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Resolving Conflicts in Schools & Classrooms Online


Course Outline


Course Description

Resolving Conflicts in Schools & Classrooms presents a proven and innovative approach to creating safer, more productive classroom environments based on creating "Peaceable Classrooms." This model emphasizes the classroom and the school as communities of caring and respect where six themes are emphasized: cooperation, communication, emotional expression, responsible decision-making, appreciation for diversity and conflict resolution. This approach was developed out of classroom teachers' practice and has been tested in schools across the United States and Canada.

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
  • Complete the final integration project

Curriculum Design & Time Requirements

Resolving Conflicts in Schools & Classrooms is a 13 week 3 credit graduate level or sixty hour professional development course taught online. Most modules take one week to complete. Module 10 will be completed over two weeks so students have time to revise and complete the final integration project.

Hardware & Computer Skill Requirements

Students may use either a Macintosh computer or a PC with Windows 2000 or higher. Students should possess basic word processing skills and have internet access with an active e-mail account. Students also are expected to have a basic knowledge of how to use a Web browser, such as Microsoft Internet Explorer, Safari, Mozilla Firefox etc.

Course Materials

The required textbook for this course is Waging Peace in Our Schools by Linda Lantieri & Janet Patti. 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: What is Conflict Resolution?
Contents:
  1. Explain conflict resolution
  2. Discuss the importance of conflict resolution in school
  3. Explore the three levels of conflict resolution
  4. Evaluate the common myths about conflict resolution
  5. Test the five different conflict resolution styles and their uses and limitations

Session 2: Solving Conficts
Contents:
  1. Formulate one’s preferred conflict management style(s)
  2. Plan a way to think about choosing conflict management styles
  3. Examine a basic conflict solving method
  4. Develop practices using the Win-Win Grid

Session 3: The Role of Feelings in Conflict
Contents:
  1. Analyze the role of emotions in conflict
  2. Discover formula for "I-messages"
  3. Examine principles of teaching anger management
  4. Evaluate degrees of anger
  5. Develop various techniques for "cooling off"

Session 4: Communicating to De-Escalate Conflict
Contents:
  1. Return to conflict styles
  2. Problem solving in conflicts
  3. Using the Win-Win Grid
  4. Practice solving conflicts
  5. Demonstration lessons
  6. Implications for teaching and classroom management

Session 5: Negotiation and Mediation
Contents:
  1. Evaluate the difference between positions and interests
  2. Examine the process of principled negotiation
  3. Assess the mediation process
  4. Develop classroom applications of the principled negotiation and mediation

Session 6: Cooperation and Perspective-Taking
Contents:
  1. Evaluate the relationship between conflict resolution, community building, cooperation and perspective taking
  2. Examine skills and attitudes which affect the productivity of a group and the satisfaction of its members
  3. Mark the characteristics of different stages of team development
  4. Interpret various points of view in conflict situations

    5. Session 7: Diversity and Conflict: Part 1
    Contents:
  1. Evaluate fears and expectations about issues around diversity
  2. Distinguish between prejudice and discrimination
  3. Determine institutional '-isms' that exist in our society
  4. Develop strategies for addressing issues of diversity in the classroom

Session 8: Diversity and Conflict Part 2
Contents:
  1. Examine four levels of cultural competence and how they affect the understanding of differences
  2. Discuss the relationship between diversity issues and conflict
  3. Develop strategies for building alliances
  4. Determine the key challenges in dealing with issues of diversity and to model appreciation for diversity in the classroom

Session 9: Conflict Resolution
An Essential Component of Classroom Management and Discipline
Contents:
  1. Explain the relationship between conflict resolution, classroom management, and approaches to discipline
  2. Discuss the idea of punitive and instructional discipline and identify strategies that enable students to move from unskillful to skillful behavior
  3. Evaluate the Prevention - Intervention - Invention model as a frame for classroom management and effective teaching
  4. Choose strategies that help prevent student misbehaviors and encourage positive participation and a sense of belonging
  5. Discuss effective intervention strategies that can help teachers defuse and manage conflicts and confrontations

Session 10: Program Planning
Contents:
  1. Develop rationale for infusing conflict resolutions skills and concepts into the standard curriculum
  2. Discuss strengths and limitations of various conflict resolution program components
  3. Design program planning
  4. Complete the final integration project
  5. Complete the online course evaluation and post test

Grading

    Assignment Points   Grading Scale  
  Forum Participation   28      100 – 93 A
  Reading/Reflection Assignments   54       92 – 85 B
  Final Integration Project   18       84 – 77 C
  Total Points 100    

Student Requirements

  1. Actively participate in all Forum discussions and activities
  2. Complete all reading and reflection assignments
  3. Final Integration Project

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 Resolving Conflicts in Schools and Classrooms Online course, go to the Course Registration page.