improving school behaviour by Chris Watkins and Patsy Wagner
improving school behaviour by Chris Watkins and Patsy Wagner
I had hoped this book would expand upon an input/output model of behavior, and while it acknowledges the model, it doesn't give you a rubric for analysis other than the behavior questionnaire below.
Take any behaviour you like, which you think people would agree was difficult or deviant in a particular situation: you can always think up another situation in which it would not be seen as such. Whether a particular act is regarded as deviant varies in a range of ways... I hope we get input/output model out of this
Some teachers expressed astonishment when pupils were exceptionally resistant to teacher influence despite an apparently supportive home background. They were equally surprised if model pupils were inadvertently revealed to live under adverse home circumstances. Faced with a rebellious or uncooperative pupil, teachers were often prepared to assume that there be something wrong at home even if no evidence was immediately available. It's not me, it's you...
Good diagnosis leads to good intervention, and most good interventions demonstrate the same level of uniqueness as the situations they address. What will happen when we monitor students' cortisol levels? Will better monitoring yield better balanced kids?
True proactiveness comes from seeing how we contribute to our own problems.
The individual with the greatest flexibility of thought and behaviour can and generally will control the outcome of any interaction.
Give a clear statement of what you want...
stick to your statement, repeating it as necessary
deflect the other person's responses... prefacing your restatement with a short recognition of their view
Diagnostic behaviour questionnaire:
- What do they do that causes concern?
- What precipitates the action?
- When does it not occur?
- Who else is involved and what expectations do they have?
- What do they gain from the action?
- Which strategy worked?