Indicator 50 – Rules and Consequences

Planning

Structuring the Class

Indicator 50 – Rules and Consequences

UETS 3 – The teacher works with learners to create environments that support individual and collaborative learning, positive social interactions, active engagement in learning, and self-motivation.

Effective teachers establish classroom rules for positive as well as negative behaviors. They make sure students understand the rules and know that consequences will be applied consistently when rules are broken. Effective teachers know that disruptive behavior decreases when clear limits and standards are set for student behavior. Differentiation of a management system allows for the varied behavioral needs of students to be met. Effective teachers differentiate the behavioral expectations and consequences for specific students, for specific reasons. Analyzing behavioral data and making appropriate modifications is a regular practice of effective teachers.

IDEAS/SUGGESTIONS:

Be prepared to show a daily schedule that is shared in one of the following ways:

- Posted in the room, clearly visible to all
- Included in a blog or class website
- Posted as part of an online course management system
- Shared calendar

Be prepared to show written rules.

- Rules may be presented to students in one of the following ways:
  - Posted in the room
  - Included in a disclosure statement
  - Presented as a lesson
  - Distributed to students as a handout
- Rules should prevent or encourage behavior by clearly stating student expectations:
  - Limit rules to a number that you and the student can readily remember (no more than 5)
  - If you need more than five rules, do not post more than five at any one time. Instead, replace an older rule with a new rule when one has become necessary. The rule you replaced can be retained as an “unwritten” rule which students are still responsible for.
  - Display rules with pictures for young or non-reading students.
- At the beginning of the school year, involve students in determining class rules.

Be prepared to show consequences that correspond to the rules and should include consequences for following, as well as for breaking the rules. Consequences may be academic or behavioral in nature. The best consequences are reasonable and logical. The consequences should follow from the behavior. Present consequences to students in one of the following ways:

- Posted in the room
- Included in a disclosure statement
- Presented as a lesson
- Distributed to students as a handout

Be prepared to show that students have acknowledged rules and consequences in any of the following ways:

- A signed rule/consequence poster
- A signed disclosure statement
- A list of rules with student signatures
- A note from parents acknowledging that they have discussed the rules with their children including parent and student signatures
- A check by younger students’ names to show they were present in class on a day rules were talked about

Be prepared to show a differentiated management plan for individual and/or groups of students. Strategies may include:

- Strategically planned seating arrangements
- Grouping students according to specific needs
- Placing students on a point system or behavior contract
- Identifying specific consequences based on individual student needs

Be prepared to show evidence for student involvement in management, such as:

- A job chart
- Student-led activities
- Student responsibilities for daily routines and procedures
- Classroom meeting agenda/schedule for students to discuss classroom successes or problems

Be prepared to show data collected to determine necessary modifications to the differentiated management plan (see #5 above). Data can be collected in one of the following ways:

- Anecdotal notes
- Tracking of daily behavior
- Tallying off-task behavior
- Student self-assessment
- Records from an online behavior management tool/application
- Tracking on a level system

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