Duration: 22:11
About the teachers
Kellie Nicholson has been teaching Years 7 to 12 in metropolitan contexts for 20 years.
Niall Heron has taught Foundation to Year 6 in metropolitan contexts for 18 years.
Rachel Morrison has been teaching for a year and has taught Years 2 and 3 in a rural context. She previously worked in school administration.
Transcript
Kellie Nicholson, Head of Department, Science & IT, Woodcrest State College: Effectively responding to disruptive behaviours ensures a safe and supportive environment and a calm environment for students to learn in.
Niall Heron, classroom teacher, Briar Road Public School: When you respond to behaviour with a calm, controlled manner in the classroom, the children feed off that and that keeps them calm.
Rachel Morrison, classroom teacher, Renmark Primary School: Having a range of responses for disengaged behaviour, it really kind of comes down to what the behaviour is and what kind of correction it needs. Really, that just comes down to what relationships and connections you have with your students and knowing what responses are going to work for them.
Niall Heron: I monitor students throughout the lesson by pausing and scanning and circulating.
Kellie Nicholson: If a student was disengaged, I would start off by using a non-verbal correction to give the student an opportunity to re-engage and meet the expectations.
Rachel Morrison: If that hasn't provided the desirable outcome, or it's more beneficial, I'll use a verbal correction.
Niall Heron: If a student or a group of students aren't meeting the expectations I've set for them in the class, or they've not responded to a verbal or non-verbal correction, I'll go and ask if I can help them with anything. Then, I'll present them with a choice of what they can then do.
Kellie Nicholson: If a student decides to not make a positive choice, I'll then implement a consequence.
Niall Heron: When you go from non-verbal to verbal to then giving a choice to the child, it gives them ample opportunity to turn that behaviour around. And I'll usually say to that child, when I've given them a verbal or a verbal correction, ‘This is your turn to turn that around now. You can fix this really easily.’ It takes the personal side of correcting a behaviour that the child will see as that's a behaviour needs corrected. They can fix that and they're still okay. They can fix and they're on track again. When you're polite to students and you respond to their behaviour, it immediately deescalates any conflict that there might be. Students will generally respond to that back in a calm way and you can quickly deal with little minor disturbances. Whereas if you responded to one of those louder, maybe a bit more aggressively, the child may all respond to that and escalate.
So, sometimes, if it wasn't too far away – Thank you – they walked up to it, turned it over with their feet. They've not included the one there, but you can have one there.
Maxie, what it is? It's a ...?
Student: It's a faint …
Niall Heron: It's a faint rustling. What that's doing is it's giving you an idea of these poor little feeble birds. For example, how's Storm Boy acting or feeling? What's the mood?
Student: The visitors are, like, hunting over the exit. So that kind of, like, wants the attention …
Niall Heron: Yeah, absolutely. How are we meant to be feeling right now, do you think?
Student: Sad.
Niall Heron: Phrases are to show how the author or how the characters feel and think and what their emotions are, okay? I'm just going to read this out first. If we just leave it first time. Thank you. Both of you together as a team are going to read through this passage. I will read it first to help you with vocabulary and reading. Then you're going to write. We're not going to do that just now though, guys. You're going to put your Textas back down because I'm going to read first. You're going to track with me. Thank you. Beautiful. I'm going to read it first. Track with me … 3 … Good job … 2 … Tapping of your pen when we're working has to stop, okay? Tap, tap, tap. It's making quite a noise and being quite distracting, mate. Just keep it still there, okay? And zero. Beautiful job, guys.
Girls, is everything okay? Okay. Do you need any help getting started? Okay. It's lovely. Just letting you know about chatting since you came in unsettled. You make sure you get on the task at hand or I'm going to move one of you, okay? Beautiful. Thank you.
That's 2 warnings now, girls, okay? I did ask you to stop and you've continued to chat. We're not getting a lot done. One of you is going to have to move. Can you grab your things and go sit over at that table? Thank you. Just make sure you get to work as soon as you go there. Crack back on with that. You could be doing more, okay? Thank you. Let's get going on that, okay? How are we getting on now? Good? Yep, that's much better. Well done. Thank you. Keep it going. Good job.
When I'm monitoring the students throughout the lesson, my consideration is on child safety. Are they all being safe? Then my next focus is on their learning. Are they all maximising their learning time and the learning of the students around them? When I use a non-verbal correction, I'm considering the flow of the lesson. I don't want that interrupted. I also find the non-verbal correction is very good at not pinpointing a child, not making them stand out, and they can just quickly fix what they're doing.
So, sometimes, if it wasn't too far away – Thank you …
When I use a verbal correction, I'm thinking about getting the child to consider the choices they have. I want them re-engaging with the learning.
Then you're going to write. We're not going to do that just now though, guys. You're going to put your Textas back down because I'm going to read first. You're going to track with me. Thank you. Beautiful. I'm going to read it first track …
When I offer students a choice, I'm thinking about making a positive choice, giving the child the opportunity to re-meet the expectations that were posed at the beginning of the lesson.
