Compare and contrast - Essay Example

Q1. Compare and Contrast the roles of the principal, teachers, school counselors, parents and in a school-wide discipline plan. The role ofthe student is to learn the behavior expectations and to follow them. The role of the parents is to learn the behavior expectations and communicate with the classroom teacher to make sure their child is following those expectations. The role of the teacher is to teach behavior expectations and consequences to the students. The teacher must also give reinforcement for appropriate behavior and punishment or consequences for inappropriate behavior.

The role of a school counselor is to help teach appropriate behavior. Also, along with the teacher, a school counselor should help a child who is struggling with learning or using appropriate behavior. The role of the principal is to ensure that the discipline plan is being used appropriately school wide. Q2. Identify and discuss the three organizing principles about the learner. There are three principles about the learner. The first principle is that the learner should always be treated with respect.

The teacher should treat the learner with respect, the other learners should treat each other with respect and the learner should respect himself. The second is that every learner has a great capacity to learn. Although all students start at a different level, they all have a great capacity to learn and grow from the level where they started. Effort will need to be made by the learner and the teacher to help the learner grow. The last principle states that the learner's behavior or performance always has a purpose.

The purpose will vary with different learners in different circumstances. Most misbehavior happens with one of these 4 purposes: seeking attention, seeking power, seeking revenge or lack of self confidence. An example of a student misbehaving who is seeking attention would be a student who calls out at inappropriate times during class. An example of a student misbehaving who is seeking power would be a student who argues with the teacher about doing an assignment. An example of a misbehaving student who is seeking revenge would be a student who refuses to do his work after recess because he owed his recess time for misbehaving earlier in class.

An example of a misbehaving student who lacks self confidence would be a student who consistently doesn't get her work done, claiming she "can't do it." Q3. Research has shown there is a high probability that disruptive behavior will occur during transition times for students with learning and behavior problems. Discuss why students may cause behavior problems during transitions and how teachers can effectively plan to manage behavior during this time. Students may cause behavior problems during transitions because the behavior expectations during times of transition are unclear or because they are bored, with nothing to do.

The teacher must determine which is the cause of the behavior problems. If the cause is that the expectations during transitions are unclear, the teacher should re-teach behavior expectations and procedures during transitional periods. The teacher must also continue to reinforce these expectations throughout the year. If the cause of behavior problems is that students are bored, with nothing to do, there are several different solutions, each based on the circumstances of the transition. If this transitional period takes place in the classroom, between subjects, the teacher can give students easy work to do during the transition, such as journal questions or reflections.

If the transitional period takes place out of the classroom, such as moving from the classroom to a special area, the teacher can engage students in a walking activity, such as observing different things during the walk or walking in a certain way - like sloths or mice, for example. Q4. Identify and discuss reasons why reinforcement sometimes fails to be effective with students with learning and behavior problems.   Reinforcement can fail for several reasons. One reason is that the desired behavior is not reinforced immediately.

Students who are following expectations need to be reinforced immediately, especially with students who have learning or behavior problems. For example, a student who usually does not complete his work completes his work on time. As soon as the student turns in his work, he should be reinforced. If the teacher waits until the end of the day, or worse, the next day, the reinforcement won't help increase the desired behavior. Another reason is that one particular type of reinforcement may become ineffective with overuse/misuse.

Rewards are a reinforcement that a teacher must be careful to not overuse. If a child is rewarded with a tangible object such as a sticker or toy every time he follows a rule, he may cease to work if there is no reward given to him. Also, it is important to ensure that the rewards that are offered are desirable to students. Praise is a type of reinforcement that can be misused. When a teacher praises a student, she needs to be specific about what the student did to deserve the praise. This benefits the student and the rest of the class.

The student knows what he did to earn the praise and will be more likely to repeat the behavior. The other students will also see what the student did and imitate him.