Assertive discipline by Lee, Cantar and Marlene Cantar.

The discipline model of Assertive Discipline was developed following the 1969
Gallup Poll on Education, which revealed that teachers were having significant
issues with classroom management which was severely affecting student learning
and achievement. In response to the public outcry that something be done to
address these concerns, several discipline models were developed, including Lee
and Marlene Canter's Assertive Discipline Model (Ellis & Karr-Kidwell, 1995).
Dr. Canter conducted an observational study of teachers who were viewed as
having effective classroom management strategies and included his own
observations and conclusions based on the work he and his wife had done
previously while working with children with behavior problems. The main finding
was that effective teachers were assertive in their interactions with students, clearly
expressed their expectations and were fully prepared to back up their words with
predictable actions. The model they subsequently developed was based on the
overall premise that the teacher has the right to teach in an orderly classoom and to
expect the students to obey (Baron, 1992). Similarly, students have the right to
learn in a calm, orderly classroom. (Charles, 2008) In the Assertive Discipline
classroom, the teacher is in full charge of the class and no student has the right to
either disrupt it in any way. It is assumed that students are capable of proper
behavior, and choose to break rules and misbehave. (Charles, 2008) The Assertive
Discipline model stresses positive reinforcement for good behavior and
consequences for misbehavior. The model is not meant to serve as a tool to punish
misbehavior, but rather as a tool to prevent to prevent it from occurring in the first
place (Ellis & Karr-Kidwell, 1995).
At the time of its inception, assertive discipline was attractive to both teachers and
administrators because it provided a straightforward approach to discipline and
gave clear directions as to rule setting, rewards and consequences. It was easy to
use and understand and appeared, in theory, to hold the key to restoring classroom
order and minimizing disruption. (Curwin, 1989)
Elements of Assertive Discipline
The Assertive Discipline model recognizes a three step process for promoting
positive and appropriate student behavior:
Create and teach a discipline plan with 4-5 rules and specific consequences: The
teacher must first identify rules and expectations, and present them to the
students, ensuring that they are understood.
Use positive repetition to reinforce the rules: The teacher should focus on
reinforcing positive behaviors rather than punishing the negative ones. Examples of
positive reinforcement would be to provide verbal praise, rewards, privileges, games
or prizes.
Assertively address negative behavior: Negative behavior should be addressed
quickly, assertively, and consistently. Punishment should never be psychologically
or physically harmful to the student. (Baron, 1992)

The Canters also suggest a five-step "discipline hierarchy" of escalating

consequences when rules are broken:
First Infraction: Warning
Second: Student is given a ten-minute time out.
Third: Student is given a fifteen-minute time out.
Fourth: Student's parents are called.
Fifth: Student is sent to the principal's office.
To address serious rule infractions (e.g., fighting), the Canters recommend including
a "severity clause" in the classroom discipline plan. The severity clause would allow
the teacher to send the student directly to the principal's office. (Wolfgang, 2009)

Transcript of Rudolf Dreikurs; Democratic Teaching

"Democratic Teaching"
Dreikurs Classroom Management
Rudolf Dreikurs Basics:
In summary Dreikurs management theory examines:
Dreikurs believed that discipline is
based on having mutual respect. Having
respect helps motivate students to behave because
of their social interest.
Dreikurs believes that all humans have a
primary need to belong and be accepted.
Children that are accepted feel they have value,
and they can contribute to the classroom.
Discipline is not punishment. Discipline is teaching
students that there are natural consequences to
actions. Punishment is to show that the
teacher is boss, and is seen as ineffective.
Dreikurs believes that an effective classroom is one that is democratic.
A key theory of the democratic discipline is that students should be given a
choice rather than be forced to behave as directed. Good discipline occurs
best in a democratic classroom, one in which teacher and students work
together to make decisions about how the class will function (rules and
consequences)
Dreikurs Democratic classroom
Three types of teachers:
-Autocratic: Teachers who have control through force. Teachers motivate
students through pressure externally
-Permissive: teachers do not set goals or adhere to rules. Students are free
to do whatever they want.
-Democratic: teachers that provide a firm guidance and leadership. By
establishing rules and consequences. Freedom grows with discipline.

