Dr. Marvin Marshall on Education and Parenting

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Research on Internal vs. External Motivation (PBIS)

October 20, 2011 By

I received the following excerpt from a doctoral dissertation and reproduce it with the author’s permission:

“As you can tell from the dissertation excerpts I sent you, I have thoroughly researched your approach to discipline, as well as countless others. Unfortunately, the many other more traditional approaches have failed us as educators. I spent the past nine years in administration trying to make a difference in public education.

“But more importantly, I wanted to impact the course of public education positively. Catching kids doing something good and then reinforcing those acts by positive rewards is a component of Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS) that I experienced firsthand. As a matter of fact, I was delighted to spend my first two years in administration implementing a Positive Behavior Support (PBS) model in a Pennsylvania school district that was designated as one of only three districts in the state to field such a model with grant money for that specific purpose. I soon realized that any system of external manipulation or extrinsic positive rewards in a school utilizing the PBS model becomes outdated and ineffective. I discovered how some of the rewards can become negatives.

“Research certainly indicates that rewards or extrinsic motivations (as I write on page 73 of my dissertation– using “A’s,” praise, and other rewards) were ineffective over an extended period of time. These methods were counterproductive to the desired educational goals. Change should come from internal motivation. No artificial incentive can match the power of intrinsic motivation.”

–from a dissertation presented to the faculty of the School of Human Services Professions, Widener University, in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree Doctor of Education by Joseph F. Cortese, February, 2008

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When to Teach the Raise Responsibilty Sytem

September 6, 2011 By

QUESTION:

I had the pleasure of hearing you speak in New Orleans. Thank you for your encouraging words.

I am a fourth grade teacher who desperately wants to move away from students only working for rewards, which is the nature of “behavior plans” at my school. After implementing a few of your strategies in my classroom, I am pleased with the way my students have responded. Because I, and all their previous teachers, have used rewards, I am unsure how the students will react if I do away with all tangible rewards.

———

MY RESPONSE:

Use principle two, CHOICE, of the THREE PRINCIPLES TO PRACTICE of the Discipline Without Stress Teaching Model.

Rather than stopping the use of rewards, give your students the CHOICE. It sounds like the following: “For those of you who still feel that I need to reward you for doing what you should be doing, let me know and I will do so. For those who believe that you are mature enough not to need such rewards, you will find your efforts so much more satisfying.”

Once students—of any age—understand the difference between Level C (EXternal motivation) and Level D (INternal motivation), they quickly realize that token rewards are given to manipulate them.  They quickly lose interest in receiving such rewards.

———

The communication continued:
Do you think it is possible to make such large changes in my classroom late in the year? Or would I do better to make small changes this year, and start next year fresh without punishments and rewards?

———

MY RESPONSE:

Start NOW!

The students only need to know the four levels of social development. You can teach the hierarchy in one setting by just sharing the vocabulary concepts and then having students give examples of what each level would look like in your classroom. Study the SIGNIFICANT POINTS of the Raise Responsibility System.

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How Positive Behavioral Intervention and Supports Backfires

August 25, 2011 By

The following was posted at the mailring DisciplineWithoutStress hosted by yahoo groups.com:

I just wanted to quickly relay a rewards-based disaster.

One of our seventh-graders, in fact, the daughter of a teacher, recently wanted to go to the Positive Behavioral (and Intervention) Support (PBS) reward dance. She is an A honor roll student, never a discipline problem, and a wonderful kid. In the haste of “bribing” misbehaving students to be good, we neglected to “reward” her for doing what she had motivated herself to do. Long story short, she did not have enough PBS tickets to go to the dance. How horrible!!

Looks like rewards systems don’t quite cover the good kids as well as they should. Good thing that they are intrinsically motivated and feel good about the fact that they are great kids and their teachers love them!

———

A response post:

Your experience really points out what I think is a big problem with any reward-based behaviour program—the fact that the goal of the program (often not clearly stated) is simply to get kids to behave. When the goal is obedience, then the program isn’t truly too worried about the kids who are already obedient. Then things happen—just as they did in your school where a wonderful child is left feeling terrible. Of course, no one intended for that to happen but still that’s often the result.

