Every
day as millions of students go to school, their parents and caretakers hope
these young people will be treated with care, valued, inspired, and educated.
Students hope they will get along with their peers and teachers, have their
work measure up, and enjoy the process of learning. These hopes define positive
classrooms for parents and students.
Unfortunately,
the accountability requirements of No Child Left Behind have created a
different definition of positive classrooms for many educators. For them,
positive classrooms have come to mean places where students arrive at school
ready to learn; work diligently to master academic standards (particularly math
and reading); go home and accurately complete homework; and return to school
the next day eager to learn more. Often, teachers are so focused on ensuring
that students pass achievement tests that they have little or no time to
address students' social and emotional needs.
1. Make Learning Relevant
Students are more engaged in
learning and retain knowledge better when they see that it is relevant and
vital to their own success and happiness. By discovering students' talents,
learning styles, and interests, teachers can adjust teaching methods and strategies.
By giving students a say in how the classroom operates, teachers increase
students' sense of ownership in the education process.
2. Create a Classroom Code of
Conduct
A positive and productive classroom
requires a common understanding of positive and negative behaviors. To
establish this understanding, teachers ask students to identify the ways they
like to be treated. This discussion elicits lists of behaviors that are
respectful, fair, kind, and empathetic. Together, teacher and students conclude
that treating others the way you want to be treated is the best code of
conduct, and they agree that this code will dictate the behaviors that are
appropriate for their classroom.
3. Teach Positive Actions
We need to teach students positive
behaviors in a thorough, consistent, systematic way; we cannot assume that
students just know them. The Positive Action curriculum covers the following
concepts.
§ The importance of doing positive actions to feel good about
yourself.
§ Positive actions for a healthy body (such as nutrition,
exercise, and sleep).
§ Positive actions for the intellect (such as thinking,
decision-making, and problem-solving skills).
§ Positive actions for self-management (such as managing time,
energy, emotions, and other personal resources).
§ Positive actions for getting along with others (such as
treating others fairly, kindly, and respectfully).
§ Positive actions for being honest with yourself and others
(such as taking responsibility, admitting mistakes, and not blaming others).
§ Positive actions for improving yourself continually (such as
setting and achieving goals).
4. Instill Intrinsic Motivation
People need to feel good about
themselves. In the Positive Action program, teachers help students understand
that people are likely to feel good about themselves when they engage in
positive actions. The program explains a three-step process for choosing
positive actions: First, we have a thought; second, we act consistently with
the thought; third, we experience a feeling about ourselves based on the action.
That feeling leads to another thought, and the cycle starts again. With
practice, students learn that if they have a negative thought, they can change
it to a positive one that will lead to a positive action and a positive feeling
about themselves—a powerful intrinsic motivator.
With repeated reinforcement by the
teacher, this simple explanation helps students understand and improve their
behavior in any situation.
5. Reinforce Positive Behaviors
Teachers can strengthen intrinsic
motivation by recognizing and positively reinforcing positive actions when they
see them. Recognition activities and items—such as tokens, stickers, and
certificates—can be effective. But when teachers or other staff use this
strategy, it's important that they recognize the positive behavior, ask how it
made the student feel, and tell the student the extrinsic reward is a reminder
of that good feeling. When students make the connection between their
performance and feeling good about themselves, intrinsic motivation is enhanced
and positive behaviors continue.
6. Engage Positive Role Models
Families and community members are
concerned about their children's welfare, often want to be engaged in their
children's education, and have resources to offer. Educators can integrate them
into many classroom and school activities, such as curriculum activities,
assemblies, committees, after-school events, and homework.
7. Always Be Positive
Perhaps the most important strategy, yet often the most
difficult to carry out, is to be positive—from classrooms to playgrounds,
during school and after. There is always a positive way to respond to a
situation. A positive attitude is the change agent that will create positive
classrooms and schools that produce happy and successful students.
A Research-Based Program
It is challenging to implement all
of these seven strategies continuously and well. For schools looking for a
tool, the Positive Action program is one proven approach. The program provides
an easy-to-use curriculum for teachers at
each grade level; a principal
component for developing school climate; and kits to facilitate the involvement
of counselors, families, and communities.
Instilling intrinsic motivation is something educators need to pay more attention to. I've found that trying to "make" students become more intrinsically motivated is not very effective. I really like the explanation of the 3 step process that leads to a cycle of positive thoughts, positive actions, and positive feelings.
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