Curwin and MendlerClassroom Management Strategies

Marjorie Eubanks/ED 565/May2013

Welcome to Mrs. McGillicuty’s Class

1. Work in groups to establish 3 basic principles for our class2. Announce “flag rules” and

create other rules3. Vote on our classroom rules4. Decide on our consequences

for each rule

Discipline with Dignity, 1988

Richard Curwin

Ed D. Amherst University

Taught 7th Grade English to emotionally disturbed

Professor of Education

1995 Spirit of Crazy Horse Award

Articles in Instructor and

Parenting magazines

Allen Mendler

PhD in education from Union Institute

Educator and School Psychologist

25 years of experience developing Discipline with Dignity classroom management strategies for regular and special classrooms

2007 Distinguished achievement award in school management and technology

3 Dimensional Discipline

Focus is on:

-Individual responsibility

-Prevention of potential problems

-Student dignity

-Wise choices and mistakes in a safe environment

Prevention

Resolution

Action

Prevention=The creation of a “social

contract for the classroom

Be consistent

Remind the student which rule has been broken

Use the power of proximity

Use direct eye contact

Use a soft voice

Acknowledge appropriate behavior

Do not embarrass the student in front of their peers

Do not give a consequence when you are angry

Do not except whining, bargaining or complaining

80/15/5 Rule

80% Obey

15% Rule Breakers

5% Out of Control

“The trick of a good discipline plan is to control the 15% who regularly disobey without overregulating the 80%, while not backing the 5% into a corner.” (Curwin and Mendler, 1988)

This calls for

ACTION

Resolution

Individual Behavior Contracts

Can involve parents, guidance counselors, social workers

Is negotiated with the student to find the root of the behavior and prevent future behavior

Pinpoints what the student wants or needs from the class so that disruptive behavior is no longer necessary

Is done in PRIVATE with the student

Should be revisited on a regular basis

What the Critics Say…..

Rule development should be the role of the teacher not the student

Children are not developmentally ready to create rules

Rule development in the older grades seems inappropriate

Too much emphasis on getting students to do what they are supposed to do rather than on what they should be doing

MY question-How do we balance the “management from the first day” approach with this system of rule development?

To use Discipline with Dignity in your classroom you will need to do the following things:

1. Work with students to create classroom principle that reflects the type of classroom you desire.2. Determine the" flag rules“ that you require in your class.3. Establish classroom rules with the students which include the flag rules4. Establish a range of consequences when a rule is broken.5. Evaluate your contribution to misbehavior when it occurs.6. Provide a consequence from the list of choices based on the individual needs of the student.7 Create personal contracts for those students who cannot benefit from traditional consequences.

References

Hardin, C. (2007). Pearson. Effective Classroom Management; Models and Strategies for Today’s Classroom. Chapter 6, Discipline with Dignity.

ULM Classroom Management Wikispaces. Curwin and Mendler. Retrieved from http://ulmclassroommanagement.wikispaces.com/Curwin+and+Mendler

Wikipedia. (2012). Allen Mendler. Retrieved from

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Allen_Mendler

Wikipedia. (2012). Richard Curwin. Retrieved from

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Curwin