That’s why I feel so strongly about DISCIPLINE WITHOUT STRESS. The goal is to raise everyone, not just those who are a big problem—so the program can focus on all kids. That’s what I love: EVERY kid gains. Some gain by bringing them up to Level C, while those who are already there gain, too. They learn about Level D, which is such a valuable understanding for living the rest of their lives. No other program that I’m aware of provides this understanding.

Thanks for participating on our mailring!

Kerry in British Columbia, Canada

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Eliciting Procedures

July 26, 2011 By

The question was asked: “How can I talk to my students or help them to change without their leaving the classroom?”

Kerry responded:

In my primary classroom, the kids aren’t yet able to read or write well enough to do written activities and in my high school job at the alternate school, having students write about their behavior would be seen as too negative. The type of student we have there would simply get up and leave the school, or more likely, just swear at us.

I think that a student can be given a fresh start each day provided that the same type of action doesn’t keep being repeated. In other words, when a particular type of behavior has been dealt with once, the student is expected to maintain a higher level of behavior with regard to that type of situation from then on.

Remember, the power of the system comes from eliciting solutions from the student. If a student has completed a self-referral on one day, I would elicit—right at that moment—what should happen if the behavior does not improve. I would have the student come up with a suggestion for how the situation should be dealt with if the student chose to misbehave in the same way again. This takes the responsibility and stress off the teacher and places it on the student where it belongs. If a student doesn’t come up with any suggestion(s), you can provide a number of them yourself or you can describe ideas based on what you have seen other students choose in the past.

In some cases, the student simply needs a procedure. For example, a few years ago my teaching partner and I had a student who was undergoing tests to determine whether or not he had some form of autism. In the beginning of the year, he was often the last student entering the school after recess or lunch—late by five or ten minutes. Apparently, he had had this habit much of the previous year in Kindergarten, too. Although at first we were annoyed and sometimes even angered by this behavior, we calmed down and decided that rather than getting angry, it would be better to help him by giving him a procedure to follow. In the end, it was actually very easy.

First, we had a discussion about the fact that when he came in late, we might seem angry, but really we were worried, not angry. We were worried for his safety. We asked him if he understood why it was important to come in on time, but he honestly didn’t seem to know. We had to explain that we were worried that if he was out in the back of the school, as he typically was when the bell rang, there would be no adults to supervise him. We explained that someone could drive by, see him, and actually take him away. We would hate for that to happen! (He didn’t like the sound of that idea either.)

We didn’t do this to threaten him through fear but simply to help him understand the seriousness of the situation. He really didn’t understand why there should be a concern about coming in late. Then we gave him a procedure: When the bell rang, he was to run to the school door. If he didn’t hear the bell but noticed all the other kids running, that also would be a sign that he should run, too. That did it. After that when the bell sounded, he ran and was rarely ever late.

Here’s another example: We set up a meeting with the counselor and a concerned mother. Part way through the meeting when three teachers, a counselor, and the mother were all feeling discouraged (because we couldn’t think of anything to do with this challenging child), he appeared at the door, and so we invited him to join us. Again, after going around in circles for some time with this very bright boy who would never ever own up to any blame in any situation, the counselor suggested that we focus on just one troubling behavior. The teachers suggested that it be his “noises” that often destroyed lessons for everyone. With five adults sadly looking at him, he agreed that, yes, he could work on this issue in the next couple of weeks. The counselor wisely planted the suggestion that if he could work to get this one behavior under control, many of his other issues would likely just fall into place quite easily.

The counselor suggested that the student begin a “Noise Journal” which he would keep on his desk. In effect, the counselor suggested a procedure.When the student made a noise, the teacher would give him a signal to fill in the ending to a pre-printed sentence starter that would allow him to think about what had prompted the noise.

He wrote things like:
–I made a noise because I was thinking about being out on the playground.
–I made a noise because I wanted to make Chris laugh.
–I made a noise because I copied Nolan.

As well, there were other sentence starters that said, “I thought about making a noise but didn’t because….”

By reflecting and thinking more carefully about what he had chosen, he was able to stop himself. The counselor made it very clear that the journal was not a punishment but rather a way for the student to help himself reduce his impulses and habit of making noises. It only took a week or so and this child’s behaviour improved. He realized that his behaviour was a choice over which he had control

—–

More suggestions from Kerry regarding challenges are available at her blog.

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New York Times Reports on Discipline in Schools

July 21, 2011 By

The New York Times reported in the Education section on July 19, 2011: “School Discipline Study Raises Fresh Questions.”

