ETAI Conference. July 2010

Developmental Classroom Management.Obedience or Responsibility?

Keeping students adult and rational

Ramon(Rom) Lewis

r.lewis@latrobe.edu.au

Recent research shows that, on average,

regardless of a student’s home background and the school’s resources,

Approximately 50% of the variation in an individual student’s learning outcomes relates to what goes on in individual classrooms.

Review of Research in Education.Vol.32.2008:328-369.

Assumption 1.What teachers say and do in class strongly affects students’ learning and values.

Northern Metropolitan

Region

Achievement

Improvement Zones

Reasons for behaving well• “If you don’t you get into trouble”

• “You get points”

• “They tell your parents”

• “The teachers like you”

• “You’ll have more friends”

• “I’ll learn more, get a good job and have a good life”

• “It’s not right, I’m a good girl”

• “It’s not fair, others have to be able to learn”

Assumption 2. Most children are at best obedient. Few are responsible.

Main Research Studies

Australia: Victoria

22 Primary & 22 Secondary schools (1998)

15 Secondary schools (2002)

8 Secondary schools (2007-8)

46 Primary & 150 Secondary schools (2008-13)

Israel: Tel Aviv98 teachers & 836 students from 4 high schools and 8 junior high schools.

China: Chengdu region (Sichuan province)159 teachers & 502 students from 8 schools (2 lower secondary) in

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China

What proportion of students who misbehave “only a little” or “never”

encourage their classmates to act responsibly?

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China Israel

What proportion of students who misbehave “only a little” or “never”

encourage their classmates to act responsibly?

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Exactly Like

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China Israel Australia

What proportion of students who misbehave “only a little” or “never”

encourage their classmates to act responsibly?

Assumption 3. Very few children feel responsible for the behaviour of their classmates.

It’s unAustralian!!!

Developmental Classroom Management (DMA).Keeping students adult and rational

Main assumptions

All students want to be accepted by their peer group.

Most students, when in their rational ‘adult’ state, havegoodwill towards others and make rational decisions.

What teachers say and do will make a difference to whether or not the student stay in their ‘adult’.

If teachers don’t “explain themselves”, challenging childrengenerally assume the worst.

Broadmeadows Primary School

Number of times students exited from Learning Spaces by term

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Term 3 '08 Term 4 '08

Exit

Most of the 218 students at the school are from poor families. The school is

in the most extreme category for disadvantage.

Broadmeadows Primary School (N=218)

Number of times students exited from Learning Spaces by term

Broadmeadows Primary School

Number of times students exited from Learning Spaces by term

The school now performs well above the average of all Australian schools

in numeracy and above the national average in reading and spelling.

Lakeside S.C. Principal -David Reynolds

• “Staff , parent and student opinion data has become much stronger in the area of classroom behaviour. As this is a precondition for improved student learning outcomes, subsequent improvements we are seeing in literacy learning must be attributable at least partially to the adoption of the DMA strategies.”

Real Criteria for success

• Reports from emergency replacement teachers

• Student behaviour on days when rewards and punishments are minimised

Developmental Classroom Management (DMA).Keeping students adult and rational

Students and the teacher have the right to feel comfortable

and safe in the classroom

Classroom Rights

Students and the teacher have the right to do as much work

as possible

Two kinds of Responsibility

Personal Responsibility

(I do the right thing)

Communal Responsibility

(I encourage others to do the right thing)

The Developmental Management Approach

Strategy 1. Rights & Responsibilities – Not Rules

Punishment: Punishes students who misbehave, increasing the level of punishment if necessary.

Discussion: Discusses with students the impact their behavior has on others, and negotiates with students on a one-to-one basis

Involvement: Involves students in classroomdiscipline decision making.

Hinting: Hints and gives non-directional descriptions of unacceptable behavior.

Recognition: Recognizes and rewards the appropriate behavior of individual students or the class.

Aggression: Uses aggressive techniques.

Most Recent Relevant Research Publications

• Romi. S., Lewis, R., Roache. J., & Riley. P. The Impact of Teachers' Aggressive Management Techniques on Students' Attitudes to Schoolwork (in Press). The Journal of Educational Research.

• Romi. S., & Lewis, R., & Katz. Y. A. (2009). Student responsibility and classroom discipline in Australia, China and Israel. Compare, 39(4):439-452.

• Lewis, R. (2008). The developmental management approach to classroom behaviour: Responding to individual needs. Melbourne: ACER Press. (Republished by Routledge. USA as Understanding Pupil Behaviour, 2009)

• Lewis, R., Romi. S., Xing. Q, & Katz, Y. A. (2008) Student reactions to teachers' classroom discipline in Australia, China and Israel. Teaching and Teacher Education, 24(3): 715-724.

