The diagnostic approach is probably the most comprehensive approach to classroom discipline because it is designed to prevent the recurrence of symptoms by discovering and treating the causes of behavior problems. The diagnostic model of discipline presented here interrelates the mental and behavioral processes the teacher undergoes when dealing with a child's disruptive behavior. In conceiving of the teacher as a clinician, the model postulates that diagnostic judgment of the child's problems based upon observable symptoms is prerequisite to appropriately treating the problems. The model provides a conceptual framework that will help teachers develop thoughtful and reasoned solutions to classroom discipline problems. (Author/JD)