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Watch Your Language! Ways of Talking and Interacting with Students that Crack the Behavior Code by Carmen Y. Reyes, The Psycho-Educational Teacher , is a comprehensive resource (360+ pages) of skilled language-based interventions aimed at improving classroom behavior by improving the way teachers and students relate, placing special emphasis on those strained interactions with students exhibiting habitually disruptive patterns of behavior. Founded on theory and principles in interpersonal communication this interactional approach is rooted in the belief that teachers’ ways of talking play a crucial role in influencing how students behave. In other words, students’ behaviors are a reflection of both the words that teachers use and how we say those words to children. A core belief in interpersonal communication is that high expectations that are goal-oriented influence positive behaviors while low expectations lacking a behavior or academic goal influence negative behaviors. This innov...

Encouraging words are words that aim at building children’s self-confidence or trust in their own abilities to master a skill and to solve their own problems. Children need to understand that it is okay to make mistakes; trial and error are part of the learning process, and this is how we master new and challenging skills. Parents and teachers can encourage children to remain optimistic and positive in their ability to learn new skills or to improve current skills. When the child makes a mistake, simply shifting his/her focus from failure (problem-oriented) to hopefulness (solution-oriented) can do wonders in improving the child’s attitude and self-confidence. We can help children see personal or academic errors and mistakes as both external (not as a personality trait or defining who they are) and controllable ; that is, something that it can be improved through effort and using specific learning strategies . We help children focus on effort by consistently noticing and apprecia...

Parents, teachers and tutors know well that apathetic and unmotivated children represent a problem of almost epidemic proportions in our classrooms, in particular, at the highest-grade levels. The most important question to answer is what a teacher or a tutor can do to motivate a reluctant, apathetic, and/or helpless learner. This is no simple question with an easy answer. One motivational strategy that can help is the use of effort praise . In few words, this is how this strategy works: Minimize the child’s mistakes and praise his effort. Help the child understand that errors and mistakes are part of the learning process, and they are necessary so that learning can take place. It is important that adults pay attention to small changes, so that we can praise those first signs that indicate movement toward the child’s goal (for instance, when we see the child focused and completing the task). Some examples of effort praise are: Your math is improving every day. I’m really gl...

In the psycho-educational field we firmly believe that adult behavior strongly influences child behavior, often creating an emotional atmosphere that is more conducive to noncompliance than to compliance. More specifically, what we say to children and how we say it can either accentuate or de-escalate a behavior problem. Caregivers need to be vigilant of those communicative (i.e. messages) and interactional (e.g. strained adult-child interactions) factors that may inadvertently fuel inappropriate behaviors in children. Next, I share some insights of things we say to children that may be contributing to disruptive behavior at school and at home. Among them, we can find: ·         Creating on-the-spot penalties for misbehavior rather than developing and discussing consequences for negative behavior with children before problem behaviors happen. Children need to know the consequences for misbehavior in advance. ·      ...

To read article, click on link: Teaching Students to Embrace Mistakes | Edutopia

To read this article, click on this link: Praising Kids: “Good Job!” Doesn’t Cut It Anymore, Part 1 | Psychology Today A Call to All Teachers: Proudly announcing our new group for educators worldwide, “ We Teach the World .” Our aim is to connect teachers and related school personnel all over the world, so that we can share much-needed ideas, strategies, and lesson plans as well as all kinds of resources in classroom management and in student discipline. Coordinating our effort worldwide, we can tell each other where to find important resources and information. If you administer a teaching blog or have created educational resources to facilitate our job, you are welcome to share them here. As long as they contribute to education, we want to know of your business. Teachers with questions, post them here; mentors and seasoned teachers, your valuable experience and unique perspective matter to us, so make your voices heard. Because isolated, we teachers are imaginative, resourc...

