Correcting Misbehavior Consistently, Calmly, And Respectfully

Protect, Expect, Connect and Correct

Proactive strategies increase responsible student behavior

– Structuring common areas for student success

– Teaching students to behave responsibly in common areas

– Ensuring that supervisors in common areas use the essential proactive supervision skills of protect, expect, and connect

Even when proactive strategies are well implemented, students will still misbehave.

Essential supervision skills for responding effectively to student misbehavior

 Correcting misbehavior consistently, calmly, and respectfully  Using productive corrections/responses when students misbehave  Preventing/dealing thoughtfully with student non-compliance

Correcting Misbehavior Consistently, Calmly, and Respectfully

1. An effective supervisor corrects misbehavior Consistently. An effective supervisor corrects misbehavior consistently – What correcting consistently means Ensuring that every observed misbehavior receives a response Ensuring that responses to similar misbehaviors are the same – From student to student – From day to day – From supervisor to supervisor

– Not responding sends a message that the expectation is not important. – Engaging in misbehavior but not getting caught is potentially reinforcing to students. – Inconsistent responses create intermittent reinforcement for students

1 – The most powerful kind of reinforcement – Inconsistent responses may result in “fairness” issues.

Tips for supervisors on how to correct consistently • DO SOMETHING! – Responding in some way is more important than how you respond

2. An effective supervisor corrects misbehavior calmly. Responding to misbehavior in an unemotional manner

Why correcting misbehavior calmly is important – Emotional adult responses are inappropriate models for students. – Emotional adult responses may escalate the emotional intensity of a misbehaving student. – Emotional adult responses increase the likelihood of adult-student power struggles – Emotional adult responses are very reinforcing for some students

– Tips for supervisors on how to correct calmly • Remind yourself, “I am the adult in this situation.” • Don’t take it personally. • Take a few seconds to think before you respond. • Consider the misbehavior a teaching opportunity.

3. An effective supervisor corrects misbehavior respectfully. • Responding, as much as possible, in way that treats students with dignity and respect – Using respectful words, tone of voice, body language – Keeping the responses as private as possible/reasonable

Correcting Misbehavior Consistently, Calmly, and Respectfully

• Respectful adult responses model appropriate behavior for students. • Respectful adult responses contribute to a positive school climate. • Respectful adult responses foster student cooperation and compliance. • Respectful adult responses allow students to “save face” in front of peers.

2 Correcting Misbehavior Consistently, Calmly, and Respectfully – Tips for supervisors on how to correct respectfully • Get the student’s attention; quietly say, “I need to speak to you.” • When other students are around, go to the misbehaving student and explain that you need to speak to him/her. • When correcting a student, position yourself in a non-confrontational stance. – That allows you to continue supervising other students – That keeps the misbehaving student from making eye contact with other students

Using Productive Corrections/Responses When Students Misbehave An effective supervisor will have a “menu” of productive responses to student misbehavior—appropriate for a variety of situations. – Gentle reprimands – Quick reprimand or “one-liner” o A brief statement of the positive expectation o Useful when time is short, the problem is minor, and/or the supervisor is unsure what else to do

– Instructional reprimand o An explanative statement (may be more lengthy than a one-liner) o Useful when a student needs more information/rationale about the expectation

– Humorous reprimand o A “disarming” response that avoids direct confrontation o Useful when humor is a natural part of the supervisor’s interactions with students o IMPORTANT—Avoid humiliation or ridicule!

– Relationship reprimand o A brief response based on an established relationship between adult and student o Useful when a student is likely to behave “for” the supervisor – Brief delay o Telling a student, “Stay where you are and think about [the particular expectation].” o Useful when a student is “en route” – Positive practice o Having a student demonstrate the expected behavior o “Go back and walk around the game.”

3 o Useful when the misbehavior has a physical component

– Restitution o Having a student “repair” damage that has been done o The student picks up litter that he/she dropped. o The student apologizes to someone he/she harmed in some way. o Useful when there is obvious damage

– Change in location o Having a student move to a different location or operate within a restricted space t o The student has to move to a different table in the cafeteria. o The student is restricted to a limited area of the playground. o Useful when the current location may be a contributing factor – Referral to a more intensive consequence o Writing a Level 2 (moderate) referral* on the student o The student has to go to detention. o The student has to go to the school’s problem-solving room. o Writing a Level 3 (severe) referral* on the student o The student has to go to the office. o *NOTE: Foundations recommendations regarding levels of referrals

Tips for Supervisor when correcting student misbehavior An effective supervisor chooses effective corrections/responses based on the circumstances. – Using as mild a correction/response as fits the misbehavior – Gradually increasing the “severity” level of the correction/response when a student misbehaves repeatedly – Remembering that what is done is less important than doing something

Preventing/Dealing Thoughtfully with Student Non-compliance

An effective supervisor conveys an assumption of student compliance. – Using body language and tone of voice to demonstrate that he/she “expects” students to follow directions An effective supervisor is careful when giving directions to a student. – Getting the student’s attention first – Going to the student

4 o Not giving directions from a distance o More likely to be ignored or challenged o Avoiding “squaring off” with the student o Avoiding an “audience” as much as possible – Using clear and simple language o Stating the direction positively o Not framing the direction as a question o Being as brief as possible o Giving only one or two directions at a time o Giving the student reasonable time to respond o Avoiding “staring down” the student

o An effective supervisor responds thoughtfully when a student initially fails to follow a direction. o Using humor o Appealing to cooperation o Using the “broken record” technique o Offering the student a reasonable choice o Letting the student know what will happen if he/she does not follow the direction

...When a Student Initially Fails to Follow a Direction He or she will avoid o Arguing with the student o Escalating the emotional intensity of the situation o Letting the student “get away with it” o Physically trying to make the student comply o Threatening the student with what will happen

An effective supervisor responds thoughtfully if a student continues to not follow a direction. – Informing the student that the supervisor will follow up on the matter – Recording what has happened – Completing a referral form – Discussing the situation (and sharing any records) with one’s immediate supervisor and/or Foundations Team representative