The National Centre of Science,
Information and Communication Technology,
and Mathematics Education for
Rural and Regional Australia
Assisting students to undertake higherorder mental processing by improving their
information retrieval times
The essentials of good behaviour
management practice
Adapted from ‘Teach more, manage less’, by Christine Richmond, 2008
1. Being organised.
2. Clarifying lesson and behaviour expectations.
3. Acknowledging students.
1. Correcting inappropriate behaviours.
2. Keeping an open mind about how and why students behave in
particular ways.
1. Being organised: what does this mean in
the QuickSmart context?
• Arrange the learning space ahead of time.
• Prepare lessons and materials.
• Arrive ahead of time (if possible).
• Make use of the QuickSmart lesson plan.
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Continued over:
Being organised (cont)
• Help the children settle down – perhaps with incidental
conversation, asking them to reflect on yesterday’s lesson.
• Ensure at the end of each lesson that the learning space
is ready for the next use.
• Identify times and circumstances when students find it
difficult to behave co-operatively.
• Develop, teach and rehearse routines of practice to
facilitate on-task and co-operative behaviour.
2. Clarifying lesson and behaviour expectations:
what do you do to achieve this?
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Communicate that students’ learning and
QuickSmart instruction are to be taken seriously.
Establish a small number of positively stated
expectations.
Use confident body language.
Display behaviour expectations on a wall chart if this
is considered helpful.
Revisit these expectations regularly if needed.
3. Acknowledging students: what is meant by
this and how do you achieve it?
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Demonstrate a positive and encouraging manner
with the students.
Use body language to convey approval.
Use single words or short phrases to convey
approval.
Use praise linked to effort and achievement.
Use encouraging language to enhance on-task
behaviour.
Use concrete evidence of small improvements in 1 or
2 areas when praising particularly challenging
students.
4. Correcting inappropriate behaviours: what
strategies do you use?
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Display a feeling of calmness.
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Use body language to cue students to selfcorrect.
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Use single words or short phrases.
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Give students choices.
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Reprimand infrequently, and then briefly and
discreetly.
Correcting inappropriate behaviours
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Discuss behaviour with students in out-of-class
time in a short and serious way.
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Refer students to the QuickSmart Co-ordinator.
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Follow through when a decision to use a particular
strategy has been made.
•
Don’t get drawn into playing power games.
5. Keeping an open mind about how and
why students behave in particular ways:
what factors can influence student
behaviour?
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Family circumstances
Health and nutrition
Time of day/time of year
Developmental stage
Peer group/playground interactions/acceptance by
others
Sleep deprivation
School activities
Students’ history in the school
…