Michigan Project Series

Topic 4: Behavior Management Skills

Presentation – Study Unit

The LEAST Approach to Classroom Discipline

Robert R. Carkhuff

Scholar-in-Residence

National Foundation for the Improvement of Education

National Education Association

Used with permission

PREFACE

The LEAST approach to classroom discipline is a simple survival strategy for the teacher. It is a response to teachers’ urgent pleas for quick and easy methods they can use in the face of mounting discipline problems. Succinctly stated in the words of one teacher, “We must survive before we can grow.” It involves the “least” methods that should be employed to facilitate and maintain classroom control. LEAST is an acronym for the following activities of the teacher:

L-	Leave things alone when no problems are likely to ensue
E-	End the action indirectly when the behavior is disrupting classroom activities
A-	Attend more fully when you need to obtain more information and/or communicate
S-	Spell out directions when disruption and/or harm will occur
T-	Track student progress when following through to evaluate and reinforce behavior.

The LEAST method evolved in five discrete phases: (1) basic research, (2) development, (3) piloting, (4) refinement, and (5) applied research.

1. Basic Research. The LEAST approach is based upon nearly two decades of research on the effective ingredients of teaching and learning. This research is summarized in Helping and Human Relations, The Development of Human Resources, and Teaching as Treatment, all by Carkhuff; and Kids Don’t Learn from People They Don’t Like, by Aspy and Roebuck.¹

2. Development. The LEAST approach was developed into a step-by-step method by the authors and the personnel of the Carkhuff Institute of Human Technology (CIHT), the National Foundation for the Improvement of Education (NFIE), and the Instruction and Professional Development unit of the National Education Association (NEA/IPD) in conjunction with NEA teacher members. It draws heavily on the skill-based approaches developed in The Skills of Teaching series. ²

3. Field Testing. The LEAST method was field tested in several settings, including statewide demonstrations in Georgia, South Carolina, and Tennessee under the direction of Dr. Griffin; at the Sunnyside Junior High School, Tucson, Arizona, under the direction of Karen V. Unger and Alexander F. Douds; and with teacher associations in Florida, Kentucky, Missouri, and North Carolina by Richard Mallory. The responses of the teachers were overwhelmingly positive, according to the teachers’ reports.

4. Refinement. The LEAST method was modified, based upon teachers and learner feedback. Refinements were made by personnel of CIHT, NFIE, and NEA/IPD, incorporating the suggestions of teachers in the field in order to improve the delivery of survival discipline skills in the classroom.

5. Applied Research. The LEAST method was field tested again in the same settings. The response was again overwhelmingly positive. In addition, longitudinal research in the Sunnyside Junior High School project indicated significant changes in all targeted student behaviors, including a reported 50 percent reduction in office discipline referrals.

The LEAST Method to Discipline:

INTRODUCTION

What have you as a classroom teacher done in each of the following or similar situations?

1. Although the bell to start class hasn’t rung yet, most of your students are in their seats and you’ve begun taking attendance. Two students arrive at the last minute. Instead of coming in quietly, they jostle each other in the doorway, both of them full of energy and in obvious good spirits.

2. In the middle of one student’s thoughtful response to a discussion question, another student interrupts without bothering to raise her hand.

3. Several students in one of your classes have established themselves as “wise guys.” All they seem to do is crack jokes and make rude comments – despite the fact that you’ve told them before to knock it off.

4. You’re writing something on the board when, without warning, the class breaks into uproar. You turn and find that two students have begun a fistfight in the back of the room.

5. There’s a lot of tension between the white and the black students in your class, tension which reflects the racial turmoil in the school in recent weeks.

6. During a laboratory period, when there is considerable student movement in the room, you become aware of a scuffle. The other students are also aware and watching the mounting problem and you. As you move toward the disturbance you see that Linda’s tongue is pointed toward Irene, as in ‘I dare you,” and Barbara’s knife is pointed toward Linda. Linda is so intent on Irene that she doesn’t see Barbara.

The common concern in all these situations, of course, is classroom discipline. The LEAST approach will help you examine what you have done, why some things worked well, and why in other cases you blew it.

