Are you looking for hacks to encourage students not to leave their seat without permission? If so, keep reading.
1. Create times when it is permissible for the student to be out of their seat (e.g., leave their seat only to get a book, only after obtaining permission, etc.).
2. Give the student a predetermined signal when they begin to leave their seat.
3. Make sure that reinforcement is not provided for unacceptable behavior(e.g., paying attention to the student only when they leave their seat).
4. Be proactive. Work with the school counselor to design a schedule conducive to the student’s success (e.g., have physical education scheduled the last period of the day, intersperse electives that allow greater freedom of movement with classes requiring expanded periods of concentration, etc.).
5. Refrain from placing the student in situations that require sitting for an expanded duration of time such as lectures, seminars, assemblies, etc. Give the information for the student through a recording or lecture notes.
6. Assess the visual and auditory stimuli in the classroom. Determine the number of stimuli the student can tolerate. Remove unnecessary stimuli from their surroundings.
7. Talk regularly with the student to prevent the student from leaving their seat.
8. Assess the appropriateness of tasks to ascertain (a) if the tasks are too easy, (b) if the tasks are too complicated, and (c) if the duration of time scheduled for the tasks is sufficient.
9. Be firm, fair, and consistent, expecting the student to remain seated. Do not let them get up and walk around one time and expect them to remain seated the next time.
10. Talk about your concerns regarding the student’s attention span and failure to remain seated with their family, a school official, etc., if it is interfering with their progress at school.
11. Get the student to perform one task at a time. Provide the student the chance for movement between learning activities.
12. Solidify on-task behavior by providing a full schedule of daily activities. Stop lag time from happening when the student would be free to leave their seat.
13. Teach the student to use techniques such as crossing their arms and legs, clinching their fists, and webbing their hands when they feel the urge to leave their seat.
14. Draft an agreement with the student stipulating what behavior is required (e.g., staying in their seat) and which reinforcement will be implemented when the agreement has been met.
15. Provide visibility to and from the student to keep their attention when oral questions/instructions are being delivered. The teacher and the student should be able to see each other at all times. Make eye contact possible at all times.
16. Connect with the student’s cooperative work experience/vocational education teacher to place the student on a job site allowing a high degree of physical movement.
17. Restrict the amount of time you expect the student to be seated to perform tasks and tasks. Do not initially give them things to do that take more than 10–15 minutes to finish.
18. Find the situations in which the student is most likely to participate in unacceptable behavior and fail to remain seated. After you have identified these situations, think of ways to minimize their occurrence.
19. Consider using a classroom management app. Click here to view a list of apps that we recommend.
20. Consider using an adaptive behavior management app. Click here to view a list of apps that we recommend.
21. Consider using Alexa to help the student learn to behave appropriately. Click here to read an article that we wrote on the subject.
22. Click here to learn about six bonus strategies for challenging problem behaviors and mastering classroom management.
