Conflict resolution programs for middle school students

If left unchecked, it could even lead to violence. Many districts may offer some type of conflict resolution training. This article discusses strategies for dealing with conflict between students, as well as with an angry, disruptive student. But there are concrete steps you can take to settle problems in the classroom.

Not every conflict will be the same, and so not every conflict can be resolved in the same manner. But understanding basic strategies can help most situations. Depending on the situation, there are several different options for conflict resolution.

Here are some examples. While these types of conflicts may be small-scale, researchers have found that violence can stem from relatively small conflicts, so handling disputes quickly is paramount. Cool off First, before problem-solving can begin, the students need time to calm down.

For younger students, have them take some deep breaths. Share, listen, check Students need to listen to each other share their issues, and then check that they understand them. This can take practice and coaching from a teacher. Take responsibility Once students have shared their perspectives, they need to take responsibility for their own actions.

This is a good time for students to learn to compromise. Affirm, forgive, or thank Students can close out the session by acknowledging what happened and forgiving the other student if an apology or forgiveness is warranted. The mediators use the conflict resolution skills they were taught during the three-step process. The mediators are recognizable as they wear mediator T-shirts, and seek to mediate all conflicts that occur in both the classroom and throughout the school grounds i.

The initial conflict resolution training usually requires 10—20 hours of training and is typically spread across several weeks of classroom instruction. Study 1 Conflict Strategy: Withdrawing Johnson and colleagues found that after the Teaching Students to Be Peacemakers training, the use of withdrawal to resolve a conflict decreased for students in the treatment groups as compared to students in the control group, although this finding was not significant.

Conflict Strategy: Forcing The use of force to resolve a conflict significantly decreased for students in the treatment groups as compared to students in the control group. Conflict Strategy: Smoothing The use of smoothing to resolve a conflict decreased for students in the treatment groups as compared to students in the control group, although this finding was not significant.

Conflict Strategy: Compromising The use of compromising to resolve a conflict significantly decreased for students in the treatment groups as compared to students in the control group.

Conflict Strategy: Negotiating The use of negotiation to resolve a conflict significantly increased for the students in the treatment group as compared to students in the control group. Study 2 Conflict Management Scale Computer Conflict Stevahn and colleagues found that after the Teaching Students to Be Peacemakers training, students in the treatment group used significantly more constructive strategies to resolve the computer conflict scenario as compared to students in the control group.

Conflict Strategies Theory Scale Computer Conflict Students in the treatment group used significantly more constructive strategies to resolve the computer conflict scenario than the students in the control group. Negotiation Steps Computer Conflict Thirty-seven percent of students in the treatment group used one or more steps of the negotiation procedure as compared to 0 percent of the students in the control group the mean score for the control group was 0, therefore a t-test on the comparison between the groups was not conducted.

Mediation Constructiveness Scale Cutting in Line Students in the treatment group used significantly more constructive interventions to help others resolve the cutting-in-line conflict scenario than the students in the control group.

Mediation Conflict Strategies Scale Cutting in Line Students in the treatment group used significantly more constructive intervention strategies to help others resolve the cutting-in-line conflict scenario than the students in the control group. Mediation Steps Cutting in Line Students in the treatment group used significantly more mediation steps to help others resolve the cutting-in-line conflict scenario than the students in the control group.

Study 3 Strategy Constructiveness Scale Computer Conflict Stevahn and colleagues found that after the Teaching Students to Be Peacemakers training, students in the treatment group used significantly more constructive strategies to resolve the computer conflict scenario than the students in the control group.

Negotiation Steps Computer Conflict Students in the treatment group used significantly more steps of the negotiation procedure, with an average of four steps, as compared to the students in the control group who used none.

Intervention Constructiveness Scale Cutting in Line Students in the treatment group used significantly more constructive interventions strategies to help others resolve the cutting-in-line conflict scenario than the students in the control group.

Mediation Strategies Theory Scale Cutting in Line Students in the treatment group used significantly more mediation strategies to resolve the cutting-in-line conflict scenario than the students in the control group. This video, created by Western Justice Center, features a bad mediator providing training advice to new mediators, alongside another mediator who actually knows what she is talking about. This series of videos illustrates a high school mediation and shows ways to proceed with and without an agreement.

Conflict Resolution Education Conflict Resolution Education teaches students how to analyze conflicts they are involved in and approaches they can take to handle them, as well as communication skills and processes for resolving them. Peer Mediation Videos Peer Mediation is a process where students are trained to impartially guide their peers in a voluntary and confidential process where they come up with their own solutions to conflicts they have with one another.

Peer Mediation Introduction. On-the-Spot Mediation. Bad Mediator. Bad Mediator Training. Don't Give In to the Drama This series of videos illustrates a high school mediation and shows ways to proceed with and without an agreement.

Websites The Conflict Resolution Education Connection - This website provides a variety of resources on conflict resolution education, with pages devoted specifically to teachers and administrators.