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Resolving Conflicts in Schools & Classrooms


Course Outline


Course Description

The goal of this course is to create a classroom climate in which all students feel safe. One child in four is bullied at school. One in five admit bullying. Recently, a government report on school shootings showed that the only common trait among student shooters was that they all have a long history of being bullied. In schools where fear and anxiety are the norm, students can't learn and achieve.

In this course, teachers review the research on the causes and effects of bullying, as well as study best practices. In addition, they learn strategies for meeting the underlying needs of bullies.

Objectives

  • Explain conflict resolution
  • Discuss the importance of conflict resolution in school
  • Explore the three levels of conflict resolution
  • Evaluate the common myths about conflict resolution
  • Test the five different conflict resolution styles and their uses and limitations
  • Formulate one’s preferred conflict management style(s)
  • Plan a way to think about choosing conflict management styles
  • Examine a basic conflict solving method
  • Develop practices using the Win-Win Grid
  • Analyze the role of emotions in conflict
  • Discover formula for "I-messages"
  • Examine principles of teaching anger management
  • Evaluate degrees of anger
  • Develop various techniques for "cooling off"
  • Explore the role of communication in conflict and conflict resolution
  • Explain the five "Communication Potholes" and their effects on conflicts
  • Determine the importance of active listening
  • Develop active listening techniques
  • Evaluate the difference between positions and interests
  • Examine the process of principled negotiation
  • Assess the mediation process
  • Develop classroom applications of the principled negotiation and mediation
  • Evaluate the relationship between conflict resolution, community building, cooperation and perspective taking
  • Examine skills and attitudes which affect the productivity of a group and the satisfaction of its members
  • Mark the characteristics of different stages of team development
  • Interpret various points of view in conflict situations
  • Evaluate fears and expectations about issues around diversity
  • Distinguish between prejudice and discrimination
  • Determine institutional '-isms' that exist in our society
  • Develop strategies for addressing issues of diversity in the classroom
  • Examine four levels of cultural competence and how they affect the understanding of differences
  • Discuss the relationship between diversity issues and conflict
  • Develop strategies for building alliances
  • Determine the key challenges in dealing with issues of diversity and to model appreciation for diversity in the classroom
  • Explain the relationship between conflict resolution, classroom management, and approaches to discipline
  • Discuss the idea of punitive and instructional discipline and identify strategies that enable students to move from unskillful to skillful behavior
  • Evaluate the Prevention - Intervention - Invention model as a frame for classroom management and effective teaching
  • Choose strategies that help prevent student misbehaviors and encourage positive participation and a sense of belonging
  • Discuss effective intervention strategies that can help teachers defuse and manage conflicts and confrontations
  • Develop rationale for infusing conflict resolutions skills and concepts into the standard curriculum
  • Discuss strengths and limitations of various conflict resolution program components
  • Design program planning

Curriculum Design & Time Requirements

Bully Prevention in Schools is a 3 credit graduate level or forty-five hour professional development course taught on weekends or over five full days.

Course Materials

The required textbook for this course is The Bully Free Classroom by Allan L. Beane. The textbook and course materials will be provided to all students. In addition, selected web resources will be read and reviewed.

Session Outline

Session 1: Dubunking The Myths
Objective: To be aware of common misconceptions regarding bullies.
Contents:
  1. Overview
  2. Requirements & Expectations
  3. Setting Personal Goals
  4. A Definition of Bullying
  5. Facts and Myths Regarding Bullying

Session 2: Identifying Different Types of Bullying Behavior
Objective:Recognize and identify incidences of bullying and identify its various types, styles and forms.
Contents:
  1. Strategies for Identifying Bully Behavior at School
  2. Direct Forms of Bullying: Open Attacks; Name-Calling; Threats
  3. Indirect Bullying: Exclusion, Isolation, Rejection, Gossip
  4. Repeated Abuse Versus Isolated Incidences
  5. Verbal Versus Physical Bullying
  6. Sexual
  7. Racial

