In his book, The First Days of School; How to Be an Effective Teacher, classroom management guru, Harry Wong, quotes research conducted by Madeline Hunter. He asks us to consider the following information: For a child to learn something new, you need to repeat it on the average 8 times. For a child to unlearn an old behavior and replace it with a new behavior, you need to repeat the new behavior on the average 28 times. 20 of those times are used to eliminate the old behavior and 8 of the times are used to learn the new behavior. The implication of this information is enormous: There is great value in thinking out your classroom procedures carefully before teaching them
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QUESTION: As a first grade teacher, I totally agree with DWS being the best way to go. However, I have some concerns about the developmental readiness of young children to operate on the level of Democracy on the Hierarchy. I seem to recall from my Ed. Psych. class that this level of behavior was ‘normally’ expected around the teenage years––if at all. RESPONSE: I’ve heard this concern raised before and although I haven’t taken psychology courses for many years now, I’m happy to give an opinion based purely on personal experience in the classroom. I teach Grade One too! Firstly, I feel it’s important to review the definition of what it means to be operating on Level D. I want to be
READ MORE >>> →One day last February we learned that a new boy would be joining our grade one class. In an effort to be proactive, my teaching partner, Darlene, planned a class meeting the day before he arrived. She wanted to encourage the students to welcome the new child and she also hoped to avoid a situation with which we’ve had some difficulty in the past. In previous years when we’ve had a new addition to our class, we’ve sometimes experienced the following problem: If the new youngster starts to feel anxious and begins to cling to Mom when it’s time for her to leave, we’ve been surprised to see that there have always been one or two other kids in the
READ MORE >>> →Before becoming the very successful football coach at Notre Dame, Lou Holtz brought his University of Arkansas team to the Orange Bowl in 1978 to play against heavily favored Oklahoma. Pundits gave Arkansas slight to no chance of winning. Dejected players filed into a team meeting a few days before the game. Holtz picked up some newspapers and pointed out that papers have a front page for people who want the news, an editorial page for those who want opinions, and comics for people who want to be amused. He continued, “I’m amazed that you’re ready to roll over and die because you read your obituary in the newspapers.” He warned them, “Don’t let other people tear you down and
READ MORE >>> →Promoting Responsibility & Learning – Volume 10 Number 7
#2 Promoting responsibility interview
#5 Promoting learning by brain smarts
#7 Discipline, parents, and rewards
While finishing my dinner after a presentation for the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development (ASCD) in San Antonio, a few years ago, I thought I recognized one of the three people sitting at the next table. Their order had just been taken, and so I took advantage of the time before their food was served. I approached the table. The result was a most interesting conversation with John Glenn, his wife, and a representative of the W.K. Kellogg Foundation. The former astronaut (first American to orbit the earth, 1962, and former four-term Ohio Senator) recently initiated a "service leadership" program, a joint effort of the John Glenn Institute for Public Service and Public Policy and the Kellogg Foundation. I
READ MORE >>> →Classical conditioning is identified with Pavlov’s dog. It begins with the observation that some things produce natural responses. “Lucky” smells meat and salivates. By pairing an artificial stimulus with a natural one—such as ringing a bell when the steak appears—the dog associates the two. Ring the bell; the dog salivates. (Pavlov was smart enough not to use a cat; cats, like humans, are too independent.) Operant conditioning, in contrast to classical conditioning, is concerned with how an action may be controlled by a stimulus that comes AFTER it, rather than before it. When a reward follows a behavior, then that behavior is likely to be repeated. Today, we refer to this psychology as “behaviorism.” Burros Frederic Skinner (1904-1990), the famed
READ MORE >>> →Promoting Responsibility & Learning – Volume 10 Number 6
Promoting learning by pre-teaching
# 6 Parenting implicitly and explicitly
# 7 Discipline, responsibility, and obedience
QUESTION: My two daughters, aged 7 and 9, attend a school in Sydney, Australia. Since they started there, I have been disturbed by a commonly used practice in the school. Children are rewarded and punished through the use of a happy versus a sad side of the board. Their names are placed on either side according to their behaviour. Everyone in the class can see the names. I fear for the children whose names are frequently guests of the sad side. To add to my discomfort, my 9 year old who has just begun 4th grade has a new addition in her classroom to the sad side. It is a “sorry song.” Children whose names appear on the sad side
READ MORE >>> →QUESTION: What is a good response to people who argue that extrinsic rewards are okay for students because they’re just the same as an adult getting a paycheck at the end of the week? When people say this, I cringe. I know it’s not the same, but I don’t know how to argue the point intelligently. DR. MARSHALL’S RESPONSE: Here is what to say: Employment is a social contract. A person provides some service for remuneration. The only thing a fee for service has in common with rewards (as acknowledgments or as incentives) is that they both MAY involve legal tender. When was the last time you looked at your paycheck and thanked your employer for the reward?
