I used to be a civil engineer. On construction sites, there were two ways people stayed safe. There were safety regulations to prevent accidents. But no matter how many safety regulations there were, everyone wore a hardhat. If something went wrong, a hardhat improves your chances of survival.
Managing behavior of pre-primary school age children is similar. Teachers can prevent behavior problems from happening by planning engaging classes where children are engaged and feel valued. But when behavior problems happen, we also need tactics to deal with them. Here are two sets of strategies for encouraging positive behavior and dealing with negative behavior when it occurs.
Preventative strategies (the safety regulations)
Let your learners use their power constructively. Everyone in your class has power. They have the power to not participate. They have the power to derail your class. They have the power to ignore all your classroom rules. Students like to use their power, so give them an alternative way to use it. Ask your learners to choose if you start the class with a song or a game. Ask them to decide what color you write their name on the board. This will also make your students feel valued as people, not just as students.
Students often misbehave because class is too hard or too easy. Many teachers ask students questions which have one right answer. These questions will be too hard for some, too easy for others and just right for a few in the middle. Instead, ask students genuine open-ended questions. For example, when holding up a flashcard, instead of “what’s this?” ask “what can you see?” “What’s this?” has one right answer. “What can you see?” has hundreds. Students can answer at their own level.
Reactive strategies (the hardhats)
When students make a language error in class, as teachers we ask ourselves “Do I need to correct this error?” If we corrected all the errors, we wouldn’t get to do much teaching. Similarly, if a student misbehaves, ask “Is this stopping learning from happening?” If the answer is “no”, keep calm and carry on. This will help to prevent unnecessary conflicts and save time.
When students aren’t doing what you want them to do, praise a student who is. Many students misbehave because they want attention, and we usually give them attention. This reinforces the negative behavior. Instead, find a student is behaving well and praise them. Other students will soon follow.
Give students an alternative. Young children are easily distracted. As teachers, we usually want their attention on us. It’s frustrating when it’s on a student who is making a funny noise or on something that’s happening outside the classroom window. To get their attention back, give the students something more fun than the distraction. It could be singing a song with actions or playing a TPR game (“run to the wall” “swim to the window” “sit on your chair”). If you’re more fun than the distraction, you will have your students’ attention again.