Behaviour Management Skills with Joe

Hello!  My name is Joe. I live in Kashiwazaki. It’s wicked.  This is my third year in Japan. I didn’t have teaching experience before I came.  3 schools – Base school= Shoyo Chuto – 1 st visit school = Kubiki High School – 1 st visit school = Kubiki High School – 2 nd visit school = Izumozaki High School – 2 nd visit school = Izumozaki High School

What are we going to do? 1. Talk a little bit about student behavior. 2. Give some advice for improving your behaviour management skills. 3. Check what type of problems you are having. 4. Discuss these issues and try to solve problems you may have.

What are we doing here? Why you came here:  You are having some problems in class.  You want to improve your teaching situation.  You wanted to see me. Why you didn’t come here:  To complain about your teaching situation/teaching partners/etc.  To complain about your students.

Disclaimer I am very sorry. I do not know the answer to all of your problems! I don’t teach in elementary schools. What is the ALT’s responsibility in regards to discipline? Perhaps the ALT has no formal responsibility for disciplining students. However, that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t use every tactic or technique, basically try everything you can, to make your classes better.

What is behaviour? Behaviour is the range of actions and mannerisms made by organs, systems, or artificial entities in conjunction with their environment, which includes the other systems or organisms around as well as the physical environment. It is the response of the system or organism to various stimuli or inputs, whether internal or external, concious or subconcious, overt or covert, and voluntary or involuntary. i.e. Behavior is all about communication.

Before class  Insulate your workday. Work while you are at work, and don’t worry about it at home.  Prepare mentally for the day ahead, and each class as it comes.  Acknowledge the fact that there will be students who will test the rules.  Treat each class as a new one, no matter how the last one went.

 Speak to your JTEs outside of class as much as you can. This will help you to relax and feel confident in your team.  Be fully prepared for your lesson, with extra activities.  Reconsider what kind activities you are doing, to find the right level of difficulty.  Smile.  Power pose! Before class “students are more likely to switch off than push themselves”

Joe’s favorite ultimate high-power pose to make you super confident

Don’t do this…

Why not try this…

One more thing before you start… Think about what you are teaching  If a student is talking, not working or distracting other students, most of the time it will be because they don’t understand what is going on, or think they can’t do the activity.  If you have a fun activity which everyone understands, 95% of the class will get on with it.  Reconsider what kind activities you are doing  Discuss your plan with the JTE to find the right level of difficulty “students are more likely to switch off than push themselves”

As class starts  Walk into the classroom tall.  Smile and greet the students with confidence.  Try to have a clear and clean classroom. Empty aisles to walk down, clear desks with only essentials for the class. “Students are sponges for emotion. Teenagers are very intuitive when it comes to non- verbal body language communication. They will mimic your body language and attitude.”

Learn the students’ names  Actually, you don’t have to learn the students names. But you should at least be able to identify them. Name platesName plates BadgesBadges Seat plan / name listSeat plan / name list  They will respect you more straight away.  It helps you keep them in check.  It is easy to ask the students questions.

In classroom  Classroom position and body language: Be a presence in the classroom, don’t stay in your safety zone. Be a presence in the classroom, don’t stay in your safety zone. Move towards the problems, not away from them. Move towards the problems, not away from them. Don’t just stand there, use all of your body. Don’t just stand there, use all of your body. Use “The Clap TM ” Use “The Clap TM ” Come down to their level Come down to their level

In the classroom  Time to talk – ignore the bad, feed the good. Use closed statements – eg. If someone is speaking, call their name and say “thank you!”. Use closed statements – eg. If someone is speaking, call their name and say “thank you!”. Try not to use negative language, eg. “stop”, “don’t talk” etc Try not to use negative language, eg. “stop”, “don’t talk” etc Keep sanctions or discipline short, stop problems escalating. Keep sanctions or discipline short, stop problems escalating.

In the classroom Don’t be afraid to…  Separate students who talk or mess about too much.  Take away their desks, take away their stuff.  Stop the class and wait. But remember…  Hold fast in your expectations. Establish the rules and stick to them.  Be consistent, especially with consequences. Treat the students fairly. Don’t threaten with a consequence you aren’t prepared to hand out.

A few more things…  If you have a real problem student, you could try talking to him/her away from the classroom.  Ask for help from another teacher/HRT/Kyoto Sensei/the baseball coach.  Sleeping students  Reward schemes

After class  Analyze what went wrong, and try to change it.  Speak to your JTE about the class.  Speak to other ALTs and friends. (But choose your company, and don’t over-do it!)

Group discussion  What type of problems are you having? A couple of rules:  Give relevant advice  No story-topping

Recap and Joe’s Top Tips  You may have a difficult situation, but don’t give up!  It will take time to see real improvement. Make small changes to see big differences.  Remember how great being an ALT is, focus on the positive aspects and great moments you have. 1. Go snowboarding. 2. Drink good coffee. 3. Listen to Radiohead.

Thank you!!