Search results matching tags 'classroom management' and 'teaching techniques'

The Messages We Send to Children in the Words We Say- Part 2: Verbal Modifiers

Anonymous — Thu, 29 Nov 2012 12:34:00 GMT

Many statements have two levels of meaning. One level is the basic information that we communicate with the specific words we say. The second level conveys our attitudes and feelings; most specifically, revealing what we think and how we feel about the words we are saying. This deeper level of communication is known in linguistic literature as the metamessages level. Simply put, a metamessage is the in-depth message that can be implied from the surface message. One of the ways in which we can create a metamessage is by including a verbal modifier in the sentence. As defined by McKay, Davis, and Fanning (2009), verbal modifiers are special words that add nuances of meaning to the sentence. Some words and phrases commonly used to modify verbs are:

Ø Words: certainly, only, merely, naturally, now, later, sure, just, still, again, slightly, lately, seriously, and supposedly.

Ø Phrases: of course, come on, I’m sure, and I guess.

Some examples of metamessages developed through a verbal modifier follow. The verbal modifiers are in italics.

· Cheer up! It’s only her opinion.

Metamessage: You are taking her opinion too seriously.

· Are you still working on that problem?

Metamessage: You are taking too much time on one problem.

· I was just saying…

Metamessage: Calm down! You cannot take my point of view.

· You certainly are funny today.

Metamessage: I’m not comfortable with your jokes.

· Here you go again!

Metamessages: What you are doing, you do it repeatedly and what you do repeatedly annoys me.

· You are telling me the truth, I guess.

Metamessage: I doubt that you are telling me the truth.

· Come on, guys, stop talking!

Metamessage: Chill out, guys! I’m annoyed with your talking.

· You tried your best, I’m sure.

Metamessage: I’m not sure that you tried your best.

· You were minding your own business, of course.

Metamessage: I doubt that you were minding your own business.

· You were minding your own business… seriously?

Metamessage: I strongly doubt that you were minding your own business.

· Now, what do you need?

Metamessages: You ask for too much and I’m running out of patience.

· Supposedly, you want to settle this issue with Gregory.

Metamessage: Are you sure that you want to settle this issue?

· Naturally, you had to start trouble!

Metamessages: Starting trouble is what you do, and starting trouble is a part of you or your identity.

On the surface, a statement sounds harmless but underneath there may be a metamessage blaming and/or shaming the student. The biggest offender in finding fault in children is the “there must be something wrong with you” metamessage. Let’s review some of the examples above, this time, with “there must be something wrong with you” included:

· There must be something wrong with you if you take her opinion so seriously.

· There must be something wrong with you if you need so much time for just one problem.

· There must be something wrong with you if you cannot take my point of view.

· There must be something wrong with your jokes if they make me feel uncomfortable.

· There must be something wrong with you if you keep repeating this particular behavior.

· There must be something wrong with you guys if you are still talking.

· There must be something wrong with you if you do not try your best.

· There must be something wrong with you if you ask so much.

· There must be something wrong with you if you don’t want to settle this issue.

· There must be something wrong with you if you have to start trouble.

· There must be something wrong with you if you repeatedly have to start trouble.

If teachers are not careful, our metamessages may be feeding feelings of inefficacy and self-doubt in students. Knowledge of metamessages is a basic interpersonal communication skill to build a positive and constructive classroom atmosphere, with students that are engaged and motivated.

Reference:

McKay, M., Davis, M., & Fanning, P. (2009). Messages: The Communication Skills Book. Oakland, CA: New Harbinger Publications.

Related Readings:

The Messages We Send to Children in the Words We Say- Part 1: Presuppositions
To read this blog post, click here.

All Behavior is Communication: How to Give Feedback, Criticism, and Corrections that Improve Behavior
To preview this book on Amazon, click here.

Coming Soon!

