Chapter Four: Developing Your Own Beliefs

Developing Beliefs about Influencing Students

  • Theoretical approaches help teachers form beliefs about student and teacher behavior.
  • Teachers use authority to influence behavior.
  • Influence techniques should align with beliefs about learning and development.

Prereading Activity

  • Describe understanding of the implications of the principles for a classroom teacher.

    • Principle one
    • Principle two
    • Principle three
Prereading Questions
  1. Is there a universal model for all teachers and students? How to justify the answer?
  2. What tools do teachers have to influence appropriate behavior?
  3. What are key beliefs about influencing student behavior?

Introduction

  • Teaching can be threatening and frustrating.
  • Teachers often seek quick fixes instead of systematic plans.
  • Successful teachers use plans rooted in their beliefs about teaching and learning.
Case 4.1: The Tricks of the Trade Approach
  • Miss Judy Nepp, a first-year teacher, struggles with a sixth-grade developmental reading class.
  • Students show disinterest, laziness, immaturity, and rebellious behavior.
  • Miss Nepp spends most of her time yelling and reprimanding.
  • She avoids administrators due to evaluation fears and seeks help from Miss Hoffman.
  • Miss Hoffman advises keeping the whole class for detention.
  • Miss Nepp is worried about fairness and parent objections.
  • Miss Hoffman assures her of support from the principal, Dr. Croppa.
  • Miss Nepp feels trapped and decides to follow the advice.
  • She threatens detention for the entire class for one more disruption.
  • A student yells an epithet, leading to class-wide detention.
  • Many students complain about unfairness, which Miss Nepp dismisses.
  • Dr. Croppa informs Miss Nepp of a meeting with the Pency family.
  • Miss Nepp admits her actions were unfair, and Dr. Croppa suggests calling off the detention.
  • Miss Nepp worries about appearing weak but decides to rescind the punishment.

Multiple Models and Techniques

  • Many techniques exist for promoting positive student behavior.
  • Effectiveness is context-dependent, influenced by the teacher and students.
  • Techniques are based on belief systems about human behavior.
  • Teachers must find influence prototypes consistent with their beliefs.

Ensuring Effective Behavior Management

  1. Develop and articulate basic beliefs about influencing student behavior.
  2. Create a systematic plan for promoting positive behavior and addressing inappropriate behavior.
  3. Prioritize options in a hierarchical format.

Philosophical Approaches

  • Overview of philosophical approaches to influencing student behavior.
  • Grouped under teacher authority bases and theories of teacher influence.
  • Awareness of the connection among theories and authority bases is important.
  • Teachers can examine their instructional plans by comparing their beliefs with authority bases and theories.

Teacher Authority Bases

  • Based on French and Raven's work (1959), Bertram Raven (2008).
  • Identified six types of authority.
  • Effective teachers match authority types with their beliefs.
  • Consistency between beliefs and behaviors is crucial.
  • Incongruence can lead to inappropriate behavior.
  • Teachers should identify authority types that fit their beliefs.
Adaptations of French and Raven's Work

  1. Use "authority bases" instead of "power bases" (influence vs. force).

  2. Collapsed six power bases into four authority bases.

    • Expert and informational power combined.
    • Reward and coercive power combined.
Four Teacher Authority Bases
  • Presented in a hierarchical format.
  • Begins with bases fostering student control and proceeds to those with increasing teacher control.
  • Important to understand all four bases for effective teaching.

Referent Authority

Case 4.2: The Involved Teacher
  • Mr. Emmig uses referent authority with students.
  • Students behave because of a positive relationship with him.
  • Students see him as a role model.
  • Students view him as caring about their learning.
  • Positive interactions lead to emotionally positive classroom climates.
  • Creates mutual respect between students and teachers.
Effective Use of Referent Authority

  1. Teacher perceives a good relationship with students.

  2. Teacher communicates caring and liking of students.

    • Positive nonverbal gestures
    • Positive oral and written comments
    • Extra time and attention
    • Sincere interest in student's ideas, activities, and learning
  • Appeals directly to students to act a certain way.
  • Must not be confused with being the student's friend, which can lead to manipulation.
  • Effective with all students, especially students of color.
  • Warm demanders are most effective in teaching students of color (Lisa Del Pits, 2012).
  • Positive relationships allow teachers to push students to achieve more.
  • Teachers of color often inspire students to learn