,
however small. For many children this is very discouraging, and may result in feelings of
inferiority and failure. From the messages that students receive, they decide whether they
are willing to risk participation in classroom activities or not. Effective teachers
recognize that such involvement does not always come easily - it requires a trusting,
psychologically comfortable learning environment.

A quality which is essential to a psychological comfortable classroom environment is

mutual respect. Too often, discussions related to respect focus mainly on the necessity of
students respecting teachers. However, teachers and students must respect each other and
respect has to be earned by both and this happens through the way teachers and children
interact. Students may have negative classroom experiences because they are ridiculed by
teacher or peers, or they repeatedly hear that they are disruptive or slow or “stupid”.
These and other negative messages telling children that they are not valued or respected,
often result in children giving up on classroom participation.

Research on teacher-student interaction shows that teachers often behave differently

towards individual students based on their own perception of what a student can of
cannot do. Students labeled as “low-achievers” get less opportunities to participate, and
those seen as “disruptive” are perceived to be behaving badly, even when behaving well.

Teachers can learn from students. To be successful a teacher must attend to what students
do, what they say and how they perform. He should observe children’s reactions in class
to find out whether he is ‘getting across’ to them. Thus, teaching is not a matter of
reading from a textbook, or dictating notes, but a participatory process. Teachers rely on
a variety of ‘signals’ from their students. For example ‘eyes on’ behaviour means
students are paying attention. Squirming behaviour means they are tired or bored.
Affirmative nods of the head mean they follow and understand; puzzled looks mean they
are confused.

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Photo: Jannik Beyer

The major decision that teachers make on the basis of their observations of children is
when it is appropriate to move on to the next topic, problem or issue. Some teachers
though are ‘clock or calendar watchers’ more then ‘student watchers’ and feel compelled
to cover a certain amount of material within a certain time. Teachers need to reflect on
their assumptions and expectations by asking children for feedback on the teaching-
learning process and on what happens in the classroom in general.

It is important for teachers to understand what makes a good teacher in the eyes of his
students. Such characteristics of quality teachers almost always have to do with a
teacher’s ability to relate to students as individuals in a constructive way, treating them
with respect, making lessons interesting and varied, providing encouragement and telling
them to believe in themselves and their own abilities (as also shown in the Brown and
McIntyre list above).
For teachers who care, the student as a person is as important as the student as a learner.
Caring teachers know their students in both ways. Such teachers model understanding
and fairness. These are qualities most often mentioned by students in their assessments of
good teachers

5. Positive and diversity responsive learning environments

Motivation to learn and to behave well is largely contingent on interest. If a teacher’s
teaching can harness the curiosity of children, he can also elicit a willingness of students
to learn and behave. Interest-satisfying teaching motivates children far more effectively
than coercing them into tasks they consider irrelevant and boring.
This implies that the execution of the tasks of a teacher and what a teacher models is
crucial in the prevention of misbehaviour.

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Research shows that teacher behaviour which keeps students focused on learning reduces
disruptions in the classroom. Effective teaching and classroom management prevents
discipline problems or disruptions before they distract from the learning process. The
following teacher behaviours are effective in creating and maintaining a positive learning
environment:
 High expectations for student learning and behaviour. These expectations are
communicated to students through a warm and encouraging manner. It is
important that students know they are expected to learn well and behave
appropriately. Teachers clearly communicate to students that they know what is
happening in the classroom all the time.
 Establish classroom rules and procedures which are clear and fair. All students
know and agree with the rules and consequences. Teachers need to teach
behavioural rules and classroom routines in much the same way as they teach
learning content. The rules need to be reviewed regularly throughout the school
year. Classroom rules are posted in primary classrooms.
 Specifying consequences and their relation to student behaviour. Effective
teachers explain the connection between students' misbehaviour and
consequences carefully. This connection is taught and reviewed as needed.
 Classroom rules enforced promptly, consistently, and equitably. Effective
managers respond quickly to misbehaviour, respond in the same way at different
times, and impose consistent consequences regardless of gender, race, socio-
economic status or other personal characteristics of students.
 Sharing with students the responsibility for classroom management. Effective
teachers aim to develop in students a sense of belonging and self-discipline, rather
than viewing discipline as something imposed from the outside.
 Providing stimulating seatwork activities. Effective teachers provide students with
stimulating seatwork activities which are varied and challenging. These activities
keep students’ interest on learning and reducing the likelihood of misbehaviour.
 Maintaining a continuous pace for learning and make smooth transitions between
activities. Effective teachers keep things moving in their classrooms, while
providing continuous activity signals or cues to ensure inattentive or potentially
disruptive students are engaged in learning which reduces the likelihood of
misbehaviour.
 Teachers attempt to involve non-participating students in learning activity and
keeping all students focused on current activity or task
 Monitoring classroom activities and providing feedback and reinforcement.
Effective teachers observe and comment on student participation and behaviour,
and they positively reinforce efforts to participate and behave well through the
provision of verbal, symbolic, and tangible rewards.

