The Importance of Active Listening

To build positive relationships with your challenging students, teachers need to demonstrate an active interest in their lives, really listening to their thoughts, opinions, interests and silences.

You may only spend a few minutes talking to a student, but actively listening to them for those few minutes helps to build trust and mutual respect. The cup of coffee can wait. This is important.

Rob Plevin, in Magic Classroom Management, describes active listening as

“an effective way of showing that you value a person’s opinion.

We demonstrate we are listening by making eye contact, stopping other activities so that we concentrate fully on what is being said and respond to what is being said with nods, gestures and verbal cues.” (p.48) 

As teachers, we are important figures in our students’ lives, and the attitude we express towards them through our incidental conversations can have significant, often invisible impacts on their attitude, learning and personal development. By actively listening to our students, we treat and value them as people, not as insignificant “little brats”.

Never forget that challenging students are still children, and deserve to be respected and valued as such. It is easy to fall into the trap of reacting to the behaviours after they occur. Actually working to identify and counteract is difficult, but rewarding in the long run. Actively listening to your students is a simple first step.  

The Final Word on Relationships

For more information and advice on developing teacher-student relationships, I highly recommend the “Stepping Stones to Positive Relationships” series on the Behaviour Needs blog.

 

I’ll also leave this topic on a note of caution, bearing in mind my initial naivety and inexperience as a beginning teacher. As teachers, it is important that we ensure our relationship-building efforts and teacher-student interactions are entirely proper and professional, and not liable to misconstrued or misinterpreted.

It is important to understand the relevant school policies and procedures, bearing in mind your legal responsibilities and duty of care. If you consider yourself uninformed, I’d suggest you talk to Admin, or contact your Union. I’ll certainly be doing so shortly.

Get involved with Breakfast / Lunchtime Clubs & Activities

Starting out as a relief teacher in early 2009, I was surprised to receive a student’s invitation to visit the morning Breakfast Club. What I found even more surprising was that this particular student was a member of the infamous “Room 15”, a troubled Year 6/7 class about which I had heard no end of horror stories. While initially hesitant, my acceptance of this invitation proved to be one of the most important decisions I made as a graduate relief teacher. 

I found the Breakfast Club a friendly, informal setting for building respectful relationships with students, and it was the scene of many interesting conversations about football, skateboarding, gardening, and the latest mobile phones.

I found myself meeting the majority of my challenging students (Yrs 1- 7) over their morning toast and Milo™, and my regular attendance over time helped me earn their respect and trust.

While I no longer attend that particular school, I regularly volunteer in other schools’ Breakfast Clubs whenever I have the opportunity. I highly recommend this experience for relief staff & classroom teachers. You may only be able to spare 10 minutes once a week/fortnight, but it is worth it.

Lunchtime Clubs & Activities

Now, not every school has a Breakfast Club, but one school, where I have had extensive relief work, has developed an innovative whole-school activity timetable which runs during lunchtimes. Depending on the day, (rostered) staff members and students play rugby on the oval, play games on the library computers, or work in the Kitchen Garden. These activities are open to all students, and seem to be very popular.

These activities can provide valuable opportunities for teachers to get to know their students; catering to their diverse interests, and providing some with a safe environment during play breaks. This is particularly important for those challenging students who struggle to cope with the complex social demands of playground interaction.

Regular involvement in Clubs / Lunchtime Activity situations, even once a fortnight, can help teachers establish their reputation and make connections with challenging students. These activities don’t have to be a chore, and they can prove extremely rewarding. 

Relief Teaching: Chalk & Small Talk!

Becoming an Effective Relief Teacher

In my first year of teaching, I have learnt that effective relief teachers:

1. Work to develop positive relationships with students and staff
2. Demonstrate sound classroom management skills, and
3. Have a repertoire of instructional strategies and relief fill-in activities

In my experience, the development of strong relationships has underpinned my survival and increasing effectiveness as a relief teacher. They have helped me establish a positive reputation in a variety of schools (where I have regularly worked), and contributed to a significant reduction in my classroom management challenges in relief situations. 

