Applying Classroom Rules and Procedures

My current preschool
class rules

How to give positive reinforcement and how to respond to students breaking the rules.

As a preschool teacher, it sometimes feels like rules and procedures are the only thing I teach these kids! I always spend the first month of the school year explaining and practicing this and then also reintroduce it when I receive new students in my class (which happens often, because of parents’ projects finishing in Korea and they need to go to the next country or back home). Every single day I talk about the rules in class and point to posters on how to behave properly in a classroom and school. But how do I do it and is it effective?

I had a lot of trial and errors (believe me!) and it is really an ongoing process due to the multiple personalities you get every year. However, it helps to have a plan or thinking process on how you would deal with certain situations.

Positive reinforcement: Consequences should be both positive and negative (Marzano 2007:131). Sometimes teachers forget that positive reinforcement is really that much (if not more) effective than negative reinforcement. As Marzano (2007:131) also suggests, teachers should establish the rules and the procedures at the beginning of the school year and encourage student participation while doing it. That way, they will understand the rules better, because they helped making it.

When I observe a student following the rules in my class, I will choose to do one of the following:

1. 

   My sticker chart

   Verbal/ non-verbal acknowledgement
2. Tangible recognition
3. Involve parent/guardian

It seems easy, but this is a selective process and I need to be careful what I choose to do when. I use verbal and non-verbal acknowledgement the most in my classroom: “Good job!”, “Perfect!”, “Way to go!” or thumb-up, nod, smile, clapping hands and high fives.

For tangible recognition I use a sticker chart. When they reach the “pearl” (20 stickers) they get to choose a reward from different toys I bought (play dough, key chains, pencils etc).

My school is using communication books to keep a good flow of communication with parents/ guardians. I would use this to write an extra comment on how well a student did something this week. This I would only do once a week (if applicable), otherwise you let parents get their hopes up and when a negative behavior is shown and you let them know, they are very surprize and gets upset easily.

Here is a link to my flowchart of my decision making process for positive reinforcement.

Example:

1. A student played in the maths learning center and as I was walking around and observing the students, I saw that she arranged the numbers from low to high all by herself. I went to her and told her “Wow, did you do that all by yourself?”. She nods her head with a proud face. I replied with a high five and said “Well done, Linda!”. When she tidied up the activity, another student went to that center and tried to do it by himself, in order to get the same response from me. (He did and I gave him a similar response).
2. One rule in my class is to be kind to others. This is a very broad rule, but at the beginning of the school year, my students and I talked about it and looked for examples on how to do that. This week, we were focusing on this rule and (to prevent snatching toys) we focused on asking to play with a friend before just sitting down and starting to take their toys. It was time for free play (just before lunch time) and I saw a student wanted to play with her friends, but hesitated to go there. I quickly got her attention and pointed to the poster “Ask before taking” and she went over to ask if she could play with them. They responded “Okay, you can have this one” and they continued to play together without any bickering. After a few minutes, I went to them and told them how proud I were of the three of them. Getting the whole class’s attention, I rewarded each of them 2 sticker stars and explained to the whole class why. This had a great effect on the rest of the class and I could really see some of them trying to follow their example.
3. To keep with the example in number 2, I wrote a note in their communication books how well they played together that day and that they received 2 stars for it. The next day, the parents wrote back how proud they are of them and thanked me in return. Parents, really appreciate this kind of communication. They also learn from teachers and try the same strategies at home, which helps me as well.

Responding to rule-breakers

Honestly, this has always been a very difficult task for me. Every student is different and learn in different ways and it is the teacher’s job to know which strategy will work with which student and still keep a basic plan of how to handle negative behavior in your class. One thing that makes it easier is to get to know the students as fast as possible. That is why I do not do much academic work with the students the first 3 weeks, but interact and play with them to see what they are like in different situations.

The students know that they have 2 chances to correct their behavior, because the 3rd time is a consequence:

1. First time: I get down on the student’s eye level and talk to him/her about their behavior and why it is wrong. I usually ask them to point to which rule they broke. This shows me that they understand the rules or not and I also get a chance to reinforce these rules. I do most of the talking here.
2. Second time: the student did not listen and I tell him/ her that they only have one more chance and then it means there will be a consequence. Let the student tell you why it was bad behavior.

3. 

   The self-reflection
   page the student
   fills out

   

   An example of a thinking
   corner to self-reflect.

   Third time: I tell them calmly that I did warn them about their behavior and they did not listen. Then I put them on the time-out chair for 3 minutes (because most of them are 3 years old). Use a timer if possible so that the student can know how long 3 minutes actually is. When that time is finished, I ask them again what did they do wrong and which rule did they break. They have to tell me why it is wrong and then promise (usually I do a pinky promise) that they will try not to do it again.

