Planned Ignoring: An Intervention Strategy for Inappropriate Behavior
Planned Ignoring Training
This is an engaging way to learn about when and how to implement planned ignoring in the classroom.
I was teaching first grade last year and I had a student who would throw temper tantrums when he was upset or if he didn’t get his way. For a 6-year-old, this happens frequently, so tantrums were plentiful. Even though I only had him for one class period, he threw a temper tantrum every day for the first week of school.
He yelled loudly about whatever it was that had made him upset, sitting or lying on the ground in protest.
I have reason to believe that this strategy worked for him at home, but I was determined not to let it work in my classroom.
Can I Have Your Attention Please?
This student of mine threw tantrums for two reasons: to get attention and to get his way. As soon as his tantrums stopped accomplishing these goals, they started to disappear.
Attention is attention, even if it's negative, and throwing a tantrum is usually a good way to get the teacher to pay attention to you.
If you’d like more information about planned ignoring at home, click here.
Reinforcement – for the Teacher!
Kids will whine to get their way. They’ll bug you until you give in. Some students complain until you fix their problem for them. They will be silly to get your attention, or they push your buttons to try to get you to react.
Sometimes we’re conscious of this, but other times we forget to pay attention to the way our students are manipulating us.
Too often we find it easier to give our students what they want.
Then, our behavior is reinforced by our students.
They quit whining.
They stop throwing a tantrum.
They leave us alone now that their problem is fixed.
They stop goofing off as long as we’re paying attention to them.
Frankly, it’s a smart tactic on our students’ part – if we let it work. But if we let our students get away with this, it will hurt both us and them.
Ignore Unwanted Behavior
If inappropriate behavior is designed to gain your attention, consider ignoring it.
Instead, pay attention to the students who show positive classroom behaviors and reward off-task students as soon as they are back on task.
Model appropriate behavior and respond to your students when they copy this behavior, and ignore attention-seeking behaviors.
Disregard your class clown until she contributes appropriately to the class discussion, and then give her attention for that instead.
Prompt your student to solve his own problem, instead of stepping in and fixing it to get him to stop bothering you.
Ignore your students when they are acting inappropriately to get your attention; give them attention when they are acting appropriately instead.
Ignore behaviors that you don't want to see repeated.
Too Smart for Their Own Good
Kids are smart, smarter than we give them credit for. I have seen my 1-year-old niece smirk as she walks across a room to touch something her mama just told her not to touch.
She knew better.
At 1-year-old, she knew exactly what she was doing.
Our students know what they’re doing too.
Figuring Out Where the Line Is
Kids know exactly how far they can push you before they get into any real trouble. Sure, you might tell them to stop, but they know that you’re not going to do anything more than that if they don’t upset you too much. When you ignore your students’ behavior as they test the boundaries, you are giving them permission to continue.
In this case, it’s important to enforce expectations instead of simply ignoring the problem behavior.
Telling them to stop might not be enough. If they continue to misbehave, we must act to make sure they understand and realize that we’re serious when we tell them “no.”
You can’t ignore this type of negative behavior, because your students are learning where the boundaries are – not just where we say they are.
Which rules do I actually have to follow? they think. Which rules can I break without getting into trouble?
Children are smart. They figure out the answers to those questions by pushing the boundaries.
Don’t ignore this behavior. Nip it in the bud!
Planned Ignoring
The official term for the concept I'm describing here is "planned ignoring".
This is an intervention strategy or behavior management strategy used to decrease and eventually eliminate problem behaviors in students.
Planned ignoring involves deliberately withholding attention or response to a specific behavior when it occurs, usually in the hope that ignoring the behavior will diminish or stop completely. This includes avoiding eye contact or responding with facial expressions.
The idea behind planned ignoring is that the problem behavior is reinforced by attention or reaction from others, and by ignoring it, the behavior will lose its reinforcing value.
Planned ignoring can be an effective strategy for certain behaviors, including whining, tattling, interrupting, and tantrums.
