SPENCER KAGAN’S
WIN-WIN DISCIPLINE
BY GILLIAN LUEVANO
OBJECTIVES
• You will be able to collaborate on creating positive
class rules.
• You will be able to identify types of misbehavior.
• You will be able to identify why misbehavior
happens, the student’s position.
• You will be able to identify structures to use to stop
misbehavior from happening in the present and in
the future.
3 PILLARS TO WIN-WIN DISCIPLINE
• Same side: we work together to enhance the
school experience.
• Collaborative solutions: students and teachers
cooperate in proposing workable solutions to
behavior problems.
• Learned responsibility: the desire to behave
appropriately, which students acquire by practicing
self management and skills of getting along with
others.
CLASS RULES
• Rules are worked out between the students and the
teacher.
• Rules are worded simply.
• Rules are limited to 5 or less, some teachers prefer to use
only one rule.
• Rules are posted for easy access.
CLASS RULES
• Activity “think, pair, share”
• Take a couple minutes to think about possible rules for your
classroom.
• Pair up with a classmate and discuss the rules you came up
with and decide which rules you would use.
• Share the rules you decided on with the class.
THE ABCDS OF MISBEHAVIOR
• Paying attention to the types of misbehavior helps
students and teachers come up with solutions.
• Aggression: hostility between students which can be verbal
or physical.
• Breaking Rules: students break rules when they are unable
to meet their own needs.
• Confrontation: power struggles can happen between
students or the student and teacher.
• Disengagement: students may disengage from the lesson
for a variety of reasons.
STUDENT POSITIONS
• Students have physical and mental needs.
• When needs are not met, the students might
misbehave.
• Teachers must understand the student’s position,
acknowledge it, accept and validate it, and work
with the student to come up with a solution for it.
STUDENT POSITIONS
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Attention seeking
Avoiding failure and/or embarrassment
Angry
Control Seeking
Engergetic
Bored
Uninformed
STRUCTURES
• Structures are procedures to manage misbehavior.
• Structures are contingent on the type of
misbehavior and the student’s position
(attention to needs).
• Structures have three stages: the moment of
misbehavior, the follow-up, and long-term.
HOW TO USE WIN-WIN
• Have a rich curriculum.
• Identify the student’s position.
• Communicate acceptance while refusing to
accept disruptive behavior.
• Apply an appropriate structure, matched to the
student’s behavior to help the student meet their
needs.
STRUCTURE CHART
Structure Chart: What should teachers do?
Student Position
Long-term needs and
goals
Moment of disruption
Follow-up
Long-term strategies
Attention-seeking
Self-validation
-Physical proximity and hand or facial
signals
-Provide additional attention and
affirmation
Meet with disruptive students and
discuss the need for attention and how
to obtain it
Strengthen their self-concept and acquire
skills for self-validation
Avoiding failure and
Embarrassment
Self-confidence
-Encourage students to try to complete
the task
-Assign students partners
-Reorganize and present information in
small pieces
-Ask students: how might responsible people deal with failure?
-Provide peer support.
-Review how mistakes are part of the learning process.
-Use more “team, pair, solo” activities.
Angry
Self-control
-Allow for cool-down time.
-Come back to the problem later.
-Teach responsible ways to deal with
anger.
-Practice skills of self-control.
-Teach resolving conflicts in a positive
manner.
Control-seeking
Self-determination
-Acknowledge the student’s power.
-Use language of choice (You may
either… or…)
-Provide options of how or when work can
be done.
-Schedule a conference to discuss the
situation.
-Ask the class why students often
struggle with the teacher.
-Consider how to avoid struggles.
-Involve students in decision making.
-Ask for help in establishing class
agreements about showing respect for the
teacher and fellow students.
Energetic
Self-direction
-Take a class break that allows energy to
dissipate.
-Provide time for relaxation
-Remove distracting elements
-Channel energy productively.
Teach a variety of calming strategies
and provide follow-up activities that
allow students to work off energy in a
positive way.
-Manage energy levels during instruction.
Bored
Self-motivation
-Restructure the learning task
-Involve students more in the activity
-Inject short activities that energize the
students
-Talk privately with the students
-Assign the student as a caretaker,
helper, etc.
-Provide a rich, relevant, and
developmentally appropriate curriculum
that actively involves students in the
learning process, emphasizes cooperative
learning, and calls on students to use
multiple intelligences.
Uninformed
Self-inform
-Gently ask students what they are
supposed to know
-Reteach if necessary
-Let them work with a partner if they need
support
-Be more careful when giving
directions, modeling desired responses,
and providing practice in responsible
behavior
-Be encouraging and focus on the
student’s strengths.
ACTIVITY: TEAM, PAIR, SOLO
• As a team decide what the student’s position is and
what structure should be used at the moment of
disruption.
• As a pair decide what a good follow-up structure is
and share it with the class.
• Alone choose the best long-term strategy and
share it with the class.
SCENARIO
“During a cooperative group situation, Samuel, a new
boy in class, disrupts the class by standing up and
calling over to Duwahn in another group. Samuel may
or may not know that this behavior is inappropriate,
but his action violates one of the class rules that class
members have agreed upon. What should be done?”
SCENARIO
“Sara is a pleasant girl who participates in class
activities and does most, though not all, of her
assigned work. She cannot seem to refrain from
talking to classmates, however. Her teacher has to
speak to her repeatedly during lessons, to the point
that he often becomes exasperated and loses his
temper. What should be done?”
FOR MORE INFORMATION
• Read: Win-Win Discipline by Spencer Kagan
• Explore: www.kaganonline.com
• Attend: Win-Win Discipline Workshop in Maryville,
MO July 30th-August 3rd