To read, click on this link: Noticing Positives | Responsive Classroom A Call to All Teachers: Proudly announcing our new group for educators worldwide, “ We Teach the World .” Our aim is to connect teachers and related school personnel all over the world, so that we can share much-needed ideas, strategies, and lesson plans as well as all kinds of resources in classroom management and in student discipline. Coordinating our effort worldwide, we can tell each other where to find important resources and information. If you administer a teaching blog or have created educational resources to facilitate our job, you are welcome to share them here. As long as they contribute to education, we want to know of your business. Teachers with questions, post them here; mentors and seasoned teachers, your valuable experience and unique perspective matter to us, so make your voices heard. Because isolated, we teachers are imaginative, resourceful and resilient, but connected, connected we ...

To read this article, click on link: Offering effective criticism to children and youth NEW! Free or Cheap Books, Worksheets and Lesson Plans for Teachers Finding all kinds of FREE or cheap resources for teachers – Including books, guides, articles, worksheets, checklists, rubrics, activities, projects, lesson plans, and plenty more! Like our FACEBOOK PAGE here to start receiving these unique teaching resources.

To read this article, click on link: Praise that works with praise resistant kids A Call to All Teachers: Proudly announcing our new group for educators worldwide, “ We Teach the World .” Our aim is to connect teachers and related school personnel all over the world, so that we can share much-needed ideas, strategies, and lesson plans as well as all kinds of resources in classroom management and in student discipline. Coordinating our effort worldwide, we can tell each other where to find important resources and information. If you administer a teaching blog or have created educational resources to facilitate our job, you are welcome to share them here. As long as they contribute to education, we want to know of your business. Teachers with questions, post them here; mentors and seasoned teachers, your valuable experience and unique perspective matter to us, so make your voices heard. Because isolated, we teachers are imaginative, resourceful and resilient, but connected, co...

The above popular excuse walks hand-in-hand with another favorite, “Frankie started it.” Kids making this kind of argument are externally-oriented; someone or something out there triggered the behavior. Because it is placed externally (as a trigger or a stimulus), responsibility for the behavior , or the action, falls outside the actor; also known here as the perpetrator. Ingenious teachers and parents best tackle this kind of excuse with an internally-oriented argument or logic. And just for the fun of it, sticking a coercive imposition to the perpetrator’s behavior makes virtually impossible for the child to escape from his or her responsibility in performing the behavior. This is how it works: Teach the actor or perpetrator the meaning of a behavior choice . Follow with an explanation of consequences . Lastly, give examples of threats and intimidation that may coerce people into compliance. Do this as a preemptory measure; that is, before misbehavior happens. When disciplining,...

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To read article, click on this link: The Best Incentive You Could Ever Give — Smart Classroom Management NEW! Free or Cheap Books, Worksheets and Lesson Plans for Teachers Finding all kinds of FREE or cheap resources for teachers – Including books, guides, articles, worksheets, checklists, rubrics, activities, projects, videos, lesson plans, and plenty more! Like our FACEBOOK PAGE here to start receiving these unique teaching resources.

To read this article, click on this link: Education World: Pete Hall: The Power of Positive Phrasing NEW! Free or Cheap Teaching Resources Finding all kinds of FREE or cheap resources for teachers – Including books, guides, articles, worksheets, checklists, rubrics, activities, projects, videos, lesson plans, and plenty more! If it is free or rock-bottom priced, we’ll find it for you! Like our FACEBOOK PAGE here to start receiving these unique teaching resources.

To read, click on this link: 10 Techniques to Shape Children's Behavior | Ask Dr. Sears® NEW! Free or Cheap Teaching Resources Finding all kinds of FREE or cheap resources for teachers, including discounts and sales. Get quick-and-easy access to hundreds of books, guides, articles, worksheets, checklists, rubrics, activities, projects, videos, lesson plans, and plenty more! If it is free or rock-bottom priced, we’ll find it for you!  Like our FACEBOOK PAGE here to start receiving these unique teaching resources.

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