CASE STUDY UNIT

Establishing Classroom
Norms & Expectations

Carolyn Evertson, Professor Emeritus, Vanderbilt University

Created by & Inge Poole, PhD, Education Consultant

iris.peabody.vanderbilt.edu or iriscenter.com

Serving: Higher Education Faculty • PD Providers • Practicing Educators

Supporting the preparation of effective educators to improve outcomes for all students, especially struggling learners and those with disabilities
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 TABLE OF CONTENTS
Establishing Classroom Norms & Expectations

Contents: Page
Credits. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ii
Standards. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . iii
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . iv
STAR Sheets
Stating Expectations Clearly . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Implementing Classroom Rules and Procedures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Supporting Expectations Consistently . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Reevaluating Established Norms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Case Studies
Level A, Case 1. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Level A, Case 2. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Level B, Case 1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Level C, Case 1. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
Answer Key . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
* For an Answer Key to this case study, please email your full name, title, and institutional
affiliation to the IRIS Center at [email protected].

The contents of this resource were developed under a grant from

the U.S. Department of Education, #H325E120002. However,
those contents do not necessarily represent the policy of the U.S.
Department of Education, and you should not assume endorse-
ment by the Federal Government. Project Officer, Sarah Allen
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 CREDITS
Establishing Classroom Norms & Expectations

Evertson, C., Poole, I., & the IRIS Center. (2003). Establishing
To Cite This classroom norms and expectations. Retrieved from https://iris.
Case Study Unit peabody.vanderbilt.edu/wp-content/uploads/pdf_case_studies/
ics_norms.pdf

Carolyn Evertson
Content Inge Poole
Contributors 2003

Case Study Kim Skow

Developers

Erik Dunton

Graphics pp. 3, 6 Rules Boxes Adapted from Evertson & Harris, 2003;
Evertson, Emmer, & Worsham, 2003

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 STANDARDS
Establishing Classroom Norms & Expectations

Licensure and Content Standards

This IRIS Case Study aligns with the following licensure and program standards and topic areas.

Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation (CAEP)

CAEP standards for the accreditation of educators are designed to improve the quality and
effectiveness not only of new instructional practitioners but also the evidence-base used to assess those
qualities in the classroom.
• Standard 1: Content and Pedagogical Knowledge

Council for Exceptional Children (CEC)

CEC standards encompass a wide range of ethics, standards, and practices created to help guide
those who have taken on the crucial role of educating students with disabilities.
• Standard 2: Learning Environments

Interstate Teacher Assessment and Support Consortium (InTASC)

InTASC Model Core Teaching Standards are designed to help teachers of all grade levels and content
areas to prepare their students either for college or for employment following graduation.
• Standard 3: Learning Environments

National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE)

NCATE standards are intended to serve as professional guidelines for educators. They also overview
the “organizational structures, policies, and procedures” necessary to support them.
• Standard 1: Candidate Knowledge, Skills, and Professional Dispositions

The Division for Early Childhood Recommended Practices (DEC)

The DEC Recommended Practices are designed to help improve the learning outcomes of young
children (birth through age five) who have or who are at-risk for developmental delays or disabilities.
• Topic 3: Environment
• Topic 5: Instruction

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 INTRODUCTION
Establishing Classroom Norms & Expectations

This case study set focuses on the establishment of classroom norms and expectations. This
introduction offers an overview of norms and expectations and how they are communicated and
established in a classroom. To establish norms and expectations in a classroom is a complex, long-
term task. Your skill in successfully undertaking it will evolve as you become more experienced. The
goal of this case study set is to help you understand how to prevent many problem behaviors by
putting supportive classroom structures in place as you set up an effective classroom.
What is an effective classroom? It is one that runs smoothly, with minimal confusion and down
time, and maximizes student learning. An effective classroom has patterns and routines in place
that make interaction and movement within that classroom easy to organize and accomplish. Such
patterns and routines are established through the development of classroom rules and procedures.
Rules are the explicit statements of teacher’s expectations for students’ behavior in a classroom.
Procedures are the patterns for accomplishing classroom tasks. Teachers communicate their
expectations to students through the development and enactment of both.
Expectations are desired behaviors or outcomes. Within a classroom, a teacher can make his or her
expectations known to students, or the teacher can cause students to guess at the expectations. It is
much easier for students to meet a teacher’s expectations when they know what these expectations
are. Teachers can make their expectations known to students by directly teaching the classroom
rules and procedures, providing opportunities for the students to practice them, and consistently
responding to students’ behavior. A teacher’s consistent responses can include both positive
consequences to reinforce a student’s appropriate behavior and negative consequences to deter a
student’s inappropriate behavior.
Students also have expectations for their own behavior. When the behavior that the teacher and
students expect and exhibit becomes so routine that it seems to be in consensus, a classroom norm
for that behavior has been established. Norms can be defined as accustomed ways of perceiving,
believing, evaluating, and acting in an environment (Goodnough, 1971). In other words, norms are
the familiar ways we have of interacting with each other in a particular setting.

