Video

Video transcript

Presenter intro: Peps McCrea

Consistency is a powerful tool that teachers can develop. Behaving in the same way over time helps pupils to know what to expect from their teacher. This creates trust. It also helps to create a predictable and secure environment that we know benefits all pupils.

Presenter main

In practice, consistency applies to many parts of teaching. It means giving clear expectations that set out what you would like pupils to do, modelling the behaviours you expect to see, and supporting pupils to do the same through positive reinforcement, for example. It means repeating the same, specific words to communicate classroom and school values. This requires planning and practising, and it means treating every single pupil with the same polite, respectful, and courteous manner that you would ask for in return. It is also important that teachers respond in a consistent way to similar behaviours from different pupils, both positive and negative. Sticking closely to the classroom behaviour system really helps with this.

Here’s one way of rewarding positive behaviour.

1. Briefly state the behaviour.
2. Set out the reward.
3. Explain how this will help the pupil to achieve a long-term goal. Linking positive behaviour to success in learning may help pupils to be motivated by intrinsic factors, rather than extrinsic ones.

Here’s one suggestion for how you might give a sanction.

1. Briefly state the behaviour.
2. State the consequence.
3. Explain to pupils how they can get back on track. For example: “Callum, you were talking when Iris was giving her answer. That means you missed out on hearing her great answer. You need to pay attention to what everyone says during class discussions. You can use those ideas in your own work, and it shows you value others.” Issuing sanctions in a consistent manner each time helps teachers and pupils to remain calm. It also deescalates the situation and ultimately helps to build trust.

Rewards and sanctions are not the only way of encouraging positive behaviour. Teachers need to help pupils behave in a way that supports learning because they want to do it for themselves, but rewards and sanctions can help pupils to get there, so teachers need to know what the system in their school is.

The more that pupils see a teacher behaving in the same way over time, the more likely they are to associate that teacher with those qualities. If teachers behave in a way that is consistent, pupils will feel that their teacher is consistent. This, in turn, creates a sort of trusting relationship that benefits pupils’ learning.

Presenter exemplification framing

In the next example, you will see a model of one way to respond to a pupil who’s been repeatedly off task. As you watch, focus on the following:

• Responds consistently to pupil behaviour.
• Applies sanctions and rewards in line with school policy, escalating behaviour incidents as appropriate.

Exemplification

In this example, I’m going to model how to give a sanction to a pupil who is not doing what I have asked. I want you to imagine that I’m teaching a year 10 science class. Pupils are working on an independent writing task, comparing two different models of the atom. I’ve provided lots of support and guidance to ensure that the pupils have the knowledge and skills to attempt this task. The expectation is, therefore, that pupils are silent and remain focused on the task with pen to paper, and this has been shared with the pupils. If they have a question, they ought to raise their hand to gain my attention. Here, a pupil called Tom has turned around and tried to talk to his friend. My first response is to give a reminder without naming Tom.

“We need to be facing forwards, working silently, pen to paper. If you have a question, you need to raise your hand.

[Teacher looks towards pupil who is not following instruction]

Tom, facing forwards, working silently, thank you.

[Teacher pauses and scans the room. As pupil does not follow instructions, teachers approaches pupil to address them directly.  Teacher crouches in front of the desk, in a position where he can still see the rest of the class]

Tom, this is the third time that you’ve turned around in your chair. You need to be facing forwards, writing. If you need help, raise your hand and I will come and help you. Thank you for starting writing quickly, good job.

[Teacher circulates the classroom and then returns to Tom]

Yeah, lovely work, Tom. I can see that you’ve already compared the position of the electrons in the two models, good work.”

The aim of the model was to show how to respond consistently to pupil behaviour in line with school policy. When I first saw a few pupils, including Tom, turned around or chatting, I gave an anonymous reminder of my expectations that pupils should be facing forwards and writing silently.

When I then saw Tom was still turned around in his chair, I gave a quick, named response. This is an escalation, as Tom now knows I have noticed that he is not following instructions, and I’ve specifically reminded him of the expectations. I did this quickly and in a neutral tone. I don’t want to draw attention this low level disruption, but I do need to respond to it.

When I saw Tom turn around a third time, I gave a private sanction, which included stating the error, stating the consequence, and explaining how he could get back on track. I ensured that the conversation was not in front of the class because this can sometimes escalate a situation, and I wanted Tom to focus on what I was saying. I also quickly acknowledged that he had listened and was now following my instructions.

Later in the lesson, having focused for the remainder of the task, Tom had produced some high-quality work and I praised him for his effort.

I treated Tom in the same way as other pupils, holding him to account when he was off task, praising his efforts when appropriate. My tone was the same throughout the model, formal and calm. This consistent tone shows pupils that I’m able to manage the situation and that I will maintain my expectations I have set out.

Finally, my language was consistent. I used language and a structure that my pupils are now familiar with. _“Face the front”_is a short, quick phrase that clearly tells pupils what to do, and one which I always use. And I use the same format for issuing a sanction: state the error, state the consequence, and explain how to get back on track.

Responding to pupil behaviour in the same way over time means that I can act quickly and fairly. This normally deescalates negative behaviour and maintains a positive learning environment.

Presenter key ideas

In this video, we have considered why it’s important that teachers are consistent and looked at some ways in which they can achieve this. Take a moment to read the key ideas. Which ones do you think the example best illustrated?

• Responding consistently to pupil behaviour.
• Applying rules, sanctions and rewards in line with school policy, escalating behaviour incidents as appropriate.
• Using consistent language and non-verbal signals for common classroom directions.

Presenter summary

Responding consistently to pupil behaviour can be hard in the beginning. It can be difficult for teachers to know what they will say and do on the spot. Picking one specific response to plan and practise outside of the classroom really helps you to know what to do when you’re standing in front of your pupils. Plan and practise in advance so you can be consistent in the moment.