Essentials of Emotional Communication for Reaching the Unreachable Student- Where Do I Start? What Do I Say? How Do I Do It?
This book will be available on Amazon, January, 2013

Improving Children's Compliance-Part 3: Using Prompts

Anonymous — Fri, 06 Apr 2012 14:35:00 GMT

Teachers can use prompts to remind students of the classroom rules. Silent (gestures) or verbal (words and phrases) prompting reminds a child or the class either to begin a behavior that the teacher wants or to stop a behavior that the teacher does not want. The goal in prompting children is to increase the probability that the behavior that we want is the one that is going to happen. Prompts are always delivered in a friendly way, and we should restrain from showing any sign of anger, frustration, or impatience. In one sentence, with a prompt, we remind children of the rule or behavior that they have forgotten. When used this way, the prompt functions as a reactive measure, that is, we give the reminder in response to the child’s behavior, or after the unwanted behavior. Some examples of reactive prompts are:

· Gregory, what is the rule about _____?

· Remember Lisa, we agreed that there will be no chewing gum in the classroom.

· Brenda, what is the rule when we go to the listening center?

· Drake, what are you doing? (Implying that Drake is doing something wrong.)

· Nancy, can you tell the class what we discussed yesterday about wearing caps in school?

Although they were given in reaction to an unwanted behavior or reactively, most of the examples above can also be delivered in anticipation of the behavior or proactively. In a proactive prompt, we remind the child or the class before the unwanted behavior happens. Some examples:

· Alexis, what do we do at 9 AM?

· Lunch in five minutes.

· Gregory, what is the rule about _____?

· Frankie, what is the rule when we are in the library?

· Casey, remind the class where do we hang our coats and book bags.

· Ruben, what do we do after silent reading?

See the similarities? Turning a reactive intervention into proactive discipline is as simple as anticipating when a problem behavior happens, and a few seconds before, prompting and reviewing the expectation of acceptable classroom behavior with the class. While the teacher is the one prompting, the teacher, an individual child, or even the whole class can review the rule or standard. Most importantly, by consistently giving prompts and reminders, teachers can set up a behavior management system that effectively targets and reduces the occurrence of those behaviors that students are having most difficulty complying with.

Sometimes a one-word prompting will do the work, for example, saying “Book” (Open your book), “Toy” (Put away the toy), or “Cut” (Stop talking). On different occasions, a silent or nonverbal signal will send the message. Signals like frowning, coughing, or switching the lights are common in the classroom, but for less common signals, it is best if we explain in advance what the signal means, and then, we use the signal consistently. For example:

· Tapping the head: Think before you talk

· Finger on lips: Be quiet

· Finger scissors: Cut, stop what you are doing, or stop talking

· Hand palm down and lowered by degrees: Lower your voices

· Tapping a student’s desk: Back to work

When teachers use more prompts and fewer reprimands, we avoid identifying the same children as repeated offenders or “troublemakers.” In the following example, the teacher is training the class to comply with the rule, “When I talk, you listen” by stating the rule repeatedly. When one student interrupts, the teacher prompts, “When I talk…” and the class completes, “…We listen!” This way, the teacher does not single out any specific child, and all students (including the “troublemakers”) internalize the rule by hearing it frequently and by saying the rule aloud (Rief, 1993).

Reference:

Rief, S. F. (1993). How to reach and teach ADD/ADHD children: Practical techniques, strategies, and interventions for helping children with attention problems and hyperactivity. West Nyack, NY: Center for Applied Research in Education.

Related Articles:

Improving Children’s Compliance-Part 1: Kinds of Commands

To read this article, click here.

Improving Children’s Compliance-Part 2: Mastering the Alpha Command

To read this article, click here.

Improving Children's Compliance- Part 1: Kinds of Commands

Anonymous — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 16:53:00 GMT

In the classroom, the three most common types of commands that teachers give are the initiating command, the terminating command, and the mixed command. With an initiating command, we start behavior; with the terminating command, we end behavior. A mixed command, on the other hand, includes elements of both an initiating and a terminating command. I like to call this third kind of command the “stop… and…” command, because it generally resembles that sentence pattern. “Rebecca and Frankie, distribute the protractors and graph paper” and “When we get to the library make sure that you sit within your reading group” are examples of initiating commands. Examples of terminating and mixed commands follow.

