Positive student behaviour

An ongoing area of attention and focus for teachers, leaders and schools – and therefore for the Academy – is student behaviour. 

The Australian Education Research Organisation (AERO) offers a comprehensive suite of evidence-based resources for effective classroom management, that aims to support teachers and school leaders to create safe and supportive learning environments. These resources are designed for educators at all career stages, from beginners to experienced educators seeking to refine their practice.

At the core of AERO's approach are several key principles:

• Positive Teacher-Student Relationships: Emphasising the importance of building strong connections with students as a foundation for positive behaviour.
• High Expectations for Student Behaviour: Promoting clear communication and consistent reinforcement of high behavioural standards for all students.
• Teaching Routines: Advocating for the explicit teaching and consistent practice of routines (e.g., entrance, exit, gaining attention) to provide structure, predictability, and reduce disruptions.
• Establishing and Maintaining Rules: Guiding teachers on creating clear, concise, and positively framed classroom rules that are explicitly taught, regularly reviewed, and consistently applied.

AERO's resources are structured into "explainers" (summarising evidence and principles), "practice guides" (step-by-step implementation guidance), and "skill resources" (focused on refining specific classroom management skills). These are often accompanied by videos demonstrating the practices in action.

Key skills and practices covered include:

• Building positive connections with all students: Strategies for knowing students and their families.
• Managing transitions: Specific routines for entering and exiting the classroom, and moving through the school.
• Gaining attention: Techniques for effectively getting all students' attention.
• Responding to disengaged and disruptive behaviours: Evidence-based approaches to address behavioural challenges.
• Setting behaviour expectations for learning tasks: Ensuring students understand expectations for on-task behaviour.
• Communication skills: Such as clear communication, deliberate pause, non-verbal correction, scanning the class, and voice control.
• Acknowledgement and praise: Using specific and timely positive reinforcement.

AERO also provides resources for school leaders to implement a whole-school approach to classroom management, fostering a shared understanding and consistent application of these practices across the school community. The resources encourage a cyclical process of rehearsal, practice, feedback, and reflection for continuous improvement in classroom management. 

Further the Victorian Teaching and Learning Model 2.0 (VTLM 2.0) is a revised version of the original VTLM, updated with the latest research and best practices in teaching and learning. It focuses on evidence-based strategies and provides clearer guidance for teachers.

The VTLM 2.0 includes 2 elements:

1. Elements of Learning – the process of human learning, based on cognitive science, neuroscience and education psychology.
2. Elements of Teaching – representing the evidence-based teaching practices that most effectively support learning: planning, enabling learning, explicit teaching and supported application.

Within the Elements of Teaching, the focus on enabling learning includes a focus on student behaviour. The VTLM2.0 states that enabling learning ‘refers to the positive relationships, cultural responsiveness, classroom expectations and management techniques that teachers establish and use to foster student self-regulation and self-efficacy, and to create a learning focused environment.’

Therefore, utilising the resources from AERO, and aligning approaches to school’s VTLM 2.0 implementation, may further enhance how schools respond to their context and to improve learning outcomes for all students. 

The Academy has a wide range of professional learning programs and resources aligned to the VTLM 2.0 and a growing suite of resources related to student behaviour that teachers, leaders and schools might also find helpful.

This short resource was prepared with the assistance of Gemini Artificial Intelligence.