Girls, is everything okay? Okay. Do you need any help getting started? Okay, lovely. Just letting you know about chatting since you came in unsettled. You make sure you get on with the task at hand or I'm going to move one of you, okay? Beautiful. Thank you.
When I have to implement a consequence, I'm thinking about respect for the child and I'm thinking about doing that as quietly as possible to that child. When a student doesn't respond to a consequence, primarily, I'll be thinking about safety for themselves, for the other students. Is there the potential that I need to escalate the consequence further? And that might involve implementing the school's behavioural policy. When you respond to students in a polite and calm way, it forges more of a positive bond with them. They see you as someone who's not there to victimise, to pick on, and who's there to support them.
Thank you. Yeah, absolutely. How are we meant to be feeling right now, do you think?
Responding to disruptive behaviours has allowed teaching time to be maximised with the children, time that can give instructions to the children and it's kept a positive atmosphere in the class. The impact on students’ learning has been phenomenal. The students learn more. They're happier in class. They know it's a place they feel safe, which is one of the main goals.
Kellie Nicholson: Responding to disengaged behaviour by using a process, going from non-verbals to verbals to choice, gives students multiple opportunities to re-engage and go back and meet the expectations. I find responding to behaviours in a calm and supportive manner more likely to achieve success in re-engaging the student to the expectations and keeping the situation de-escalated. It's really important that any relationship that has been built with that student can be maintained after the conversation. So always treating students with respect and being polite is the best way to go about ensuring that that relationship remains intact.
Okay, so just a reminder of the expectations in the room. Okay. No sitting, no running, keeping those glasses on our face. Thank you.
You got a big one.
Student: Yeah.
Kellie Nicholson: Okay. So, what's a way that we could write that a bit shorter?
Student: Blade safety. Be careful with knives.
Kellie Nicholson: Can we show some respect to the person talking, please? Thank you.
Student: Be careful with blades.
Kellie Nicholson: Girls. She's doing a great job with her glasses on her face. If we could please remember to keep our safety glasses on our face. Might be that some people have more than one page. Absolutely. Well done. Okay. So, just remember, try not to wave that scalpel around. Okay. Do you reckon that you're up for it?
How are we doing, okay? Over here. Just as a reminder, please. In regards to our rules, can you please put those glasses on your face? Thank you. How are we doing? You just got it. Yeah, you just can grab it. How are we doing over here?
Student: I think I accidentally cut the heart instead of the lungs.
Kellie Nicholson: I have reminded you about your glasses. If you're unable to keep them on your face, I am going to, perhaps, have to ask you to leave the experiment. So, can you please make the right decisions moving forward? Thank you.
Student: Where do I cut?
Kellie Nicholson: Yeah, that means that there's food in there. Like he's probably just had, like, a big meal before, you know, things happened. I have asked you repeatedly to keep those glasses on your face. You've chosen not to. So as a result, I'm going to ask you now to pack up your equipment, put it away and go and take a seat at your bench. Thank you.
How you doing? Thank you very much for following those instructions. Okay. So, what I want you to do is just continue on with some of our work from the class today and do some revision. Do you need a hand with any of that? Okay.
When I'm monitoring students throughout the lesson, I'm considering engagement and I'm considering safety. So, it's my job to ensure a safe, supportive learning environment and that students are able to engage calmly and supportively.
Okay, so just a reminder of the expectations in the room, okay? No sitting, no running, keeping those glasses on our face. Thank you. When considering the verbal corrections, I'm taking into account the situation. There are situations where it would be more beneficial depending on the student, the relationship I have with the student, and whether the behaviours that the student is exhibiting could be causing unsafe – an unsafe environment for the rest of the students will determine how I go about my verbal correction. Okay. So, just remember, try not to wave that scalpel around. Okay. Do you reckon that you're up for it?
Student: Yeah, I'll do it.
Kellie Nicholson: When offering a student a choice, I'm giving them an opportunity to make the right choice and giving them uptake time in order to do so.
I have reminded you about your glasses. If you're unable to keep them on your face, I am going to, perhaps, have to ask you to leave the experiment.
When implementing a consequence, the biggest consideration for me is the safety of the students in the room, including the student that that's involved. So, the utmost important is that safe, supportive environment for students, and it's my job to ensure that I maintain that at all times.
I have asked you repeatedly to keep those glasses on your face. You've chosen not to. So as a result, I'm going to ask you now to pack up your equipment, put it away, and go and take a seat at your bench. Thank you.
My overall classroom management has been impacted by ensuring that the safety of the students is maintained at all times, that the students will always feel supportive and that the classroom is inviting for them.
