Thomas Gordon

Thomas Gordon: Gordon’s model

Gordon's basic approach is that discipline can not be achieved through either reward or punishment but rather must be developed within the character of the child and teenager. Gordon believes that overt authoritarian discipline was harmful to the children and teens, leading to anti-social and self-destructive behavior. He also doesn't believe in permissiveness and finds this approach to be just as damaging. Rather he goes for a middle of the road strategy with the goal of helping people make decisions that help them control their own behavior Definition/description of theories -The central tenet of Gordon’s approach to classroom management is the importance of developing meaning and mutually beneficial relationships -rejects traditional models of reward and punishment because they are based upon an assertion of power and foster no intrinsic motivation. -focuses on how pupil’s conflicts can be resolved in a way that will improve their relationships with their teacher and peers (Manning and Butcher, 2013) -graphical tool used to identify who owns the problem when someone’s behavior causes a problem or inconvenience. The approaches/strategies the theories offer The Behavior Window: Owning Problems Gordon's classroom management philosophy is based on the behavior window, a framework for problem ownership, he created in the late 1960s as part of parent education. In the classroom, the behavior window is designed to help teachers recognize problems that interfere with classroom instruction and determine ownership for the problems. In the model, problems are owned by either the child, the adult, both parties or no parties. Active Listening: Understanding Messages Integrating the Gordon model into the classroom includes the use of active listening as a strategy for communication between student and teacher. The active listening strategy is employed when the problem belongs to the student; it gives the student an opportunity to express his feelings with the knowledge that the teacher will understand and accept what he's feeling and saying. For example, if a student routinely doesn't complete assignments, instead of creating consequence for the disruption, the teacher would speak with the student privately and listen to the student's reasons for his behavior.

I-Messages: Communicating Teacher Needs When the problem is determined to belong to the teacher -- such that the teacher is not able to perform her job because of interference from a student -- the Imessage strategy is employed. In this strategy, the teacher communicates to the student -- without blame, in a nonjudgmental way -- how the student is causing problems for the teacher. The principle behind this communication strategy is that students will develop a respect for the teacher's right to meet her own needs. For example, if a student routinely disrupts classroom instruction, the I-message would include the teacher's inability to complete her lesson plan and do her job. No-Lose Conflict Resolution In cases where active listening or the I-message strategies don't improve student behavior, Gordon suggests six steps for no-lose conflict resolution. The goal of this process is to find a solution that's acceptable to both student and teacher. The foundation of no-lose conflict resolution should be implemented in classroom language and atmosphere long before any problems appear. Students should know that blame will not be placed and their needs will be listened to and considered. Conversation focuses on concerns rather than sides of the two parties, a practice that can also be implemented in both active listening and Imessages. The six steps to the no-lose conflict resolution are to define the needs of teacher and student, brainstorm solutions, evaluate solutions, choose a solution, implement the solution and check the results.

The strength and weaknesses of the theories Strength -creates mutual respect between the teacher and students *the idea here is that a good leader will not dictate to his followers but come from another angle that create mutual respect. *Teacher are to engage in active listening where they repeat back to the student what the student said, in the teachers own words, to indicate that he understood - foster problem solving skills within the students Weaknesses -The issue is that the student are not yet adults to deal with this approach. (maturity)

*Research shows that the decision making part of their brain is not fully mature for quite some time, making it vital for the teacher to set boundaries and limitations on the students. The practicality of the theories in a local ESL classroom