Students who are defiant or non-compliant can be among the most challenging to teach. They can frequently interrupt instruction, often do poorly academically, and may show little motivation to learn. There are no magic strategies for managing the behaviors of defiant students. However, research shows that certain techniques tend to work best with these children and youth: (1) Give the student positive teacher recognition. Even actions as simple as greeting the student daily at the classroom door or stopping by the student’s desk to ask ‘How are you doing?’ can over time turn strained relationships into positive ones. (2) Monitor the classroom frequently and intervene proactively to redirect off-task students before their mild misbehaviors escalate into more serious problems. (3) Avoid saying or doing things that are likely to anger or set off a student. Speak calmly and respectfully, for example, rather than raising your voice or using sarcasm. (4) When you must intervene with a misbehaving student, convey the message to the student that you will not tolerate the problem behavior—but that you continue to value and accept the student. (5) Remember that the ultimate goal of any disciplinary measure is to teach the student more positive ways of behaving. Punishment generally does not improve student behaviors over the long term and can have significant and lasting negative effects on school performance and motivation. (6) Develop a classroom ‘crisis response plan’ to be implemented in the event that one or more students display aggressive behaviors that threaten their own safety or the safety of others. Be sure that your administrator approves this classroom crisis plan and that everyone who has a part in the plan knows his or her role. One final thought: While you can never predict what behaviors your students might bring into your classroom, you will usually achieve the best outcomes by remaining calm, following pre-planned intervention strategies for misbehavior, and acting with consistency and fairness when intervening with or disciplining students.

Hyperactive students tend to have a very high energy level, act impulsively and can be behaviorally distracting. They may fidget, play with objects, tap pencils so loudly against their desk that kids from across the room look over at them, or blurt out answers to teacher questions before the instructor is even finished asking them. When working with students who are hyperactive or impulsive, teachers should keep in mind that these students are very often completely unaware that others view their behavior as distracting or annoying. Teachers working with such children can greatly increase their own effectiveness by clearly communicating behavioral expectations to students, by encouraging and rewarding students who behave appropriately, and by being consistent and fair when responding to problem student behaviors. Here are teacher ideas for managing impulsive or hyperactive students who display problem motor or verbal behaviors:

tudents who have chronic difficulties paying attention in class face the risk of poor grades and even school failure. Inattention may be a symptom of an underlying condition such as Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. However, teachers should not overlook other possible explanations for student off-task behavior. It may be, for example, that a student who does not seem to be paying attention is actually mismatched to instruction (the work is too hard or too easy) or preoccupied by anxious thoughts. Or the student may be off-task because the teacher's lesson was poorly planned or presented in a disorganized manner. It is also important to remember that even children with ADHD are influenced by factors in their classroom setting and that these students' level of attention is at least partly determined by the learning environment. Teachers who focus on making their instruction orderly, predictable, and highly motivating find that they can generally hold the attention of most of their students most of the time.

A variety of best practices and imaginative ideas the school librarian can use to create an environment where students fuse together required learning with learning that is driven by individual interest.

Building a student-centered classroom culture starts on the first day of the school year.

This classwide program can help to reduce noise levels and head off disruptive behaviors before they occur.

This 1-minute video demonstrates a method of energizing students between long periods of focused work time. It uses a little goofiness with the goal of establishing focus in the classroom.

Instructional expert Jim Knight observes Wendy HopfŐs Language Arts classroom to offer feedback on her management of transitions between tasks as well as time management. Ms. Hopf involves studentsŐ in thinking about how long an activity or task should take and how long it actually takes. This reflection helps the students be more self-aware of what they are or are not accomplishing.Ms. Hopf also implements hand signals to provide a method of communication between her and the students without interrupting the lesson. The class uses simple hand signal of 1, 2, or 3 fingers to indicate to Ms. Hopf if they need to sharpen their pencil or go to the rest room. Ms. Hopf can then continue with the lesson and easily decide if now is the appropriate time for the student to address his or her need or if the student should wait.

In this teaching instruction video students engage in discussion with this strategy for interaction.

Instructional expert Jim Knight visits Michael Covarrubias to observe a lesson on context clues, discuss the classroom management techniques he is using already, and share some ideas to increase student engagement. Michael and Jim discuss emphasizing effort, getting students attention before asking questions, using response cards, and planning back-up activities.

Teacher praise is one tool that can be a powerful motivator for students. Surprisingly, research suggests that praise is underused in both general- and special-education classrooms (Brophy, 1981; Hawkins & Heflin, 2011; Kern, 2007). This guide offers recommendations to instructors for using praise to maximize its positive impact.Effective teacher praise consists of two elements: (1) a description of noteworthy student academic performance or general behavior, and (2) a signal of teacher approval (Brophy, 1981; Burnett, 2001).

A team of educators from Urban Academy Laboratory High School in New York City share their perspective about the teacher's role in an inquiry based classroom. Central to this process is the idea that a teacher is a facilitator and supports student development of ideas using evidence. Student voice is valued and used to encourage students' critical thinking. Throughout this development of ideas, teachers also play a critical role in building a culture of respect through honoring student ideas and using them to develop and inform other perspectives.

Plan ahead to avoid frustration and to ensure that your students get as much as possible out of an oral history project.

Kindergarten students at Apsire Berkley Maynard Academy learn to manage their needs and respect instructional time using visual cues and a list of criteria for making decisions about whether or not to interrupt the teacher.Mary Wajid wears a flower necklace to signal students that important instructional time is occurring. She then describes the 3 Bs: barfing, burning and bleeding and how she uses them to help manage interruptions and protect this instructional time. The 3 Bs give students a tool for assessing their needs and only interrupting learning when an emergency is occurring.

In this 2-minute video a fifth grade teacher discusses the use of hand signals to encourage active listening and to help facilitate conversations. She has her students use two distinct signals to signify if they have something to add to what has already been said or if they have something new to say.

Ms. Shawn is a new teacher, but lucky to have coaches and mentors at her school site. Dr. Royce visits to evaluate one of Ms. Shawns lessons. Her coach works with her over the course of two weeks before Dr. Royce returns to see a second lesson. See the growth in Ms. Shawns instruction in just two weeks.

7th Grade Math Teacher Chris McCloud from the School of the Future in New York explains how he talks to students about lost class time and how a few minutes each day adds up to a lot of time over a week or a month. He quantifies wasted time doodling or not being focused for 5 minutes in 1 class period to losing 100 minutes in a month, which comes to about 2 full class periods lost in a month.

Fifth graders in Ms. Noonans class earn and lose points based on their individual and group behavior throughout the day. Students measure progress using a number line, which reinforces not only the desired behavior but also the manipulation of points on a number line.Ms. Noonan gives examples of desired behaviors that she measures with the number line and shares how students move points up and down on the number line as they earn and lose points based on their behavior.

Learning Assistants are used to facilitate student discussion in peer instruction during clicker questions (i.e., classroom response systems), by asking Socratic questions, emphasizing reasoning, and probing student thinking.

How do you do it? Plan lessons, attend meetings, manage the classroom, grade papers, meet with administrators and parents? The list could go on and on. Teachers with 0 – 3 years will want to watch this webinar hosted by Lori Hairston (WA) for great ideas to manage the classroom, plan lessons, and teach a dynamic subject like business, finance and marketing.

NOTE: To access the NEW MBA Learning Center, visit mba.instructure.org. To access the NEW State's Connection, visit mbastatesconnection.mbaresearch.org