ASSERTIVE DISCIPLINE MODEL
 Similar to behavior modification strategies also
CLASSROOM MANAGEMENT
Assertive Discipline: Lee Canter
Lecture 8 & 9
W HAT IS BEING ASSERTIVE?
Being:
 Self-confident
 Self-assured
 Confident
 Firm
 Forceful
 Pushy
ASSERTIVE DISCIPLINE MODEL
 Canter believes that teachers have
traditionally ignored their own needs in
favor of satisfying students’ needs,
assuming that as teachers they are
expected to behave this way
 Teachers also have needs, wants
and feelings as their students do
differs in significant ways
 Behavior modification emphasizes on reinforcing
appropriate behaviors and ignoring inappropriate
behaviors
 Assertive discipline emphasizes on punishing
unacceptable behaviors and rewarding acceptable
behaviors
ASSERTIVE DISCIPLINE APPLIED IN SCHOOL
 Teacher: Chris, I want you to take your seat now and
do your work
 Chris: I’m going to start in a minute
 Teacher: I want you to go to your seat now and do your
work!
 Chris: I’m going to. You don’t make other students
work like you do me.
 Teacher: Chris, you must got to your seat immediately
and start working on your assignment!
 Chris: Just a minute, I have to get some paper from
Jess.
 Teacher: Chris, you must take your seat and go to work
right now or you must come in after school
and do it!
Teachers labour under many other
misconceptions. These include:
 Good teachers should be able to handle
discipline problems without any help from
administrators or parents
 Firm discipline may cause children
psychological harm
 Discipline problem do not persist when
students are provided with activities that satisfy
their need
 Misbehavior is deep seated causes that
teachers can have no influences
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ASSERTIVE DISCIPLINE MODEL
 According to Canter teachers need to change their
indecisive approaches to discipline. First they must insist
their own rights as teachers. These include:
 The right to establish classroom rules and procedures
that produce the optimum learning environment
 The right to insist on behavior from student that meets
teachers’ needs and that encourages the positive
social and educational development of students
 The right to receive help in discipline from both
parents and school administrators
RESPONSE TO MISBEHAVIOR
 Teachers may respond to students’ actions
in one of three ways
 Nonassertive
 Hostile
 Assertive
THE HOSTILE STYLE
 Address students in an abusive way
 Make derogatory remarks and often lose their
temper
 Put down their students
 Sometimes they make overt or implied threats of
violence
ASSERTIVE DISCIPLINE MODEL
 Becoming an assertive teacher involves
becoming forceful and self-assured with
students. The assertive teacher is able to:
◦ Identify wants feelings in interpersonal situations
◦ Verbalize wants and feelings in a straightforward way
◦ Persist in stating wants and feelings
◦ Use a firm tone of voice
◦ Maintain eye contact when speaking
◦ Reinforce verbal statement with congruent nonverbal
gestures
THE NONASSERTIVE STYLE
 Fail to let their students clearly know what they
want and what they will not accept.
 Fail to back up their words with appropriate,
decisive actions
 They threaten the misbehaving student but stop
implementing their threats
 Ignore the unacceptable behavior
THE ASSERTIVE STYLE
 Clearly communicate their wants and
feelings to their students and indicate
willingness to back up their words with
actions if necessary
 Ensures greater compliance with their
demands and expectations
 Establish limits for their students and
enforce them
 Give explicit direction to a child such as “
stop running in the halls and walk” stop
writing on the desk or you will have to sand
and refinish it
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ROAD BLOCKS FOR BECOMING ROAD BLOCKS FOR BECOMING
ASSERTIVE ASSERTIVE
 For most teachers the most common roadblock  Children with such problems can create
to becoming more assertive is their own doubt difficulties for teachers but the problem can be
about their ability to deal with student's behavior managed if teachers are assertive.
problems
 First teachers must

 Some students they feel misbehave of  Realize that such children can be handled in
 Emotional illness the regular classroom
 Hereditary  Must learn to implement assertive discipline
 Brain damage techniques consistently
 Ignorance  Ordinary discipline procedures will not work
 Peer pressure with such children
 Inadequate parenting  With some of these children teachers will have
 Lower socio economic status to be firmer and others may require a lenient
 Or other influences
treatment

ROAD BLOCKS FOR BECOMING ROAD BLOCKS FOR BECOMING

ASSERTIVE ASSERTIVE
 Teachers must realize that they have the right to
set limits and to ensure that children do not  When children have sever behavioral problems
exceed them teachers have the right and responsibility to ask for
help from school administrators and other teachers
 They must get over the fear that children will
develop an aversion to education if teachers set
strict limits

