8 R's of Behavior By Doug Van Oort

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The Eight Rs of Behavior:
Dealing with Misbehavior Made Easy! (OK, easier)
By Doug Van Oort, Associate Professor, Kirkwood Community College (2008; revised 2010, 2012)
Anyone who’s worked in a school knows that dealing with challenging student behaviors can
be, well, very challenging. Nationally, nearly 50% of new teachers leave teaching within the first
five years (NEA), and student behavior is a primary reason. Common sense tells us that
paraeducators and other professionals who work with students with difficult behaviors may
experience frustrations similar to teachers, resulting in a lack of job satisfaction. During the
summer of 2008 while teaching a course titled Observation and Management of Behavior (now
Behavior Management), I tried to reduce what can be a lot of very complex information
regarding behavior into some essential understandings, or the 6 Rs of Behavior. Over time, the
6 Rs expanded to 8. 
Based on my experience as a teacher, coach, and parent, applying the 8 Rs of Behavior results
in two very positive outcomes:
 Most misbehavior will be prevented.
 Misbehavior that does occur will be changed more effectively long-term and in ways
that preserve a positive atmosphere and your relationship with the individual.
The Eight Rs of Behavior
1. Relationship, Respect, & Realization of Success
2. React Respectfully
3. Reason
4. Relevance
5. Replace Behavior or Restructure Beliefs
6. Remind
7. Recognize
8. Responsibility
1. Relationship, Respect, & Realization of Success
According to Carol Ann Tomlinson, University of Virginia, “90% of misbehavior is prevented by
simply building a relationship with students.” (Tomlinson) When you treat them with respect,
make effort to get to know their interests, get to know about their families, listen to them talk
about their joys and struggles, and basically make it clear that you care about them, it’s less
likely that they’ll misbehave in your presence. And, if they do misbehave, they’ll be more likely
to accept your attempts to address the misbehavior as a result of the bond you have with them.
Developing an overall culture of respect in the classroom also results in less misbehavior. A
culture of respect involves everyone being respectful of others and themselves. Educators set
the tone by modeling respect daily in all their interactions and by communicating the
expectation that respect for others, self, and property is nonnegotiable. “It’s what we do here.”

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Studies also indicate that the realization of success - actually experiencing success in something
of value - results in less misbehavior. (Mccullough et al.) While not easy, educators must work
diligently to ensure the success of each student by providing work at the right level of challenge
for each, providing needed support, explaining the benefits of learning, and making the
classroom positive and safe.
By building a relationship with each student, developing a culture of respect, and making sure
each student realizes success, educators will prevent most misbehavior.
2. React Respectfully
Despite efforts to prevent misbehavior, it will occur. When it does, it’s essential that we react in
a calm, respectful manner, even if the behavior is severe, if we expect to maintain a positive
relationship with the student. It’s important to remember that, after a behavior incident, we
are still the student’s teacher or paraeducator, and we still need to work with and positively
influence that student the rest of the school year. This will be easier and our work with the
student will be more effective if we reacted calmly and preserved the student’s dignity. A calm
reaction will maintain that positive relationship you worked so hard to build.
A helpful motto learned during my preparation as a trainer in Mandt, an internationally-
renowned crisis prevention and de-escalation system is: “It is my response that decides
whether a situation is escalated or de-escalated and a student built up or torn down.” (Mandt)
Our job as educators is to bring calmto difficult situations, not make matters worse, and to
build students up, not tear them down.
If a student’s behavior is extreme, it’s understandable that we may be scared or angry and
difficult to keep these emotions in check. Remember that most, if not all, eyes will be watching
our reaction and that students learn from our behavior. If we expect students to react calmly
and with self-control in difficult situations, we must do so, too.
Here are some ways to react respectfully:
 Don’t take misbehavior personally, even if it may seem personal.
 Stop a behavior without others noticing (eye contact, gesture, move closer). (Kaplan, 7)
 If the approaches listed above don’t work, briefly state your expectations in a respectful
but serious tone. If the situation permits, do so privately or as quietly as possible. Tell
what “to do” rather than what not to do (“Jai, keep hands only on your materials.”). If
time allows, briefly explain why. (“…so that you get this project finished on time.”)
 If a behavior is an ongoing issue, discuss privately with the student during a break.
Express concern for the student’s welfare. (“Fran, you’ve been texting in class. Your
grade isn’t good, and I’m concerned that the texting is keeping you from succeeding.”
 Demonstrate a growth mindset or belief that each child’s behavior can improve. Model
an attitude that says, “You’re a good kid. This behavior needs changing, but now that
you know why, I believe you’ll do what’s right.” We tend to get what we expect from
students. (Arends, 47) If we treat them as “bad kids”, they tend to keep acting poorly.
 Avoid using punishment. A huge body of research has revealed its many negatives, such
as ineffectiveness long-term in changing behavior (Kaplan, 197), leading to even worse

