Corrective Consequences

“For corrective consequences to reduce or eliminate purposeful or habitual misbehavior, they must be implemented consistently.”*

Considering what corrective consequences educators will implement and how is a very important aspect of classroom management. Educators must define what expectations are not appropriate and then implement consequences consistently. If there is no consistency in corrective consequences then it will be very difficult for students to know what is and what is not acceptable behavior. It is also important to be sure that the corrective consequence fits the severity of the misbehavior, the frequency, and is unattached from the educator’s emotions. Lastly, it is important for educators to only briefly interact with the student as to not disrupt the rest of the class. These key points should play an active role within the corrective consequences.

Below is a description of my progressive corrective consequence system. This system also includes positive, appropriate behaviors with the goal of teaching students how to recover from their mistakes. These positive, appropriate behaviors provide educators with additional opportunities to acknowledge student behavior and give praise. In this system all students will begin on the green ready to learn level. From here students will be asked to move their clips (clothes pins) up or down one level based on their behavior. Before a student is asked to move their clip down I will always utilize three techniques, pre-correction, proximity, and praise. Through the use of these techniques I will rule out the possibility of unclear expectations.

1. Role Model  

2. Excellent Effort

3. Ready to Learn  

4. Make Better Choices

• When students arrive at this level they are asked to complete a short behavior improvement form. This form will give students an opportunity to reflect and write on their behavior and how they plan on recovering from it.

5. Teacher’s Choice

• When students arrive at this level there will be three corrective consequences based on which classroom rule was broken. The educator will briefly inform the student of the consequence and then increase the amount of praise and positive reinforcement given to students exhibiting the appropriate positive behavior. Students will also be asked to fill out a behavior improvement form.

1. Restitution – Students will be asked to repair damage caused by the misbehavior (i.e. cleaning their writing off of a desk or other classroom materials)
2. Positive practice – This corrective consequence will involve students positively practicing the behavior at hand (i.e. student practicing walking in the hall as a result of running in the hall earlier that day)
3. Time out – This corrective consequence involves removing the student from the opportunity to earn positive reinforcement (i.e. student who is asked to sit quietly in the time out area for two minutes before returning with their completed behavior improvement plan)

6. Parent Contact and/or Office

• This action will be taken immediately or later that day depending on its offense. If it is something that breaks school rules, the student may be immediately sent to the office. If it is a situation where the student was just having a rough day and their behavior landed them at this level than a phone call would be made home later that day. Regardless of what time the action is taken, students will be asked to complete a behavior improvement form, which will be sent home and returned the next day signed by their parent or guardian.

Side note: All of these levels will be thoroughly discussed and explained to ensure expectations are explicit. These discussions will incorporate classroom rules through presenting students with specific positive/negative scenarios and how they would play out within this system.

* (Ackler & O'Leary, 1988; Alberto & Troutman, 2006; Scheuermann & Hall, 2008; Sprick, 2009)