Classroom Management Without Power Struggles
Why This Learning Experience?
This self-paced professional learning experience is designed by an experienced educator to help you learn on your own schedule. Participants complete practical activities, connect ideas to real classroom practice, and build confidence through application-focused learning — with instant, auto-graded feedback along the way.
Learning Experience Overview
Across four lessons, educators build a complete response toolkit: de-escalating a moment safely once it is underway, repairing the relationship afterward through a simple restorative-conversation structure, and designing classroom routines, relationships, and self-management habits that prevent power struggles before they start. Course content is grounded in established research, including Colvin’s escalation cycle, Greene’s Collaborative & Proactive Solutions, Perry’s Neurosequential Model, Siegel and Bryson’s regulate-before-reason model, Brené Brown’s work on shame and accountability, the restorative-questions framework from the International Institute for Restorative Practices, the PBIS tiered prevention model, and Parker Palmer’s work on teacher identity.
Learning Outcomes
- Explain how a power struggle differs from ordinary misbehavior and describe the stages of the escalation cycle.
- Identify the function a challenging behavior is likely serving, such as escape, attention, sensory need, power or control, or communication.
- Apply in-the-moment de-escalation strategies, including self-regulation, tone and proximity, and genuine choice, to lower tension safely.
- Lead a brief, structured restorative conversation that holds a student accountable without shame.
- Distinguish consistency from sameness when responding to repeated student behavior.
- Design classroom routines, relationships, and self-management habits that prevent power struggles before they start.
Who Should Participate?
- K–12 classroom teachers
- New and early-career educators
- Special education teachers
- Instructional coaches
- School counselors
- Behavior specialists and interventionists
- School administrators
- Substitute and paraprofessional staff
