Alfie Kohn
Creator of an
Educational Vision: Beyond Discipline
"We want kids to be independent
thinkers eventually, but for now we ignore that because we want them to
know long division by the end of the year. We want them to love learning,
but we set that aside because right now it’s more important to us that
they bring up their grade point averages." -Alfie Kohn
Overview
of Kohn’s Model
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The focus needs to shift from achievement
to learning
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Allow students to make choices; they
cannot learn to make choices if they are always being told what to do
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Tougher standards add pressure and
do not consider individual characteristics of students
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Threats and bribes do offer short-term
changes in behavior, but they can never help kids develop a commitment
to positive values
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Excessive praise from the teacher can
create "praise junkies"
Assumptions
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When Kids focus on grades and achievement,
it takes away from their focus on learning
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A child that is always told how to
behave and what to do doesn’t get the opportunity to make choices
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Cooperation is an important part of
learning
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Misbehavior in the classroom is not
due to children who are insufficiently controlled; it is due to a curriculum
that is insufficiently engaging
Instructional
Implications
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Make your walls an equitable display
of the student’s work. Rid them of rules. The more ‘ownership’
the kids can have with the walls, the better
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Engage and challenge your students,
but don’t overstress them
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Discovery learning is the key to development
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Learning through discussion
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Replace grades with checklists, so
that student’s sub-skills are rated
Teacher’s
Role
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Be a facilitator --- not a dictator
or instructor
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Give students ownership with decision
making, roles, and responsibilities
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Do not create an environment of power,
control, or hierarchical relationships
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Put an end to congratulatory remarks;
stop saying "good job"
Strengths
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Empowerment --- students learn how
to make choices
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Encourages high level thinking
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Paints optimistic picture of learning
and classroom interaction
Possible
Weaknesses
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No standard model to follow, no clear
and specific steps to achieve this ideal
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Tells you what is wrong (with standards
and norms), but we are left wondering what is right
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Assumes that every student in a classroom
will respond positively to his ideas
References
Handout from Gardner Barrier, Brad Broos, Mike Wessler, and Wes Whitaker
from presentation given in CUI 650 on Alfie Kohn. (2001).
Kohn, Alfie. (2001). Alfie Kohn Homepage. [Online]. Available
at http://www.alfiekohn.org. [2001].
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