Canter s Behavior Management Cycle: A Case Study 1

Canter s behavior Management Cycle: A Case Study Jene Cooper EDU 536: Classroom Engagement and Management Grand Canyon University August 3, 2011

Canter s Behavior Management Cycle: A Case Study 2 Disruptive behavior can be very harmful in a classroom if it is not handled properly by the teacher. The other students in the classroom may not be able to concentrate or benefit from the lesson plan because the student that s misbehaving keeps disrupting the class. Calling out in class, having side conversations, being off task, sleeping during class, using cell phones and yelling across the classroom are all examples of disruptive behavior in a classroom. A student s disruptive behavior can rise to issues that can be threatening to the safety and welfare of other students in the classroom. Teachers must first identify the disruptive behavior and tackle the disruptive behavior in a professional manner when it begins. Stopping one student s disruptive behavior will lead to other students getting the picture and as a result learns that disruptive behavior have consequences. There are lots of ways that teachers can deal with disruptive behavior in a classroom. One way that has been proven to work is applying Canter s Management Cycle. Case Study Ashley is an 8 year old student, a third grader at Plant City Elementary School who exhibits constant disruptive behavior during class. Ashley comes from a wrecked home in which her father died two years and her mother works all the time in order to get the bills paid. Her mother is struggling financially and does not have a lot of time to spend with her daughter. As a result, Ashley spends a lot of time being cared for by her older siblings while her mother is at work. Ashley lives with her mother Amy, her 15 year old sister Stephanie, her 19 year old brother Bob and his 21 year old girlfriend Paula. Stephanie spends a lot of time at home talking on the phone and watching television. Her brother Bob and his girlfriend do not work and are always at home laying around and arguing. Her mother comes home just in time to tuck her in every night. Therefore, Ashley witnesses the behavior of her siblings and exhibits some of the terrible behavior in the classroom. There is no really encouraging and conducive family environment for Ashley, which is an important dynamic why she shows extreme disruptive

Canter s Behavior Management Cycle: A Case Study 3 behavior while inside the class with Mr. Perry and with other teachers. Ashley's disruptive behavior includes unnecessary loud communication inside the class. Ashley talks to her friends while Mr. Perry is teaching and presenting the lesson to the class. Also, Ashley imitates Mr. Perry and refuses to listen to him when he tries to talk to her about her misbehavior; she even results to placing her hands over her ears to display that she is not listening. Ashley has many friends and tries to amuse her friends by clowning and trying to make them laugh by making fun of other students in the classroom. It is evident that Ashley is experiencing many problems at home and displaying her anger in the classroom. Ashley admits that she does not like Mr. Perry because he is constantly talking to her and she dislikes her seatmate due to personal reasons. Mr. Perry is going to have to enforce a positive teaching plan to encourage Ashley to behave so that he can provide effective teaching. Therefore, classroom discipline and management has to be apparent in class as there are not many students who come to class with issues like the case of Ashley. Canter s Behavior Management Cycle First Step Mr. Perry decided to implement Canter s behavior management model in order to successfully minimize disruptions in the classroom and to deal with Ashley s misbehavior. The first step that Mr. Perry needs to take is, precisely and specifically inform the class of the directions that he expects them to follow. He needs to attempt to form explicit directions, and stray away from vague directions. He should not assume that Ashley or her classmates know how to behave appropriately. Also, he needs to inform the class what it is that he expects from them and it would be a great idea to have it posted in the class so, that the students are constantly reminded. Canter s Behavior Management Cycle Second Step Secondly, Dr. Perry should use behavioral management which simply means that he should positively motivate the students to follow his directions. He should give the students effective positive

Canter s Behavior Management Cycle: A Case Study 4 feedback. He should give the specifically give the directions, observe the class, and then within two seconds inform the class of who is following directions and what they are doing to follow the directions. It is apparent that Ashley is misbehaving to get attention, however if Mr. Perry gives less attention to the students that are misbehaving and more attention to the students that are behaving; it is likely that Ashley would behave to get attention. Also, he should focus on behavioral narrating before he focuses on correcting a student s behavior. This shows that he is on top of the class, are monitoring the students to make sure that they are on task, and setting a positive tone in the classroom. Dr. Perry can even take it a step further and use behavioral narration with the points on the board award system. This award system awards the class for following directions to get closer to an ward. For example, after giving directions and noticing that Ashley is following the directions that were given, state Ashley is sitting in her seat and working on her assignment and this has earned the class one point closer to a homework free night. This would encourage Ashley and other students to follow directions because they know that they are doing a good deed for the class. Canter s Behavior Management Cycle Third Step Lastly, Dr. Perry should take corrective action for the students who are still not following directions and misbehaving. After giving clear directions, after 10 seconds of observing the class and acknowledging the students that are behaving Mr. Perry should correct the students that are misbehaving. He could do this by stating Ashley you should be sitting and looking at me without talking, you have chosen to get a timeout. This lets Ashley know why she is getting a time out and informs her that she is in charge of her actions. He should also inform and post consequences from a discipline hierarchy that the students would receive if they are disruptive. For example, for the first disruptive behavior the student receives a warning, the second disruptive behavior the student receives 10 minute time out and so on. Dr. Perry should make sure that the consequence was the child s choice by

Canter s Behavior Management Cycle: A Case Study 5 reinforcing their misbehavior and the consequence for their action when they are misbehaving. Also, he should focus on taking corrective action every time students are disruptive. Summary of Strategies Used The strategies that were used to correct Ashley s misbehavior are the steps from Canter s management cycle. Canter s management cycle involves three steps in which the teacher strategically follows in order to eliminate disruptive behavior in the classroom, motivate students to swiftly follow directions, and maximize instruction time. The first step is that teachers should specifically communicate explicit directions that are expected for the students to follow. Secondly, the teacher should use behavioral narration to support students that are following directions. Lastly, take corrective action with students who are still not following the directions. Conclusion All in all, if Mr. Perry follows the steps in Canter s Behavior Management Cycle, he would be able to effectively eliminate disruptive behavior in his classroom. Also, by using Canter s model he can help Ashley with her misbehavior and help her seek attention through positive behavior instead of misbehaving for attention.

Canter s Behavior Management Cycle: A Case Study 6 References

Canter, L. (2006). Lee Canter's classroom management for academic success . Bloomington, IN: Solution Tree.

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