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behavior than before (Porter, 1), damage to the educator-student relationship (Kaplan,
198), and leading to avoidance behaviors such as cheating and skipping school. (Sanson,
6) Instead, apply the rest of the 8 Rs below. All are respectful reactions.
3. Reason
Often, educators try to change misbehavior with rewards or punishment. These sometimes
work but typically only short-term. Research shows that when the reward (Kohn 37) or
punishment (Kaplan 197) is no longer present, the student typically returns to the original
misbehavior. Often, rewards and punishment don’t even work short-term. Consider this
example. A teacher has nearly an entire class that fails to get homework done. The teacher tries
powerful rewards and punishments, but some still don’t complete homework. Why? For some,
the work is too hard. Others choose not to complete homework because peers ridicule anyone
who does. Others don’t see value in doing homework (“What good will it do? I won’t amount to
anything anyway.”). For these and other reasons, homework will not get done. (Kaplan 89-90)
Educators need to diagnose the underlying reason for the behavior to effectively change it. One
simple way of diagnosing is for staff to ask themselves, “What’s being communicated by this
behavior?” Often, a need is not being met, such as a need for tutoring for that student who
finds the work too hard. By knowing the need, staff can address it. Another diagnostic method,
Functional Analysis, involves looking at aspects of the student’s environment that may be
influencing the behavior, such as peers who ridicule, and then changing that aspect (teaching
peers empathy and how to be supportive). (Kaplan 92) A third method, Pre-mod Analysis,
assesses the student’s internal state, factors within the student (e.g., not seeing the positives of
completing homework) that keep him from engaging in the desired behavior. (Kaplan 96) The
educator then must change the student’s internal state (in this case, the way the student views
himself and how academic success can help him). Knowing the reason gives us information
needed to design a plan to change the behavior. In Kirkwood’s Behavior Management course,
you’ll experience the joy of learning these diagnostic methods in greater depth!
Some educators don’t bother to diagnose the cause, instead just identifying the reason as,
“He’s a bad kid.” This isn’t a reason; it’s a label. Labeling gives up on the child. Bad behavior is
often the result of bad circumstances, such as poor modeling (child hits peers after regularly
seeing parents hit each other), unrealistic expectations (6 year old gets in trouble for being out-
of-seat when expected to sit quietly for long periods), or years of frustration (a bright student
with a learning disability who verbally lashes out at others after years of ridicule by peers,
perhaps even by staff, and years of not having his learning needs met). Diagnosis allows us to
uncover these bad circumstances. Once uncovered, bad circumstances can be improved.
4. Relevance
To increase the chances of a student changing a behavior, educators must get the student “on
board”. The student needs to be convinced of the relevance or benefit of changing the
behavior. We do this best in private and in a respectful manner that says, “I want to help you.”
And, we typically do this most effectively by addressing how changing will help the student, not
us. For example, “This will help you do better in school…which will help you graduate…which

