The importance of planning and subject knowledge in managing pupil behaviour

To describe common causes of off-task behaviour that may be attributed to appropriate learning activities, lesson structure and classroom organisation. To develop strategies to reduce the likelihood of such misbehaviour. To identify the significance of subject knowledge in behaviour management. To embed activities and strategies that promote positive on-task behaviour into your lesson planning. This chapter describes common causes of off-task behaviour that may be attributed to appropriate learning activities, lesson structure and classroom organisation. It looks at causality from both a pupil and a teacher perspective, particularly considering the relationship between classroom activities and pupil misbehaviour. Perhaps surprisingly, there has been very little research carried out into the causes to which pupils attribute negative behaviour. In comparison to research into pupils' perspectives on causes of poor behaviour, there has been far more research on factors that teachers think allow for distraction and disruption. The word mitigation, rather than prevention, is appropriate as no amount of planning will guarantee positive on-task behaviour from all students, and ongoing active management of the classroom is essential for quality learning. An awareness of these potential causes of off-task behaviour allows teachers to plan to mitigate potential behavioural problems.