Introduction
When I graduated from college, I distinctly recall feeling like the world was my oyster and the classroom my kingdom. Ambitious to change lives through language arts, my mission was to adeptly teach grammar and literature while dazzling students with ingenious strategies and delightfully engaging techniques. Despite receiving solid training, my expectations of immediate success on a proverbial silver platter were not met.
My inaugural teaching year, I began as a substitute teacher. This was an unconventional entry into the profession, but it offered unique insights into classroom dynamics and student experiences and guided my path. Learning from my parents, who were both educators, and others, my first full-time teaching year was a success, as I was able to blend their wisdom with my experience and undergraduate training.
Over the course of that initial school year, I underwent substantial growth as an educator. I was often lost in the mire of grading, meetings and after-school events, and the policies and procedures of the school, all while trying to be an excellent teacher using dynamic strategies and creative assignments. I felt as if I were constantly behind, unable to catch up, and like I was letting my students down because I couldn’t give them my best. But then I learned about routines and quarter
plans (what I call skeleton plans in this book) from my principal and colleagues that allowed me to have structure in my room and solid pacing in my lessons. My confidence grew as I attended many professional developments, devoured books, leaned on colleagues and principals, and continued being creative and innovative, utilizing new technology and leveraging low-tech strategies to assess my students. With the benefit of time, I saw how such simple knowledge cumulatively formed a solid foundation for teaching—one that, piece by piece, brick by brick, added up to a true sense of mastery and joy in the classroom.
Over the span of several years, I observed newer teachers grappling with the challenges of the profession: the demands of teaching, the unpredictability of students’ lives, and the weight of implementing engaging practices. Wishing I would have had a book like this to hand them as a guide motivated me to write this book.
Furnished with the benefit of those experiences, training, research, and accumulated wisdom, I’ve written this book for new or inexperienced K–12 teachers, focusing on the crucial aspect of classroom management. Brick by Brick is not just intended to help new and inexperienced teachers achieve success, but also to ensure they have a fulfilling and enjoyable journey in a dynamic and engaging classroom.
This book uses the metaphor of building elements to show that becoming a master teacher takes time and effort, much like constructing a house. Each strategy and concept is a brick you add, creating a unique and strong structure. Each classroom becomes a distinct creation. Brick by Brick can help you build a stable and joyful classroom, using the bricks described in this book to set the foundation.
What sets this book apart is its format, presenting information through clearly defined sections: each concept has a clear description, along with “Why It Works,” “How to Do It,” and examples. This structured approach facilitates a deeper understanding of the subject matter and simplifies the implementation process. The format and design are particularly helpful for new teachers who may be overwhelmed by the challenges of classroom management while endeavoring to use exciting strategies. Implementing these essential strategies ensures a well-organized and engaging classroom environment and fosters an enjoyable and enriching teaching experience for yourself.
By carefully preparing and planning lessons, you will ensure that you use instructional time efficiently and engage students in meaningful learning activities. In setting up daily routines, communicating expectations consistently, and having contingency plans for unexpected events, your classroom with be alive with
learning and joy. Your emphasis on creating a vibrant and joyful learning environment is crucial for fostering holistic development among students (Hagenauer, Haschjer, & Volet, 2014; Opitz & Ford, 2014).
This book will also help you build self-confidence. Establishing self-confidence and building self-assurance adds to your credibility as an educator. A confident teacher demonstrates expertise in the subject matter, provides constructive feedback, and confidently addresses challenges. When teachers project confidence, students are more likely to feel secure and motivated in their learning environment. Additionally, confident educators can inspire and motivate their students to approach challenges with a positive mindset (George, Richardson, & Watt, 2018; Quigley, 2016).
By integrating the strategies in this book, teachers can work toward building an orderly and captivating classroom. The combination of effective lesson planning, well-defined structures, dynamic engagement strategies, and a confident teaching presence contributes to a positive and conducive learning environment.
About This Book
Brick by Brick is structured as six chapters. The first chapter establishes the importance of understanding behavior and motivation, and dealing with unwelcome or unhelpful behaviors. From understanding the reasons behind students’ actions to unraveling the thought processes driving their behaviors, this chapter lays the groundwork. Chapters 2 through 5 each explore one of the four pillars of successful teaching: (1) planning, (2) structure, (3) engagement, and (4) confidence. In these chapters, you’ll find a wealth of examples and tools.