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Case Study Set Definitions
Norms familiar ways of interacting in a classroom
Expectations desired behaviors or outcomes
Rules written expectations for behavior in a classroom
Procedures patterns for accomplishing classroom tasks
Within classrooms, a common norm for requesting a turn to speak during instruction is to raise one’s
hand and wait to be acknowledged. This classroom norm develops when a teacher teaches his or
her students how to raise their hands when they want to speak, has students practice raising their
hands, and consistently responds to students’ behavior (positively when they raise their hands, and
negatively when they don’t). In fact, this norm often becomes so familiar it is used in other settings––
have you ever raised your hand for a turn to speak at the dinner table?
Whereas classroom norms, such as raising one’s hand, are sustained by consensus, they can also
be suspended or changed if they are not supported or reinforced. For example, a norm for being
in class on time ceases to be a norm when there is no consequence for students’ tardiness. Thus,
arriving late becomes the accepted practice. The actions and interactions that a teacher encourages
or allows to become familiar develop into that classroom’s norms. Therefore, thoughtful advance
planning by the teacher can guide and establish effective group norms that support student learning.
For example, prompt attendance promotes student learning by making certain that students are
exposed to as much instructional time as possible. Therefore, a teacher might require prompt
attendance as well establish procedures to make prompt attendance a familiar routine. A classroom
rule regarding prompt attendance might be stated as “Be in your seat and ready for class when
the bell rings.” A procedure involved in preparing for class might require students to place their
completed homework in a designated location as they enter the classroom. When all the procedures
of preparing for class prior to the bell’s ring become routine for students, prompt attendance has
become an established classroom norm.
Ultimately, a teacher wants to establish classroom norms that create an effective classroom in which
student learning time is maximized. In this case study set, we will consider four specific aspects of
establishing classroom norms and expectations:
1. Stating expectations clearly,
2. Implementing classroom rules and procedures,
3. Supporting expectations consistently, and
4. Reevaluating established norms.

What the Research and Resources Say

• Teachers who establish and maintain norms for an effective learning environment spend more
time teaching because less time is usurped by discipline (Brophy, 2000).
• Norms that engender a supportive learning environment include acting and interacting
responsibly, treating others with respect and concern, and fostering a learning orientation
(Brophy 1998; 2000; Good & Brophy, 2000; Sergiovanni, 1994).
• Effective school-wide norms can be established through a school-based program that focuses
on supportive interactions among students (Solomon, Watson, Delucchi, Schaps, & Battistich,
1988).
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Resources:
Brophy, J. E. (1998). Motivating students to learn. Boston: McGraw-Hill
Brophy, J. E. (2000). Teaching. Geneva, Switzerland: International Bureau of Education.
Good, T. L., & Brophy, J. E. (2000). Looking in classrooms (8th ed.). New York: Longman.
Goodnough, W. (1971). Culture, language, and society. Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley.
Sergiovanni, T. (1994). Building community in schools. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Solomon, D., Watson, M. S., Delucchi, K. L., Schaps, E., & Battistich, V. (1988). Enhancing
children’s prosocial behavior in the classroom. American Educational Research Journal, 25(4),
527–554.

What a STAR Sheet is…

☆ A STAR (STrategies And Resources) Sheet provides you with a description of a well-
researched strategy that can help you solve the case studies in this unit.

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 STAR SHEET
Establishing Classroom Norms & Expectations
Stating Expectations Clearly

About the Strategy

Expectations are desired behaviors and outcomes. Teachers’ expectations of students are directly
connected to students’ achievement of those expectations. The strategy of stating expectations
clearly involves the explicit acknowledgment of expectations for student actions and interactions in
ways that the students can understand and achieve.

