By John Funk Current research indicates that the two top factors in curtailing negative behavior in the classroom are nurturing positive relationships with the children and providing high quality supportive environments (classrooms). (1) After years of supervising pre-service teachers, I understand fully how critical supportive environments are in our early childhood classrooms. In the current collaboration between the University of Utah and Granite School District, we use the ‘Big 8’ format for classroom management. (2) Those eight strategies include: Expectations: Teaching and stating clearing the expected behavior. Attention Prompts: Having signals or prompts to get the children’s attention. (“When you hear the train whistle, stop and look at the teacher.”) Proximity: Being close to the children (not calling across the room) when giving directions or encouraging positive behavior. Cueing: Tied closely to expectations, cueing draws
