Published in Kairaranga, 2012, Vol 13, No.

1, Pp 16-23

Evidence-Based Classroom Behaviour Management Strategies

Barry S Parsonson PhD

Ministry of Education-Special Education

Hawke’s Bay Region

Abstract: This paper reviews a range of evidence-based strategies for application by

teachers to reduce disruptive and challenging behaviours in their classrooms. These

include a number of antecedent strategies intended to help minimise the emergence of

problematic behaviours and a range of those which provide positive consequences for

appropriate student behaviours. Also included is information on teacher feedback and

a review of strategies for enhancing teacher-student relationships. The approaches

covered by the paper are consistent with those of the Ministry of Education’s Positive

Behaviour for Learning (PB4L) initiatives.

Introduction: Behaviour problems in a classroom increase the stress levels for both

the teacher and pupils, disrupt the flow of lessons and conflict with both learning

objectives and the processes of learning. They also change the classroom dynamic as

the focus of attention shifts from the academic tasks at hand to the distractions

provided by disruptive behaviours. Typically, one or two pupils are identifiable as

‘problems’, sometimes they act in ways that compound management difficulties by

inciting each other and, possibly, others in the class into disruptive activities. The

usual response to problematic behaviour is to identify the child(ren) involved as ‘the

problem’, to focus on them as a source of “trouble” and to devise strategies

specifically to deal with their inappropriate behaviour.

pupils and their interrelationships, the equipment, books, classroom environment and

a range of activities which all interact to influence the behaviour of the room’s

inhabitants. To complicate things further, both teacher and pupils bring into class

experiences and issues from the wider ecological systems in which they live and

function, e.g., the rest of the school community, home, family/whanau, community

and the wider world. Simply targeting interventions at individual children in the

classroom may not actually solve a classroom behaviour problem. Indeed, focusing on

individuals may lead one to ignore examination of systemic problems in teacher-pupil

relations, the management and teaching styles of the teacher, the curriculum and the

skills required by students to access it, the order in which activities are scheduled, and

a whole host of other aspects of the classroom and wider school ecology. It also has to

be remembered that children bring to school all sorts of concerns, distresses, reactions

and patterns of behaviour established, permitted and supported outside of the

classroom itself. Thus, targeting a child as “the problem” may divert one’s attention

from a careful examination of the classroom ecology or that of the wider school and

the family and community environments within which the school is embedded.

Equally, children learn to discriminate the behaviours required in a variety of settings

and thus can learn to behave differently if appropriate and desired behaviours are

signalled, encouraged and supported in any given setting. This is not to say that issues

around individual children should be ignored, but rather that their behaviour has to be

viewed in context, as a function of interactions which shape and maintain it and it

needs to be assessed against the background of the environment in which it occurs. To

place “problem behaviour” in context, 88% of a sample of 42 New Zealand teachers

responding to a questionnaire rated classroom mismanagement as “sometimes” or

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“very often” a cause of problematic classroom behaviour (Johansen, Little, & Akin-

Little, 2011). Of concern was the fact that many of these teachers had had minimal

pre-service training in behaviour management and in-service professional

development was considered by some to be of little benefit or not commonly offered.

Behaviour Management Strategies: Strategies to manage or change behaviour in

schools can involve school-wide, classroom-based or individual child-focused

interventions, the focus of this paper is on classroom-based interventions derived from

Applied Behaviour Analysis (ABA), which involves the application of the principles

of operant conditioning (Skinner, 1953) to socially relevant human behaviours (Baer,

Wolf, & Risley, 1968). Over the past 44 years the application of ABA to classroom

behaviour management has demonstrated the efficacy of a wide variety of

interventions which involve use of both antecedent and contingency management

strategies which can be used by classroom teachers to create positive and functional

learning environments which minimise disruptive behaviours and reward engagement

and achievement. Several of these effective strategies are outlined below.

