MANAGING PUPIL BEHAVIOUR

A Framework for Staff Problem Solving: Ideas for an Initial Session

AIMS

To offer teaching staff involved with a specified group of pupils, i.e. class or year group, an opportunity to :

1. Collectively consider, agree and start to plan behaviour management strategies

2. To employ a problem solving model which is solution focused

3. To think in a different way about the behaviour which pupils present

Preparatory work for the session

All involved staff receive a brief questionnaire prior to the session and are asked to answer 3 questions, spontaneously and briefly:

What is your priority concern?
What strategy/approach have you found most helpful?
Can you briefly describe one idea for addressing X group’s difficulties?

An example summary of one staff group’s (15 teachers) responses follow:

The problem/s as staff see it

Pupils’ capacity to:

Work independently
To approach written assignments sensibly
To treat each other with respect
To cope with frustration, anger, anxiety
To remain seated
To be organised and equipped for lessons
To concentrate
To understand
To listen

Individual pupils: Ju , Le, Jo, C, La

Teachers’ :

Classroom control
Curriculum delivery ( explanation of work)

HELPFUL SUPPORT/STRATEGIES

In-class support from teacher colleagues
Lessons which entail pupils being ‘on task’ as soon as possible
Firm classroom rules and routines
Basic task instructions
Individual pupils on report
Differentiated curriculum tasks
Reduction of movement around the classroom
Organisation which entails all equipment and materials being ready on pupils’ tables
Withdrawal work for individual pupils
Oral and group work

IDEAS

Splitting up difficult pupil groups
Individualised and differentiated learning tasks
Praise, positive teacher commentary
Regular in-class support
Use of drama/role-plays
Opportunities for teacher colleagues to observe and be observed by each other
Group work for curriculum and social development purposes

The Session

This begins with a presentation of a collation of the responses received from questionnaires. The important message here is that staff already possess a huge amount of information and many ideas re the problem/s. This exercise is designed to empower and to facilitate a realistic and practical optimism within the staff group. Having done this it is then possible to establish first order principles and core ideas re the task engaged in, i.e.

PROBLEM SOLVING

- some core ideas

if you’re not a part of the solution you’re a part of the problem
Not everything can be tackled at once
Teaching and learning are continuous problem solving enterprises
The problem/s is/are somebody’s solution/s
The problem/solution holder is the problem/solution expert

The next part of the session looks at and addresses the question:

WHERE TO START ?

1. Concerns - collectively agree the priority

Nominal group technique.

Returning to the summary of staff responses to the question ‘what is your priority concern ?’ staff are asked to pick 3 items from the list and rank in order of importance, each item.

The item which they consider is most important gets 3 points, the next, 2 points and the third most important, 1 point.

The presenter collects staff’s points and records them on a flip chart or overhead, adds up and then a collectively prioritised concern or concerns (no more than 3) are identified for subsequent work in the session.

2. Personal Construct Psychology

It is suggested that at this point the presenter makes some theoretical input and background reading by the presenter is strongly advised in preparation for this part of the session.

Alternative Constructivism. George Kelly, social psychology (1955) Social construct theory social and systematic theory of human behaviour
A theory which has implications for action and change and growth through experience.
We see each and every person as a personality theory in action.
Each individual has an attitude to others, informed by his theory of persons, understanding and stance in relation to change.
Humans as inherently socially referenced - constant interaction with others, some supportive and enabling, others state of antagonism.
It is the extremes perhaps on both sides who offer many opportunities for growth of understanding and personal development

Ravenette, A.T. (1997) Selected Papers. Personal Construct Psychology and the Practice of an Educational Psychologist London: Personal Construct Association Publications.

Staff are then asked to consider:

What solution does this problem allow ?*

(Tom Ravenette questions)

Staff are asked to look at their collectively agreed priority concern/concerns and to ask the question as above,*. This will probably be fairly challenging as it requires them to de-centre from their teacher stance/position and to look at the problem in a different way from the pupils’ perspective. The presenter may well need to model/demonstrate at first.

3. Ideas. Brainstorm - include the improbable,

infeasible, innovative, impossible

This is the final part of the session. Working in pairs, staff complete the sheet (see below **). These are then collected, the presenter concludes by re-visiting main themes of the session and explaining that a summary of the session and ideas generated by staff will be compiled and returned to senior management for follow-up. Also, it is useful to say that a subsequent session can be arranged on request.

A theory about X group

How can this theory be tested?

What will be apparent if the theory is correct ?

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