Dr Bill Rogers - Dealing with distractions confidently

Summary

Dr. Bill Rogers emphasizes the importance of maintaining a calm and focused classroom environment, even when dealing with distractions like iPods and smartphones. Through a role-playing example in which he interacted with a student named Daniel, Rogers illustrates effective techniques for addressing classroom disruptions without escalating conflict. His approach includes using non-verbal cues, maintaining primary focus on the rules, and tactically ignoring secondary behaviors. This method encourages a learning dynamic that minimizes distractions and fosters cooperation.

Highlights

• Dr. Rogers uses drawing as a tool to engage with teachers and illustrate scenarios in his workshops. 🎨
• A practical example with a student named Daniel shows how to handle iPod distractions calmly. 🎧
• Non-verbal cues effectively remind students of classroom rules without causing a scene. 🤐
• Primary focus should be on helping students understand their work, not on what distracts them. 📚
• Calmly reiterating rules helps students comply without argument. 🗣️

Key Takeaways

• Use non-verbal cues to address distractions without confrontation. 🤫
• Focus on primary behavior issues, not secondary distractions. 🚀
• Provide students with clear choices to help manage distractions. 🏫
• Encourage calm and assertive interactions with students. 😌
• Tactically ignore minor disruptions to maintain focus. 🙈

Overview

In his engaging workshops, Dr. Bill Rogers highlights the nuances of dealing with distractions in the classroom. His methods emphasize non-verbal communication and maintaining a focus on essential rules, bypassing secondary behaviors that can lead to unnecessary conflict.

Through the example of a student named Daniel, Rogers demonstrates how direct, calm interactions can subtly enforce rules and encourage self-correction among students. His tactical approach to ignoring minor sulky behaviors ensures that teachers maintain authority without escalating the situation.

Ultimately, Dr. Rogers aims to create a classroom environment conducive to learning by minimizing disruptions and skillfully managing distractions. His illustrative techniques, including drawing, provide a visual aid to educators, helping them to visualize and implement these effective strategies.

Chapters

• 00:00 - 00:30: Introduction and Early Life The speaker reflects on their early life experiences, particularly in school during the late 1950s. They recount being frequently punished with detentions and canings for drawing in class instead of paying attention. Despite the reprimands, they share that these drawings are now integral to their workshops, suggesting a personal and professional integration of their artistic talent that was once discouraged. The speaker humorously mentions sketching a teacher relaxing with a cup of tea or coffee, contemplating their students, highlighting a playful defiance to their childhood experiences of discipline.
• 00:30 - 01:00: Use of Roleplay in Workshops The chapter titled 'Use of Roleplay in Workshops' discusses the integral use of roleplaying as a tool to demonstrate and address classroom challenges within workshop settings. By roleplaying various behaviors of teachers and children, facilitators can effectively convey realistic classroom scenarios. Though it might be exhausting, this approach helps in vividly illustrating issues like students causing distractions or not paying attention. For instance, a specific case mentioned includes a student named Daniel, emphasizing the importance of portraying such examples vividly, even with the help of visual aids, to enhance understanding.
• 01:00 - 02:30: Addressing Distracted Students - The Case of Daniel In the chapter titled 'Addressing Distracted Students - The Case of Daniel', the narrator describes a classroom scenario that took place a few months ago in Australia. While circulating the room during on-task learning time, the teacher noticed several students, including one named Daniel, who were violating the school's rule against using personal devices like iPods or smartphones during class. The teacher attempted to address the situation by using nonverbal cues to communicate with Daniel about the inappropriate use of his device in class.
• 02:30 - 04:30: Handling Distractions and Student Reactions In this chapter, the focus is on handling distractions in the classroom and understanding student reactions. A teacher notices a student, Daniel, is distracted with earbuds in. The teacher engages Daniel in a conversation to understand his engagement with the classwork. Daniel is initially non-committal in his responses but eventually starts discussing the subject matter with the teacher. The teacher encourages Daniel to continue his efforts and plans to check back with him later, also subtly addressing the earbud distraction by giving him a choice regarding using his iPod.
• 04:30 - 05:30: Concluding Remarks on Teaching Techniques This chapter emphasizes the importance of how teachers can address distractions in the classroom. Instead of immediately confiscating or demanding items causing distraction, teachers should initiate an interaction focused on teaching. By engaging with students about their work or learning progress, teachers transform potentially disruptive moments into opportunities for conversation and connection, reinforcing their role as educators rather than enforcers.

