Tuesday, February 23, 2010
Classroom Management 6
It has been said that classroom management can be the key to a successful classroom. Why do you think that could be true? Classroom management is used at all levels of instruction. What classroom management techniques have you observed in your university classes? How are these techniques similar or different from what you experienced in elementary, middle or high school? Explain.
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I beleive that a key to a successful classroom is class management. I feel that if you dont establish good relationships with your students and don't excercise good management skills the classroom will be chaos. I think this is also true because if students respect the teacher, they will respect what the teacher has to say and therefore the students will be successful. Today we learn a few different management strategies in our classes to use in our future classroom. For example, "give me five," just raising a hand, or keeping track of marks on the board for student's misbehavior. When I was young we used many of these same management strategies such as the teacher raising a hand or keeping marks on the board. My teachers would also use the lights to get our attention and keep us in for recess if we got too out of hand. I haven't seen many teachers keep their students in from recess anymore. This is possibly because we have found out that students need time for physical activity. I think there are new strategies used in the classroom everyday, but these are the ones we are most familiar with.
ReplyDeleteClassroom management is key to classroom success because students know what to expect when they are in the classroom. They know exactly what is expected of them and are more likely to get their work completed in a timely manner. When they know what the teacher expects of them, there will likely be less discipline problems. It is more important that teachers show their control over the classroom without making it a dictorial classroom environment than being good friends with the students and having students like them based on their personality.
ReplyDeleteIn my university classes, it is just assumed that we know what is expected of us while we are in classes. The first week of classes, teachers tell us their specific rules and what they expect from us the rest of the year, and everyone just goes with it.
In elementary classrooms, there is not as much self control from students, so it is important that the teachers have guidelines for the students to follow, and they consistently enforce these guidelines. In the classroom I am in now, the teachers walk around and make thier presence known to all of the students, and immediately deal with any disrubtions instead of waiting until they are completely disturbing to the whole class learning.
Without classroom management, students would learn nothing throughout the school day. I feel that being able to manage a classroom should be number one on the list of being an effective teacher. When a teacher manages a classroom well, it creates a safe and comfortable learning environment for the students. Students will be more likely to participate in class if they know what the teacher expects from them and if they know the appropriate way to act in the classroom. Simple strategies such as having something on the overhead for students to work on to smooth out transitions, placement of the teachers desk, and rules in the classroom have big effects on how a class of students will behave.
ReplyDeleteI have not seen many classroom management strategies in my university classes because as college students, we know how to manage ourselves. I feel like my professors use a lot of group work in my classes, and they manage the class well by walking around and making sure we're on task. When they hear us talking about things that are not related to our assignment, they know it's time to share our findings.
When I was in elementary/middle/and high school use classroom management more often. I know that in many of my classes in middle/high school we had little problems on the overhead when we walked into the room to start working on right away. In third grade, my teacher would spell out the word "LISTEN" on the board every time someone was doing something they were not supposed to be. Each time someone got in trouble, she added a letter. If she spelled out the entire word, we were not allowed to talk with our friends for a certain amount of time.
I had never heard of the LISTEN strategy before. That sounds really interesting because it lets students know when the teacher wants there attention, but it also isn't a one strike and you are out, it gives everyone a couple tries to start paying attention. It could also become a personal goal for the class to have every week or day be less and less of the word spelled out. This would create really good classroom management too because its them doing something for themselves, instead of just not talking for the benefit of the teacher.
ReplyDeleteI also like the idea of making sure that students always have something to do when the finish with something else so that the classroom doesn't become chaotic. Even if it is something as simple as getting a book out to read, writing in a journal, or doing some homework, it will keep the class under control and also help those individual students to get their work done.
I agree with Bpanther and Elizabeth. Classroom management is important because then students know what is expected of them. If students don't understand what is expected they will try to get away with unappropriate behavior leading more and more students to push the limits. I once had a teacher say it was important to be more strict with classroom management at the beginning of the year and lighten up toward the end. This way students won't try to walk all over you right away. That way they will know the expected behavior from the beginning.
ReplyDeleteI also agree with Bpanther on having something for the students to do after they finish an assignment or other class work. During my Level One, my mentor teacher always had her students read books after they were done. This worked for awhile, but students started to become bored with reading all the time. I think it would be smart to change it up a little and provide other activities for the students to do such as worksheets, extra credit, or extra practice.
Classroom management is a key to being an effective teacher. If you can't manage your room then the children then it will be hard to do lessons and the children may not gain anything from them. I think that classroom management has a lot to do with expressioning your expectations, directing the children to meet those expectations and intrinsicly motivating them to exceed those expectations. We lay down the ground rules and enforce them but we really do hope for more out of the children.
