1. TLPI—4/16/07
Classroom Management
Classroom Management Plan
(revisited)
Thematic Units

2. What Does Effective
Classroom Management Involve?
Proactive (preventive) strategies
 Physical environment—seating patterns,
equipment and materials, room arrangements
 Psychological environment/climate—tone
(safety and security; belonging, acceptance,
and recognition; aesthetic stimulation and
mental challenge); student-teacher
relationships; task orientation; organization;
rules; routines
Reactive (disciplinary) strategies

3. Consider These 4 Areas
Community - Build classroom community by
connecting with students personally,
academically, and socially
Motivation - Motivate students by energizing
lessons, energizing yourself, and energizing
evaluation
Responsibility - Develop responsibility in ALL
students
Safety - Make and keep students safe by using
routines and procedures, defusing power
struggles and teaching them how to handle
difficult situations

4. 3 Types of Teachers
Which description fits you most closely?
Autocratic
Permissive
Democratic

5. Autocratic Teachers
Traits = bossy, use sharp tone of voice,
command, exercise power, dominate,
exert pressure, demand cooperation, tell
you what you should do, impose ideas,
dominate, criticize, find fault, punish and
unilaterally establish all procedures, rules
and consequences.

6. Permissive Teachers
Traits = place few if any limits on student’s
behavior, do not invoke logical
consequences when misbehavior disrupts
the class, demeanor is wishy washy, tend
to make excuses for students who
misbehave.

7. Democratic Teachers
Traits = leadership, friendliness, inviting
nature, stimulation of ideas, cooperation,
guidance, encouragement,
acknowledgement, helpfulness and
shared responsibilities.
Dreikurs believes that democratic teachers are
more likely to help students become self-
disciplined.

8. Monitoring Student Behavior
Holding students accountable
“Withitness”
Overlapping (Multitasking)
Smoothness and Momentum (pace)
Group alerting
P.E.P.

9. Short Term vs. Long Term Gains
In the short term, obedience can offer educators
relief, a sense of power and control
In the long run, obedience leads to student
immaturity, a lack of responsibility, an inability to
think clearly and critically, and a feeling of
helplessness
Relationships! Relationships! Relationships!

10. Mistaken Goals:
Why Students Misbehave
Seeking undue attention
Seeking misguided power
Seeking revenge
Seeking avoidance of failure
Rudolf Dreikurs, 1968

11. Effective Discipline
Must work to stop disruptive behavior and/or build constructive,
prosocial behavior
Should be something you would find acceptable if you were on the
receiving end
Should be geared toward teaching responsibility (better decision-
making) even when obedience is necessary (i.e. safety).
Should be modeled by you, not merely preached by you
Should be something you can identify and explain in terms of immediate
and long-term benefits
Should be compatible with the seven Principles of Effective Discipline:

12. 7 Principles of Effective Discipline
1. Long-term behavior changes are better than
short-term quick fixes
2. Stop doing ineffective things
3. “I will be fair, and I won't always treat everyone
the same”
4. Rules must make sense
5. Model what you expect
6. Responsibility is more important than
obedience
7. Always treat students with dignity
1.
Discipline with Dignity, Curwin & Mendler, 1992

13. Treating Students with Dignity
Listen to what a student thinks
Be open to feedback from students
Use I-messages to communicate your feelings
to them
Explain why you want something done a certain
way and how that will likely be of benefit to the
student
Give students some say in classroom affairs are
all ways of communicating dignity to them. The
message is: you are important.

14. Successfully Negotiating
a Power Struggle
1. Do not manufacture power struggles by the way you
teach.
2. Avoid being “hooked in” by the student.
3. Move into a private (and out of a public) encounter.
4. Calmly acknowledge the power struggle.
5. Validate the student’s feelings and concerns.
6. Keep the focus on the student’s choice, and simply
state the consequence (repeating if necessary).
7. Put your emotional energy into constructive matters.

15. P.E.P.
Dignity in discipline can often be
accomplished by using . . .
 Privacy -- make your comments quietly so
that only you and the student can hear

Eye contact -- being sensitive to possible
cultural or emotional issues regarding eye
contact

Proximity -- be in close physical proximity
when you need to deliver a corrective
message to a student

16. Dyad Scenarios for Discussion
Can think of any interventions that you experienced as a child in
school that attacked your dignity? What effects(s) did that have on
your behavior? motivation to learn? self-esteem?
Can you remember any teacher(s) who were able to get across to
you that there was a better way to behave? How did they approach
you and communicate that to you?
Kids who regularly break rules often have low self-esteem because
their dignity has been attacked along the way. In your class, are
there ways for such students to feel hope, to see themselves as
competent and feel empowered? What can you do to create these
possibilities in your class?
What Do I Do When...? How to Achieve Discipline with Dignity in the Classroom,
Allen N. Mendler, 1992.

17. Providing Positive Recognition
This group just _______ that is a great idea that I had
not thought of.
I am seeing people doing a good job of taking the time to
______ before they ____ .
I love the creative ways that we are approaching
_______ .
I appreciate that you are putting so much care and
attention into _____, it will pay you back when we
________.
Do you remember that we had trouble with this 2 weeks
ago, and now see how well we are doing.
http://www.calstatela.edu/faculty/jshindl/cm/Chapter6(8)expectations.htm

18. Consequences vs. Punishments
Consequences Punishments
Intend to teach lessons Intend to give discomfort
Foster internal locus of Foster external locus of
control control
Are proactive Are reactive
Are logical and related Are unrelated and personal
Work in the long term Work in the short term
Promote responsibility Can promote obedience (but
more likely resentment)

19. Implementing Consequences
1. Be consistent. Always implement a consequence.
2. Simply state the rule and consequence.
3. Be physically close: Use the power of proximity
4. Make direct eye contact.
5. Use a soft voice.
6. Don’t embarrass the student in front of the class.
7. Be firm, but anger free when giving the consequence.
8. Don’t accept excuses, bargaining or whining
Discipline With Dignity, Curwin & Mendler, 1968