Chalk & Talk!

Whenever I work in a school, I make an effort to talk and interact with staff and students. Staying in the class all day does nothing to raise students’ (and staff) awareness of your existence. As you meet and interact with students in informal playground settings, you become less of a stranger, and, well, in my case, known as the “funny guy in the cowboy hat”. This helps to break the ice when you eventually meet these students in formal classroom situations.

You generally need to teach a class 2-3 times before students start to accept you as the genuine article, and it can literally take several weeks to months working in a school to build respectful, trusting relationships with students.

These relationship-building efforts must be complemented by a firm and consistent classroom management approach, and careful observation & handling of your behaviourally challenging students. 

The development of positive, respectful relationships takes a considerable amount of time and effort, and is virtually impossible to do as an agency relief teacher. I have been on both sides of the fence, and have come to love the opportunities and variety afforded by my independent relief teaching practice.

A Relief Teacher’s Story: Working with “Troy”

When dealing with challenging students as a relief teacher, I make a point of identifying and remembering their hobbies, interests, and talents, and try to incorporate them into incidental conversations or classroom learning activities. Believe it or not, given time, this little strategy can work wonders.

I first met “Troy” in mid-2009, and one of my earliest memories of him is of his playing power-games with the Principal. He was very good at ignoring instructions, avoiding work, and arguing/fighting with a student with Asperger’s Syndrome. 

This student caused me (and the Principal) more than a few management headaches, but funnily enough, I liked him. I was always fair and consistent when managing his behaviour, and dealt with his attention/power-seeking behaviours in a calm, measured manner.

Through informal conversations, in and outside the classroom, I discovered Troy’s passion for building expensive model cars. While I’m not particularly fussed with cars, I made an effort to talk about & follow the progress of his latest creation whenever I taught him. 

Over time, Troy’s attitude towards me changed. He was increasingly happy to talk to me, and became more respectful in his speech and manner. He still demonstrated his attention-seeking behaviours, and I remained firm in my management approach. I’ll never forget the moment when he finally recognised my authority, but sadly, I was never to directly teach him again. Running into him several months later, I still remember his shocked and pleased expression when I asked about his model-making activities. Yes, I remembered! Sadly, like so many of my success-stories, he has since left the school.

Small Talk: “From little things, big things grow”

As a relief teacher, I am often seen wandering aimlessly around school playgrounds and ovals; playing games (football, hand-tennis, soccer), fostering good-natured AFL (Australian Rules Football) rivalries, and simply chatting with students.

Many teachers are surprised to find that I do this in my own time (i.e. not on duty), yet it has proved to be the single most positive strategy for reducing my classroom management challenges, and building respectful relationships with some extremely challenging students.

As Rod Plevin points out in Magic Classroom Management (2008, p. 43);

“We seldom just ‘chat’ to our worst students despite the fact that having a real, sometimes ‘pointless’ dialogue with another person is one of the very best ways of building relationship and trust.

Dialogue is a unique relationship-builder because it evolves over time into a "connection” – and when steps are made to form this connection, pupils relate to us much more positively.”

A few minutes is all it takes:

“Getting a pupil, particularly a difficult pupil, to spend a few minutes chatting when they’d rather be away with their mates is difficult, so you have to appeal to their interests. One way might be asking their advice on some new resources that you know they’d be interested in.

That might be all that’s needed to get a conversation going, and even if you only talk for a few minutes it’s something to build on. Each little interaction you have outside the classroom environment will do wonders for your relationship with that child.” (p. 44).

Working with “Roy” (Professional Internship, 2008)

As I discussed in my June 21 post, Transforming a Year 3 Class into a Learning Community, I sought to develop a strong rapport with all my students; taking an active interest in their lives and experiences, and really listening to their ideas, thoughts, and silences.