What the Research and Resources Say

• Students both want and need teachers to demonstrate authority by setting realistic academic
and behavioral expectations (Brophy, 1998).
• Successful classroom managers help students identify what is expected of them and how to
achieve these expectations (Brophy, 1998; Evertson, Emmer, & Worsham, 2003; Evertson &
Harris, 1992).
• When teachers hold high expectations of students, the students typically meet higher standards
of performance (Good & Brophy, 2000).
• Low expectations are communicated to students when teachers provide less wait time, fewer or
inappropriate reinforcements, less feedback, fewer opportunities to participate in instruction,
reduced eye-contact, more criticism for failure, or by teachers showing less acceptance of the
student’s ideas (Brophy, 1998; Good & Brophy, 2000).
• The expectations teachers have for students affect their current performance, and can influence
future performance, particularly at the early grades (Wong, 1998).
• Clarity in instruction increases student academic engagement and achievement (Evertson &
Emmer, 1982).
• Clarity in instruction includes actions such as framing the lesson in context, stating key
components of the content, linking these components together, focusing student attention on
important elements, and providing examples (Snyder, Landt, Roberts, Smith, & Voskuil, 1993).
• In order to clarify expectations during all stages of a lesson, teachers can use advance
organizers to set up instruction, provide guidance and feedback to students during instruction,
and reflect with students after instruction (Brophy, 1998).

Strategies to Implement
• Know what you want students to do and at what level of achievement. Make sure it is
something they can accomplish.
• In understandable increments, state what the task is, why you are asking students to complete
it, the steps involved, and how the task will be assessed. Provide written directions if possible.
Model the action(s) requested.
• Monitor student progress and offer feedback to students en route and following task completion.

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 STAR SHEET
Establishing Classroom Norms & Expectations
Stating Expectations Clearly
Resources
Brophy, J. E. (1998). Motivating students to learn. Boston: McGraw-Hill.
Evertson, C. M., & Emmer, E. T. (1982). Effective management at the beginning of the school year
in junior high classes. Journal of Educational Psychology, 74, 485–498.
Evertson, C. M., Emmer, E. T., & Worsham, M. E. (2003). Classroom management for elementary
teachers (6th ed.). New York: Allyn & Bacon.
Evertson, C., & Harris, A. (1992). What we know about managing classrooms. Educational
Leadership, 49, 74–78.
Good, T. L., & Brophy, J. E. (2000). Looking in classrooms (8th ed.). New York: Longman.
Johnson, T. C., Stoner, G., & Green, S. K. (1996). Demonstrating the experimenting society model
with classwide behavior management interventions. School Psychology Review, 25(2), 199–
214.
Snyder, S. J., Landt, A., Roberts, J., Smith, J. S., & Voskuil, K. (1993, April). Instructional clarity:
The role of liking and focusing moves on student achievement, motivation and satisfaction.
Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the American Educational Research Association,
Atlanta. ERIC Document Reproduction Service ED 362 507.
Wong, H. K., & Wong, R. T. (1998). The first days of school. Mountain View, CA: Harry K. Wong
Publications, Inc.

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 STAR SHEET
Establishing Classroom Norms and Expectations
Implementing Classroom Rules and Procedures
About the Strategy
Classroom rules are a teacher’s stated expectations for student behavior. Classroom procedures are
patterns for accomplishing classroom tasks. Classroom rules and procedures are connected in three
ways. First, rules are the expectation boundaries within which procedures are followed. Second,
procedures form routines that help students to meet the expectations stated in the rules. Third, both
rules and procedures must be taught, practiced, and consistently supported to be effective in the
classroom. (Cohesive sets of rules and procedures are two aspects of a comprehensive behavior
management system.)

What the Research and Resources Say

• A dependable system of rules and procedures provides structure for students. This structure helps
students to be engaged with instructional tasks and communicates to students that the teacher
cares for them. (Brophy, 1998).
• Authoritative implementation of rules includes communicating care and respect for students,
teaching students what is expected of them and why this is of value, and responding to
students’ actions and interactions in ways that help them to become more responsible self-
regulated learners (Brophy, 1998).
• Rules are few in number, always apply, and must be understood by all. Procedures are many in
number, are specific to certain tasks, and must be understood by all. (Evertson & Harris, 2003)
• Teaching rules and procedures to students at the beginning of the year and enforcing them
consistently across time increases student academic achievement and task engagement
(Evertson, 1985; 1989; Evertson & Emmer, 1982; Evertson, Emmer, Sanford, & Clements,
1983; Johnson, Stoner, & Green, 1996).
• Effective teaching includes teaching functional routines (procedures) to students at the beginning
of the year and using these routines to efficiently move through the school day (Leinhardt,
Weidman, & Hammond, 1987).
• Having all students––including those with behavioral difficulties––participate in developing
classroom rules offers them the opportunity to cooperate, collaborate, and make connections
with each other as well as to develop a sense of ownership in the classroom (Castle & Rogers,
1993; Martin & Hayes, 1998).

Sample Classroom Rules

➥
1. Respect yourself, your peers, and their property.
2. Talk at appropriate times and use appropriate voices.
3. Be in your seat and ready for class when the bell rings.
4. Follow my directions.
5. Obey all school rules.
Adapted from Evertson & Harris, 2003;
Evertson, Emmer, & Worsham, 2003

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Example Rules and Procedures
The chart below connects sample classroom rules with some examples of procedures that help
students meet the expectation(s) within the stated rule.

