Handbook for Promoting a Positive Learning Environment
Juan Lopez
Introduction:
Before a teacher can effectively promote a positive learning environment, they must first develop
their own model for discipline. This model should be based around a ‘consistently formulated and
carefully articulated personal philosophy of education’ combined with a clear understanding of the
compatible theories’. In order to apply positive and effective preventative, supportive and
corrective strategies in the classroom, this handbook will use ‘leadership theories’ as its theoretical
bases (Edwards 2000). To apply effect preventative strategies teachers must; understand student
needs, work to fulfil student needs, and understand the ways in which students learn to be able to
apply effective strategies. Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, Glasser’s Choice Theory and Dreikers’
Democratic Classroom will be used to address student needs in the classroom. To provide teaching
strategies that address the ways in which students learn, Piaget’s and Vygotsky’s work on
Constructivism will form the bases. Levin and Nolan’s Hierarchy for Management Intervention will
provide the bases for Supportive strategies at first, and then move into the corrective sphere.
Dreiker’s Logical Consequences will also be used as well as long term strategies from Levin and
Nolan to be applied to chronic misbehaving students in an attempt to bring them back into the
realms of acceptable behaviour.
Preventative:
Charles states that ‘you can prevent most misbehaviour if you treat students sensitively, provide an
interesting curriculum, and use a helpful teaching style (Charles 2002). In order to discover the
methods to achieve this end, this handbook will apply Maslow’s, Glasser’s and Drieikers’ theories to
the first aspect regarding treating students sensitively and Piaget’s and Vygotsky’s theories to
provide an interesting curriculum with a helpful teaching style. Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs
outlines a set five groups of human needs, moving from basic needs at the bottom, to the more
complex needs like for self-actualisation at the top (see appendix 1). Understanding these needs
can be used as a base for the first steps toward preventative strategies and Charles builds upon
them for a classroom context commenting that teachers must be aware of their student’s needs for
security, hope, acceptance, dignity, power, enjoyment and competence (Charles 2002). By applying
Glasser’s Choice Theory and Dreikers’ Democratic Classroom, strategies can be implemented that
address the students’ needs. Choice Theory is a needs based approach that focuses on creating the
conditions for students to apply their own internal motivation for learning and therefore take
responsibility for their own behaviour. Unmotivated students are more likely to exhibit disruptive
behaviours while motivated students are more likely to behave responsibly (Erwin 2003). Similar to
Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, Choice Theory is built around the notion that ‘throughout our lives,
the aim of all our behaviour is to meet one or more of our innate basic human needs;... to survive,
love and belong, gain power, be free, and have fun (appendix 2)’ (Erwin 2004). In conjunction with
this, Dreikers’ theory, The Democratic Classroom, promotes the idea that ‘children should be given
a choice rather than forced to behave [and that] human beings all have a need to belong and be
accepted (Edwards 2008). In order to achieve this, Charles suggests that with student input, a
teacher should reach joint understandings about behaviour that serves rather than harms the class,
and frequently discuss those understandings while providing a positive model for your students
(Charles 2002). By implementing inclusive strategies that aim to fulfil student needs, students begin
to feel as though they have a stake in the class and develop a sense of belonging (Edwards 2008). In
order to support this, teachers should also help to improve students’ self confidence and positive
identity. Setting achievable tasks that can be completed successfully and providing positive
feedback to students regarding their progress, in the form of praise, can also assist in maintaining
motivation and boosting self-confidence (Brady & Scully 2005 & Snowman et al 2009). Academic
achievement and pro-social behaviour occur when students perceive that their teachers care for
and are committed to them and mutual respect and trust between students and teachers fosters a
sense of belonging in the learning community (McInerney & McInerney 2002).