Chapter 2 explores all aspects of the planning process, starting with the intricacies of lesson planning, and includes various planning guides, as well as the mental model of a lesson plan and preparation. It demonstrates reviewing standards and objectives, and dives into the world of projects and assessments.
Chapter 3 sheds light on the crucial concept of structure, defining structure and its purpose and offering research-based and experientially based strategies. Each strategy comes with multiple implementation approaches and a deep dive into routines.
Chapter 4 explores the dynamics of engagement and includes seventeen research-based and experientially based strategies.
Chapter 5 explores the essential aspect of confidence in the classroom and offers diverse ways to bolster it. It introduces the three P’s method of classroom management—patterns, prediction, and prevention—complete with data collection methods.
Chapter 6 wraps up the book with practical ways to sustain the four pillars. The core methods involve continuous learning in planning, structure, engagement, and confidence. The chapter emphasizes cultivating a deep understanding of these teaching aspects and teaching others to grow in them.
An epilogue offers final thoughts and advice.
Each chapter opens with an overview of the topic then delves into the core content: strategies. These strategies are methodically presented in three distinct parts: a description, an exploration of the underlying rationale supported by robust research (“why it works”), and practical insights into application through real-life examples (“how to do it”).
At the end of each chapter, you will encounter additional valuable elements. Final Thoughts provides summary advice pertinent to the chapter’s focal points. To further stimulate your thinking, the Reflection Questions segment poses inquiries you can use for independent response or group discussion, making it a valuable tool for professional development. “Four Steps to Success” is a reproducible worksheet that you can fill out as you complete each chapter. This personalized guide is designed to facilitate your journey toward educational excellence.
This book serves as a valuable resource for professional development, and is adaptable to both individual study and small-group discussions. Whether used independently or as a collaborative tool during onboarding or as part of a firstyear professional development program, it offers a versatile framework suitable for diverse settings, making it an ideal companion for those seeking to enhance their professional skills and knowledge, brick by brick.
Get ready for a teaching revolution!
1 Behavior and Motivation
I love watching building shows and video channels. I like to see how the builders go about planning the construction, what tools they’ll need, and how they approach the individual tasks. Plus, they’re fun to watch, primarily because the builders love what they do and they’re good at it. From watching these shows, I’ve learned that one of the most important aspects of building a house is the foundation, and especially the footers. The footers are the bottom part of the foundation, the building blocks on which the house rests. They help distribute the weight of the structure so that it doesn’t sink into the ground. In other words, the footers stabilize and support the entire building. You never see the footers, and you might not even know that you have them—until the house begins to settle and shift. Then, all things that were plumb and square are no longer, and cracks appear down the walls and foundation. It’s bad.
Similarly, the footers—those necessary supports—of a dynamic, joyful classroom are behavior and motivation. A basic understanding of both, while not always seen or used explicitly, stabilize and support the learning and teaching. I can point to a few specific times when my background in human behavior directly influenced my teaching decisions. If you can understand more about how students act and why they act that way, you can manage a class more effectively, so that things
like experiential learning, out-of-the-box activities, and a joyful culture can be the norm.
In this first chapter, we will examine the footers of a stable, joyful classroom that is supported by an understanding of behavior and motivation. It is important to note that behavior and motivation work in tandem and affect each other directly.
Behavior
Understanding student behavior is crucial for a teacher’s success, as it enables you to effectively manage your classroom, build positive student-teacher relationships, and tailor instruction to individual needs. By decoding behavioral cues, you can create a more conducive learning environment, engage students more effectively, and contribute to overall academic and social growth.
Behavior is such a ubiquitous term, especially in education, that I believe most of us, if not all, know what it means without a formal definition. At least we know what it looks like when we see it. When it’s positive, we praise and reward it in the hopes that we will get more of it. When the behavior is poor, we discourage it in the hopes that it will decrease and disappear.
