Better Behaviour

• Information
  Better behaviour can be achieved by giving the student good is not always an order or command to correct the behaviour that you see as being inappropriate.

  e.g.

  A student is sitting in his desk with his feet in the aisle.

  You say, "Jim, your feet are in the aisle."

  If Jim does not move his feet you repeat the statement.

  If there is no response still, give information about his behaviour. "Jim, someone will trip over your feet when they try to get by." Students need to know the consequences of their behaviour.

• Avoid Commands
  Better behaviour can be achieved by avoiding using commands all the time. "Sit down!", "Be quiet!", "Stand!" are all commands that tend to be ignored the more they are issued. Make the student understand what behaviour is being requested by making them think about it.

  e.g.

  You want a student to sit down. You order her to her seat by saying, "Sit!" twice and are ignored.

  Say, "Cyndi, your seat." This causes Cyndi to think "What about my seat? . . . Oh, I'm supposed to be in it. . . . I'd better sit down." You are directing her attention to the problem so that she can tell herself what to do.

• Give Real Choices
  Better behaviour can be achieved through giving students real choices. A real choice engages co-operation. A real choice does not include a threat.

  e.g.

  Two students are good friends and never seem to stop talking.

  The threat choice is: "You have a choice: Either you stop talking or I'm changing your seats."

  The real choice first acknowledges the situation, "It's hard to sit near a good friend and not talk." Now offer a solution that puts them in control. "You can sit beside each other and restrain yourselves, or you can change seats so you won't be tempted to talk. . . . Let me know what you want to do by tomorrow's class."

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