Rule Sample Corresponding Procedure(s)

Respect yourself, your Ask and receive permission before borrowing something.
peers, and their property.
Be in your seat and ready Place your completed homework in the homework basket as
for class when the bell you enter class.
rings.
Get permission to talk. 1. Raise your hand to request a turn when the teacher is
talking.
2. Use indoor voices during a class discussion, waiting for a
pause in the conversation to insert your thought.

Strategies to Implement
• Anticipate what students need to know and do in the classroom, both academically and
socially, before the school year begins. Plan for the first days of school based on these learning
goals. For example, if students’ prompt attendance is needed to maximize instructional time,
then plan for corresponding classroom rules and procedures by responding to such questions
as:
– What time will class begin?
– How will I be prepared to begin class promptly?
– How will I present my expectations of promptness to students?
– What consequences will result from tardiness?
• Select rules and procedures that you are able to sustain and state them positively (e.g., “Walk
in the hallways” rather than “Don’t run”). See Guidelines for Writing Rules at the end of this
STAR Sheet.
• Begin modeling and discussing the class rules and procedures on the first day of school.
• Explain to students the purpose and rationale for classroom rules and procedures.
• Identify positive examples of class rules and procedures in action and provide role-play
opportunities for each.
• Develop, teach, practice, and support new procedures as necessary to support effective
routines in the classroom.
• Consistently respond to student behavior regarding the established classroom rules and
procedures.

Keep in Mind
• Your rules (developed with your students or on your own) should support your learning goals
for the class, should be ones your students can understand and accomplish, and should be
associated with clear positive and negative consequences. These rules may vary by subject
matter, grade level, and group dynamics.
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 • Writing rules with your students is a lengthy process (2–3 mornings/ class sessions).
• The procedures you establish in your classroom should help students to comply with your stated
expectations, should be ones your students can understand and accomplish, and should be
retaught as needed to help students remember the patterns.
• Your actions and interactions with students can either support or undermine the classroom rules
and procedures you are implementing. For example, if a teacher uses humiliation or sarcasm to
communicate with students, the students are significantly less likely to feel respected and to offer
respect to others in turn.

Resources
Castle, K., & Rogers, K. (1993). Rule-creating in a constructivist classroom community. Childhood
Education, 70(2), 77–80.
Evertson, C. M. (1985). Training teachers in classroom management: An experiment in secondary
classrooms. Journal of Educational Research, 79, 51–58.
Evertson, C. M. (1989). Improving elementary classroom management: A school-based training
program for beginning the year. Journal of Educational Research, 83(2), 82–90.
Evertson, C. M., & Emmer, E. T. (1982). Effective management at the beginning of the school year
in junior high classes. Journal of Educational Psychology, 74, 485–498.
Evertson, C. M., Emmer, E. T., Sanford, J. P., & Clements, B. S. (1983). Improving classroom
management: An experiment in elementary classrooms. The Elementary School Journal, 84,
173–188.
Evertson, C. M., & Harris, A. H. (2003). COMP: Creating conditions for learning. Nashville, TN:
Vanderbilt University.
Johnson, T. C., Stoner, G., & Green, S. K. (1996). Demonstrating the experimenting society model
with classwide behavior management interventions. School Psychology Review, 25(2), 199–
214.
Leinhardt, G., Weidman, C., & Hammond, K. M. (1987). Introduction and integration of classroom
routines by expert teachers. Curriculum Inquiry, 17(2), 135–175.
Martin, H., & Hayes, S. (1998). Overcoming obstacles: Approaches to dealing with problem
pupils. British Journal of Special Education, 25(3), 135–139.

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 Guidelines for Writing Rules*
(Accompanies Implementing Classroom Rules and Procedures STAR Sheet)

Rules govern relationships––with others, time, space, and materials. They are consistent
across situations and few in number. The eight guidelines below can help you develop
effective rules for your classroom.

1. Consistent with school rules

Classroom rules should not conflict with school rules; school rules should be in
effect in the classroom.

2. Understandable
Rules must be stated so that students clearly understand what is meant.
Vocabulary should be consistent with students’ grade and ability level.

3. Doable
Rules must be such that students are capable of following them. They must be
within students maturation level and mental and physical abilities.

4. Manageable
Rules should be easily monitored and not require excessive classroom time to
hold students accountable.

5. Always applicable
Rules should be consistent; they should not vary or change.

6. Stated positively
Stating rules positively encourages the desired behavior. Although it is sometimes
difficult to state all rules positively, most “don’ts” can be transformed to “do’s.”
(Even “No gum” can be stated as “Leave all gum at home.”)

