Success For All:

Positive Classroom Discipline

Perhaps as many as eight out of every ten teachers do not return after their first year of teaching because they are unable to control their pupils in the classroom. Webster defines discipline as "training that corrects, molds, or perfects the mental faculties or moral character." There are techniques and tips that will help you achieve effective group management, positive classroom discipline and control.

The Tasks:

There are a number of ways in which a teacher can promote positive discipline in the classroom. The teacher needs to:

Know school guidelines.
Be fair, positive and consistent.
Provide a list of standards and consequences to parents and students.
Keep your classroom orderly.
Get to know your students.
Make learning fun, interesting, and relevant.
Treat students with the same respect you expect from them.

The Resources:

These interesting sites include a number of ways to help teachers achieve positive classroom discipline. The sites also gives tips on helping students to govern their own behavior that helps them learn, which is a long-standing goal of all teachers. The tips can be useful in managing a positive and comfortable classroom.

1. 11 Techniques for Better Classroom Discipline has been designed to explain techniques that will help you obtain positive classroom discipline. It also explains eleven techniques that have backfired. They have been adapted from an article called: "A Primer on Classroom Discipline: Principles Old and New." by Thomas R. McDaniel, Phi Delta Kappan, May 1986. This site allows each teacher to assess "What is your classroom management profile?"

2. Positive Discipline KidSource Website has been designed to show methods of discipline that promote self-worth, self-control and self-esteem. The digest suggests methods and language that can be used in handling common situations involving young children.

3. The Master Teacher Definition of Discipline is to provide you with a resource for handling student misbehavior. It presents a complete step-by-step approach to changing inappropriate student behavior to appropriate behavior. It takes the guesswork out of your treatment of discipline problems by offering specific techniques for dealing with various misbehaviors.

4. This Classroom Management Website is dedicated to helping teachers develop management strategies and discipline policies. If you've never had to do these things on your own, or your methods are not working, this link will be very helpful to you. The link also provides ideas to help calm the fears of new teachers dealing with classroom discipline.

The Process:

To accomplish the above tasks, the teacher will want to follow the instructions in each of the steps below:

1. 11 Techniques for Better Classroom Discipline has been designed to explain techniques that will help you obtain positive classroom discipline. It also explains eleven techniques that have backfired. They have been adapted from an article called: "A Primer on Classroom Discipline: Principles Old and New." by Thomas R. McDaniel; Phi Delta Kappan, May 1986. This site allows each teacher to access "What is your classroom management profile?" Take this assessment to determine your style: authoritarian, authoritative, laissez-faire, or indifferent style.

2. Positive Discipline KidSource Website has been designed to show methods of discipline that promotes self-worth, self-control and promote self-esteem. The digest suggests methods and language that can be used in handling common situations involving young children. Please read and post the methods in your classroom.

5. Dr. Mac's Amazing Behavior Management Advice Website gives links to other sites that can be used in behavior management. The site also gives instructions on how to create your own behavior management system. This site offers thousands of tips on managing student behavior and contains a bulletin board on which you can post your problems and concerns about behavior management. Please go to the website and create your own behavior management system according to Dr. Mac's guidelines. Start a journal to discuss how the system you've created has positively impacted your classroom.

6. A word scramble has been created for you on positive classroom discipline. Please complete. Good luck.

Learning Advice:

Have you obtained the information to turn your classroom into the positive learning environment? Will you use different discipline actions in the future after completing this WebQuest? How many of the discipline practices that backfire were you using in your classroom? Change is good and this WebQuest could change your classroom for the better. Allow yourself time to adjust to the positive techniques and reap the benefits.

Conclusion:

Upon completion of the activities above, teachers should have a system to control classroom discipline. The teacher should be able to turn negative discipline into positive discipline in their classroom and create a more positive learning experience. If you would like more information take a look at my Power Point presentation.

You don't have to run around in circles chasing your tail. Help is available.

This page originally written by Melanie Newton in EDU506. Last updated on October 24, 2000.