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STRESS MANAGEMENT for Living, Teaching, & Parenting

Posts Tagged internal motivation

Discipline and Internal Motivation

On July 8, 2013 / Discipline, Learning

A prime reason that the discipline and learning system (Discipline Without Stress) is so successful is that it teaches young people to understand differences between internal and external motivation.

In the research book, Intrinsic Motivation and Self Determination in Human Behavior by Edward Deci and Richard Ryan, they conclude, “In other words, verbal rewards (i.e. cognitive feedback) left intrinsic motivation unchanged in a situation where tangible rewards undermine it.” (p. 60)

The Discipline Without Stress system promotes giving positive feedback, especially recognition, but does not suggest giving tangible rewards. One reason is that once a tangible reward is given, motivation inevitably changes. Will the incentive be pursuing the objective … >>>

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Motivating is a Better Discipline Strategy than Telling

On June 20, 2013 / Effectiveness, Responsibility

One of the traditional and ineffective discipline techniques is to lecture or tell a youngster what to do. Even though the intent of telling a child is worthwhile, the actual telling is perceived as an attempt to control. Telling creates defensiveness and a tendency to resist, and it does not engender desire. In other words, it does nothing to reduce discipline problems because it fails to motivate the child to want to change.

The only way that you can “motivate” another person—whether spouse or partner, child, friend, or employee—is to provide an environment by which that person wants to change. This is especially the case when it comes to a lasting change in behavior.

Reflect on the story that originated … >>>

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Discipline and Motivation

On May 28, 2013 / Effectiveness, Parenting

I spent the majority of Memorial Day at the neighborhood pool with my family. One family there consisted of a father, a young three-year-old boy, and the grandmother. The boy vehemently did not want to go into the water. Every time his father tried to get him in the pool, the boy shrieked and cried.

Frustrated, the father picked the boy up, forcibly put him in the water, and said, “You’re going in the pool whether you like it or not.” The boy cried and ran out of the water.

The father tried to calm down and bribe the boy, “Look, we’re here for you. So if you get in the pool, we’ll go out for a treat afterwards.” The … >>>

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Discipline Teaches Responsibility

On January 16, 2013 / Discipline, Responsibility

The ultimate goal of discipline is self-discipline—the kind of self-control that underlies voluntary compliance with expected standards. This is the discipline that is a mark of mature character and that a civilized society expects of its citizens.

Unfortunately, many adults rely on external methods to “control” children. These include rewards, punishments, lecturing, and telling. While teachers and parents who engage in these external methods of control may succeed in getting students and children to toe the line under their supervision, what happens when the adults is not around?

As one teacher who uses external controls said, “My students are very good for me, but they can be holy terrors when I’m not around.” Research points to the same conclusion: … >>>

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The Path to Responsible Behavior

On November 14, 2012 / Responsibility

There is an old Greek myth about a gentleman who was looking for Mt. Olympus. On his journey, he asked directions of an elderly man who turned out to be Socrates. When the traveler asked how to get to Mt. Olympus, the old sage responded in his reflective tradition: “Be sure every step you take is in that direction.” The counterproductive approaches of rewarding expected standards of behavior and punishing do not take us in the direction of fostering responsibility.

Although we often think we can give responsibility, the truth is that responsibility can only be taken; therefore, desire is essential for developing this characteristic. Desire comes only through internal motivation. Responsible behavior is a chosen behavior.

Remember the … >>>

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Explaining the Difference between Internal and External Motivation

On August 9, 2012 / Articles

Using a butterfly analogy easily explains the Hierarchy of Social Development.

A major problem in learning occurs when students exhibit inappropriate behavior during a lesson. The usual approach in working with the youth in question is to refer to the irresponsible behavior. This approach oftentimes leads to an escalation of anxious feelings on the part of both the teacher and student. The reason is that anyone, regardless of age, finds it extremely difficult to separate oneself from one’s behavior. You can prove this to yourself by reflecting on your last evaluation. Was your self-talk something like, “Well, my evaluator is not talking about me-just my job performance”? If you didn’t separate yourself from your performance, how can we expect a … >>>

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Research on PBIS (Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports)

On October 20, 2011 / Discipline, Learning

I received the following excerpt from a doctoral dissertation and reproduce it with the author’s permission:

“As you can tell from the dissertation excerpts I sent you, I have thoroughly researched your approach to discipline, as well as countless others. Unfortunately, the many other more traditional approaches have failed us as educators. I spent the past nine years in administration trying to make a difference in public education.