Despite efforts to be effective classroom managers, behaviour problems may occur. Most
children do not intentionally misbehave, but there is usually a reason for their behaviour.
Some common reasons contributing to children misbehaving are:

 The student finds the work is too easy or hard.

 The student is bored because the learning activities are uninteresting.

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  The teaching methods do not match the learning style of the students.
 Teacher’s expectations are not clear to the students or unreasonable.

A teacher needs to be prepared for this with techniques ranging from a counseling
approach, focusing on understanding and mutually solving a problem to behaviour
modification or ignoring inappropriate and reinforcing appropriate behaviour. What is
crucial though is that teachers always clarify that it is the behaviour that is unacceptable,
not the child. These are the times that count most. After all, the teacher is the adult! The
issue here is that the teacher must look beyond a student’s immediate misbehaviour and
see a person worthy of respect. Passing such a test will make teachers more credible in
the eyes of their students, not only as teachers but also, and more importantly, as genuine
caring human beings.

Some schools have found it useful to develop a School Behaviour Policy or Code of
Conduct for students and teachers. This helps teachers and students understand what is
expected of them, what constitutes appropriate behaviour, and what happens if things go
wrong. One of the elements of a successful policy is a review of the school environment,
especially in terms of classroom organisation and management. Teachers have also
found this useful in finding ways of using their unique knowledge to make some change
in their teaching and learning environment, that would make a difference in children’s
behaviour, but that does not rely on external expertise and focussing on individual
children.

6. Conclusion
Teachers tend to focus on what to do when children misbehave and therefore often
perceive discipline techniques as something separate from teaching, only to be employed
if and when problems arise. However, classroom management is an integral part of
effective teaching, as it helps to prevent behaviour problems through improved planning,
organizing and managing of classroom activities, better presentation of instructional
material and better teacher-student interaction, aiming at maximizing students’
involvement and cooperation in learning. Equally important is the modelling and
promotion of good behaviour. Disciplinary or behaviour control techniques are in the end
less effective as they do not promote the development of a self-concept or a degree of
responsibility and autonomy. Students do not become self-disciplined by means of
rewarding, controlling or coercion. Values and social skills have to be taught and
modeled by teachers. Learning to become responsible human beings and make
responsible choices requires practice, including making mistakes to learn from without
punitive consequences. That is what quality teaching and classroom management is
about. And that, rather than just delivering a curriculum, is the purpose of education!

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References:

1. Brown, S. and McIntyre, D.I. (1993) Making Sense of Teaching. Buckingham: Open
University Press.
2. Cotton, K (1990) School-wide and Classroom Discipline http://www.nwrel.org/scpd/sirs/5/cu9.html
3. Durrant, J. (2007) Positive Discipline: What it is and how to do it Bangkok: Save the Children Sweden
4. Heijnen E.J.M. (1997) Effective Teaching: an impossible dream? (In SKEPSIS Journal of the
International School Association)
5. Mendler A.N. (2001) Connecting with Students (Association for Supervision and Curriculum
Development)
6. Pellicer, L.O. & Anderson, L.W. (1996) A Handbook for Teacher Leaders
7. Save the Children (2001) Ending Corporal Punishment: Making it Happen
8. UNESCO (2006) Positive Discipline in the Inclusive, Learning-friendly Classroom Bangkok: UNESCO
Asia and Pacific Bureau for Education

For further reading, see also:

www.responsiveclassroom.org (especially the newsletter articles, which can be adjusted to teacher capacity
building needs in other places, e.g. on “Teaching children to care”; “The power of Teacher Language”)

www.ascd.org (search for: “Classroom management that works”; Educational Leadership articles e.g. “The
Positive Classroom”; “Managing Diverse Classrooms”)

http://www.f4i.org/ This “Framework for Intervention” helps teachers tackle concerns about students'
behaviour in schools, using school improvement, staff empowerment and environmental change. It works
for all ages and in all settings, while promoting 'learning behaviour together'.

