What Do You Say When...?

Best Practice Language for Improving Student Behavior

Hal Holloman, Peggy Yates

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2013
• eBook ISBN: 9781317926863
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Education
• Subtopic: Education General

Do you remember a time when you used the right words at the right moment, and they made all the difference? With the aim of helping you repeat that experience every day, this book provides hundreds of examples of what we call "Best Practice Language" (BPL), a research-based technique designed to help teachers use words to improve student behavior – in the classroom and beyond.

In their years of working at the K-12 levels, educators Hal Holloman and Peggy H. Yates have identified the exact phrases and key words you can use to handle: recurring disruptions, inappropriate outbursts, and students' low self-confidence, among other classroom realities. BPL will enable you to:

• Set your expectations clearly on the first day of school
• Prevent and resolve conflicts between students
• Create a safe haven for shy, apprehensive students
• Establish meaningful relationships with students built on trust
• Help students foster a respect for themselves, their peers, and for adults
• Maintain a positive classroom environment that encourages personal responsibility

Whether you're a new teacher, a veteran teacher, a pre-service teacher, or school administrator, the tools in this book will help you use words effectively, in ways that resonate with students and provide them with clear and promising direction.

1

Best Practice Language:The Right Words at The Right Time

Do we regard our words as a possible solution for improving student behavior? The right words at the right time can make all the difference in your classroom. What are these words? We call these words Best Practice Language.

Wow, did you hear that? Did you hear what that teacher said? It was so professional and so inspirational. Absolutely brilliant! She used the right words at the right time. That student was about to (fill in the blank) and those right words at the right time made all the difference. The words resonated with the student and served as a compass, providing clear and promising direction. Do you remember when you used the right words at the right time and they made all the difference with your students? Do you know other teachers who know just what to say and how to say it? Perhaps there have been times when you’ve searched for the right words and you didn’t know exactly what to say.

We believe when teachers say the right words at the right time it can establish a classroom culture that promotes improved student behavior inside and outside of the classroom. What are these words that make all the difference? Where do we find these words? How do we learn these words? Do these words have a name? Well . . . we’ve named them and we call these words Best Practice Language (BPL). Hopefully, as you read this book you will find BPL examples that will either reinforce what you’re already saying or you’ll find examples that you can use to improve student behavior in your classroom and beyond.

Words Matter

It’s the first day of a new school year! Look around! What do you see? Freshly painted walls and brightly decorated hallways, shiny floors, classrooms with new computers, new projectors, new desks, and new books. Teachers come back from the summer break prepared for a new adventure! Throughout the school there are excited students with fresh smiles and big dreams. They are wearing new clothes, carrying new book bags, and new lunch boxes. There is electricity in the air. Hope and anticipation fill the school.

At this “new beginning,” the administration has intentionally invested time and money into new programs, equipment upgrades, and a refreshed facility. Teachers have intentionally refreshed their teaching skills, their lesson plans, and their wardrobes. All of these things have been done with the hope that this year will be the best year ever.

Now the once empty hallways, empty classrooms, and empty desks make way for the incoming students. It’s the first day of school and your new students start entering the classroom. Maybe you’re a first year teacher; maybe this is your tenth year of teaching or maybe it’s your twentieth. It’s the first day of school—and no matter how long you have been teaching—you’re excited! Students enter your classroom with that same excitement and with the hope and promise that this will be a great year. The first day begins—a few discipline disruptions occur, but it’s a good day—the excitement and promise continue. The second day begins—a few more discipline disruptions occur and one student becomes disengaged, but it’s still a good day—the excitement and promise linger. By the end of the first week discipline disruptions are on the rise, more students become disengaged, and student motivation starts to slip away. You’ve had a few good days and a few bad days—the excitement and promise begin to fade. By the end of the second or third week of school the excitement and newness has worn off. Sadly, the hope and promise that this year will be the best ever is a distant memory.