Behavior is functional. People communicate what they are thinking, feeling, or perceiving through their behaviors (Fenn, 2019). Students are not typically as experienced in the nuances of appropriate behaviors as adults, nor as sophisticated in controlling their actions. They often just react to what’s happening in the room. Adults typically handle behavioral impulses in socially appropriate ways, subjugating our desire to say out loud, “this is boring!” when in a long, ineffective meeting, or simply leave or complain or guffaw. Students generally don’t have such filters or skills to manage their thoughts and feelings. They may sigh loudly, state clearly that they are bored, or start talking with a friend when they are disengaged from the lesson. All behavior is purposeful (Fenn, 2019). Reviewing the anatomy of a behavior—that is, how a thought or feeling becomes an observable action—is vital to understanding behavior as a functional, communicative process, as figure 1.1 shows.
It all starts, not on a dark and stormy night, but in everyday events. A stimulus or event occurs. The event is neither good nor bad—it just is. In response to that event, an automatic thought, an impulsive cognition, forms. Automatic thoughts are shaped by perceptions, core values, and beliefs. Next, the automatic thought becomes a feeling and conscious thought, which then creates the behavior. With an understanding of how behavior comes to be, we can shape it, modify it, or restructure it (Bonfil & Wagage, n.d.; Cameron & Jago, 2013; Dobson & Dozois, 2021; Shidara et al., 2022; Watson, 1997).
4
3
FEELINGS AND THOUGHTS BEHAVIOR
The feelings and thoughts trigger the behavior, which could be subtle or expressive.
2
1 EVENT AUTOMATIC THOUGHTS
Feelings and thoughts are conscious. Once the automatic thought has occurred, it creates an emotional response and conscious thought. Automatic thoughts arise in our minds throughout the day, every day. Automatic thoughts are shaped by: ‣ perceptions ‣ core values ‣ beliefs
The event or situation is not good or bad—it just is. It is a happening or an occurrence.
Source: Bonfil & Wagage, n.d.; Cameron & Jago, 2013; Dobson & Dozois, 2021; Fenn, 2019; Shidara et al., 2022; Watson, 1997.
Figure 1.1: Anatomy of a behavior.
Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary defines behavior as “the way in which someone conducts oneself or behaves” and also as “the response of an individual, group, or species to its environment” (Behavior, n.d.a). But what we as educators need is a more practical definition that we can apply in the classroom. We want to see well-defined, positive behavior in students. So, what are the behavioral expectations for our classrooms?
Why It Works
If we think of behavior as another form of communication (Fenn, 2019), then we can learn to understand what students are saying through their behavior, so we can properly respond. Knowing the anatomy of a behavior gives us compassion for poor behavior and an understanding that contexts (including perceptions, values, beliefs, and situations) influence behavior. We know that students are not just being difficult for the sake of difficulty, but rather, they are saying something. Our jobs as classroom teachers, then, is that of a sleuth, discovering the reason for the behavior (that is, the context), and how we can modify it or restructure it.
Expectations are essential in a classroom (Canter, 2010; Sieberer-Nagler, 2016; Timmermans, Rubie-Davies, & Rjosk, 2018; Wang, Rubie-Davies, & Meissel, 2018). In 1968, researchers Robert Rosenthal and Lenore Jacobson (1968) conducted a study on the effects of teachers’ self-fulfilling prophecies toward their students. Rosenthal and Jacobson conducted the experiment in a public elementary school, where they told one group of teachers that their students were normal and told a second group of teachers that their students were experiencing an intellectual growth spurt. The students were randomly selected, and all were typically developing students.
Rosenthal and Jacobson found that the students taught by teachers who believed they were on the cusp of intellectual growth performed significantly better than their peers whose teachers had normal expectations. The researchers emphatically concluded that the attitudes and beliefs that teachers held about the students impacted those students’ learning. Rosenthal and Jacobson (1968) referred to their findings as the Pygmalion effect . Not everyone accepts Rosenthal and Jacobson’s (1968) findings, however, and the Pygmalion effect is not without its detractors, who state that while there is an expectancy effect, it is small and does not directly impact learning (Jussim & Harber, 2005).