 Children come to school burdened by

emotionally and educationally crippling
environment

 However teachers who allow such children to go

APPLYING ASSERTIVE STEP 1: ESTABLISHING RULES OR

DISCIPLINE EXPECTATIONS
1. Complete all assignments
1. Establish rules or expectations 2. Do your own work
3. Don’t talk without receiving permission
2. Track misbehavior 4. Follow directions
5. Don’t leave the classroom without permission
6. Don’t fight
3. Use punishment to enforce them
7. Don’t swear
8. Sit up straight in your seat
4. Implement a system of positive consequences 9. Keep hands, feet, and objects to yourself
10. Come to class on time
11. Don’t steal

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STEP 2: TRACK
MISBEHAVIOR
 Once students have been informed of teachers
expectations, teachers must follow through to
ensure that their demands are met
WHEN A STUDENT AT PRIMARY LEVEL
BREAK A RULE
1st instance: name on the board – you receive a
warning
2nd instance: one check mark – you lose 10
minutes of free time
3rd instance: two check marks – you lose 20
minutes of free time
4th instance: three check marks – you lose 30
minutes of free time, and your parents are called
5th instance: four check marks – you lose 45
minutes of free time, your parents are called and
you are referred to principal

WHEN A STUDENT AT JUNIOR OR

SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL BREAKS A
TEACHERS MUST ALSO EFFECTIVELY EMPLOY
RULE: PROPER ASSERTIVE LANGUAGE

 1st instance: Name on the board –you receive  Four different methods are used to request
a warning compliance:
 2nd instance: One check mark –you receive a citation -Statements such as “Everyone should be working”
and 45 minutes of detention are hints.
 3rd instance: Two check marks –you receive a - “Would you please get to work?” has a question
citation and detention, and your parents format
are called. -“I want you to open your books and get to work” is an
 4th instance: Three check marks – you receive a I-message.
citation and detention, your parents are - “Get to work now!” is an example of a demand.
called, and you are referred to the
principal - Whenever possible its best to use hints, questions
 5th instance: Four check marks –you receive an in and I-messages to request for desired behaviour.
school suspension

STEP 4: IMPLEMENT A SYSTEM OF

STEP 3: USE PUNISHMENT TO POSITIVE CONSEQUENCES
ENFORCE LIMITS
1. Time out  Personal attention by the teacher
2. Withdrawing a privilege  Positive notes or telephone calls to
3. Detention parents
4. Being sent to principal’s office  Awards
5. Parents may be called on to help  Special privileges
when their children misbehave
 Material reward
6. Send them to another class
 Home rewards
7. Make a tape recording of their
disruptive students  Group rewards

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 If teachers really care about students they should be
prepared to use any necessary and appropriate means to
help children eliminate inappropriate behaviour
 Students will sense this determination in teachers and
quickly conclude that they have no choice but to comply
with the teacher’s expectations
SOME PROBLEMS WITH
PUNISHMENT
 Punishment is not effective in the long run as it does not
eliminate the behaviour as intended
 Punishment leads to three possible outcomes:
 Calculation of risks
 Blind conformity
 Revolt
EFFECTS OF PUNISHMENT
STUDIES IN LABORATORY SETTING
 Punishment can be an effective means of controlling
behavior if certain specific conditions prevail.
◦ Timing
◦ The intensity of punishment and complexity of task
being performed
◦ Escalation
◦ Frequency
SOME PROBLEMS WITH
PUNISHMENT
 Punishment of all kinds provokes resistance and
resentment which children may take out on other people
such as peers
 Punished children feel worse about themselves and resent
those who punish them (Kohn, 1993, p167)
 Research shows that children subjected to physical
punishment tend to be more aggressive than their peers
and are likely to grow up and use violence on their own
children.
 Even “acceptable” levels of punishment may lead to
aggression and unhappiness.
 Calculation of risks involves children spending
their time trying to figure out how they can get
away with something or avoid something
 Children who blindly conform fail to learn self
government. Their wills are broken by
punishment. Such children are prone to accept
what is told unquestioningly (include slogans and
propaganda) and may tend to draw illogical
conclusions
 Children who revolt openly oppose the teachers
influence
STUDIES IN LABORATORY
SETTING
 Punishment can promote
 Aggressiveness
 Revenge
 Withdrawal
 Poor teacher student relationship
 Inhibit learning
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 STRENGTHS AND WEAKNESSES OF
ASSERTIVE DISCIPLINE
 One commonly used kind of punishment advocated  Strengths
by Canter is suspension or expulsion
 It is simple to use

