Behaviour management, especially with the influx of phones has become the top concern for teachers and tutors. Even having a phone on you can provide a distraction, with a study investing the impact showing that those students with phone addiction having impacts on attention[1]. As a tutor, in a 1-1 context it’s easier to give your undivided attention to pre-empt misbehaviours before they blossom into disruption. Online tuition in groups may also provides challenges with some students opting to turn off their camera. It’s important to see the student to get visual information about how they’re reacting to your lesson.
When disruption becomes common, managing this type of behaviour can lead to a large source of burnout and you’ll improve your health and outcomes within the class.
These strategies are needed in order for you to have a safe and effective work environment. Unfortunately, women teachers are more likely to experience physical abuse [2] and this issue is a systemic problem. It needs national policy changes to tackle the sources of misogyny and gender-based abuse especially in terms of reporting and dealing with situations effectively.
The key factors and priorities are:
- Setting expectations
Usually your school has policies that are applied across the institution. If you’re a tutor make sure you go through these expectations before the student enrols so you’re both on the same page on what you expect from the lesson and how the student needs to act. I would suggest doing this immediately in your first session and dedicating time so you save time later.
- Consistency
Students can have a bad memory for the knowledge in class but they can remember that time when you let student A not do something 3 weeks ago! Be consistent with applying the rules even if it seems tedious, even if it doesn’t seem like a big deal. The students will notice and will exploit this in the future, creating a fissure in discipline that will eventually expand. This also relates to consequences for poor behaviour. Having a framework of rules which you can follow and the students are also aware of helps everyone understand what is permissible. For example, for a minor disruption, you can note the student and talk to them aside to say this is a warning. For a disruption that is affecting the class, you can send the student to step outside and wait until you have spoken to them. Students yearn for structure and as an adult and professional it’s in your power to create that framework.
- Notice and support positive behaviour
Discipline should not focus on all negative aspects. Encourage and support your students when they do positive actions. Be specific with your praise and notice something about them which has been improved on. I.e. instead of saying “good work” say “I’ve noticed you’ve put in a lot of effort in this task and I can see how it’s improved, well done” this will also help build rapport with the student, build confidence and foster a positive environment. Conversely, for negative student behaviour they may be looking for attention, don’t give it to them in sight of the whole classroom and instead deal with the situation discreetly reducing the validation they may get from peers.
- Framework for discipline
This needs to be a pillar of the classroom of any size. One factor is to act on primary behaviours before secondary behaviours and to focus on one behaviour aspect at a time. A student may be loud and disrupt other students, when being sent out of the classroom they may continue to be disruptive and throw equipment. The first issue was the disruption and the secondary issue is the persistent on the way out, tackle them one at a time to help the student understand what they’re being reprimanded for. The behaviour may be caused by the student finding the current level of work difficult or they have completed the tasks already. Plan to have both catch-up and extension work embedded into the session to tackle both situations.
- Teaching students positive behaviours
What is vital to note is that students may not have the skills to resolve issues, emotional regulation and problem solving. They may have difficulties at home which means they’re on edge when they’re in the class and may react to a situation disproportionately. It’s important to understand your student’s needs and come with a point of empathy when a student acts out. Bearing that in mind, you can incorporate different techniques as you go through your lessons. An example would be how students respond to questions and answers. One student I had would raise their voice to demonstrate their point and would be very argumentative when other students chimed in. This came from the belief that their value was attached to their opinion and if other students were contradicting it, this was an attack on them. There were two issues to focus on. How students were responding, through this we can ask students to say “yes, and” rather than “yes, but” and also “I can see where you’re coming from, I think this because of this…, what do you think about that”. The second part would be for the student to be mindful of how they’re feeling during those times and their response so they’re able to notice and do the opposite action when situations happened. Through this, it will be a preventative measure as the students are building a scaffolding in how to communicate well and notice their own emotions and act on them in a more effective way.
Overall, these tips are to help prevent the disruption affecting your life as a teacher, tutor and educator. Some issues are systemic, like the sexism and misogyny and would require reflection on wider societal cultures and its impacts while the brunt of it is felt by women with public facing roles.
These can really affect how you feel about the profession and creating these good habits will improve the likelihood you can teach effectively. Let me know how these techniques work for and for further details book a free consultation via calendly.
[1] PubMedCentral, Andrea Chrodoulou, Petros Roussos, “Phone in the Room, Mind on the Roam”. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC12110250/#sec3-ejihpe-15-00074
[2] Female Teachers Facing more frequent violence and abuse in Scottish schools: https://www.nasuwt.org.uk/article-listing/female-teachers-frequent-abuse-scottish-schools.html
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