Overheads from Ellen Berg's Presentation
on Discipline and Classroom Management
MY "TRUTHS"
1. Lasting change takes time.
2. You cannot make anyone do anything unless they
choose to cooperate.
3. Behavior is a symptom of other issues.
4. Reacting to a problem generally makes a problem
worse while being proactive usually helps deescalate or avoid the problem
in the first place.
5. Consistency is the key.
6. If students are engaged, they are not causing
trouble.
7. You can win the battle but lose the war. Choose
your battles wisely.
8. Parents can be allies or enemies.
9. Assigning blame is ineffective.
10. Children need structure.
11. Students rise or fall according to our expectations.
12. If you fail to plan, you plan to fail.
13. Do unto others as you would have them do unto
you.
14. We ALL make mistakes.
MOVING AHEAD
Procedures and Routines
Planning for Possibilities
Tricks of the Trade
So...What's the Challenge?
GIVE IT TIME
Lasting change takes time.
Behavior is a habit.
* Think of a bad habit you have overcome, or one you still have.
* How long did it take you to break that habit?
* Did you "relapse?"
* What finally helped you change?
We must find some value or purpose for changing before we attempt or desire
to change.
Implications for the Classroom
* Be patient with students as they begin to work toward change.
* Assist students with designing and implementing a plan to improve.
* Give private praise if appropriate for positive changes.
* Understand that behavior will slip sometimes and don't give up on the
child.
We must find some value or purpose for changing before we attempt or desire
to change.
CHOICES
You cannot make anyone do anything unless they choose to
cooperate.
* Children allow us to do what we do in our classrooms.
* We can manage the situation by what we choose to do and say in response
to a given situation.
Implications for the Classroom
* Admit to students you cannot "make" them do anything, but
that they may not like what you choose to do in response.
Use student choice statements when addressing students about their inappropriate
behavior:
Ex: "You can choose to get on task and work with your group, or you
can choose to sit over here by yourself, fill out a reflection sheet, and
take an F on the assignment for the day. Of course, I will have to inform
your parent if you choose the latter, but it's still your choice. You know
what is best for you."
BEHAVIOR
Behavior is a symptom of other issues.
A response to something inside the classroom:
* Other students
* Teachers
* Assignment/classwork (content or structure)
A response to something outside of your classroom:
* Home
* Other classes
* Other teachers
* Hallway issues
* Neighborhood
When a problem occurs, the FIRST question you should ask is:
Am I doing something that is creating or contributing to this problem?
Is there something I can change?
If not, then,
What is causing this problem, and how can I help?
Implications for the Classroom
There is always a reason for what is occurring. There is always a
goal behind every behavior:
* Attention
* Power
* Revenge
* Avoidance of failure
Address the behavior, but investigate to figure out the cause. If the cause
is not addressed, the problem will continue.
REACTING
Reacting to a problem generally escalates the problem, while being proactive
usually helps to deescalate or avoid the problem in the first place.
Reaction is filled with emotion, NOT thought. It is a human physical
and emotional reaction to a stimulus. Our reactions are not always productive.
What do the following common teacher reactions accomplish?
* Yelling
* Arguing with students
* Criticizing the student
* Throwing students out of the room
Proactive measures are filled with careful thought and planning.
They seek to avoid intensifying problems while seeking a solution to any
existing problem.
* Students' behaviors are generally NOT personal, but we often take it personally.
* If it IS personal, aren't we the grown-ups in the situation?
* Reaction interprets and acts upon the problem as a personal attack.
* Proactive people view the situation as a problem to solve.
CONSISTENCY
Consistency is the key!
* No one wants to live in chaos.
* We rely on many things in our lives to be consistent: what to do at traffic
lights, what products are safe to eat, etc.
* What if those everyday things you take for granted changed randomly and
frequently?
* How would you begin to act?
Classroom Management Guru Harry Wong cites research stating what students
want to know on the first day:
1. Am I in the right room?
2. Where am I supposed to sit?
3. What are the rules in this classroom?
4. What will I be doing this year?
5. How will I be graded?
6. Who is the teacher as a person?
7. Will the teacher treat me as a human being?
Everyone wants to fit in and know what to do in a given situation. We all
have a comfort zone we depend upon.
Implications for the Classroom
* Create, direct teach, practice, and reinforce clear procedures for
everything that needs to be done by students in your classroom.
* Establish clear routines in your classroom.
ENGAGEMENT
If students are engaged, they are not causing trouble.
* How can students misbehave if their attention is focused on something
productive?