Terminating Commands

· Hector, you and Ryan stop talking!

· Camille, stop daydreaming!

· Gregory, stop pushing in line!

· William, stop wasting time!

Mixed Commands

· Hector, you and Ryan stop talking and get back to work!

· Camille, stop daydreaming and pay attention!

· Gregory, stop pushing and get back in line!

· William, stop wasting time and finish your work!

Notice how each terminating and mixed command end with an exclamation mark. This is so because, in spoken language, to communicate our intention (what we want), teachers generally accentuate the last two kinds of commands by either speaking louder, faster, and/or both. This is known as the intention of the communication in linguistic theory. Simply put, with both the terminating and the mixed command our objective or communicative intention is not only to get the child’s compliance, but also to get the child’s compliance fast. By experience, we all know that although we may succeed in achieving our communicative intention (getting the child to comply quickly), chances are that compliance with that particular command will not only be fast but also short-lived. That is, the child or children may comply for one minute or two, and then, they happily go back to what they were doing originally.

A second factor that we need to take into account is the fact that, when we deliver a directive with a louder and/or a faster tone of voice, we sound angrier than when we deliver the directive using a neutral and business-like tone of voice. Perception is reality, when we sound angry (even if we are not feeling that way), we may get a counter-reaction from the part of the child, especially if the child exhibits habitually disruptive behaviors and/or oppositional behaviors. Because they sense anger, our terminating and mixed commands mostly trigger resentment and resistance in these children. A combination of resentment with resistance is a well-known recipe for children’s noncompliance, which is why terminating and/or mixed commands have the well-deserved reputation of reducing compliance, that is, at the end, they accomplish the opposite of what we wanted to accomplish.

A third key factor in influencing compliance is that both the terminating command and the mixed command focus on misbehavior, or what we believe students are doing wrong, instead of narrowing on those things that we like and appreciate about them, or what children do well. A familiar principle in child discipline and compliance is that, by bringing attention to misbehavior, we reinforce misbehavior with our attention. Following this principle in child discipline, teachers can improve the overall classroom atmosphere and get better compliance by simply keeping students focused in their strengths, positive behaviors, and best qualities while either minimizing or ignoring negative behaviors. On my free article, “Child Behavior: Winning Compliance Using the Language of Praise and Encouragement,” you get detailed guidelines. To read this article, just click here.

A common attribute of mixed commands is the fact that they always contain two or more directives in the same statement, most specifically, one directive that intends to terminate behavior, and a second directive that intends to start a new behavior. This by itself may represent a problem to a very young child, to children with weak receptive skills (weak listening skills), and to children with poor attention. Sometimes, the demarcation line between what the child needs to stop doing and what he or she needs to start doing is even less clear; that may happen when we deliver directives at the same time that we are lecturing or reprimanding the child. In child discipline literature, a command with excessive verbalization and unclear directives is known as a beta command, a kind of command with the infamous reputation of having a very low compliance ratio. In contrast, its stronger and wiser twin, the alpha command contains no extra verbalization and includes only one task to do for each command. On my next month posting, “Improving Children’s Compliance- Part 2: Mastering the Alpha Command,” I compare and contrast these two kinds of commands and give guidelines on how to deliver alpha commands. In the meantime, here is a quick checklist in how to deliver commands that are more effective:

ü Use more “start” or initiating commands and less “stop” or terminating commands. Try to keep a ratio of 5:1, or five initiating commands for each ending command.

ü Make sure that you tell the child what you want him or her to do (e.g., “Please raise your hand to talk”) instead of what you do not want the child to do (e.g., “Stop calling out!”).

ü When deliver your command, say the child’s name and make eye contact with the child.

ü Do not deliver the command at a distance, instead, come closer to the child’s desk and talk to the child in close proximity.

ü Regulate your voice volume, lowering your voice instead of raising the voice.

ü Make sure to include only one directive (task) in each command. Use the one-sentence rule, that is, deliver your command in only one sentence or one phrase. Anything more than that is extra verbalization that neither the child nor you need.

