DISCIPLINARY INTERVENTIONS
Chapter 3
• Research says that teachers generally believe that
they are not only unprepared to deal with
disruptive behavior, but that the amount of
disruptive behavior in their classes substantially
interferes with their teaching.
• Cotton(1990) has estimated that only about half
of all classroom time is used for instruction, and
disciplinary problems occupy most of the other
half.
• Some people believe that disciplinary actions
in almost any form are not only ineffective but
counterproductive in terms of student
behavior and achievement.
• However, research has found that disciplinary
interventions result in a decrease in disruptive
behavior among almost 80 percent.
Four categories of disciplinary behaviors
1. Reinforcement – recognition or reward for
positive behavior or for the timely cessation of
negative behavior.
2. Punishment – some type of negative
consequences for inappropriate behavior.
3. No immediate consequence – no immediate
consequences for inappropriate behavior but
involves some type of reminder of inappropriate
behavior.
3. No immediate consequence – no immediate
consequences for inappropriate behavior but
involves some type of reminder of inappropriate
behavior.
4. Combined punishment and reinforcement –
recognition or reward for appropriate behavior
in conjunction with consequences for
inappropriate behavior.
• Human beings do best in an environment of
feedback.
• Interventions work!!
• Chart page 31 and 32
Think Time
• A dedicated room where students are sent when
teachers cannot successfully address disruptive
behavior in the regular classroom.
• Teachers follow specific procedures for addressing
inappropriate or disruptive behavior and make every
attempt to do so in the regular classroom.
• Students are sent to the Think Time classroom where
they are expected to analyze and think seriously about
their behavior and do not return to the regular
classroom until they demonstrate that they are aware
of the behavior which led them to the consequences.
Assertive Discipline
• “Interventionist” ideology
1. Makes a sharper distinction between rules
and directions
2. Students off-task behavior is distinguished
between disruptive and non-disruptive
3. Emphasizes positive consequences for
appropriate behavior
4. Negative consequences are kept to a
minimum – the emphasis is on consistency as
opposed to severity
5. Tracking of behavior is a private matter as
opposed to a public matter
Assertive Discipline – Five Steps
1. Establish a positive climate for discipline –
replace negative expectations with positive ones
2. Teachers learn the difference between assertive,
nonassertive, and hostile behavior until it
becomes habitual.
Assertive teacher responses convey disapproval
in a firm, unemotional, businesslike manner and
include a communication of expected behavior.
3. Establish limits and consequences. Signal
students that they are approaching a limit,
give hints to alert students, ask questions,
make demands.
4. Follow through on consequences
5. Implement a system of rewards or positive
consequences for positive behavior.
ACTION STEPS
1. Action Step 1 - Teacher Reaction
• Eye contact
• Physical signal
• Verbal reminder
• Off task but not misbehaving
• Tell them to stop
• Stimulus cueing
• Catch a student doing good(page 36)
2. Tangible Recognition
• Concrete symbol
• Token economies – given and taken away
• Not to be used as some type of bribe or
coercion(page 37)
3. Direct Cost
• Oriented toward negative consequences
• Explicit or direct consequence
• Isolation time out(page 37)
• Overcorrection(page 38)
4. Group Contingency
• Interdependent – every student in the group
meets the behavior criteria
• Dependent – specific individual or group of
individuals within the group to meet the
standard(page 38)
5. Home Contingency
• Home contact is a powerful form of positive
and negative consequence
• Face to face is always better but a phone call
usually works(page 39)
2. Action Step 2 – Establish clear limits for
unacceptable behavior and an effective
system to record these behaviors
• Clear limits are a must
• Set criteria
• Discuss why(page 40)
• Keep records if necessary