Constructivist Discipline for a Student-Centered Classroom Daniel Helman, Winkle Institute: AGroup of Independent Scientists, CA Helman, Ph.D. Sustainability Education, holds aCAadult school credential andis Founder/Executive Director of a 501(c)(3) research institute for independent scientists. Abstract School discipline remains authoritarian in the USAdespite the super ic ial adoption of student-centered, constructivist lessondelivery. heissuemaybelackof ideasfor how toconduct constructivist discipline. hree novel activities are presentedfor classroom discipline t hat may close this gap. All three present discipline in a manner that is easy for a student to perform, thus increasing the likelihood of compliance. At the same time, these three are also demonstrably enriching, chosen to promote skills development. Introduction Groups—whetherfamilygroups, schools, informal groupsoffriends, relatives, ormoreformal associations—are primarylocations of acculturation(Dovidioet al., 2011). Habits of language and thought, preferences for food and art, goals and ideas: these all can be found in primary social settings (Lillard et al., 2011). While many of these are of concern to those who have taken on the mantle of the teachingprofession, it is school culturethat weas teachers o tenfeel mos t responsiblefor. his responsibility is a feature of the profession: the habits that we model for our students are an integral part of the culture at a school. Efective discipline strategies are essential tothe classroom teacher for creatingthe kindof culture wherein student learning can lourish in a variety of cha llenging circumstances. his paper is meant to ill in the gap, the lack of progressive, student-centered discipline techniques that ought to be available in the current literature on pedagogy. What follows is a brief background of the history of the problem, and thenanintroductionto three techniques that canbe adopted inthe classroom, plus strategies for teachers to develop their own. his s hort ofering can serve as the starting point for a larger movement towards more efective (and play ful) teaching based on constructivist discipline. Background Learning venues have been transformed to student-centered, experiential havens in the United States— at least in theory—since the critical assessment of authoritarian teaching styles and the introduction of constructivisttheory, whosegroundworkwaslaidbyJeanPiaget'swritings(Wadsworth, 1996). Materials andactivities have beenredesignedanda positive outcome has beenplannedfor (Du fy & Jonassen, 2013). Yet, outcomes are not as high as one might hope. Children are being let behind. For example, Tremblay et al. (1992) reportedthat poor school achievement is a necessary causal factor inthe progressionof delinquency in students from irst grade to age 14. Ach ievement is not rising for all children (Monroe, 2005). Academic Exchange Quarterly, 21(3), 64-69. http://rapidintellect.com/AEQweb/fal2017.htm