Addressing Undesired Student Behavior During Virtual Instruction

Timothy Knoster, Danielle Empson

• Publisher: Brookes Publishing
• Year: 2022
• Print ISBN: 9781681256078
• eBook ISBN: 9781681256160
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Education
• Subtopic: Behavioural Management

Enrollment in virtual and blended schools is on the rise—introducing new challenges with student engagement, social–emotional wellness, and behavior management. Help is here with this laminated quick–guide, one of four concise Teacher Survival Guides on Engagement of Students in Virtual Instruction. This how–to guide walks educators through four essential strategies for preventing and addressing undesired behavior, keys to success that can be especially challenging in online learning environments. Tim Knoster and Danielle Empson give teachers clear, research–based guidance on preventing undesired student behaviors before they start. Teachers will also learn how to efficiently redirect undesired student behavior—both nuisance-level and more consequential behavior—in a trauma–informed manner. GET THE COMPLETE SERIES: The four Teacher Survival Guides on Engagement of Students in Virtual Instruction are filled with the ready–to–use guidance K–12 teachers need to boost engagement, student wellbeing, and positive behavior in virtual settings. Packed with bite–sized nuggets of insight—including keys to engagement, teaching tips, proven strategies, and FAQs—these laminated, six–panel guides will help any teacher take immediate action to support their students' academic, social–emotional, and behavioral success. Learn more about the other quick-guides in the series: Enhancing Student Engagement by Virtually Establishing, Teaching, and Reinforcing Desired Behavior
Engaging Students in Virtual Instruction Through Opportunities to Respond
Building Relationships With Students and Caregivers to Enhance Learning Through Virtual Instruction

Prevent Undesired Behavior by Precorrecting

Precorrection means that prior to beginning a lesson or activity, you proactively remind students about the established behavioral expectations. Using this strategy can help to minimize behavioral errors and increase student engagement.

---

FAQS

Q: Is precorrection just reminding them about the expectations?

A: Yes, but how you communicate the expectations is key. Try to remind students of the already-established behavioral expectations, using the same language. Emphasize what students will look and sound like when they are meeting the relevant expectations during the upcoming virtual lesson or activity. Pairing your verbal precorrection with visual cues can also be helpful.

Q: Does precorrection only occur prior to starting my lesson or activity?

A: Not necessarily. You should absolutely provide precorrection beforehand, but we encourage you to precorrect periodically throughout stages of your lesson or activity.

Q: Does precorrection lend itself to group work?

A: Absolutely. Beyond precorrecting for basic expectations, such as one person speaks at a time, precorrect for the broader expectation that each person in a learning group makes a meaningful contribution. Before assigning a synchronous or asynchronous small-group task, remind students about the importance of equitable distribution of the workload between classmates.

---

Keys to Engagement

AN OUNCE OF PREVENTION IS WORTH A POUND OF CURE

Precorrection simply requires revisiting what your students will look like and sound like when they are engaging in desired behavior during your lesson or activity. Presumably you have established positively stated behavioral expectations with your students. With precorrection, you simply reteach those expectations for a brief time frame…and then periodically remind your students throughout the lesson or activity.

Gauge Your Response Through an Equity Lens

To gauge your re...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Why Is Addressing Undesired Behavior Important?
• STRATEGY 1: Prevent Undesired Behavior by Precorrecting
• STRATEGY 2: Gauge Your Response Through an Equity Lens
• STRATEGY 3: Redirect Nuisance Behavior
• STRATEGY 4: Redirect Consequential Undesired Behavior
• About the Authors
• References
• Copyright