1. Classroom Strategies: If the study by Johansen, Little and Akin-Little (2011) cited

above accurately represents teacher awareness that poor classroom management is an

important factor associated with disruptive behaviour, then it would follow that

interventions which target teaching skills and classroom behaviour management have

the potential to produce significant impacts on disruptive behaviour. According to the

Elton Report (1989, cited in the Office for Standards in Education, Children’s

Services and Skills 2005, section 65, p.15), it was estimated that in the United

Kingdom 80% of disruptive behaviour was attributable “to poor classroom

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organization, planning and teaching”. According to the Elton Report, British teachers

reported behaviours such as talking out of turn, and other forms of persistent low-

level disruption as the most frequent and stress inducing because of their constantly

disruptive effect on both classroom activities and the teaching-learning process.

Important factors identified related to teacher confidence and competence, their

ability to engage children in the curriculum and for teachers to have good group

management skills so that the class focus was on appropriate behaviour.

Effective teaching and positively functioning classrooms with low levels of disruptive

behaviour require planning and consistency. Factors which have been found to

contribute to these outcomes identified in a literature review by Kern and Clemens

(2007) are:

• Clear, simple rules and expectations which are consistently and fairly applied;

• Predictability of events and activities through establishing routines, information,

cues and signals about forthcoming transitions and changes, as well as for content,

duration, and consequences for activities;

• Frequent use of praise, both verbal and non-verbal. Teacher praise has

demonstrated effects on both those earning it and those nearby. Verbal praise should

be specific and descriptive. Teachers should try to provide a child with at least four

praise statements for every reprimand;

• Because Disruptive behaviour is often associated with learning deficits, t ask

difficulty needs to be monitored. All students need to have the required entry skills

and ability to successfully engage in assigned activities. Participation and learning can

only follow successful access to the curriculum and encouragement to sustain activity;

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• Opportunities to respond and participate in the classroom activities, to use the

materials and to respond to requests must be inclusive of all children in the class.

Strategies to increase the engagement of all students include having everybody write

answers to some teacher questions rather than just seeking one correct response;

• Seating arrangements: For older students (10 years and above) seating in rows

works better than group seating;

• Effective instructions and commands need to be preceded by getting the pupils’

attention, and then presented clearly one at a time as “do’s”, in a firm (not angry)

voice, with time to comply and praise for compliance. Precise, specific, direct and

paced (one-at-a-time) instructions delivered in a calm and quiet voice, followed by

praise for compliance have been found most effective;

• Sequencing of activities, so that easy and brief tasks are interspersed with longer

and more demanding ones, enhances engagement and learning as well as reducing

disruption. Preceding difficult activities with a few simple ones has been found to

enhance transition to a new activity as has scheduling active learning after breaks

before moving on to more passive activities so that children have time to adapt to

quieter routines;

• Pace of instruction is best if it is brisk. This can be achieved by increasing rate

of instruction or decreasing the pauses between student response and the presentation

of the next task. Increased pace needs to be managed so that students do not lose

opportunities to respond and access reinforcement;

• Choice and access to preferred activities increases engagement and reduces

problem behaviour. Using children’s own special interests as the basis for activities

can significantly increase engagement.

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While these elements may each present as common knowledge to teachers, the

consistent and skilled application of them as a systematically used package of

effective teaching strategies is what increases the probability of enhanced learning

and reduced problematic behaviour. To assist teachers with particular management

problems it is sometime necessary to implement specific interventions.

2. Effective Specific Classroom-wide interventions include:

Teacher performance feedback: Providing teachers with clear guidelines and

strategies for effective teaching, accompanied by written performance feedback plus

graphed data and consultation meetings was used by DiGennaro, Martens, and

Kleinmann (2007). A skilled observer checked on the integrity of the teacher’s

compliance with the agreed behaviour management programme. Written feedback on

both student behaviour and teacher accuracy in implementing the programme was

more effective than feedback on student behaviour alone, especially when high

compliance enabled the teacher to avoid attending the after-class feedback session.

