THEORISTS
Spencer Kagan
In the world of behavior management, there are many theorists with a wide variety of ideas on how teachers can best handle behavior management in their classrooms. One such theorist is Spencer Kagan. There are three main pillars to Spencer Kagan's behavior management theory. First of all, Kagan believes in Same-Side conversations. A Same-Side conversation is when the teacher and the student have a clam conversation about the behavior problem that has occurred. In these same side conversations, the teacher listens as the student shares how he or she is feeling and what caused the problem to happen. Also in these conversations, the teacher and the student both talk about their's and other's needs in the classroom. The second pillar of Kagan's theory is that of creating Win-Win collaborative solutions. A Win-Win solution is solution that the student and the teacher come up with together to handle the behavior problem both now and in the future. This is a win for the teacher, since they will not have to deal with the behavior problem any more, and a win for the student because they have learned both that their teacher cares deeply about them and have learned how to make a plan of how to handle themselves next time. The third and final pillar of Kagan's theory is that the goal is always learned responsibility. Kagan believes that students must learn to take responsibility for their own behavior. This means that behavior management responsibilities are shifted from the teacher to the students.
In my classroom, I would especially be interested in implementing the idea of Same-Side conversations. I think that these could be especially helpful with students in the older grades that can help think through the behavior problem and come up with a solution for the next time. I also really like the idea of students being in charge of their own behavior management, since this is much more like what life will be like once students finish school.
To learn more about the specific steps to Kagan's theories, please feel free to take a look a presentation below that a partner and I created.
In my classroom, I would especially be interested in implementing the idea of Same-Side conversations. I think that these could be especially helpful with students in the older grades that can help think through the behavior problem and come up with a solution for the next time. I also really like the idea of students being in charge of their own behavior management, since this is much more like what life will be like once students finish school.
To learn more about the specific steps to Kagan's theories, please feel free to take a look a presentation below that a partner and I created.
Spencer Kagan Behavior Management | |
File Size: | 291 kb |
File Type: | pptx |
Alfie Kohn
Another theorist in the world of behavior management is Alfie Kohn. Alfie Kohn's overarching thought, and the title of one of his DVD's, is that "No Grades + No Homework = Better Learning." According to Kohn, grades and homework turn students off from wanting to learn, so when these things are not used, students can enjoy learning and therefore actually learn better. Another part of Kohn's theory is that students learn best when they learn according to their interests. This means that the content that students learn is connected in some way to things that they are interested in again, so that the students want to learn more and more. Finally, Kohn talks quite a bit about how important it is to build community within the classroom. In communities, students show and receive respect and therefore feel safe and comfortable to learn. This allows for classroom conversations and reflections.
Although I do not think that I will be able to practically not give homework or grades in my classroom, I do like Kohn's ideas about learning according to interests and having community within the classroom. As a teacher, I want to allow students choice in their learning, which allows students to pick the choices that are of the most interest to them. A safe and comfortable classroom environment is also very important to me, because this will allow my students to feel free to converse and ask questions without the worry of someone making fun of them. These are a couple of ideas that I will take from Kohn's theory into my classroom.
To learn more about Alfie Kohn's theories, check out the presentation below, which was created by a couple of my classmates.
Although I do not think that I will be able to practically not give homework or grades in my classroom, I do like Kohn's ideas about learning according to interests and having community within the classroom. As a teacher, I want to allow students choice in their learning, which allows students to pick the choices that are of the most interest to them. A safe and comfortable classroom environment is also very important to me, because this will allow my students to feel free to converse and ask questions without the worry of someone making fun of them. These are a couple of ideas that I will take from Kohn's theory into my classroom.
To learn more about Alfie Kohn's theories, check out the presentation below, which was created by a couple of my classmates.
Alfie Kohn Presentation | |
File Size: | 809 kb |
File Type: | pptx |