The article raised questions about the effectiveness of school discipline. A study found that 31 percent of Texas students were suspended off campus or expelled at least once during their  middle and high school years at an average of almost four times for each student.

The article reported, “In the last 20 to 25 years, there have been dramatic increases in the number of suspensions and expulsions,” said Michael Thompson, who headed the study as director of the Justice Center at the Council of State Governments, a nonpartisan group.

The findings are “very much representative of the nation as a whole,” said Russ Skiba, a professor of school psychology at Indiana University who reviewed the study along with several other prominent researchers.

Almost 15 percent of students, a vast majority of whom had extensive school disciplinary files, had at least one record in the juvenile justice system, according to the report.

One superintendent said the data showed that “suspensions are a little too easy.”

An aphorism comes to mind: Insanity is doing the same thing repeatedly and expecting different results.

Such is the case for more punishments!

If I didn’t see it repeatedly occurring, I wouldn’t believe that educators in this 21st century still espouse outmoded, coercive, negative, and victimhood-producing effects and then expect young people to become more responsible.

If educators didn’t know of a more effective approach, I might understand. However, there is a better, more effective approach. And it’s all free. See the website.

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Guided Choices of the Raise Responsibility Systdem

July 19, 2011 By

I received the following that refers to  the Raise Responsibility System.

“When using GUIDED CHOICES, I am  having difficulty understanding why a student acting up each day gets a fresh start daily. Do I really have to stick to this? I’ve had several students that I’ve given the essay to three days in a row. They say that they will commit to changing their behavior but apparently they do not. I’m getting frustrated with the same kids and the same behavior daily. Couldn’t I just hold onto the essays and after three give them a self-referral?”

I responded to the teacher that I have moved away from using the forms to a more effective approach of ELICITING A PROCEDURE OR CONSEQUENCE to help the student help her/himself. The reasoning is quite simple: People do not argue with their own decisions.

When a consequence or a procedure is elicited, the person has ownership. A person becomes more responsible when given the choice in a positive manner and is actuated to reflect and plan for the future. Since the past cannot be changed, planning for the future is much more effective in changing behavior.

Many teachers and parents overpower the young person by imposing. When something is imposed, the young person often feels like a victim and feels resentment.

Eliciting is so much more effective. Start by asking young people if they would rather be treated as individuals or as a group. They will prefer to be treated as individuals and have ownership in the decision that affects them. Using the procedure of ELICITING is in each person’s best interest and, by the way,  is  fair—while imposing the same consequence on all parties is not..

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Classroom Management and Discipline

June 28, 2011 By

Much confusion exists between classroom management and discipline. Most education experts and professors of education treat the two as if they were synonymous.

Discipline is the student‘s responsibility and has to do with self-control and impulse-management. In contrast, classroom management is the teacher‘s responsibility and has to do with teaching procedures and making instruction efficient.

To assist in the clarification between the two, I have added a link entitled, “CLASSROOM MANAGEMENT” to my website. The description page describes six links:

1. “Curriculum, Instruction, Management, and Discipline”
–Understanding the differences can pinpoint the cause of a problem.

2. “Rules”
–Rules are meant to control, not inspire. Rules are necessary in games, but between people they immediately create adversarial relationships. This link describes a much more effective approach than using “rules” to promote responsible behavior.

3. “Impulse Control”
–This site can be your most significant source for influencing young people to behave appropriately and responsibly.

4.”Procedures to Consider”
–Shares examples of PROCEDURES, the key to successful classroom management.

5.”Attention Management”
–Shares a simple visual and a procedure for quickly obtaining students’ attention.

6. “Positive Classroom Management”
–Shares an interview about discipline and positive classroom management.

A clear understanding of the differences between discipline and classroom management is the first step in becoming more effective.

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Stopping Confrontations Immediately by Using the Hierarachy

June 16, 2011 By

Someone wrote the following:

“I am teaching at an urban middle (6-8) charter school in Indianapolis. It is the first year, and the school has expelled a number of kids. I am on a temporary assignment (3 weeks). My teacher friend has adapted the, “They are not serious about their education” approach and has a dumbed down curriculum.

“I have had success in simply using the hierarchy when I was struggling with teaching middle school. So I taught the hierarchy. In order to bring the class to order, I used a whole class approach of stating the number of students not at levels C or D and then stating the behaviors being displayed as being either A or B behaviors.

