We spent the first weeks of the new school year establishing structures, setting up routines, creating behavior norms, and tending to other foundational processes to create stability, predictability, and efficiency for use of time and learning. Pursuing these efforts at the start of the year presents a key advantage, as success going forward is easier when we have laid the groundwork for clear expectations and consistent routines. Once structures are in place, less attention and intervention may be required to maintain focus and momentum.
However, regular attention, reflection, and adjustments can ensure that the effort invested at the beginning of the year continues to pay off. Now is a good time to assess progress and examine where things stand. Have our students settled in? Are they accepting our guidance? What steps might we take now to maintain momentum and address emerging issues and concerns? Here are eight questions to guide our reflection and inform areas that may need attention:
- Do students understand and accept classroom rules and expectations? Am I finding that students are frequently confused or surprised when reminded of expected behaviors? Do students push back on rules they are expected to follow? If so, it may be time to revisit and review these crucial elements of classroom management.
- Do I acknowledge and reinforce positive, appropriate behavior and rule-following? Students respond to our attention. Our commitment to notice and praise acceptable behavior can be an influential reminder and result in students more frequently practicing behaviors we seek from them.
- Are daily routines and procedures well understood and consistently followed? Establishing routines and procedures represents the first step in consistency and transparency. However, our commitment to consistently practice routines and follow procedures solidifies them for students and offers predictability and reassurance.
- Do I regularly reinforce student use of procedures and processes? Like rules and expectations, our noticing and praising students when they follow established routines and use the procedures they have been taught increases the likelihood that they will continue to do so in the future.
- Am I consistently noticing and connecting with all students? It is easy to fall into patterns of interaction that favor students who do well and are outgoing as well as those whose behavior requires our attention for redirection and intervention. Yet, with few exceptions, all students want to be noticed and engaged with. In fact, failure to connect with all students can result in neglected students demanding our attention in unacceptable and disruptive ways.
- Am I listening first and controlling my emotions? When we are busy, stressed, or tired, we can fall into the trap of reacting emotionally to what students say or do before fully understanding what they intend or need. When we do, we risk confusion, conflict, and consternation that can harm our relationship and undermine our credibility. Avoiding assumptions and resisting snap judgments can make a big difference as we seek to maintain the momentum we established at the start of the year.
- Am I separating student behavior from how I see them as a person? We can easily forget that what students do is not the same as who they are. Poor decisions, emotional outbursts, and disrespectful words may need correction and intervention, but we need to avoid placing our relationship on the line in response. The fact that students need to learn better behavior is not proof that they are not worthy of our caring and respect.
- Do I give students a new start each day? Admittedly, it can be challenging to put aside what happened yesterday and offer students a new beginning today. Yet, doing so gives the student—and us—the opportunity to let go of leftover disappointment and conflict and try again. Our work is about growth and learning; holding grudges and prolonging conflict can get in the way of what we want most to accomplish with learners.
Creating a successful start to the year was and is important. However, monitoring emerging issues and maintaining momentum can help us to find the “cruising speed” we need in order to sustain the learning environment we have worked to create. Spending a few minutes—now—reflecting and deciding where to adjust can make a huge difference in how the coming months unfold.