Ok, let’s face it. In the field of education it’s difficult to keep that excitement and promise alive—eventually the newness does wear off, and we begin to experience good days and bad days. Some students become disengaged with what’s going on in their classroom; they begin to feel misunderstood, disconnected, discouraged, and unmotivated. These feelings can lead to students acting out. As professional educators we attempt to address these issues of misbehavior with new programs, new strategies, and new incentives. However, have we intentionally revisited and reconsidered the power and promise of the words we use to improve student behavior? Our daily work as educators is demonstrated by a combination of what we do and the words that we say—our Language of Practice (LoP). What we say to students, what we say to parents, what we say to each other, and what we say to ourselves is our LoP. Our LoP is an element of our professional practice that should be honed and refined much like other skills of a trade. Have we intentionally thought about our LoP and its impact on improving student behavior in the classroom?

What will we say when discipline disruptions occur?

What will we say on the first day of school to set expectations and ground rules?

What will we say when discipline disruptions happen in the moment?

What will we say to encourage positive behavior?

What will we say when discipline disruptions occur again and again?

What will we say that will resonate with students and “stick with them” all along the way?

Taking a Closer Look and Listen to What We Say: Rethinking Our Language of Practice

If someone were to record our words throughout the course of a day, and we read a transcript of those words—what would they reflect and represent? Our priorities, perhaps? Our beliefs? Our values? Our likes and dislikes? Would it be possible to determine if our words were aligned with the school’s goals, mission, and vision? Would our words connect or disconnect with the school’s purpose? Would “my-speak” be in harmony with “our-speak”? Would it be possible to pull from that transcript words and phrases that we have adopted from others over the course of our lifetime? For example, would we find language that was adopted from our parents, teachers, coaches, friends, colleagues, and others? Certainly, we would! The words spoken to us matter. They make us feel a certain way and they help us make sense of our world. Special words have encouraged us along the way while other words have discouraged us. Our language is a “word quilt” that’s made up of all the words that have been offered to us and shared with us throughout our lives. Adopting and acquiring language from others is a significant quality of who we are. How we choose to use those words will make a difference! Words matter.

What we discovered throughout the process of writing this book is that, yes, we have all been told to “watch what you say and how you say it.” We have all been reminded—or reprimanded—about our words at some point in time. However, we believe, as teachers, we must develop a renewed and intentional interest in the words that we speak to students. Our words matter. They make a difference. They set expectations. They move others. They inspire. They resonate. They communicate the best and worst of who we are. They are a professional skill that we can hone and refine. They can be a catalyst for meaningful reform in our schools. They are spoken. They are written. They are heard. They are felt. They help us to understand each other and what we value and believe. Our words matter!

In a recent Educational Leadership article, Wiggins and McTighe (2008) suggest that many of the greatest educational challenges can be traced back to one underlying factor: the lack of clarity about goals—what they are and how they should be attained. As Wiggins and McTighe emphasize the importance of “meaning making and the transfer of learning” within our schools, we offer a reminder that “meaning” is created through our words—for better or for worse.

In essence, what I say as a teacher—my LoP—defines me as an individual; but what we say defines us as a school. If our school is a reflection of what people hear from us and what we convey through our LoP, then we must revisit the significant impact our words have on us, as well as the other members of the school community.

As we compiled information for this book, gathered data from a variety of sources, presented and discussed the LoP concept, we frequently said to each other, “This is so simple—it’s not rocket science—we just seem to forget about the power of language. We are always communicating and using words, yet we do not always maintain a professional awareness of the power of our words!” Certainly there are skeptics who will counter these LoP concepts and ideas with an “actions speak louder than words” or “talk is cheap” response. We would reply with “Ok—there should be agreement between one’s actions and words . . . and we would add that our LoP must be regarded as a skill—or an act—of teaching that has significant value.” Others may consider the LoP concept as simple rhetoric or semantics. Still others may be apprehensive about the affective nature of the research—or the warm and fuzziness of these ideas. We would respond by declaring that the world of education is intensely interpersonal, and we should be establishing relationships and classroom environments that are warm, inviting, safe, and secure. Researchers at the Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning (CASEL) agree. This organization promotes and examines the impact of “social and emotional learning skills” on academic achievement. CASEL researchers discovered that when schools design programs and interventions to cultivate social and emotional learning skills—such as self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, relationship skills, and responsible decision making—they can improve academic achievement! (Payton et al., 2008, p. 4)

Best Practice Language Highly Defined

Some LoP works effectively with students—some does not. We call the LoP that really gets positive results—Best Practice Language (BPL). More specifically, we define BPL as one’s LoP that resonates with others, influences others, and produces consistent and promising outcomes.