Strategies:
- Learn each student’s name as soon as possible - Greet all students as they enter the classroom - Let students get to know your personality - Provide opportunities for students to get food, water or fresh air - Develop consistent classroom procedures and routines that add to a sense of order and
security (Erwin 2003)
- Involve students in the decision making process regarding what is studied, and formulating rules (Edwards 2008)
- Regular classroom meetings dealing democratically with issues; class rules, appropriate
behaviour, discipline (McInerney & McInerney 2002)
- The teacher should exemplify the behavioural traits that students are to emulate (Charles
2002)
- Set achievable tasks to allow for student success (Snowman et al 2009)
- Give positive feedback regarding student progress and praise to build self-confidence and motivation (Brady & Scully 2005 & Snowman et al 2009)
Case study 1: Praise and Preparation
Piaget and Vygotsky outline the process for children’s development through the theory of
Constructivism. Piaget’s theory of Cognitive Constructivism suggests that ‘ideas are constructed in
individuals through a personal process’ while Vygotsky’s theory of Social Constructivism views ideas
as being ‘constructed through interaction with the teacher and other students’. The theories are
linked by the concept that ideas are constructed from experience and have a personal meaning for
students and that a teacher’s role in the classroom is that of a facilitator and guide rather than
director or dictator (Powell and Kalina 2009). Piaget believed that humans could not simply be
given information that could be immediately understood and used. Instead, humans must construct
their own knowledge through assimilation; where a child is able to integrate new knowledge into
their own thinking and; accommodation when they are forced to change their thinking in order to
accommodate new knowledge or information (Powell and Kalina 2009). Vygotsky believed that
social interaction in the classroom was an integral part of learning and linked with a student’s
personal critical thinking process. This theory promotes building a classroom where interaction is
prominent (Powell and Kalina 2009). To assist with student learning, Vygotsky employed a concept
called the Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD). The ZDP works on a social constructivist method
‘where students act first on what they can do on their own, and then with assistance from the
teacher, they learn a new concept based on what they were doing individually’ (Powell & Kalina).
In this video the teacher is able to
successfully implement consistent
classroom procedures and routines that
add to a sense of order and security.
She also uses praise throughout to
build self-confidence and keep students
motivated and on task.
Time: Entire Video
To assist in this process Vygotsky also employed the use of Scaffolding. A teacher can use
scaffolding by asking a student to perform a task that already has some meaning to the student but
also has some difficulty in order for its completion. With support from the teacher, the student
should ultimately be able to solve the problem and therefore increase their ZPD (Powell & Kalina).
For this method to be successful learning activities must be seen as purposeful and the procedures
and expectations for completing them clearly understood by all students (McInerney & McInerney
2002). By understanding what a student already knows, a teacher can provide an interesting
curriculum that students will feel has relevance to them by building upon and making connections
between their current knowledge and new knowledge. This process is then supported by a teaching
style aimed at helping students achieve tasks that will increase their ZPD, taking them to the next
level of understanding.
Strategies:
- Learning activities to take place in a caring, supportive environment where teachers show their willingness to help
- Only require students to learn what can be demonstrated as valuable, useful skills and information in students’ lives
- Help students recognise the link between quality work and positive and pleasant feelings (McInerney & McInerney 2002)
- Challenge student thinking by providing opportunities for them to find links between the
new knowledge and existing knowledge. - Ensure that information given to students is close enough to current levels of understanding
so that links can be made. - Take into account what students can do independently and what they can do with social
support. - Focus instruction on the range of students’ ZPD and what can be achieved with scaffolding
(Krause et al 2003) Case study 3: Too Much Talk
In this Video the teacher is able to
implement Vygotsky’s theory on social
learning where a student was able to
ask another student for help in
answering a question. Later in the
video the same student is given the
chance to answer the question again in
their own words, giving him a chance
to display his learning and succeed.
Time: 10:30 & 12:30
Case Study 4: The Need For structure
Supportive:
Charles explains that at times students will become restive and begin to misbehave despite a
teacher’s best efforts to the contrary. At this time, supportive strategies are required to ensure
students remain and task and engaged (Charles 2002). Dreikers states that all behaviours, including
misbehaviour, are aimed toward achieving social recognition. When this need goes unfulfilled
children misbehave in order to gain status and fulfil their desire for attention (Edwards 2008).
Dreikers has identified four ways that children strive to fulfil their needs for social recognition;
gaining attention, exercising power, exacting revenge and displaying inadequacy (appendix 3). Levin
and Nolan have produced the Hierarchy for Management Intervention (appendix 4) that outlines ‘a
sequence of hierarchically ordered teacher behaviours beginning with student centred strategies
designed to be subtle and non-intrusive in order to allow students the opportunity to control their
own behaviour’ ( Levin & Nolan 2005). As the misbehaviour increases the strategies become more
teacher centred and move into the area of corrective strategies, however the idea behind the
supportive strategies is to intervene quickly and diffuse the situation in order to lessen the
disruption felt by the rest of the class (Levin & Nolan 2005). When dealing with misbehaviour,
Dreikers suggests that teachers should always avoid a contest of power and fighting with the
student as ‘even though a teacher may win the contest [it] breeds more hostility’ (Edwards 2008).
