 Guru Project

 Teachers lose approximately 50% of their instructional time due to “massive time wasting”  Lost time results from two kinds of student misbehavior-talking without permission (80%) and general goofing off  This lost time can be salvaged if teachers employ three techniques that assist discipline

 Body Language  Incentive Systems  Providing Efficient Help

 Helping students support their own self control  Emphasizes use of Body Language  How to provide incentives that Motivate desired behavior  Details procedures for providing effective and efficient help to students during independent work time

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 90% of good discipline depends on effective body language  Use physical mannerisms to set and enforce behavior limits  At its most effective level, it communicates that the teacher is calmly in control, knows what is going on, and means business  Body Language Includes: eye contact, physical proximity, body carriage, facial expressions, and gestures

 Few physical acts are more effective than eye contact for conveying the impression of being in control  Makes many people feel uncomfortable  Does not seem to be a natural behavior, therefore must be practiced before it can be used effectively  Locking onto individuals sends a message that the teacher is aware and in control  Inhibits students who are on the verge of misbehaving  Provides opportunity to send facial expressions of approval or disapproval

 Communicate Much to Students  Can show - enthusiasm, seriousness, enjoyment, and appreciation – all of which encourage good behavior  Can reveal – boredom, annoyance, and resignation, can encourage misbehavior  Can demonstrate a sense of humor - winks, smiles, and contortions, which is a trait that students like most in teachers  Used instead of Words, just as effective

 Slight shake of the head – stop misbehavior before it gets going  Frowns – unmistakable disapproval  Firmed Lip and Flashing eyes – indicate limits have been reached  Used instead of words, just as effective  Advantage over verbal rebuffs – seldom belittle, sting, antagonize, or provoke counterattacks from students

 Students near the teacher rarely misbehave  Move nearer to students who are prone to misbehave or seat the students near them.  With this, teachers did not need to say anything to the offenders to get them to behave.  Seat students in shallow semicircles, no more then three rows deep, with walk space in between  Example: student misbehaves, teacher moves near the offending student, establishes brief eye contact, and says nothing. The student usually returns immediately to proper behavior.

 Body posture and carriage can be effective in communicating authority  Students can quickly read and determine if the teacher is ill tired, disinterested, or intimidated  Good posture + confident carriage = Strong leadership  Drooping posture + tired movements = resignation/fearfulness  Move with a measure of vigor  On occasion you are ill, explain to students and ask for acceptance and tolerance

 Use to encourage and discourage behavior and to maintain student attention  Communicates effectively, but does not interfere with necessary instructional verbalization  Examples: Palm out (stop), Palm up flexing fingers(continue), finger to lip (quiet), finger snap (attention), thumbs up (approval)

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“ Jones implies that teachers should emphasize genuineness, “Grandma’s rule”, educational value, and ease of implementation.”

Effective Incentives  Activities that almost all students desire sufficiently to make extra effort to obtain them.  Students respond well to the anticipation of preferred activities  Examples: art, watching movies, free time for personal interests or time to talk with friends. Less Desirable Incentives  Only motivates a handful of students  Little Educational value  Costly  Examples: tangible objects, awards, certificates, marks, stars etc…

“First eat your dinner and then you can have dessert.”  Applied in the classroom, this rule requires that students first do what they are supposed to do, and then for a while they can do what they want to do.  The incentive is the end product of the proposition.  Students must complete designated work while behaving acceptably  To be effective, delay the reward until last and make the reward contingent on the students doing required work acceptably “ If they don’t eat their beans and cabbage, they don’t get their pudding”

 Every class period should be devoted to activities that have educational value.  Work that only keeps students occupied, but teaches them little, can seldom be justified.  “Busy Work”

There are many educationally valuable activities that students enjoy greatly both individually and in groups. One of the best is “free time” The freedom is that of choosing from a variety of approved activities.

 Four things to implement Jones incentive system 1. Establish and explain the system 2. Allow the class to vote from time to time on which teacher- approved activities they wish to enjoy during incentive time 3. Obtain a stop watch and use it conscientiously 4. Be prepared when necessary to conduct the class in low preference activities for the amount of time that students might have lost from their preferred activity time allotment

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 Jones found that teachers on average actually spend around four minutes with each student who requested help during independent work time.  He also noted something that compounded the problem: “Dependency Syndrome”- where some students felt so uncomfortable doing independent work that they routinely raised their hands for teacher help even when they did not need it.

 Organize the classroom seating so that students are within easy reach of teacher. Otherwise the teacher uses too much time and energy dashing from one end of the classroom to the other  Use graphic reminders, such as models or charts, that provide clear examples and instructions. These reminders are posted and can be consulted by students before they call for teachers help.

 Cut to bare minimum the time used for individual help.  Be Positive : Quickly find anything that the student has done correctly and mention it favorably  Be Brief : Give straight forward hints or suggestions that will get the student going  Be Gone : Leave immediately

 Teachers have time to attend to every student who needs help.  Students spend little wasted time waiting for the teacher  Misbehavior is much less likely to occur  The dependency syndrome is broken  Rapid circulation = better monitoring of work being done

 Catch misbehavior early and deal with it immediately  Use body language instead of words. Show you mean business through our posture, eye contact, facial expression, and gestures.  Use physical proximity in dealing with misbehaving or defiant students  Use group incentive systems to motivate work and good behavior  Provide individual help efficiently  Do not Use Threats  Establish rules and attend to misbehavior