Reviews From Teacher Trainers

• As a teacher trainer, because of this course, I now have a great resource to help other teachers – the notes from the course, its textbook and its training video. This course has given me great ideas and strategies to share with new educators and those who may be having difficulty with a class. Dr. Seeman has created one of the most beneficial courses for educators. Many good teachers leave the teaching profession because they have not been given these kinds of tools to adequately manage a classroom.
  
  This course helps teachers: to distinguish miscalls from true discipline problems; think through what they really need in their room to make it organized and learner friendly; step back, and analyze their rules and why they have them; think through warning steps for those who choose to break rules; and how to pre-plan classroom issues congruently. Teachers are also given tools and ideas on how to handle almost any discipline issue they can imagine. They are also given many strategies for improving lessons and making them more interactive for students. This course helps teachers walk away with a renewed confidence that they can and will do a great job with their students.
  As a master teacher, this has been one of the most valuable courses I have ever taken.
  
  Jacquelyn Knochel, Teacher, Tempe Elementary School District #3, Tempe, Arizona

• WOW! I am so excited that, after taking Dr. Seeman's online class, I now have a "cookbook" that I can use to assist teachers in the classroom. In my job as a middle school counselor, I assist teachers in managing the behavior problems in their classrooms. This course has provided me with the information that I can use with teachers to help them view their classroom from both their and the student's perspective. I now use at least one technique from Dr. Seeman's book daily. It is so enlightening for teachers to know that there is a systematic way to handle problems in their classrooms to get the results that they want. I have truly seen the light bulb go on when teachers are able to identify what they can do to improve instruction, handle issues in their classrooms, and create the environment they want for their students by using this book, its training exercises and Video. Thank you, Dr. Seeman for such a wonderful and practical contribution to teacher training and to education.
  
  Thelma Irby, Counselor & Teacher Trainer, Arizona
  
  
• Being the Director of the Center for Teaching Support at Trident Technical, I provide classroom management training for our colleges' faculty on many campuses, sometimes focusing on preventing and handling disruptive behavior in the face-to-face classrooms. I was glad to find Prof. Howard Seeman's book Preventing Disruptive Behavior in Colleges: A Campus and Classroom Management Handbook for Higher Education via an online search, as well as his classroom management website, and was excited to learn that he also offered speaking events, as well as an online training class and resources for faculty.
  
  After reading some of the book online, I decided to order a copy because the information was exactly what our faculty needed. Then, after reading the book and agreeing with its information, I recommended Howard Seeman to the VP of our college as the keynote speaker for our annual faculty meeting.
  
  On Aug. 13, 2012, not only did he present to over 300 faculty members, he also met with all the academic deans for a working lunch session, and then conducted a 2-hour workshop to academic department heads, program coordinators and instructors. Now, after his help with them, the workshop participants serve as disruptive behavior resources for all their departments.
  
  The Center for Teaching Support, that sponsored the event, is now able to offer disruptive behavior training customized for our faculty, thanks to Prof. Seeman's input to our staff. This would not have been possible without his guidance and handbook Preventing Disruptive Behavior in Colleges.
  
  We have currently purchased about 150 copies of his handbook and distributed them to faculty, as well as placed them in the faculty libraries of all our campuses. This handbook is a wonderful resource that includes online video samples, training exercises and checklists. New and veteran faculty will find this handbook very useful and informative. I especially found these chapters very helpful: Chapters 1, 2 and 4 on the different categories of students that tend to be disruptive, their typical disruptive behaviors, and how instructors should better react to or prevent these disruptions. Also, an explanation of how to distinguish "miscalls" from real discipline problems, as well as: how teachers need to be "congruent" – which was also very eye-opening and inspiring.
  Michelle Smith, Director, Center for Teaching Support, Trident Technical College, Charleston, S.C., Sept. 28, 2012
  