The hierarchy begins with non-verbal intervention for supportive strategies. Benefits include;
disruption to the learning process is less likely to occur; hostile confrontation with the student is
less apt to happen; the student is provided with the opportunity to correct their own behaviour;
and a maximum number of remaining alternative interventions is preserved (Levin & Nolan 2005).
In this class John Bayley suggests using
Footballers in a starter in order to
engage her students with something
familiar. This helps in a constructivists
context as students are able to begin
with a topic that they are already
familiar with and then build upon this
to learn new knowledge.
Time: 3:20
Strategies:
- Planned ignoring when a student whistles, calls out or interrupts the teacher - Signal interference to communicate to a student that their behaviour is inappropriate;
making eye contact, pointing to a chair when a student is wandering, shaking of the head to indicate ‘no’ and holding up an open hand to stop calling out. (Levin & Nolan 2005)
- Proximity Interference and movement toward the disruptive student - Confident body language with energetic movement to communicate confidence and
leadership (McInerney & McInerney 2002)
Case Study 5: Attention Seekers
Verbal intervention may be required if non-verbal strategies fail to stop the misbehaviour, or the
misbehaviour requires a more direct strategy. Levin and Nolan suggest some key things to
remember when implementing verbal strategies;
- To minimise risk of student becoming defensive or hostile, keep intervention as private as
possible
- Keep intervention brief to minimise the disruption to learning
- Speak to the situation and not the person to ensure that the student understands that it is
the behaviour that is being addressed as inappropriate and not the student themselves
- Avoid using sarcasm or any other means that will belittle the student
- Begin by using a technique that is as close as possible to the student centred end of the
hierarchy (Levin & Nolan 2005)
Strategies:
- Adjacent Peer reinforcement: Kounin’s work on the Ripple Effect can be used in two ways;
reinforce positive behaviour of a student therefore promoting desired behaviour or correct
misbehaviour of a student in the hope that the rest of the students will heed the warning.
(Matthews Supportive Strategies 2015)
In this clip the teacher uses planned ignoring as a
supportive strategy in dealing with attention
seeking students who are calling out to her. In
conjunction, she also uses the Ripple Effect by
praising students who are exhibiting acceptable
behaviour and raising their hands when they wish
to speak.
Time: 8:30
- Calling on the student to answer a question / name dropping to redirect the student’s
attention and address misbehaviour
- Humour that is directed at the teacher or situation rather than the student can diffuse
tension, redirect students to appropriate behaviour and help build positive relationships
with students (Levin & Nolan 2005)
- Taking an interest in the student’s work and asking cheerful questions or making favourable
comments (Charles 2002)
Case Study 5: Underachieving Boys: The Plays the Thing
Corrective:
Despite a teacher’s best efforts to prevent misbehaviour, students will break the rules at times and
corrective strategies need to be employed. Charles suggests that if this is addressed in a sensitive
manner, teachers can help students return to appropriate behaviour with no ill feelings (Charles
2002). Here, the Hierarchy for Management Intervention moves into the corrective sphere with
more teacher centred strategies.
Strategies:
- Questioning student awareness of the effect that their behaviour is having. Research shows
that students with chronic discipline problems learn to control their behaviour when they
are forced to acknowledge its effects on others
- Sending an ‘I’ message to help students recognise the negative impact of their behaviour.
Delivered in three parts (a) description of disruptive behaviour (b) description of its effect
on others (c) description of the teacher’s feelings regarding the effect of misbehaviour
- Direct appeal to a student to stop the misbehaviour
- Positive phrasing to identify the positive outcomes of appropriate behaviour in order to
redirect a student’s misbehaviour
In this clip the teacher calls upon a
student to answer a question therefore
redirecting his attention back to her
addressing his misbehaviour.
Time: 7:00
- Reminder of the rules to stem misbehaviour if effective classroom rules have been
established from the beginning and committed to by students
- Glasser’s Triplets to direct students to appropriate behaviour by asking three questions; 1)
what are you doing? 2) Is it against the rules? 3) What should you be doing?