Every teacher knows that little can be accomplished in class unless students are willing to work constructively on their own and cooperatively together. Yet in recent years many teachers have been caught up in disciplinary extremes: either letting students have their own way or imposing rigid controls that never seem to work. This report outlines an orderly approach to classroom discipline, avoiding the extremes. Nothing is unique or new, but it provides an organized plan for dealing with problem situations in such a way that they do not become magnified.

The fundamental principle out of which the LEAST approach has grown is as simple as it is profound: If the teacher is to reach the goal of managing classroom behavior without creating an adversary relationship with students, he or she must use the least amount of guidance and control necessary to achieve the specific results desired. No more disciplinary overkill. No more “do your own things” helplessness. No more forced decisions on the spur of the moment. Just minimum teacher action for maximum class control.

Four Basic Options and One “Must”

The LEAST approach to classroom discipline involves four options that allow the teacher to respond in a carefully measured way to different in-class situations and one “must” component that provides continuity of teacher behavior and the knowledge needed to select the appropriate option(s):

Option #1 – Leave things alone

Option #2 – End the action indirectly

Option #3 – Attend more fully

Option #4 – Spell out directions

A MUST! #5 – Track student progress

The four options are listed in order of increasing direct teacher involvement in a discipline situation. In other words, the simplest (or least) and in many instances the best possible way the teacher can promote discipline is to leave things alone. In doing so, the teacher is really saying, “The situation does not demand my intervention at the is time, so why risk escalating things by taking an active hand in it?”

If the teacher chooses to get involved, his or her next level of response is simply to end the action indirectly. This is appropriate for any in-class disturbance that cannot be left alone.

Ending the action may not be enough when severe or complex problems produce a situation that threatens to destroy the teacher’s control of the class. Here the teacher can deal with the incident by first ending the action and then attending more fully to the students involved by responding to their apparent feelings and asking for more information.

Finally, the teacher who has temporarily lost control of students’ behavior can restore order by ending the action, attending more fully and then spelling out directions, preferably with specific consequences.

Whatever the teacher chooses to do in a particular situation, he or she should always track the progress of the students involved. Only in this way can the teacher determine whether a given student’s behavior is improving or deteriorating.

Each of the five components in the LEAST approach is treated in a separate section. Within each section are answers to several basic questions: When should the option be used? What does it mean? Why use it? How should it be used? Also included are several important guidelines to keep in mind as you exercise a particular option and examples of how the option can be employed in class. Then you will have a chance to work on some sample situations based on your own experience. Finally, you will learn how each fits the overall LEAST approach.

Two cautionary notes: First, it should be emphasized that this document is not designed to help teachers deal with fundamental behavioral problems of a clinical nature. It can, however, help them operate up to a “holding action” level until a disturbed student can be referred to the appropriate specialist.

Second, remember that classroom problems are always relative to the teacher involved. In other words, behaviors which trouble one teacher severely may seem like nothing at all to another. Only you can decide what constitutes problem behavior in your classroom. Once you have made this decision, the LEAST approach to classroom discipline will help you handle the problem simply and effectively.

Option #1: LEAVE THINGS ALONE

When Should You Leave Things Alone?

Leave a situation or a student behavior alone when all indications show there is no real problem. This is generally the case with any situation which fulfills all three of the following conditions:

1. The behavior will almost certainly go away without your getting involved.

2. No one is harmed.

3. There is no danger of a ‘ripple effect” (i.e., other students are unlikely to imitate or repeat the disruptive student’s behavior).

What Does “Leave Things Alone” Mean?

Leaving a situation alone does not mean ignoring or being unaware of it. On the contrary, you have to be completely aware of what is going on so that you can decide whether or not to act. “Leave things alone,” then, means taking no active part in a situation – not acting to correct things – just continuing with your regular routine.

Even though you decide to leave the situation alone, you should track the student’s progress. (See component #5). You need to be able to recall what happened and the fact that you decided to leave things alone.

Why Leave a Problem Alone?

As teachers, of course, we act to make things better. Yet there are many times when action can only make a situation worse – by blowing it out of proportion, by focusing attention where it should not be, and so on. The fact that you get involved may provide the disorderly student exactly the “reward” he or she is looking for. Instead of stopping the disruptive behavior, you may be promoting it. Learn to leave a behavior alone when it appears that nothing positive can be gained through action.

