When Nothing’s Working
Art class is inherently interesting for many students. It can be a welcome reprieve from the daily academic monotony. But however engaging your specialty class is, there are often students that are disengaged or distracting. Some students might not be into the lesson, some could be having a bad day, others could even be overly excited about the assignment, and whole classes might be all together rowdy and unruly.
As specialty teachers, we have unique behavior management challenges. When we only see classes on a rotational basis it’s difficult to establish routines and expectations. What’s more, we inherit the collective temperament of class as established by the primary teacher. If the primary teacher manages their class poorly, the specialty teacher has a more difficult time as well. I’ve heard many specialty teachers ask, “how can I bring order to my classroom and manage difficult behaviors when I only see the class once a week?”
My specialty team and I found a great solution to this problem! In his book, “Classroom Management for Art, Music, and PE Teachers”, Michael Linsin outlines a framework for an effective behavior program. My team and I worked together to craft a program that incentivizes students as (well as their teachers!) to be engaged and follow rules.
After a class attends specialty they receive a “report card” with their score, based on their collective behavior, that they bring to their teacher. They can receive up to 5 points. Each specialty has 5 behaviors that are tied to the points students can earn. They vary based on the subject but here are some examples:
- Entered classroom quietly
- Respectful to the teacher and classmates
- Handled materials or equipment carefully
- Followed directions
- Quiet during work time
- On task
- Cleaned up
- Used kind words
- Good sportsmanship
As students leave the classroom they tap one of three posters to reflect on their individual behavior. Whether they were well behaved, could do better, or needed a lot of improvement they tap the corresponding poster.
Each specialty teacher records the scores they give out and we tally them up at regular intervals. We see our classes once a week and tally their points up every 2 weeks. We found the shorter the time period the more eager the students are to win. In the past, we tallied points every 2 months and rewarded winning classes with a popcorn party. Even though the reward was more exciting, students lost interest in winning because the time period was too long.
The class with the most points in their grade wins a little trophy and their class picture is posted in the Specialty Hall of Fame. If a different class wins the next time we tally the points then the previous class has to hand the trophy to the winning class.
When we began this behavior program something unexpected happened! The competition among classes prompted teachers to offer extra rewards to motivate their students. Between getting the specialty trophy and picture, and the extra class rewards students are generally motivated to behave.
If this sounds like something that could help you, consider downloading my freebie report card. Customized versions of the report card along with posters and other aids are included in my Behavior Program Packet which is available in my shop.
Happy teaching, friends!