- Explicit redirection asking a student to stop misbehaving and return to acceptable
behaviour
- Canter’s Broken Record of giving a student an explicit redirection and repeating the
statement until the student complies (Levin & Nolan 2005)
Case Study 6: Manage That Class:
The Final stage in the hierarchy is level 3; the use of Logical Consequences. When consequences are
applied to misbehaviour, they should be ‘logical’ and relate closely to the misbehaviour so that
students can see the connection between the action and the outcome (McInerney & McInerney
2002). Dreikers’ Logical Consequences states that ‘employing logical consequences helps [students]
understand that it is their unacceptable behaviour that brings unpleasant results, not the
arbitrariness of teachers’ (Edwards 2008).
Strategies:
- Logical consequences must be explained, understood and agreed upon by all students
- Students should help to construct logical consequences
- Logical consequences should be given to students in a pleasant, helpful manner
- Teachers must apply logical consequences consistently (Edwards 2008)
After the initial misbehaviour has been addressed, a teacher should then look at implementing long
term corrective strategies to restore positive student behaviour. Levin and Nolan suggest that the
most effective teachers in this area aim at addressing the behaviour in-class by working with the
problem student and building positive relationships. Many of the strategies incorporate elements
from the preventative strategies; building on student needs such as belonging and safety through
relationship building, praise and a sense of achievement through breaking the cycle of
In this clip a student is given an explicit
redirection to stop his misbehaviour, playing on
his mobile phone, and return to acceptable
behaviour. At the same time he is also given the
choice to put the phone in his pocket or it will be
taken away. This gives him the opportunity to
take responsibility for his own behaviour.
Time: 8:40
discouragement (appendix 5) and behavioural contracts that provide students with the opportunity
to be successful (Levin and Nolan 2004).
Strategies:
- Build a positive relationship as research shows that chronically disruptive students were
able to turn their behaviour around by developing a close, positive relationship with an
adult
- Disregard negative feelings toward the student
- Be patient and consistent
- Break the cycle of discouragement by engaging in behaviours that will help to meet student
needs of significance, competence, power and virtue
- Help the student acquire knowledge, skills and attitudes to meet needs of belonging,
mastery, independence and generosity
- Create classroom situations in which knowledge, skills and attitudes can be used
- Focus on student’s positive behaviour
- Find appropriate opportunities for students to make responsible choices
- Apply behavioural contracts that students perceive as manageable and are rewarded upon
completion, providing opportunity for student success. (Levin and Nolan 2004)
Case Study 7: The Unteachables
Conclusion:
In order to promote a positive learning environment, teachers must work to understand student
needs and apply appropriate strategies as a result. Most student misbehaviour can be avoided by
implementing effective preventative strategies that draw on the work of Maslow, Glasser, Dreikers,
Piaget and Vygotsky. If mild misbehaviour occurs, Levin and Nolan’s Hierarchy for Management
Intervention can be applied in order to apply student centred strategies to bring their attention
Principal William Atkinson applies
logical consequences to a student who
has applied graffiti around the grounds.
He makes the connection from the
behaviour to the consequences and
asks that the student clean up all of the
graffiti that she has made.
Time: 30:00
back on task. If these supportive techniques fail the Hierarchy moves down into more teacher
oriented strategies that aim at correcting student misbehaviour. From here, applying long term
strategies for correcting misbehaviour can be applied in order to work positively at meeting student
needs and therefore bring them back to acceptable behaviour.
Appendices:
Appendix 1: Maslow’s Hierarch of Needs
Only when the previous needs are met can the next needs be achieved:
Physiological needs; oxygen, food, water. Basic biological needs and the strongest as they come first in
the person’s search for satisfaction;
Safety Needs; Security, Protection. Adults usually only display this need in times of emergency or
disorganisation in the social structure. Children often display the signs of insecurity and the need to be
safe.
Social Needs; Love, Affection and Belongingness. People seek to overcome feelings of loneliness and
alienation. Involves giving and receiving love, affection and a sense of belonging.
Esteem Needs; Self-Esteem, Recognition Status. Humans have a need for a stable, firmly based, high
level of self-respect, and respect from others. When these needs are met, a person feels self-confident and
a valuable person in the world. When they are not met, a person feels inferior, weak, helpless and
worthless.
Self-actualisation Needs; a person’s need to be and do that which the person was ‘born to do’. A
musician must make music, an artist must paint, a poet must write. This need is shown through signs of
restlessness.
