Week 9 - 26/11/13 - Discipline... Is it really a good clip around the ear?

Thankfully it isn't and it never has been... Sadly, the idea of discipline has been distorted by so many, to convey the idea of punishment for crimes committed... 

Even back in ancient Greece, the original root meaning of the Greek word "Discipline" ( noun pai·dei´a and the verb pai·deu´o ) was to convey all that was needed in raising a child ( pais ) - namely instruction, education, correction, chastisement.

Whether as a parent or a teacher, to effectively fulfil the role, a person can never be an " angry man". In fact it is very evident that the greater success can be attained through an effective relationship with your child or student - nurturing them.

This week, the course was again highlighting the broad role of being a tutor, in essence we are responsible for pretty much everything to aid the learning environment through behaviour management. Many years ago, an old friend of mine once said, "...When you point the finger at someone else, just pause for a moment and remember how many fingers are pointing back at you..." That memory sprung back to my mind when the class was encouraged to do some self examination if we find our classes are falling apart.

Behaviour management 

Petty,G. (2009). Discipline and problem solving. In: Teaching Today a practical guide. 4th ed. Cheltnam: Nelson Thornes Ltd. 127.

While reading, I came upon this mindmap, which I felt summed up this section nicely. It conveys the true meaning of discipline, as a culmination of numerous methods in engineering the best teaching environment.

During class, we collectively produced a list of aspects that a tutor would need to keep in mind and act upon.

Much of the advice was again reminding us that a good class environment comes from sound, conscientious groundwork, this is echoed by many educators, for example Geoff Petty and Bill Rogers.

Petty,G. (2009). Classroom Management. In: Teaching Today a practical guide. 4th ed. Cheltnam: Nelson Thornes Ltd. 103

Still, even with the best preparation, situations will crop up... This doesn't mean that you now have legitimate cause to do an impersonation of the incredible Hulk. An outward demonstration of frustration is an escalation too far... It's easy to say " you won't like me when I'm angry", but the likelihood is that students will choose just not to like you, full stop. Creating a situation that you can't win but equally can't loose isn't conducive to a harmonious classroom environment, friction will likely remain and hinder any future classes.

What about during the class?

We were introduced to Bill Rogers, an education consultant with a background in teaching. He is certainly well informed and experienced, His TOP TEN TIPS demonstrate this. Further to this worksheet, we were shown two of his educational videos - " Getting a class settled" & " When a student says NO"

An invaluable resource... watching these clips helped to reinforce much of what followed. In fact watching them again as I wrote this blog, I was able to identify the application of numerous techniques.

ABC

1. Antecedent - Trigger
2. Behaviour - plan to address any particular behaviour
3. Consequences - what is student planning to get from a particular behaviour?

We are back to planning with this acronym... Is there something that triggers a problem? It could be as simple as if I talk to much the students switch off, or noise levels rising when students are asked to setup equipment. Identify and avoid when possible. When it says consequences, we aren't necessarily talking about a stint in detention, rather ask yourself... "What do they get from this behaviour?" If we can remove the benefit to the student, the behaviour is likely to alter.

PEP

1. Proximity - moving into the space of a student.
2. Eye contact - Before, during and after instructions.
3. Pose questions - put student on the spot, although usually best done quietly and privately.

Petty,G. (2009). Classroom Management. In: Teaching Today a practical guide. 4th ed. Cheltnam: Nelson Thornes Ltd. 99

In the early days of teaching a new class, body language - non verbal - forms of demonstrating authority are invaluable. Look confident! This " Formal" approach sets the bench mark. The PEP approach will allow any tutor to convey instructions and gain the attention of the students without raising their voice.

This will hopefully progress towards a more " Personality " based rapport, where the power a teacher has will come from the desire a student will have to please the teacher and succeed. This will never happen by accident and should never be forced. From personal experience, the teachers that I had the greatest respect for, were those that knew their subject, taught well, demonstrated fairness and showed me respect... NOT the one that tried to be my best mate!

More positively, The simple acts of using a person's name and giving sincere praise at every opportunity can do so much for the classroom atmosphere, this following report presents some very compelling evidence...

When I asked about this subject the previous week, it's no surprise that I was asked to wait... It's an epic subject. I imagine that implementing much of what was discussed will take time and will come with application and experience.