The Model
There are four legs to Jones' "chair of discipline and managment." These four legs are needed to make the Positive Discipline model successful. They include limit setting, responsibility training, omission training, and backup system. Although classroom structure does not appear as one of these four legs, Jones also places emphasis on this element of success.
Limit Setting: The ultimate goal of limit setting is to prompt students to get back to work. The actions taken by the teacher to control the student's natural reflexes and prompts students back to work should not cut into instructional time. Limit setting involves clarifying the boundaries of acceptable behavior. Once this has been accomplished, the next step is to formulate class agreements of rules and incentives accordingly. (Jones describes rules as procedures- how students are to accomplish tasks such as how to do their work, what to do once they have finished an assignment, what to do when they are unable to proceed, etc.)
Resposibility Training: A system for instilling positive cooperation in the classroom. According to Jones, every classroom needs an incentive system to teach cooperation. Preferred Activity Time or simply PAT is the main focus in this leg of the "chair." PAT is time that is allotted for activities such as learning games and enrichment activities. These should be activities that the students enjoy. Jones suggests using this incentive system because it offers something that the students want, and they know that they will get it on the basis that they do their work and behave as they should.
Omission Training: Omission training deals with those students who have chonic behavior problems and do not "buy in" to PAT. In such situations, Jones suggests that the teacher continue to use limit setting for minor situations, but takes the student out of the PAT system to develop an alternative omission training system for the individual student. The central concept of omission training is to:
1. Remove the student from responsibility training so the misbehavior does not continue to hurt peers
2. Permit the student to earn bonus points for the class
3. Challenge the class to help with the success of this difficult student
4. Gradually phase out the omission training process
Backup System: This system also deals with the chronic problem student. Jones suggests that the teacher either use this system or the omission training system. For the most part, these are neither systematic nor well thought out and apply traditional punishments in an increasingly severe pattern.
Level 1: Small Backup Responses
-quiet and private confrontation
-ear warning
-private meeting
-quiet time
Level 2: Medium Backup Responses
-time out
-public warning and threats
-being sent to the hall
-detention after school
-loss of privilege
-parent conference
-lowering student's grade/assigning extra work
Level 3: Large Backup Responses
-sending student to the office
-office referral system
-corporal punishment
Classroom Structure: Jones emphasizes the importance of appropriate classroom structure. Structure includes class routines, furniture organization, and rules. It is important that the teacher not only develop this structure, but also teach it to the students.