According to the Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports Organization, avoid giving negative consequences by being proactive. Post classroom rules and expectations and review them with your students. Teach positive behavior expectations and give feedback when students put those expectations into practice. For example, teach the proper procedure for entering a classroom, and then practice it with students. When the entire class properly enters the classroom, give praise and reinforce the expectation.
Begin correcting student behaviors through a series of actions building, if necessary, to greater consequences. Use non-verbal cues such as eye contact or physically moving near the student who needs correction. If looking at the offending student or physically moving near him does not correct the behavior, it is time to use a verbal reprimand or reminder of the proper expected behavior. According to educator Robert J. Marzano, teachers often effectively use this management technique, also called "withitness."
If non-verbal cues and verbal reminders have not resulted in correcting student behavior, it may become necessary to remove the student from the setting. This time-out can be in the classroom or outside the classroom in a separate room. Remove the student from the situation or classroom for a period until the student is ready to return and follow procedure. An example of a time-out may also include the use of an after-school detention. Another direct consequence is over-correcting for behavior when the student has destroyed or ruined items in the classroom. The student fixes not only what he broke but also other items in addition. For example, the student has drawn all over his desk and must clean up not only his desk, but also all of the desks in the room. As stated in "Evidence-based Practices in Classroom Management," research supports that these consequences are effective deterrents of repetitive negative student behaviors.
Using contingencies is another way of holding a student accountable for his actions. Holding the entire class accountable for one or more student behaviors is called group contingency. The concept uses peer pressure to help improve student behavior. Home contingency is the use of parents or guardians in the consequence process. According to Marzano, several research studies support the idea that involving parents or guardians is the strongest negative consequence.