Posts Tagged academics

Competition’s Disadvantages

On April 19, 2013 / Competition, Improving Academics

Just yesterday I sat listening, mouth wide open, as my dentist and his assistant chatted and worked on my teeth. At one point their conversation turned to family and they updated each other on the lives of their respective children. The dental assistant asked how the dentist’s son, a first year of Med student, was doing. Since the boy had always been a good student, she wondered if he was still getting good grades. The dentist said, “I really don’t know. They don’t give grades anymore. The only mark Med students receive is Pass or Fail.”

When she expressed surprise, he went on to explain further. He said that things were much different now than when he himself had attended

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Extending theLevels of Development into Learning

On November 27, 2011 / Creating desire, Discipline Answers, Improving Academics

Gradually, as I experienced continued success with using Dr. Marshall’s Discipline without Stress approach to help students develop self-discipline and a sense of responsibility, I realized that there was enormous potential and value in using his Levels of Developmentto inspire young people in all areas of their lives.

One day I decided to have a discussion with my grade one students about how they could use their understanding of the four levels to help themselves become better readers. We talked about the “Whole School Read” session in which we participate each morning. I asked the youngsters to describe hypothetical behaviors of students operating at each of the levels during this daily reading time.

Using their own words,they were able … >>>

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How can I motivate my students to take care in their schoolwork?

On July 26, 2008 / Discipline Answers, Improving Academics

QUESTION:

I am a high school Social Studies teacher.As a teacher of a content area, I don’t penalize my students for spelling errors on their assignments as an English teacher would, but at the same time, I don’t want to give them the impression that spelling isn’t important. I’m not having much success. Once the students know that no marks will be taken off for errors, they seem to get even sloppier with their spelling!Do you have any suggestions for how I might use Discipline without Stress to motivate students in this academic situation?

RESPONSE:

One reason that I enjoy using the Discipline without Stress approach in my own teaching is that I find that the Hierarchy makes it easy … >>>

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I want to encourage some very low students.

On July 25, 2008 / Discipline Answers, Improving Academics

QUESTION:

I work with very low math students.  Part of my plan for next year is to convince them that  things can be different. I want to convince them that they can find  success and not be so frustrated! The worst behavior cases seem  to be the kids that have given up.  But then I worry! Maybe I shouldn’t try to convince them that  they can succeed. What if I’m just setting them up for disappointment? What if they don’t realize that they will have  to TRY in order for that to happen? I doubt myself constantly.  Any suggestions?

RESPONSE:

I think you’re absolutely on the right track!

Convincing your students that putting in  effort is a worthwhile thing to … >>>

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Is giving grades discouraged in this discipline system?

On July 22, 2008 / Competition, Discipline Answers, General Questions

QUESTION:

I am very new to the Discipline without Stress mailring. I’ll be a 2nd year teacher this coming school year and will be implementing this system in my classroom. I did have a concern about grades. Would you please review Dr. Marshall’s views on grades and how they are related to competition? If he discourages grades, how would a teacher handle that in his/her classroom, given the requirements for grades and report cards, etc. from the school administration and parents?

RESPONSE:

Dr. Marshall has never suggested that academic grades not be given. Grading is a mandatory part of our teaching job.

He does point out that competition is counterproductive when it comes to learning.

For further information, here … >>>

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How can I make the Discipline without Stress levels meaningful to students?

On June 29, 2008 / Creating desire, Discipline Answers, Improving Academics, RRSystem in Action, Understanding The Hierarchy

QUESTION:

I am still waiting for my Discipline without Stress book to arrive, but this morning I introduced the system to my class anyway. Even though it’s almost the end of the year, I have such big behavior problems that I decided I had nothing to lose and everything to gain! However, I must have done something wrong because the very students who need this system most, were the ones who didn’t pay attention to the discussion and mocked the levels right from the very start. Any suggestions for making this system real to kids who don’t pay much attention to things like this?

RESPONSE:

Here is an example of just one small discussion I have had with my own … >>>

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How can I motivate students to take more interest in their own learning?

On March 22, 2008 / Discipline Answers, Improving Academics

RESPONSE:
One thing that I love about Marvin Marshall’s approach is that the results go beyond what all other discipline approaches offer. As you inquired about, teachers can easily use Discipline without Stress to inspire students to put effort into their own learning. I use it all the time for this purpose myself.

Here’s just one example.

Let’s say that you arrange for a guest speaker whose topic relates to some aspect of the course you are teaching. Firstly, it would be proactive to discuss how audience members should behave when a guest is addressing the class; a wise teacher would go over Level C expectations. Remember, in this approach it is the teacher’s expectation that all students operate at … >>>

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Using the Discipline without Stress Principle of Reflection to improve spelling.

On July 7, 2007 / Creating desire, Discipline Answers, Improving Academics, Reflection

Through our use of the Discipline without Stress approach, my teaching partner and I have come to understand that positive changes in behavior are more likely to occur when we prompt students to think about how they choose to operate in their lives. More and more often, we now practice the Discipline without Stress Principle of Reflection–not only in behavior and discipline situations, but in academics too.

Dr. Marshall’s Hierarchy of Social Development is a wonderful tool for encouraging students to look honestly at choices in all areas of their lives. With an understanding of choice-response thinking, young people become aware that a conscious choice to operate at the higher levels is always an option—an option that results in powerful … >>>

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