Culture by Design: Part 3

culture procedures Jun 01, 2025

Estimated Read Time: 5-7 minutes

By Rob Chilton

In Culture by Design: Part 1, we discussed an overview of twelve essential elements of classroom culture:

Routines
Procedures (you are here)
Behaviors
Discipline
Instruction
Learning
Relationships
Community
Values
Beliefs
Goals
Results

In case you missed it, don’t worry—this series of articles is designed to work both as a set and as standalone reads. So let’s talk about procedures.

Procedures: How We Do Things

Procedures are actions or steps detailing how a task should be performed. In the classroom, procedures can be applied to a variety of tasks, including classroom entry, instrument assembly, active listening, engaged participation, asking questions, turning in work, numbering measures, restroom breaks, and classroom exit—to name a few.

Procedures, although similar to routines, are different. Routines tell students what to do; procedures tell them how to do it. For example, if what we’re doing is teacher-led instruction, how students can receive information is through active listening. The procedure for active listening can be outlined in three simple steps which you can teach your students:

Track the Teacher: As the teacher moves around the room, keep your head and eyes focused on them—just like a cat might track your movements as you pass through a room.
Listen with Intent: Focus on being mentally present and listening to each word, even if you don’t yet understand the material. Remember, the teacher’s job is to help you understand—your job is to listen.
Redirect Roof-Brain Chatter: When you notice your thoughts wandering off-topic, gently bring your focus back with steps 1 and 2.

Providing clear procedures helps your classroom run smoother and keep students focused on learning. They’re also the cornerstone of proactive classroom management, often preventing behavioral issues before they start.

Developing Procedures: Ask How

One way to develop procedures is to list all the tasks and activities your students might do, and ask: How? For example:

How (and where) do we enter the room?
How (and where) do we store our bags and belongings?
How (and where) do we uncase our instruments?
How do we set-up our learning space?
How do we actively listen?
How do we display engaged participation?
How (and when) can we ask a question?
How (and when) do we mark our music?
How (and when) can we request a bathroom break?
How (and where) do we put away our instruments?
How (and where) do we exit the classroom?

Developing Procedures: Reverse Engineering Behaviors

Another way to create procedures is through reverse engineering. Consider what behaviors you want your students to exhibit and create steps that encourage and lead to those behaviors. Ask yourself:

What behaviors do I want my students to display?
What does ideal student engagement and participation look like in my classroom?

Or, perhaps:

What behaviors do I want to minimize or prevent?

I often find the latter useful in my own planning. For example, when my students started entering the room unfocused and disruptively—talking loudly, spreading their belongings around the room, and asking irrelevant questions—I reverse engineered an entry procedure to reduce chaos and promote a calm, focused start to class. My new procedure included:

Increased Teacher Visibility: I positioned myself in the doorway during passing periods to greet students and remind them to set up quickly and quietly.
Silent Entry: Students were expected to enter the room without talking to preserve a calm atmosphere.
Dedicated Bag Drop: A clearly marked area was designated for students to place personal belongings as they entered.
Timed Set-Up: A countdown timer, which started at the beginning of the passing period plus two minutes after the bell, was projected to encourage efficient use of time during setup.
Non-Emergency Questions: To avoid disruptions and delays, students were asked to hold non-urgent questions during setup. To support them, I placed sticky notes at the front of the room where they could jot down their questions and stick them to my podium. Kids often impulsively ask questions at the start of class, and this step helped them discern whether a question was really worth asking or not. Then, I could address questions that might be relevant to a larger audience during announcements. (E.g. What type of shoes can we wear with our concert uniform?)

Procedures are a powerful way to proactively cultivate the behaviors you want, while minimizing the ones you don’t.

Children Behave Like Water

Children behave like water—without structure, they’ll flow downhill in every direction. To keep them moving forwards in a singular direction, we must provide them with structure in the form of clear procedures that act as channels guiding them towards growth and learning. Also like water, if there are any leaks in your procedures, your students will find them, and the results will often be behaviors you’d rather avoid.

Never Assume They Know

I always say: never assume your students know how to do anything. Even if it’s something they should know, when placed in a new environment—such as a new classroom with a new teacher and a new set of peers at the start of a new year—kids may behave as if many learned procedures have been forgotten. There are a bunch of reasons for this, but I believe the main reasons are they’re (a) overwhelmed by all that is new and (b) they’re subconsciously figuring out their boundaries.

Teach your procedures from the beginning, even if they’re things they’ve already learned or should have learned. Then, expect them to follow through and hold them accountable when they don’t by reteaching the steps. We’ll talk more about expectations and accountability in the upcoming parts on behaviors and discipline.

Final Thoughts

I remind myself often that children lack many of the common sense, instincts, and self-regulation skills that us adults once learned and now often take for granted. Clear procedures are the best way to ensure an efficient classroom and lay the framework for positive and effective classroom management.

While writing this, I’m reminded of a quote: “How you do anything is how you do everything.” I first heard it from Reagan Brumley, now at Walnut Grove HS in Prosper, Texas—though the origin of this quote is unknown. The idea is that the way we approach small or routine tasks reflects our overall habits and mindset, influencing the way we perform larger activities. I found this nearly universally true with my own classes. Those that learned to do the small things well ended up doing the bigger things better.

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About the author:

Rob Chilton is the creator and owner of Readymade Music, LLC and its content. Previously, Chilton was a middle school band director from 2007-2021. His most recent teaching position was the Head Band Director at Killian Middle School in Lewisville, Texas from 2014-2021.

Under his direction, the Killian Honors Band was named the 2018 Texas Music Educators Association CC Honor Band and performed at the annual 2018 TMEA Clinic/Convention. In 2019, the Killian Honors Band was invited to and performed at The Midwest Clinic in Chicago. Additionally, the Killian Honors Band was named a National Winner in the Mark of Excellence National Wind Band Honors Project in 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, and 2019.

Chilton is a graduate of Southern Methodist University where he had the opportunity to study music education under the tutelage of Lynne Jackson and Brian Merrill. During his years as a middle school band director, Chilton continued his professional growth under the guidance of his primary clinicians, John Benzer and Brian Merrill.

Chilton’s mission for Readymade Music is to promote the overall well-being of music education and support school music teachers by providing solutions to help make teaching music more efficient and inspirational while increasing engagement for 21st century learners.