 The personal desire of the teacher can be

enforced

 It involves parents and administrators in

the discipline process

W EAKNESS WEAKNESS
◦ The practice of warning students by putting their
 Advocates suspension for extreme misbehavior
names on the board may entice some students to when far too many children are out on
misbehave who otherwise would not. suspension

◦ Students angered by warnings and sanctions may go

further in their rebellion than they ordinary would.
◦ Students may be embarrassed by having their names
on the board
◦ Fails to promote self-direction in students
 Canter recommends using positive
reinforcement while emphasizing punishment. In
actual practice positive reinforcement is
ordinarily excluded

◦ Fails to deal with underlying causes of discipline  Punishment stimulates rebellion and promotes
the very behavior it is designed to eliminate

Rules
THEORY INTO PRACTICE  Rules that will let students know what behaviours
are expected in the classroom at all times
 School Code of Conduct
 Classroom Discipline Plan
 Consists of three parts  Limited number

 Rules  Rules that are observable. Vague rules are

difficult to apply
 Rewards
 Rules that apply to behaviour only
 Consequences
 Consider involving students in choosing rules

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Positive Recognition Positive Recognition

 Praise  Praise

 Non-verbal  Non-verbal
 Verbal  Verbal

 Tangible rewards  Tangible rewards

 Individual / behaviour certificates etc.  Individual / behaviour certificates etc.
 Class Wide Rewards  Class Wide Rewards

 Special privileges  Special privileges

 Positive notes home  Positive notes home

POSITIVE RECOGNITION
(after Specifying Clear Activity Directions)
Establish a Discipline Hierarchy
 Consistent praise “Catch them being good”
Example:-
1. Warning  Effective praise is personal
2. Move to another place
3. Lose 1 min of break
 It is specific and descriptive
4. Lose two mins break  It must be genuine
5. Fill out a behaviour think sheet
6. Contact the parent
 Effective praise is age-appropriate
7. Head teacher & Parental meeting
8. Severe Clause

USING POSITIVE RECOGNITION TO MOTIVATE

Positive Repetition ( Supportive Feedback)
After giving a “Direction”
Negative Statements
 Stop talking and get back to
work
 Don’t do this. Stop that!
 How many times have I told
you?
 What are you doing?
 You, you and you, you’re not
sitting properly (assembly).
Positive Statements
 Jenny and Danny are sitting up
with their arms folded
 Stephen is lining up by the door
as expected
 Jeff, thank you for having your
eyes on me. Good.
 Well done the people in this
row you are sitting properly.
PUPILS TO BEHAVE
 Positive reminder to reinforce pupils who are not yet
following directions
 Use scanning and circulating techniques and recognise
the appropriate behaviour as you teach
 Make a goal to praise every student sometime
throughout the day
 Use the class-wide recognition system to motivate your
class toward a specific behavioural goal

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 THEORY INTO PRACTICE THEORY INTO PRACTICE
REDIRECTING NON-DISRUPTIVE OFF-TASK
BEHAVIOUR IMPLEMENTING CONSEQUENCES
 Differentiate between disruptive and non-disruptive
behaviour  Calm Assertive Statement

 Non-verbal  Be consistent –provide a consequence every-time a

 “The Look” pupil chooses to disrupt
 Close proximity
 Re-focus pupils who attempt to argue with you
 Verbal
 Use the pupil’s name  Offer the consequence as a CHOICE
 Proximity praise
 Find the first opportunity to praise after child has
 If redirecting is not effective it may be appropriate to provide a
consequence been disruptive

ASSERTIVE DISCIPLINE
DEMONSTRATION
TCorrective
HEORY INTO PRACTICE
Feedback ( What does it sound like?)
 Karen the direction was –to work quietly

 I need you to turn around and work quietly • Use “ broken record” technique
 Karen turn around or you will choose to have a Warning
• Apply a consequence after giving a
 I understand what you are saying but the direction is –to work quietly

 The direction is – to work quietly

 Karen you have chosen to lose 1 min of your break.

“CHOICE”
 That’s neat work Karen and now you’re working quietly and learning.
Thank you.

 [ NEED ALSO FOR FAST TRACK ]