1. 20th and 21st Century Classroom Management PioneersBy

2. Discipline through Assertive Tactics Lee and Marlene Canter
Believed teachers should be in charge of their classrooms by being “calm, insistent and consistent” in their interaction with students
Developed the idea of student & teacher rights
Suggested that student behavior is tied to meeting student and teacher needs
These ideas were known as “Assertive Discipline”
The Canters were pioneers in classroom management because they created teacher and student rights. They felt that students would behave more if they had a hand in the creation of classroom rules. In addition, they connected the idea of student needs to student behavior. This means that if a student’s needs aren’t being met, then that student will not behave correctly. They also spoke about teacher needs. If a teacher’s needs aren’t being met, then class will not go smoothly.

3. Discipline through Assertive Tactics continued
Classified three types of teachers:
◦         Hostile: “view students as adversaries”
▪         takes away fun & trust
◦         Nonassertive: “overly passive”
▪         causes student insecurity & frustration
◦         Assertive: model & express clear expectations
▪         meets student & teacher needs
The Canters identified what they felt were three types of teachers. The first is the hostile teacher, who looks at students as “adversaries” or even foes. This type of teacher may have a difficult time maintaining discipline because he/she views students almost as the enemy. The second type of teacher is called the “nonassertive” teacher. This teacher isn’t aggressive when it comes to establishing classroom discipline at all. A nonassertive teacher creates insecure and frustrated students because he/she isn’t consistent about discipline in the classroom. The third type of teacher is the “assertive” teacher. This teacher is consistent and clear in explaining, teaching, and modeling his or her expectations regarding classroom behavior. This is the best type of teacher because this person meets the needs of nearly everyone in the classroom.

4. Discipline through Assertive Tactics continued
Encourages teachers to write out discipline plan that includes:
◦         Rules: express how students should behave
◦         Positive Recognition: rewards students who keep class expectations
◦         Corrective Actions: must be consistent, shows students they've “chosen the consequences”
◦         Discipline Hierarchy List: shares “corrective actions and the order in which they will be imposed within the day”
Suggest that students must be taught the discipline plan
The Canters felt that teachers should write out a discipline plan and share that it with their students. These plans need to include everything from the rules and rewards students would receive for following the rules to the actions that a teacher would take for students who break the rules. In addition, the discipline plan would include a “discipline hierarchy list,” which clearly explained just what would happen to students who broke the rules. The Canters believed that students needed to be taught this discipline plan, not just shown it.

5. Discipline through Assertive Tactics Contributions to Discipline
Created the concept of rights in the classroom
Insisted teachers have a “right” to be supported by administration & parental support
Provided procedures for efficient correction of student misbehavior
There are many contributions that the Canters “Discipline through Assertive Tactics” system made to the world of classroom management. For example, they contributed the idea that both students and teachers have rights in the classroom. In addition, they suggested something extremely important: the idea that teachers must have the support of the parents and the administrators. Lastly, they suggested different types of corrective actions for students who misbehave in the classroom.

6. Discipline through Democratic Teaching Rudolf Dreikurs
Supposed that students behave best when they believe that good behavior has social value
Self control can be seen when students “show initiative, make reasonable decisions, and assume responsibility”
Suggests that teachers & students working together to decide how the class should work, creating a democratic classroom
◦         Autocratic & Pessimistic classrooms don't have good discipline
Rudolf Dreikurs believed that student behavior was linked closely with the social value of those behaviors. He suggested that in order to develop that value, teachers need to help students develop self control, which is shown when students “show initiative, make reasonable decisions, and assume responsibility” in the classroom. One way to do this is to get teachers and students to work together to develop their own ideas on how the classroom should run. This is creating a Democratic plan of action.

7. Discipline through Democratic Teaching continued
Believes students want to behave & belong, this is their “genuine goal”
◦         Students feel they belong when the teacher & their peers provide “attention, respect, involve them in activities & don't mistreat them”
When students don't belong, they:
◦         seek attention
◦         seek power
◦         seek revenge
◦         feel inadequate
Dreikurs based his ideas on the premise of sociology, suggesting that students generally want to “belong;” therefore, they way they are treated by their peers, parents, and teachers is of great importance. If a student feels that he or she does not belong, that student will act out by seeking attention, power and revenge, and will also feel inadequate.

8. Discipline through Democratic Teaching continued
When students misbehave, they're pursuing mistaken goals
◦         teachers should correct students by identifying their behavior & discussing the faulty logic
Also suggested students & teachers create class rules together
◦         Rules need logical consequences for following & breaking the rules
Believed punishment should never be used
Dreikurs felt that a students ultimate goal is to belong, but that students often chase mistaken goals. And when students pursue these mistaken goals, they misbehave. Therefore, Dreikus suggested that teachers first identify the student behavior and then discuss the faulty logic the student employed that led to these actions. He also believed that punishment should never be used.

