Reading6-1-1




	ESE502 : The Class : Pro-active Management : Introduction : Reading6-1-1

Proactive Discipline

Pro-active Discipline: Overview & Tools

In order to be truly positive and building, a teacher maintains a belief system that sees youth, in fact all humans, as basically good, believes that there are innate skills and abilities that are unique to each student. Pro-active discipline is actually a little like taking a beautiful piece of wood and working “with” it to show off all the quality and beauty inherent in the piece.

A teacher who is a pro-active disciplinarian actually sees the role as supportive, as facilitator. The vital work comes in balancing the well being and growth of all in the community, not in disseminating information, but in getting students so excited that they live and breathe learning, reflecting, searching for ideas, creating novel ways of putting ideas together, creating meaning for themselves.

Pro-active discipline is not embodied in running a tight ship, but rather working as a team to create a powerful learning community. It is not aiming for personal gratification or high scores, but having them occur as a by-product of each student’s growth, love of learning, or self, or one another.

Pro-active discipline techniques are present in the suggestions of most classroom management experts. As Kohn points out, calling discipline positive and renaming a punishment a consequence is not positive and not what the module represents. Still, there are positive techniques and tools that can be easily adapted. This reading will provide some of the excellent pro-active discipline techniques found in the literature. When possible, the expert who developed the idea will be listed in parentheses.

Technique Tool Box

Antecedent Assessment: With careful analysis we can usually determine what sets a poor behavior choice in motion. A teacher can take responsibility for being “Sherlock Holmes” in the search for triggers, or the student can assist by reflecting and self monitoring. Once triggers are recognized, the student and teacher can work together to increase student self control, and the teacher and class members can assist the process by not engaging in triggering behaviors.

Antiseptic Bouncing: When a student shows the first signs of needing a change from the group or individual activity, and the teacher, who either recognizes the signs pointing to student need for change or the student themselves suggests an errand, a change of pace, or helping someone else in order to productively maintain self control. (Redl & Wineman,1952).

Classrooms as Crowds: Three common structural features of classrooms include crowds, praise and power. Students are in the midst of a social setting, yet the teacher often acts as gate keeper, supply sergeant, and judge, to simulate the conditions of being alone. To make the best use of the condition of learning in a crowd, build community and teach social interaction and communication skills. To enhance the dynamics of power, teach students to become self disciplined and then to work together to foster a healthy milieu. With praise, remember that criticism, disapproval and manipulation are also integral parts of the communications that occur when judging and commenting on others. Work to emphasize team work rather than relying on competition (Jackson).

Consequences: A consequence is not a punishment. It can be the natural result of an action -- a child falls down an embankment and sprains a wrist. It can be logical. The child might help adults put up a rope barrier so others cannot fall. If a student makes a series of bad choices, disobeys and defies the adult, it is just possible that the appropriate emotional response is to rush down the hill, thump on the kid for going off the trail and falling, and then seek medical care for the arm. None of us wants to admit to being susceptible to retaliation. None wants to believe that punishment helps the adult to self soothe. These are some of the reasons that consequences often seem more like punishments than natural responses to student behavior. Keep consequences as natural as possible, if logical (Dreikurs) administer them even handedly, with compassion for the youth, a sense of concern and willingness to help the student work out restitution or overcome the disappointment of losing out on an activity or option that seems important to them. Consequences can help students understand cause and effect, but not if the student feels resentment from or toward us.

Contextualized Instruction: Use culturally relevant experiences and stories to help students understand the relevance and importance of lessons. It is a powerful strategy to draw on and build connections to student experiences, belief systems, and areas of interest. When a child is learning to walk and talk, they push to do so despite repeated failure. A great teacher learns how to harness that kind of energy and commitment with respect to formal learning.

Humor: This can include jokes, riddles, plays on words, funny songs and a few jokes on the speaker. Humor shares the power base, builds solidarity and communicates willingness to be part of the group rather than aloof. Humor is a way to calm and comfort upset students, strengthen communications and build a sense of solidarity. Remember to stay away from ethnic, gender or sexual innuendo. Also, sarcasm is not humor, yet many teachers, particularly with older students, use verbal hazing to express anger and disappointment. Students, especially in the upper grades may be quick to inject biting humor into situation. Keep the laughter genuine and inclusive of everyone. Remember the power of role playing, using voice changes, silly songs and letting the barriers down as useful tools.

Non-verbal Signals: From winking to a finger on the lips, thumbs up or the victory V, we can provide cues to students about what is happening, what is to come and how we feel.

