This brief presents the assumptions underlying the approach taken by the International Center for Cooperation and Conflict Resolution, Teachers College, Columbia University, in creating a nonviolent school. It also provides specific program components that schools can implement. The approach is based on the recognition that violence is a function…

This videotape demonstrates environments and several teaching strategies in the area of child-focused practices recommended by the Council for Exceptional Children's Division for Early Childhood. The strategies were selected based on a literature review and input from focus groups of parents and teachers on what promotes learning for young…

Although many people have been trained to teach, few have received instructions on group leadership skills. Suggestions for helping group facilitators to become effective group leaders are discussed in this book. In order to address the concerns of readers who may be new to peer helping, chapter 1 covers basic issues. Experienced teachers can…

This book presents stories from teachers nationwide who tackled specific discipline challenges. Chapter 1, "Taking the Total Quality Road" (Judi Call, Beth Ziecheck, Janice Wright, and Kenneth Rigsby), discusses the use of Total Quality Management (TQM) in developing classroom management systems, explaining how Florida elementary…

Peer counselors are individuals who have been trained in communication skills and who have learned how to apply these skills in helping another person. This booklet was written by a peer counselor and peer counseling teacher to fill a frequently expressed need for a quick, easy-to-read reference. Its purpose is to make available to peer counselors…

Conflict resolution has moved into the classroom. Peaceful conflict resolution includes negotiation, peer mediation, and arbitration. Data on conflict-resolution programs have turned up interesting objectives and outcomes. Curriculum approaches include classroom discipline, peace education, multicultural perspective, and just community. Teaching…

This article provides guidelines for knowing when to institutionalize peer-mediated instruction and interventions (PMII), and generalization techniques familiar to special educators are linked specifically to institutionalization of PMII. Barriers and promoters of sustained PMII in schools are identified, with implications for how stakeholders…

Presents discipline tips from several teachers to keep classrooms running smoothly all year. Some of the suggestions include the following: a bear-cave warning system, peer mediation, a motivational mystery, problem students acting as the teacher's assistant, a positive-behavior-reward chain, a hallway scavenger hunt (to ensure quiet passage…

This digest discusses mediation as a form of conflict management that is receiving widespread attention in schools. Mediation involves a neutral third person, called a mediator, who assists the disputants in resolving their problem with the consent of all parties. It offers a risk-free way to settle disputes for the parties involved. Unresolved…

This article examines peer intervention as a strategy for modifying disruptive behavior in inclusive classrooms, focusing on the method known as peer confrontation. A vignette of this method's application to reduce the incidence of verbal abuse in a regular classroom is provided, and implications of peer mediation for inclusive schooling are…

Mediation is a process that enables two or more persons in a dispute to find mutually agreeable solutions to their differences with the aid of a mediator. The mediator does not take sides, but helps the disputants consider their options. Mediation is voluntary, and disputing parties must agree to participate. Furthermore, the mediator does not…

Mediation or conflict resolution training has been effective in a variety of settings. Using the components of the process (active listening, cooperation, acceptance of differences, creative problem solving, and empathetic responses) students learn to deal with anger and to work with others so as to arrive at solutions peacefully. Some of the…

Mediation is a process that enables two or more persons in a dispute to find mutually agreeable solutions to their differences with the aid of a mediator. The mediator does not take sides, but helps the disputants consider their options. Mediation is voluntary, and disputing parties must agree to participate. The mediator does not have the power…

This conflict mediation program resolves disputes non-violently using teams of two student mediators and a set of formal procedures. These methods improve communication, define issues, and develop alternative paths to resolution. The goals of the program are the prevention of violence, the improvement of human relations, and the building of more…

This short publication provides a process for managing conflict among managerial peers. It focuses more on conflicts among managers that involve personal values, office politics, power struggles, and emotional reactions than on conflicts that arise from incompatible goals or from different views on how to accomplish a task. The process described…