Defusing Disruptive Behavior in the Classroom

by Geoff Colvin

The ultimate guide to handling problem behavior "in the heat of the moment"! When disruptive behavior occurs, your first response can determine how quickly the situation is resolved. Colvin offers teachers seven key behavioral principles and a range of research-based approaches for immediately defusing disruptive situations, avoiding escalation, and correcting behaviors. This resource

Genres: Professional Development

168 pages, Paperback

First published June 10, 2010

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.

Geoff Colvin, PhD is a teacher, school administrator, and research associate at the University of Oregon.
He is an authority on emotionally disturbed youth.

Reviews

[Tyler · Rating 4 out of 5]

The central idea that organizes this book is that any attention from the teacher reinforces behavior, be it positive or negative attention, so teachers must strive to frequently attend to good behavior while deemphasizing attention to bad behavior. Colvin examines this core principal in the context of a few different types of bad behavior and gives example scenarios to illustrate. In implementing this approach (modified for the music classroom) I have noticed immediate results with my 6th graders especially. They began to strive for praise quite quickly after I began consistently delivering both individual and group compliments. I have been told by mentors before that I should be giving mostly positive feedback, but I appreciated that this study gave me a lot of vocabulary for how to do that in a genuine, non-forced way. I'm happy to say this text has already improved my teaching practice, and I recommend it as a short worthwhile read.

[Nancy Loy · Rating 2 out of 5]

What a riveting read for spring break! On to smut and nonsense now!