Staff development network
If behaviour is a curriculum, can we assess it?
I was speaking to teachers from around the world at a workshop I held with the International Boys’ School Coalition recently and a participant asked a great question, ‘If behaviour is a curriculum, can we assess it?’
Below is a summary of the conversation about how systems of behaviour management can improve school outcomes.
Key components of a behaviour system are:
- Clear reporting standards
- Ongoing feedback
- Tracking system
- Feedback loop with escalation and celebration.
Reporting standards
Standards need to be clear enough for students, teachers and parents to understand them and the line between at standard and below standard is very important. Schools might also have a well below and well above standard.
Importantly, teachers must feel empowered to put below standard and be clear about what this looks like. Showing examples of a classroom video is a good way to clarify. As teachers, we must understand that we set the standard. The moment we give a student an at standard rating when it is not deserved, we have undermined the standards of our school.
An example of a reporting standard is below:
Credit: The assessment team at Brighton Grammar School
To create these standards, I encourage schools to put together a small team of interested teachers and create their own chart. I recommend avoiding vague terms including, ‘often, sometimes, usually, mostly, occasionally’.
A great test for your criteria is if a parent asks why their child is below standard, you can have a clear answer. For the example above, ‘your child is below standard because he talks over the teacher, calls out, cuts across learning and/or is disrespectful of others in class’.
Credit: The assessment team at Brighton Grammar School
Regular data points
These standards should be reported on regularly as a form of formative assessment. The data collected in these reports should be used in the process of changing behaviour. An example would be collecting the data at Term 4 Week 1, and then again in early Term 2.
Tracking system
The data can be recorded in a central database. A report can then be generated and given to Pastoral/Wellbeing staff, the House/Form Group Tutor and the Head of Year/Head of House.
Feedback loop
Here’s the important part. The teacher in the classroom, the reporting process, and the House Tutor and Heads of House are all part of a system designed to support positive student behaviour. Let’s take a look at how it might work.
If a student has a high percentage of assessments rated at below standard, it can trigger a conversation with the Head of Year/Head of House (see proforma below). This conversation is reflective and focused on growth. Some key questions might be:
- What classes are going well for you so far this year?
- What could be better?
- How might you approach that?
- What’s one small step we could take to improve that?
- Let’s check in again in a few weeks and track progress.
Communication is then made to the student’s home via email. We can then look to the next data point and monitor progress. At the next data point, two things will happen. The student will either have improved to be at standard, or they will continue to be below standard.
If the student has reached an at standard level, then there should be acknowledgement and celebration. This can include a positive phone call home to parents/guardians and a positive conversation with the student and the expectation that this will continue. For a below standard rating, student behaviour is escalated to the next level of authority in the organisation, for example, the Deputy Head, Director of Students or the Principal.
The behaviour support process is a system, and all parts of the system are designed to work together to improve the behaviour and learning of students in our school.
Happy coaching,
Mark
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