“This immediately stopped the need for calling out individual names and the inevitable confrontations.”

The reason that the teacher had immediate success was that she prompted students to reflect as to their choice on the Hierarchy of Social Development.

The hierarchy allows people to label and reflect:
(A) Am I CHOOSING to BEHAVE on a level of narcissism (only being interested in myself and thereby fostering ANARCHY)?

(B) Am I CHOOSING to BEHAVE on a level of BULLYING OR BOSSING where I am making my own rules?

(C) Am I CHOOSING to be MOTIVATED by what is expected of me by others (EXternal motivation)? or

(D) Am I CHOOSING to be MOTIVATED by what is the right thing to do (INternal motivation)?

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Implementing Discipline Without Stress

June 14, 2011 By

I received the following communication:

Dear, Dr. Marshall,

I am a Special Education teacher at a high school with the Pittsburgh Public School District. I’m currently enrolled in Gannon University of Erie, Pennsylvania in a graduate program of curriculum & instruction.

During the course of “Discipline and Classroom Management,” I viewed a small portion of your video. In addition, I’ve read a little of your literature regarding “The Raise Responsibility System” and I think it is fantastic.

I intend to study your approach to fostering intrinsic motivation and responsibility for my students. Do you provide an individual package for teachers as opposed to your package for an entire school’s staff, or can you direct me as to what are the essential components of your model necessary for implementation in my classroom?

Thank you in advance for your time and consideration,

==========

Dear (name),

The In-House Staff Development http://www.marvinmarshall.com/In_House_Package.html was created for schools to conduct their own staff development (and for me to reduce my traveling). For you, as an individual special education teacher, I suggest focusing on the following sites:

http://www.marvinmarshall.com/teaching_model.html Print this and keep it handy. Learn all of its parts. The next site will help you with this.

http://www.marvinmarshall.com/special-education.htm Create visions and pictures of what you want your students to do—instead of what you do not want them to do.

http://www.marvinmarshall.com/impulsemanagement.html Create or purchase the two posters—one with the levels of the hierarchy and the other with the impulse management displayed. Post them. Practice some procedure for redirecting distracting thoughts.

http://www.marvinmarshall.com/hierarchy.htm Study this link carefully. Focus on the differences between levels C and D—not between the acceptable and unacceptable levels.

After you have downloaded these links, plan on spending 5-10 minutes a day in front of a mirror or with another person verbalizing out loud the important points from each of the four links above. Do this at least four (4) times to be comfortable, really understand, and easily verbalize the essential points.

This will be successful for you and for the good you will be doing with and for your students.

Marv Marshall

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Free Books and Staff Development for USA Schools

May 10, 2011 By

The mindset of current educational approaches regarding student behavior unfortunately focuses  on obedience, which turns out to be a common source of reluctance, resistance, resentment, and even rebellion. Simply stated, OBEDIENCE DOES NOT CREATE DESIRE.

However, when the focus is on promoting responsibility, obedience follows as a natural by-product. The reason is that motivation to be responsible requires a DESIRE to do so. The motivation must be INTERNAL.

Many schools use EXTERNAL motivation of stimulus-response psychology in the form of rewards, threats, and punishments. However, these approaches (a) foster compliance rather than commitment, (b) require an adult presence for monitoring, (c) set up students to be dependent upon external agents, and (d) do not foster long-term motivation for responsibility. In addition, when students start collecting rewards—as in Positive Behavior Support approaches (PBIS)—they start competing to see who can receive the most number of rewards. Since rewards change motivation, one will never know whether people are acting responsibly to get the reward or whether their motivation is to do right because doing right is the right thing to do.

My continuing efforts are devoted to changing the educational mindset away from using external and manipulative approaches. A less stressful and more effective approach is to motivate young people so that they WANT to behave responsibly and WANT to put forth effort to learn.

With this in mind, I have founded  a NONPROFIT ORGANIZATION, “DISCIPLINE WITHOUT STRESS, Inc.” The organization’s mission is to promote responsible behavior and reduce apathy toward learning, especially (but not limited to) low socio-economic poorly performing schools. This will be accomplished by donating books and staff development to qualifying schools that are interested in THE DISCIPLINE WITHOUT STRESS TEACHING MODEL.

Applications for any USA school are available at the organization’s website.

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