Performance feedback which is based on compliance data has also been shown by

others (e.g., Noell, Witt, LaFleur et al., 2000) to reliably improve teacher skills and

compliance with agreed programme goals.

Performance feedback can be used to assist teachers to change how they relate with

children and which behaviours they attend to. Attending to appropriate behaviours

with praise, smiles, positive feedback, and classroom reward systems enhances such

behaviour, so represents a simple and easily introduced intervention. Providing

teachers with feedback on how effectively they are attending to appropriate behaviour

can be an effective way to enhance teachers’ classroom management skills

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(Parsonson, Baer, & Baer, 1974). However, more intensive interventions involving

classroom-based training occasionally are necessary. In addition, monitoring the

quality and quantity of a teacher’s verbal interactions with challenging students can

provide an important insight into those teacher behaviours that trigger problematic

behaviours (Sutherland, Lewis-Palmer, Stichter, & Morgan, 2008; Swinson & Knight,

2007). Providing feedback on such exchanges and working with the teacher to

develop more appropriate modes of interaction, including use of praise and positive

comments, is an important way of reducing challenges and increasing on-task

behaviour.

Classroom-based Training: If additional teacher training is necessary, the data

suggest that instructions, rehearsal, prompts, modelling of appropriate responses,

performance feedback and praise for accurate responding provide an effective

combination for enhancing teacher behaviour management skills and teaching

effectiveness (e.g., Cossairt, Hall & Hopkins, 1973; Sarokoff & Sturmey, 2004).

Preliminary observations set the scene for working with the teacher to identify targets

for training. Planning exactly what will be done using clear and simple guidelines,

directly observing and engaging with the teacher through prompts (e.g., “try this”

“remember to do X”), modelling what to do by way of demonstration, and providing

data-based feedback and praise have been shown by the above authors to produce

rapid and large improvements in teacher and, consequently, student behaviour.

Most studies of classroom feedback to teachers have used methods that are less than

immediate, however, a recent series of experiments, using bug-in-the-ear and webcam

technology, conducted by Scheeler and colleagues and reviewed in their recent paper

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(Scheeler, McKinnon, & Stout, 2011) shows promise in providing direct feedback. In

this study, the authors were able to provide feedback from remote locations to trainee

special education teachers in the classroom with beneficial effects on their teaching

performance and some evidence of transfer to non-feedback conditions. This

approach holds promise for the application of the technology to in-service

professional development for teachers in implementing behaviour strategies.

Bringing experienced teachers into the classroom to assist in the development of

classroom management skills through goal-setting, feedback and praise also has been

shown to be effective in enhancing teaching skills and in improving student academic

performance. One such study (Gillat & Sulzer-Azaroff, 1994), which involved

principals trained to perform as role models, showed significant changes in teacher

goal-setting and use of praise in the form of attention (both verbal and non-verbal)

and student enhanced performance as a result of such visits. The principals’ use of

positive classroom behaviour management strategies also improved as a result of the

training and role-modelling responsibilities.

Class-wide incentives: Because low-level disruption can be endemic and stress

inducing as well as a potential launching pad for more problematic classroom

behaviours, interventions focusing on the whole class can be more effective than

targeting individuals. There are numerous programmes in the research literature,

including token economies and prize draws to increase appropriate behaviours.

Competitions such as the “Good Behaviour Game”, noise reduction programmes

using feedback systems, such as the Yakker-Tracker® and behaviour and transition

management using rules, signalling and positive consequences all represent options.

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Token economies, which use points or tokens that can be traded for access to a variety

of rewards, including activities or inexpensive items, have been used effectively to

manage behaviour in classrooms for many years (Sulzer-Azaroff & Mayer, 1991).

Because token systems take time to set up and run, one simple variation is to use the

tokens as ‘tickets’ in a class ‘lotto’. Academic or social behaviour that complies with

posted criteria is rewarded with a ‘ticket’ on which the teacher writes the child’s

name. The ‘ticket’ is handed to the child and specific descriptive praise (child’s name,

behaviour that earned it, and praise) is given simultaneously. The child places this in a

bag or box. At the end of the session or school day there is a draw for a mystery prize.

