Describe:
Classroom management is essential
for any and all effective teachers. The reading this week talked about what
effective classroom management looks like and how to properly combat, manage,
and prevent misbehavior.
According to the text, “the most
effective approach to classroom management is effective instruction,” (Slavin,
p. 316). The theory behind this is that if students are constantly busy with
activities and are engaged at all times, the opportunity for misbehavior or
getting off track is avoided. There are still those students that will
misbehave even when class time has been planned for effective instruction, but
teachers must be prepared for these students with strategies for discipline and
intervention.
Time is one of the most important
factors to consider when planning for instruction. Teachers must be sure to not
waste time and utilize every minute that they have with their students in order
to teach and give instruction and learning opportunities. According to Slavin, “if
you find excuses not to teach, students might learn that learning is not a
serious enterprise,” (p. 319). Teachers must seek to minimize interruptions,
prevent lost time, and maintain a rapid pace of instruction. Another aspect of
good classroom management is having consistent and well understood routines and
procedures. When students know what the expectations are, they are better able
to perform well.
Expectations have to be set at the
beginning of the year and teachers must be consistent in their delving out of
consequences. Slavin recommends setting rules as a class at the beginning of
the year and really discussing expectations. If students help to create rules,
then they are more likely to understand them and hold themselves accountable
for following them. Slavin also recommends starting the year out right by using
a few different proven techniques (p. 327). Here we learn that effective
teachers and classroom managers teach students specific procedures, have
students get right to work on the first day of school, and immediately put a
stop to misbehavior. Slavin recommends not interrupting class to put a stop to
misbehavior, but using subtler methods and maintaining composure. According to
the principle of least intervention, one should always begin by preventing
misbehavior with engaging activities. If a students’ misbehavior persists, one
should move onto nonverbal cues, followed by praising other students’ correct
behavior, then verbal cues, then giving repeated reminders, and finally providing
consequences. Misbehavior should be dealt with calmly and rationally with
minimal disruption in the flow of the class. If serious misbehavior persists,
the teacher should invoke applied behavior analysis. In this behavior analysis,
the teacher tracks the behavior of the student. This tracking should not be
sneaky, it should be known to the student in order to help the student to
become more self-aware of their behavior and to help them to become more
self-accountable.
Analyze:
Classroom management always just sounds like common
sense, however it takes a lot of will power to be consistent in the classroom
and to create a procedure for everything. Good classroom management is so
critical to learning, however, that it must be done and it must be executed
effectively. This means going over rules and procedures time and time again,
and it also means consistently applying consequences. At the beginning of the
year, students should know the expectations that the teacher has for them and
the teacher should hold the students to those standards. It is easy to let
things slide, especially in the beginning, but it is important that the
students know that rules are to be respected and the classroom is a place of
learning, not disruption.
This
week’s discussion focused on struggles that we have had or witnessed with poor
or poorly-executed classroom management. I have had minimal experience, but I
do know that I want my classroom to be a place of mutual respects and
understood standards. I have taught with teachers that constantly yell at
children (five year olds!!!) for misbehaving. It is my personal belief that one
should never yell at a child and if the student had known what to do in the
first place, then there would not be an issue for them to be yelled at about.
In my grade level, it is so important to have patience and understanding. These
students are just figuring out how to be with other kids and how to follow
rules. It is an environment that is not easy for them, as all they really want
to do is play. I have to constantly remind myself that I am their first
experience with school and I want my influence to be positive so that they will
love and enjoy coming to school. Those students that are yelled at are only
learning to dislike school and treat others unfairly. My colleague, Pam, wrote
about her experience witnessing a teacher put down the same student every day.
She told about how when she got to know this student, his home life was
terrible and he was responsible for so much more than a 14-year-old should be
responsible for. When he got to school, his teacher treated him harshly and did
not give him any sort of encouragement or care. This reminded me of how
important it is not to just teach standards, but to get to know students
because in the end, they are so much more important than test scores. A student
who is experiencing pain may exhibit foul behavior in the classroom, but the
teacher has no right to name call or hurt that student. The teacher should try
to figure out what the problem is and help the child.
Reflect:
Significance
of the concept concerning this concept my classroom…
Effective classroom management is critical within my
classroom. When I get my students, I am their first experience with school.
They have no prior knowledge of lines, waiting their turn, or how to tie their
shoes. Having a procedure is completely essential for absolutely everything I
do, and clearly communicating expectations and rules is something that has to
be done on a daily basis in order for my classroom to run smoothly and for my
students to learn.
Handling
a situation differently based on this learned information…
Based on this week’s reading, I will definitely try
to follow the principle of least intervention. It is so easy to get off track
when dealing with a behavior issue, but having a set way of handling it would
be very beneficial.
My
learning confirmed my knowledge about teaching…
This
week’s reading confirmed that having procedures is essential and that the life
of a teacher is made much easier by clearly communicating expectations and
having consistency in the classroom. Dealing with behavior problems can be
tricky, but if you know how to handle a situation and you have a set way of
handling it, then life becomes much easier.
How I
feel about the concept…
I feel that many teachers leave the
teaching profession because they do not have a clear understanding of the
importance of classroom management. It is one thing to put rules up on a wall
and it is a completely different thing to communicate procedures, consequences,
and expectations to students. Teachers have to teach rules and expectations at
the beginning of the year just as seriously as they teach content or else their
classrooms will be in complete disarray and their lives will be chaotic and
they could very well wind up hating their jobs.
Reference
Slavin, R. E. (2012). Educational psychology:
Theory and practice (10th ed.). Boston, MA
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