@TeacherToolkit
Ross Morrison McGill founded @TeacherToolkit in 2007, and today, he is one of the ‘most followed educators’on social media in the world. In 2015, he was nominated as one of the ‘500 Most Influential People in Britain’ by The Sunday Times as a result of…
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Are we focusing too much on behaviour and not enough on how students actually learn?
Understanding working memory is just as important as establishing rules and routines. Without it, behaviour strategies may miss the mark.
Teachers, especially those new to the profession, are often told: “Get behaviour right from day one.” It’s solid advice. But what if the real key to better classroom management lies deeper—in how the brain processes, stores and retrieves information?
Behaviour matters—but so does learning
In my more experienced years of teaching, I would always pass on the advice that ‘getting behaviour routines right is essential’—and I’d still advocate this—but I now believe good behaviour is the result of something much deeper.
If we consider attention span, neurodiversity, the dopamine loop and more—and if we truly understand them—we can begin to make classrooms more engaging.
In the first few weeks of term, the focus across all schools is almost always on setting expectations, tightening routines and making sure students understand the rules. This creates consistency and safety—and rightly so. It shapes the culture of the classroom and supports whole-school systems. But what’s often missing from this narrative is how the brain learns—specifically, how attention and working memory shape what students can do and can’t retain. If students are inattentive, easily distracted or cognitively overwhelmed, even the best behaviour strategies can fall flat.
Too often, behaviour is seen as the problem, when it’s actually a symptom of cognitive overload—or of misunderstanding how students process information.
Learning begins with attention
From my work training new teachers, I’ve seen that those who learn to link behaviour to cognition become more effective, faster. They move beyond surface-level compliance to designing learning that holds attention, supports diverse learners and reduces frustration—for everyone in the room.
When a teacher understands working memory—the mental space we use to hold and manipulate new information—they’re better equipped to pace explanations, model thinking, reduce distractions and plan practice.
This is especially true for students with developing attention spans, neurodiverse needs, or minimal prior knowledge. Working memory is finite; overload it, and you lose attention and behaviour.
Three strategies for memory-informed behaviour
- Reduce cognitive load
Chunk instructions. Avoid long-winded teacher talk; stop waffling! Keep the board and walls clear and uncluttered. Repetition is your friend, not your failure. - Use retrieval from the start
Start every lesson with a quick recall activity. This warms up the memory, builds confidence and creates early wins—especially for students who might otherwise disengage. - Make learning visible
Model every step. Use visuals. Give worked examples. And teach metacognitive strategies like, “What do I already know about this?” or “Where have I seen this before?”
Good behaviour doesn’t just make learning possible. Good learning makes behaviour better.
CPD prompts for teachers at the start of term:
- How do your routines also support working memory?
- What strategies do you use to reduce distractions?
- Do students know why they’re doing a retrieval task?
- Where in your lesson does cognitive overload risk occurring?
- How are SEND and neurodiverse needs reflected in your planning?
- Can another teacher explain your learning model just by looking at your board?
“Attention is the gatekeeper to memory. If students are not attending, they are not learning.” — Guide to Memory, McGill, 2022
Image: Depositphotos