7. Stated behaviorally
Rules are easily understood and monitored when defined with action statements
beginning with a verb––statements that describe what students are to “do”––such
as “Leave all gum at home” or “Bring needed materials to class.”

8. Consistent with your own philosophy

Your rules should reflect what you believe about how students learn best.

Used with permission. Evertson, C. M., & Harris, A. H. (2003). COMP: Creating Conditions for Learning (6th ed.). Nashville, TN: Vanderbilt
*

University. p. 2.08E.

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 STAR SHEET
Establishing Classroom Norms and Expectations
Supporting Expectations Consistently
About the Strategy
The consistent support of expectations is essential to the development of classroom norms that
promote student learning. Consistency requires that the teacher equitably reinforces appropriate
student behavior and deters inappropriate student behavior. Teachers must first teach students the
classroom rules and procedures, provide students practice with them, and then consistently respond
to student actions and interactions in regard to these rules and procedures. (Teacher responses or
consequences are one component of a comprehensive behavior management system.)

What the Research and Resources Say

• Teaching rules and procedures to students at the beginning of the year and enforcing them
consistently across time increases student academic achievement and task engagement
(Evertson, 1985; 1989; Evertson & Emmer, 1982; Johnson, Stoner, & Green, 1996).
• Teachers should focus on increasing positive behavior and interactions by consistently enforcing
expectations (Shores, Gunter, & Jack, 1993).
• When teachers are inconsistent in their enforcement of expectations, students become uncertain
of what those expectations are and whether the expectations apply to them (Evertson, Emmer,
& Worsham, 2003).
• Three sources for inconsistency occur when a teacher exhibits:
a. unreasonable expectations,
b. incomplete monitoring, and
c. halfhearted expectations (Evertson, Emmer, & Worsham, 2003). Students cannot
accomplish the unreasonable, try to get away with what they can, and know when a
behavior is not really expected.
• Teachers who respond consistently feel positive about their teaching and help students improve
their performance (Freiberg, Stein, & Huang, 1995).
• Clearly stating expectations and consistently supporting them lends credibility to a teacher’s
authority (Good & Brophy, 2000).

Strategies to Implement
• Know and understand both your expectations for students and your responses when students
meet or do not meet these expectations. You should have responses for meeting your
expectations (positive, or supporting, consequences) and for not meeting your expectations
(negative, or deterring, consequences).
• State expectations clearly. Post your classroom rules. Practice the classroom procedures until
they become routine.
• Monitor students’ progress in meeting expectations.
• Provide feedback to students as they work so they know if they are meeting your expectations.

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 • Indicate to students when they have or have not met your expectations. Respond to all students
who meet or do not meet your expectations in an equitable manner consistent with your plans
(as determined by first tip).

Keep in Mind
• Supporting your expectations is not always easy or popular, but it is the best way to assure that
all students have equal opportunities to succeed. An adjective that might be used to describe a
teacher who exhibits consistency is “fair.”
• Making exceptions for individuals to meet your expectations at a different level is sometimes
necessary (e.g., extenuating circumstances, IEP requirements, etc.), but may communicate to
other students that the original expectation is not reasonable or meaningful. Be prudent about
adjusting your expectations for individuals and be sure to communicate those adjustments and
the rationale for them to students.

Resources
Evertson, C. M. (1985). Training teachers in classroom management: An experiment in secondary
classrooms. Journal of Educational Research, 79, 51–58.
Evertson, C. M. (1989) Improving elementary classroom management: A school-based training
program for beginning the year. Journal of Educational Research, 83(2), 82–90.
Evertson, C. M. & Emmer, E. (1982). Effective management at the beginning of the school year in
junior high classes. Journal of Educational Psychology, 74, 485–498.
Evertson, C. M., Emmer, E. T., & Worsham, M. E. (2003). Classroom management for elementary
teachers (6th ed.). Boston: Allyn and Bacon.
Freiberg, H., Stein, T., & Huang, S. (1995). Effects of a classroom management intervention on
student achievement in inner-city elementary schools. Educational Research and Evaluation: An
International Journal on Theory and Practice, 1, 36–66.
Good, T. L., & Brophy, J. E. (2000). Looking in classrooms (8th ed.). New York: Longman.
Johnson, T. C., Stoner, G., & Green, S. K. (1996). Demonstrating the experimenting society model
with classwide behavior management interventions. School Psychology Review, 25(2), 199–
214.
Shores, R. E., Gunter, P. L., & Jack, S. L. (1993). Classroom management strategies: Are they
setting events for coercion? Behavioral Disorders, 18(2), 92–102.