Rachel Morrison: Responding to behaviour in a calm and planned manner helps me de-escalate a student calmly, quietly, and it's not going to disrupt the class and their learning. So, the use of verbal and non-verbal corrections helps me, if I notice that there's a child that's disengaged, I can de-escalate that behaviour quickly without interrupting the rest of the learning of the class. Offering them a choice will just allow them to really think about what they're doing and getting them to have a little think about what they should be doing. So, most of the time, they'll make the right choice. So, it's just allowing them time and space just to make the choice and move on.
Class: A digraph is 2 letters together that spell a single phoneme.
Rachel Morrison: Okay. Who wants to give me a digraph?
Units like we looked at yesterday to repeat. So, if Mrs Morrison draws a pattern on the board ... Can you pop your hand down? If Mrs Morrison puts a pattern on the board ...
Okay. Waterfalls. Four units, Willow. Fantastic.
Student: Four units?
Rachel Morrison: Thank you. Okay. Now that …
Coloured Textas or pencils to complete this sheet. Thank you.
Student: Circle, circle, triangle, circle.
Rachel Morrison: Sitta. Have a little think about it. Really look at that pattern. To complete this sheet, you're going to need a pencil. So, there's pencils in the pencil pots, okay? You'll also – I'm still talking, so can I have eyes on me, please? You're going to need a pencil. If your pattern has colours ...
Thank you all for sitting there nicely and ready for our lesson to start. So, if you've got something in your hands, I'd like you to keep it still and not let it distract you too much, okay? Great. Okay. So, we're going to start with our sounds.
Are you okay there? Yep. Is that going to distract you? Okay. If it's going to be distracting you, you're going to have to pop it on my desk, all right? Okay. Awesome. Okay, we've got OI and OY.
Student: Boil.
Rachel Morrison: Boil. That's a good one. Can you please pop that on my desk? Thank you. Okay, another one.
Student: Soil.
Rachel Morrison: Soil. Fantastic.
So, can we start with the back row? Can you nicely please go and stand in a line and grab your whiteboard, marker and a cloth? Thank you for listening to me when I said that. Good choice.
Student: When I get up, do I just put it in my lap?
Rachel Morrison: It can stay there for now, okay? Great. Back to your spot.
Continuously monitoring the students, so scanning the room, moving around and to see what the … where the students are in their learning helps me pick up those students that are disengaged, and it might be that they are not understanding or they're not ready for learning yet. It gives me the opportunity to go over to them, have a little chat, offer my support, and see if I can get them back on track. Hopefully, that early intervention will stop an escalation of behaviour or disengagement. So, getting in there early, hopefully, I'll be able to support them to get back on task. Yeah, but you have to repeat that one again. One more time. Better?
Student: She's copying you, but in a different way.
Rachel Morrison: That's fine. That is fine.
Student: I said you need a different way.
Rachel Morrison: Yep. Okay. Let's go.
Using non-verbal corrections, I consider this a really effective way to quickly correct behaviour without disturbing the class or distracting the class or stopping my teaching.
Fantastic. If you've done 2 and Mrs. Morrison has checked to see it's correct, could you also have a go at doing 3 units?
Usually, I would use non-verbal corrections to prompt students to stay quiet. So, just put the finger to the lip, maybe looking at the board like that. Or I would do the 3 fingers, which means getting into their 3 lines in the learning space. They're probably the most common ones I use.
Three lines, please.
So, using verbal corrections, I'll just consider whether it needs to be just for individual students, a group of students, or the whole class.
In the pencil pots, okay? You'll also – I'm still talking, so can I have eyes on me, please? You're going to need a pencil.
I usually like to just get the verbal correction over and done with nice and quick so we can get back into learning. When I'm offering a student a choice, I'll just have a little check-in first just to see if they need my support with anything. If not, I'll just offer the choice of A or B, give them time and space just to make that desirable choice that I want them to.
Are you okay there? Yep. Is that going to distract you? Okay. If it's going to be distracting you, you're going to have to pop it on my desk, all right? Okay. Awesome. Okay, we've got OI and OY.
When I'm implementing a consequence to an individual student, I try and just to make sure that I'm staying quiet and just addressing that child, using the right tone and words to support them to make the right choice.
Can you please pop that on my desk? Thank you. Okay. Another one.
Student: Soil.
Rachel Morrison: Soil. Fantastic.
Once I've implemented that consequence, then I would make sure I'm checking in with them just to make sure everything's okay. I would acknowledge that they've made a great choice, thank them for that, and just … and move on to the teaching.
So, can we start with the back row? Can you nicely please go and stand in a line and grab your whiteboard, marker and a cloth? Thank you for listening to me when I said that. Good choice.
Student: When I get up to get it, do I just put it in my lap like that?
Rachel Morrison: It can stay there for now, okay? Great. Back to your spot.
Responding to my students in a positive, calm and friendly tone supports them in knowing that I'm going to be there for them, I'm going to support them. They can trust me. I'm not going to try and escalate the problem or anything like that. So they know that they can talk to me and I'll be able to help them get through what they need to get through.
Keywords: student engagement, disruption, disruptive behaviour