Roles Presenter-Mary

Discussant-Angela

Critical Friend-Ashley

PRESENTER

Key Ideas

Class is for academic learningDisruptions interfere with student’s right to educationStudents are held accountable for their behaviourUse of class rules to enforce expectationsDetention used as leverage for good behaviour

Teacher Attitude

Any student who disrupts class is interfering with another student’s right to learn

The teacher is the figure of authority - students job is to learn

The classroom is only for academic learning

Self-esteem comes from hard work and learning not disrupting the classroom

Operating Principles

Actions speak louder than words – make good rules and enforce them without fail

One warning only - at beginning of first class! No rewards – a good education should be the

only reward Speaking – learn to talk effectively with students

to maintain management of class

Student Accountability

Have students copy rules and sign them Teacher draws up student rules Explain exactly what the rules mean The student is responsible for their behaviour good or

bad

Student Accountability Show behaviour expectations Require students to show respect to all

others at all times Work on task How they should work and what they

should do when completed their assignments

Act out these rules - show what they look like and what they don’t look like

Distractions Readiness for class upon entering (with all

books and tools) to avoid distractions and manipulations

The correct way to get permission or answer questions (raising hands and waiting to be acknowledged)

Teacher requests and directions End of class – students wait by seats until they

are dismissed - students are responsible for cleaning their area

Consequences

Detention Suspension from class until they have completed

requirement Copying down class rules and complying with

detention

Management Tactics That Support Desirable Behaviour

Plan the room arrangement-be neat and organized

Cultivate quiet-use reading and minimal talking

Be organized-have materials ready Dress professionally-look of authority Make eye contact-reinforces authority

Give something back to the students Teach in a way that you can be proud of Teach in an engaging manner Teach in an organized manner, knowledge

of where things are and how you will conduct the class

Listen to your students attentively, let them know you are interested

Speak in statements rather than questions Educate students; do not counsel them Hold students accountable for proper

behaviour Do not settle for less than what is expected Keep them busy-impedes disruptive

behaviour Review the rules until all understood

Review your performance everyday Take care of things-decide and enforce

consequences Don’t be manipulated-state a rule rather

than arguing with students Expect students to enter your class with

the expectation to learn Stand in doorway and inform each student

of expectations

Behaviour that Necessitates

Excluding Students from your Classroom:

Defiance

Repeated Disruption

Gross Disrespect

Role of Administrators

Ensure your administrators understand the logic, rules and procedures of your approach

Parents will likely not be

supportive of behavioural

expectations set for the classroom

DISCUSSANT 1) “Our schools are currently doing things out of

sequence - trying to let students know all their rights and encouraging self-expression and independent thought, and so on, before working to establish basic respect for others and the environment” Do you agree with Seganti? Do you think our schools have become too “democratic”? Would classrooms be more functional places if teachers had more unquestioned authority and respect? (Charles, 2008)

DISCUSSANT

2) What age group do you think this approach would work best for? What cognitive/social abilities does this approach presuppose (e.g. what level of self-control)? How would you adapt it for younger students, if at all?

3) Given that many students cannot stay after school, what “leverage” do you think would work in your educational setting? (“something the student cares about”). Should this leverage change over time? (will students get used to it?)

DISCUSSANT 4) Seganti does give not rewards for good

behaviour, but insists that a good education is a reward in itself and anything more than this amounts to “plea bargaining” on the part of the teacher. Will students perceive on their own that they are learning more through this method? Do they need to perceive this – do they need to feel that there is some sort of reward for following Seganti’s rules?

DISCUSSANT 5) Do you agree with what Serganti says about

warnings (one warning only, at the first class)? To put it into an adult context – are you more likely to speed again if you are given a warning the first time you are caught instead of an actual ticket?

6)  Can you see yourself using this approach? Why or why not?

CRITICAL FRIEND Detention is not always possible because of

timing (teacher meetings/responsibilities/supervision) Detention can be a punishment to the teacher What do you do if faculty/administration/parents

are not on-board with your practices? Waiting for students to be ready at the beginning

of each class wastes a lot of time we don’t necessarily have

Does the Seganti Method work for Elementary aged students who sometimes do not understand their actions?

CRITICAL FRIEND Theorist Alfie Kohn dislikes the idea of forcing students

to behave compliantly in the classroom. He believes traditional teaching-lectures, worksheets, and homework is falling short of what students really need. Teachers should honour students, take their opinions seriously and determine what curriculum interests them. He believes that forceful teaching styles (such as Seganti) create poor student attitudes towards learning (Charles, pg.75-78).

Research on positive/external reinforcement shows there are benefits to using it

(Token economy-individual & group, bonus points)

Benefits of Using Positive/External Reinforcement O’Leary and Drabman (1971) found token

reinforcement programs to be successful in improving both social and academic behaviour amongst several groups of students (Lysakowski & Walberg, pg. 69).

Slavin (1978) and Michaels (1977) highlight the success of cooperative reward structures in classrooms, and how they positively impact individual learning amongst students

(Lysakowski & Walberg, pg. 69).

Benefits of Positive/External Reinforcement Continued According to Self-Brown & Mathews

(2003), “Token Economy systems provide students with tangible reinforcers and external incentives for meeting normative standards” (pg. 107).

Hedley (1994) states a majority of students feel more involved and connected to their learning when bonus points are used for class participation (pg. 338).

Benefits of Positive/External Reinforcement Continued Hedley (1994): “Interactive teaching

methods foster “deep” as opposed to a “surface” approach to learning and also seem “to increase the level of keenness and enthusiasm” (pg. 340).

Hedley (1994): “the bonus point system is a valuable strategy for involving students in the teaching-learning process, and it produces pay-offs”

(pg. 340)

Benefits of Positive/External Reinforcement Continued According to a study done by Hedley (1994), of 94

students studied over a 2 year period who were using the Bonus Point System, 31% saw an increase in their final grades as a result of the system (pg. 340).

According to Kapalka (2009), using Behavioural Contracts-which use positive consequences after positive behaviours and vice versa, teachers will likely see a decrease in management problems with students (pg. 80).

Kapalka (2009), also states the importance of verbally praising students for their success, not just rewarding them externally (pg. 97).

Conclusion

Seganti generated the ideas and concepts for this method of instruction while he was teaching in the inner city of Los Angeles. It is important to remember that despite the “old school,” overly assertive, “this is my classroom” approach, Seganti’s teaching method does have some strengths and ideas. His ideas can be slightly adapted and modified to work for your individual classroom.

ReferencesCharles, C.M. (2011). Building Classroom Discipline, Boston, MA, Pearson Education, Inc.

Hedley, R. A. (1994). Interpersonal and interaction aspects of teaching. Teaching Sociology, 22(4), 337 – 340. Retrieved from: http://www.jstor.org/stable/1318927

Kalpalka, G.M. (2009). 8 Steps to Classroom Management Success: a guide for teachers of challenging students, Library of Congress Cataloguing – in - Publication Data

 

Lysakowski, R. S., Walberg, H. J. (1981). Classroom reinforcement and learning: A qualitative synthesis. The Journal of Educational Research, 75(2), 69-77. Retrieved from Heldorff Publications,

http://www.jstor.org/stable/27539870

 

Self-Brown, S.R., Matthews II, S. (2003). Effects of classroom structure on student achievement goal orientation. The Journal of Educational Research, 97(2) 106-111. Retrieved from: http://www.jstor.org/stable/27548016