Students understand consequences and they make choices based out of that
freedom.
Misbehavior happens because students believe that it will lead to the
recognition students need/want.
-Misbehavior is associated with 4 mistaken goals:
seeking attention
gaining power
taking revenge
displaying inadequacy
Each misbehavior has the goal of receiving a response(s) from the teacher.
Reasons for Misbehavior
Scenario:
Sara will not work
Sara is quite calm in Mr. Smith's class. She never disrupts the class and has
little contact with other students. Regardless of Mr. Smith's best efforts Sara
rarely completes her assignments in class and for homework. Sara doesn't
seem to care, she makes little effort, and seems like just a physical presence
in the classroom.
How would Dreikurs deal with Sara?
Application
- The importance of meeting students acceptance while also highlighting the
role of consequences in shaping behavior.
-Democratic teaching and management demands effective teachers to have
a genuine commitment to democratic classrooms, logical consequences, and
the use of encouragement.
-Overall, Dreikurss theory of democratic classroom management can be
applied to all levels of students.
Effective democratic teaching:
1.View students as social beings who want to belong be accepted in the
classroom.
2. Identify the reason of misbehavior instead of simply reacting to students

behaviors by giving punishments or rewards. Consequences need to have a

clear and logical connection to the misbehavior.
3. Allow students to engage and be active in their roles and decision makings
that will affect them:
what they will study, behavioral consequences, how they will govern
themselves, and in making and establishing rules.
4. Set limits by providing guidance to students to develop their inner control.
5. Use of firmness and kindness. The use of consequences instead of
punishment.
firmness from teachers shows that they respect themselves
kindness shows teachers their respect for others
6. Encourage an atmosphere that is based out of freedom. Freedom to
explore, discover, and find they are equal in the classroom.
1. Identify Sara's mistaken Goal
(Mr. Smith can do this by checking his own reaction
to Sara's interest, and by noting the reaction of the other
students when he tries to correct her).
2. If Sara's mistaken goal is attention seeking, ignore her.
3. If Sara's mistaken goal is power, admit that Sara has
power: "I can't make you do you your work.
What do you think I should do?"
4. If Sara's goal is taking revenge, ask other members
of the class to be encouraging to her when she displays
any pleasing behavior.
5. If Sara's goal is to appear to be inadequate, encourage
any favorable behavior; give her continual support for it.
6. Gently and lovingly confront Sara with her mistaken
goal and draw her into discussion about it and her
related behavior.
Identifying Mistaken Goals:

-Observe students reaction

-confront the mistaken goal/provide a
change in their behavior
-avoid power struggles with students by giving them choices in decisions or
directions
-teacher sets up students to use strengths
and be accepted.

Teachers should teach students that consequences always follow

inappropriate behavior.
Sources:
Adler and Drierkurs Cognitive-Social Dynamic Innovators. (n.d.).
IndividualPhyschology. Retrieved December 12, 2002, from
http://www.individualpsychologie.nl/mediapool/75/757772/data/EDF_Adler_Dr
eikurs_Cognitive_Social
Example classroom management Dreikurs. (n.d.). Calstatela Classroom
Management. Retrieved December 12, 2002, from
http://www.calstatela.edu/faculty/jshindl/cm/Dreikurs%20abstract.htm

Classroom Management and Discipline

Introduction to Classroom Management and Discipline

Objectives
At the end of this lesson the student should be able to:
1.

Identify
three or more of the major classroom management or student discipline
theorists of the twentieth century.
2.
Identify
three or more classroom discipline strategies often used in public school
classrooms.
3.
Summarize
the changes of the public regarding school discipline.

Introduction
Almost no productive activity can occur in a classroom without the cooperation of both the
teacher and students. Therefore, one of the most fundamental tasks of a teacher is to enlist the
cooperation of students in activities that lead to learning. The first step in this process is for the
teacher to organize the classroom and select and adopt a consistent and fair discipline policy for
students. This weeks lesson is divided into three parts:
1.
2.
3.

a brief examination of the publics attitudes towards school discipline

a review of some of the major theorists on student behavior
a discussion of some of the more common commercial student discipline plans.