If the student continues to show this behavior, I have a self-reflection corner where they will fill out a page on rules and emotions. At the back there are a comment section for the teacher. I will react the same as the time-out procedure explained in number 3, but I will tell the student to think about what he/ she has done. For ADHD students, you could let them listen to calm music, to control their hyperactive behavior. I will then send this paper home to the parents.

If the negative behavior persists, I will contact the parents and fill out a behavioral checklist to go through with the parents. We will then discuss the behaviors and also strategies I will try in the classroom and possible strategies the parents could try at home.

Here is a link to my flowchart of my decision making process for responding to negative behavior.

Examples

A student was snatching the toys from others a few times.

1. I took him to the side and asked him if he snatched toys from other students. He admitted it and I asked him how he thinks the other students feel when he does that. He said “said and angry”. I reminded him of the rule (Be kind and ask before taking). I told him that this is his first warning.
2. He snatched a toy again and I took him to the side again and asked if he snatched again. He admitted it and I told him that we already talked about this. I asked him to tell me the 2 rules he broke (he pointed to the posters) and then I told him that it is the second warning and that next time he would sit time-out. He understood and went to play again.
3. The third time he snatched a toy I took him calmly to the time-out chair and said he will sit there for 3 minutes and he should think about what he did wrong. He did not sit still properly, so I set the timer 2 times before he sat down properly for 3 minutes. After that we talked and he told me exactly what he did wrong and which rules he broke. I said that his friends does not like it when he does that and that he should rather ask them to play first, because then they understand his actions better. He agreed and I did not have further problems with him again.

I did not say it is easy!

Helping kids to follow rules and procedures is hard and sometimes I feel like kicking and screaming myself, but the most effective rule to live by as a teacher (especially preschool) is STAY CALM! I cannot stress this enough! The kids enjoy it when teachers get angry and scream; if I think back of my one high school teacher who completely lost it in class...even I gave a little chuckle. To help you stay calm are specific procedures you would follow if a student showed good or bad behavior. So, go make your own flowchart and see what works for your class this year and remember:

Link

Teach your kids how to think for themselves and guide them to prepare them for the real world!

References

Marzano, R. J. (2007). The art and science of teaching: a comprehensive framework for effective instruction. Alexandria, VA: ASCD. Retrieved Oct. 27, 2016, from https://s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/platform-user-content/prod-copy/get_help_resources/activity_resources/module4/The_Art_and_Science_of_Teaching.pdf

Module 4 Unit 3 Activity 2

Creating High Performance Learning Environments

For me to understand how to create a high performance learning environment in my own class, I analyzed 3 videos using three different teaching methods. I will specifically look at expectations regarding academic, behavior and norms and procedures. I am currently teaching international preschoolers at a Kindergarten in Geoje, South Korea. They are 2-3 years old and although the videos shows older students, I hope to still gain some knowledge and strategies to adapt to my student age group.

Video 1: Roller Coaster Physics: STEM in action

Image from the video on Teaching Channel

I loved this video immediately when watching it. The way the teacher creates a positive classroom environment for project based learning where students can be comfortable to make the most of their learning experience, is truly inspirational.

Academic expectations: The teacher clearly has high expectations for her students to think and act like true engineers when they design and problem-solve their projects. The “chimer” procedure creates an environment where it is acceptable to make mistakes and where students can work together to help each other improve.

Behavioral expectations: I realized that the students know how to behave in her class. They take turns to speak and shows respect for each other’s opinions and ideas. The students pick their own roles in groups, which allows the student to engage in a role they are comfortable with and that shows their strengths. Overall, the students showed when they enter the class, they are focused and also general good behavior.

Norms and procedures: The rules and procedures were effective in supporting high student performance.The students know what to expect from the teacher. The whole project had a good flow to it: brainstorm individually, collaborate with the group, computer trials and building and physical trials. The way their desks were arranged for the “chimer” procedure contributed to this norm.

Video 2: Chinese Math

The teacher taught a math class using a whole class approach and using a lot of mimicking strategies.

Academic expectations: After doing some research, I found that parents and teachers have very high expectations for students, especially math, due to their standardised curriculum and teaching, exam system and one child policy (Wei K., 2015). Parents are very involved in their children’s education, because they want their only child to succeed in life. In the video, the students repeats after her and provide answers as a unit; however it does not challenge students to think for themselves. Thus, the teacher creates low expectations for her students when she only asks students who raises their hands to answer questions, but ignores the poor students at the back who is not even chanting with the group.

Behavioral expectations: The students are sitting and looking at the board and shows that they know how to behave during this activity, but the teacher does not show any expectation for participation from students, because (as stated earlier) she ignores the poor students. She also does not do anything when the students sometimes shouts out answers. This shows that she does not give clear expectations. For example, when they need to stop chanting, she just makes an unclear hand gesture and some students still keeps on chanting, thus not understanding or knowing when to stop.