Other studies on the impact of teacher expectations on student learning, however, specifically cite the Pygmalion effect (Timmermans, de Boer, & van der Werf, 2016; Timmermans et al., 2018; Wang et al., 2018). Educational researchers Junlin Yu, Pia Kreijkes, and Katariina Salmela-Aro (2022) find that when teachers believe that students have the capacity to do well, the teachers provide strategies and activities that promote autonomy (such as guided inquiry and differentiation of tasks), which impact students’ belief that they can perform the tasks well. There is a reciprocity to the Pygmalion effect, also called teacher expectation effect, in that students reciprocate the beliefs and interest of the teacher, showing regard and respect for the teacher (Johnston, Wildy, & Shand, 2022). The takeaway is that what you expect from your students, generally and over time, you will get.
Having a mental model of how a student should act, and how an engaged student should behave, makes it quite possible to achieve such behavior (Andersen, 2018; Timmermans et al., 2016). Posting in class and teaching the behaviors you want to see in students clearly shows them your expectations for their behavior, which they will tend to follow (Borg, 2018; Brandmiller, Dumont, & Becker, 2020; Geier, 2022). Clear expectations and guidelines are paramount to fostering orderly, well-paced, student-driven lessons and an enjoyable learning environment with reduced off-task behavior (Center for Promoting Research to Practice, n.d.; Sieberer-Nagler, 2016). For students, the classroom is a microcosm of larger society in which the rules provide structure for how they see their place in the world (Alter & Haydon, 2017). Clear guidelines and rules are simple to implement, cost nothing, and have a significant effect on student behavior (Alter & Haydon, 2017).
The way students behave in class is learned (Sieberer-Nagler, 2016). Researcher Katharina Sieberer-Nagler (2016) states that students’ behavior changes as a result of its consequences, and that classroom behavior is influenced by the classroom context (meaning, the culture of the room; Center for Promoting Research to Practice, n.d.). This is truly exciting, because it means that students’ classroom behavior is malleable. It may take time and effort, but you can create the classroom behaviors you want to see with clear expectations and guidelines (Strobel Education, 2023a). In chapter 3 (page 61), we will look at the academic side of clear expectations.
How to Do It
It is imperative to understand that all behavior happens in a context (Bonfil & Wagage, n.d.; Fenn, 2019; Shidara et al., 2022). The context affects the behavior. In other words, the context gives clues as to why the behavior happened or is happening. That initial event that prompted the behavior occurred in a location, a situation, with surrounding events, with previous events, and so on. Table 1.1 shows examples of different contextual circumstances, all of which affect behavior.
Table 1.1: Contextual Circumstances That Can Impact Behavior
Student lack of sleep
Student argument with parents
Student hunger
Student depression or anxiety
Pace is too fast or slow
Content is too challenging or easy
Room is too cold or hot
Room is too dark or bright
Room is too cluttered, messy, or dirty
Too much noise and activity in room
Too little structure, which can make students feel insecure or unsafe
Too little organization or preparation by teacher, which can make students feel unvalued and thus insecure or unsafe)
When seeing an off-task behavior, especially a pattern of a behavior, first look at the context in which it happened or is happening.
Often, the expectations are listed as classroom rules or guidelines. I suggest defining the model student’s behavior, writing it as a paragraph, and explicitly teaching it to students. To complement this, ask students what they expect of a good teacher. Researchers Peter Alter and Todd Haydon (2017) find that when teachers explicitly and clearly teach classroom guidelines and link them with negative or positive consequences, they have the greatest effectiveness.
Note that the context of the behavior does not excuse the behavior; it merely helps explain it. There will be consequences for the behavior, whether they stem from natural occurrences or classroom guidelines. The context helps you know what steps to take next to mitigate or lessen the behavior.
Another strategy is to review the ABCs of behavior. Figure 1.2 introduces the ABCs: the antecedent , the behavior, and the consequence. I suggest writing these elements down soon after the event, while its still fresh in your memory.
ANTECEDENT:
What caused the behavior? Why did the student do that?
ACONSEQUENCE:
What was the immediate response from you and others to the behavior?
Source: Skinner, 1948. Figure 1.2: The ABCs of behavior.
B CBEHAVIOR:
What exactly happened? What actions did the student take?