How Can You Decide to Leave Things Alone?

In order to make this basic decision, you need to focus your attention on the student or students involved in the problem situation. Observe what they are doing. Listen to what they’re saying and how they’re saying it. Try to identify the type and intensity of their feelings (“strong anger” as opposed to “mild irritation,” for example). Finally, think about the implications of ignoring the matter. Given what you know about the present situation and the students, both those who are involved and those who are not, do you think the situation will improve or deteriorate if you leave it alone? Here are a few guidelines which may help you make your decision:

1.	Students often act up just to get attention. By reacting you may reinforce their troublemaking behavior. By ignoring them, on the other hand, you can often show such students that you cannot be baited.
2.	Remember that students can act as reinforcers for one another. Thus a behavior you choose to ignore may continue if the disruptive student senses the support of his or her peers. Recognition of this fact of classroom life should play a part in your leave-it-alone / act decision.
3.	Know which of your students are leaders and work especially hard to keep them in line so they can serve as models. Here your leave-it-alone / act decision is crucial. Ignoring trouble from a leader may encourage imitators, and acting impulsively may only earn the leader sympathy from the other students.
4.	Keep classroom rules to a minimum. By definition, problems increase in direct proportion to the number of rules that can be broken. For example, do you want a rule against chewing gum and (since some will chew it anyway) against disposing of it improperly, or only the latter?

The leave-it-alone / act decision may sound complicated, but it quickly becomes habit and is usually made in a split second by the effective teacher who knows that the best action is often no action at all.

Examples:

A good example of a situation which should be ignored or left alone is the case of the two students who jostle each other in the doorway. While the teacher may at first feel nervous or apprehensive at this show of high spirits, the incident does not represent a serious problem. The bell has not rung yet. Unless these students continue to act up once class has started, the teacher should definitely leave things alone.

Another Example: Sandra has been at the front of the room. Going back up the aisle to her desk, she trips over Nikki’s feet, which are in the aisle, and mutters “Dummy!” at the other girl. The teacher sees what has happened and hears the irritation in Sandra’s voice. He notes that Nikki’s expression is apologetic – brow furrowed, mouth turned down – rather than malicious. The rest of the class pauses, looks up to see what has happened, then continues to work on a math test. Realizing that the problem will disappear by itself, that no one is being harmed and that no one is likely to repeat the offense, the teacher wisely chooses to maintain discipline by leaving things alone. The decision is a good one. Had he spoken out – “Nikki, keep your feet under your desk! And Sandra, please be more careful!” – he probably would have made a minor interruption much worse. Sandra and Nikki both might have felt anger over his criticism. And the rest of the class would have been needlessly distracted.

Now It’s Your Turn

Think of and jot down notes on some possible disruptive situations in your own classroom where you probably would be wiser to leave things alone rather than take a hand. What behaviors and feelings would you look for or listen for in making your decision? What are the implications you would want to consider? How could you be reasonably certain that the problem situation would fade away by itself, that no one would be hurt, and that no one would be likely to repeat the offense? Then practice sizing up such situations in class and not acting on all those that fulfill the three conditions listed above. Your aim should be to develop the skill to “leave things alone” as your first option in handling class disciplinary problems.

So You Leave Things Alone, What Then?

A problem arises in class and you decide that your best option is to leave matters alone. This doesn’t mean you should forget the incident. Instead, you should plan to track the progress of the student or students involved. This means checking to make sure his/her/their behavior remains satisfactory and perhaps developing some specific reinforcements to keep things moving in the direction you feel is best.

Another advantage to tracking progress at this point is that it gives you something to do. In most of the petty annoyance situations, you – the teacher – are one of the most affected, most disturbed by the situation and you will want to do something about it. Putting the incident in the “track record” – date, time, etc. – may pay great dividends in the future, and it may be personally satisfying that even though you took no overt action, you did not ignore the incident. There is great value in appropriate tension relief for you as the teacher.

The specific activities required to track students’ progress are discussed more fully under component #5.