Overwhelmed by challenging behaviors in your classroom? Getting students engaged can help quell behavior issues. Here’s how.

<h2>10 Strategies for Behavior Problems in the Classroom</h2>It can be argued that as a teacher, being an expert in behavior management is more important than being an expert in your content area. After all, if you can't get your students to engage, how can they be expected to learn?Some students are passionate about school and learning, and their natural curiosity, paired with their abilities to listen, follow the rules and self-govern, make your job as a teacher a piece of cake. Others may not be overjoyed about being at school, but they can do what's expected of them and will participate eagerly when interested. There are always a handful of students, though, who will truly put your teaching skills to the test. These kids struggle with various behavior issues and may make life particularly challenging for you as an educator.These are also the students who often touch our hearts. These kids are often most in need of the understanding, compassion, patience, creativity, problem-solving and determination that are characteristics of great teachers.If you have found yourself overwhelmed by challenging behaviors in your classroom, take heart. You'll be all set for success with this little refresher on behavior issues and some new ideas for engaging students in the classroom! Bookmark this page, so you can revisit it as needed.<h2>Behavior Issues in the Classroom</h2>First, it's important to know a little about the prevalence and types of behavior disorders you may encounter in the classroom. Studies show that 2-6% of K-12 students have behavior disorders and that classroom behavior issues have increased dramatically in recent years (<a href="https://www.nsta.org/behavioral-disorders" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">National Science Teaching Association</a>).Various states and school districts refer to behavior disorders differently. Therefore, you may have heard behavior disorders referred to as:<ul><li>Emotional and behavior disorders (EBD)</li><li>Serious emotional disturbance (SED)</li><li>Emotional conflict (EC)</li></ul><h2>Types of Behavioral Disorders</h2>Behavioral disorders currently identified by the <a href="https://www.psychiatry.org/patients-families/disruptive-impulse-control-and-conduct-disorders/what-are-disruptive-impulse-control-and-conduct" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">American Psychiatric Association</a> include:<ul><li>Oppositional defiant disorder</li><li>Intermittent explosive disorder</li><li>Conduct disorder</li><li>Pyromania</li><li>Kleptomania</li><li>Other specified disruptive, impulse-control and conduct disorders</li><li>Unspecified disruptive, impulse-control, and conduct disorders</li></ul>Other specified disorders that often cause behavior issues include:<ul><li>Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)</li><li>Disruptive mood dysregulation disorder (DMDD)</li><li>Autism spectrum disorder (ASD)</li><li><a href="https://www.crosscountryeducation.com/blogs/how-to-help-students-when-anxiety-strikes" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Anxiety</a></li><li>Depression</li></ul>Further, kids may show behavior issues in the classroom if they are experiencing challenges like:<ul><li>Homelessness</li><li>Abuse</li><li>Poverty</li><li>Food insecurity</li><li>Bullying</li><li>Neglect</li></ul><h2>Characteristics of Students with Behavior Disorders</h2>According to <a href="https://www.nsta.org/behavioral-disorders" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">NSTA</a>, children and teens with behavior disorders may demonstrate characteristics such as:<ul><li>Showing aggression</li><li>Bullying, threatening or intimidating others</li><li>Being physically abusive</li><li>Destroying other's property</li><li>Showing little empathy and concern for the feelings, wishes, and well-being of others</li><li>Showing callous behavior towards others and lack of feelings of guilt or remorse</li><li>Blaming others for their own misdeeds or dishonesty</li><li>Disrupting classroom activities</li><li>Being impulsive, inattentive, distractible or preoccupied</li><li>Disregarding classroom rules</li><li>Lacking concentration</li><li>Being resistant to change and transitions in routines</li><li>Speaking out with irrelevant information frequently or without regard to turn-taking</li><li>Being <a href="https://www.crosscountryeducation.com/blogs/addressing-school-avoidance" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">absent from school</a> regularly</li><li>Showing low self-esteem</li><li>Having difficulty working in groups</li><li>Demonstrating self-injurious behavior</li><li>Showing an inability to apply social rules related to others' personal space and belongings</li><li>Manipulating situations often</li></ul><h2>10 Strategies for Engaging Students with Behavior Issues</h2>Clearly, all of these variables can make it more challenging for teachers to come up with solutions for behavior issues.There are many valuable resources for teachers to manage the classroom, implement behavior plans, and discipline students. However, one of the most effective ways to deal with behavior challenges is to engage kids deeply in the classroom and in lessons. This way, you can minimize behavior challenges and even circumvent some issues entirely!Here are 10 ways to increase classroom engagement for students with behavioral challenges who are often hard to reach.<ol><li>Discover what motivates each student. At the beginning of the school year, give kids an opportunity to tell you and their classmates what they care most about. Use an online survey, journal prompt, peer questionnaire, or “All About Me” poem or poster to discover what motivates them. What are their interests? What are their hobbies? What do they love to do? Ask about playing sports, an instrument or video games, listening to music, dancing, hanging out with friends, riding their bikes, skateboarding, etc. Link lessons and discussions to individual students' passions and interests whenever possible. Keep notes for yourself to easily remember the students' names and interests at the beginning and throughout the year.