The antecedent, the A, is what prompted the behavior. Remember, it could be that nothing specific happened , but the context created the impetus of the behavior. Finding the A in the ABCs of behavior can be challenging. You may need to investigate, for example, by asking others what was going on when the student acted out, or do your best to recall the events as they unfolded.
Identifying the B , behavior, tends to be easy and straightforward: What was the behavior? The difficult part of B is ensuring that the behavior you recall is
measurable and observable. Avoid presuming thoughts or feelings or motivations related to the behavior. Only state the actual behavior. Your documentation can and should include facial expressions, such as eyes (tears, squinted), eyebrows (furrowed, up), and mouth (lips curled, frowning). Also observe body language such as shoulders (back, forward), arms (gesturing, at side), and legs (standing, sitting, pacing). As best as you can, recall what the student verbalized (words and tone or sounds) and toward whom they directed it.
Finally, the C , consequence, addresses the immediate consequence of the behavior. Did others laugh, scream, move away? Did you gasp, yell, stay calm? You are gathering intelligence on the reactions you and others had in response to the student’s behavior. Figure 1.3 provides examples of classroom scenarios, so you can practice your ABCs.
Depending on the consequence of the behavior, the student may or may not repeat the behavior. It is a good practice to figure out the ABCs of a specific incident. Take time to work out the reason why the student acted the way they did. Certainly, seek out your administrators, counselors, social workers, and colleagues for help. Keep in mind, confidentiality is extremely important, so do not share the student’s name or give hints as to who the student is (except to those who have the legal right to know). When in doubt, ask your administrator. If the behavior continues, take data, as described in the section on the three Ps in chapter 5 (page 154).
Motivation
Motivation is simply why a person does something. The more technical definition is that it’s an internal process, a drive, goal-directed behavior, a desire to do a thing or things (Souders, 2019). In my book Engage (Fenn, 2019), I define it as the individual forces that account for the direction, energy, and persistence of a person’s expended effort. The direction of effort is where or on what a person chooses to expend their effort. Energy of effort is how much verve, vigor, or drive a person puts into the activity. And persistence of effort is how long they will keep doing the activity.
Understanding motivation is vital for a teacher’s success, and can unlock the key to student engagement and academic achievement. Understanding individual motivations allows for personalized teaching approaches, and fosters a positive
IDENTIFY THE ANTECEDENT ( A ), BEHAVIOR ( B ), AND CONSEQUENCE ( C ) IN EACH OF THE FOLLOWING SCENARIOS:
Example. Samantha cracked a witty joke about the assignment Mr. Friedman had given. The entire class, including the teacher, shared a laugh, appreciating the humor. However, Cesar disrupted the moment with an inappropriate joke. While some classmates found it amusing, Mr. Friedman responded with a stern look and admonished Cesar, “Hey, that’s not appropriate.”
A = Samantha told a funny joke. Students and teacher laughed.
B = Cesar told an inappropriate joke.
C = Some students laughed. Mr. Friedman did not laugh, but rather gave a stern look and verbal admonishment.
Amy, a fourthgrade student, was assigned a reading task by Mrs. Gamen. She successfully completed the assignment, earning an A by correctly answering eight out of ten comprehension problems.
Marcus, a first grader, struggled to adapt to his new school. He refused to participate in class, and instead pushed his crayons off his desk and played with them on the floor for half an hour. His teacher, Mr. Landau, withheld intervention, except for monitoring for safety. Mr. Landau patiently waited until Marcus regained composure and then praised him by saying, “I’m proud of you, Marcus. It seemed you were sad and mad, but now you have controlled your emotions. Excellent! Can you help me pick up the crayons?”
Sara, a high school student, unexpectedly encountered another student, Meisha, who pushed her against the locker. Following this incident, Sara opted to use a different exit for several days to steer clear of Meisha.
Answers
1. A = Amy given task to complete; B = Amy completed the task; C = Amy earned an A
2. A = Marcus struggled to adapt to new school; B = Marcus pushed items off desk, then regained composure; C = Mr. Landau praised Marcus
3. A = Sara left the cafeteria; B = Meisha pushed her against locker; C = Sara took a different route after lunch
Figure 1.3: The ABCs of behavior in classroom scenarios. Visit go.SolutionTree.com/behavior for a free reproducible version of this figure.
learning environment. Motivated students are more likely to be active participants, which enhances overall academic achievement in the classroom and creates a more fulfilling teaching experience (Fenn, 2019).
