Context

At the start of a contract position at a semi-rural high school, I taught Year 8 and Year 9 Mathematics. Many lessons were disrupted by persistent low-level behavioural issues, including students talking over the teacher, moving around the room without permission, engaging in off-task conversations, directing inappropriate language toward peers and staff, and, on occasion, leaving the classroom without permission. These behaviours negatively affected student learning and frequently required support from school leadership.

At my first Professional Development Plan (PDP) review, classroom behaviour management was identified as an area for professional growth. Recognising the need to strengthen my classroom management practices, I attended Bill Hansberry’s professional development workshop, Behaviour Management 101. The workshop focused on establishing clear expectations, developing consistent routines, and proactively managing behaviour through preventative rather than reactive strategies.

Actions

Following the professional learning, I reflected on my classroom management practices and implemented a range of strategies recommended by Bill Hansberry.

A key concept from the workshop was to “put a rule around the problem”. Rather than repeatedly responding to unwanted behaviours, I established clear expectations and routines that explicitly taught students what successful behaviour looked like.

The routines introduced included:

• Students lining up before entering the classroom.
• Entering the room calmly and waiting for instructions.
• Ensuring notebooks and equipment were organised and ready for learning.
• Keeping laptops closed until instructed to use them.
• Maintaining a tidy learning environment.
• Pushing chairs in and leaving the room clean at the end of each lesson.
• Demonstrating respectful interactions with teachers and peers.

To reinforce these expectations, I developed and displayed classroom posters that reminded students to:

• Use Kind Words, Kind Actions. (KWKA)
• Closed Laptops Until the Teacher Says. (CLUTS)
• Do the Next Class a Favour.(DoNCAF)

These expectations were explicitly taught, consistently reinforced and regularly referenced throughout lessons. I also maintained records from the professional learning and retained copies of the classroom resources and posters used to support implementation.

Results

Within several weeks of implementing the new routines, I noticed improvements in student behaviour and classroom organisation. Students became more responsive to expectations and required fewer reminders during lessons.

By the end of the next term, the classroom environment had become noticeably calmer and more productive. Transitions were smoother, interruptions were reduced, and students demonstrated greater readiness for learning.

Over the following year, many of the routines became embedded within classroom culture. Students routinely lined up appropriately, organised their learning materials, waited for instructions before opening laptops, and left classrooms tidy without prompting. While respectful language and interactions remained an ongoing focus area across the school, substantial improvements were observed in student compliance with classroom routines and expectations. These improvements were supported by my PDP reflections, classroom observations, and retained copies of the routines and visual supports used during implementation

This year, the school implemented a Positive Behaviour for Learning (PBL) framework. The expectations promoted through the school’s Positive Behaviour Matrix aligned closely with the routines I had already established, including waiting to be invited into the learning space, having required equipment, staying focused, respecting the rights of others to learn, and asking permission to leave the classroom. This alignment reinforced the effectiveness of the strategies and demonstrated consistency between my classroom practices and whole-school behaviour expectations.

Evaluation

This experience significantly strengthened my understanding of effective behaviour management and demonstrated the impact that targeted professional learning can have on teaching practice.

Prior to attending the professional development workshop, my approach to behaviour management was largely reactive. Through Bill Hansberry’s training, I developed a greater understanding of how clear expectations, explicit routines and consistent reinforcement can prevent behavioural issues before they occur.

The success of these strategies reinforced the importance of ongoing professional learning and reflective practice. It also increased my confidence in establishing positive classroom cultures that maximise student engagement and learning.

Standards and Focus Areas

#3 Plan Teaching and Learning (3.5)
#4 Safe Learning Environment (4.4)
#6 Professional Learning (6.1, 6.2, 6.3, 6.4)
#7 Professional Engagement (7.4)