The article below summarises the Interactive Management Process which is described in the book Coat of Many Pockets by Jenny MacKay
I utilise this in my own classroom and have found it to be quite effective. I think it is also an excellent way to make a pleasant classroom environment where everyone feels safe, respected and cared for.
Interactive Management Process
With this process, your aim is to
- Prevent behaviours from happening
- Correct and redirect student misbehaviour
- Support students to manage their behaviour
- Follow through on student behaviour (like by providing consequences)
- Affirm students and build self-worth through students recognising their success
This is a pattern and process teachers can follow to interactively manage a class.
Behaviour is a message
In this model, behaviour is considered to be a message, sent by the student, whether they are aware of it or not. They are probably not aware. Misbehaviour can be a sign that a student isn’t coping. They don’t feel good and this will prevent them from working effectively. When students send these messages, it is our job to respond and we must avoid responding quickly. The book outlines an approach to responding to these messages.
- Stand back (take 5)
- Manage feelings (reasonable self-talk)
- Focus on the behaviour (not the person)
- Get perspective (how important is this?)
- Tune in (what is really happening?)
- Ask… Can they or can’t they control themselves?
I have already discussed in a different article the idea of whether students can or can’t control themselves so I won’t cover it here.
Teachers should be the examples of what they want to see in students. So if we yell at them, lose our cool or be mean for example, shouldn’t we expect them to do the same to us and others? This is what we are teaching them. The teacher needs to show self-control, and the steps above could help you to do that.
Can we ‘fix’ every student?
Not all students will learn everything we want them to learn while they are under our care. That is okay and we should accept that, even as it relates to behaviour. Of course, that is no reason not to try.
Students testing boundaries intentionally
Sometimes students try and push you and test the boundaries. Acknowledging that what they say is right, or joking around with them can be a way to acknowledge this and avoid unnecessary conflict
Telling
It is a principle in the book that teachers should avoid ‘telling’ students what to do. By telling we take away the opportunities for students to recognise what they are doing and self-correct. Rather than telling a student to go sit down and do their work, you could say “What do you think you should be doing right now?”. They can identify that and make the choice themselves, rather than simply comply with your command. Hopefully, in the future, they will do that without you saying a thing. Students must want to do what we tell them since they are sometimes aware that we can’t make them do anything. Giving them the chance to make their own choices is one way to help them want to do the right thing.
Effective control
Ultimately, the best way to have control is by empowering the students to make their own choices and take responsibility. If you are always dictating what to do then it will be a battle for power in the classroom. it is hard to manage a classroom this way since the options for real punishments often seem significant and students aren’t bothered by them. I have had students who don’t care if they are kept in at lunchtime, they prefer to be inside. Ultimately, punishments and rewards aren’t a solution, even if they can be useful.
Students like to be managed by an effective teacher and they value this. A teacher who gives them autonomy and lets them take responsibility. A teacher who focuses on positive relationships with students will likely be respected and appreciated. This might be in contrast to a dictatorial teacher who people obey when they are being watched to avoid negative consequences.
A Note about Getting ‘Hooked’
Students lead us down a rabbit hole and we find ourselves arguing over something that happened last week. You can say “That’s not the issue” and “Nevertheless” to get out of this quickly.
Conclusion
Managing behaviour is an active process and one which we can prepare for and think through methodically. We can’t let students get under our skin and cause us to behave in ways we wouldn’t accept from our students. We are self-managers first, then we must effectively control the classroom by empowering students to practise behaving in positive ways.
Coat of Many Pockets
The ideas here are from the book, Coat of Many Pockets by Jenny Mackay. I highly encourage you to check out her book called Creating a Positive Learning Environment, it is a wonderful book.