Beyond Consistency to Certainty

Posted by Paul Dix on 7 June 2012 | 0 Comments

Inconsistent classrooms are difficult places to learn in. Inconsistent teachers are unpredictable, fuelled by emotion and swing from passive to aggressive in a heart beat.

My teachers were consistent. Consistently violent, aggressive and harsh! Board rubbers aimed at the head, rulers to the back of the knees and the occasional fist (yes, I have been thinking about behaviour management for quite some time now!)

We desire consistency but there is this nagging doubt that absolute consistency does not reflect our true nature. None of us are 100% consistent and to pretend that we are can mean setting yourself up for a fall. We need a realistic aim. You can create a consistent classroom by getting it right 80% of the time; you can create a consistent school with 80% of the adults holding the line. The muttering 20% in the staff room can continue to mutter. If the rest of the staff are united, a sea change in behaviour can still be effected. When we fall off the wagon there must be a consistent willingness to apologise, to recognise our own fallibility and climb back on.

When you hear children talking about their teachers they discuss those who are consistent, (‘don't mess about in her lesson, she always gets you,') and those who are not, (‘I hate him, he send me out for nothing, I only asked a question'). They know when you are late to the lesson, unprepared, impatient or react with more emotion than thought. They are forming opinions about your consistency that are quickly set and hard to change. Children bring these attitudes and expectations to your classroom and begin the class with them. Lessons can feel like an uphill struggle when pupils expect to be treated unfairly or lack a consistent model. The more they sense inconsistency the more they will be tempted to exploit it or defend against it and the classroom becomes an unstable place for learning.

There is an idea in the popular press that teaching through aggression, fear and hostility was what made British classrooms disciplined and productive. In truth the best teachers have always used something far more effective and far less damaging to relationships than fear. The best teachers working with the most challenging children have, with hard work over an extended period, moved beyond consistency to certainty.

‘How is it that when I give Trevor a hard stare he laughs at me and when you shoot a glance at him he immediately corrects his behaviour?' It is certainty. The certainly that you will take action and follow up relentlessly. The certainty that there are rules, routines and learning habits that will always be applied. The certainty that inappropriate behaviour will be met with a rational rather than emotional response. The certainty that even if the child decides to escalate the incident with secondary behaviours the initial behaviour will always be addressed and not forgotten. The certainty that you will keep your promise. The certainty that when it all gets crazy, there is a kindness, humanity and humility from the teacher that shines through. It is these teachers who make the greatest, positive long term impact. It is true that no one forgets a violent, aggressive or hostile teacher. But I am not sure that we remember them for the right reasons.

Demonstrate and display your consistency.

The roots of a consistent classroom lie in the habits and routines that are relentlessly taught. The learning habits that are embedded in each activity must be clear to everyone, enforced and reinforced until the children tell you they know, ‘Alright, enough already, we know the routine...star!. From mundane organisational routines (lining up, waiting for the register, collecting the pens) to more complex learning rituals (group discussion, peer assessment, drama activities) your insistence on following the agreements creates consistency and safety for all children.

Set your routines, teach them, model them but most importantly of all, display them. If you are teaching the children how to work productively in groups tell them precisely the behaviours that you want to see from them. Write them out, use words, pictures, symbols, digital animation even. Set the routine, agree it and then catch the children who are following it. Sounds simple. In practice it is relentless and tiring. At times we establish the routine and then are so engrossed in the to and fro of teaching that reinforcing appropriate behaviour or referring to the routine is easily forgotten. Guard against this happening. Set up a simple tally on a piece of paper and agree with the children that x tallies will result in y reward. In your weaker moments the children will remind you when you are inconsistent or have forgotten a promise.

When you sense that your emotion is getting in the way of your rational consistency it is your routines that provide your best fall back position. Lengthen your emotional fuse with your favourite mantra; ‘Just for today don't get angry', ‘I am a 38 year old woman talking to a 9 year old girl', or ‘I am relaxed, I am calm....I am not about to throttle Wayne/surrender to the men in white coats/have a screaming fit...really I am not!'. Fall back on the language patterns that work and remove yourself from the situation with grace, ‘I am going to leave you to think about what you said, I will come back in a minute and I am sure you will show me how polite you can be'.

Inconsistent or differentiated

Perhaps the greatest challenges to your personal consistency are those children who are most inconsistent in their own behaviour. They may be comfortable surrounded by chaos; for some it replicates their life outside of the classroom. How can we reconcile being consistent when different children demand different levels of intervention, positive reinforcement?

We differentiate lesson content, support, resources, groupings for learning. This same differentiation can be applied to behaviour. You are differentiating your responses according to the needs of your pupils just as you differentiate for learning. Some children need to hear your verbal praise more often that others. Their short concentration spam or limiting self belief needs the gentle nudge of your encouragement to keep them working. Try not to get caught up worrying about how you can be consistent across a year group or even across the whole school. Instead focus on individual classes and whenever possible how you are being consistent with individual children.

As your consistency and certainty increase you will find children adjusting their behaviour as you arrive. In time you will be able to shoot that look to Trevor across the hall and adjust his behaviour in an instant. Newly qualified teachers may gasp in awe and demand to know where you buy the magic from. Unfortunately you cannot buy it, but you can make it with time, patience and a large helping of humility.

http://www.pivotaleducation.com/10-steps-to-certainty/