9. Discipline through Democratic Teaching Contributions
First to base discipline on social interest
First to suggest democratic structure of classroom management
Suggested teachers use encouragement
Made several suggestions for teachers about encouragement, a few:
◦         “Always speak in positive terms”
◦         Encourage students to seek improvement
◦         Focus on student strength
◦         Offer comments to encourage students
Teachers felt his system was difficult to “implement” & didn't stop immediate disruptions
Dreikurs contributed to the world of classroom management in several ways. He was the first educational theorist to base the idea of discipline on social interest, the first to suggest a Democratice structure of classroom management, and the first to suggest that teachers use encouragement in the classroom. In spite of these interesting ideas, teachers didn’t wholeheartedly adopt his system. They felt that it lacked the ability for them to put a stop to immediate disruptions and that his system was difficult to implement in their classrooms.

10. Discipline through Influencing Group Behavior Fritz Redl & Wattenberg
Believes students behave differently in a group then when they're alone
Felt group dynamics “strongly affect behavior”
Suggested students take on different “roles” in the classrooms
◦         Class clown, leader, follower, etc.
Determined that students have roles teachers are expected to fill
◦         role model, referee, judge, etc.
Redl & Wattenberg believed that discipline was closely linked to group behavior, as students behaved differently when they were in a group than when they were alone. They suggested that student behavior was strongly influenced by the dynamics of a group, and that was why students took on different roles in the classroom. They felt that students become leaders, others become followers, and still others take on the role of class clown. In addition, they felt that students had expectations for the role a teacher was supposed to play, and that those roles included things like a surrogate parents, a judge, and a role model.

11. Discipline through Influencing Group Behavior Continued
Determined that student behavior an be influenced by techniques like:
◦         supporting student self control
◦         offering situational assistance
◦         appraising reality
Believes that punishment should be rarely used, never physical, and only consist of pre-planned consequences
Since everyone had a role, Redl and Wattenberg felt that student behavior could be influenced if teachers helped to encourage students to exercise their self control, if teachers helped students in different situations, and if teachers appraised reality. They also believed that pre-planned consequences, and not punishment, should be used in dealing with student misbehavior.

12. Discipline through Influencing Group Behavior Contributions
Identified group behavior as different from individual behavior
◦         Made it easier for teachers to understand confusing classroom behavior
Provided an organized discipline techniques that used humane strategies
◦         This helped develop and maintain positive student-teacher relationships
Stressed understanding why students don't behave
◦         Addressing causes for misbehavior will eliminate it
Redl and Wattenberg made many contributions to the classroom management philosophy. Because they suggested a correlation between group and individual behavior, they made it easier for teachers to comprehend any strange or confusing classroom behavior. In addition, they promoted humane strategies for their discipline techniques. The result of these strategies was that teachers and students had positive relationships. In addition, they contributed the idea that addressing the causes of misbehavior will help teachers avoid it.

13. Discipline through Influencing Group Behavior Contributions continued
Said students should be involved in making decisions about discipline
◦         This technique is now encouraged by most everyone
Showed the negative effects of punishment
◦         Explained why it should not be used in the classroom
These techniques were not used widely
◦         Difficult for teachers to understand, put into practice
Ideas helpful, implementation difficult to do
Further contributions by Redl and Wattenberg include the idea that students should take an active role in making discipline decisions. In addition, Redl and Wattenberg’s emphasis on avoiding punishment helped teachers understand its negative effects. Despite these good ideas, many teachers didn’t embrace this system because it was tough for them to comprehend and utilize in their classrooms.

14. Discipline through Shaping Desired Behavior: B.F. Skinner
Believed that voluntary action is affected by immediate reinforcement
◦         Rewards help motivate action
Reward= reinforcement stimulus
◦         Must be given immediately after the good behavior
◦         Can be results, awards, free-time, praise, etc.
Skinner’s idea that discipline is attained through shaping desired behavior is based on the idea that rewards motive student actions. Skinner felt that the moment a student did something good, his or her actions should be rewarded. Therefore, the next time a student is facing a choice of action, that student will voluntarily behave because he or she is expecting a reinforcement stimulus, or reward.

15. Discipline through Shaping Desired Behavior: Continued
Created techniques to use in shaping student behavior
◦         Constant reinforcement: teacher provides every time student behaves well
◦         Intermittent reinforcement: after students understand the classroom management system
The result of these techniques is success approximation:
◦         When “behavior comes closer and closer to a preset goal”
Believed punishment should not be used because “its effects were unpredictable”
The key to Skinner’s system is consistency. He felt that a student needed constant reinforcement from the teacher every time that student behaved well. Once students understand the discipline system, a teacher can use something he called “intermittent” reinforcement, which is frequent, but not ubiquitous, rewarding of good behavior. Following this system should lead to better behavior. In addition, Skinner also believed that punishment was ineffective, because it had unpredictable effects.

16. Discipline through Shaping Desired Behavior: Contributions
His ideas led to “behavior modification”
◦         Still used today for “strengthening and encouraging” learning
Not used as much in upper grades
◦         Didn't tell students what “not to do”
◦         Teachers ignored misbehavior
Lengthy process
Skinner’s ideas led to the whole basis of a system called “behavior modification,” which is still used today, although not for discipline but to help students learn. However, his ideas weren’t adopted by all teachers because they felt that the system was too long, didn’t offer suggestions for positive student behavior, and led teachers to ignore misbehavior.

