Discipline for Smart People    

The following e-mail was sent to me:”I am quite interested in the concept of intrinsic motivation and thought the process for raising responsibility in the classroom, as you discuss in your book, was certainly a strategy to be experimented with. I am aware that your ideas are based on research, specifically that of Deci. Has the strategy been tested in the sense of a research study?”

My response:

People who have implemented my teaching model have given testimonials, as you can see on my website. However, I do not see how the model can be evaluated with any amount of accuracy. There are just too many variables as can be seen on the Discipline Without Stress Teaching Model.

Each of the following categories would need to be implemented for a valid evaluation:

I. Procedures:
• Were the procedures for what was expected taught, practiced, and reinforced?

II. Principles to Practice:
• Was the teacher positive in communications?
• Where choices offered or did the student feel coerced?
• Did the teacher prompt interests and motivation by reflective questions?

III. Raise Responsibility System:
• Did the students learn the Hierarchy of Social and Personal Development?
• Did the teacher check for understanding when a misbehavior occurred?
• Did the the teacher elicit a consequence or a procedure if irresponsible behavior continued?

IV. Increasing Achievement:
• Did the teacher share examples of the levels before an activity and have students take a moment to reflect on their chosen level after the activity?

For example, if the hierarchy of the Raise Responsibility System is simply taught—but not made specific to the classroom, or if the teacher is negative or coercive in communications—then the model could not be evaluated with validity or reliability because the model would not have been properly implemented.

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Posted In: Discipline without Stress On: September 18, 2007: 8:36 am: By Marvin Marshall

Keep your thoughts positive because your thoughts become your words.Keep your words positive because your words become your actions.

Keep your actions positive because your actions become your habits.

Keep your habits positive because your habits become your values.

Keep your values positive because your values determine your life.

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Posted In: Increasing Effectiveness On: : 8:12 am: By Marvin Marshall