CLASSROOM MANAGEMENT:

A CONSTRUCTIVE APPROACH
KEY CONCEPTS
PROBING QUESTIONS
• When is the right time to talk to learners who
misbehave in the class? Why?
• Do you think it is important to ask learners the
reason why they preferred to play computer
games rather than to attend their class? Please
elaborate.
• Do you think Teacher Angel was able to manage
learners’ behavior by telling them that they might
fail in their subject or their parents would be
called to the guidance office? Why or why not?
• If you were Teacher Angel, how would you
demonstrate positive and non-violent discipline in
•Effective teachers choose positive
and non-violent discipline that
encourages positive behavior and
motivate learners to feel good about
themselves and the decisions they
make.
SUGGESTIONS FOR
IMPROVEMENT
SUGGESTION #1

•Talk to the learner immediately

after class.
•This is important to stop the
misbehavior and reestablish
positive discipline.
•Show compassion and
encouragement.
•Make your learners feel they are
SUGGESTION #2
•Identify the reasons behind the learners’
behavior by asking them why they behave
that way.
•Knowing how they feel will help you
understand why they did such action.
•They might have been seeking attention.
•Listen and let them feel safe and respected
by not sharing with others what they have
told you.
•Your learners confided in you because they
SUGGESTION #3

•Do not tell your learners that they

will fail if they do not change their
behavior: that sounds like a threat.
•Elicit from them the possible
consequences of the action.
•Then, guide them in finding solutions
to the problem.
 SUGGESTION #4
• Transforming your learner’s behavior cannot be
done overnight.
• There must be clear and consistent
communication.
• After talking to your learner after the incident,
you should make a follow-up meeting/
conversation with them.
• Make sure you build a mutually respectful
relationship with your learner and that will
surely help in solving the problem through
• Managing learner behavior is not an easy
task.
• Even the most experienced teacher knows
that positive discipline does not just
happen overnight.
• Managing learner behavior is a learned skill
which every teacher must master.
• Classroom management begins even before
the learners enter the classroom.
• Teachers have their own way of managing
their learners’ behavior but it has to be
kept in your mind that learners need to feel
valued and respected as individuals.
• Teachers must show them that they
have honest interest in each one of the
learners, not just as a class, but also
as individuals.
• Sometimes, learners go against the
rules because they do not see that
what they are doing is wrong.
• Others do it to test how far teachers
can control them.
• There are many potential influences on
learner behavior and many factors that
can lead to challenging behavior that
FACTORS THAT LEAD TO
CHALLENGING
BEHAVIOR THAT THE TEACHER HAS
TO DEAL WITH
HOW TO DO IT?
HOW TO MANAGE LEARNER BEHAVIOR BY
PROVIDING SOME CLASSROOM
SITUATIONS HIGHLIGHTING THE
APPLICATION OF POSITIVE AND
NON-VIOLENT DISCIPLINE.
CASE 1: TRANSCRIPT OF TEACHER-LEARNER
CONSULTATION
•In this situation, the teacher was having a
group activity in his class when suddenly a
commotion started at the back. He found out
that two of his learners were fighting.
According to their classmates, Learner A
started teasing Learner B. Learner B got
angry and punched Learner A. Then, they
threw punches at each other. The teacher
privately talked to each learner immediately
and separately. Here is the transcript of the
• You may encounter learners who are
aggressive.
• Knowing what causes aggressive behavior
among learners is very important in order for
you to identify which strategy to use in dealing
with them.
• In general, teachers typically respond in one of
two ways, authoritatively or through positive
discipline.
• The highlighted parts of the transcript
exemplifies dealing with the aggressive learner
using positive discipline.
• Here are some suggestions on how you could do
that.
CASE 2: LEARNER WANDERING AROUND
• John, in Teacher Leah’s Grade 1 class, refuses to sit down.
He roams around while Teacher Leah reads a story. He is
distracting other children in the class. Teacher Leah tells
the class that there will be a game after her reading of the
story. She makes sure that John hears what she said to get
his attention. And she is right, John looks at her. “But you
have to listen very carefully before you could join the game
later,” she adds. John remains standing and keeps on
teasing his classmates. Teacher Leah announces that
winners from the game will be awarded. John’s eyes get big
and he looks interested with what he just heard. He goes to
his chair and begins to listen to his teacher. Teacher Leah
approaches him and tells him that he will be joining the
game later. She encourages him to listen very carefully so
• A learner who has an extremely high energy level, acts
impulsively, and distracts other learners is another
challenging situation in our classroom that we need to
deal with.
• If you have this kind of learner, it is important to keep
in mind that most of the time, this learner is not
aware that he/she is misbehaving.
• The given situation where the Teacher is able to
manage the learner behavior constructively by applying
positive discipline.
• The scenario exemplifies a suggested strategy in
managing an overactive pupil inside the classroom.
John has an extremely high energy level and is
distracting his classmates. You probably may have
noticed that Teacher Leah did not reprimand him for
roaming around; instead, she caught his attention by
SOME TIPS FROM AN EXPERT TO
HELP YOU MANAGE THIS KIND OF
SITUATION.
(ADAPTED FROM DR. KEN SHORE’S
CLASSROOM PROBLEM SOLVER)
CASE #3: TAKING ONE’S PERSONAL BELONGINGS
THE TEACHER RESPONDS
APPROPRIATELY TO MISBEHAVIOR
OF LEARNERS AT ALL TIMES
WITHOUT ANY LOSS OF
INSTRUCTIONAL TIME.
CLEAR EXPECTATIONS FOR LEARNER
BEHAVIOR ARE EVIDENT. STANDARDS
OF CONDUCT ARE CLEAR TO ALL
LEARNERS AND HAVE MODEST
IMPACT ON LEARNING.
PAPER NO. 4 CASE STUDY
When Will He Learn?
If you look at Ben you would not know that he is giving headaches to his teachers. Ben
is 9 years old, good looking, and chubby. He volunteers to do housekeeping jobs for the
classroom and run errands for his classmates. He comes to school on time and never
forgets to greet the teachers. But Ben looks tough in the way he walks moves or speaks and
he really is! He comes to school in his neat uniform but at the end of the morning classes his
clothes become messy and dirty, if not torn. Ms. Rigel, the class adviser, has a list of incident
reports from his other teachers regarding bullying and aggressive behaviors ranging from
mild to violent ones. He would start teasing his classmates but would get angry by hitting or
kicking when the classmates retort. Seldom is he asked to join in a group or game by his
classmates. Parents complain when he is placed in the section or group where their children
are.

Ben has been given consequences like withdrawal of privileges, time-out, behavior
contract and even school service work (cleaning the classroom window jalousies and
replacing the broken ones) and a day suspension from class when he threw his classmate’s
bag outside the window breaking the window jalousies. These strategies, however, failed to
have long-term effects on Ben’s bullying and aggressive behaviors.

Teachers and Ben’s parents ask: When will he learn?

GUIDE QUESTIONS FOR PAPER 4
• Why do you think Ben behave that way? What are the possible
causes of such behavior?
• Do you agree on how Ben was handled by his adviser? Yes/No,
why?
• If you were the adviser of Ben, how will you handle the
situation?
• What principle(s) in classroom management will you apply?
• When do you think Ben will finally learn?