Reducing calling out behaviours in the classroom

Little has changed over the decade since South Australian classroom research revealed that teachers find low-level disruptive and disengaged student behaviours difficult to manage.[1] More often it is the relatively minor, frequent, and repetitive nature of the behaviours, rather than less frequent aggressive and anti-social behaviours that teachers find most challenging, leading to stress and burnout [2] and contributing to poor workforce retention.

Calling out and talking out of turn are amongst the most prevalent low-level disruptive behaviours encountered by teachers in the classroom.[3]

Calling out behaviours in the classroom include:

• blurting out answers to questions
• talking out of turn
• off topic comments
• unsolicited suggestions and remarks and
• making distracting noises.

Reducing these behaviours can contribute to a respectful classroom climate, improve lesson flow, support student learning and engagement, and in turn, improve teacher wellbeing and morale. [4] [5]

The recently released ebooklet Working with children who call out helps teachers to understand these students and suggests practical strategies to reduce calling out through effective classroom management.

Importantly, the resource identifies and advises on:

• professional and interpersonal skills required to build a skilled classroom presence
• classroom management, rules and expectations to help cater for diverse student needs
• teaching students how to behave, uphold rules, develop good manners, patience and how to interrupt appropriately
• how to settle students
• how to determine the likely sources of chronic calling out
• comprehensive guidance on how to build a broad repertoire of verbal and non-verbal communication skills needed to create an environment conductive to teaching and learning.

Would you like to know more about these verbal and non-verbal communication skills, including the use of a range of inclusive questioning strategies that help limit the need for hands up to answer, reducing the urge for some students to call out?

Planning with other staff can also lead to creating predictable expectations across the school heightening student learning outcomes and teacher wellbeing.

Psych4Schools offers a comprehensive library of ebooklets dedicated to enhancing the wellbeing, teaching and learning of children and young adolescents. To complement the ebooklets, Members can also access eight resource packages.

 

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Kind regards,

Murray Evely,

Psych4Schools Psychologist/Guidance Officer

You can contact us via email at: info@psych4schools.com.au

[1] Sullivan, A.M., Johnson, B., Owens, L., and Conway, R., (2014). Punish Them or Engage Them? Teachers’ views of unproductive student behaviours in the classroom. Australian Journal of Teacher Education, 39(6) Article 4. https://ro.ecu.edu.au/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2356&context=ajte

[2] Ibid

[3] Sullivan, A.M., Johnson, B., Owens, L., and Conway, R., (2014). Punish Them or Engage Them? Teachers’ views of unproductive student behaviours in the classroom. Australian Journal of Teacher Education, 39(6) Article 4. https://ro.ecu.edu.au/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2356&context=ajte

[4] Evely, M., (2024) Working with children who call out, Psych4Schools, Melbourne https://www.psych4schools.com.au/free-resource/children-who-call-out

[5] Duggan, S., (2025) Skills and strategies to weed out low-level disruptive behaviours: expert insight, EducationHQ News https://educationhq.com/news/skills-and-strategies-to-weed-out-low-level-disruptive-behaviours-expert-insight-190711/#