Positive Discipline in the Classroom
A Classroom Management Curriculum that Teaches Conflict Resolution
Jul 27, 2009
Positive Discipline in the Classroom provides a structure that teaches students conflict resolution skills while also solving existing behavior issues. Students are not only part of the problem; they are part of the solution. Over time, students learn to handle issues such as bullying, teasing and sharing issues sometimes on their own and sometimes with the help of their classmates.
An Effective Classroom Management Curriculum
Unlike punishment and reward systems in which the teacher is in charge of classroom behavior, Positive Discipline in the Classroom hands over the majority of the problem solving to the students. Using tools such as classroom meetings and a “Wheel of Choice”, students learn to take charge of their own problems and learn respectful ways to resolve conflicts. This unique curriculum for classroom management takes away the entire burden of behavior issues from the teacher and gives much of it to the students as a problem to be solved.
At first some teachers are skeptical that students can learn to solve problems on their own. “I use to think control was the answer when dealing with children. Now I am of the mindset that practicing mutual respect, cooperation, responsibility, limited choices, and finding solutions to problems is a less stressful way to go,” is a quote on the Positive Discipline website from Mark Graves, a 2nd grade teacher. “I’ve taught school for 15 years. In the past the teacher was the judge, jury, and executioner. Now children solve their own problems so we have more time,” says Mary DiNatale, a 3rd grade teacher.
Teacher Training for Positive Discipline in the Classroom
It takes a shift in power, a shift in thinking and hands-on practice to implement Positive Discipline in the Classroom, all of which doesn’t happen overnight. Students don’t automatically learn to resolve conflicts on their own, especially if adults have been handling behavior issues for children. As well, teachers who are used to having complete control of the classroom may feel very uncomfortable at first handing over the task of conflict resolution to students.
At two-day workshops, teachers learn layered building blocks to teach problem solving skills and implement this innovative classroom management system. The Positive Discipline Association sponsors a fourteen hour experiential workshop where teachers learn hands-on classroom activities that teach students how to hold classroom meetings, determine reasons behind their own misbehavior, understand that there are different ways to look at and solve problems as well as other conflict resolution tools.
The Building Blocks of Classroom Meetings
Learning to hold classroom meetings is a step-by-step process that will gradually turn responsibility over to students. Teachers are encouraged to move forward only after each step has been mastered in order to lay a firm foundation for holding meetings where students address behavioral issues in a structured way and with mutual respect and cooperation.
The eight building blocks of Positive Discipline classroom meetings are:
- Forming a Circle
- Giving Compliments
- Creating an Agenda
- Creating Communication Skills
- Learning about Separate Realities
- Problem Solving and Brainstorming through Role Playing
- Recognizing the Four Reasons People Do What They Do
- Applying Logical Consequences and Non-Punitive Solutions
At the Positive Discipline Association website, teachers and parents can watch a free video that describes the elements of Positive Discipline in the Classroom and explains each of the eight building blocks of class meetings.
For those teachers who are looking for a change in the way they deal with behavior issues, they may want to consider this “community feeling” curriculum for managing classroom behavior.
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