ü Do not repeat the same command in the same way. An easy command-giving technique is to state the command, wait ten seconds for compliance, and then if necessary, say, “You need to ___ (state the directive). If not, you will _____ (state an unwanted consequence).” For example, you would say, “You need to return to your desk. If not, you will lose five minutes of computer time.” Then, count down from ten-to-one (or five-to-one), to give the child a few seconds to comply. If the child still does not comply, enforce the unwanted consequence.

Finally, let us change our terminating commands into more effective initiating commands. With practice, this becomes easier and easier to do. For example:

Ø Terminating Command: Hector, you and Ryan stop talking!

Ø Initiating Command: Hector, you and Ryan sit with your reading group.

Ø Terminating Command: Camille, stop daydreaming!

Ø Initiating Command: Camille, open your math workbook on page 184.

Ø Terminating Command: Gregory, stop pushing in line!

Ø Initiating Command: Gregory, you need to keep an arm’s length distance in the line.

Ø Terminating Command: William, stop wasting time!

Ø Initiating Command: William, pair up with your math partner.

Understanding the Anger-Prone Student Part Two- Triggers

Anonymous — Wed, 05 Oct 2011 12:07:00 GMT

This is the second part of three articles.

There is no single explanation why some students feel habitual and recurrent anger, exhibiting more aggressive behaviors than other students show. Some of it might depend on the child’s earlier experiences in life. Students who show a tendency to angry and aggressive behaviors in school seem to be responding to a worldview, their idea of how the world functions, that validates the belief that they are living in a hostile and negative world. If the child has had negative experiences earlier in life, experiences that are now part of the child’s memories, a particular incident may trigger anger associated with the student’s memories and thoughts. For example, if another child accidentally steps on the child, the troubled and anger-prone child will be inclined to perceive the intrusion as a hostile and intentional act because this interpretation matches and validates his or her worldview. Anger becomes an automatic response to everyday events, even when the environmental cues are not there, or even when the environmental cues are contradicting the child’s interpretation of the event. This habitual response can be reinforced by others, including parents, teachers, and peers if they have become used to it, and are expecting angry and hostile reactions from the child all the time. Every time the child’s angry feelings create a counter-reaction from others, this counter-reaction reinforces the child’s negative worldview, helping the child feel in control of the situation, especially when he or she gets what the anger was all about in the first place. The angry feeling by itself functions as a short-term reinforcement for the child, and once anger and aggressive behaviors are recorded in the child’s mind as a way to control, manipulate, and dominate others and their environment, the anger-prone child will use angry feelings and aggressive behaviors more easily in the future.

Other contributing factors can help in maintaining an anger habit. Among the most common in children, we can mention:

· Frustration. Anger is almost always based on frustration. When feeling overwhelmed, embarrassed, or ignored anger seems to be the child’s attempt to regain control. Anger-prone students show low frustration tolerance, going “on the offensive” to deal with situations that other children just put up with.

· Fear. Anger can be based on fear, from fear of losing a privilege to fear of failure in a task or skill, anger is usually about the fear of losing something that feels important to the child. As I said, anger-prone children seem to be always on the offensive; they feel uneasy and sometimes overwhelmed with situations that put them at risk of losing what they value, and they try to hide this apprehension from others by being the ones who attack first.

· Shame. Anger can spring from the child’s feelings that he has to fight all the time to preserve his dignity and sense of self-worth.

· Lack of Assertiveness. When the child lacks the ability of assertively speaking for his rights, and does not know how to negotiate to get what he wants, the child may find himself exploding instead.

Certain pre-conditions may also influence angry feelings and aggressive behaviors in children, among them

· society’s attitude towards aggression and violence (a reaction to watching violent movies, television, and/or sports)

· need for attention

· angry and aggressive interactions with a parent or a caretaker

· a cover-up for feelings of failure

· group pressure

· a cover-up for sadness and depression

· using drugs

· maintaining group status

· to avoid closeness

· revenge or “getting even”

What the child is thinking and how she is feeling at the moment of the event is instrumental in creating anger. If at the moment of the event the child is relaxed and in a positive state, she is less inclined to react angrily to the event. If, on the other hand, the child is already on an aversive or pre-anger state, she will be more susceptible to an angry reaction.