The self-determination theory of motivation posits that there are three human needs that drive people to do what they do: competence, autonomy, and relatedness, forming the acronym CAR (Deci & Ryan, 2000; Ryan & Deci, 2017). Competence refers to the need for individuals to feel effective and capable in their actions, which promotes motivation and well-being through the mastery of challenges. Competence answers the questions Can I do it? and Do I have the capacity or skills to perform well? Autonomy involves individuals making choices aligned with their values, which fosters a sense of control and fulfillment. Autonomy is about freedom to choose and the feeling of being the master of one’s destiny. Relatedness, also called belonging, underscores the importance of social connections and meaningful relationships for human well-being. It emphasizes the need for belonging, intimacy, and a sense of connection with others. Students are motivated to behave because of these innate needs.
Why It Works
All students are motivated: just wait for the bell! I have watched students of mine sit disengaged in class, but when the bell rings, they jump out of their seats, spill into the hallway, and talk animatedly with their friends. I would say about those students, “she’s unmotivated” or “he’s not motivated to learn.”
Nothing was further from the truth. They were motivated, just not to listen to me or engage in my lesson. There’s no such thing as an unmotivated student. If we believe that a particular student is unmotivated, then we are likely to give up on that student and allow them to wallow in their apathetic state. But, if we realize that all students are motivated, then we look for ways to move their motivation in the right direction: toward learning. Knowing that all students have innate drives to be autonomous, to be competent, or to feel a sense of relatedness or belonging offers us clues to how we can redirect misguided motivation, off-task behavior, and inappropriate behavior.
How to Do It
Understanding motivation may be challenging but it’s well worth the investment. As you establish a sense of CAR in your classroom, be mindful of how student motivation (direction, energy, and persistence) will also be impacted. Next, implement strategies that enhance needs satisfaction. Create an atmosphere in which students’ needs for competence, autonomy, and relatedness are met regularly. Table 1.2 explores these needs and some strategies for meeting them in the classroom.
Table 1.2: Needs and How to Meet Them
Needs That Drive Motivation Strategies to Help Meet the Needs
Competence
‣ Provide regular praise and recognition.
‣ Give supportive, constructive feedback.
‣ Post student work on the walls.
‣ Express high expectations.
‣ Assign challenging tasks and activities without grading them. Present these optional tasks and activities as “If you are able” or “I believe you can do this—show me” challenges.
Autonomy
‣ Set classwide and individual goals.
‣ Give choices. Allow students to demonstrate their understanding and accomplish the work in various ways.
‣ Establish flexible deadlines. Students should know the hard boundaries of due dates, like the end of the quarter, but allow flexibility within that time.
‣ Survey students to get their feedback on the class. Ask students what’s working and what’s not in terms of strategies, activities, and pacing. (Students do not get to determine the standards or objectives.)
‣ Use student interests in lessons. Glean from your students what interests them, such as hobbies, favorite movies, musical tastes, and sports teams. Use those in your examples, reading selections, graphics, and so on.
Relatedness
‣ Greet students when they enter the room.
‣ Create, foster, and maintain positive relationships. Get to know your students. Ask them questions about their lives and show interest in what’s going on in their world.
‣ Decorate the walls with things that students care about.
‣ Ask students to share how the class content relates to them.
‣ Acknowledge and validate negative feelings. When students tell you they don’t understand, say, “Good! That’s why you’re here. If you already knew this stuff, you’d be in the next grade.”
Source: Deci & Ryan, 2016; Fenn, 2019; Guay, Lessard, & Dubois, 2016; Vanner, 2021.
Final Thoughts
Understanding student behavior and motivation has a profound impact. Doing so is key to fostering positive learning environments and unlocking academic success. Behavior is a communication tool. Learn to read behavior. Most classroom teaching is interacting with students. Students are kids, no matter if they’re eighteen or five. They act like kids. The better you are at understanding how students communicate, the more effective you will be as a teacher.