* Students do not interfere with what they value.
* Engaging, high-interest, relevant lessons are the positive to acting out.
Question...
If they KNOW their students are unable to perform a task, why do so many
people continue to assign work students can't do?
Implications for the Classroom
* Use inquiry-based, investigative learning, constructivist based lessons.
* Relate the content you MUST teach to the LIVES and INTERESTS of your students
so they WANT to learn.
* Gear your instruction to the level students are on, and provide support
to those who need it.
CHOOSE YOUR BATTLES
You can win the battle but lose the war. Choose your battles wisely.
* You may be able to bully a child into submission, but at what cost?
* Ongoing, intensified behavior problems may result.
* Students may hold a grudge against you and respond accordingly.
* Students may "turn off" and spend the remainder of the year
not learning.
Implications for the Classroom
* Think before acting.
* Seek long-term solutions.
* Ask yourself, "Will this action/response help or hurt the situation
in the long-run?"
PARENTS
Parents can be allies or enemies
* Despite children's protestations to the contrary, parents are still the
primary influence in their children's lives.
* Our approach toward them and their child creates an ally or an enemy,
REGARDLESS of the guilt or innocence of their child.
EVEN if you have them acting a complete fool on videotape!
Implications for the Classroom
* Make a POSITIVE contact with the parent or guardian early in the year
BEFORE any problems arise.
* When talking with parents about a discipline problem, focus on behaviors
that need to be addressed:
"Johnny's talking out is making it difficult for others
to concentrate."
NOT
"Johnny is disruptive."
* Enlist the parent's help and expertise in solving the problem."What
do you suggest? What works for you at home?"
BLAME
Assigning blame is ineffective.
* Assigning blame is nothing more than passing the responsibility on
to someone else.
* Assigning blame does not seek to solve problems but to LABEL them.
* At the end of the blame game, you're still faced with a PROBLEM!!!
Implications for the Classroom
* Focus on identifying the root of the problem regardless of who or
what is causing it. (Even if it is you...)
* Focus on identifying constructive solutions to the problem.
STRUCTURE
Children need structure.
* Children WANT and NEED normalcy in their lives.
* CHAOS begets CHAOS.
* If children are physically and/or mentally challenged by an uncertain,
unclear, or unstable environment, they feel out of control.
* If a student's energy is spent coping with the structure (or lack thereof)
in their environment, it is not being focused on your work.
Implications for the Classroom
* Teach routines and procedures.
* Create order in your classroom.
* Physical arrangement of furniture
* Organization of materials
* Traffic patterns
EXPECTATIONS
Students rise or fall according to our expectations.
* If the teacher doesn't think the kid can behave or do the task, who
is the child disagree?
* WHO is supposed to have all the answers?
* Students need our support, not our criticism.
* Students need to be aware of our expectations for them in our environment.
Implications for the Classroom
* Make expectations clear and explicit through classroom rules, routines,
and procedures.
* Make expectations clear and explicit through your verbal AND nonverbal
interactions with students.
PLANNING
If you fail to plan, you plan to fail.
In the past, what has happened in your classroom when:
* Your materials weren't ready?
* You couldn't find something you needed for the lesson?
* Your students finished early and you had nothing for them to do?
* You didn't have anything planned for the day and were winging it?
The old adage, "Idle hands are the Devil's workshop," is true.
Kids seek to entertain themselves during downtime, and many problems can
occur during these periods of time.
Implications for the Classroom
* Always, always, ALWAYS plan ahead of time.
* Create a file of, "If you finish early" activities that students
can access when they complete an assignment. (Word searches, magazine articles,
puzzles, etc. are great and easy!)
* Start class with a "bellringer" or opening activity for kids
to do while you take attendance and collect your thoughts and materials.
(Quizzes, journals, problems, etc.)
DO UNTO OTHERS
Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.
* We want to be respected and trusted; so do the kids.
* Just because a kid treats us with less than the greatest respect doesn't
mean we can sink to their level. All that does is confirm for them that
we do not deserve their respect in the first place.
* Right is always right, even when we're rip-roaring mad. Really.
Implications for the Classroom
* We must remember that our students are human beings with feelings.
* We must remember that children pay attention to what we do more than what
we say. Are we modeling appropriate responses?
* We must remember that as adults, we should have greater restraint and
control over our actions.
* In conferences with students, it is okay and effective many times to tell
the student how their action or words made you feel. Kids need to see we
are human too.
ADULTS MAKE MISTAKES, TOO
We ALL make mistakes.
