Classroom Management - Common Mistakes in Classroom Behavior Management

Common Mistakes in Classroom Behavior Management

In an effort to maintain order in the classroom, sometimes teachers can actually make the problems worse. Therefore, it is important to consider some of the basic mistakes commonly made when implementing classroom behavior management strategies. For example, a common mistake made by teachers is to define the problem behavior by how it looks without considering its function.Barbetta, P., Norona, K. & Bicard, D. (2005). Classroom behavior management: A dozen common mistakes and what to do instead. Preventing School Failures. Vol. 49, Issue 3, p 11-19.

Interventions are more likely to be effective when they are individualized to address the specific function of the problem behavior. Two students with similar looking misbehavior may require entirely different intervention strategies if the behaviors are serving different functions. Teachers need to understand that they need to be able to change the ways they do things from year to year, as the children change. Not every approach works for every child. Teachers need to learn to be flexible. Another common mistake is for the teacher to become increasingly frustrated and negative when an approach is not working.Barbetta, P., Norona, K. & Bicard, D. (2005). Classroom behavior management: A dozen common mistakes and what to do instead. Preventing School Failures. Vol. 49, Issue 3, p 11-19.

The teacher may raise his or her voice or increase adverse consequences in an effort to make the approach work. This type of interaction may impair the teacher-student relationship. Instead of allowing this to happen, it is often better to simply try a new approach.

Inconsistency in expectations and consequences is an additional mistake that can lead to dysfunction in the classroomBarbetta, P., Norona, K. & Bicard, D. (2005). Classroom behavior management: A dozen common mistakes and what to do instead. Preventing School Failures. Vol. 49, Issue 3, p 11-19. Teachers must be consistent in their expectations and consequences to help ensure that students understand that rules will be enforced. To avoid this, teachers should communicate expectations to students clearly and be sufficiently committed to the classroom management procedures to enforce them consistently.