I made time to talk to my students at breaks (e.g. during the 10 minute eating time) and informally interacted with students, parents and carers before and after school. I paid special attention to my “challenging” students; observing their playground interactions with other students, and making an effort to discover (and exploit) their special interests and talents. These actions helped me understand and connect to “Roy”, my most challenging student, and supported the creation of a safe learning environment.

Through informal conversations, I discovered Roy’s (my most challenging student) passion for aeroplanes and the Fremantle Dockers (AFL team). I loaned him my military aircraft books and commiserated over our football defeat each Monday morning.

These actions helped to build our teacher-student relationship and had dramatic impacts on Roy’s classroom behaviour. He made an effort to moderate his behaviour, and he never “exploded” into his aggressive chair-throwing & escape act while I was teaching him. Working with him again last year, I believe I was one of very few, perhaps the only teacher “Roy” ever came to respect and trust.

My experiences bear out Rod Plevin’s comments on this topic:

”You see, when you really get to know a pupil you become aware of their triggers – the things that upset them and cause all sorts of problems in class. And when you’re dealing with damaged children who carry all kinds of emotional baggage and flare up for no apparent reason, this is valuable knowledge.

After all … stopping behaviour problems from occurring is much easier when you know in advance what causes them!”  (p. 44)

The 3 Keys (Part 1): Building Positive Relationships

When formulating my “Jigsaw Approach to Classroom Management” back in 2008, I made the following observations:

A safe learning environment relies on positive teacher-student relationships and positive peer relationships.

Teachers can develop such relationships by taking a meaningful interest in their students' lives, and promoting an anti-bullying ethos through their words and actions.

Make an effort to forge positive, respectful relationships with your more challenging students.

Study the purpose and triggers of their behaviours, and learn about their backgrounds. Use behaviour management strategies which target the cause of their misbehaviour, and remember they too have the right to a safe learning environment.

In my teaching experience, I have found these two factors to be absolutely critical in successfully working with challenging students. I am not alone in thinking along these lines ...

... one of the most common objections which comes up when we talk about this subject… “I’m a busy teacher, I don’t have time to build relationships with challenging students?”

The answer to that is “You don’t have time NOT to build relationships with challenging students.” 

Think about the amount of time spent mopping up incidents, and dealing with students who don’t follow instructions – THAT is a huge waste of time. 

Many teachers complain that they are unable to do their jobs purely because of the time spent dealing with behaviour problems. Students are more likely to behave for a teacher they respect, trust and get on with so spending time building relationships with them is going to SAVE you time in the long run.

Chris (June 15, 2010). Making Time to Build Relationships with Students. From the Behaviour Needs Blog

Coming Up: Relationship Building Strategies

1) Small Talk: BIG Rewards
2) Get Involved with Breakfast / Lunchtime Clubs / Activities
3) The Importance of Active Listening

A Brief Interlude

I have had a very busy few weeks, working close to full-time relief and visiting two new schools, bringing my total up to 23. I’ve also started writing my first proper merit-select applications for full-time/part-time employment in 2011, a very slow and painful process.

I recently received some wonderful feedback on A Relief Teacher’s Journey, which I have permission to share:

“I think it’s fabulous, and provides sound evidence of your growing professional knowledge and your capacity for self-reflection focused on improvement … You would be an asset to a school.”

Liz Healy
Manager, Professional Learning and Teacher Development
Professional Learning Institute
Department of Education, WA

“Wow!! Its amazing.  So very impressive.  I’m impressed with your detailed reflection, your actions, and your considered thoughts on your craft. 

This blog could be a fantastic tool for teachers to access.  Not only in terms of reading about your stories, thoughts, learning and outcomes, but also to know they’re not alone in their ventures.

Relief teaching, as well as normal classroom teaching, can at times, be very isolating.  Your honesty is refreshing and your willingness to share your learning and knowledge is just fabulous.”

Jill van de Ruit
Consultant Professional Learning 
Department of Education, WA

I’ll be returning to my blogging endeavours shortly, and hope to complete my several thousand word treatise on effective classroom management in a few weeks.

