Using research to improve behaviour in the classroom

last updated:06 Apr 2009

When attending a one-day Behaviour for Learning (BfL) event, Leah, Nikki and Denise, primary teachers at Dosthill in Staffordshire, looked at how to improve classroom participation. Leah and Nikki had children who were reluctant talkers and rarely answered questions. Denise was concerned about a small group of her class who often caused low-level disruption, and wanted to keep them focused. All three thought low self-esteem might be a cause.

They decided their question for research should be: 'What impact does the increased opportunity for discussion in the classroom have on disruptive and reluctant speakers?'

Leah, Denise and Nikki read relevant research and selected three techniques to trial. These were:

• think, pair, share: give children time to think independently, then discuss ideas with a partner before sharing with a larger audience
• open questioning: making sure more investigative questions are asked, for which there might be a wide range of answers
• no-hands-up rule: the teacher can ask any pupil to answer questions.

By remaining open to questions and ideas, the teachers discovered much more about what worked and why.

Conclusions
Leah, Nikki and Denise isolated these factors that improved the participation of all pupils in class discussions:

• creating a synergy between think, pair, share and open questioning strategies, giving the pupils thinking time before talking
• using the strategies consistently, making sure children know what is expected of them
• allowing pupils more time to talk.

Working together was vital: ‘Without such support, we might have given up’.