The Publics Attitude toward School Discipline

The lack of school discipline has been a source of concern of the American public for decades.
Gallup polls back to the 1950s indicated that nearly two-thirds of the public was concerned over
the apparent lack of discipline in schools. Behavior management of students in schools is a
concern that is on the minds of many Americans today. The top three problems identified in 1997
Gallup poll were:
1.
2.
3.

a lack of discipline and control of students

fighting, violence and gangs
a lack of financial support

These problems were the same given in 1996, but in1997, the perceived lack of discipline and
student control moved to the first problem on the list while fighting, violence and gangs moved
into second place. In Gallup polls sponsored by Phi Delta Kappa on the general publics attitude
toward schools, respondents indicated that lack of discipline is one of the top two problems faced
by public schools in their communities (Rose & Gallup, 2001; 2002; 2003). The discipline
problems identified in previous decades were, of course, substantially different from those
identified today. In 1985, nearly one-third of the public that responded to a Gallup survey
indicated that discipline was a very serious problem in American schools. The 2004 Gallup
survey, the thirty-sixth in the series, mirrored similar results. The 2004 survey revealed that
concern regarding school discipline placed second as the most worrisome topic for parents,
behind the lack of money and funding for public schools. Other areas identified by parents
behind the concern over school discipline were overcrowded schools, the spread and use of
drugs, and gang violence.
Statistical evidence supports the worries of the public concerning school discipline and school
violence. A 2001 study by the National School Safety Center reports that between thirty and forty
percent of middle school and high school students feel unsafe at school. Two thirds of the
students responding to the survey indicated that some students regularly intimidate students at
school without receiving any punishment for their actions.
The Kounin Mode
Jacob Kounin is known for two studies regarding classroom management in the 1970s. These
studies emphasized how teachers could manage students, lessons and classrooms to reduce the
incidence of bad behavior. Kounin identified specific teaching techniques that help, and hinder,
classroom discipline. According to Kounin, the technique used, not the teachers personality, is
the most crucial aspect in classroom management of student behavior. His book, Discipline and
Group Management in Classrooms, focuses on preventive discipline. According to Kounin, good
classroom management depends on effective lesson management. Jacob Kounin identified a
cluster of proactive teacher behaviors that distinguished effective classroom managers from
ineffective ones. Kounins key ideas include the ripple
effect, withitness, overlapping, effective transitions, momentum, smoothness and class
management.
Ripple Effect. According to Kounin, when a teacher corrects the misbehavior in one individual
student, often this positively influences the behavior of other nearby students. Known as the
ripple effect, the effect is greater when the teacher clearly names the unacceptable behavior of
the student and provides the reasons why the behavior is unacceptable.
Withitness. "Withitness," a term coined by Kounin, describes the need for the teacher to be
aware of what is going on in all parts of the classroom at all times. Students need to know that
the teacher is aware of what is going on in the classroom. According to Kounin, when students
are off-task, the teacher should send a clear message that communicates to students the
awareness that they are not working and that they need to become engaged. Classroom
applications of withitness include:
1.
2.
3.

Continually being alert to the myriad of sights and sounds in the classroom
Arranging the
classroom so that all students are always within eyesight
Scanning the
room periodically when working with individuals or small groups of
students
4.
When helping an
individual student, the teacher faces the rest of the class
5.
Briefly
acknowledging student misbehavior at first detection to let the student
and
the class know that the teacher is aware, thus preventing an
escalation of the misbehavior

