Blog – Needs Focused Teaching

Four steps for delivering consequences effectively

15th August 2019
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This four-step script can be used as a framework for delivering consequences without fights and fuss in response to most forms of disruption in lessons. 1. Give a clear warning State very clearly what

5 strategies to deal with the disruptive joker

9th August 2019
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The joker is desperate for attention. His smart remarks, rude comments, smutty gestures, witty retorts and wisecracks may be funny (unfortunately, some class comedians really are!) but they are often

7 tips to manage pupils who have no interest in your lesson

7th August 2019
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A student who has no interest in lessons and a negative attitude towards anything you say and do can have a terrible impact on the rest of the class. But what you must remember is that this student

The number one secret to effective classroom management

2nd August 2019
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After 25 years of working with emotionally damaged and ‘difficult’ children, I’ve come to the conclusion that there is just one true key to successful behaviour management. It really doesn’t matter

The Top 7 Creative Positive Reinforcement Methods

31st July 2019
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Positive reinforcement isn’t just about giving verbal praise and encouragement; it helps if there is some variety in the way you acknowledge appropriate student behaviours. With that in mind, here are

The Two Fundamentals of Dealing With Motivation Problems

29th July 2019
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It’s a fact of any teacher’s life, no matter how fluffy and positive you’ve made your classroom, no matter how many preventive strategies you’re using – kids are kids; there will be problems!

The Top 2 Ways to Create Intrigue in your Lessons

26th July 2019
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By creating some intrigue we can often win round students who have preconceived notions that the lesson won’t interest them; we invite attention rather than demanding it. Intrigue can be created simply

The Best Way to Use Rewards if You Want to See Positive Results… FAST

22nd July 2019
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Here’s a much better way to use rewards as true motivators: offer them spontaneously as occasional surprises. One of the most effective reward systems I ever saw worked entirely on this basis. Unlike

The danger of using rewards

18th July 2019
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I just want to briefly mention the issue of rewards here because they are often considered, along with praise, to be an effective strategy for positively reinforcing good behaviour. The Needs-Focused Approach

Four ways to use music in the classroom

15th July 2019
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Research has shown that listening to music whilst studying can improve concentration and memorization whilst relieving work related stress and anxiety. Here are 4 easy ways to include music your classroom! 1.

How to maintain your lesson’s flow

12th July 2019
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When students experience boredom, frustration or an interruption of any kind, varying levels of inappropriate behaviour can start to emerge. Their attention wanders, they start to work mechanically without

5 quick ways to show students you care

4th July 2019
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It’s impossible to build a warm, positive relationship with anyone unless you express a level of care and appreciation towards them. So, if you want to get students on-side, if you want to build bonds

How to create a community in the classroom

29th June 2019
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Students are most motivated when they feel they are part of a community in which they feel accepted and in which individuality is encouraged. By definition a community is a group of people who work with

Five ways to make praise and encouragement more effective

23rd June 2019
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Here are some ways of improving praise so that it creates the kind of positive changes you want to see in your challenging students. Make praise descriptive and specific Real praise – the kind that

Dealing with late-comers and poor punctuality

19th June 2019
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Students arriving late can be disruptive to your lesson. Late-comers often attract attention from their classmates meaning time is spent, and likely wasted, on the justification to their delayed arrival.

About Rob Plevin..

As a new teacher in a comprehensive school, I really struggled to maintain control in the classroom before finally discovering how certain key strategies would lead to an immediate improvement in the way challenging students responded to me. Using these principles as a foundation I went on to develop a complete system for preventing and dealing with behaviour problems and improving student motivation in the classroom.

The ideas are easy to implement and work FAST. I've spent the last 10 years teaching these techniques and concepts to literally THOUSANDS of teachers and lecturers in schools and colleges all over the world and their comments on this site should convince you that this system works.