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 STAR SHEET
Establishing Classroom Norms and Expectations
Reevaluating Established Norms
About the Strategy
Reevaluating established norms is the practice of reflecting upon, and adjusting as necessary, the
accepted classroom norms. Since norms are developed and maintained through the interactions
of individuals, they can shift and change. The environments in which the norms are established
can also change. While reflecting upon the established classroom norms, a teacher compares
the accepted norms of the classroom to those desired for maintaining an effective classroom.
When a discrepancy is found between what is needed for a successful learning environment and
the established classroom norms, the teacher must adjust these norms through instruction, clear
communication of expectations, and consistent support of these expectations. The process of
reevaluating established norms is one portion of a teacher’s continual evaluation of the learning
environment in his or her classroom.

What the Research and Resources Say

• As students become more familiar with classroom routines and procedures, additional
instructional formats and more challenging work can be incorporated (Evertson, Emmer,
& Worsham, 2003; Good & Brophy, 2000). These changes may require adaptations to
established classroom norms.

Strategies to Implement
• Regularly reflect on the classroom rules and procedures implemented in the classroom. Consider
the students’ actions and interactions as well as your own. Compare the accepted norms (what
has become familiar in your classroom) with what is required for an effective classroom.
• Continue to support and reinforce constructive classroom norms through the classroom rules and
procedures you have implemented. Note: Procedures can be changed as needed to support
constructive classroom norms.
• Where changes are needed, discuss with students the rationale for the change and the process
needed to achieve it. Note: Sometimes the change that is required is for you to be more
consistent when responding to student actions and interactions.
• State your expectations clearly to students and support these expectations consistently.

Keep in Mind
• If you wish to increase student commitment to altering a classroom norm, involve them in the
planning and implementation of the change process.
• Changing established norms can be difficult and time-consuming. Students who do not
understand or agree with the need for change may resist the process.

Resources
Evertson, C. M., Emmer, E. T., & Worsham, M. E. (2003). Classroom management for elementary
teachers (6th ed.). Boston: Allyn and Bacon.
Good, T. L., & Brophy, J. E. (2000). Looking in classrooms (8th ed.). New York: Longman.
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 CASE STUDY
Establishing Classroom Norms and Expectations
Level A • Case 1

Background
Student: Ron
Grade: 1st
Age: 6.8
Context: 10 weeks into the school year (mid-October)

Scenario
On the first morning of the school year, Ms. Bosco greeted each first grader at the door with a smile.
She introduced herself and asked the student’s name before leading the student to his or her assigned
desk and helping to place the student’s things there. She then asked for the student to have a seat with
the other first graders on the carpet at the front of the room. She showed the student an X with the
student’s name written across it as his or her special seating spot. The Xs formed a circle on the carpet.
When all the students were seated, Ms. Bosco played a game with the group to help her and the
students to learn each other’s names. She also asked each student to share one special fact about him-
or herself. She then moved into a reading lesson with the class.
On the second morning of the school year, Ms. Bosco greeted each student by name with a smile at
the door. As they entered, she asked them to place their things on their desks and then sit on their
Xs at the carpet. When all students were seated in the circle, Ms. Bosco played a game to help her
and the students review each other’s names. She asked each child to identify something special
about his or her neighbor to the right. She then asked two students to model for the class how to
enter the room at the start of each day, put their things away, and be seated on their Xs at the
carpet. Ms. Bosco then moved into a reading lesson for the day with the class.
In mid-October, Ron moves into Ms. Bosco’s class from another school district. On his first day, his
registration process takes about thirty minutes, so he does not get to join the class until after the
reading lesson is already in progress. When the intercom announces they will be receiving a new
student, Ms. Bosco interrupts the reading lesson to welcome Ron, meet his parents, and help Ron put
his things into his desk. As Ms. Bosco helps Ron find an open space in which to sit at the circle with
the rest of the class, she tells Ron that the class is trying to find rhyming words in the story she has
read aloud. She then continues the lesson with the class. In this lesson and throughout the day, Ron
appears to be distracted and starts misbehaving.
On Tuesday morning, Ron comes to the classroom and goes immediately to the aquarium at the
back of the room to watch the fish. When the bell rings to start the day, he leaves his things at the
aquarium and comes late to the circle, pushing to sit between two students even though there is
an empty space available. Ms. Bosco tells Ron to have a seat at the empty space and then begins
the morning routine. By the start of the reading lesson, Ron is sprawled across the carpet, making
noises, and bumping into his neighbors. The students seated around Ron begin complaining to Ms.
Bosco about his behavior.