Pacing: There are strong links between high achievement and good pacing of instruction. There are equally strong links between good pacing and problem free classroom management. Students stay engaged when the work is stimulating, has plenty of variety, challenging with a reasonable learning curve, self rewarding as well as externally valued. Individualization is nearly a pre=requisite of good pacing, since most classrooms include a span of ability levels of 5 or more grades.

Peer Mediation: Students can help one another in a multiplicity of ways. This facilitation is a powerful tool, especially from third grade on. Not only can student peer teach, help one another learn socially acceptable behavior and gain valuable insight through modeling, classroom meetings can help students learn ways to help one another make wise choices (Ellsworth & Monahan, Glasser).

Physical Arrangement: The arrangement and flow of the classroom can contribute to a sense of ease and safety. How the furniture is arranged and the way the day is allowed to unfold can make the difference between a warm, positive feeling or a hostile sense. Traffic patterns, lining up group seating and the arrangement of group activity centers are worthy of scrutiny and careful planning along with occasional retuning, to get the most efficiency and comfort from the classroom. Planning that includes both the actions of the teacher and the likely responses of students will go a long way to resolving contentions and reducing conflicts or acting at cross purpose. Teaching and over-learning procedures will enhance the flow and sense of stability. Consistently applying the procedures and practices adds another layer of comfort. Rituals are soothing, and students like to know when to sharpen pencils, what is coming next, who they will be sitting by during math (Wong).

Procedures: A task analysis can be the easiest way to set up procedures and avoid torturous class times of dishabille. Some of the things that creates tension if not well laid out include pencil sharpening, group activities, any transitions, the first moments of class, the end of the day, pre and post recess, lining up, pre-holiday jitters, weather changes, shorted day schedules or weather related schedule changes, interruptions on the intercom, When thorough, well introduced and practiced until almost rote, procedures are the safety net for the class. They help students know what to expect, and feel secure about their place. It is critical, if procedures are to remain positive, that they not become regimentation or maintained for wrong reasons. Procedures can easily be changed, can apply to some students and not to others, and work best if they are the natural result of easing tasks into routines.

Proximity: Moving closer to a student (Redl) or actually moving into the student’s space (Jones) can be reinforcing, assist the student to focus attention on what s/he is doing, and feel supported. The difference between intimidation and pro-action depends on the manner in which the teacher moves, the type of body language that is exchanged and to some extent, timing.

Respect: A respectful and accommodating sensitivity to students’ life experiences, knowledge, gifts, preferences, needs, values, experiences and sense of self if vital. Student motivation is closely linked to beliefs or inner feelings about teacher trustworthiness, respect, and honor.

Rules: Rules and procedures differ markedly. Rules apply to all in the class, provide ethical guidance with respect to relationship, community and person building. They work best when put in positive language, when there are few, and when everyone has a stake in maintaining them. As students get older, they can help establish rules.

Withitness: This is a modern version of “eyes in the back of your head.” Once teachers get a sense of teaching and a rhythm going, they become aware of potential problems as they first emerge. As an example, a kindergarten teacher will hear the first whispers and know that attention span is flagging, so pep up the seat work time with a song or move in the direction of students who are already finished with work or confused about what to do next. It is recognizing the body language of an angry youth when he first comes in the room, knowing that a child nodding off may signal a sugar problem, that this is the third trip up to the drinking fountain in ten minutes. Cultivating and responding to these insights prevents problems from occurring and saves a lot of grief. It tends to come with time and experience (Kounin).

Bibliography

     Dreikurs, R. (1968). Psychology in the classroom (2nd ed.). New York: Harper & Row.
     Ellsworth, J.D. & Monahan, A. K. (1987). A Humanistic approach to teaching / learning through Developmental Discipline. New York: Irvington.
     Glasser, W. (1986). Control theory, a new explanation of how we control our lives. New York: Harper & Row.
     Glasser, W. (1990). The quality school. New York: Harper & Row.
     Goodlad, J. I. (1990). Teachers for our nations’s schools. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass Publishers.
     Goodlad, J. I. (1994). Educational renewal: Better teachers, better schools. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
     Jackson, P. W. (1990). Life in classrooms. New York: Holt, Rinehart & Winston.
     Jones, V.F. & Jones, L.S. (1990). Comprehensive classroom management. Needham Heights, MA: Allyn & Bacon.
     Redl, F. & Wineman, D. (1952). Controls from within: Techniques for the treatment of the aggressive child. New York: Free Press.
     Wong, H. K. & Wong, R. T. (1991). The first day of school: How to be an effective teacher. Sunnyvale, CA: Wong Publications.

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E-mail J'Anne Ellsworth at Janne.Ellsworth@nau.edu