</li><li>Create authentic experiences. Connect every lesson to the real world to build engagement and help students make meaning out of what they're expected to do at school. Remember the generational gap: ask them about what's popular now. If you struggle to relate your lessons to their world, ask them to tell you how it relates to their lives. Ask what it means to them. If a student says it doesn't relate, use the comment as a bouncing-off point for a deeper discussion. Challenge your students to brainstorm together how the topic relates.</li><li>Reflect together on behavioral challenges and focus on personal growth. Ask students about their perceptions of their strengths, weaknesses, goals, challenges, motivations and situations. This will go a long way toward building mutual respect and understanding. The student may not have taken the time to reflect on what motivated their behaviors. Further, constantly getting messages that they're "bad" can affect students' self-esteem. Asking students to discuss these things with you can help them set goals and grow. It can also help you generate compassion and understanding – and know when to get a child additional help if needed.</li><li>Create a safe and consistent space to learn. Many children and teens disengage because their lives are chaotic. They may not have a stable home experience and often don't know what to expect next. Keep kids engaged in your classroom by creating a <a href="https://www.crosscountryeducation.com/blogs/incorporate-calming-classroom-techniques" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">calm</a>, organized, routine, controlled environment with expectations, goals and consequences clearly outlined. Write out and explain simple steps for activities.</li><li>Switch it up. Having a routine doesn't mean you can't mix things up! Plan for times you'll bring in novel experiences to boost classroom engagement. Take your class outside, and offer opportunities for physical exercise. Consider <a href="https://www.crosscountryeducation.com/blogs/calming-the-classroom" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">meditating or mindfulness activities</a>. Dance. Create a community garden or have a classroom pet.</li><li>Keep things moving. Downtime is often an opportunity for behavior problems. When you do your lesson planning, always consider transition times. Many kids find transitions difficult, and others may take advantage of the disorganization and pause in the day. Use timers, play follow the leader, sing a song, clap, dance, and play a game.</li><li>Give students options. Many students can't handle group activities. Giving them the choice of working alone, in pairs, or in larger groups can help them feel they have some control. When assigning projects, let kids decide whether to do a visual, written, oral, technological or other type of presentation for the class. This can help improve engagement, allow for individual expression and reduce the chance of oppositional behaviors.</li><li>Use various types of media. Keep in mind that we all learn differently. As you design lesson plans, come up with media sources that will appeal to multiple types of learners. Consider delivering content through technology, writing, visuals, audio, and tactile formats. Incorporate hands-on learning opportunities, journaling, rote memorization, the Socratic method, reading time, group discussions, physical activities, lab equipment, food, art, song, dance, nature, games…anything you can think of that will be engaging.</li><li>Model desired behaviors. There's much to say about role-playing behaviors you want to see in the classroom. When possible, and without singling students out, replay similar scenarios that didn't go well later by <a href="https://www.crosscountryeducation.com/blogs/educators-are-always-role-models-too" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">modeling acceptable behaviors</a>. Set students up for success by showing them how to behave. Many kids aren't explicitly taught how to act or treat others at home. Some kids have disabilities that cause them to act out. In these situations, try privately teaching those students several options. For example, a student may learn to walk away, pace or "shake it off" instead of lashing out at another student or teacher. Show them what this looks like.</li><li>Cultivate an engaging teacher persona. One of the best ways to engage your students is to be engaging yourself. Reflect upon what made the teachers you had as a child engaging and try to strengthen these traits in yourself. What will help each student and your class find you more interesting? Can you cultivate reliability, sensitivity, fairness, fun, firmness, friendliness, accountability, patience, or positivity? Would it help to show confidence in all students' abilities, be more authentic, and be <a href="https://www.crosscountryeducation.com/blogs/the-power-of-apologizing-to-students" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">willing to admit mistakes</a>? What would help your students see you as human, as fallible yet strong, as trustworthy, and as available for them?</li></ol>What else have you found that works to get students more engaged in your classroom? Keep a list of your go-to activities in a handy spot and add these tips to your toolkit!To find out where your specialized skills are needed at exciting locations across the nation, browse our <a href="https://www.crosscountryeducation.com/job-search" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">teaching jobs</a> now.

How to Engage Students with Behavior Issues