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 When the class goes to the music room for its morning specials class, Ms. Bosco tries to reflect on
Ron’s behavior. She reads through the materials that were sent by his previous school and finds that
Ron’s previous teacher had noted he was easily distracted, especially during transitions. Ms. Bosco
then sets the following goals for Ron to meet by the end of the week:
• Increase Ron’s sense of membership in the classroom community by having him sit with the
class on the carpet in a listening position and by helping him use each of his peer’s names and
helping them to use his
• Increase Ron’s understanding of and commitment to the established classroom norms,
beginning with the morning routine, by having him follow the class’s established procedures

Possible Strategies
• Stating expectations clearly
• Implementing classroom rules and procedures

! Assignment
• Read the Case Study Set Introduction and the STAR sheets on each of the possible strategies.
• Using the strategies listed above, write one suggestion that Ms. Bosco can implement for each
of Ron’s goals. Explain why the suggestions would be helpful in meeting Ron’s goals.

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 CASE STUDY
Establishing Classroom Norms and Expectations
Level A • Case 2
Background
Grade: 4th
Context: Class of 23 students, 20 minutes before lunch

Scenario
Halfway through Mr. English’s daily writing lesson, the four students from his classroom who
receive morning special education services in language arts return to class in preparation for lunch.
Because the special education teacher works with students from several grade levels, he is not able
to mesh his schedule completely with the fourth grade and cannot rearrange his schedule. Though
the special education teacher tries to cover many of the fourth grade language arts skills with these
four students, Mr. English senses that the students are falling farther behind their peers because they
do not get to participate in some of the classroom language arts instruction (e.g., writing).
As the year has progressed, when these four students return to his class, they begin to act out
and disturb the students participating in the writing lesson. Mr. English is becoming increasingly
frustrated with the behavior of the four students. He feels he spends the last half of each writing
lesson trying to keep these four students quiet so the rest of the class can learn to write. Mr. English
sets the following goals for the next four weeks:
• Increase the quantity and quality of writing time for the class
• Decrease the misbehavior of the four students
Note that Mr. English is not currently including the four students receiving language arts special
education services in his writing lessons.

Possible Strategies
• Implementing classroom rules and procedures
• Supporting expectations consistently
• Reevaluating established norms

! Assignment
• Read the Case Study Set Introduction and the STAR sheets on each of the three possible
strategies.
• Give one suggestion from each strategy that may be helpful to Mr. English in meeting the goals
for his class.

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 CASE STUDY
Establishing Classroom Norms and Expectations
Level B • Case 1
Background
Student: Shandra
Grade: 5th
Age: 11.2
Context: Math class, end of the first grading period

Scenario
While calculating his students’ grades for the first grading period, Mr. Washington discovers a
problem. Although one of his students, Shandra, is receiving Title I tutoring for math, she has a low
grade in his math class for the period. Speaking with Shandra’s Title I tutor, Mr. Washington learns
that part of her tutoring included talking with her Title I peers about her mathematical thinking. The
Title I tutor indicates that Shandra is doing well in tutoring and should also be doing well in his
class.
Mr. Washington usually lectures during his math instruction. The rest of the lesson is usually
filled with independent seatwork. Therefore, there isn’t an opportunity for Shandra to talk with
anyone about her mathematical thinking. In fact, because students are not allowed to talk while
Mr. Washington is teaching or while they do their independent seatwork, in effect a norm of “no
talking” has developed in his math classes.
Mr. Washington wants to provide instruction that will offer Shandra a chance to succeed. For the
next grading period, he plans to include partner work in his math instruction. The talking procedure
that he uses for partner work in his current science class holds that student conversation cannot
begin until Mr. Washington gives permission, it must be on the science topic, and it must be only
loud enough for partners to hear each other. This procedure works well with the class rule “Get
permission to talk.” In conjunction with adapting his math instruction and implementing a procedure
to support it, Mr. Washington sets the following goals for Shandra during the second grading
period:
• Increase her conversation with peers about her mathematical thinking
• Increase her grade in math
In addition, he sets the following goals for himself:
• Increase his use of partner work in math instruction
• Increase his assistance with students vocalizing their mathematic thinking

Possible Strategies
• Stating expectations clearly
• Implementing classroom rules and procedures
• Supporting expectations consistently
• Reevaluating established norms

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! Assignment
• Review the Case Study Set Introduction and the STAR sheets on the four possible strategies.
• Select two strategies that Mr. Washington will use as he shifts from lecturing to using partner
work in his math instruction. Describe how Mr. Washington will use these two strategies to meet
his goals and how these strategies will help Shandra to reach her goals.