www.msu.edu/user/chatter8/gradworkpdfs/CEP%20841%20Course%20Project1.pdf Chatterjee M. (2003)

“Democratic Classrooms: A base for preventing classroom behavior problems”

www.tolerance.org/teach/activities/activity.jsp?ar=921 “The ABC of Classroom Management”

http://education.alberta.ca/media/513151/e_chap4.pdf “Creating Supportive Classroom Environments”

http://education.qld.gov.au/corporate/newbasics/html/padagogies/social/soc.html “Supportive classroom

environment”

www.ehow.com/how_2241604_create-positive-classroom-atmosphere.html “How to create a positive

classroom atmosphere”

www.unedoc.unesco.org/images/0011/001112/111227eo.pdf Harber c. (2005) “School effectiveness and

education for democracy and non-violence”

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 ANNEX 1

Knowing How to Teach

As she stood in front of her 5th grade class on the first day of school, she told the children
something that was not true. Like most teachers, she looked at her students and said that
she liked them all. However, that was impossible, because there in the front row, slumped
in his seat, was a boy named Kamal.

Ms. Anu had watched Kamal the year before and noticed that he did not play well with
other children and that his uniform was messy. In addition, Kamal could be unpleasant. It
got to the point where Ms. Anu would actually take delight in marking his papers with a
thick red pen, making bold Xs and then putting a big “F” at the top of his papers.

At the school where Ms. Anu taught, it was required to review each child’s past records.
She put Kamal’s off until the very end. However, when she reviewed his file, she was in
for a surprise.

Kamal’s first grade teacher wrote: “Kamal is a bright child with a ready laugh. He does
his work neatly and has good manners. … He is a joy to have around”.
His second grade teacher wrote: “Kamal is an excellent student, well liked by his
classmates, but he is troubled because his mother has a terminal illness and life at home
must be a struggle.”
His third grade teacher wrote: “His mother’s death has been hard on him. He tries to do
his best, but his father doesn’t show much interest and his home life will soon affect him
if no steps are taken.”
Kamal’s fourth grade teacher wrote: “Kamal is withdrawn and doesn’t show much
interest in school. He doesn’t have many friends and he sometimes sleeps in class.”

By now, Ms. Anu realized the problem and felt extremely uneasy and ashamed of her
self. She felt even worse when her students brought her birthday presents, wrapped in
beautiful ribbons and bright paper, except for Kamal. His present was clumsily wrapped
in the heavy, brown paper that he probably found somewhere lying around. Ms. Anu took
pains to open it in the middle of the other presents. Some of the children started to laugh
when inside she found a bracelet with some of the stones missing, and a perfume bottle
that was only half full. But she stifled the children’s laughter when she exclaimed how
pretty the bracelet was while putting it on, and dabbing some of the perfume on her wrist.
Kamal stayed after school that day just long enough to say: “Ms. Anu today you smelled
just like my mom used to.”

After the children left, Ms. Anu cried. On that very day she decided to stop just teaching
a reading, writing and arithmetic curriculum. Ms. Anu decided to try to understand her
children as individuals and as she did so she became a different person. She talked and
joked with them and in particular applauded Kamal’s achievements. She spent time
talking to him and soon he began to respond to her loving care. By the end of the year,
Kamal had become a more confident learner.

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A year later she found a note under her door from Kamal telling her that she was the best
teacher he ever had.

Six years went by before she got yet another note from Kamal. He wrote that he had
finished high school, stood third in his class and she was still his best teacher.
Four years after that, she got another letter, saying that while things had been tough at
times, he had held on and would soon graduate from college with the highest honors. Ms.
Anu was still is best teacher!

Then four years passed and yet another letter came. This time he explained that after he
got his Bachelors degree, he decided to go a little further. The letter explained that she
was still the best and favorite teacher he ever had. But now his name was a little longer.
The letter was signed, Kamal Mashal M.D.

The story does not end there. You see, there was another letter that spring. Kamal said he
met a girl and was going to be married. He explained that his father had died a couple of
years ago and he was wondering if Ms. Anu might agree to sit at the wedding in the place
that was usually reserved for the mother of the groom. Of course Ms. Anu did. And guess
what? She wore that bracelet, the one with several stones missing. Moreover she made
sure she was wearing the perfume that Kamal remembered his mother wearing on her last
birthday.

