Using a Discipline System to Promote Learning

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Using a Discipline System to Promote Learning

• Part 2 The System in Practice

Kerry Weisner in Phi Delta Kappan, March
2004 (PowerPoint by Phil Jackson)
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Unprepared for Today's Students

• Students not thoughtful, well-behaved, motivated
• Most discipline plans deal with extrinsic
  motivators
• Creates students who are greedy, resentful,
  competitive
• What happened to that respectful and purposeful
  classroom we were trying to create?

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Powerful and Inspiring Teachers

• Cultivate Personal Bonds with Students
• Treating students with respect and kindness
• Using an honest, direct teaching approach
• Showing interest in students as individuals
• Sharing stories from their own lives
• Maintaining an approachable manner so that
  students feel safe
• Displaying a willingness to give extra help and
  encouragement

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Powerful and Inspiring Teachers

• Holds High Expectations
• Requires students to work hard
• Insists that students try
• Challenge students to think
• Expects students to behave appropriately

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Powerful and Inspiring Teachers

• Employs Best Teaching Practices
• Captures interest through an engaging classroom
  environment
• Provides a reason to want to attend class
• Makes learning fun
• Uses a variety of carefully planned teaching
  strategies
• Gives varied and meaningful assignments

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Finding a Discipline System that Works

• Quick-fix approaches
• Prizes, stickers, pizzas
• Merit points for good behavior
• Only bring short-term results, not long-term
  changes

• Long-term approaches
• Based on internal motivation
• Concrete teaching strategies
• Going beyond rewards and punishments

Discipline Without Stress, Punishments, or
Rewards
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Three Principles to Practice

• Be positive in everything. (Students to better
  when they feel good about themselves.)
• Teach students that they always have the freedom
  to choose their responses regardless of the
  situation. (Realizing they have choices, students
  become more self-controlled and responsible.
  They feel empowered.)
• Ask questions that would effectively guide
  students to reflect and self-evaluate.

The goal is to influence students, rather than
trying to coerce them into making constructive
changes in their behavior.
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Three Phases of the Raise Responsibility system

• Phase 1 teaching the hierarchy
• Phase 2 asking students to reflect on their
  behavior
• Phase 3 eliciting changes in behavior

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Phase 1 Teaching the Hierarchy
develops self-discipline, shows kindness to
others, develops self-reliance, does good because
it is the right thing to do The motivation is
internal
listens, cooperates, does what is expected The
motivation is external
bosses others, bothers others, bullies others,
breaks classroom standards Needs to be bossed to
behave
noisy, out of control, unsafe
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Phase 1 Teaching the Hierarchy
Level D is the goal motivation is internal
Levels C and D differ in motivation
Level C behavior is acceptable, but the
motivation is external
Levels A and B behaviors are always unacceptable
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Phase 2 Asking Students to Reflect on Their
Behavior
On what level was that behavor?

• Ask student the level, rather than telling them
  the behavior
• Asking the level separates the deed from the doer
• Having learned the hierarchy, students can
  accurately assess their level of behavior and
  start taking responsibility for correcting it

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Phase 3 Eliciting Changes in Behavior
What if a student continues to misbehave even
after identifying a behavior as being on an
unacceptable level?

• The Process of Guided Choices
• Give student activity to prompt self-reflection,
  with goal of eliciting a plan of action.
• Student develops a procedure that would redirect
  impulses and assist in preventing poor behavior.
• You can use authority when necessary, but without
  being punitive

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A Gift for Life
The Raise Responsibility System gives young
people, even young children, the awareness they
need in order to look at their choices and plan
future behavior.
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Extending the System to Learning

• Not limited to just behavior
• Use system to inspire students in all areas of
  their lives
• Some areas to use system for learning
• quality of classwork
• effort in homework
• seriousness in independent reading
• Selecting challenging projects

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Results of Promoting Responsibility
I am elated to have finally found an effective
approach to discipline that creates a classroom
in which young people feel safe, care for one
another, and enjoy learning.

• Obedience follows as a natural by-product
• Students choose to be more responsible
• Students willing to put forth effort needed to
  learn
• Students do what they know to be appropriate
• Students aim to fulfill the highest expectations.

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Raise Responsibility System
Teaching becomes a joy when students demonstrate
more responsible behavior and become motivated to
put more effort into their own learning.