Cheers,

Michael

Queen Mary II in Fremantle Harbour, WA (March 14, 2010)

What is a “problem” or challenging behaviour?

A ‘problem’ behaviour is a particular behaviour, defined by its context, intensity, and frequency, which is expressed in an inappropriate social situation (Conway, 2005, p. 211).

While a student’s ‘problem’ behaviours may offend, annoy, or irritate their teachers and peers, they are rarely meant to be spiteful. Such behaviours are associated with poor social skills, and usually indicate an attempt to avoid work, seek attention, or communicate frustration (p. 211).

Is it fair to blame the ‘problem’ student for their behaviour?

Many teachers blame ‘problem’ behaviours on the student’s poor self-control and parenting, laziness, or their special needs ‘label’ (e.g. Autism, ADHD). Unfortunately, this attribution ignores the underlying causes and communicative purpose of the behaviour.

There are many factors which can contribute to ‘problem behaviours’, and very few lie with the student.

 

Causes/Triggers of Problem Behaviours

The Student

• Frustration & anxiety - they may be unable to work independently, or may not understand the task.
• Poor social skills
• Underlying learning difficulties
• Special needs (e.g. ADHD, Autism Spectrum Disorder)

The Home Environment

• Unstable / dysfunctional family environment
• Low socio-economic status
• Family values and attitude to schooling
• Lack of parental support
• History of neglect or abuse
• Culturally acceptable behaviours (e.g. attitudes towards women)

The Teacher

• Negative attitude towards student’s behaviour 
• Inappropriate (unintentional) reinforcement of problem behaviours – providing negative attention, being drawn into power-struggles.
• A classroom management style based on power and dominance, rather than relationships.

The School & Curriculum Environment

• Boring and unstimulating classroom environment
• Peer provocateurs (students who instigate / negatively respond to their peer’s problem behaviour)
• Inappropriate level of curriculum difficulty
• Lack of appropriate teaching and learning adjustments
• Reliance on teacher-centred strategies – ‘chalk & talk’

(Conway, 2004, pp. 210-213)

 

Exploring the Purpose of a Student’s Challenging Behaviour

A student’s challenging behaviour is purposeful, and may fall into one/more of these categories – Power, Attention Seeking, Withdrawal (Assumed Disability), or Revenge/Anger.

When you understand the underlying purpose of the challenging behaviour, you are better able to respond to its underlying causes and incidence in the classroom/playground. This can prove invaluable knowledge.

For further information, I highly recommend reading the relevant chapter in Classroom Management: A Thinking & Caring Approach (Bennett, B. & Smilanich, P., 1994).

I also recommend the Quick Strategies notes on the Behaviour Needs websites, which provides a list of graduated responses to common misbehaviours (e.g. attention-seeking, confrontation, disruption). (http://www.behaviourneeds.com/quick-strategies/)

 

Summing Up:

Advice for Teachers on the Firing Line

As a relief or subsitute teacher, I know what is like to be on the ‘firing line’ - I’ve worked with a range of students exhibiting ‘problem’ or ‘challenging’ behaviours. I’ve been kicked, sworn at, received “attitude”, and dealt with my fair share of fights and runaways.

I’ve made my mistakes, but gee, I’ve learnt some fundamental lessons along the way. 

To work effectively with challenging students, teachers need:

1. To try and understand the causes, environmental triggers, and underlying purpose of the problem behaviour(s). (This is easier said than done)
2. To identify appropriate proactive and reactive behaviour management strategies for the individual student.

• Proactive strategies target the underlying causes of the ‘problem’ behaviour & promote social inclusion (e.g. high expectations, teaching social skills, dealing with peer provocateurs)
• Reactive strategies guide the teacher’s graduated responses to the incidence of the problem behaviour (e.g. Time Out, Buddy Class, Loss of Reward Time)

3. A commitment to building a positive teacher-student relationship; building trust and mutual respect, and working to engage the student in their learning. This may involve the formulation of an IEP / Behaviour Plan.

