Thursday, July 31, 2008
Presentation 3: Linda Albert
Indeed Albert was heavily influenced by Dreikur's work as evidenced by her strong positions that students choose to misbehave or behave appropriately in an attempt to meet certain needs. In other words, students choose their behavior. How they behave is not outside thier control. Virtually all can behave properly when they see the need to do so. As such, what can teachers do in the classroom to redirect the mistaken goals? My other question, when responding to confrontive behavior, Albert has teachers use "graceful exits". What are your thoughts on the "graceful exit" in dealing with these types of cases?
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18 comments:
I plan on using "graceful exits" this year. I know that I have been guilty of being direct and confronting students and trying to get the last word sometimes. The idea of putting distance between us really appeals to me. Delivering a closing statement like "I've asked you to work and you are refusing, correct?" and then write down the student response will work for me as well. This also keeps me calm and gives documentation in case of need of a referral to the office. I've taken teacher time-outs but do not announce them to the students, perhaps announcing it will make the students more aware of their misbehaviors.
I think there are many different things that a teacher can do to redirect a student back towards the goal. Using Albert's Three C's is a good way. Let the student know they are capable of succeeding. Most times a student will get off task because they might feel they can't do the work or "they're stupid", it's improtant for a tacher to nitice it and build up their confidence. Helping the students connect and contribute to the class is also improtant. I think these two go hand in hand. By making connections with your students this will make the students enjoy the learning procees more and may lead to contributing more in the classroom.
I agree with the "graceful exits" which Albert talks about in the chapter. There are situations which come up in the classroom if not handled properly at that point could escalate into something much larger. I think the action of the teacher should depend on the situation. There are many ways to deescalate a situation and some work better than others.
Bryan and Tom...you get up pretty early in the morning. What brand of coffee are you drinking? Excellent answers by the way to the prompts. Mark
As a high school anatomy teacher, I've been exposed to some research on brain development and how different a teenager's brain is compared to an adult. Here is a good website that addresses some of this: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/teenbrain/interviews/todd.html
I don't feel that high school students can control some of their behavior at times. They aren't able to reason in certain ways, think through the consequences of their actions and control impulsivity like an adult. It's really very fascinating... I don't think it should be an excuse, but I do think we should be aware of it as high school teachers when dealing with misbehavior. To redirect mistaken behaviors, I feel the most important thing we can do as teachers (at all levels) is engage the kids. If the students are truly engaged in a classroom consistently, this becomes a classroom they feel trust and support in... it will become a classroom they should experience success in. Obviously, the teacher has to work hard to keep an engaging environment. At West York High School, engagement is huge. We are supposed to measure it and analyze the data we collect. Last year I had my students simply shade in on a graph what level of engagement they felt they were after each unit for each activity we did. They also had to provide written feedback for each activity as well, to explain why they were engaged or not. After I collected all the data for all the units, I was able to construct a graph on Excel that illustrated the level of engagement for each activity. (there are 5 levels for engagement) I was actually surprised by some of the results... but, overall, it is what I expected. Students are engaged and feel they are learning the most when they are doing hands-on activities and working with a partner. It is also during these times, when the students are most engaged, that I experience little to no misbehavior. When dealing with misbehaviors, however, I did like the 6-D Conflict-Resolution Plan. This is a plan I could use and I think it would be very effective with difficult students who need to be reminded of the rules and be on a "plan" to manage their behavior.
There were many things that Albert suggested that I really liked. The first was to just call your classroom rules a code of conduct. That is so much more positive sounding, something to strive for rather than something to adhere to. I also believe that, for the most part, students choose their behavior. At the elementary level, I like talking with students after a behavior disruption and showing them the point when they chose a behavior that got them a result that was negative. I sometimes remind students at the beginning of a new library class about a past event and how they should think about better choices. I have never had a situation that could not be handled by me. If I had one, the graceful exit sounds better at a higher level of teaching but it would be a strategy that I like having in my toolbox.