Children soon learn (or can have explained to them) that the more ‘tickets’ they earn,

the greater the chance of winning (this example can be used as an exercise in maths).

It is important to vary the prizes. One option is to have a “lucky dip” with a range of

inexpensive mystery prizes such as pencils, fancy rubbers, small boxes of raisins or

decorative stickers.

The “Good Behaviour Game” (Barrish, Saunders, & Wolf, 1969; Harris, & Sherman,

1973; Kleinman & Saigh, 2011; Medland, & Stachnik, 1972;) has been used

effectively to manage classroom behaviour by reducing disruptive behaviour. The

“game” involves establishing a small number of explicit rules which set out broad

positive behaviour expectations (e.g., respect others, solve problems responsibly,

manage yourself) and define these in terms of the daily settings and routines of the

classroom as in Figure 1 below adapted from Fairbanks, Sugai, Guardino, and

Lathrop (2007).

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 Respect Others Solve Problems Responsibly Manage Yourself
1. Say nice things or no 1.Be fair and share 1. Staying in seat
things
2. Look at the teacher during 2.Consider others’ feelings 2. Talking only
instructions when it is OK
3. Be a good listener 3.Think of ways everybody 3. Following
can feel good in the end directions first time
4. Have safe hands and feet 4. Stay friends 4. Ask teacher’s
permission first

Figure 1. An example of broad classroom rules and specific expectations.

These rules are listed and posted where pupils can read them. The class is divided into

at least two teams (class groups can be used as teams) and team points are awarded

for rule compliance. The team is praised each time its points are posted on the

blackboard throughout the session or school day. A criterion is set for the number of

points required for a team to obtain a reward and both teams can “win” if they exceed

the criterion. Initially, the criterion for a reward may be set at a level the class can

easily achieve and then gradually be increased as the game takes effect. Rewards can

involve access to in-class games or activities, early release at a break or sports

activities in the playground or for points towards some special event, such as a

winning-team pizza at the end of the week. The research shows that the game resulted

in consistently low levels of classroom disruption and that pupils applied peer

pressure to the more disruptive members of their teams to reduce their disruptive

behaviour in order for the team to have a chance to win. A variation is to have the

game operating on a session-to-session or activity-to-activity basis and to reward the

team with the most points with access to a brief fun activity. At the end of the day

there is a “prize” for the winning team which has accumulated the most points across

the day. The game can gradually be replaced with teacher positive attention and praise

for rule compliance so that the more natural consequences of classroom support of

good behaviour are established.

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Noise management: Reduction of noise levels in the classroom can help to make the

learning environment more effective within a classroom and for classes in adjacent

rooms. While complete silence is no longer considered appropriate or desirable,

excessive noise is identified as a teacher stressor and probably impacts on learning.

Wilson and Hopkins (1973) used a sound level device to control noise intensity in a

classroom to which children brought their favourite music tapes. Once classroom

noise levels exceeded a preset level, the device turned off the music. This was

effective in significantly reducing classroom noise. The device known as the “Yakker-

Tracker®” has also been used in local classrooms to manage noise levels. The teacher

can set the decibel level and the device signals the noise level via green (OK), yellow

(a little over) and red (far too high) to the class and teacher on noise compliance.

Rewards for compliance can be based on keeping the green light on for a required

time or by limiting the number of yellow and red light signals to less than a set

number.

Managing transitions: Because modern open-plan classrooms encourage group

activities that involve discussion, sharing of equipment and moving around, they tend

to be noisier and more active than traditional classrooms. In addition, teaching in

groups, delivering instruction on the “mat” and a diversity of ability and skill among

pupils requiring provision of individual instruction, may all impose limitations on a

teacher’s ability to directly control behaviour class-wide. Managing behaviour and

transitions can be assisted by establishing a few clear rules for expected behaviour

during each of the various groups’ activities in the daily class programme and for

transitions between them. Fudge, Skinner, Williams, et al. (2008) found that use of

colour coded rules and a matching signalling system to show which rules are in effect

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at any given time provided pupils with an easy guide to which standards of behaviour

applied to their assigned activity. This enabled the students to comply more easily and

to remain on-task during transitions. The system also had the benefit of being pre-

emptive, allowing the teacher to prompt students to check the relevant expectations

and to praise compliance instead of remonstrating with those who breached them.