• Lewis, R., Romi. S., R., Xing, Q., & Katz, Y. (2005). A comparison of teachers' classroom discipline in Australia, China and Israel. Teaching and Teacher Education, 21: 729-741.

Summary of ResearchIn Israeli and Australian samples

• When teachers use ‘coercive’ management techniques (Punishment [without a working relationship] & Aggression) students do not act more responsibly.

• When teachers use more ‘inclusive’ techniques (Recognition, Punishment [within a working relationship], Discussion, Involvement & Hinting) students act more responsibly

• When stressed by misbehaviour, many teachers increase their use of ‘coercive’ management techniques and reduce their use of the ‘inclusive’ techniques.

• Teachers who become more coercive make students less adult/rational and more irrational/irresponsible.

Summary of Research

Based on - Four Patterns of Student Behaviour

A. Managed by normal curriculumThese students manage themselves in order to learn what is contained in the curriculum

B. Managed within the classThese students are occasionally distracted or disruptive, but do not have to be isolated or referred to others

C. Managed out of classThese students cannot be managed as part of a group and need to be isolated, sent out or referred to others

D. Not managed These students generally seem unmanageable no matter what is tried

Developmental Management Approach (DMA)

DMA Techniques• A behaviour students – Visual and verbal hints

• B behaviour students– Calm assertive control via systematic use of Rewards for effort, and logical consequences for lack of effort - to act responsibly

• C behaviour students– One on one, adult discussions to reorient values

• D behaviour students– Rebuilding student’s self concept via a focus on their feelings of Competence, Usefulness and Belonging

Lewis, R. (2008). The developmental management approach to classroom behaviour: Responding to individual needs. Melbourne: ACER Press. (Republished by Routledge. USA as Understanding Pupil Behaviour, 2009)

Implementation of the DMA

• 141 Primary and 53 Secondary schools in the Northern Metropolitan Region of Victoria, Australia (as part of the AiZ project – Headed by Prof David Hopkins) <www.aiz.vic.edu.au>

• 20 Primary and 20 Secondary schools in the Western Region of Victoria, Australia

Northern Metropolitan

Region

Achievement

Improvement Zones

We have 2 Rights & 2 Responsibilities

Our Values

1 /2 Level

Community Kids at 5 /6

Hints [A behaviour children]

• Let students know that rights are being ignored without telling student(s) what to do.

• Allow students ‘room’ to remain adult and act responsibly, rather than be controlled like children, or to resist or rebel like children.

Visual hints

Everyone

Can work

well

A few children

Can’t work well

Some students

are being

distracted

Verbal hints

• I’m disappointed there’s so much talking.

• The talking seems to be preventing some children from concentrating.

• I thought we agreed not to distract people.

• It’s a pity some students aren’t encouraging others to keep the noise down.

• What are you doing? Are you distracting anyone?

Personal Responsibility

Verbal hints

• I’m disappointed. There’s so much talking, and no-one is encouraging others to keep the noise down.

• I thought we agreed not to let others distract people.

• The talking seems to be preventing some children from concentrating and no-one seems to care.

• Why aren’t you trying to stop others who are distracting your friends ?

Communal Responsibility

Northern Metropolitan

Region

Achievement

Improvement Zones

The impact of the DMA

Northern Metropolitan

Region

Achievement

Improvement Zones

Northern Metropolitan

Region

Achievement

Improvement Zones

Northern Metropolitan

Region

Achievement

Improvement Zones

She tells them off, yells at them , gives warning, sends them to another room, you get into trouble, raises her voice, they have to go and sit by themselves, miss out on the fun, screamed at them, made to sit on floor, made to go to another room, yells at them and growls at them and says don’t be naughty, stop that, gives us lollies.

2008: Q 1. If someone was doing the wrong thing/behaving inappropriately, what does your teacher do?

Thomastown Meadows Primary School

Interviews with 5 students per teacher for 22 teachers

2009: Q 1. (5 teachers/5 students per teacher) If someone was doing the wrong thing/behaving inappropriately, what does your teacher do?

Looks at them, gives then a warning, talks to them, sit them on the floor, sit them by themselves, gives them a reminder, hints, points to the rights and responsibilities (R & R), tells them nicely what they’re doing wrong, keep her temper, reminds them and reminds them to look at the R &R, talks about how they are infringing on their R&R.