They hugged each other, and Dr. Mashal whispered in Ms. Anu’s ear, “Thank you, Ms.
Anu for believing in me. Thank you for making me feel important and showing me that I
could make a difference.”

Ms. Anu with tears in her eyes whispered back, “Kamal, you have it all wrong. You
were the one who taught me that I could make a difference. I did not know how to teach
until I met you.

[Author unknown]

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 ANNEX 2

Prevention of discipline problems

Developing positive teacher student relationships and rules that are fair and make
sense for both teacher and students

Facilitate student reflection: there are many creative classroom activities to encourage
students to begin to explore their own experiences and ideas about behaviour, values,
social principles and rules and approaches to discipline. Such activities serve to place
the immediate problems of classroom discipline into a wider context.

Classroom code of conduct: at the start of a school-year, facilitate a process to

collectively identify the ‘rules of the game’

Step 1: Ask students to draw (individually or in small groups) an ‘ideal’ (or ‘dream’)
classroom. Ask them to think about a time in the past when they felt that they learned a
lot. What was the environment like? What was the teacher like? What else was special
about this time? How could these things be incorporated into their ‘ideal’ classroom? Ask
each person or group to present their drawings to the class. When everyone has had a
turn, ask the class to look at all the drawings and think about what they tell us about an
ideal classroom. You can make a whole class mural showing an ideal classroom. Identify
common ideas across students. Allow students to discuss the issues that emerge.

Step 2: Ask all students to write down the principles or rules that they believe are
important to build this sort of classroom. Students do not have to write their names.
Collect all papers and write them on the board. Identify common themes and principles.
(For young students you can do the same exercise verbally).

Step 3: Draw up a code of conduct together. Make the principles and expectations clear.
Do not make too many rules. Challenge students – is this rule needed, or is it covered by
other principles? Make sure rules are stated clearly and concisely. Formulate ‘rules’ in
positive language.

Step 4: Once you have developed a code of conduct, share it with other stakeholders –
parents, the principal, and other teachers. (Students could even do this exercise at home
as home-work, asking their parents what would be the ‘ideal’ classroom and bring back
those ideas the follow day to be included).

Step 5: Write the code of conduct in large print and in a ‘nice’ way. Hang it where
everyone can read it. Have everyone sign it to indicate their agreement. Leave space for
additions and modifications. When problems arise during the year, that are not covered
by the code of conduct you can revisit and change the code of conduct. It is always a
‘work in progress’!

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Privileges and consequences: agree together on consequences for good and bad
behaviour. Emphasize positive reinforcement

Step 1: Facilitate a discussion with your students to identify the ideas for special things
your class can do when the class behaves well. These will be determined by the nature of
your class, as well as the interests and personalities of your students. You could decide to
dedicate 20 minutes on a Friday morning for students to tell stories and jokes. You could
decide to spend extra time reading from a special book of interest, doing a joint project,
solving fun math problems, etc. You could decide to have a special time for an art project
or games. Think of fun special things you could do as a class to celebrate the
achievement of a peaceful and happy classroom.

Step 2: Discuss when these privileges may be taken away from a student or the class as a
whole. Perhaps you want to adopt the ‘yellow card/red card’ system of football. When a
child gets a yellow card, (s)he getting a warning , when (s)he gets 2 yellow cards or a red
card the consequence is applied. Remember these should only be given in reaction to
problems that cannot be solved through communication and positive reinforcement -
these should be the ‘last resort’ times. They should not be applied in response to small
behavioural problems, but in response to behaviour that contravenes core principles.

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 Annex 3

A Classroom Code of Conduct: developed by children together

with their teacher

Our Classroom Rules

1. I have a right to be happy, and to be treated with kindness in this

classroom (this means that nobody will laugh at me, ignore me, or
hurt my feelings).

2. I have a right to be myself in this classroom (this means that nobody

will treat me unfairly because I am fat or thin, learn well or have
learning difficulties, boy or girl).

3. I have a right to be safe in this classroom (this means that nobody

will hit me, kick me, push me or pinch me).

4. I have a right to hear and be heard in this classroom (this means that
nobody will yell, scream or shout, and my opinions and wishes will be
considered in any plans we make together).

5. I have a right to learn about myself in this classroom (this means that
I will be free to express my feelings and opinions without being
interrupted of punished)

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