Enhancing engagement: Increasing student engagement in academic activities by

changing the way that teachers elicit answers to questions are represents an option for

enhancing wider participation in some components of the curriculum. Gardner,

Heward, and Grossi, (1994) compared the usual hand-raising and response approach

to answering teacher questions directed at the class with a response card option, in

which all students wrote a one to two word response to teacher questions in a science

class. The use of response cards resulted in a 14-fold increase in active student

responding compared with hand-raising which tended to target only a few students.

Increased student engagement in academic activities is an important component of

increased on-task and appropriate behaviour in classrooms and it provides greater

opportunities for access to higher rates of teacher praise and approval which add to

positive behaviour management and a positive classroom atmosphere.

Peer support: Studies of peer control of reinforcement (Solomon & Wahler, 1973),

use of peers as “aides” (Loos, Williams, & Bailey, 1977) and pupil self-evaluation

strategies for on-task behaviour (e.g., Glynn, Thomas, & Shee, 1973) are all examples

of engaging pupils in their own behaviour management. This can effectively support

teacher applied consequences as part of a classroom behaviour programme. In

addition, it is important to develop and encourage self-management skills in pupils so

12
that they can increasingly take responsibility for themselves. One strategy used by

Seymour and Stokes (1976) was to train adolescent girls to evaluate the quality of

their work and to then invite the teacher to give them feedback on it. Self –recording

and teacher feedback enhanced the quality of work and resulted in increased teacher

praise. Stokes, Fowler and Baer (1978) were able extend this self-management

approach by training 4-6-year-olds to evaluate their work and to prompt appropriately

for teacher comment about work quality. This had the result of providing them with

increased positive teacher attention and praise. The children were trained to moderate

their prompts to 2-3 per session to avoid being regarded as “pests” by the teacher.

Given that teacher attention and praise function as reinforcers of the targeted

behaviour, teaching the children to effectively prompt positive teacher attention gave

them a means of enhancing their access to this source of natural classroom

reinforcement. It also created opportunities to change teacher attitudes toward

children considered as “problems” by increasing the teacher’s focus on their

appropriate behaviour.

Relationship building: Many years ago Barker and Gump (1964) showed that as

schools get larger the potential for student anonymity, non-recognition, alienation or

non-engagement increase. As a consequence, interpersonal relationships between

students and their teachers take on a greater significance. Also, because teacher

attention functions as a reinforcer, building positive relationships with pupils is an

important antecedent strategy that can serve to reduce disruptive behaviour and

enhance on-task behaviour and student achievement (Sutherland, Lewis-Palmer,

Stichter, & Morgan, 2008). For example, Allday and Pakurar (2007) found that, for

three disruptive pupils aged 12-14 years, teacher greetings at the classroom door

13
which included use of the student’s name and a positive comment, were sufficient to

increase their on-task behaviour from an average of 45% to an average of 75% in a

relatively short time. In a similarly focused study, Patterson (2009) demonstrated that

teacher greeting and personally-focused small talk ahead of class produced dramatic

reductions in a high school student’s out-of-seat attention seeking in the classroom.