Teachers can redirect misbehavior in a firm yet caring manner. It is important to deal with the misbehavior in a way that deals with the behavior itself and not the student. Targeting the specific misbehavior will help avoid using belittling words. It is also important for teachers to control the negative emotions involved in a confrontation. By doing this it will model calmness for the student and not add fuel to the fire. I think there is a place for graceful exits when a student or teacher is clearly unable to calm down. I believe there can be no resolution to a problem if one party is upset or enraged. Giving the student or oneself some time to regroup is necessary and the problem should be dealt with later.
I believe that a large portion of students do have the ability to control their behavior. That is why the majority of students never appear to be "difficult or problem" children. Many students are adolecents, which means they are impacient, greedy, selfish, people; the same as all of us at their age. I do feel that there are a number of students who do not retain the ability to control their actions, or their "sound effects." Because of this, we use redirecting methods like those outlined in several of these chapters. Like Carrie mentioned, the more we understand about the brain, the more we realize that the way adolecents think and understand is far different that the way we do.
As for "graceful exits," I feel that these are one of any teachers most powerful tools. I by nature am a very non-confrontational person. When reading the examples of graceful exits in the text, I realized that I in fact use several of these same tactics. The best way to resolve any student conflict is to lower the tension and hostility in the situation. To do this, we must remain calm and try to defuse the situation. I know that this technique has worked for me in many cases just over the past 2 years. I also like the tag name that Albert has given it... "Graceful Exits."
When dealing with a discipline problem a teacher must first make a quick assessment of the situation. What type or level of misbehaving is taking place? Is the safety of other students and yourself threatened? Consider the individual student and their history, personality etc. When a student is very upset and a confrontation has occured, I believe Albert's Graceful Exists can be an effective way to defuse the tension. I didn't realize until now that I have used a few of her "exists" myself such as..... putting distance between the student& myself; removing an audience; calling the student's bluff with a closing statement; and, of course, using a student time out. There are times, when you are aware, that certain reactions may make the situation escalate into something worse. By using these Graceful Exists, a teacher can prevent a confrontation from getting out of control. As you know, when that happens, no one wins.
Albert recommends the three Cs for redirecting mistaken goals. The first C is to get students to believe that they are capable of doing the work they are ask to do. THis is something I deal with everyday with my LS kids. I tell them mistakes are okay and are part of the learning process. Teachers are urged to not overwhelm students with so many marks on their papers, but rather focus on improving on one or two mistakes at a time. A student needs confidence to feel capable, so even the little successes should be pointed out and one student's work should never be compared to another student's. Acknowledge that a task may be difficult, and provide the support and encouragement the student needs to complete it. Focusing on past successes and keeping track of success in a tangible way such as a chart that shows progress (I use Progress Monitoring charts for all subjects) also helps a student see he is capable and does not have to act out due to feeling unable to do the work. The second C is that students Connect by having positive relationships with other students and teachers. This is accomplished when I accept each student just as they are, interact with them and get to know them well, show appreciation for them as individuals and for their accomplishments, affirm them by noticing how they treat others and show responsibility and I show affection toward them so they know they are genuinely liked. The third C in redirecting mistaken goals is Contribution in which student are encouraged to contibute in the classroom, their school and the community. This can be through helping in the classroom with routines, being a good friend,and giving their opinions about things happening in the classroom; taking pride in their school and helping to make it a good place to learn; and being a help to the community such bringing things from home when the school is collecting for an organization.
If only more teachers could use graceful exits, confrontations would not escalate to the extent that they often do. I'm sure this happens much more in the upper grades, and it requires a teacher to move away and not have the last word which can be very difficult to do. I especially like the exit of ackowledging the students power...I know I can't make even a little first grader do something they are refusing to do in that moment of confrontational behavior, and the exit of calling the student's bluff. In the end it's always better to walk away gracefully, rather than making a fool of myself in front of the class, and I like myself so much better for doing so.
According to Albert, students' mistaken goals are attention, power, revenge, and avoidance of failure. I think you need to figure out which goal the student has, then try to fulfill that goal without disrupting the classroom and learning. Maybe you could give the student positive comments once in a while, give him/her a job in the room, and give him/her plenty of opportunities to succeed.
