In our last article on behaviour, we had a look at the link between positive behaviour and student success.

However, it would be good to assess some tangible strategies that teachers and tutors alike can implement in order to foster positive behaviour amongst their students.

Setting clear expectations

This helps to eliminate doubts and also set targets.

Students might present with challenging behaviours because the expected classroom behaviours have not been explicitly stated or taught – this is especially common with SEN (Special Educational Needs) students.

Therefore, clear visual cues through posters or pictures and inclusive language helps students quickly understand what behaviours are expected of them in the classroom.

This helps get everyone ‘on the same page.’

Consistency

If students know what to expect, more often than not, they will follow through.

We have also touched on this in previous articles, but acknowledgement and positive affirmations are crucial too.

Positively acknowledging attempts that students make toward their target behaviours, helps not only build positive classroom environments, but environments in which students are courageous, resilient and determined.

Evaluation

This is also essential! Evaluate the merit of each strategy regularly to ensure that it is working the way it should be. If things are, then great, but if they aren’t, there is nothing wrong with switching it up to see if this makes a change, or indeed, throwing out the whole playbook and starting from scratch!

Further Reading: Joshua Prieur – 13 Ways to Create a Positive Learning Environment in Your Classroom (Prodigy)