Practices
COMMON PRACTICES TO AVOID
There are traditional practices, especially discipline practices, currently being used in schools that are counterproductive to meeting the needs of students:
Managing Behaviour Without Rewards Webinar
Managing Behaviour Without Rewards
Presentation Handout
PROBLEM WITH TIME-OUTS
​
PROBLEM WITH CONSEQUENCES
PROBLEMS WITH CONTRACTS AND REFLECTION SHEETS
PROBLEM WITH REWARD SYSTEMS
PROBLEMS WITH TRACKING SYSTEMS
​
EDITORIAL: Behaviour Management Part I: More Harm than Good? Using the Agenda
Eva de Gosztonyi
From a developmental perspective, I have come to see chronic “inappropriate” behaviour as a sign that the child is experiencing difficulty in certain aspects of his development, indicating emotional immaturity. Or, that the child is being affected by life circumstances over which he has little control and which are causing him to become over-reactive to situations that most children can handle.
​
To read more: https://www.cebm.ca/post/behaviour-management-systems-more-harm-than-good-part-i
Behaviour Management Part II: More Harm than Good? Digital Behaviour Management Systems
Eva de Gosztonyi
As I deepen my knowledge and understanding of the optimum conditions for helping our children reach their full potential, I have come to realize that development comes in a context of rest.
​
To read more: https://www.cebm.ca/post/behaviour-management-systems-more-harm-than-good-part-ii
Rewards are Still Bad News 25 Years Later
Alfie Kohn
The field of social psychology is sometimes accused of doing no more than ratifying common sense, so it’s worth paying attention when its findings are genuinely surprising. Experimental results that challenge entrenched beliefs and practices are even more noteworthy. Case in point: the discovery that when we are rewarded for doing something, we tend to lose interest in whatever we had to do to get the reward. This outcome has been confirmed scores of times with all sorts of rewards and tasks, and across cultures, ages, and genders.
​
To read more: https://www.alfiekohn.org/article/rewards-25-years-later/
The dark side of classroom behavior management charts
By Katie Hurley - The Washington Post
With each new school year come shiny new behavior management systems decorating the walls of elementary classrooms. From sticker charts to clip charts to color cards, teachers choose bright and engaging systems with the hope that a little incentive might lead to improved student behavior. The thing is, these systems rarely work for any extended period of time.
Death to the Behavior Chart! 3 Reasons to Resist the Lure of Punishments and Rewards
By Justin Minkel - Education Week
Imagine this: You’re sitting in a faculty meeting, bored and tired. As your principal talks, gesturing at PowerPoint slides, your mind starts to wander. You furtively pull out your phone and check Facebook, just for a minute. Suddenly your principal’s voice rings out. All heads turn to look at you as she barks your name. “Mr. Minkel! We do not check our phones during faculty meetings! Go change your color.”
What’s wrong with classroom behavior charts: Why shaming backfires
By Gwen Dewar - Parenting Science
Imagine you’re at work when you see it: Your name on the wall, with a note from the boss that everyone can see. Your behavior is “unsatisfactory.” We can think up different versions of this scenario. Maybe it’s a simple visual message – your name pinned to a red traffic light. Maybe your deficiencies are communicated with a more positive spin — “We want to see you improve!”
What’s wrong with classroom behavior charts: Why shaming backfires
By Gwen Dewar - Parenting Science
Behavior charts and similar public shaming methods don't teach self-regulation. They mainly harm vulnerable learners. Mr. Hill stops reading aloud to his 4th grade students and turns to Anisa. "Anisa, you're off task. Change your clip. I asked you once and you are still digging in your desk. Walk over and change it now."
The Trouble with Time-outs
Deborah MacNamara
Time outs have become a popular disciplinary practice, aimed at replacing spanking and broadly supported by health and parenting professionals. Like a magic wand, they seek to immediately change a child’s behaviour but rarely is the question asked, “Why do they work and at what cost to the child? From the naughty chair to sending a child to their room, time-outs typically involve excluding or isolating a child from others and/or activities. Time-outs are hailed as a ‘success’ when a child returns from one willing to listen and behave but what is the long-term impact on a child’s development and their relationship to adults? Based on the last seventy years of research in developmental science, it is clear the reason time-outs ‘work’ is the same reason we shouldn’t use them in the first place.
The Problem with Consequences for Young Children
Deborah MacNamara
If you have a preschooler you will know they don’t pause or think twice before acting or reacting. In the heat of the moment they won’t tell you one part of them wants to scream at you while the other side of them thinks they should use their quiet voice instead. They don’t contemplate or reflect before they act, they are moved by their impulses, emotions, and instincts unless they are following an adult who is directing them. They are like fast cars without any brakes and tricky steering systems.
Do Time-Outs Work? It’s Time to Reframe the Question
Mona Delahooke
Are time-outs an effective strategy for parents to cope with children’s challenging behaviors? Before I studied early childhood development, I occasionally used time-outs with my own children because they were touted as an effective and appropriate discipline technique. Decades later, a debate is raging about whether or not this is true.
Can Rewards and Consequences Make Kids’ Behavior Challenges Worse?
Mona Delahooke
“Martina,” a 7-year-old in a mixed inclusion classroom, wanted to let her teacher know that she was feeling anxious, so she tried to connect with her, repeatedly grabbing at her arm and shirt. The teacher had been trained to ignore “negative” behaviors, so the more Martina grabbed, the less attention she gave her. Her strategy was to reward positive behaviors and provide consequences for negative ones.