A Collaborative Response to Discipline

Nothing stops learning faster than persistent disciplinary issues, and nothing frustrates teachers more than poor behavior that never seems to improve. Teachers are collaborating about instruction, standards, assessments and interventions, but how many teams take time on a regular basis to align their expectations for and their responses to acceptable and unacceptable behavior? 

School-wide rules are critical for student success, but they are most effective when grade level or department level teams personalize their united adherence and enforcement of rules and procedures.  It is very important for teams to take time throughout the year to review and refine how school-wide expectations should look and sound within their team.  The best teams take time to not only norm how they will work together.  They norm what they expect from all students in and out of the classroom, and furthermore they align how they will collectively respond when any student 

violates a classroom or school rule.  For positive behavior supports, teams work  together to create team-specific positive behavior supports and incentives that will  motivate students to make smart choices in their behavior and learning.  When  students commit a minor infraction, high performing teams align how they will  respond regardless of which teacher is responding to the behavior.   

Norming behavioral responses is important for three reasons.  

1. New teachers or teachers who struggle with classroom management benefit from the expertise of others. 
2. Team norms for behavior set the tone for commitment to school-wide rules.  
3. Students rarely interact with solely one teacher, especially at the secondary level.  Students will encounter several teachers, and if students know that all teachers are on the same page when it comes to discipline expectations, students will be more inclined to respond positively regardless of which teacher is addressing them.  

To Respond to Discipline as a Team, 

Collaborative teams should establish common expectations for the following:

• Behavior expectations, 
• Corrective responses and 
• Positive reinforcements

Teachers should take time to discuss not only those expectations but what behaviors trigger a response from the teacher, and which behaviors are ignored.  Going beyond the discussion of rules and rewards is what takes student discipline to the next level.  Teachers should share how they redirect without negatively impacting instruction.  The best teachers have strong disciplinary systems that empower kids to own their learning.  Collaboration is the only way that colleagues that learn those best practices.

Monitor and Adjust

Discipline changes likes the seasons.  Some days, discipline is going great, and then the full moon comes, and chaos ensues.  Behavior gets a little crazy from time to time, but the best collaborative teams see the changes coming and determine how best to adjust their collective response.  They develop new ways to set expectations for the behaviors that they want to see from all students, and they unify their response to the most troublesome behaviors affecting the majority of students.  A collaborative response to discipline is not just a team meeting to discuss behavior.  It is a collective responsibility to systematically teach all students the benefits of becoming self-disciplined individuals.  After all, discipline isn't about rules.  It's about being responsible and respectful members of society.


How does your team respond to discipline?

Finding a Socket for Every Plug

My daughter just made the drill team, and I am extremely excited. It was such a proud moment to watch her overcome obstacles to accomplish this goal.   The most impressive part of her accomplishment was her grit and determination. She was obsessive in her tireless pursuit. She practiced every day, and she attended every possible practice to get better at the art of dance. 

Needless to say, I'm very proud of her!

What made the difference?  Sure, she has two parents that support her. We give her encouragement and advice in times of difficulty. We teach her the importance of never giving up. But we're not the only ones.  Her teachers and her friends play a huge part in building her confidence and self-esteem. They give her lots of feedback that helped her every day inch closer to achieving her goal. 

In short, she is lucky because she is plugged in.  Think about it.  An appliance is no good if you can't plug it into an electrical socket. Take a coffee pot for example.  Mine simply won't work unless it is plugged in.  Even worse, it has a short plug, so I have no choice but to place it very close to an outlet to plug it in. That is if I want some coffee. I can demand and plead for it to make my coffee, but if it isn't plugged in, the pot just simply won't do a thing. 

Kids are much the same. Every one of them has a plug, but they won't work until they are plugged into a socket. You can beg, plead, entice or threaten, but kids only work when their plug is in the socket. 

Some kids, like my coffee pot, have a very short cord; therefore, they have to be very close to a socket. In other words, we really have to dig into their mind to truly understand who they are, what their interests are, so we can build a relationship that will help them move closer to a socket. This takes a lot of time, trust and patience, but it is the only way to get kids interested in plugging in. 

How do we plug in kids?

Unlike the coffee pot, I can't plug kids in. That is their choice. When they are intrigued, inspired, and motivated, they will make a conscientious effort to plug themselves in. Kids must see that engaging in learning is worthwhile and ultimately beneficial to their lives. That can't happen without an enthusiastic educator who loves what they do and gauges their own success by how many kids they can connect to learning. 

Plugging kids in to the socket can be challenging, but the last thing I'll share is this. Educators shouldn't focus on plugging kids in to the educator's socket of choice. They must be committed to creating the conditions for kids to seek out their own unique socket and plugging themselves into their new-found passion, deepening their knowledge about it, and finally redefining their life in a way that they never imagined. 

A coffee pot can be as pricey or as plain as possible; however, they're worthless without power. Kids can be affluent or poor, but without plugging in to their passion, they won't accomplish much. The difference is me and you and whether or not we believe in our purpose of inspiring all kids to plug themselves into their future. 

March Motivation - Race to 100

Here is my 2nd installment of March Motivation, Race to 100.  As we march through the month of March, motivation wanes in the classroom and behavior can be a challenge.  Changing things up a bit can make all the difference in the world for students, and making a race of it can turn apathy into excitement.