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 CASE STUDY
Establishing Classroom Norms and Expectations
Level C • Case 1
Background
Grade: 3rd
Context: Friday of the third week of school, redistribution of students among classrooms to meet
state class-size requirements

Scenario
Ms. Jung received a list of eighteen students today that will compose her class beginning on
Monday. Twelve of her current students will remain with her, twelve will be assigned to new
classrooms, and six new students will be assigned to her classroom. Before going home, Ms. Jung
speaks briefly with the other third grade teachers to share instructional information about the new
students in each teacher’s classroom.
During the weekend, Ms. Jung considers how she will help the students in her classroom to become
a coherent group. She also considers the established classroom norms, their applicability to the
new group of students, and the ways she can support her expectations for students. Ms. Jung is
particularly concerned about the amount of student movement in and out of the classroom required
throughout the day. Her basic schedule follows the pattern listed below (left). In addition to the
class instruction outlined in her schedule, some individual students will need to go for instruction
outside Ms. Jung’s class. Individual outside instruction involving third graders includes the following
scheduled activities noted below (right).

OUR CLASS SCHEDULE OUTSIDE INSTRUCTION SCHEDULE

Start Stop Activity Start Stop Activity
8:30 9:00 Morning meeting (attendance, daily 8:30 9:00 Morning meeting (attendance, daily
news, etc.) in Ms. Jung’s room news, etc.) in Ms. Jung’s room
9:00 9:45 Specials (P.E., art, music, library) in
specials classrooms 10:00 10:25 Title I math tutoring
9:45 10:30 Math instruction in Ms. Jung’s room
10:30 11:25 Reading instruction 11:00 11:25 Title I reading tutoring
11:25 11:30 Restroom break en route to
cafeteria 1:00 1:54 Special education instruction
11:30 12:00 Lunch in the cafeteria (math)
12:00 12:30 Recess on the playground
12:30 12:45 Reading aloud in Ms. Jung’s room 2:15 3:00Special education instruction
12:45 1:15 Social studies instruction (reading)
1:15 1:45 Science instruction in the science Tuesday - Thursday
lab 12:30 2:30 Gifted education instruction
1:45 2:15 Recess on the playground Monday - Wednesday - Friday
2:15 2:45 Writing instruction in Ms. Jung’s 2:40 3:10 Counseling session (Children of
room divorce) Participating students leave
2:45 3:00 Sustained silent reading school from the counselor’s office
3:00 3:10 Preparation for going home
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 Several of Ms. Jung’s students will need to move in and out of her classroom at different times. Her
class list, below, notes student participation in individual outside instruction and information related
to student movement. New students to her class are designated with an asterisk (*).
A=Absent T=Tardy D=Dismissed

Name M T W T F Notes:
Lew ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ Title I math, Title I reading
Jan ✓ A ✓ ✓ ✓ ADHD, inconsistent medication, constantly in motion
Derrl ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ Title I math, Special Education (reading)
LaDonna ✓ ✓ A ✓ ✓ Title I math, Title I reading
Brian* ✓ ✓ ✓ T ✓ Title I reading
Cheryl ✓ A ✓ ✓ ✓ Title I reading
Jay* ✓ ✓ ✓ A A Uses a wheelchair
Myra* ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ Special Education (math)
Ellis* ✓ A ✓ ✓ ✓ Counseling session
Mendy ✓ ✓ D A ✓ Counseling session
Keith* ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ Experiencing early signs of kidney failure. Needs frequent,
immediate access to a restroom.
Shauna ✓ ✓ T ✓ ✓ Gifted Education, Counseling session
Robb A ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓
Tandy A A ✓ ✓ ✓
David ✓ ✓ ✓ A ✓
Alissa* A ✓ A ✓ ✓
Pecos ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓
Jerri ✓ ✓ A ✓ ✓
Lynn

Possible Strategies
• Stating expectations clearly
• Implementing classroom rules and procedures
• Supporting expectations consistently
• Reevaluating established norms

! Assignment
• Review the Case Study Set Introduction and the STAR sheets on the four possible strategies.
• Write a statement describing how each strategy will be implemented as Ms. Jung works with
her newly structured class.
• In writing,
1) Select a classroom norm that would allow successful student movement to outside
instruction as needed and maximize time for learning. (This norm may be stated as a
rule.).
2) Explain why you believe the norm will be effective.
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 3) Write two expectations Ms. Jung must state clearly to the entire class to help establish
this norm.
4) State a specific procedure concerning movement she must teach Lew (you may need to
refer back to the classroom schedule).
5) State a specific procedure concerning movement she must teach Myra (you may need
to refer back to the classroom schedule).

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