Effective Classroom Practice:Expectations and Rules

MO SW-PBS

Center for PBSCollege of EducationUniversity of Missouri

~80% of Students

Tier 1 = Primary Prevention:

School-/Classroom-Wide Systems for All Students,

Staff, & Settings

Tier 2 = Secondary Prevention:

Specialized GroupSystems for Students

with At-Risk Behavior

Tier 3 = Tertiary Prevention:

Specialized IndividualizedSystems for Students with High-

Risk Behavior~15%

~5%

CONTINUUM OF SCHOOL-WIDE INSTRUCTIONAL &

POSITIVE BEHAVIOR SUPPORT

Goal: Reduce new cases of problem behavior and/or academic failure

Goal: Reduce current cases of problem behavior and/or academic failure

Goal: Reduce intensity and severity of chronic problem behavior and/or academic failure

SYST

EMS

PRACTICES

DATASupportingStaff Behavior

SupportingDecisionMaking

SupportingStudent Behavior

SW PositiveBehaviorSupport OUTCOMES

Social Competence &Academic Achievement

Effective Classroom Practices

Classroom: • Expectations & Rules • Procedures & Routines • Continuum of Strategies to Acknowledge Appropriate Behavior• Continuum of Strategies to Respond to Inappropriate Behavior• Active Supervision• Multiple Opportunities to Respond• Activity Sequence & Offering Choice• Academic Success & Task Difficulty

Newcomer, 2008

Newcomer, 2008

Classroom Expectations & Rules

Identify, Teach, Practice, Reinforce

Why Focus on Classroom Rules?

• A dependable system of rules and procedures provides structure for students and helps them be engaged with instructional tasks (Brophy, 1998)

• Teaching rules and routines to students at the beginning of the year and enforcing them consistently across time increases student academic achievement and task engagement (Evertson & Emer, 1982; Johnson, Stoner & Green, 1996)

• Clearly stating expectations and consistently supporting them lends credibility to a teacher’s authority (Good & Brophy, 2000)

What are Expectations and Rules?

• Expectations are outcomes• Rules are the specific criteria for meeting

expectation outcomes• Rules identify and define concepts of

acceptable behavior• Use of expectations and rules provides a

guideline for students to monitor their own behavior and they remind and motivate students to meet certain standards

Discuss: Importance of expectations & rules?

• 2-Minute Frenzy –

– How has clarifying schoolwide/non-classroom setting rules impacted student behavior?

– Why do you think it is important to clarify classroom rules?

Guidelines for Writing Classroom Rules

Consistent with schoolwide expectations/rules1. Observable 2. Measureable3. Positively stated4. Understandable5. Always applicable – Something the teacher

will consistently enforce

Other Considerations…

• Students play a role in formulating rules

• Rules displayed prominently; easily seen

• Teacher models and reinforces consistently

• Rules that are easily monitored

Expectations and RulesExample…

• Expectation is: Students will be Safe

– Rules are…

• Keep hands and feet to self

• Use materials correctly

Which of These Follow the Guidelines?

• Keep hands and feet to yourself• Turn in completed assignment• Respect others• Walk in the hallways• Don’t run

Which of These Follow the Guidelines?

• Think before responding• Come to class on time, prepared with all

supplies and assignments• Be responsible• Be ready to learn• Sit in your seat unless you have permission to

leave it

Classroom Rule Writing Activity 1

• List problem behaviors in your classroom• List replacement behavior (what we want kids

to do instead) • List schoolwide expectations• Categorize rules within schoolwide

expectations*Post, teach and acknowledge

student compliance of rules

Handout 1 & 2

Activity 2Classroom Rules Survey

• Write expectations from the SW matrix.• List classroom rules for each expectation.• Check if rules meet 5 criteria.

– Observable, Measurable, Positive, Understandable, Always Applicable

• Use survey questions to consider how expectations and rules are used throughout the building.

Handout 3

Schedule for Teaching Classroom Rules

• First Grading Period– Teach rules for all areas of school, including

individual classrooms, during first week of school– After first week, review rules 2 or 3 times / week

Schedule for Teaching Rules

• Through Second Grading Period– Review rules once per week

• Remainder of the Year– Review rules periodically as needed

References• Brophy, J. (1998). Motivating Students to Learn. Boston: McGraw Hill. • Evertson, C., & Emmer, E. (1982). Preventive classroom management. In D. Duke (Ed.), Helping teachers

manage classrooms. Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development.• Evertson, C. M., Emmer, E. T. & Worsham, M.E. (2003). Classroom Management for Elementary

Teachers. Boston: Pearson Education. • Freiberg, J., Stein, T., & Huan, S. (1995). Effects of a classroom management intervention on student

achievement in inner-city elementary schools. Educational Research and Evaluation, 1, 36-66.• Good, T. & Brophy, J. (2000). Look Into Classrooms. Boston: Allyn & Bacon.• IRIS Center, Research to Practice Instructional Strategies. Nashville: Vanderbilt University.• Johnson, T.C., Stoner, G. & Green, S.K. (1996). Demonstrating the experimenting society model with

classwide behavior management interventions. School Psychology Review, 25(2), 199-214.• Kern, L., Clemens, N.H. (2007). Antecedent strategies to promote appropriate classroom behavior.

Psychology in the Schools, 44(1), 65-75.• Newcomer, L. (2007, 2008). Positive Behavior Support in the Classroom. Unpublished presentation. • Shores, R., Gunter, P., & Jack, S. (1993). Classroom management strategies: Are they setting events for

coercion? Behavioral Disorders, 18, 92-102. • Simonsen, B., Fairbanks, S., Briesch, A., Myers, D. & Sugai, G. (2008). Evidence-based practices in

classroom management: Considerations for Research to practice. Education and Treatment of Children, 31(3), pp. 351-380.