Race to 100 is a simple hundreds chart that an elementary class can use to earn a class reward for their great behavior.  Each time the class displays a specified appropriate behavior they can color in a square colored on the chart.  Once all 100 squares are colored in, the class earns the reward.  For middle and high school classes, teachers can identify learning behaviors that they would like to see improve.

Here is a link to a word document that you can edit to meet the needs of your class. http://ow.ly/1TsoIJ

Before Getting Started

The teacher should review their discipline data to see which behaviors are in need of improvement.  In addition to discipline, teachers should identify the locations in the building where the students struggle with their behavior.  Last, teachers should ascertain if students are having difficulty in places where they drop their class off with another adult.

Create the Criteria

Once the behaviors, locations and situations have been identified that need improvement, teachers should set criteria for students to have a square colored in for displaying appropriate behavior.  For great behavior in the classroom, all students could be expected to have no one move to the worst level for classroom consequences.  In the cafeteria, the class could earn a square for a report of good manners and behavior from the cafeteria monitor.  When the students go to music or art, they could earn a square for a positive report from the teacher.  In the hallway during transition, the class could earn a square for earning a compliment from another teacher or 2 squares for a compliment from the principal.  The key behind the criteria is that it must be specific and attainable by the class.

Communication is the Key to Motivation

Once the criteria is set and the chart is created, it is time to motivate the class.  Pump them up.  Let them know what the reward will be and how they can earn it.  The manner in which the teacher communicates this motivational plan will be the deciding factor in whether or not the students get on board.  In addition, the enthusiasm in which the teacher use to communicate the class' progress each day will be the key to whether or not the class fills the chart in quickly or not at all.

Celebrate the Data

When the class fills in the 100s chart, it is time to celebrate their success, but teachers shouldn't forget to acknowledge the hard work that the class put in to earn the reward.  Reviewing the behavior that warranted the reward is critical.  Teachers should review the number of times the class had great classroom behavior, earned squares for behavior when they were with another teacher or received compliments from others.  This is more important than the reward itself, and it will help reinforce the behaviors desired from the teacher.

If you have ideas to make Race to 100 better, please drop a comment. Good luck!

March Motivation - Hidden Hero

March is the time of year where motivation wanes and frustration abounds. Students struggle to see the benefits of their hard work and teachers struggle even more finding ways to inspire kids to work even harder at learning. Over the month of March, I'll share some strategies that our teachers are using to motivate and inspire students to learn.

Hidden Hero is a motivational strategy that focuses on recognizing the hard work of one student to illustrate the work that is expected from all students.

Here's how it works.

Teachers place the name of one student in an envelope and tape the sealed envelope on the board. The envelope has the words HIDDEN HERO written on it. The teacher then describes the learning behaviors that are needed from the Hidden Hero. The teacher then tells the class that if the Hidden Hero does what is expected, the ENTIRE class gets a reward. The power behind this presentation is that no one knows who the Hidden Hero is.

Time to Reveal the Hidden Hero

When it is time to reveal the Hidden Hero, the teacher has to decide if the Hidden Hero's work met the specified criteria that the teacher communicated to the class.

1. If the Hidden Hero performed and earned the reward for the class, the teacher announces "Because this student demonstrated the (list of criteria), the entire class will enjoy the reward of... The name of our Hidden Hero is... Everyone celebrates the hard work of the Hidden Hero and enjoys the reward. This celebration builds self esteem in the Hidden Hero and challenges every other student in the class to step up.

2. Rarely does this happen, but if the Hidden Hero did not perform as expected, the teacher announces, "I'm sorry class.  Our Hidden Hero did not do the following things to earn the class reward (define specific behaviors)". The teacher MUST NEVER reveal the name of the Hidden Hero. Identifying the person who failed to perform would be devastating to the student. In addition, not announcing the Hidden Hero will cause all students to reflect on their own performance and make adjustments for the next opportunity.

Benefits of Hidden Hero

Students will work even harder if they believe there is a possibility that their name is in the envelope. If the Hidden Hero performs, all students develop confidence in themselves and motivation to work at a higher level. Students know that there is a possibility that they may be selected anonymously in the future, and they will begin to prepare for their opportunity to win the reward.

Draw-Back

Rarely does a class fail to earn the reward, but if the Hidden Hero doesn't perform, it is critical that the teacher be prepared to use the failure as a teaching tool for improvement. If students know that this failure is not permanent, and they will have a future opportunity, they will be prepared next time. It all boils down to the manner in which the teacher communicates to the class.

Don't Over-Use this Strategy

Hidden Hero, like any motivational strategy, loses its effectiveness when over-used. Teachers must be strategic in deciding the best time to use the strategy and in selecting the learning behaviors that students must improve upon. Typically, when students are tired of the same old song and dance instructionally, Hidden Hero works best.

It's All about Celebration

Hidden Hero is only as effective as the teacher promoting it. If you want your class to work harder, the teacher must work equally hard in promoting the Hidden Hero concept, the reward to follow, and, most importantly, the work ethic that it takes to be successful.

Last, this is not an elementary strategy. All kids, K-12, are motivated by the Hidden Hero because all kids want to be recognized as the one who earned a reward for the entire class.

Motivation - From Extrinsic to Intrinsic

In order to build intrinsic motivation, we all need extrinsic motivators. Hidden Hero is an extrinsic motivator that when used properly can be referenced by teachers to illustrate to the class and to individual students that they have what it takes to be successful. Intrinsic motivation cannot exist in every kid by itself. Some students need extrinsic motivators to help them develop self-confidence.