To implement planned ignoring effectively, it is essential to remain consistent and ignore the target behavior whenever it occurs. It is also important to implement replacement behaviors and provide positive attention to appropriate behaviors.
Planned ignoring can be used as part of a broader behavior management plan, which may include other strategies such as positive reinforcement and redirection.
Types of Planned Ignoring
Planned ignoring can look a few different ways.
With verbal planned ignoring, the adult doesn't respond to a child's verbal requests or questions.
During physical planned ignoring, the adult doesn't look or respond to the child's physical gestures, such as stomping or flailing on the ground.
With active ignoring, the behavior continues as the adult engages in another activity while problem behavior occurs.
Each form of planned ignoring can be used based on the nature of the problem behavior and the context of the situation and can only be used when there is no danger to the child.
When to Use Planned Ignoring
Planned ignoring is an appropriate behavior management strategy for behaviors that are attention-seeking or disruptive but are not harmful or dangerous.
Examples of when planned ignoring can be used include whining, tattling, interrupting, and tantrums. For example, when a child throws a tantrum, planned ignoring can be used by the teacher to ignore the child's behavior and not give it any attention until the child calms down.
With consistent use, the child learns that their tantrums are no longer an effective way to get attention and will decrease the frequency of these behaviors.
Please understand that this is for behaviors where the student is conscience of his or her actions. If a child is overwhelmed or is having trouble coping, help the child calm down and feel safe instead.
Best Practices
Planned ignoring should be used consistently and in a timely manner. This means that the adult should disregard the problem behavior immediately when it occurs and not give any attention to it.
It is also important to give positive praise and attention to the individual when they exhibit appropriate behavior, to reinforce the desired behavior.
Additionally, it is essential to communicate with the individual about the use of planned ignoring and the reasons behind it. This helps the individual understand that their behavior is not being ignored out of neglect or punishment, but rather as a way to change the student's behavior.
Lastly, it is important to use planned ignoring in combination with other behavior management strategies, such as positive reinforcement and redirection, to maximize its effectiveness.
Another strategy you can use is to create a classroom mission statement or a personal mission statement with your students. This helps hold students accountable for their behavior. Click here for free templates, and here for worksheets to create the mission statements. You can read a blog post on this topic specifically here.
Save this “Planned Ignoring in Progress” poster and use it in your classroom.
Things to Avoid
When using planned ignoring as a behavior management strategy in the classroom, there are certain mistakes that should be avoided.
Firstly, it is important to avoid ignoring harmful or dangerous behaviors, as these require immediate attention and intervention.
Secondly, planned ignoring should not be used as the only behavior management strategy, as it may not be effective for all individuals or behaviors.
Additionally, it is important to avoid using planned ignoring in a way that humiliates or embarrasses the individual, as this can be counterproductive and damaging to their self-esteem.
It is also important to avoid using planned ignoring inconsistently or inappropriately, as this can confuse the individual and lead to the reinforcement of the unwanted behavior.
Lastly, it is important to avoid using planned ignoring without proper communication and support from other teachers, administrators, and parents, as this can lead to misunderstanding and conflicts.
Benefits
Using planned ignoring as an intervention strategy can benefit the entire class by creating a more positive and productive classroom environment.
By ignoring problem behaviors and providing positive attention to appropriate behaviors, students can learn to exhibit replacement behaviors and reduce the frequency of problem behaviors.
It is important to remember that each child's behavior is unique, and certain behaviors may require different interventions. However, by consistently implementing planned ignoring as part of a broader behavior management plan, teachers can create a more effective and positive learning environment.
If you’re looking for more classroom management ideas, CLICK HERE for a FREE eBook or CLICK HERE for a related blog post on effective classroom management strategies.
Conclusion
If a child is testing the boundaries, show them exactly where those boundaries are, but if a child is misbehaving to get your attention, you need to make sure you’re not rewarding their inappropriate behavior by giving it to them.
We should be giving more of our attention to children who are doing the right thing, rather than the wrong thing. This provides a great incentive for our students to behave appropriately.