Think of a mistake you have made in your life.
* Does your mistake mean you are stupid?
* Should we treat you as if you were going to make the same mistake over
and over again?
* Should we hold your mistake against you for the rest of your life?
Mistakes are an opportunity to grow and learn, and sometimes we need help
from others in that task.
Implications for the Classroom
* Don't hold a child's mistake from September against him all year long.
Assign a natural consequence and give the child another chance.
* Help children understand that you are displeased with the behavior, not
with them. Teach them that mistakes are not permanent, and help them learn
from their mistakes.
* Remember that students are still children, and they have many mistakes
ahead of them in their lives. So do we.
PROCEDURES AND ROUTINES
Procedures are how you want something done.
Routines are what the student does automatically without prompting
or supervision.
When procedures are explained, rehearsed, and reinforced,
they eventually become routines.
STEP 1:
Explain Classroom Procedures Clearly
* Define the procedure in concrete terms.
* Demonstrate the procedure; don't just tell.
* Demonstrate a complex procedure step by step.
STEP 2:
Rehearse Classroom Procedures Until They Become Routines
* Have students practice the procedure, step by step, under your supervision.
After each step, make sure that the students have performed the step correctly.
* Have the students repeat the procedure until it becomes a routine. The
students should be able to perform the procedure automatically without teacher
supervision.
STEP 3:
Reinforce a Correct Procedure and Reteach an Incorrect One
* Determine whether students have learned the procedure or whether they
need further explanation, demonstration, or practice.
* Reteach the correct procedure if rehearsal is unacceptable.
* Praise the students when the rehearsal is acceptable.
Don't address a student's failure to follow the routine or procedure through
behavioral consequences.
RETEACH! REHEARSE! REINFORCE!!!
PLANNING FOR POSSIBILITIES
Here are some situations you may need to design routines and procedures
for in your classroom. Feel free to add more or delete others that do not
apply to your particular classroom or situation. At the end of this activity,
you will share one of your routines or procedures with the group. Additionally,
your plan will be collected, copied, and distributed to the staff as a sourcebook.
Routine: What the student does automatically without
prompting or supervision.
Procedure: How you want something done.
Routine
1. How is your class structured? What do you want students to do
automatically when they come to your classroom?
Procedures
1. What to do when coming to class
2. How to enter the classroom
3. What to do when the fire alarm sounds
4. What to do when you finish your work early
5. What to do when you have a question
6. When to sharpen your pencil
7. How to sharpen your pencil (# at the sharpener, etc.)
8. What to do when you need to use the restroom
9. Where to find the assignment (homework, bellringer, others, etc.)
10. How you will get their attention and what they should do
11. How a paper is to be done (heading, ink, rough edges, etc.)
12. How papers will be collected/where to put the paper when they are complete
13. Where to find assignments if they have been absent
14. What to do at the end of class
15. Working in groups
16. How/when to move around the room
17. How to use classroom materials and where to find them
18. Lunch tickets
19. What to do if you're tardy
20. What to do if you're absent
21. How to cross the street
22. How to walk in the hallway
TRICKS OF THE TRADE
Classroom Discipline Techniques
1. Use humor to address your concerns and avoid a conflict.
2. Eye contact
3. Teacher proximity
4. Call home
5. Ignore the behavior (attention-seeking, especially)
6. Mention the student's name while teaching
7. Send a secret signal
8. Give an I-message (When you_______ I feel _____ because _________. Please
stop.)
9. Do the unexpected (talk to the wall, lower your voice, change your voice,
etc.)
10. Change the student's seat
11. Distract the student (ask for assistance with
something, ask a question, etc.)
12. Time out in a teammate's classroom
13. Table the matter until later
14. Agree with the student (Ex.: "You can't make me!"
"You are absolutely right!")
15. Change the subject
16. Sing
17. Get to know your students
18. One put up for every put down
19. Make mistakes okay
20. Recognize positive behaviors
THE CHALLENGE
SO...What's the challenge?
* We are human, and it FEELS GOOD to let loose on a kid who is giving us
grief.
* Unfortunately, after we have gone off, the problem still exists, is probably
worse, and we have provided a poor example of how to handle problems for
our students.
HOWEVER, when you remain calm, you are in control. It diffuses the behavior
of the student.
Implications for the Classroom
* Learn to identify the goal(s) behind the behavior.
* Suppress your natural urge to react, and remember that you are the adult
in the classroom.
* If the situation becomes, "too hot to handle," table the matter
for later or send the child to a colleague's room for a cool down.
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