The Self, Cognitive and Affectual Negativity, and Tolerance
http://www.theeagleonline.com/news/story/dalai-lama-enlightens-au
Assertive Discipline
What is the purpose of the program?
Introductory video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QFUAe-BMsYY
An "easy-to-learn approach to help teachers become the captains of their classrooms and positively influence their students' behavior" and to help create cohorts of Assertive (not Authoritative, not Timid) teachers.
Is this program intended for school wide use, one classroom, or an individual student?
Primarly Classroom use, but the school (particularly the principal) must participate in some way.
What are the salient elements of the program?
Assertive Teachers have discipline plans, which explains to students what happens when students misbehave, and is applied in classrooms of 25 - 30 students in an attempt to keep the instruction going. Lee Canter suggests a model in which there are a maximum of 5 increasingly punitive consequences. For example, the consequences could look like the following:
Warning (name on the board or other location)
10 minute timeout (one checkmark)
15 minute timeout (two checkmarks)
Phone call to parents (three checkmarks)
Student is dismissed to the principal's office
Canter also strongly encourages the use of positive reinforcement for correct behavior. Specifically, he suggests that students need to establish specific instructions for any given activity, model the appropriate behaviors, ask students to restate the instructions, and then immediately engage the student in the behavior. Students who model the correct behavior should be praised. As a rule, Canter suggests, one should not evoke their discipline plan until the positive behaviors have been reinforced two times.
How is the program implemented? Is special training required for implementation?
No special instruction is required -- the teacher establishes the discipline plan at the beginning of the year and then communicates the plan to students and parents.
What is the research base supporting this program (describe briefly)?
Canter states, in a 1989 article in the journal Phi Delta Kappan, that the system itself was created by observing teachers' behaviors. The system is build around Mr. Canter's observation that effective teachers "taught students how to behave" and mastered skills in positive reinforcement. In this same article, he states that a number of dissertations and masters' theses, as well as reports from school districts, have confirmed the validity of the Assertive Discipline model. Cited studies in the aforementioned Kappan article include Moffet et al (1982), in the California School Board Journal, and a "Discipline Report" (1982) from the Cartwright Elementary School District. More recently, sociologists and psychologists have used the term "Power Assertive Discipline" to describe parenting behaviors that are aggressive and specifically "exemplified by threats, time-out, and physical force, in which direct pressure is exerted on the child to comply with parental demands" (Towe-Goodman & Teti, 2008). However, a recent article on classroom management techniques suggests that a focus on positive reinforcement and consequences that are appropriate to the setting (Malmgren, Trezek & Paul, 2005).
What do you see as strengths of the program?
Potential strength are the obvious clarity and simplicity of the program, and the ability to address students basic need for positive praise (Maslow).
What do you see as drawbacks?
One concern is the generic model that may not be appropriate for students who do not learn appropriate classroom behaviors through modeling, or who may have more severe behavioral issues. The Canters suggest that there is never a "legitimate" reason for misbehavior. Further, the consequences for some students might also be reinforcing to others.
What steps would need to be taken to present this program to a school for consideration or to implement this program in an existing situation?
Since this program is primarily focused on the individual teacher, one could adopt the program simply by developing routine "instructional" modules and the development of a discipline plan, and then communicating these to the students and parents throughout the year. Ideally, the principal should be aware of and supportive of the model.
What are potential obstacles to schools 'buying into' this program, and what would you recommend to reduce or avoid these obstacles?
One major obstacle would be the challenge of implementing the program later on in the year, and for an individual teacher using the same consequences with all students.
What is the cost of the program and where can it be purchased?
You could check a book out of the library.
A new edition of the Canter's book Assertive Discipline can be purchased through amazon.com for $14.95.
"Dr Mac" can come to your school to provide a workshop (his site is listed below).
References
Canter, L. (1989). Assertive Discipline: More than Names on the Board and Marbles in a Jar. Phi Delta Kappan, 71(1). p 57-61..
Canter, L. and Catner, M. (1992). Assertive Discipline: Positive Behavior for Today's Classroom. Canter and Associates, Santa Monica, CA.
Malmgren, K. W., Trezek, B. J., and Paul, P. V. (2005) Models of Classroom Management as applied to Secondary Classrooms. The Clearing House, 79 (1). p. 36-39.
McIntyre, T. (no date). Dr. Mac's Behavior Intervention Site, accessed 12 October 2009 from http://www.behavioradvisor.com/
Towe-Goodman, N.R. and Teti, D. M. (2008) Power Assertive Discipline, Maternal Emotional Involvement, and Child Adjustment. Journal of Family Psychology, 22(4), p 648–651.