Assertive Discipline

Teacher Burnout  The total amount of teachers leaving every year the amount comes to 16.9% 9% of those teachers are not returning to teach in another school Almost 5% of teachers leave teaching for another job every year

Assertive Discipline is…  a program of discipline or behavior modification that uses direct, positive reinforcement

Consequences: Reinforcement vs. Punishment  Consequences result or effect of an action or condition ○ Positive Reinforcement giving or adding a positive stimulus following a response i.e. giving praise ○ Negative Reinforcement* removing a stimulus (typically adverse) following a response i.e. removing sanction -For the purpose of this presentation negative reinforcement means not longer giving a student or students positive reinforcement. Punishment* adding an averse stimulus following a response i.e. 7 lashings

Keep it positive!  Builds healthy self-esteem  Punishment and Negative Reinforcement don’t work as well. Why is this important for classroom management?  Longer lasting results Better student behavior  Better classroom environment  More time Less interruptions due to misbehavior

Putting it into practice.  Part of a three step process Set-up ○ Planning ○ Expectations Positive Reinforcement Negative Reinforcement*

You’ve got to have a plan…  In order to have an effective system of discipline teachers must: have laid out plans to refer to when students misbehave be consistent and make sure each student and misbehavior is dealt with appropriately share the plan with parents and students

So what should this plan look like?  Rules/”Bill of Rights” Limited number Are observable and deal with behavior only Know Expectations ○ Realistic and age appropriate  Consequences A maximum of 5 consequences per misbehavior none of which should be physically or emotionally harming (including corporal punishment). ○ Some suggest outlining consequences for positive behavior, especially useful with younger students.  Parental involvement Contracts  Administration Informed Involved  Student Choice ○ Each misbehavior is a choice ○ Rule

Rules example  We are considerate of our classmates and do not interrupt them when they are talking.  We use class appropriate voices and volume.  We keep our hands to ourselves and our own things.

Consequence example  We do not run in the classroom. 1. Warning 2. Lose 2 minutes of break. 3. Fill out Attitude Sheet. 4. Lose 5 minutes of break. 5. Contact parent.

Expectations  Have expectations for behavior in mind before starting any activity Make sure students know exactly what behaviors are expected of them at all times. ○ Teachers should always model expected behavior to their students ○ Write down expectations for younger students You may also have to model and ask young students to repeat directions and expectations

In action…  Positive reinforcement Focus on the students who are following directions, do not focus on students who are misbehaving ○ Rephrase the original directions to make a positive comment Try to use positive reinforcement twice before moving into the next stage

It was your choice…  If a student or students are misbehaving at this point the teacher should Point out the students transgression Deal with the misbehavior according to your plan Make sure the student understands that they made the choice to misbehave ○ Self-discipline and consequences for actions The dilemma of the board.

So, what does research tell us?  Conflicting research Not a great deal of research has been done on the practice. ○ Only 16 studies used systematic data gathering and reported results. Research is misleading, for example some research criticized the practice for not addressing learning problems. Lack of comparison to other discipline programs. Too many variables to study.

Contradictory research  Assertive discipline could be helpful in severe cases where students are behaving inappropriately more than 96% of the time (as quoted in Render, 1989).  No evidence that assertive discipline is any more effective than any other intervention.  Researchers unable to replicate previous findings.

Contradictory research

Supporting research  The points made by Render et al. (1989) were based on inaccurate information.  The school district above, cited in Render et al (1989) still uses the program with reported success.  Teachers and Administrators report positive results of assertive discipline.

Supporting research

Implications for Teachers & Key Points  Classroom management instruction should be part of professional development.  Prevents burnout  Teachers must work with parents and administrators for proper classroom management  Beware of inappropriate negative reinforcement  EBD, ELL, and students with disabilities

Work Cited Canter, L. (1989). Assertive discipline- more than names on the board and marbles in a jar. Phi Delta Kappa, 71, Render, G., Padilla, J., & Krank, H. M. (1989). What Research really shows about assertive discipline. Educational Leadership, 46(6), McCormack, S. (1989). Response to render, padilla, and krank: but practitioners say it works! Educational Leadership, 46(6), Planty, M., Hussar, W., Snyder, T., Provasnik, S., Kena, G., Dinkes, R., KewalRamani, A., and Kemp, J. (2008). The Condition of Education 2008 (NCES ). National Center for Education Statistics, Institute of Education Sciences, U.S. Department of Education. Washington, DC.

Is Assertive Discipline appropriate in all situations? How would you use assertive discipline if students were treating a particular student badly because that student is disabled, culturally different, or the class scapegoat. Is there a time when this practice would not work?