Session 4
Bill Rogers - Decisive Discipline

Bill Rogers is a widely acknowledged classroom management consultant who provides regular workshops around Australia and also in the UK and USA on ways to manage student behaviour. His strategies draw on a wide range of instructional designs from teacher-centred approaches like those outlined by Fred Jones (more) and Jacob Kounin (more) to humanist, student-centred approaches in the style of Haim Ginott (more).

If you missed the lecture this week then you will need to use the powerpoint and the edustream presentation (on the eLearning site) to get a better idea of the approaches Rogers uses. In summary, he provides a clear structure for schools and classrooms based on his 4 Rs - Right, Responsibilities, Rules and Routines. While using this structure he maintains an over-riding emphasis on the need for teachers to be respectful and empathic to the needs of students, using humour and a good command of communication skills to redirect students back to the classroom structure and to ensure that relationships remain positive and productive through whatever events may occur in the classroom. (full handout)

The function of rules is clearly articulated in Rogers approach. Rules are there to enable the rights of students and teachers to be respected. They are directly linked to the rights and responsibilities of the students and teachers within the school and classroom. When rules are used they are not articulated in a framework of right and wrong but as a guide on how to respect the rights of others. This is an important determinant in setting the 'tone' of the classroom.
One key to managing student behaviour is the avoidance of reacting to secondary behaviour. Students are experts at distracting teachers (and parents) from the initial instruction or question given. By questioning, answering back, defending, ignoring . . they can begin escalating an issue to the point where the initial reason for the interaction is forgotten. Rogers emphasises staying with the orginal issue even if it means being a 'broken record' and repeating the initial request over and over or just simply restating the rule and initial expectation.
From your experience create some scenarios of difficult behaviour you could expect from students and then use the list of interventions outlined by Rogers to plan how you woud address these situations. Look at a variety of possible responses from both the teacher and the student. If you are game, try out your responses in short role plays.
List of interventions
Full outline of interventions
(Interactive PDF)
Alternatively (or additionally) use the link to have a look at ways of addressing five particular types of student characteristic - Chatterbox . . . Boycotter . . . Debater . . . Sulker . . . Clinger. Discuss the problems that might be encountered in using the suggested strategies and the issues you might face personally applying these approaches. What steps can you use to overcome these?
Chapter 11 - Creating learning environments: Pages 427 - 454
Chapter 12 - Teaching for learning: Pages 460 - 504