Our hope is that the BPL concept will serve much like a high definition television (HDTV) for language in your school. Watching a parade on HDTV is a whole new experience. With its bright, vivid colors and clearly defined picture, it captures the event in a very different—but brilliant—way! That analogy is so similar to the BPL concept. Language is part of our everyday life. We are always hearing it, speaking it, reading it, signing it, etc. But what about viewing language through a new frame? A high definition frame perhaps? What if you were able to uncover the BPL of the resident experts in your school and add to it the BPL of scholars and researchers within your field? This new frame of “highly defined language” could be shared throughout your school and adopted by its members.

Using these “best words” and continuing to pursue our BPL takes courage as a professional—the courage to ask our colleagues the “What Do You Say When . . .” questions when we need help with an issue—as well as the courage to offer our BPL as a tool to help other teachers who need assistance. Yes, we also have our actions, non-verbals, body language, too; but as we rethink and redesign our frameworks of understanding schooling and as we search for new ways to use data to address our greatest challenges, we must not overlook the “BPL goldmine” in our school and its significance in “meaning making,” teaching, learning, leading, and living!

Recognizing Best Practice Language

To help identify and reflect on your own BPL and the BPL of others, this next section will describe its four key characteristics. Best Practice Language is one’s (1) Professional Language of Practice that (2) resonates with others, (3) influences others, and (4) produces consistent and promising outcomes.

Professional Language of Practice

Earlier we mentioned that our LoP must be regarded as a skill—or an act—of teaching and is an element of our professional practice that should be honed and refined much like other skills of a trade. Paula Denton agrees. In her article The Power of Our Words (2008), she writes, “Teacher language—what we say to students and how we say it—is one of our most powerful teaching tools. It permeates every aspect of teaching. We cannot teach a lesson, welcome a student into the room, or handle a classroom conflict without using words” (p. 28).

On any given day in any classroom across the world teachers are using a combination of different words that make up their LoP. Have we considered the value of our words and their implications on our daily practice? Do we regard our words as a possible solution for improving student behavior? As card carrying members of the “Talk About Talk Club,” we suggest that a careful re-examination and discussion of our Professional LoP is critical to helping us achieve the outcomes we desire.

Resonates With Others

Best Practice Language resonates with the heart. Sometimes, in spite of our best attempts to communicate with students, our words can “go over students’ heads” or “go in one ear and out the other,” leaving some students feeling unphased or disconnected. BPL can create a warm and meaningful connection with students. BPL can be a consistent force of good as it reverberates throughout each classroom. Do you remember anything your favorite teacher said? What about your least favorite teacher . . . do you remember anything he/she said? Did any words “touch your heart” and help you see a better way of doing things? Did any words “break your heart” and cause you to lose your way?

As card carrying members of the “Warm and Fuzzy Club,” we belief that BPL has a resonating affective quality that can ring the bell of a student’s heart! We also believe that as BPL resonates with students...

Table of contents

• Cover Page
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Also Available from Eye On Education
• Dedication
• Contents
• About the Authors
• Introduction
• 1 Best Practice Language: The Right Words at The Right Time
• 2 The BPL Framework for Improving Student Behavior in the Classroom and Beyond
• 3 What Do You Say on The First Day of School?
• 4 What Do You Say to the Passively Disengaged Student?
• 5 What Do You Say to the Attention Seekers?
• 6 What Do You Say After an Inappropriate Outburst?
• 7 What Do You Say to Prevent Feelings of Embarrassment and Insecurity in the Classroom?
• 8 What Do You Say to Help Students Develop Respect for Themselves and Others?
• 9 What Do You Say to Prevent, Defuse, and Resolve Student Conflict?
• 10 What Do You Say to Prevent, Address, and Eliminate Student Anger, Aggression, and Bullying?
• 11 What Do You Say to the Student Who Refuses to Cooperate and/or Challenges You?
• 12 What Do You Say to Address Discipline Issues with the Whole Class?
• 13 What Do You Say to Encourage and Promote a Culture of Positive Student Behavior?
• 14 The Power of BPL In the Classroom and Beyond
• 15 Mining and Refining Best Practice Language In Your School
• Appendix A Major Issues Poll (MIP)
• Appendix B Local Expert Poll (LEP)
• Appendix C What Do You Say When. . . ? Scenarios
• References