Choice Theory in the Classroom

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Choice Theory in the Classroom

• By William Glasser, M.D
• Shannon Sanderson

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Choice Theory

• What this book recommends is a major change in
  the structure of how we teach and in the role of
  the teacher so that he or she can teach
  effectively in this new structure.
• 
  Glasser

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Choice Theory

• These changes, best called learning teams,
  should be able to increase significantly the
  number of students who are willing to work harder
  in school.
• 
  Glasser

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What is taught

• Glasser explains in detail a new theory of human
  behavior called Choice Theory that provides a
  powerful rationale for why so many students are
  not working now, and for making changes that he
  believes will need to be made in the classroom
  structure which will lead to them starting to
  work.

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Theories

• Choice Theory is almost the exact opposite of the
  traditional stimulus-response (s-r) theory that
  is dominate in our societys beliefs today.

• The s-r theory assumes that living creatures can
  be motivated to work by what we can do TO them or
  FOR them.
• In direct opposition,
• C-T theory says that it is ineffective to do
  that

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Basic to Choice Theory

• Students function no differently in school than
  anywhere else
• They attempt to fulfill whatever need they detect
  is most unsatisfied at the time.
• Nothing outside of us including school, can ever
  fulfill our needs for us because we can only do
  this for ourselves.

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A Good School

• A good school could be defined as a place where
  almost all students believe that if they do some
  work, they will be able to satisfy their need
  enough so that it makes good sense to keep
  working.

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Chapter Two

• Basic to Choice Theory is the belief that all of
  our behavior is our constant attempt to satisfy
  one or more of five basic needs that are written
  into our genetic structure. None of what we do
  is caused by any situation or person outside of
  ourselves.

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Chapter Two

• Since our behavior always arises from within
  ourselves, never from an outside stimulus, that
  all we can do is ACT as living creatures we
  never REACT.
• Choice Theory is a hopeful theory. Once you
  become aware of these needs, you have a clear
  guideline for what you might do in a class that
  has a good chance of being seen by all your
  students as need fulfilling if they will work.

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Chapter Three

• All living creatures are driven by the basic need
  to stay alive and reproduce.
• Complex creatures have additional basic needs to
  belong, to gain power, to be free and to have
  fun.

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Chapter Three

• The more students can fulfill their needs in your
  academic classes, the more they will apply
  themselves to what is to be learned.

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Chapter Four

• Everything we do is initiated by a satisfying
  picture of that activity that we store in our
  heads as a pleasant memory.
• Starting immediately after birth, instructed by
  our feelings, we begin to learn what is
  satisfying and what is not.

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Chapter Four

• We keep only those pictures that are in some way
  satisfying to us.
• If we, as teachers, can use this as a basis of
  understanding of how children view their world
  experiences, we will be better able to help them
  to form the vital positive pictures of learning
  in their heads.

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Chapter Five-discipline problems as total
behaviors

• It takes all four components- acting, thinking,
  feeling and physiology- to make a total behavior.
• Whatever total behavior we choose, it is always
  our best attempt to gain effective control of our
  lives, which means to reduce the difference
  between what we want at the time and what we see
  is available.

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Chapter Six

• There is a way to structure our classes so that
  some of the need satisfaction that is so
  motivating in the nonacademics could be brought
  into the academic classes.
• Solution-small learning teams
• These teams offer student-to-student support and
  access to power.

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Chapter Seven

• The teacher is a modern manager
• -Think of the best way for students to learn.
• -Facilitate the process by giving as much
  power to the students as
  they can handle.
• -Always encourage them to take more.

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Chapter Six-reasons to use learning teams

• Students can gain a sense of belonging
• Belonging provides initial motivation
• Stronger students find it need fulfilling to help
  weaker ones- power
• Weaker student finds it need fulfilling to
  contribute
• Students do not depend only on teacher
• Freedom to figure out how to convince -learning
• Groups rotated to so all students on high scoring
  team

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Chapter Eight

• Glasser looks at the work of specific teachers
  that use the learning-team models
• -Cooperative Learning Center of the
  University of Minnesota
• -Book- Circles of Learning

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Chapter Nine- Suggestions

• 1.Read Johnsons informative booklet-
• Circles of learning.
• 3.Observe a teacher who uses this model.
• 4.Become a part of a teacher learning-team in
  your school.
• 5.Figure out what genuine team assignments can be
  assigned.

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Three Kinds of Cooperative Assignments

• 1.artificial
• 2.genuine
• 3. Combined (artificial genuine)

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Goal of a Learning-Team

• Work as much as possible with genuine cooperative
  assignments.

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The End

• 
  
• Thank you

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