Tools Not Rules: Developing Self-Regulation for Improved Student Behavior in Grades K-8

Format

Individual Presentation

Format

Workshop

First Presenter's Institution

California State University Chico

First Presenter’s Email Address

cmbertolone-smith@csuchico.edu

First Presenter's Brief Biography

Claudia Bertolone-Smith, PhD, is an associate professor in the School of Education at California State University Chico. Claudia has been an educator since 1990 with experience teaching grades 1–7 in varied learning environments. She has a wide range of education experiences, from teaching in an urban alternative elementary school focused on involving parents in education to teaching in a rural environment in schools with a wider range of diversity, socio-economic status, and a conservative approach to education. In her current position, Claudia teaches credential program courses in mathematics education.

Second Presenter's Institution

Lake Tahoe Unified School District

Second Presenter’s Email Address

mmoyer@ltusd.org

Second Presenter's Brief Biography

Marlene Moyer, MAT, is a seventh-grade English teacher at South Lake Tahoe Middle School, in South Lake Tahoe, California. She has taught for more than twenty years in Nevada and California. Currently, she is the English department curriculum leader and is a mentor teacher. Since 2013, Marlene and Claudia have co-designed and co-presented at numerous conferences and workshops, including at the CTA Good Teaching Conference in northern and southern California, focusing on classroom management strategies that are the basis of Tools Not Rules. Also, they have presented a Family Engagement workshop at the Nevada Family Engagement Summit in Las Vegas, Nevada, and a mathematics discourse workshop at the NCTM conference in Denver, Colorado.

Location

Percival

Strand #1

Heart: Social & Emotional Skills

Strand #2

Head: Academic Achievement & Leadership

Relevance

Our proposal addresses two of the 5H Conference strands. First, it addresses the heart strand by helping students and teachers connect with honesty that speaks to the heart.

Tools Not Rules is a program we created while co-teaching to help our students. We chose to believe that students are not their behaviors. From there, we created novel and highly effective ways to assist our students in changing troubling behaviors in the educational environment by connecting with who they are and what might be causing the behavior. As we gained confidence in addressing these issues with our students, we also noticed that this approach helped us avoid teacher burnout and stress. We felt increasingly energized, connected, and excited to teach our students.

Tools Not Rules also works to develop the mind; it helps students self-assess and try new behaviors that lead to academic success at school. One of the absolute joys of using Tools Not Rules was witnessing the transformation in our students. As teachers, we find that helping students with what is weighing on their hearts, opens space in their minds to try new approaches in the classroom which leads to greater academic achievement.

Brief Program Description

Tools Not Rules is a unique approach to addressing student behaviors that can disrupt the class community's social and academic well-being. This innovative way to manage behavior will change how your students engage and achieve in your classroom. We will model and practice ways to redirect your whole class and individual students so everyone is happier, including YOU!

Summary

We are two educators who co-taught grades 5 and 6 together for nine years, from 2005 through 2015, with over 45 years of combined experience in public education. Through our frustrations, dedication, and fixation on how to help students succeed, we developed a classroom facilitation approach to working with even the most challenging behaviors. The journey to Tools Not Rules® began with trying to maximize learning and minimize behaviors that stopped students from realizing their academic potential. We did not create this method to generate compliance; instead, we created it to help students separate themselves from their behavior by removing shame from the interactions; this requires something different from the adults. Additionally, we wanted all students to believe in their own unique abilities and talents and leverage those in an academic environment. As one grateful alumni noted, “You let me be ME!”

We want to shift the belief that academic achievement is something only “smart” students enjoy. We want all students to succeed, and this necessitates something different from what we have done in the past. Tools Not Rules helps the educator separate the behavior from the student to see their great potential as separate from the behaviors that may be causing them trouble. This approach allows all students the ability to be honest about their successes and challenges. It benefits ALL students, even those that appear to be doing all of the ‘right things’. It frees everyone up to be themselves and use their gifts. Our book, Tools Not Rules: Developing Self-Regulation for Improved Student Behavior in Grades K-8, is pending publication, 2025. Solution Tree, Inc.

Evidence

Our proposal is based on Brene Brown’s work on shame, disconnection, and vulnerability. In addition, it is based on Social Learning Theory (Bandura, 1977), specifically utilizing the theory’s proposed cycle that occurs when children choose behaviors. Bandura (1977) suggested that during the mediational process, a child considers if they want to choose the behavior and what might happen if they do. Tools Not Rules helps educators create a space for this mediational process through conscientious and caring conversations with individual students and the whole class. Using the TNR color-coded language triads, students are supported in accurately self-assessing and choosing a different behavior. Siegel and Payne-Bryson (2020) found that using a color-coded scheme (i.e. green, yellow, and red zone) assists students in identifying the quality of their reactions, furthering their ability for compassionate self-understanding. Tools Not Rules also helps students develop a flexible mindset (Dweck, 2013) about the behaviors that impact their learning. The goal of using TNR is to allow every student to learn about themselves, academics, and how to navigate social environments like the classroom.

Bandura, A. (1977). Social learning theory. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall.

Dweck, C. S. (2013). Mindsets and math/science achievement report. Accessed at www.growthmindsetmaths.com/uploads/2/3/7/7/23776169/mindset_and_math_science_achievement_-_nov_2013.pdf on September 22, 2023.

Siegel, D. & Bryson, T. P. (2020). The power of showing up. New York: Ballantine Books.

Learning Objective 1

Participants will be able to identify the three language triads used in TNR (Shirking, Working, and Showboating; Passive, Assertive, and Aggressive: Silly, Serious, and Stuck) and how to use these to help students self-assess and choose different behaviors.

Learning Objective 2

Participants will be able to use the Tools Not Rules approach to support individual students and their whole class to self-assess and make adjustments that lead to academic success.

Learning Objective 3

Participants will be able to adjust individual and whole class behavior by using 5 new techniques to maintain a focus on academic achievement and a positive classroom environment.

Keyword Descriptors

Classroom Management Self-Management Self-Assessment Honesty Academic Success Achievement Social Emotional Learning Flexible Mindset

Presentation Year

2025

Start Date

3-4-2025 2:45 PM

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Mar 4th, 2:45 PM

Tools Not Rules: Developing Self-Regulation for Improved Student Behavior in Grades K-8

Percival

Tools Not Rules is a unique approach to addressing student behaviors that can disrupt the class community's social and academic well-being. This innovative way to manage behavior will change how your students engage and achieve in your classroom. We will model and practice ways to redirect your whole class and individual students so everyone is happier, including YOU!