These fundamental lessons, drawn from university research and relief teaching experience, form the basis of my “Three Keys to Working with Challenging Students”, as outlined in my previous post.

References

Conway, R. (2005). ‘Encouraging positive interactions’. In P. Foreman (Ed.). Inclusion in Action, Melbourne: Thomson, [Chapter 6: pp. 210-251].

Keen D and Knox M. ‘Approach to challenging behaviour : a family affair’. [online]. Journal of Intellectual and Developmental Disability;.29(1), pp.52-64. Retrieved March 25, 2008, from http://search.informit.com.au/

Challenging Students: Dealing with Student Anger, Defiance, Aggression, and Violence

As a relief teacher, I meet and work with challenging students on a regular basis; and it is fair to say that my 2008 school experience and 2009 relief teaching experience in a TRIBES school have defined my attitude and management approach towards these students.

My experiences, observations, and professional learning in these schools underpin my ongoing efforts as a relief teacher to win-over and build effective relationships with my most challenging students. They have also contributed to some of my major success stories working with students that some dread to teach.

Common Characteristics of Challenging Students

• Their behaviour disrupts the learning process, verbally or physically harms others, frustrates their teachers, and often results in office withdrawal or school suspension. 
• They are usually male, ranging in age from 7-12 years old (K-7). I have also worked with some challenging female students, but they are usually found in upper primary. 
• They can be socially-isolated, or associate themselves with students with similar background experiences. 
• Their behaviour is directly linked to the emotional / social baggage they bring to school, and is motivated and purposeful.
• They generally can’t cope with changes in classroom routines, and are more likely to negatively respond to relief teachers. 
• The attitude and management approach of the classroom teacher, and school staff, are CRITICAL to a successful intervention with a challenging students

 The Three Keys to Working with Challenging Students

1. Focus on Building Positive Relationships
2. Focus on the Classroom Learning Environment
3. Focus on the Teacher’s Attitude, Professional Knowledge, and Management Approach

I will be discussing these “Three Keys” in the context of Rod Plevin’s (2009) eBook: MAGIC Classroom Management: How to get the most from the worst kids in school (www.classroom-management.org), as his approach mirrors the lessons I have learnt over the past few years.

Dealing with Challenging Behaviour (Belize Teacher Training)

 

The “Theory of Bumps” Explained

This is a summary of the key ideas & strategies I learnt to employ while applying the ‘Theory of Bumps’ framework in my relief (substitute) teaching practice.

For detailed explanations and descriptions of the framework and management strategies, I recommend obtaining a copy of Classroom Management: A Thinking & Caring Approach (Bennett, B. & Smilanich, P, 1994)

 

Bump 1: Low-Key Responses

Purpose:  To clearly communicate that the teacher is aware of what is happening in their classroom by managing classroom routines, and swiftly and quietly dealing with student misbehaviour before it becomes a problem. 

Key Characteristics

• Winning Over – Meet students at the door, take a genuine interest in their lives, develop positive relationships
• Explicitly teach & reinforce signals for gaining attention and procedures for lesson transitions – Specify the WHEN, WHAT and WHO of the transition. Practice (repeatedly) and give explicit feedback on students performance. (This is an art)
• Vary your position in the class. Be a moving target. Don’t be afraid to move in amongst students to ensure compliance, especially when seeking their attention prior to issuing instructions
• Facilitate interesting learning experiences – use instructional learning strategies
• Non-verbal/Minimal Verbal Responses – active scan, use of proximity, “the look”, use of student’s name, dramatic pause, hand gestures, assertive body language, planned ignore (of attention-seeking behaviour)
• Demonstrated respect & polite attitude towards ALL students, particularly those who are misbehaving
• Be careful using proximity / touch - beware of & respect students’ personal space & cultural differences. Seek to avoid ‘standing over’ or ‘backing students into a corner’.
• Your allies, those students who are actually demonstrating their best behaviour, are an asset. Reinforce their positive behaviours, and try to avoid collective punishment
• Focus on the behaviour, not the student. This communicates to the student that they are accepted in the classroom, but their negative behaviours are not.

