Needs-Focused Classroom Management - Consistency

Every teacher knows that consistency is important in terms of classroom management but one of the most frequent questions we get asked on training courses is "How do we become more consistent?".

Consistency is all or nothing. There are no degrees of consistency. There is no such thing as "pretty consistent", "fairly consistent" or "consistent most of the time."

You are either consistent or you are inconsistent. There is nothing in between.

How to Create Hell in Your Classroom

If you are 'fairly consistent' you might stick to your rules 4 out of 5 times and some would say this is ok. Certainly better than only 2 out of 5.

But if you 'give in' even once, pupils will soon come to expect this. They'll know full well that as long as they keep pushing, they will eventually get what they want. "He gave in once," they'll say to themselves, "so he'll give in again."

Being inconsistent opens the door to confrontation. It gives pupils a reason for arguing and breaking rules -- they quite rightly expect to get away with it! Being inconsistent very effectively trains them to keep on pushing, arguing and complaining every time they want something, because there is a chance they will eventually win.

The ironic thing about this is that the longer you hold out before giving in, or to put it another way, the more 'fairly consistent' you are before you cave in or adapt your rules to suit a particular individual, the worse the problem will become.

If you hold out 8 times out of ten you show the child that, whilst you don't give in easily, you do nevertheless give in -- and that will only serve to make them up their own game and push even harder next time.

By making kids work hard in order to win, we train them to be ruthless and persistent.

Your pupils need to be taught that your word is final and that there are no exceptions... ever. 'Fairly consistent' won't work.

Consistency begins with thinking long and hard about which classroom rules you are willing to enforce every time and then ensuring that you do so. It means having a definite rule about toilet breaks during lessons; it means having a definite rule about swearing; it means having definite rules for all the main behavior problems you are likely to come up against -- and sticking to them.

An inconsistent teacher has very little chance of success simply because the pupils don't know what's expected of them -- the classroom has an unstable atmosphere.

They don't know where the boundaries are from one day to the next and you can't expect pupils to behave if they aren't sure where the boundaries are.

Let's take a rule about homework as an example:

A fair rule might be that any pupil not handing their homework in on the allotted day will spend the next break time in class completing the work they should have done at home.

The rule must be followed by ALL pupils and rigorously enforced EVERY time -- no matter what the excuse. If you let one pupil off with this then you will make it almost impossible to enforce homework deadlines in future -- not just on that pupil, but on several other class-member who look for any excuse to escape homework deadlines

This same approach needs to be applied to all you rules and behaviour expectations so that when you look up to see one of your rules being broken, -- objects being thrown across the room, a child turning up late for lesson, a pupil swearing or refusing to do as you ask -- you can assert your control and leadership in your classroom by following through on your rules with consistency. In this way behaviour problems become learning opportunities rather than sources of confrontation. Pupils start to see you as 'firm but fair' rather than 'up and down' and respect grows.

One of the best ways of building consistency -- not just on a personal basis but throughout the whole department or institution is through the development of classroom ROUTINES.

Routines hone down our broad rules into specific step-by-step plans and make them applicable to an almost unlimited range of activities and situations. They make classrooms run smoothly, allow activities and tasks to be accomplished efficiently and eliminate the problems normally associated with transition times and other hotspots.

And pupils LIKE routines too -- simply because they make it easy for them to succeed in school by showing them exactly how to do things right. The classroom will run smoothly and your job will be much easier when pupils know exactly what to do and how to do it.

"Give them a destination, a map and a clear set of directions and there is more chance of them getting where you want them to go."

Routines teach the behaviour we want to see in our pupils, they give them tracks to walk in and a map to follow. And because this map is repeated over and over again and doesn't change, it creates total consistency for both teacher and pupil.

Routines are one of the most effective, time-saving device any teacher can use because they provide the link between the teacher's picture of good behaviour and the pupils' interpretation of that picture. They let the pupil know exactly what they have to do to succeed.

Let me show you what I mean with this simple example. Let's assume the end of a lesson is approaching.....

The teacher knows exactly what she wants the pupils to do -- she wants them to get cleared away as quickly as possible. So she gives the instruction to do so.

Question: Which of these instructions is going to give her the greatest chance of success?

a) "The bell is about to go put everything away and get ready to be dismissed." b) "The bell is going to go in 5 minutes, it's time to clear away. You know what to do." The teacher then points to a clearly displayed routine at the front of the room...

End of Lesson Routine

* Put textbooks on the shelf and exercise books on my desk.
* Put all equipment where you got it from
* Clear your work area and sit silently facing the front.
* After you get permission to leave, push in your chair and leave in silence.
* If it is the last period of the day, stack the chairs by the back wall.

The answer is obvious (I hope J). The first command is going to lead to chaos. Pupils hearing this type of vague instruction often don't give the teacher what she wants because they don't know what she wants -- she hasn't given them a clear enough map. (Yes, I know some pupils are just being awkward but we are trying to eliminate as many excuses as possible for them misbehaving -- we don't want them to be able to come back at us with 'I didn't know what to do' do we?) Some of the pupils will be mature enough to act appropriately and do their best to clear away and wait quietly to be dismissed. Others will take advantage and waste time, fool around or stand chatting.

The end result will see the teacher becoming increasingly frustrated as time ticks by and pupils don't do what she wants. She will find herself repeating instructions, shouting, yelling and having to deal with progressively more problems from pupils who are not engaged.

When our more energetic or challenging pupils aren't given specific instructions or tasks to do, they wander, play dumb and find something else to occupy them. This makes the simple task of 'clearing away' at the end of a lesson suddenly turn into the time-consuming and stressful task of dealing with multiple behaviour issues.

The second command works because this teacher has spent time teaching a routine for 'end of the lesson'. There is no need for confusion or wasted time. No need to repeat instructions, no need to check that everyone has understood and give extra prompts to those who haven't -- everyone knows exactly what to do.

How do you set up routines? The short answer is that you teach them one at a time until they become habitual and the key to their success lies in that last word. You have to spend time teaching routines -- possibly a couple of weeks on each one depending on the class. And you have to continually re-visit them, practice them and reinforce them. A little two minute reminder on three or four of your routines is all that's needed at the start of a lesson but it still must be done to keep your routines fresh in their minds.

Yes, there is effort involved, but when you compare that with the alternative -- spending

every lesson getting stressed out continually having to tell pupils what to do -- its time well spent. So, think of all the transitions and activities and hotspots which cause you problems

throughout your teaching day, in fact, don't bother, we know what they are:

* Entering classroom
* Distributing materials
* Clearing materials
* Asking for help
* Transition between activities or tasks
* What to do when you've finished your task
* What to do when you're late
* Using certain equipment
* Group work
* Answering questions
* Handing in work
* Leaving classroom

How much easier would your teaching day be if you had routines in place for all those difficult times? How much smoother would the lesson be if pupils knew exactly what to do in each of those circumstances?

The key is to make LOTS of routines -- as many as you need. Teach them, practice them, make them habitual and post them up on the walls as reminders so that next time a pupil isn't doing as he should you can calmly say..."What should you be doing?" and point at the routine.