Withitness includes the use of maintaining eye contact, asking individual and group questions,
continually moving around the classroom in a random fashion and specifically moving toward
impending misbehaving students, thus, redirecting students to prevent misbehavior.
Overlapping. Overlapping is the process of attending to two or more events at the same time.
An example of overlapping could be when a teacher gives a student individual feedback at one
station and also monitors the performance of other students in the room. Kounin suggests that
overlapping is a teachers ability to effectively handle two or more classroom events at the same
time, instead of becoming engrossed in one and letting the other be neglected. When instructing
one group, a teacher should be able to acknowledge difficulties that students outside of the
group may be having so that instruction may continue. This also includes distractions from
outside the classroom such as notes from the office or students walking through the hallways.
Effective Transitions. Often classroom misbehavior increases when a classroom moves from
one task or activity to another. Student behavior is influenced by the smoothness and
effectiveness of transitions between tasks in a lesson. Effective transitions, according to Kounin,
include keeping lessons moving with avoiding abrupt changes. Well-established routines, a
consistent signal for gaining the class attention, clear directions, preparing students to shift their
attention from one task to another, and concise explanations that highlight the main points of the
task help reduce student misbehavior. Kounin emphasizes that providing smooth and effective
transitions is one of the most important techniques in maintaining student involvement and class
control.
Momentum. Momentum refers to the force and flow of a lesson. An effective lesson pulls the
student along. Effective teachers move through the lessons at a brisk pace and appear to have
very few slowdowns in the flow of activities. Maintaining such momentum and having a steady
sense of movement throughout the lesson helps engage the learners in activities and helps
prevent student misbehavior.
Smoothness. Smoothness is maintaining direction in the lesson and not being diverted by
irrelevant incidents. This management practice refers to the teachers ability to manage smooth
transitions between learning activities. Valuable instructional time is often wasted in the process
of the teacher moving the class from one instructional activity to the next. The time spent
actually instructing students is often known as Time on Task and can be measured. Smoothness
then refers to a teachers ability to preserve instructional time by eliminating many of the
common barriers to a smooth class transition.
Group Alerting. Group Alerting is engaging the attention of the whole class while individuals
are responding. Group alerting is a technique to keep the entire class involved in the learning
process so that students are, potentially, active participants at all times.

Discipline Theorists Part II

Chart # 1 Kounins Philosophy Regarding Classroom Management

Kounins
Terms

Terms Defined

Ripple Effect This effect is accomplished

when one or more students
improve their behavior due to
a teacher correcting the

Examples of Classroom Application

Steve, remember our classroom rules about what
each of you do when you finish with a test or
other activity. You can get out your work for the
next class to have everything ready or you may

behavior of a fellow
classmate.

Withitness

quietly read in your library book until everyone

else in the class in also finished. You can also
check over your own work to proof it for possible
mistakes.

A teacher with withitness is one students think

has eyes on the back of his/her head. The teacher
This term is the ability of a
can be working with one or more students and, at
teacher to be aware of what is
the same time, correct student behaviors or get
going on throughout the class.
students back on track without appearing to stop
individual instruction to a group.

Gregg, you need to remember the rules in

Overlapping is a process by algebra before you can solve an equation.
which a classroom teacher can Jason, it is your turn to work at the computer
Overlapping
attend to more than one
now. Gregg, remember that you must first
activity at one time.
multiply and divide before we can add or
subtract.

Effective
Transitions.

Class, since we have been studying the effect of

the blockade on the Souths industries during the
Civil War, lets move quickly into math. Jerry, our
Effective Transitions are
text gives the number of metric tons of material
accomplished when a class
shipped to Europe during the four years of the
can move from one activity to war by the North and South both during the war
another without loosing
and for the preceding ten years prior to the
valuable instructional time.
opening of hostilities. In terms of percentages,
what was the average increase or decrease in the
tonnage shipped to Europe during the four years
by both sides?

Momentum

Momentum is being able to

keep a brisk pace in the
classroom.

Smoothness

The daily lesson plan is perhaps the best tool to

ensure that momentum is maintained. When a
teacher has done a thorough job of planning the
lesson, the class can move along at a brisk pace.

The ability of a teacher to

During a lesson, a teacher may be interrupted by
continue with a lesson without someone at the door or the public address system.
being distracted.
Here, smoothness means that the teacher can
immediately continue with the lesson after the

interruption.

Group
Alerting

A teacher might say, This is a fact that you will

Making sure the entire class is need to know for this weeks test. Another
on task. This can be done example could be the following: Class, today
either through verbal
and for most of tomorrows class we will be using
communication or non-verbal a variety of chemicals. Some of them can bleach
cues.
your clothing, and so I am asking each of you to
be very careful!