Avoid immediate judgment. It’s easy to fall into the trap of judging a student’s behavior without considering motive and intent. We don’t know what a student was thinking when the behavior happened, we only observed the outward manifestation. Hold off on judgment until you have all the information.
Assume the best. When students are off task or do something inappropriate, try to assume the best of them. It may be challenging to do so, but act as if their behavior is the result of their context, that they misunderstood the event, or that they made a poor attempt at a joke.
Motivation is based on basic human needs. Observe your own motivations and see which needs may be being addressed by certain behaviors. It’s tricky, so go easy on yourself. The best way to remember the three basic needs is CAR: competence, autonomy, relatedness.
Behavior and motivation are foundational to teaching. Knowing why a student does what they do and possible explanations for the behavior is paramount for classroom management. It is also vital for learning, which is based, ultimately, on relationships.
Positive student behavior and motivation create a vibrant and stable learning environment. When students are motivated, they are more likely to actively participate, leading to a joyful school experience for both teacher and student. Planning becomes smoother as you build on this positive energy, establishing a joyful and stable classroom.
Reflection Questions
Reflective questions are essential for personal professional growth, serving as catalysts for self-discovery. Answering thoughtfully fosters continuous learning, adaptation, and advancement in your educational journey.
1. What do you find to be the most challenging aspect of student behavior?
2. How does behavior impact your interaction with students? In what ways does understanding the roots of behavior help you as the teacher?
3. What skills do you need to sharpen to be proficient at finding the purpose of students’ behaviors? Similarly, what skills do you think you need to accurately interpret behaviors?
4. How does motivation impact your interactions with students?
5. What skills do you think you need to be proficient at finding which element of motivation a student is exhibiting? What skills do you need to determine the best way to address the misguided motivation?
Chapter 1: Four Steps to Success
Use this worksheet to further grow your teaching practice and learn to experience the joy of teaching. Pick the chapter strategy that most resonates with you, become an expert, and then work on another.
Step 1. Rate your level of understanding of each strategy. (1 = expert; 2 = proficient; 3 = novice)
Step 2. Circle one strategy from the chapter that you’d like to improve on.
Step 3. Determine when and how you will use the strategy.
Step 4. Reflect by responding to prompts.
Step 1
Rate your level of understanding of each strategy. (1 = expert; 2 = proficient; 3 = novice)
Step 2
Circle one strategy from the chapter that you’d like to improve on.
Determine when and how you will use the strategy. Step 3 page 1 of 2
When and how will you use this strategy?
New or inexperienced teachers may enter classrooms brimming with passion, but often face myriad challenges in engaging students, managing behavior, and developing effective lessons and routines. In Brick by Brick: Setting the Foundation for a Stable and Joyful Classroom, author Kjell Fenn demonstrates that behind every successful classroom is a teacher who places four pillars of successful teaching at the forefront: planning, structure, engagement, and confidence. Fenn guides readers through the four pillars’ many facets and methodically presents numerous strategies for designing summative assessments, understanding unit and quarter planning requirements, introducing the structure and routines students need to succeed, and much more. Practical and insightful, this comprehensive, research-supported guide will help new teachers sustain the purpose and joy that brought them to their profession.
K–12 teachers will:
• Understand the nuances of behavior and motivation and how to use those to optimize classroom management
• Explore the dynamics of student engagement with seventeen strategies to promote interest
• Bolster student and teacher confidence through structured classroom routines
• Create lessons and units that engage students while satisfying standards and objectives
• Collect data on their classroom management and continuously refine their teaching methods
“ Brick by Brick is a powerful resource for educators committed to creating a positive and effective classroom environment. Fenn’s organized approach offers both new and seasoned teachers practical strategies that can be immediately applied. His expertise and passion shine through on every page, making the book a valuable addition to the libraries of both teachers and administrators.”
CLINT HOLDEN Director, SchoolRight, LLC
“ Brick by Brick is packed with wise and insightful guidance for teachers seeking to build their capacity and enhance their classroom management. Fenn understands the learning process, and guides teachers toward a higher level of impact, which will lead to increased student success.”
— DAVID A. WELLS Executive Consultant and Principal, GLOBAL
School Consulting Group