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will result in a better job and making more money as an adult,” or, “This will help you make and
keep friends,” rather than, “This will keep me (the educator) from going CRAZY!”
5. Replace Behavior or Restructure Beliefs
When changing a behavior, it’s essential that educators teach the student a replacement
behavior, a safe, productive behavior that replaces the old behavior. A key word is “teach”;
don’t assume he knows how to engage in the new behavior. In our homework example earlier,
we would replace “not completing homework” with “completing homework”. This may require
teaching study skills, prioritization, etc. In the case of “ridiculing peers for completing
homework”, a replacement might be “compliments peers who complete homework”.
If an educator gets rid of a student’s misbehavior (perhaps by telling the student how the
behavior hurts him or others, or through a negative approach such as punishment) but does not
teach the student a replacement behavior, the misbehavior is likely to return later. (Kaplan 63)
In many cases, an underlying harmful belief may be fueling a behavior. (Kaplan 383) A student
may believe, “Nothing I do or will do in my life ever turns out good,” and so she skips school,
doesn’t complete homework, and so on. We can teach her study skills and organization skills,
but unless we change her belief about herself we will not likely see long-term positive changes
in her behavior. We must replace this harmful belief with a positive one. This is done the same
way she developed the harmful belief – through teaching, repetition, and experiences. Perhaps
she’s experienced failure in school for years as well as negative comments from peers or
parents, maybe even staff. Changing a harmful belief requires positive self-talk, so educators,
with the student’s input, should develop a positive self-talk script that she regularly tells herself
(“I’m good at many things. If I give my best effort in all I do, good things can and will happen.”).
Over time, she will begin to internalize this new belief if she is also experiencing success (we
can ensure success by giving work at the right level of challenge, teaching needed skills, and
providing supports needed for her to succeed).
Important notes: Changing a student’s beliefs takes time! A belief is typically learned over many
years, and it will likely take a long time to replace. (Kaplan 411) Also, any approaches we take to
change a behavior or belief must be positive and respectful. Avoid rewards or punishment.
They can create dependency, harm relationships, and lower internal motivation.
6. Remind
To increase the chances of the student permanently changing to the replacement behavior or
belief, remind the student of the new behavior or belief at key times. In our homework
example, when given homework or time to work on homework in class, quietly remind the
student of the relevance or benefits of completing it. Perhaps remind the student of a routine
you’ve helped him develop for completing homework at home (go home, have a snack, watch
TV or exercise for an hour, then complete homework before doing any other fun activities).
Another example might be a student who’s gotten in trouble in the past for throwing gravel at
peers at recess. As the student is going to recess, remind her of the replacement behavior
you’ve taught - playing catch with a peer (with a ball, not gravel ). Visual reminders, such as a
strategically-placed card that illustrates the new behavior or belief, are often helpful.

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7. Recognize
Most of us appreciate when others recognize our successes, and our students are no different.
When students display the replacement behavior or new belief, let them know you saw it.
“Andy, great job on your homework.” Or, “Chanelle, I saw you playing catch with Juan. What a
fun way to spend your recess!” Recognize and celebrate successes!
Note: When possible, recognize success without using tangible rewards such as tokens, food,
etc. due to some of the related negatives such as dependency and lowered internal motivation.
8. Responsibility
Whenever possible and as soon as possible, turn responsibility or control of a specific behavior
over to the student. Students want control; give it to them when possible. Kaplan refers to this
concept as self-management and cites reasons for doing so, such as: 1) it works in changing
behavior long-term, based on research (Kaplan 341); 2) it promotes self-reliance (Kaplan 343);
and 3) it’s a life-long skill, perhaps more relevant than anything we teach in school. (Kaplan 343)
Conclusion
The 8 Rs take more time and effort on our part to implement than rewards and punishment,
but they’re more effective long-term. Our students deserve our time, our best effort, our
respect, and our use of proven, research-based strategies.
References
Arends, R. (2012). Learning to teach (9th Ed.). New York:McGraw-Hill.
Faber, A, & Mazlish, E. (1999). How to talk so kids will listen & listen so kids will talk. New York:Avon Books.
Kaplan, J. (1995). Beyond behavior modification (3rd Ed.). Austin, TX:Pro-Ed.
Kohn, A. (1993). Punished by rewards:The trouble with gold stars, incentive plans, A’s, praise, and other bribes. New York, NY:
Houghton Mifflin.
Mandt. D. (2002). The Mandt System:Basic andIntermediate Trainer Manual. Richardson, TX:David Mandt andAssociates.
Mccullough, M., Ashbridge, D., & Pegg, R. The effect of self-esteem, familystructure locus of control, and career goals on
adolescent leadership behavior. Adolescence, Vol. 29, 1994.
NationalEducation Association(NEA). (2010). Research spotlight on recruiting & retaining highly qualified teachers.
http://www.nea.org/tools/17054.htm
Porter, A. (2007). Restorative practices in schools:Research revealspower of restorative approach. International Institute for
Restorative Practices. www.iirp.edu/article_detail.php?article_id=551
Sanson, A. et al. (1995). Punishment and behavior change. The AustralianPsychological Society. http://www.psychology.org
Tomlinson, C. (2008). Differentiated instruction:Beginning the journey. 2008 ASCD Summer Conference on Differentiated
Instruction, Understanding byDesign, andWhat Works inSchools. Nashville: TN.