According to a recent survey, about 85% of American teachers say they’re able to keep disruptive students under control in their classrooms. Many of them report being able to do this by clearly spelling out their expectations when it comes to student behavior from the start.
There are, however, some teachers who admit that maintaining control in their classrooms can be challenging. In certain instances, they may have to ask school counselors, psychologists, and even behavior interventionists to step in and help. They can often use techniques like Applied Behavior Analysis, or ABA, to improve student behavior.
However, this might not be the only way to create noticeable improvements in student behavior. Teachers can also attempt to put together more stimulating classroom lessons. It may help students in both in-person and virtual classroom settings.
Learn more about the impact stimulating classroom lessons can have on student behavior below.
Hold the Attention of Students More Effectively
In recent years, many studies have suggested that those of all ages have much shorter attention spans than they used to. But school-aged children, in particular, tend to struggle with attention span issues more than others.
One study found that the average elementary school student isn’t paying attention to their teacher for about 25% of the time they’re in their classroom. This study also found that most students who are right around this age will only be able to focus on an instructional activity for about 10 minutes. After that, they’ll begin to drift off and think about other things.
Not all students who stop paying attention in their classrooms will act out and exhibit behavioral issues. But some of them will since they won’t be as focused on what their teachers are talking about as they should be.
This is where stimulating classroom lessons can help. Teachers can use a combination of:
- Books
- Videos
- Presentations
- Discussions
- And more
It may help keep students more involved and lead to behavioral improvements in at least some of them.
Encourage Students to Participate More
There are students in every classroom who will shy away from taking part in classroom lessons for legitimate reasons. Reports have revealed that these students might prefer not to participate because:
- They’re naturally introverted
- They speak English as their second language
- They’ve had bad experiences while participating in class in the past
But there are also many students in every classroom who won’t participate because they don’t understand the material they’re being taught or, worse, they’re simply not interested in what their teacher is saying. It’s another instance in which teachers might want to think about creating more stimulating classroom lessons.
When students aren’t participating in class, the chances of them misbehaving will increase. The chances of them disturbing some of their fellow students will also go up.
Teachers may be able to regain control by encouraging all students to participate in their own ways. They should also offer those who participate positive reinforcement to make them feel more comfortable with the idea of continuing to participate as much as they can.
Enable Students to Interact With Teachers and Other Students
The COVID-19 pandemic is in the rearview mirror for most school districts. So many students have left their virtual classrooms and gotten back into their school buildings. This is a great thing for many teachers.
At the height of the pandemic, virtual classroom management became difficult for the vast majority of teachers. One report found that more than half of students weren’t as engaged in virtual classroom training as they should have been. It made it difficult for teachers to connect with students and enforce virtual classroom rules.
There were some benefits of virtual learning. But it also made it hard for students to interact with their teachers and fellow students. There simply weren’t as many opportunities for teachers to stimulate their students.
As students have migrated back to their classrooms, it has given teachers the chance to start teaching stimulating lessons again. This has motivated many students to interact with both their teachers and other students more.
Some of these interactions can cause behavioral issues to creep up. But they can also bring students and teachers closer together. This may deter poor student behavior and keep children more engaged.
Give Students a Chance to Move Around More
Students typically spend between 8 and 9 hours on average sitting in their chairs in their classrooms during the school day. All of this sitting can be bad for their physical health. It can also wreak havoc on their attention spans and possibly lead to behavioral issues.
Stimulating classroom lessons that include purposeful movements by students could help change this. There are some simple ways in which teachers can get students moving around. It can make them feel more engaged in what’s happening in their classrooms.
For example, this might be a good way to get students moving around in a classroom while also helping them learn a lesson:
- Ask all the students in a classroom to stand up
- Pose a “True or false?” statement to the students
- Tell students who think a statement is “true” to move to one side of the classroom and students who think it’s “false” to move to the other side
- Repeat this process for 5 to 10 minutes at a time
Teachers who try things like this should see more engagement in their classrooms. They should also see fewer behavioral issues when students are so engaged by what they’re being taught.
They may not have to worry about relying on things like Applied Behavior Analysis, or ABA, to get all their students to behave better.
See How Software Based on Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) Can Benefit Students
When teachers take the time to make classroom lessons more stimulating, it may have positive results. However, there are still some instances in which student behavior might prove to be problematic.
Insights to Behavior can offer behavior management and virtual classroom software. We’re here to help school counselors, special education directors, school psychologists, and behavior interventionists in K-12 schools with our software that is based on Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA).
Sign up for our free monthly managing student behavior series or schedule a 30-minute demo to see how our software works.