17. Improving Discipline through Lesson Management Jacob Kounin
Suggested teachers could manage a classroom well if they knew what was going everywhere in the classroom at all times
◦         Teachers who know what's going on can anticipate problems and address them before they occur
Called teacher awareness “withitness”
◦         Created “overlapping,” which means a teacher was involved with two or more classroom events at the same time
Kounin believed that the way that a teacher taught a lesson was directly related to classroom management. He began by suggesting that a teacher should have knowledge of what is going on in his or her classroom at all times. He felt that a teacher who has what he called “withitness” can stop problems before they start if he knows what is happening in all parts of the classroom. In order to get this “withitness,” Kounin felt that a teacher needed to do something called “overlapping,” which means that the teacher is participating in two or more classroom events at the same time.

18. Improving Discipline through Lesson Management Continued
Believed that lessons played a huge part in classroom management.
◦         Group alerting: the whole class is paying attention before a teacher gives directions
◦         Momentum: keeps students focused by making transitions, efficiency, etc.
◦         Smoothness: also helps with management, as the teacher presents lessons and teaches them without changes.
Lesson should keep students from boredom and frustration
Kouvin offered teachers some suggestions for lesson management, which he felt was an integral part of classroom management. The first strategy he suggested was called “group alerting.” This means that the teacher makes sure the class is paying attention to him or her before giving directions or instruction. The second strategy is called “momentum.” This means that the teacher is keeping the class moving in the right direction and keeping students focused by using time efficiently, making effective transitions from one activity to the next, and by closing the lesson well. By using these techniques, Kouvin felt that a teacher would also avoid boring and frustrating students, both of which emotions lead to poor classroom behavior.

19. Improving Discipline through Lesson Management Contributions
Connected teaching to student behavior & discipline
Not wholly adopted because didn't address how to deal with disruptive misbehavior
Kouvin’s contributions to the world of classroom management are interesting. He clearly connected teaching to student behavior and discipline. Teachers seemed to like his ideas, but when put into action, they found that they lacked one key component: how to deal with students who were disruptive. That’s why his ideas were not wholly adopted.

20. Discipline through Congruent Communication Haim Ginott
Suggested that learning happened in real time
Encouraged teachers not to pre-judge students as learning is personal
◦         Teachers should use “congruous communication,” which “stresses situations, not students' character or personality”
Teachers don't “preach, moralize, impose guilt or demand promises”
◦         These are teachers at their best
◦         Teachers at their worse “label... belittle... and denigrate” the characters of their students
Ginott felt that learning happened in the present, or in “real time.” Because of this belief, he encouraged teachers to avoid judging students on a personal level and focus mainly on the work that they produce. He developed the phrase “congruent communication,” which means that teacher focus on the learning situations instead of the student as a person. In using this type of communication, Ginott suggested that teachers avoid judging, preaching, demanding promises, or imposing guilt on their students, as these strategies will not get positive results.

21. Discipline through Congruent Communication Continued
Teachers shouldn't dictate, but “invite cooperation” from students
◦         Good teachers use the question “how can I be most helpful to my students right now?”
Good discipline involves using “I” instead of “You” messages
Suggested that “appreciate praise” is better than “evaluative praise”
◦         Evaluative praise praises what “students have done, rather than referencing the student him or herself”
Instead, Ginott felt that teachers should encourage students to cooperate by asking themselves how they could best help their students in the present time. In addition, Ginott created the idea of “I” versus “You” messages. I messages focus on the feelings and thoughts of the teacher. For example, a teacher might say something like “I like it when you raise your hand to speak in class.” These type of messages are effective, Ginott felt, because they put the emphasis on the teacher and not on the student. A “You” message sounds something like: “You do not do a good job of raising your hand to ask a question,” which can have a negative effect on a student. In addition, Ginott believed that teachers should praise their students by referring to their work instead of the student him or herself.

22. Discipline through Congruent Communication Continued
Suggests teachers should respect student privacy
◦         Teachers should be available, but not too curious
Suggests teachers avoid sarcasm & punishment
Determines that teachers should avoid behaving in ways that they don't want their students to behave
Believes classroom discipline is a process
Lastly, Ginott felt that students should respect student privacy. While he felt that teachers needed to be available and approachable to their students, he also felt that they should not be overly investigative in trying to learn personal information about their students. In addition, Ginott also felt that punishment and sarcasm was to be avoided, and that teachers should try to exercise self control so that they do not emulate student misbehavior.

23. Discipline through Congruent Communication Contributions
“Showed the importance of the teacher being controlled”
Showed how valuable being on the same wavelength as the students is for teachers
It's easy to see these ideas in modern discipline systems
Some teachers feel the ideas don't stop misbehaviors quickly
Ginott contributed the idea of teacher self control to the world of classroom management. In addition, he stressed the concept of being ‘in the moment’ while teaching in order that teachers and students are on the same wavelength. His ideas seem to be widely used in our discipline systems today, although some teachers do not feel that his system puts a quick enough stop to misbehavior.

24. References
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