Dr Bill Rogers - Dealing with distractions confidently Transcription

• 00:00 - 00:30 [Music] so tell us about your pictures because I think you use these don't you in your workshops yeah it's the thing I got punished for most at school when I grew up in this country in the uh late 1950s lots of detentions a number of canings were drawing in class when I should have been listening but I've drawn a teacher here just relaxing over a cup of tea or coffee thinking about his or her class
• 00:30 - 01:00 and the challenges of that class and on the day every case example every case study uh that I try to roleplay in front of the group I'll try to roleplay the actual behavior of the teacher and even the kids which is a bit tiring but will be supported by a picture of some kind for example before when I was talking about kids calling or budding or fiddling with objects or listening to iPods for example this lad here Daniel when I walked up to Daniel this is about two
• 01:00 - 01:30 months ago back in Australia it was on task learning time I'd finished whole class teaching time I was cruising around the room doing micro teaching chatting with the kids at the table ask them how I could help them where they were up to is it making sense now I walked up to this lad and there must have been about three kids like Daniel with iPods or you know smartphones listening to music school rules clear we don't have iPhones or iPods on in class and I walked up and I and I went like that you know just to nonverbally cue
• 01:30 - 02:00 him and he took the earbud out and stuck them in his pocket and I said it's Daniel isn't it he said yeah said How's your work going he said it's all right it's okay sort of you know yeah I said what are you up to he started to talk about it I said is it making sense he said sort of said tell me about it because I don't teach this particular subject I'm here as a visiting teacher working with your class he started to talk about the subject uh about the work after a couple of minutes I said uh all right do your best I'll be back a little bit later and just before I left I gave him a direct Ed Choice your iPod
• 02:00 - 02:30 I want you to put it in your bag or if you like leave it on uh leave it on your teacher's D or breakdown so the first thing we do in that tiny transaction about an issue about phones or things that are distracting him is not to walk up and say give me that iPod or give me that mini skateboard or give me the key ring or whatever they're marking around with the first inter part of the interaction is to become a teacher you know talk about about the work yeah how's it going
• 02:30 - 03:00 where you up to check his name Daniel and just before I left I said I want you to put it in your bag or on on your teacher's table till break time and then I walked away to give him take up time I said I'll see you later so I gave him a task reminder that I would be back so even in that tiny transaction with one boy Daniel there's a lot going on particularly in the way that teacher enters the social space the audience who are watching this kind of behavior close
• 03:00 - 03:30 buire and also the fact that it's his possession his little smartphone that he's listening to his music to now Daniel was reasonably um Cooperative other students in the class one student said oh come on I can still work with it on I said I'm sure you can partial agreement I'm sure you can in our school though the rules clear now in your bag or if you like getting back to the primary issue quickly not the secondary Behavior I don't care if you can work with it on and I don't care if every teacher here lets you do that once we
• 03:30 - 04:00 start arguing like that we're moving further and further away from the primary issue at that point and the other one I often get kids saying to me is other teachers don't care they'll even name the teacher you go and ask her she doesn't care like you ask Miss DAV and that she doesn't care like if we have like as long as we get our work done and my standard response to that is even if you teach I can check that with your teacher I'm not sure if your teacher cares or not I can check that with your teacher even if that's the case the rule is clear and get back to the primary sure the rules clear in your
• 04:00 - 04:30 bag or if you like leave it on my table at the teacher's table till break time and I'll come back and see how your work's going soon and by walking away and giving take up time eight out of 10 kids in very difficult school as I work as I walk away the Sigh goes up and you can see them almost just behind your back as you walk away you can see them putting it away I'll put it away then if I have to and all that stuff is what we tactically ignore we don't go back and say listen when you put it away you don't make a song and dance of about it we don't feed
• 04:30 - 05:00 that secondary residuality which is all part of his social postering that he may not be aware of you know the sulky pouty eyes or the ceiling stuff and again if you watch a a confidently effective not cocky teacher please the way they interact is to keep that sense of calmness but still keep the focus on creating a teaching and learning Dynamic that's not easily distracted by iPods you know toys or inappropriate chatting or calling out or whatever it is so the
• 05:00 - 05:30 the course with Osiris is very much every case example that I've drawn that I'll be talking about on the day will be modeled I I'll try to model it out to unpack the elements of the skill uh and people obviously have chance to bring up other case examples and I'll draw while I'm working too because obviously I like to draw so yes that's the way we [Music] work
• 05:30 - 06:00 than you