THOMAS GORDON

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THOMAS GORDON

• 1918 - 2002
• Keys to Success
• Use of coercive power
  damages relationships.
  

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Known For

• Pioneering the teaching of communication skills
  and conflict resolution to parents, teachers,
  youth, and managers of organizations.

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Awards

• 1999 American Psychological Foundations Gold
  Medal for Enduring Contributions to Psychology in
  the Public Interest.

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For Parents Teachers

• Offers parents and teachers strategies for
  helping children become more self-reliant,
  self-controlled, responsible, and cooperative.

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Methods of Discipline

• Power-based methods of discipline are ineffective
  in the long run. Rather he suggests you should
  strive for cooperation with students, while
  avoiding power, punishment, praise, and reward.

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Behavior Window

• Helps teachers visualize situations and student
  behavior and determine whether a problem exists,
  who owns it, and which skills should be applied
  to handle the situation.
• Confrontive skills teachers own the problem.
• Helping skills students own the problem.
• Preventive skills prevent possible problems.
• Participative planning teachers and students
  share in planning and decision-making.

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Development of Student

• He places primary emphasis on development of
  student responsibility and self-control.
  Effective discipline cannot be achieved through
  either coercion or reward and punishment but
  rather must be developed within the character of
  each individual.

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Students Make Positive Decisions

• He offers middle-ground strategies designed to
  help children make positive decisions, become
  more self-reliant, and control their own behavior.

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Effective Discipline

• The only true effective discipline is
  self-control that occurs internally in each child.

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A Teachers Power

• Teachers must give up their controlling power
  over students.

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Gordons Words

• Classroom discipline occurs best when children
  are able to use their inner sense of self
  control.

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Gordons Words Cont.

• You acquire more influence with young people
  when you give up your power to control themthe
  more you use your power to control people, the
  less real influence you will have in your life.

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Effective Communication Between Teacher and
Student

• Confrontive Skills
• Helping Skills
• Preventive Skills

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Gordons View on Authority

• Traditional interventions, such as rewards and
  punishments, are power based authority and a
  win-lose conflict resolution.
• Teachers should use non controlling methods to
  promote behavior change.
• When power is used, effectiveness is lessened.

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4 Kinds of Authority

• Expertise shows personal knowledge, experience,
  training, skill, wisdom, or education.
• Job description.
• Commitments, agreements, and contracts.
• Power- the ability to control others against
  their wishes as opposed to influencing the person.

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Rewards

• Gordon thinks that negative behaviors are likely
  to occur when rewards are used to influence
  behavior.

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Rewards Cont.

• Students become concerned with getting the
  reward, not learning the desired behavior.
• Students tend to revert quickly to undesirable
  behaviors when the reward is removed.
• When students are use to receiving rewards and
  are not rewarded they consider it punishment.
• Students receive more of a reward from their
  classmates for behaving improperly than from the
  teacher for behaving properly.

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Punishment

• Ineffective in producing self discipline and
  causes long term negative effects.
• Students experience feelings of belittlement,
  rage, and hostility.
• Punished students lose their desire to cooperate
  willing with the teacher.
• There is an increased likelihood the punished
  students will lie and cheat in order to avoid
  punishment.

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Change the Environment

• Modify the environment (rather than the
  student).
• Enriching the environment or limiting
  distractions.

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I-Messages Communicate

• The behavior that is presenting a problem for the
  teacher.
• What the teacher is feeling about the behavior.
• Why the behavior is causing a problem.

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Shifting Gears

• Change from an assertive /sending posture to a
  listening/ understanding posture.

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No-Lose Method of Conflict- Resolution

• Defuse conflict by bringing about a solution
  acceptable to everyone.
• Avoid having a winner and a loser.

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When The Student Owns The Problem

• Use listening skills listen carefully but do
  not attempt to solve the students problem.

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Types of Listening

• Passive - attentive silence. Show attention
  through posture, proximity, eye contact and
  alertness.
• Acknowledgement Responses verbal (uh-huh, I
  see) non-verbal (nods, smiles, and frowns).
• Door Openers invite students to discuss their
  problems. Ex Would you like to talk about it?

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Types of Listening Cont.

• Active Listening mirroring back what is said.
  No judgment or evaluation is made.

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Communication Roadblocks to Avoid

• Giving orders, warning, preaching, advising,
  lecturing,criticizing, name calling, analyzing,
  praising, reassuring, questioning, and
  withdrawing.

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Communication Questions to Ask

• Use open ended questions to encourage discussing
  and solving the problem.

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Preventive Skills

• Use preventive I-messages.
• Set rules collaboratively.
• Use participative classroom management.

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Participative Classroom Management is a Process
of Problem Solving

• Identify and define the problem or situation.
• Generate alternatives.
• Evaluate the alternative suggestions.
• Make the decision.
• Implement the solution or decision.
• Conduct a follow-up evaluation.

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Strengths of Gordons Discipline as Self-Control

• Does not force students to comply with rules, but
  promotes self-control.
• Gives strategies for teachers to give students
  control over their own behavior.
• Shuns behavior based on reward and punishment.

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Strengths of Gordons Discipline as Self-Control
Cont.

• Proposes non-controlling alternatives for
  influencing, not forcing, student behavior.
• Teaches teachers to listen to students and
  respond effectively.

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What Students Will Learn When Taught Using
Gordons Methods

• How to listen with empathy to understand another
  students point of view.
• How to talk about their needs, concerns, and
  problems with out blaming others.
• How to resolve their conflicts with each other.

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How Students Will Benefit From Gordons Model

• They will understand themselves and others
  better.
• They will develop skills that they can use in all
  their relationships and throughout their lives.

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How Students Will Benefit From Gordons Model
Cont.

• The skills needed for effective conflict
  resolution are skills needed for all kinds of
  learning.
• Students who learn and use these skills will
  contribute to society by making peaceful
  resolutions of conflicts a way of life.

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How Schools Will Benefit From Gordons Model

• Reduced absenteeism.
• Administrators and teachers can concentrate more
  on education and less on discipline.

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How Schools Will Benefit From Gordons Model
Cont.

• Less stress for administrators and teachers.
• Violence, vandalism, and suspensions are reduced.

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What Students Say About Learning Through Gordons
Model

• Ive learned that communication and talking out
  my problems is the best way to solve conflicts in
  my life and in my friends lives.
• I feel more confident in solving my own problems
  and more skilled in helping my friends with their
  problems.

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Establishing Expectations

• Ask for student input on rules and regulations.
• Create a problem solving scheme.
• Make class agreements and post them in the class.

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Thomas Gordon Websites

• http//www.thomasgordon.com
• http//eqi.org/tgordon2.htm
• http//eqi.org/tgordon3.htm
• http//eqi.org/tgordon.htm
• http//www.naturalchild.com/guest/thomas_gordon_ob
  ituary.html

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Thomas Gordon Books

• Leader Effectiveness Training, L.E.T. The
  No-Lose Way To Release The Productive Potential
  of People.
• Teacher Effectiveness Training, T.E.T.
• Parent Effectiveness Training, P.E.T. in Action.
  

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Thomas Gordon

• Widely recognized as a pioneer in teaching
  communication skills and conflict resolution
  methods to parents, teachers, youth, organization
  managers and employees.