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Motivating Cooperative Behavior

by Jane Bluestein, Ph.D.

Win-Lose approaches that can compromise the emotional safety of the classroom:

Powering: Teacher Wins, Students Lose

Win-Lose Powering

Strategies:

Gold Square Humiliation, loss of dignity, violation of self-esteem; criticism, shaming, verbal/emotional violence
Gold Square Threat to physical safety, physical violence
Gold Square Conditional approval or love; threat of emotional abandonment
Gold Square Deprivation of meaningful privilege or activity (ex: recess, eligibility, graduation)

Dynamic/Outcomes:

Gold Square Depends on your reaction, power, anger and student’s fear of your reaction
Gold Square May generate superficial compliance. Reinforces people-pleasing, dependence on approval or at least minimal cooperation to avoid being hurt in some way. Passive learning.
Gold Square Can inspire rebelliousness, particularly in students who aren’t motivated by the need for your approval or those who need to “save face.”

Boundary Issues: Does not respect students’ boundaries or need for power; violates students’ boundaries.

Effectiveness: Can be effective in getting short-term cooperation from compliant students. Cost to emotional environment and quality of relationship between teacher and student is HIGH.

Permissiveness:
Teacher Loses, Students Win (sort of...)

Permissive, win-lose

Strategies:

Gold Square Allowing students to behave in ways that can create problems for you or others
Gold Square Letting kids have their way to avoid other conflicts
Gold Square Letting kids do something they want in order to obligate them to cooperate; attempt to motivate cooperation through guilt, by being “nice”
Gold Square Giving up; perception of having less influence or control than is true

Dynamic/Outcomes:

Gold Square Chaos, manipulation, lack of student self-management
Gold Square Tremendous insecurity when students’ needs for limits are not met
Gold Square Teacher frustration, often ending up in reactive “blow-up” when you reach the end of your rope; encourages kids to really push the limits.

Boundary Issues: General lack of boundaries, unclear boundaries based on differences between teacher’s understanding and students’ understanding (“Be good.” “Clean this area.”), ambiguous boundaries, or boundaries with built in loop-holes (using warnings, asking for excuses, etc.)

Effectiveness: Minimal; usually kids know that they don’t have to listen until you start screaming, for example. Lack of limits and predictability makes cost to emotional environment and quality of teacher-student relationship HIGH.

Win-Win approach that does not compromise the emotional safety of the classroom:

Win-Win/Cooperation:
Teacher Wins, Students Win

Cooperative, win-win

Strategies:

Gold Square May include meaningful activities such as going to a center, self-selection, use of certain equipment, games, extra free time, time with adult, working with a friend, drawing, running an errand, a chance to help in another classroom; good grades (motivating for students who find grades meaningful) or a “good” note home; a “night off” from homework; etc. What’s worked for you??
Gold Square May offer students a chance to choose between two or more activities, the sequence in which they do assignments, or choices about where, when, how, or with whom to do particular activities

Dynamic/Outcome:

Gold Square NOT based on teacher’s reaction, fear of teacher’s power, or need for approval
Gold Square Proactive approach that considers and attempts to accommodate the students’ needs for both limits and power within those limits
Gold Square Clearly-communicated contingencies, boundaries, guidelines, limits before the students have a chance to mess up.
Gold Square Student needs for limits and control are accommodated as much as possible in an environment in which the teacher is still the authority
Gold Square Reward-oriented; focuses on positive outcomes to student (not externally based)
Gold Square Predictable (so long as boundaries are maintained); mutually respectful

Boundary Issues: None. Boundaries are clearly communicated and upheld.

Effectiveness: Best possibility for success of all configurations of authority relationships. Actually builds and supports positive classroom relationships.

Excerpted and adapted from The Win-Win Classroom, by Jane Bluestein, Ph.D.,Corwin Publishing, Thousand Oaks, CA, © 2008,

Buy this book.

Other handouts adapted from The Win-Win Classroom:

Guidelines for Offering Choices

Guidelines for Reinforcing Positive Behavior

Self-Assessment

Dealing Successfully with your Students’ Parents

Getting Away with Success

Rules and Boundaries

Improve the School’s Social Culture

Behavior Management: Intervention Strategies

Industrial Age vs. Information Age Classrooms

Win-Win Ideas for Administrators

Other handouts by Dr. Jane Bluestein

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Complete listing of all articles and handouts in Spanish or French.

Books, Articles, Audio and Video Resources and other Resources by Dr. Jane Bluestein

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