Session 3: The Consequences of Bullying
Objective: Become aware of both the short and long-term consequences of ignoring bullying.
Contents:
  1. Personal Testaments
  2. Statistics
  3. The Bullying Cycle
  4. Distress in Victim
  5. Classroom Effect

Session 4: Characteristics of Bullies and Victims
Objective: Identify the characteristics of bullies and their victims.
Contents:
  1. Bullies: Who are They?
  2. What Makes Bullies Tick?
  3. The True Needs of Bullies
  4. Victims: Why Do They Get Picked On?
  5. Warning Signs

Session 5: Classroom Surveys
Objective: Review bullying behaviors in the classroom.
Contents:
  1. Classroom Surveys
  2. This Week in School
  3. Bullying Survey
  4. Reactions To The Results
  5. Intervention/Prevention Strategies

Session 6: The Role of Collusion
Objective: Identify collusion and its role in the bullying cycle.
Contents:
  1. Collusion: What Does It Sound And Look Like In Your Classroom?
  2. Silent Collusion: What To Do About It
  3. Taking The Power Away From Negative Collusion
  4. Positive Collusion And How It Can Help Create A Classroom Environment That Is Safe For Everyone

Session 7: Creating a Safe Classroom Environment
Objective: Learn strategies for creating a classroom environment where everyone feels safe, accepted and contributing members of the classroom.
Contents:
  1. Dialogues With Students About Bullying Behavior
  2. Strategies For Building Acceptance Among Students
  3. Building Empathy
  4. Confronting Bullies
  5. Using I-Messages
  6. Tips On Establishing Classroom Rules With Students
  7. Getting Students Involved With Service Projects

Session 8: Creating a Safe Classroom Environment
Objective: Learn the core elements of a comprehensive school-wide approach to bullying.
Contents:
  1. Accessing The Extent Of Bullying In Your School
  2. Developing A School-Wide Plan For The Prevention And Intervention
  3. Parental Involvement
  4. Involving The Community

Session 9: Strategies for Parents of Bullies and Victims
Objective: Identify approaches for parents who are dealing with a child who is being bullied or who is a bully.
Contents:
  1. Why Is Bullying Harmful?
  2. Why Some Children Bully?
  3. If Your Child Is Being Bullied
  4. If Your Child Is A Bully
  5. 20 Things To Do Instead Of Hurting Someone
  6. Ways To Stay Bully Free
  7. "What Should You Do" Quiz For Kids

Session 10: Project Presentations and Final Exams
Objective: Present projects on research and application of best practices.
Contents:
  1. Project Presentations
  2. Final Exam
  3. Course Evaluation
  4. The "Real" Final Exam

Grading

    Assignment Points   Grading Scale  
  Group and Classroom Participation   30      100 – 93 A
  Reading Assignments   20       92 – 85 B
  Final Integration Project   30       84 – 77 C
    Final Exam   20            
  Total Points 100    

Student Requirements

1. Attend all class sessions for the requisite number of hours (45) and actively participate in all class activities.
2. Complete all reading assignments. Keep a journal, reflecting upon the major ideas in the assigned readings and the application of those ideas in your school and classroom. This journal should have a minimum of five entries of one-half page in length.
3. Complete the Final Integration Project. Review research and literature on bullying and identify several major findings or themes. Based on these key research themes, design a unit of study for your students, addressing the issue of bullying. This unit should consist of 5 lessons, each containing a list of objectives and a description of activities and content.
4. Pass a final exam.

Student Academic Integrity

Participants guarantee that all academic class work is original. Any academic dishonesty or plagiarism (to take ideas, writings, etc. from another and offer them as one's own), is a violation of student academic behavior standards as outlined by our partnering colleges and universities and is subject to academic disciplinary action.

Register

To register to take TEI's Bully Prevention in Schools course, go to the Course Registration page.