 

Bump 2: Squaring Off

The teacher bumps up to ‘squaring off’ when the use of several low-key management strategies have failed to stop the misbehaviour.

Key Characteristics

• You pause (and stop talking)
• You turn to towards the student (square off)
• You give a minimum verbal request to stop
• Finish with a “thankyou”
• Resume the lesson

 

Bump 3: Either/Or Choice

Stop, make eye contact with the student, and offer them a either/or choice. Use an assertive, unemotional voice. For example: “You have a choice – you can choose to behave, or you can choose to go to buddy class. What do you want to do?” Wait for response, and end with a “Thankyou”.

This process doesn’t have conducted in public. Students hate to be shamed or humiliated, and a public reprimand is not always the best approach. In some cases, it is very important to remove the audience. Taking misbehaving students aside for a quiet chat, or keeping them behind for a few minutes at Recess can prove extremely effective, particularly if you are dealing with an angry / attention seeking student. Waving an Office Referral slip under their nose can also be surprisingly effective.

Bump 3 makes the student responsible for their own behaviour, and the consequences they will face if they choose to continue their misbehaviour.

Bump 4: Implied Choice

If the student continues to misbehave, follow through with the consequence from Bump 3. “You’ve made your choice, please …”

Bump 5: Power

If a student tries to draw you in a power struggle, you need to recognise and circumvent it. This is NOT easy, but essential if you wish to maintain your sanity in complex behaviour situations. I will go into more detail about this in an upcoming post about aggressive/ violent/at-risk children.

If the student moves to power, it is often best to take a step back from the situation, ignore or calmly describe the behaviour, or ask the student to leave the classroom due to severity.

If you are faced with a situation where the student has lost control of their anger (e.g. throwing chairs), it is important to remove the audience (either the class or the student) to avoid shaming them, and to allow them to calm down. This also allows the teacher time to consider an appropriate course of action.

Bump 6: Informal Behaviour Contracts

This usually involves formal/informal agreements between the teacher and the student. It may also involve the formulation of Individual Behaviour Plans, in consultation with parents, specialists, etc.

Classroom management

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References
Bennett, B & Smilanich, P. (1994). Classroom Management: Thinking and Caring Approach. Bookstation Inc. Toronto, Ontario

Department of Education and Training (WA): Behaviour Standards and Wellbeing Directorate (2007). Classroom Management Strategies Awareness Workshop Notes.

Julien-Schultz, L. (2008-2009). Preventing and Responding to Misbehaviour through Low-Key Responses. Nipissing University: Faculty of Education. Accessed (2/8/2010) from: http://www.nipissingu.ca/faculty/ronjc/EDUC4454Management/powerpoints/class4_bump1.ppt

The “Theory of Bumps”

The “Theory of Bumps” (Bennett & Smilanich, 1994) is a framework which guides teachers’ responses to student misbehaviour along a continuum of severity.
 
The Key Principles of the “Theory of Bumps”

• An effective teacher expects and plans for student misbehaviour as a natural part of the learning process. They aim to prevent or reduce the severity of student misbehaviour, minimising its’ impact on the learning process.
• Student misbehaviour is purposeful, falling into one or several categories - attention seeking, power seeking, revenge, assumed failure (the “I can’t” syndrome
• Student misbehaviour is designed to provoke particular teacher responses, which often escalate/reinforce the negative behaviours
• Teachers have no influence over the emotional baggage their students bring to school. The only thing they CAN control is their response to students’ misbehaviour

Trust Me, This Works

I can personally attest to the practical effectiveness of the “Theory of Bumps”, as it underpins and influences my proactive classroom management approach, as articulated in previous postings.