The 3 Science-Based Tips To Manage Behaviors

1) Introduction/ Meet and Greet

As soon as the students are coming into class, you want to be at the front door greeting them. Body language has a lot to do with being a good substitute school teacher so be confident and acknowledge each and every student. First, I like to ask students to line up outside. Next, I quickly share my name and tell them exactly how I expect them to walk into class (e.g., walking, quiet voice level). As they’re walking in, I give each student either an air high-five (trying to stay healthy,) or a quick “Good morning, what’s your name?” In turn, the students will think, hey, this teacher notices me and is showing me respect. This motivates each student to reciprocate the respect as they enter the room. Now, a lot of substitute teachers that I’ve seen in the past have the students walk in right away. Most of the time, the students will enter pretty rowdy, they start talking to each other, and can get really noisy. To avoid this, I set up the expectations at the door.

2) Token Economy System

Now, this is the meat and potatoes of my entire day. By this point, the students have calmly and respectfully walked into class. They are waiting to hear from you, to get a sense for how you’ll be as a substitute teacher, and what their day will be like – this is when I introduce the token economy system to the class, A.K.A. the prize box.

What is the token economy system

The token economy system is a reward system used to reduce problem behaviors. It is traditionally used to manage behaviors for one student, but I use it for the entire class. It works wonders.

How to introduce the token economy system (prize box)

To introduce the prize box, I say something like, “Hi, I’m Mr. Robert. I don’t want to be just an ordinary teacher, I want to have fun with you all. Raise your hand if you want to have fun?” Now obviously you would say this for elementary school. If it’s a middle school or high school, I would offer something else like free-time. I go to the board to introduce the “prize box” by drawing a rectangle box that has 10 other boxes inside of it. “Class, every time I catch the class doing something good, I will reinforce by giving you a star (middle or high school can be a checkmark or X). Let’s see if I can give some stars right now. I’m going to look around the classroom and see if I can see everybody’s eyes.” The trick is to choose a simple task where they can easily earn a star. Afterwards, I surprise them with not 1 but with 2 stars. The students are usually so happy about how easy it is to earn stars and are excited to earn more.

3) Pick a very motivating reward (reinforcer)

The last thing you want to do is offer a reinforcer that is very motivating for the students, appropriate, and fast. For example, in elementary I use a magic trick, in middle school I use tablet time, and in high school I use the last five minutes where they can talk and sit wherever they want. The point is to use a simple (and FREE) reward that is also reinforcing to students. Once the students earn all 10 stars, you give them their reward!

And there you have it – some of my best tips and advice for substitute teachers. Many substitute teachers are often afraid that by spending all this time on rewards, they will not be able to get through the lesson plan. I argue the opposite. On the contrary, by spending all this time on rewarding, you will have even more time to get through your lesson plan because you will not be constantly managing disruptive behaviors.

The more I reinforce, the less behaviors I’ll see.

If you’d like the complete guide to how to be the perfect substitute teacher, make sure to check out my course, now available!

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See below for my YouTube video where I share the best tips and advice for substitute teachers in more detail:

If you’re feeling unsure about implementing the prize box in class, check out this video where I share the prize box with your class and even include the reward at the end, a magic trick. Simply put, you can think of me as the classroom management teacher in the classroom.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m4HNwht_znA&t=13s

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Below you will find additional helpful articles on behavior management:

https://www.edutopia.org/article/8-proactive-classroom-management-tips/

https://www.pbisrewards.com/blog/classroom-management-tips-great-school-year/

https://www.powerschool.com/blog/10-behavior-management-ideas-as-a-guide-for-your-classroom/#:~:text=Be%20Calm%2C%20Firm%2C%20and%20Consistent&text=Giving%20a%20behavioral%20consequence%20should,been%20outlined%20to%20your%20class.

Best Tips and Advice For Substitute Teachers

I am a substitute teacher who attributes their fun days as a substitute teacher to my experience as a behaviorist. If you are a substitute school teacher who is dealing with some classroom management or a new substitute teacher looking for inspiration and ideas, you are in the right place.