Fred Jones “Tools for
Teaching”
Dr. Jones believes that responsible students who have learned to manage themselves
require much less management from the teacher.
Study Group Activity Guide
Dr. Jones developed this guide which is based on the core strengths described in Tools
for Teaching. The guide provides the structure for 12 meetings. The 12 skills are:
1) Praise, Prompt, and Leave
The goal is to give clear feedback in the shortest amount of time possible.
2)Providing Visual Instruction Plans
The focus of this skill is on representing a lesson plan visually step-bystep, as well as pre-teaching the lessons.
3)Say, See, Do Teaching
This skill focuses on practising Partner Teaching which is a way of
making learning interactive. It also focuses on Say, See, Do teaching
which is pairing the students and having them play the role of the teacher.
This allows them to learn by both saying and doing.
4)Rules, Routines, and Standards
The focus of this skill is to learn how to teach routines and how to
establish high standards.
5)Understanding Brat Behaviour
The focus of this skill is to begin developing the School Site Procedures
Manual. For the Procedures Manual, teachers share the protocols for their
classroom procedures with their colleagues. Teachers in a school reach a
common consensus on the classroom rules, routines and procedures.
6)Calm is Strength
The focus of this skill is the importance of staying calm, and how to react
when provoked. Breathing practice is important in staying calm. It is
important to place your reaction under voluntary control. This ensures that
you will remain calm in the face of provocation.
7)The Body Language of Meaning Business
The focus of this skill is developing and understanding of Meaning
Business. Meaning Business is the commitment, consistency and the body
language of classroom management.
8)Responsibility Training
The focus of this skill is to implement Responsibility Training, exploit
PAT bonuses, and to build a PAT Bank. PAT stands for Preferred Activity
Time. A PAT Bank is designed for teachers to provide their own activity
ideas and share them with their colleagues. (See Fred Jones Website)
9)Omission Training and Preferred Activity Time
The focus of this skill is to implement Omission Training, and to
piggyback other management agenda onto Responsibility Training using
the Omission Training format. Omission Training is the name generally
given to an incentive system which trains a person or a group not to do
something.
10)Dealing with Typical Classroom Crises
The focus of this skill is to clarify the Small Backup Response Options,
and their functions in preventing crises; and to clarify the Medium and
Large Backup Response Options and the use of the decision ladder in your
school. The Backup Response Option is a series of response to use in case
that subtleties do not prompt a correction in misbehaviour. We use the
Backup System if Omission Training fails.
11) Working the Crowd and Room Arrangement
A good room arrangement makes “working the crowd” easier. An optimal
room arrangement allows you to get from any student to another with the
fewest steps possible. Therefore, you need both compactness and generous
walkways in the arrangement. This requires much planning in the spatial
placement of furniture. Teachers can work together to arrange the
furniture and pathways in their classrooms.
12)Eliminating Backtalk
This skill focuses on staying calm and keeping quiet in the face of
backtalk. It also explains how to respond to unpredictable provocations.
Dr. Jones stresses the importance of practising relaxation when facing
backtalk. Remaining calm and considering options leads to a de-escalation
of the situation.
Meaning Business
Part I – Calm is Strength, Upset is Weakness
Learning to relax takes practice, because we are trying to overcome
the natural reaction of becoming tense. Relaxing involves learning to
breathe properly and calmly, and learning to slow down movements to
signal to students that you are calm and in control.
Part II – The Body Language of Commitment
“By reading your body language, students can read your mind.” Make
sure to discipline before instruction because if students are
misbehaving they are not listening or working. Also, stop whatever
you are doing immediately to signal to the students that you have
committed to dealing with the situation.
Part III – Follow Through and Pseudo-compliance
Pseudo-compliance is when students give the appearance of
complying, then immediately continue misbehaving when you’re not
looking.
Steps to deal with misbehaviour:
Walk: physical proximity – walk over to student’s desk
Visual Prompt: bend over and motion students to turn all the way around in their
seat
Verbal Prompt: ask the student to turn all the way around in their seat. Be
specific.
Monitor with Praise: watch the student until a stable work pattern is observed
while thanking them warmly. Stand slowly and wait a moment before continuing
routine with any other students involved in the disruption.
Follow Through: keep an eye on the student(s) as you slowly move away and
continue to circulate the classroom.
Part IV – Dealing with Backtalk
If you respond to backtalk with silence, the student is eventually
unable to keep the show going because they play off of what we say.
Backtalk, especially nasty backtalk, is the child vying for power. By
allowing the student to push your buttons, you give them power over
you.
Part V – Exceptions to the Rule
When students act in an atypical way, it can tell you a lot about the
child’s life. If you can understand this message, you can begin to deal
with the situation appropriately by adjusting your strategies.
Resources:
http://www.fredjones.com
http://www.educationworld.com