“But more importantly, I wanted to impact the course of public education positively. Catching kids doing something good and then reinforcing those acts by positive rewards is a component of Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS) that I experienced firsthand. As a matter of fact, I was delighted to spend my first … >>>

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Permission to Use My Discipline and Parenting Approach

On November 12, 2010 / Discipline

QUESTION:

Marv, the counselors at my school have requested time at their counselors meeting next month to present something about your Raise Responsibility System. They have been in my presentations and are implementing it this year in their counseling sessions with the classes. They are VERY excited about it and have already realized success. They are meeting with me to discuss their presentation.

I have requested that they wait until I have contacted you to find out what you want presented. I explained that I had received permission to present here in our school. However, I do not think it is fair to you for them to try to teach what they are doing with it in their classrooms … >>>

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Intermediate/High School – Goal Setting and “The Last Lecture”

On July 19, 2009 / Connections to Literature, Creating desire, Discipline Answers, For High Schools, For Middle Schools

Last week I spent an evening with Teresa, an old friend of mine who just happens to be a fabulous grade six teacher at a nearby school. As it always does, our talk eventually turned to two of our favorite subjects––teaching and whatever good books we’ve read lately!

One thing I always admire about this friend is her ability to take an idea and run with it in the classroom. She inspires, elevates and motivates her students! Teresa often bases interesting lessons for her grade sixes on some little item she’s found in the newspaper, something she’s heard on a radio talk show or something that comes from a good book she is reading herself. She has a … >>>

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Without rewards, how can I encourage neat work habits?

On April 11, 2009 / Creating desire, Discipline Answers, Improving Academics

QUESTION:

I don’t want to use stickers to motivate my primary students to print more neatly. Any suggestions to encourage them to take more care with their school work?

RESPONSE:

Here are some things that my teaching partner and I do in order to help build neat work habits over time:

1. We talk a lot about neatness. I’m a great believer in the idea that whatever you put your focus upon will increase!

2. We talk proactively. In other words, before a lesson begins we discuss what a great job would look like. This helps the kids who really have no idea of what a good job looks like and it helps the other kids who might not … >>>

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Some “evidence” that Discipline without Stress really gets kids thinking!

On December 7, 2008 / Creating desire, Discipline Answers, Improving Academics, RRSystem in Action

This week I had a neat experience while teaching a grade 7 student at my newest job at the middle school. I just thought I’d share.

For those who don’t know me, I have three teaching positions, all of which are shared with the same partner. Darlene and I share a grade 1 classroom, each working one end of the week, and on our other days we share two literacy positions, working with individual students at an alternate high school and a regular middle school. It’s hectic but we love it! At our high school and middle school jobs, we work with a great range of students, some struggling with courses like English 10, but most with much lower skill … >>>

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How do students benefit from operating on Level C or D?

On August 4, 2008 / Discipline Answers, Understanding The Hierarchy

QUESTION:
Dr. Marshall says that we should teach students that in this system of discipline, operation on Levels A and B “automatically invites the use of authority” by the teacher. My students understand that continued operation on the lower levels will result in the use of authority. They see this as a good reason for raising the level of their behavior to something higher.

Now I’m wondering: Is there anything that “automatically” accompanies behavior on Levels C and D?

RESPONSE:
Yes! Firstly, it should be understood that operation on any one of the four levels of the Hierarchy is accompanied by logical and predictable results related to:

• self-esteem and;
• the quality of relationships that are created with authority … >>>

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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 Discipline without Stress ever implemented in high school?

On July 21, 2008 / Discipline Answers, For High Schools, Improving Academics, Teaching the Hierarchy, Understanding The Hierarchy

QUESTION:

Does anyone know if Discipline without Stress is ever implemented in high school? I teach high school Leadership classes and I think high schoolers need these things even more immediately than little ones. The real world is going to require self-discipline of them, real soon! Raising their responsibility is exactly what high school kids need. Most of the discussions I hear about the system seemed aimed at younger children, though presumably they should be applicable to older students as well. I would like any tips, or even encouragement for using this discipline approach in high school.

RESPONSE:

Discipline without Stress was developed when the author, Dr. Marvin Marshall, was teaching in a high school setting. It’s been adapted for … >>>

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I’m a bit put off by the “reverse A-D system.”

On April 6, 2008 / Discipline Answers, General Questions, Understanding The Hierarchy

Question:
I teach Marvin Marshall’s Discipline without Stress levels but I’m a bit put off by  the “reverse A-D system.” D being the best goes so opposite to how we usually think of grades or levels.

Response:
Although it’s true that school letter grades and the Discipline without Stress Hierarchy levels are arranged in opposite orders, at my K-6 school we have never experienced any  confusion with this. I think that’s because we purposely  do everything we can to keep grades separate from discussion of the Discipline without Stress Hierarchy. The  two are not connected. Certainly, both provide tools of evaluation, but one is a  tool of EXternal evaluation and one is a tool of INternal evaluation.

The Hierarchy is … >>>

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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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