Appendix 2: Glasser’s Choice Theory basic needs
Survival: food, shelter, physical comfort, safety, sleep, clothing. (step 1 &2 on Maslow’s
Hierarchy)
Love and Belonging: need to love and belong, connect with others, cooperate, give and
receive affection. This has a profound influence on overall physical and mental wellness.
(step 3 on Maslow’s Hierarchy)
Power: Power over; something or someone. Power within; learning, achieving success and
enjoying self-worth as a result. Power with; achieved when working cooperatively with
others. (step 4 on Maslow’s Hierarchy)
Freedom: Freedom to; having choices. Freedom from; physical and emotional discomfort
such as fear, stress, disrespect or monotony.
Fun: stress impedes learning and play reduces stress, helps build positive relationships.
(Erwin 2004)
Appendix 3: Dreikers’ Goals for Misbehaviour
(Matthews
Chronic Behaviour 2015)
Appendix 4: Levin and Nolan’s Hierarchy for Management Intervention
(Levin & Nolan 2005)
Appendix 5: Breaking the Cycle of Discouragement:
(Levin & Nolan 2004)
Bibliography:
Brady, L and A. Scully. Engagement: Inclusive Classroom Management, Frenchs Forrest: Pearson,
2005
Charles, C.M. 2002, Building Classroom Discipline (7th ed.), New Jersey: Pearson.
Edwards, Clifford, H. 2000, Classroom Discipline and Management (3rd ed.), Milton: John Wiley &
Sons.
Edwards, Clifford H. 2008. Classroom Discipline and Management (5th ed.), Hoboken: John Wiley &
Sons.
Erwin, Jonathon C. 2003. ‘Giving Students What they Need’ in Educational Leadership, vol.61 no. 1,
pp. 19-23
Erwin, Jonathan C. 2004. Giving Students What They Ned and Getting What You Want, Online:
Association for Supervision & Curriculum Development (ASCD).
Krause, Kerri-Lee, Sandra Bochner and Sue Duchesne. Educational Psychology for Learning and
Teaching, Southern Melbourne: Thompson Learning, 2003
Levin, J & J.F. Nolan. Principles of Classroom Management: A Professional Decision Making Model
(4th Ed.), Pennsylvania: Pearson, 2004
Levin, J & J.F. Nolan. What Every Teacher Should Know About Classroom Management.
Pennsylvania: Pearson Education Inc., 2005
Maslow, Abraham. Hierarchy of Needs: Basic Hierarchy Description. Retrieved from My Uni, Lecture
Materials, week 1, Lecture 2.
http://www.sa.mtu.edu/vp/documents/student_training/Maslow%20Handout.pdf
McInerney, Dennis M and Valentina McInerney. 2002. Educational Psychology: Constructing
Learning (3rd ed.), Frenchs Forrest: Prentice Hall.
Powell, Katherine C and Cody J Kalina. 2009. ‘Cognitive and Social Constructivism: Developing Tools
for an Effective Classroom’ in Education, vol 130, no. 10, pp.241-250
Snowman, Jack, Eva Dobozy, Jill Scevak, Fiona Bryer, Brendan Bartlett & Robert Biehler. Psychology
Applied to Teaching, Milton: John Wiley & Sons, 2009
Robert, Matthews. Support Strategies Slide Show, PowerPoint presentation. My Uni Adelaide
University, Lecture Materials, week 6, 2015
Robert, Matthews. Chronic Behaviour, PowerPoint presentation. My Uni Adelaide University,
Lecture Materials, week 7, 2015
Videos:
SchoolsWorld.TV. ‘Manage That Class’, viewed 22/04/2015 http://www.schoolsworld.tv/node/1752
SchoolsWorld.TV. ‘Praise and Preparation’, viewed 22/04/2015
http://www.schoolsworld.tv/node/273
SchoolsWorld.TV. ‘Too Much Talk’, viewed 22/04/2015 http://www.schoolsworld.tv/node/271
SchoolsWorld.TV. ‘The Need for Structure’, viewed 22/04/2015
http://www.schoolsworld.tv/node/272
SchoolsWorld.TV. ‘Attention Seekers’, viewed 22/04/2015 http://www.schoolsworld.tv/node/1044
SchoolsWorld.TV. ‘Underachieving Boys: The Play’s the Thing’, viewed 22/04/2015
http://www.schoolsworld.tv/node/900
Channel4.com. ‘The Unteachables’, Episode 2, viewed 30/04/2015
http://www.channel4.com/programmes/the-unteachables