Interviews with 5 students per teacher for 5 teachers

2008: Q5. How many times in a day does your teacher have to raise their voice?

2009:Q5. How many times in a day does your teacher have to raise their voice?

Never, none, always polite, never mean, she doesn’t really yell, she doesn’t like to , sometimes once or zero, little bit, depends...once or twice, most of the time she never does, she hasn’t raised her voice- ever, she doesn’t raise her voice, she hasn’t had to raise her voice, maybe never, not normally, about once a week, 2 or 3 times, 3 to 4 times a day, about 3 times, 5 times for the naughty people.

3 – 4, 10, every day, 3 in the morning , 4 in the afternoon and 3 in the last hour, over 10 million times.

Craigieburn Secondary College – 22% reduction in

teacher referral out of class

Lakeside College – 46% reduction in teacher

referral out of class

One year after the introduction of the DMA

2009 Government School Performance Summary

Reservoir West Primary School

La Trobe S. C. Principal.- Glenn White

• “The collaborative research project was invaluable to the college. It resulted in significant changes to the way in which staff interacted with students and this in turn resulted in less student misbehaviour in class, students being more engaged in their learning and a much more positive learning environment.”

New Project2010-13

Approx $500.000 Funding (ARC and Ed Dep’t)

How to support and sustain changes in teachers’ classroom management behaviour.

Evaluating the impact of 3 types of Professional development

• System

• Classroom

• Individual

Expectations

Logical

Consequences

Recognitions

for Effort

Assertion [B behaviour children]

The final Consequence is Isolation within or removal from the classroom

Recognise the EFFORT that goes into behaving responsibly.

Provide recognition for the effort that goes into appropriate

Social behaviour, not only Academic behaviour

• Talk A and B behaviour students out of accepting rewards

once they realise the importance of rights (and hence the

need to act responsibly)

• Provide more frequent recognition for challenging

students when they make the effort to behave ‘normally’

(Come on time, bring equipment, sit in seat, listen when

others are speaking.

• Give them what they need not what they deserve!

1. Yakir, .............you’re talking. It’s disturbing others. They have a right to work. Please be quiet !

2. I understand but please be quiet.

3. You have a choice. Either you sit

quietly or ……..

4. I don’t intend to force you. However if you

won’t sit quietly then ….. We’ll talk later.

Assertion [B behaviour children]

Calm tone is ESSENTIAL!

Letter to parents

positive

Letter to Parents

Negative

Conversation with C behaviour children

Six steps.

1. Welcome the student as an adult (not a child)

2. Validate the student but challenge the inappropriate behaviour

3. Challenge any irrational thinking behind the behaviour

4. Ensure that the students acknowledges that the behaviour is a ‘problem’ (in an adult voice)

5. Have student decide how (S)he intends to handle a similar situation ‘next’ time

6. Set a period for review

Reflection

Form

• Reflection and Commitment Process (McCleod Secondary College)• Name: _________________ Date: ____________ Pd/Time: _________

Teacher: _______________ Subject:_____________________

• TO THE STUDENT:• You have been asked to take some time to reflect on your behaviour in the

class. This process aims to achieve a WIN/WIN/ WIN scenario. A WIN for you, the teacher and the learning environment of the class. Please be as honest as you can in answering these questions that the teacher will then discuss with you

• Inappropriate Behaviour YES/NO ( If Yes, WHY)

• 1. I distracted others from their work• 2 .I ignored the instruction given by the teacher• 3. I was disrespectful to the teacher• 4. I made other people feel unsafe• 5. I wouldn’t do any work• 6. I did not obey the teachers instruction• 7. OTHER ( your own response)•

Belonging

UsefulnessCompetence

Student

Self-Esteem

D behaviour children

How to respond to “difficult”

Students Pedagogically

• Fight your first impulse (try to understand that the student

is hurting inside).

• Encourage the student at every opportunity.

• Separate the deed from the doer. Express a liking for the

student while still applying logical consequences.

• Show an awareness of some skill the student believes he or

she is good at. If possible, set up a situation where you can

observe the child being competent.

• Have the child help you in a meaningful way.

• Show some interest in something that interests the child.

• Modify the child’s curriculum (Usually more Kinesthetic –

Visual - Rhythmic instruction)

How to respond to “difficult” students

• Collect enough data to be confident of student’s mistaken

goal

• Make the student aware of his/her “mistaken” goals

• Confront the student with the need to choose between

his/her primary and mistaken goal

• Inform the child (privately), during class, of the mistaken

goal as he or she misbehaves