An Effective Classroom Discipline Plan Is Just As Important As An Effective Lesson Plan.

The difference between a classroom discipline plan and a lesson plan is that the discipline plan is generic and you only need to prepare it once because you can use it with all classes, although you may need to 'tweak' it in places to take account of some subtle differences between some classes. Before you start to prepare your plan you need to think carefully about how your plan can meet your students' behaviour needs.

Here's an example of a classroom disicpline plan that's popular in many secondary schools in the UK. I've used this plan successfully for several years with all kinds of students.

This plan is often called a 'Behaviour For Learning' plan because it is an assertive behavior management system that aims to promote good behaviour so that all students are able to learn.

In essence it supports the teacher by providing a framework of consequences and rewards based on choices made by students.

Let's assume the teacher has prepared appropriate learning activities, has well established routines and is doing everything possible to promote learning. If a student behaves inappropriately these are the steps to follow:

• the student's name is written on the board [some schools have a special classroom board known as the C Board - Consequence Board] - this is Consequence 1 and by writing the student's name on the board the teacher makes a public statement to the student that their behaviour has been inappropriate
• if the student continues to misbehave the teacher writes the name on the board a second time - and gives the student an opportunity to explain what the problem is. I've often found it useful at this stage to say something like: '....name of student... I've now reminded you twice about your behaviour and if you continue I will have to ...[whatever the consequence is].... - is that what you want? - this last phrase can sometimes be very powerful because it reminds students that they have a choice - either to continue to behave inappropriately or to comply with the agreed rules.
• if the student repeats the behaviour the teacher writes the name for a third time [known as C3]- and follows through with the consequence, which might be to move the student to another seat, or give the student a few minutes time out to reflect on their actions, or it might be a short detention with the teacher at recess or during the lunch break.
• a further repetition of the behaviour would result in C4 - resulting this time in a formal detention after school, organised by the school administrators or the senior leadership team, on a pre-arranged date - parents would be informed by phone or letter. If the student fails to attend the detention, parents are required to meet the school principal or senior manager to discuss the issue.
• The final step - if the student has got this far on the C Board - is the C5 step which means that the student is taken away from the classroom by the principal or senior manager to spend at least the following lesson in a special withdrawal room. If a pattern of C5 referrals builds up the student and parents are called to discuss how the student can improve their behaviour.

Occasionally, if the behavior is serious enough, the teacher might have to go straight to step C5. This might be for very serious offences such as students fighting or swearing at the teacher.

This sytem works with most students because:

* it's clear

* the consequences are 'stepped' and students get several chances to change their behaviour

* it's transparent to all students, who can see that their behaviour stops other students learning

* it's adopted throughout the school

* the consequences C3, C4 and C5 are formally logged so students and parents can see the cycle.

A good classroom discipline plan also rewards good behaviour as well as penalises poor behaviour.

This sometimes presents a problem because in most classes the majority of students do behave well and it's cumbersome to write down every student's name because they've been good, which, after all, is what's expected.

The secret is to 'catch students being good' and to acknowledge how much you appreciate that.

Many schools have a system which requires each teacher, in every lesson, to nominate certain students for special praise because they have participated effectively in the lesson.

In one school I know, at the end of each lesson up to 5 students receive 'Fantastic' cards, which students can cash in for small rewards, when they have accumulated a certain number.

The really important thing here is probably not the actual material reward but rather the public recognition that these students had co-operated with the teacher's rules, had been 'good citizens' in class, and therefore deserved proper ackowledgement for this.

Smart teachers realize that over a given sequence of lessons, every student can receive this kind of positive recognition, which reinforces the idea that good behaviour is valued and is the classroom norm.

Of course, there are many variations on this plan, and the best kind of discipline plan has individual input from teachers who know their students and the context in which they work. A classroom discipline plan must, of course, comply with the procedures and ethos of the school as a whole.

A final word: a classroom discipline plan is essential, but by itself will not guarantee classroom success; a classroom discipline plan is part of the much bigger classroom management plan that all teachers need to develop.

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