ReplyDeleteOne way to help your expectations be met is to make sure that your planning is thorough. This means the children are in groups, working individually, doing quiet activities, doing hands on activities, doing loud, and active activities, and more. If you can control your classroom enough to get lessons on there way then well planned lessons will help ease your classroom management.
In school our teachers used their lessons or positive reinforcement to keep the class in order. When they could tell we were getting restless they would do an active activity. Some professors still do this if they catch the adult class falling asleep at their desks. I have had several classes break for a standup, walk around, or shake it out.
Stolla, I completely agree with you about teachers not planning well or being unprepared for the students that finish early. This week I have noticed that Mrs. Evans has plenty of activities for them to do on what she calls downtime. Of course it is hard to plan for those moments when you can't find what you need or technology isn't working but if they something to work on right there in their desk, it is easier to stall and keep the chaos to a minimum.
ReplyDeleteI believe clasroom management is one of the most important things to establish as one begins teaching. Having a managed classroom ensures that things are in order and the students know what to do and what is expected of them. It is also a way for teachers to earn repsect from the students, showing their own responsibility as an educator by supplying students with the necessary instruction for a class.
ReplyDeleteI haven't observed any specific classroom management strategies in my college classes which I believe shows how students are expected to handle themselves appropriately in college classes. Professors are usually clear with their individual expectations involving classroom behavior, thus giving students some specific behavioral instructions. The high expectations many college professors hold for their students is motivating enough for them to behave in their classes. This confirms the lacking need for classroom management at the collegiate level.
Teachers used different strategies for classroom management in my high school and were less specific with their individual expectations of students. In general, my classes were not well-managed and I had several teachers who were unable to control students, leading to a lack of respect for the teacher. Maybe if my high school teachers were up front with their behavioral expectations, students would have behaved accordingly.
Elizabeth, I agree with your observations of the college classrooms and how professors generally do not practice classroom management, especially not to the extent that teachers in high school or elementary do. As you said, college students are expected to 'manage themselves' and act appropriately in class, which I believe is a self-motivator for many students as well as a sign of respect for their professors. I like when professors are up front with their expectations for classes (such as no cell phones or whatever they may be) because it does not leave the student guessing at what he or she can or cannot do in that class.
ReplyDeleteClassroom management is a key component to a successful classroom. Setting boundaries and communicating them to the students is an important part of classroom management. Students at all levels (university included) tend to reach a state of comfort in their classrooms. When that happens, they have learned what boundaries they can push, and they begin to test those boundaries little by little. There are some teachers/classes that let you get away with more talking, while others you know you must be quiet unless called on. One thing I learned in a class is that when the classroom rules are being set, the students should have a say in creating them. I truly agree with this concept, because if they know that they co-wrote the rules and expectations, they have a more sincere connection to them. They don't have the option of disagreeing with them and they can't blame the teacher for 'unreasonable' expectations. We learned quite a few little management techniques in Health. "1, 2, 3, eyes on me." "1, 2, 3, eyes on you." was one of them. It gets the students attention without being really loud and you know their eyes should be on you. If they aren't, you can use proximity to get the attention of the stragglers without being obvious about it. Another one was flickering the lights. I remembered that from my elementary days. I feel like my school was a very poor example, in general, of using classroom management. I remember quite a few teachers taking kids out into the hall to have a talk, which is not appropriate since there is no one left to watch the rest of the class. I also remember kids getting singled out in front of the whole class, which could be the desired response depending on the student. Operant Conditioning has taught us that reinforcement is a key element in behaviorism and learning. Motivation is different for each student, so if the disruptive student is an attention-deprived child, singling them out is their desired response.
ReplyDeleteGood thoughts on classroom management. Lots of you mentioned how classroom management is tied to motivation in some ways. All of us have been in classrooms where management has been an issue and we have seen classrooms where management is not an issue, in fact, it is a strength. Other than the students actions...what is the core difference between classrooms with good management and poor management? Keep thinking and reflecting on your experiences. -Mr. Nielsen
ReplyDeleteI like what Stolla (Amanda) included when she said that "it was important to be more strict with classroom management at the beginning of the year and lighten up toward the end." I agree with this because if you are, then your students will take you more seriously. It's ok to let up a little bit after time goes by, but your first impression should be that you are there to help your students learn and you're serious about what you teach. That doesn't mean you have to go without a smile until Christmas though; I've also heard that saying too!
ReplyDeleteI also agree that management plays a key role in the productivity and success of the students. The teacher should lay down the ground rules from day 1, so that the students and teacher both know what to expect and what is reasonable. Also setting up the classroom specific to individual students with extra needs will help. If there are certain students seated in the back causing trouble, it would be smart to move them to the front where you can keep an eye on them. I also agree that motivation is tied to management. The more motivated and interested you get the students in the subject matter, the more self-regulating they will be. This will make management easier on the teacher if the students are stayin on task and working hard by themselves.
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