Executive Function, Precorrection Strategies, and Culturally Responsive Teaching ILCCBD Conference
Margaret Kelly Carroll, Ed.D., Professor, Saint Xavier University, Chicago, IL 13
Some basic principles of seating and classroom arrangement:
• Distance-decay - pupils towards the back are less likely to participate and more likely to
chat.
• Rows reduce interaction.
• Students are creatures of habit and will try to sit in the same place with the same people -
asking them to move may meet with resistance!
• Some students are isolated by their peers - clever seating arrangements can help to reduce
the impact of this.
• Changes in seating patterns can have a negative physiological effect. To stimulate both
sides of the brain, children need to feel relaxed and secure.
• Consider moving students away from tables for some activities - with nothing to lean on
pupils may be more attentive and involved.
• Re-arrange seating to help manage behavior.
• Label specific areas: It may also be useful to label specific areas as “off limits” (e.g., file
cabinets or the teacher’s desk) to clarify expectations concerning student behavior.
• It must be easy to move around the room, including the movement of students who use
wheelchairs.
• Maintain access to the out-of-doors. If that cannot be arranged, use posters or other
visual representations of outdoor life (plants, flowers, bark, seeds, roots, etc.).
• Make the space warm. Include plants, fabric, and photographs.
Rules
1. Early in life behavior governed by genetics and direct consequences.
2. Rules are “contingency-specifying stimuli,” statements that include at least one of the
ABCs (antecedent, behavior, consequence).
3. Rules should be developmentally appropriate.
4. When students follow rules, there should be a high likelihood that the rule-following
behavior will be reinforced.
5. When students do not follow rules, there should be a high likelihood that students will
not be reinforced or will face negative consequences.
6. Keep class and school rules consistent.
7. Gain student commitment to follow rules.
8. Teach rules explicitly.
9. Post rules in a prominent location.
10. Monitor and review rule following.
Nonverbal communication
1. It is best to be close to students when providing instruction, providing reinforcement
for positive behavior, and correcting unwanted behavior
2. Make frequent eye contact with students
3. Face students squarely, not over the shoulder
4. Be aware of facial expression for congruence with verbal message
5. Use gestures congruent to message