If you seek to cultivate a calm classroom, logical consequences are one way to get you there! I don’t always think of consequences when I dream of my ideal classroom. However, these procedures serve as the building blocks for a positive classroom environment.
Sarah Besand, a teacher and Possip Reporter, explains how logical consequences for student behavior can support a positive and calm classroom environment.
Let’s explore some frequently asked questions about logical consequences:
Teachers might be familiar with using consequences rather than punishments, but logical consequences go a step further. They provide us with an equitable response to student behavior that encourages student reflection. The beauty of this process is it allows students the opportunity to reflect on their behavior with a consequence that aligns.
Additionally, logical consequences have the power to transform classroom culture. In a classroom where consequences (rather than punishments) are the norm, students have the opportunity to build trust with authority figures. Over time, they begin to grasp that every action has consequences–whether that’s a positive or negative one. This is essential to building life skills and for cultivating an environment that feels equitable and predictable for all learners.
What are Age-Appropriate Logical Consequences?
To fully grasp the art of using logical consequences, we need to review some examples. In Recess, A Teacher’s Guide, Possip explains the importance of using consequences other than taking away student recess, and this information builds on this concept. You may be wondering: how can we align consequences with student behavior in a way that feels equitable? Below we’ve included some examples for each school level.
Some of the logical consequences that feel most appropriate depend on the teacher, the school context, and the teacher’s expectations. With that in mind, you may choose to have logical consequences that range in potential strictness.
Elementary
In elementary schools, many behaviors revolve around appropriate talking time, forgotten assignments, and occasional disrespect to adults and peers. To apply logical consequences to these scenarios, it’s necessary to match the behavior with the consequence. For example, if students talk with peers during instruction, a verbal reminder of expectations can be helpful. For forgotten assignments, students can receive their consequence by finishing it at school OR having to submit the original assignment and an additional assignment OR having points deducted from their assignment (in fact, you can give them the chance to choose). A consequence for disrespectful behavior towards peers or staff should always include reflection time and hopefully an apology. This way, students can think about how their chosen behavior resulted in the consequence that comes next.
Middle
As we move up to the upper grades, we typically see behaviors that may need more attention. This makes sense, right? Middle schoolers begin navigating a developmental milestone of exploring self-identity, raging hormones, new social scenarios, and growing bodies. Because of these challenges, this grade band can deeply benefit from logical consequences.
Let’s look at some behaviors. The first may be inappropriate use of technology in the classroom. To allow the student to reflect on this choice, loss of technology privileges would be a logical consequence. Reviewing expectations during this time could be beneficial as well as having the student complete their assignments on paper.
Skipping class is another behavior often seen in these grade levels. To apply logical consequences to this behavior, teachers could have their student complete missed work during an after-school time or lunch time while also making time for a conference with this student. We saw one of our partner schools in Houston that actually has Saturday school specifically for students who have missed too much school.
Having these logical consequences while also having time to uncover the “why” behind the behavior while also letting the student know that you care.
High
For high school, we often see similar behaviors from the middle school sector. Additionally, we also see behaviors like plagiarism and illicit activities. As these tend to be more serious in nature and have more detrimental natural consequences, a more serious logical consequence must be applied.
For plagiarism, logical consequences can look like a zero on the assignment and also a conference with that student. OR they can look like a student re-doing the assignment for a lesser grade. For behaviors involving illicit substances or activities, administration, the teacher, and parents can work together as a team to determine a more serious consequence and make room for a conference as well. We want students to be successful, so getting to the root problem is extremely important. Part of logical consequences is to both apply the consequence, AND remember students are still learning and growing
How Can I Incorporate Student Voice?
As you think about applying logical consequences in your classroom, consider the student(s) as an asset in the process. This can look like conferences with your student or a writing reflection time. Then, you can ask students for their thoughts on what an appropriate consequence would be. This can encourage accountability and self-awareness. Try out these sentence starters as you conference with your students!
- “What behavior did I show today that didn’t align with our classroom norms?”
- “How can I make it better?”
- “What consequence matches what I did?” (Having a list to choose from could be helpful).
- “Who can I apologize to?”
We hope this blog was helpful as you begin to incorporate logical consequences into your classroom. It may be challenging to implement at first, but once you get going you’ll never look back. Your environment will feel calm, predictable, and accountable. We can’t wait to see how this continues to transform your classroom!