READ MORE >>> →Promoting Responsibility & Learning – Volume 10 Number 5
#3 Punishment and procedures
#4 Relationships and emotions
#6 Parenting, caring, and empathy
My wife, Evelyn, and I presented a keynote session at a marriage conference in Honolulu, Hawaii. Our presentation was entitled, “HOW TO USE YOUR PARTNER’S DIFFERENCES OF OPINION TO YOUR ADVANTAGE.” At the conclusion of the session, participants shared their “keepers”—those ideas which they thought were most meaningful to them. Here are a few of them: –Communicate using positive, rather than negative, messages. –Empower by offering choices. No one loses when options are recognized. –If you want the other to change, alter your own behavior first. –Treat your princess as one, and she will become one. –Treat your prince as one, and he will become one. –Listen to learn. Your partner’s different take on a situation can be an opportunity
READ MORE >>> →A question was recently asked, “What’s responsible for feelings of self-confidence and of positive self-worth?” The answer quickly came: “Being unafraid of failure.” Truly confident people–from business leaders to politicians, from teachers to lawyers–simply are not intimidated by the possibility of failure. They do fail, but they don’t allow their future actions to be altered by this possibility. Many people do not try to win; rather, they try not to lose. They don’t try to succeed; they try desperately not to fail. That is a sure route to nowhere, according to Alan Weiss, a fellow member of the National Speakers Association. He said, “I’d rather be going somewhere, even if I fail to get there, than assuredly going nowhere.” This
READ MORE >>> →Whenever my students gave me an excuse for something within their control, my standard comment was, "Responsibility finds a way; irresponsibility finds an excuse." The purpose of this mantra was to encourage responsible thinking and behavior. Since being responsible requires thinking, effort, and choosing from a range of difficult decisions, many young people nonconsciously convince themselves that it is too insurmountable a challenge. Some blame others for their problems without any thought as to responsible responses to their problems (challenges). Others hope that someone will come along and make everything right. People can operate more responsibly if they have a strategy. One strategy is to ask young people the following question: "If you wanted to be fully responsible right now,
READ MORE >>> →As the years go by, I wonder why time seems to go more quickly. I think I have come upon the reason. Think about it: When you were five years old, a year was one-fifth of your entire life. When you are fifty, it is but one-fiftieth—a mere fraction of the whole. I would like to think that this may be part of the reason we learn some of the most important lessons in life during our fifth year. It is in kindergarten that socialization truly takes root. In too many of today’s kindergarten classes, academic skills are emphasized—even though some, especially boys, may not be developmentally ready. Perhaps we should reflect that an emphasis on academics at too young
READ MORE >>> →Question: Many of the teachers and students at my high school are operating at the the higher levels. However, I often operate at Level B. I became aware of this while listening to you. I will be working to change my approach. If you have any suggestions, please let me know. Response: Dear High School Principal, You have hit upon a significant point which needs to be brought to the attention of school administrators everywhere. Every time you are about to TELL, ask yourself this question: “How can I say this in a POSITIVE and ENCOURAGING WAY? Example: “You are right on track. You may also want to consider. . . .” Note that telling is not the same as
READ MORE >>> →One of the most important factors that study after study have shown—in terms of what is important to students—is their feeling/belief that someone in school cares. A significant factor in asking a question is that there is an assumption that you care about the person with whom your are conversing. When communicating with others, therefore, instead of thinking of the right thing to say, think of a question to ask. The sooner you inculcate the mode of asking questions—instead of telling—the less stressful it will be for you and the more successful you will become. Asking reflective questions prompts the other person towards evaluation of their actions. Here are three reflective questions which can assist you in influencing others: —Is
READ MORE >>> →A thought to keep in mind in promoting responsibility with the young is not to do something for them that they can do for themselves. When we want the young person to do something and he or she does not, oftentimes stress is induced—on the adult. The youngster is aware of your emotions and (nonconsciously) derives a sense of power from it. What the young person is doing—or not doing—is seen as directing your emotions. Let's assume the young person has a number of things to do and is lackadaisical about doing them. You remind the youngster to no avail. Time passes. Another reminder is forthcoming with the same result. Rather than become increasingly stressed, have a chat. The conversation
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