CONFLICT MANAGEMENT IN PRACTICE
The following are general examples of how teachers have provided instruction, guided practice, and independent practice.
Instruction
Define conflict management for your students.
Example: “What is a conflict? Terms to describe conflict include ‘fight,’ ‘clash,’ ‘opposition,’ ‘incompatibility,’ and ‘negative interaction.’ How do conflicts get resolved? Do they always get resolved?”
Explain and illustrate why conflict management is important for your students.
Example: “If you can handle negative interactions, you can get along better with others and get what you want. Have you ever been in a fight and everyone felt like they won? Have you ever compromised? Did that turn out okay?”
Discuss the conflict management process (i.e., understanding your own conflict response, looking at different perspectives, and applying the appropriate conflict management strategy).
Example: “What do you do in a disagreement? Can you study the situation rather than take it personally? For example, instead of feeling attacked, think about what the other person is feeling and why they may be feeling that way. People who act angry may be afraid or frustrated at a situation or themselves and not you. Ask them questions. When you understand the problem, you can choose the best response.”
Develop an activity or materials that get your students thinking about conflict management and its essential components.
Example: Ask students to come up with conflict scenarios of when you “do something” and “when you don’t do anything” and why. Another activity is to have students apply the collaborative management strategy when a conflict occurs in the classroom such as (1) Stay calm; (2) Tell the person what they do that you do not like; (3) Tell the person how you feel and why; (4) Tell the person what you would like them to do or think of possible solutions together; and (5) Ask if you both can agree and what you plan to do next.
Guided Practice
Provide opportunities for students to practice conflict management.
Example: Set up peer mediation teams for conflict resolution. Have students express a stance on a problem and then ask them to look at that problem from another point of view.
Guide students through reflection on and application of conflict management.
Example: Have students identify and study a conflict over time in the media. Ask them to show observe how the conflict is managed by all those involved.
Independent Practice
Support students as they personalize application of self-regulation.
Example: Help your students understand their natural response to conflict by having them take this quiz (Adkins, 2006; Gaumer Erickson et al. 2015). Discuss the potential implications of their natural responses to different types of conflict, and then have students reflect on how they could adjust that response if needed for the situation.
Reinforce conflict management.
Example: Recognize conflicts that have been successfully resolved at school. Also consider giving students a set amount of time, e.g., a week, to identify three conflicts in their life and write how they managed the conflict or observed another manage conflict.