I am guilty of not using graceful exits. I let my temper get to me, and I hate to let a student have the last word. If a student is throwing a tantrum, I am going to remove him/her from the room. In the past I have yelled at the student to get out. I will try to ask calmly next time. Small steps. :)
In theory I think the graceful exit can be very effective. The steps to the graceful exit are manageable and logical. The two most effective aspects of the graceful exit are the removal of the audience and the tabling of the matter. In a situation like this, the teacher wants to win, but the student has to win. Eliminating the audience decreases this need because no one's reputation is at stake anymore. Also, very few arguments are settled in the heat of anger. I try never to get angry in my classroom because when I do, I shake and sometimes lose my internal filter and say things I should not. As a result, absenting myself from these situations in order to calm down and regroup would be necessary. I think the last step is also a necessary part of the plan because there are some students who will not respond to this approach either at all or in a timely fashion. The option to remove the student from the classroom for his or her own timeout period can help them and the teacher assess how to proceed after an outburst of this kind. It also allows the teacher to continue teaching the students who are not misbehaving without the disraction of the other student. If this model becomes part of a teacher's overall management style, it could definitely work. However, these situations occur so infrequently that it may be difficult to follow these steps in the heat of the moment.
I agree with most of Albert's ideas on 'graceful exits'. Especially the part where it says to 'acknowledge the student's power'. I find this most effective in getting students to do things that they might initially refuse to do. Rather than telling them, 'they must do this because I said so'. I say, 'It is your choice whether or not you do the assignment. If you do not do it, I will be forced to give you a zero. It's up to you.' I usually say this to the student quietly and privately (remove the audience) and in a calm voice, then walk away. Nine times out of ten after I walk away, the student will start to complete the task.
I am not sure that I would ever tell a student that I need a 'teacher time out' I think the wording is ridiculous. Telling the student that we will talk about this at another time, however, makes sense to me.
Working in city as well as suburban settings, graceful exits are great to use. By letting the student 'chill out' by sitting in a doorway away from others gives them a chance to re-group and get themselves together emotionally. I like to ask the kids to sit in the chair in the doorway. I walk away and give them time to calm down. Then I go back to the student and calmly ask them bending down to them...what's going on today? I'm very non-threatening. This lets them get composure and I show them breathing techniques to calm if need be. By this time, the student is calmer and opens up as to what is 'really' going on. Giving them time to chill out gives me time to chill out as well :o)
One thing brought up in class that I liked and wanted to comment on was Albert's 6 D's as a conflict resolution plan. Throughout these discussion boards it seems that we have all used several of the techniques used to rapidly defuse a hostile situation in the classroom, but we haven't talked as much about the longterm changes that we put in place to change the student's behavior. I think Albert's 6 D's of conflict resolution provides a great means to an end of that negative behavior. By giving the outline of the plan to the student, a teacher or administrator can work with the student to agree on an acceptable solution. This can tie in with the ideas discussed in later chapters about cooperating with students instead of just telling them what the outcome must be. A great tool that we can apply to many situations in the classroom.
I think directly stating what the mistaken goals are, and discussing them with students early on can let them know you are in tune with WHY they moght misbehave. If they know you are "on to" the reasons why misbehavior occurs, maybe they will see that they don't have to do it...they can just be honest with you (if you want them to) and let you know what the root is without having to misbehave.
On "graceful exits"...I can see them working with my ninth graders. I have used some of them in the past, actually! I am just not liking the time out, though. Those words might make the kids feel lilke they are two, and that would make me feel mad or insulted if someone told me to take a time out.
I liked the idea of not calling them rules. Last year I began by listing the Standards for the room. These standards would enable all of the people in the room to funtion together without interuption to the learning process. I think the graceful exit would work for the time being but idividual contact would have to follow to get the student back on track in your class.
I agree with Brian g's idea of using the 6D conflict resolution plan for severe behavior problems. I am definately adding this idea to my list of strategies for the chronic defiant student. Most of the discipline approaches from this book gave us useful proactive approaches which I believe will work, but this one sounds like a strategy that might work for this type of challenging student.
I like the use of the word, Standards, for the casll set of formerly-called "rules." The students are certainly in the know of what the word. standard, means, since they are hammered with them all year.so why not....Set the "standards" for the classroom together, or at least the consequences that one suffers if they choose not to abide by them.
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