By: Maria Elena Briones
And
Lindsay Geiger
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Following the lesson, Power Point
presentation, our colleagues will be able to
identify assertive classroom management
practices by listing at least three examples of its
use in the classroom.
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Met in 1968 while attending college
Lee wanted to be a teacher, Marlene wanted to
be a social worker specializing in children
Married in 1970, both hoping to make a
difference in children’s lives
Marlene had a student with very disruptive
behavior, which led the assertive behavior idea
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Teachers should insist on responsible behavior
from all students
Students need it
Parents want it and community expects it
Teacher failure goes hand in hand with
discipline, keep discipline firm
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Teachers have basic educational rights in the classroom:
-establish a learning environment
-request and expect appropriate and good
behavior
-the right to ask for help when needed
Students also have basic educational rights in the classroom:
-have teachers who limit misbehavior
-the right to choose how to behave while
knowing/understanding the consequences
In order for this to work, teachers must communicate their
expectations and follow up with consistent consequences for
the misbehaviors.
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Teach students how to behave
Establish clear rules for the classroom
Communicate the rules to students
Teach the students how to follow them
Use positive reinforcement
Praise every student at least once a day
Use firm and consistent negative consequences
for rule breakers (Only as a last resort)
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Catching students being good
Recognizing them when they behave appropriately
Let them know you like their behavior
Identify expectations clearly.
Be willing to say "I like that" or "I don't like that".
Be persistent in stating expectations and feelings.
Use a firm tone of voice.
Maintain eye contact.
Use nonverbal gestures in support of verbal statements.
Use hints, questions, and I-messages rather than demands or requests for
appropriate behavior.
Follow-up with promises (reasonable consequences, previously
established) rather than with threats.
Be assertive in confrontations with students; include the use of statements
of expectation, indicate consequences that will occur, and note why action
is necessary.
Most important BE CONSISTENT
Practice assertive response styles.
 Set clear limits and consequences.
 Use follow-up procedures that are consistent
 Make specific assertive discipline plans and rehearse
them mentally.
 Write things down; do not trust to memory.
 Practice the 'broken record' technique when
reinforcing expectations.
 Ask school principals and parents for support in
your efforts to help students.
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Request appropriate behavior
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Deliver the verbal limit
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hints, I-messages, questions, demands
using tone of voice, eye contact, gestures, physical
touch
Use the broken record technique
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Allows you to be consistent
No plan leads to inconsistencies
Apply it fairly to all students
Send plan home to parents
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Maximum of five consequences for
misbehavior (Warning, 10 min timeout, 15 min timeout, Call
to parents, Principal’s office).
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Teacher must be comfortable with
consequences
Need to be in the best interest of the students
No psychological or physically harmful
punishment should ever be used
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It is not a negative program
Can be misused by negative teacher
If teachers can’t become more positive, they
shouldn’t be teaching
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Three-step cycle of behavior management to establish a
positive discipline system.
Teach specific behaviors.
Use positive repetition as reinforcement when they follow
directions (“Jason went back to his seat and got right to
work” not “Bobby, you didn’t go back to your seat.”)
Use negative consequences outlined in Discipline plan only
after at least two positive behaviors have been reinforced.
Focusing on negative behavior teaches students that
negative behavior gets attention, that the teacher is a
negative person and that the classroom is a negative place.
(canter, 1989)
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Personal attention from the teacher
Positive notes to parents
Special rewards (i.e. spelling certificates)
Special privileges (lunch with the teacher)
Material rewards (stickers, erasers, pens, etc.)
Group rewards (marbles in a jar)
Word on the board (Ice Cream) for whole class
ice cream party
Canter, L. (1989). Assertive discipline: more than names on the board and marbles in a
jar. The Phi Delta Kappan, 71(1), 57-61. doi: JSTOR.
http://www.jstor.org/stable/20404058
Malmgren, K. (2005). Models of classroom management as applied to the secondary
classroom. The
Clearing House, 79(1), 36-39. doi: JSTOR.
http://www.jstor.org/stable/30182104
The canter model of discipline. (2012). Retrieved from
http://www.teachermatters.com/classroom-discipline/models-ofdiscipline/the-canter-model.html