By Alex Martinez

One of the most significant barriers to effective teaching is the lack of behavior management specifically during physical education. Classroom behavior is influenced by the ability of the teacher to motivate and create a curriculum that is fun, relevant to student’s needs, and inclusive to all abilities. Behavior management poses a challenge for teachers and educational professionals when there are a large number of students with diverse emotional, social, cognitive, and physical abilities in the same physical education class.

A previous perspective of behavior management included strategies using punishment to control student’s behavior. This practice has become archaic and ineffective. Unfortunately, strategies focusing on punishment are still used in physical education settings. Current teaching philosophies recommend positive behavior management practices that foster behavior changes through support and intervention to improve performance and learning. The purpose of this article is to highlight effective strategies to develop and implement a behavior management plan during physical education.