Nonverbal Communication and Discipline

Discipline problems are a given when it comes to teaching and having a prescribed course of action can minimise or even prevent disruption to the class, which of course facilitates learning. There are three tiers of coping skills that teachers can employ to tackle problem behaviour that are hierarchically ordered from least to most disruptive to the learning environment. We will only be looking at the first tier which is nonverbal interventions, the second tier is verbal intervention and the last tier is the consequences tier. All the tiers are themselves arranged in a hierarchical order too from least to most disruptive the first of which is planned ignoring.

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7fr中国英语学习网

 7fr中国英语学习网

Planned Ignoring:

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This technique is based on negative reinforcement/punishment, it works off the premise that if a behaviour is being reinforced by a teacher’s attention, then removing that attention will put an end to the behaviour (extinction). There are limitations to this technique, as one can imagine ignoring a student whistling in class is going to be difficult that is why planned is emphasised. The behaviour must be compatible- with the technique an example would be not having books out on the desk or shouting out answers without raising a hand. If the procedure is working there will be a sharp rise in the frequency of the problem behaviour, known as an extinction burst, this is also a side affect that must be considered when using planned ignoring. If the behaviour is incompatible with this technique or it is being reinforced by other students then the teacher should move on to the next stage, signal interference.

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 7fr中国英语学习网

Signal Interference:

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Is any type of nonverbal communication that communicates to the student that their behaviour is inappropriate and can be hierarchically structured from a gentle look to pointing a finger etc…

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 7fr中国英语学习网

Proximity Control:

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Is any movement towards the off task student, it can be hierarchically structured from walking towards the student to conducting the class from the students desk.

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 7fr中国英语学习网

Touch Control:

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This could take the form of taking a student by the hand back to their seat or a tap on the shoulder. Caution should always be administered when using touch control as different cultures and ages have different norms when it comes to touching.

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 7fr中国英语学习网

Shirley et al (1985), found that after a couple of hours in-service training 53 teachers were able to curb 523 problem behaviours by 40% using nonverbal intervention. Five percent by planned ignoring, 14% for signal interference and 12% and 9% for proximity and touch control respectively. The value of mastering this techniques is evident on the success of this study however teachers should not only be aware of there uses of nonverbal communication, they should also be aware of the varying level of it children have at different stages of development.

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 7fr中国英语学习网