For more on the topic of anger in children…

Understanding the Anger-Prone Student Part One: Models of Anger

To read this article, click here.

Handling Angry Students: Psycho-Educational Strategies that Work

To read this article, click here.

Child Guidance Skills for Teachers: Relaxation Techniques for Angry and Troubled Students

To read this article, click here.

Coping Strategies for Students with Anger Problems

To read this article, click here.

Anger Management for Children: Using Self-Talking to Defuse Angry Feelings

To read this article, click here.

The Therapeutic Classroom: Guided Imagery and Visualizations for Students with Anger Problems

To read this article, click here.

In addition, don’t miss…

What are Coping Skills? Part Two: Social Skills Training and Assertiveness

To read this article, click here.

A Psycho-Education Skill Building Guide for Teachers: Social Problem-Solving

psychoeducation23 — Sat, 30 Jul 2011 10:14:00 GMT

Most children never learn how to handle problems or conflict in a constructive and assertive way, resorting to verbally and physically aggressive behaviors to deal with the problem. Students lacking proficiency in solving social problems show more behavioral problems than more proficient peers do. This FREE education and teaching eguide by Carmen Y. Reyes trains teachers in how to train children in the process of social problem solving.

A Psycho-Education Skill Building Guide for Teachers: Therapeutic Listening

psychoeducation23 — Sat, 30 Jul 2011 09:17:00 GMT

To build rapport with troubled students and to guide children in the process of behavioral change, therapeutic listening is a key psycho-educational technique. Included in this eguide by Carmen Y. Reyes are in-depth child guidance techniques like empathy, checking perceptions, paraphrasing, clarifying, getting deeper meaning, and reflecting.

Persuasive Discipline: Using Power Messages and Suggestions to Influence Children Toward Positive Behavior

psychoeducation23 — Sat, 30 Jul 2011 08:10:00 GMT

Language and communication are the keys to successful discipline. Persuasive discipline is the process of communicating using just the right words to get the positive outcome we intended. Carefully chosen words and crafted messages can create the right mental image and mood in children to move them away from oppositional behavior and closer to compliance. In this innovative education and teaching eguide by Carmen Y. Reyes, you will learn 31 persuasion-based discipline techniques. This is a FREE download.

Nonverbal Communication in the Classroom: Making Your Point Without Saying a Word

psychoeducation23 — Fri, 29 Jul 2011 13:50:00 GMT

Although primarily we communicate with words and spoken language, communication is divided into two main dimensions -verbal and nonverbal. The nonverbal dimension of communication, or body language, is defined as communication without words. A well-trained speaker can enormously add depth, meaning, and persuasive power to any verbal message using simple nonverbal cues and signals. This education and teaching ebook by Carmen Y. Reyes trains teachers in how to use nonverbal messages to influence children's behaviors.

School Help: A Teacher and Tutor Eguide to Help the Older Student with Limited Math Skills

psychoeducation23 — Fri, 29 Jul 2011 13:46:00 GMT

Students with low math skills typically show difficulty in one or more of three main areas: math facts, computation, and/or word problems. In this education and teaching ebook by Carmen Y. Reyes, you will learn remediation activities and alternative math techniques that we can teach children to compensate for skill deficits in any one of these three main areas.

School Help: A Teacher and Tutor Eguide to Help the Older Student with Limited Listening Comprehension

psychoeducation23 — Fri, 29 Jul 2011 13:41:00 GMT

All students benefit when they understand that listening and hearing are two different behaviors, and that listening is a comprehension skill that they can learn and/or improve. Weak listeners benefit from a supportive approach coupled with the explicit teaching of learning strategies to strengthen listening comprehension.This is an education and teaching ebook by Carmen Y. Reyes.