Norms and procedures: The only procedure for learning was the chanting and repeating what she says and raising your hand before answering a question.

Video 3: Whole Brain Teaching (WBT)

This teaching approach is designed for encouraging student engagement while integrating classroom management. It has 7 components called The Big 7:

Step 1: Class-Yes

Step 2: Classroom Rules

Step 3: Teach-OK

Step 4: Scoreboard Game

Step 5: Hands and Eyes

Step 6: Mirror

Step 7: Switch!

Academic expectations:

The teacher has high performance expectations of the students, because she expects them to find solutions to their problems by discussing it with their peers. Students are part of the teaching process with focus taken away from tests and rather focusing on daily activities.

Behavioral expectations: It was interesting when a student came in late, the teacher stopped the lesson and went through the rules again with accompanied hand gestures. This method would be very effective for students with behavioral problems in order to let them be engaged at all times.

Norms and procedures:

All the students clearly know what to expect from their teacher. With practise, they know when to repeat and follow hand gestures. In the video you can see that respect (for the teacher and peers) and following procedures and rules is something that is clearly understood in the classroom.

Although Battle (2010) says that WBT “can, and is being used at every level of instruction, kindergarten through college, with tremendous positive results” I would have to differ. In my opinion, this can be a very stressful way of teaching and the movements are a bit too much. I watched another video (PBS Newshour, 2015) on a neurosurgeon evaluating the success of this method and I agree with her that too many actions can create a routine-like feeling and then the actions can lose its power.

What about my class?

I can definitely say that I can associate my teaching style with all three videos:

Video 1: Project-based learning

I try to use as much PBL as I can to introduce a new theme which is every 6 weeks. We had a treasure theme, so we made our own treasure map (of the school grounds) and went to look for some treasure! Our current theme is Let’s Pretend and we have been learning about different fairy tales; one every week. At the end of the week, we would have finished making finger/ sock/ stick puppets and they will act out the story in groups.

I also used the STEM approach in my preschool and K1 classes when I taught science and made a lot of fun science experiments using the site, Playdough to Plato:

Playdough to Plato (2016)

Video 2: Memorizing and reciting aloud

I do not use this a lot in my class, but sometimes I use this technique to expand my students’ vocabulary knowledge through rhymes and songs.

Especially during circle time, I would teach a new song or rhyme in accordance with the theme we are busy with. We would talk about all the words we don;t know and I will show pictures to teach them the meaning of the words. Then we will recite it. I believe this helps with student confidence and pronunciation. Sometimes I hear them reciting it during free play and this shows they are processing it and learning through repetition and reciting.

Video 3: Movements for memory

I follow the curriculum, Jolly Phonics, and we teach the students the sounds with actions, so when they do a letter recognition activity and they forget, I can give them a clue and they will remember; later they will use the actions to help themselves remember the sound. It is a very effective technique.

I also use actions to teach all the students safety and life skills during assemblies. First I explain the safety and life skills poster with student engagement and participation and then we practice saying it together with the movements a few times. Then in the class, we will remind the students of it when applicable.

Lastly I use actions for behavioral expectations such as “Sit nicely. Hands in your lap” while showing the movements like using jazz hands (shaking hands)  while saying “hands”.  

However, as I already stated, too much actions would not benefit my preschool class and possibly it is not part of my personality to teach in the WBT way; I believe it is suitable for a specific personality.

References

1. Battle, Jeff. 2010. Whole Brain Teaching: learning  the Way the Brain is Designed. Retrieved on November 7, 2016, from http://www.advanc-ed.org/source/whole-brain-teaching-learning-way-brain-designed
2. Chen, C. (2013, June 13). 3rd grade Chinese–math class. Retrieved April 15, 2016, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h7LseF6Db5g
3. PBS Newshour. (2015, July 1). Teachers tap into brain science to boost learning. Retrieved on November 8, 2016, from  http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/teachers-tap-brain-science-boost-learning/
4. Playdough to Plato. (2016). 40 STEM Activities for Kids. Retrieved from http://www.playdoughtoplato.com/stem-activities-for-kids/
5. Teaching Channel. (n.d.). Roller coaster physics: STEM in action. Retrieved November 7, 2016 from https://www.teachingchannel.org/videos/teaching-stem-strategies
6. Teaching Channel. (n.d.). In Roller coaster physics: STEM in action. [Image] Retrieved November 7, 2016 from http://linkengineering.org/File.aspx?id=437&v=efafefff
7. Wei, K. (2014, March 25). Explainer: What makes Chinese math lessons so good? Retrieved November 7, 2016 from http://theconversation.com/explainer-what-makes-chinese-maths-lessons-so-good-24380  
8. Whole Brain Teaching Richwood High – The Basics. (2011). Retrieved April 15, 2016, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8iXTtR7lfWU