Tag Archive for 'teachers'

Behavior contracts that work

Published
by
JohnL
on 17 January 2010
in Classroom management, Other Sites, Research and Understanding
. 0 Comments

Over on Smart Classroom Management, the site where he presents tips based on his book, Michael Linsin offers three reasons for not using behavior contracts. After a brief introduction that is generally pretty accurate, he argues that (a) “behavior contracts label students,” (b) “external rewards are short term,” and (c) “follow through is a bear.” He recommends employing a consistent behavior management plan for classrooms and adhering to it faithfully.

I certainly agree with the recommendation that teachers adopt and faithfully execute a carefully conceived and evidence-based classroom management plan, but I disagree with Mr. Linsin’s rejection of use of behavior contracts both because I think that contracts may be a component of a comprehensive management plan and because I think the objections he raises are specious.
Continue reading ‘Behavior contracts that work’

News account about classroom management

Published
by
JohnL
on 15 December 2009
in Classroom management, Need, News, Press and Professional development
. 0 Comments

In “Controlling a classroom isn’t as easy as ABC” Seema Mehta of the Los Angeles (CA, US) Times describes teachers’ struggles and successes with classroom management. She also reports what teachers say are important and unimportant components of management.

Not only does she describe conflicts in the classrooms, but the recommendations she received about management show conflicts, too. She captures this disagreement concisely with this example: “Some teachers, for example, offer rewards for good behavior; others believe that creates a false motivation.”

Here are recommendations I gleened from the teachers in Mr. Mehta’s article:

  • Consistency
  • Follow through
  • Caring
  • Clear behavioral expectations
  • Automatic consequences
  • Address misbehavior quickly and dispassionately
  • Ignore what you learn in teacher education

For the most part, these seem sensible and appropriate. But, they also seem platitudinous and generic. If teachers are served this sort of stuff in teacher education, then I can even agree with the last one.

Instead, we need to teach more operational and evidence-based practices. I hope that’s what I accomplish in my classes. Mayhaps I don’t. Sigh.

Link to “Controlling a classroom isn’t as easy as ABC.”

Positive-negative ratios

Published
by
JohnL
on 15 September 2009
in Classroom management, Data collection and Self-management
. 0 Comments

Over on The Adventures of Miss Behavior, Enedelia Sanner has a post about getting data on her children’s behavior before introducing interventions. As I suspect is true for most folks, she doesn’t always gather baseline data, even though she’s an informed behavior analyst. In the post she makes some good points about the value of data in informing practice, but there’s another feature of the post to which I want to point.
Continue reading ‘Positive-negative ratios’

Deterring bullying

Published
by
JohnL
on 16 August 2009
in News and Press
. 0 Comments

Over on Slate, Alan Kazdin and Carlo Rotella tell parents what it takes to deter bullying. Under the headline “Bullies: They can be stopped, but it takes a village,” Professors Kazdin and Rotella explain what not to do and what works. They draw on real research about the issue, not just people’s reports and impressions.

Let’s say you find out that your child is being bullied by a schoolmate. Naturally, you want to do something right now to make it stop. Depending on your temperament and experience, one or more of four widely attempted common-sense solutions will occur to you: telling your child to stand up to the bully, telling your child to try to ignore and avoid the bully, taking matters into your own hands by calling the bully’s parents or confronting the bully yourself, or asking your child’s teacher to put a stop to it.

These responses share three features:

1) They all express genuine caring, concern, and good intentions.

2) You will feel better for taking action.

3) They are likely to be ineffective.

So what should a parent do? Well, my recommendation is easy: Read the article for guidance.

And, teachers, you should read this article, too. Then consult the resources listed here:

US Congress hearings follow-up notes

Published
by
JohnL
on 20 May 2009
in Classroom management, Ethics, News, Press and Reducing responding
. 0 Comments

Representatives of Democrats on the US House Education and Labor Committee provided me with a list of resources covering the hearing held 19 May 2009. These hearings were about the use and misuse of seclusion and restraint in managing students’ behavior. Here’re items from that list:

Links to some earlier posts on this topic: “Seclusion and restraint: US hearings coverage” (19 May 2009), “US House to review seclusion and restraint” (here 13 May 2009) and “Seclusion and restraint: NDRN report” (15 January 2009 on Teach Effectively)

Progressive education and behavior modification

Published
by
JohnL
on 2 March 2009
in Classroom management, Need, News, Press and Understanding
. 2 Comments

Over on Larry Ferlazzo’s Websites of the Day…For Teaching ELL, ESL, & EFL Larry Ferlazzo, a teacher of high school students who are learning English, reports that he adopted what sounds like a response-cost system for managing behavior and found it quite successful. Under the title “Have You Ever Taught A Class That Got ‘Out Of Control’?,” Mr. Ferlazzo explained that he awarded 50 points to sub-groups of students and then deducted points for misbehavior.

What’s interesting about that? Isn’t this a bit like the Good Behavior Game? Don’t lots of teachers use response-cost systems successfully? True. True.

One particularly interesting feature of the story, though, is Mr. Felazzo’s disarmingly honest assessment of his own views about employing such a system. Mr. Felazzo explains that, after several of his usual strategies proved ineffective, he found that he had to move beyond building relationships with students. That’s when he adopted the response-cost system.

Yes, I know some of you are thinking, as I initially thought, what is a progressive educator like me doing considering a classroom management system that sounds like behavior modification and operant conditioning? Why am I not continuing my focus on positive strategies to help students develop their own intrinsic motivation?

After Mr. Felazzo thinned the schedule of reinforcement (though he doesn’t report it that way), he discovered that the students were still behaving appropriately. He inferred that they developed intrinsic motivation. That’s possible. Alternatively, perhaps there is a behavioral trap operating in his situation: When they behaved appropriately, less-obvious reinforcers (e.g., success in class?) began to control the students’ behavior. For whatever reason they continued to display student-like behavior, and for that we should all be glad.

Thanks for the good example, Mr. Felazzo!

Link to Mr. Ferlazzo’s blog post.

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