These findings from two simple and practical interventions in a classroom support the

findings of Gregory and Ripski (2008) on the relationship between adolescents’ trust

in their teachers and student behaviour in classrooms. The importance of teacher–

pupil relationships as mediators and determinants in the behavioural trajectories of

primary school children were also demonstrated by O’Connor, Dearing and Collins

(2011). They found that development and display of externalizing behaviour problems

(e.g., disruption, non-compliance, aggression) were correlated with low quality of

teacher-child relationship. In addressing teacher-pupil relationships, Alderman and

Green (2011) have identified and described four basic “power” strategies that teachers

can use to enhance student relationships and classroom control. These are: “Coercive

Power”, which involves the teacher’s judicious use of authority to achieve behaviour

change. It includes modes of correction, classroom points systems and supportive

interactions intended to change behaviour; “Manipulative Social Power”, in which the

teacher uses subtle strategies such as giving behaviour choices, options for task

completion, self-monitoring, introducing interesting activities to motivate, and

increasing probability of success in academic activities; “Expertness Social Power”

involves providing academic support that helps students overcome problems that they

cannot solve on their own, which is supported by the teacher’s active listening and

then identifying potential resources or sources that will assist the student; and,

“Likability Social Power”, this is based on the teacher’s use of their own personal

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characteristics, such as enthusiasm, interest, humour and warmth to encourage

positive behaviour in pupils. Alderman and Green set out examples of how to apply

these strategies to effect positive changes in student behaviour and to enhance

teacher-pupil relationships. They note that many teachers fail to use all of these

strategies in effective ways and that some rely too heavily on coercive or

manipulative power to try to achieve behaviour change.

What these latter studies demonstrate is that relationship building with all of the

pupils in the classroom represents a potentially effective antecedent strategy to reduce

challenging and disruptive behaviour. Teachers who support and encourage all of the

students in their classroom effectively, and who identify and target appropriate and

desired behaviours with positive reinforcement, increase the likelihood of their being

effective classroom behaviour managers.

Summary and Conclusions: The aim of this paper has been to offer teachers and

teacher advisors a range of evidence-based interventions intended to anticipate and

limit problematic behaviours (antecedent strategies) and to encourage and support

appropriate behaviour by students (contingency management). All of the strategies

described in this paper are consistent with, and complementary to, the New Zealand

Ministry of Education’s Positive Behaviour for Learning (PB4L) school-wide positive

behaviour strategy (cf. Anderson & Kinkaid, 2005; George, White & Schlaffer, 2007;

Hieneman, Dunlap & Kincaid, 2005; Muscott, Mann & Le Brun, 2008; Sugai &

Horner, 2002).

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Antecedent strategies involve pre-planned, intentional use of classroom behaviour

management procedures that reduce the likelihood of problematic behaviours

occurring. Their application is intended to anticipate, and thus limit, disruption, non-

compliance and task avoidance by students. Too often, teachers can create or maintain

problematic classroom behaviour by relying too heavily on reactive management

strategies. In some schools, the use of reactive strategies, such as detentions, removal

from class and office referrals, continues even when teachers are aware of their

ineffectiveness. Use of positive reinforcement is essential to encourage and maintain

appropriate behaviour and academic learning. Some teachers resist use of

reinforcement in the belief that extrinsic rewards reduce students’ “intrinsic

motivation” to engage in an activity. It is important to appreciate that children learn

the intrinsic value of activities through effective teaching of skills allowing them to

access and enjoy the activity, supported by initial exposure to the extrinsic rewards

provided by teachers for developing and displaying the relevant skills. For example,

once a child can read, interesting text and pictures provide the “intrinsic”

reinforcement that maintains reading behaviour. Children for whom reading is a

challenge are less likely to access those intrinsic reinforcers and may well find

reading a punishing activity.

Although it was the last topic to be covered in this paper, positive relationship

building with all pupils may well be the first and most important strategy for teachers

to attend to, closely followed by effective instructional methods, simple and clear

classroom rules, clear boundaries, and a strong focus on attending positively to

desired and appropriate student behaviours. By using a combination of antecedent-

and consequence-based behavioural interventions, teachers can help to create a

16
positive classroom environment, enhanced student engagement and more effective

learning opportunities. At the same time teachers can reduce their stress and increase

the enjoyment of their teaching and their students’ enjoyment of their daily learning

experiences.

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