  
• Professor Seeman has created a course which effectively addresses the practical needs of today's classroom teachers in handling all manner of classroom management and discipline problems. Rather than propound an academic analysis of such problems, as too many do, he rolls up his sleeves and, in a way, online, joins teachers in their classrooms, guiding them with down-to-earth, realistic and occasionally humorous advice. A key message is that attending to the emotional life of both the teacher and the student enhances personal and professional effectiveness, a much-needed corrective to the rule-rubric driven focus of much teacher education. And, he has done this in an online course, so well. I emphatically recommend this course to any teacher wishing to master his/her profession. Furthermore, I fervently hope that Departments of Teacher Education and School Administrators give more emphasis to supporting the development of curricula and continuing education in the approach Dr. Seeman has taken to these increasingly serious problems that show up in our classrooms every day.
  Daniel J. Wiener, Ph.D., Professor, School of Education and Professional Studies at Central Connecticut State University, with 34 years of experience in academic teaching , is also a practicing clinical psychologist since 1976, a Diplomate in Marital and Family Psychology, and Founder of Rehearsals for Growth where he applies action methods to relationship skills training.
  
  
• As a district trainer for new teachers, I found this online course extremely useful for helping teachers to more than just handle, but prevent, classroom management problems: designing better classroom rules, dealing with discipline problems, being a congruent, real teacherperson, clearly defining when a situation warrants disciplinary action, and how to respond appropriately to classroom situations. This course gives inexperienced teachers the knowledge and support to grow as professional educators.
  
  Donna Torres, Waveland School District Teacher Trainer, Mississippi
  
  
• This course is a powerful change agent! It enables teachers to feel less alone and more empowered to prevent and constructively respond to discipline problems! Rich ... far reaching and practical, especially as an online experience.
  Susan G. Roth, Ed.D., Formerly: Chief School Psychologist with the Governor's Committee on Children's Planning for New Jersey; Senior Coordinating Supervisor, Rutgers University Graduate School of Applied Professional Psychology and office of the Superintendent of Schools, New Jersey Department of Corrections.
  
  
• This course has taught me several critical concepts about discipline problems: their definition, possible causes, and what to do to prevent discipline problems from occurring in the first place. In addition, you've given us countless techniques for handling whatever comes along. Thank you very much!
  
  Rosie Piller, Teacher-Trainer (see Education Experts), Boulder, Colorado
  
  
• The online course on Preventing Classroom Discipline Problems helped me a lot to put together a training program for public teachers in regard to a project of Save the Children in Albania which addresses violence against children in schools. A number of teachers themselves state—we are aware of conducting violent practices to discipline children in the classroom because we need to show our authority/power to student—they say. And what they face is disruption in the classroom and a lot of yelling.
  
  Also, the book used in this online course is rich in concrete and efficient steps to tell us what we need to take into account when dealing with situations of disruptive behavior. But more than that it tells us that even tiny little issues in the classroom can turn out to be strong headaches for teachers if not prevented or tackled appropriately at their early stages starting from the physical environment to teacher-student interactions and moving up to the delivery of lesson plans.
  
  The video is also a good complementary of the book and the reaction I got from teachers who saw the video was very positive, concrete and quite beneficial to start looking at things differently.
  
  When working on the weekly assignments, I tried to see it as a professional in helping teachers with discipline problems and as a parent to face concerns any parent may have with discipline problems at home with the kids. Professor Seeman was very straightforward, efficient and sometimes challenging with the homework requirements.
  
  The whole chapter of "Preventing rules from falling apart" and the outstanding section of "Rewards instead of punishments" stand out—in my opinion—to be of primary importance along with getting behind the whole issue of congruence in regard to teacher-student interactions.
  
