Your students will have more success and be better motivated if they know exactly what you expect from them. Here are five ways you can make your students more willing to follow rules.
- Keep rules clear and brief. Create a definite line between what is acceptable and what is unacceptable, and be consistent. It helps to demonstrate what the acceptable behavior looks and sounds like. If you want students to carry their chairs in front of them when moving from Bible Time to the activity tables, then pick up a chair along with the students and show them exactly how you want it done.
- Let the students know why a rule is necessary. As you correct and praise, let students know why the rule is important. ‘Drew, I want you to push in your chair so Laura won’t trip over it.” “Christa, thanks for cleaning up your mess. That really helps the janitor and keeps our church room look nice.”
- Make sure consequences are understood. Logical consequences have direct relationship to what was done. “Andy, when you talk without raising your hand, it distracts the class.” “Ashley, I appreciate your good questions. They help us all learn something.” Often presenting two choices will help the students see what will happen based on their actions. “Sean, you can work quietly next to your friend, or you can sit by yourself at the other table.”
- Keep rules enforceable. When you don’t enforce a rule, you are telling the students that it’s not important. If you don’t like a rule that asks students to raise their hands before speaking, then change it to only one person is allowed to talk at a time.
- Involve the students in making and maintaining rules. When students help you set the guidelines in the classroom, they feel more ownership and are more motivated to be responsible. Try brainstorming rules together and then condense these into a few class rules. For example, keep your hands to yourself, don’t put your feet on someone’s chair, and no pushing and shoving could be condensed to: respect others.
(The ideas in this article are adapted from Motivating the Unmotivated by Bob Wack and Effective Learning Resources. )
