Tips for Learning and Teaching

• Students work best in organised, structured environments in which materials and equipment are neatly arranged and presented in a predictable way.
• Establishing good relationships based on trust is important. Be empathetic.
• Label the behaviour and not the student.
• Tactically ignore secondary behaviour.
• Ensure that the curriculum is at the appropriate level for the ability and interests of the student, one where he/she can experience success.
• Use positive rather than negative statements (e.g. ‘Put your hand up if you want to say something’ rather than ‘no talking’).
• Keep statements that relate to behaviour as clear and simple as possible. Avoid multiple commands.
• Use ‘thanks’ to convey an expectation that a request will be complied with (e.g. ‘Looking this way, thanks’).
• Get the student’s attention first, and then continue with the direction (e.g. ‘Jimmy,’ (pause and wait for acknowledgement) ‘sit down please’).
• Utilise catch phrases that relate to key routines. The following are some examples: ‘Four on the floor’ – to get students to sit properly with all four chair legs on the ground. ‘Hands up if you are listening’ – to bring students back to whole-class listening from group work.
• Carefully select rules and consequences and follow through on them consistently. Rules for classroom behaviour can be generated by discussion with students and then displayed in an easily understood format. Augment class rules with visual cues to assist students who may have additional literacy difficulties.
• Devise an individual behaviour-management plan in consultation with multi-disciplinary support. Ideally, the student should be involved in this.
• Implement effective corrective strategies such as time-out or withdrawal of privileges.
• Provide a structured approach to educational experiences.
• Incorporate an element of choice in lesson activities.
• Seek regular clarification of task requirements from the student and check that the student understands them.
• Create opportunities for the student to exhibit positive behaviour.
• Redirect behaviour to more positive activities.
• Explicitly teach social skills and provide opportunities for the students to learn more about their feelings and the feelings of others. Strategies such as role play, class discussion, modelling, cognitive problem solving and Circle Time may be useful in this respect.
• Foster a supportive classroom atmosphere in which all students are valued.
• Avoid dealing with students in a confrontational manner.
• Help students to set targets to improve their behaviour. Provide regular opportunities for students to discuss and evaluate their progress.
• Work with colleagues to develop a whole-school behaviour policy, based on the concept of rights and responsibilities, which has clear rules, routines and consequences.
• Catch the student being good and reward appropriate behaviour consistently, using praise, points, etc. The following table gives examples of phrases that can be used to praise students; they are also phrases that we can give to students to praise one another.

More than 100 Ways to Say Well Done