  Besnik Kadesha, Education Program Coordinator at Save the Children, Tirana, Albania
  
  
• I have been involved in the field of Education for the past twenty five years, working as a teacher, dean of students in High School administration, central office administration, and currently as the Deputy Associate Superintendent for the Dept. of Education , Discipline Initiative in Arizona. Dr. Seeman's course on Preventing Classroom Discipline Problems has certainly validated twelve years of bicoastal classroom experience for me, from Philadelphia to Phoenix. I have found Dr. Seeman's course to be "right on point" in the identification of the problems encountered during the discipline of students. His text has been extremely helpful in providing techniques and skills necessary when dealing with disruptive students. The particular identification of behavior "Miscalls" and classroom disruptions versus "discipline problems" shared in Dr. Seeman's text represents the proliferation in the evolution of discipline in today's schools! This course has been extremely useful with helping educators understand just how "huge" the role that adult behavior plays in the outcomes of STUDENT discipline. This has been an extremely worthwhile course, augmented by an excellent video and authentic sharing by fellow students. I highly recommend that any adult, who is in the profession of educating children, enroll in this class today!
  
  Dr. Ann Hart
  Deputy Associate Superintendent Statewide Discipline Initiative
  Arizona Department of Education
  
  
• As a future teacher educator, I found Dr. Seeman's online course extremely valuable and informative. His approach to classroom management is practical and comprehensive, and more useful than many traditional education courses. The instructor is very enthusiastic and knowledgeable. This course, which addresses almost all aspects of the classroom management, becomes more effective with Dr. Seeman's friendly attitude toward his students. The content, procedures and course tasks were very helpful to reevaluate myself as a teacher educator. Since the course assignments were more practice oriented, they helped me to better think of the practical applications of what I have learned. Furthermore, the text book of the course was excellent with its training exercises, very user friendly, and the procedures in the course were very professional. I highly recommend this online course to all teacher educators who want to gain a better understanding and new practical skills in the area of classroom management.
  
  Aydin Bal, M.A., Instructor, College of Education, Arizona State University
  
  
• I wholeheartedly agree with Professor Seeman's approach of needing to teach new teachers how to evaluate themselves as REAL persons in their classrooms. He gives us some very user friendly guidelines for discipline in our classrooms. Traditional education courses have too much theory and totally useless information and that is where the problem has been for years. Teacher training for discipline needs to be hands on!! Professor Seeman guides you through his book by encouraging you to really look at the way you teach and what things that students do really "bug" you and make your environment hostile to learning. The assignments took me step by step through the process and made me really look at the way I was teaching and disciplining and gave me a chance to fine tune my rules. Because of this course, I truly feel more confident and sure that this year will be a more consistent and fun year in my classroom, because I have learned some new strategies and how to change some old ones to work better for me. The book and video are very user friendly and the video in particular gives you a visual of some of the major pitfalls of the classroom. The textbook gets an A+ for being thorough and insightful. This has been the best class I have taken in a very long time. Thanks Professor Seeman for teaching to the real world and not a fictitious classroom setting.
  
  Jan O'Malley, veteran teacher of biology, Tempe, Arizona
  
  
• Dr. Howard Seeman's approach to classroom management is the piece of the puzzle that has been missing in teacher pre-service training. His book, Preventing Classroom Discipline Problems, addresses a philosophy and practical techniques and strategies that can be applied in any classroom. The approach causes one to evaluate their inter-teacher and how they interact with children. The book's set-up provides for a quick identification of the problem, cause of the problem and practical solutions. This program is not only for the new teachers, but is valuable for all staff that interact with children. It provides teacher supervisors with tools to help the teacher identify the cause of classroom issues and identifies simple solutions. As one that has been involved in teacher mentoring, and as an administrator at the elementary, middle school, junior high, and alternative education levels, I see Dr. Seeman's program as the key for teachers, at all levels regardless of their experience, to deal effectively and efficiently with a wide range of classroom issues allowing them to establish, or re-establish as the case may be, a learning environment where students are actively engaged in their learning independent of the classroom demographics.
  
  Rick Horvath, Principal, Tempe Arizona