Tuesday, September 7, 2010
Classroom Management
Through your experiences as a student in elementary, middle or high school, describe a classroom management technique that a teacher used (don’t worry about the name of the technique, just describe it). How did you feel about the management technique as a student? If you were the teacher would you use the same technique? Why or why not?
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One technique that was used when I was in elementary school was that the teacher would clap in a certain way and then the students would repeat after the teacher. When I was a student, I knew that when the teacher clapped her hands, we were expected to stop what we were doing and listen to the teacher. I think that it was a good way to get our attention and made it easier for her so she didn't have to try to talk over us. I think that I will use something similar to this in my future classroom. I may even try to do other things like saying a phrase the students can repeat or finish or singing a song that they can repeat. I think that making some kind of noise in order to get the students' attention works well because then the teacher doesn't have to talk over the students and the students know every time the teacher makes the specific sound that they need to listen.
ReplyDeleteOne technique I remember as an elementary student in the 4th or 5th grade was having assignment notebooks that were signed by our teachers and a parent every night or every other night depending on what kind of homework we had or how much. As a student, it wasn't a big deal to me because I was pretty organized and had my stuff together. I also had a good relationship at home with my parents so it was never an issue being signed that night. I think I would use this technique not only because I saw how it worked as a student but also because I see it used often today in classrooms. I think I may focus more on using it with students who lose their homework or don't get assignments done on time but overall I think it's a good management strategy.
ReplyDeleteThe classroom management technique that was most memorable to me was the use of extra credit tickets in 4th grade. My 4th grade teacher would make extra credit “tickets” that would be saved like money rather than added as points. Students would earn these by listening to directions, following school rules, and doing well and improving on schoolwork. At the end of the year the class had an auction, where they could spend their points on a variety of things brought in by the teacher and families. Spending the points was the only time they were taken from students. It was very exciting to earn points, and since points were earned for both behavior and coursework, it encouraged improvement in both areas. I think I would definitely use it in my classroom as a management technique, since it gives the students incentive to strive to better themselves as a developing person, and as a young learner.
ReplyDeleteIn thrid grade, I had a teacher who would use M&M'S to reward her students when they participated in either a class activity or class discussion. The more you participated the more M&M'S you would recive. She was known for this throughout the third grade. In the back of the classroom she had a HUGE M&M despenser and we all thought it was the coolest thing!
ReplyDeleteI would definetly use this in my classrooms. I think that it is a good thing to reward students when the participate. In college we get participation points and in third grade we got M&M'S. However when using this technique I must make sure that I keep it as a rewards system and not let it become an incentive. The M&M management technique was by far most memorable.
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ReplyDeleteI agree with Megan's strategy as well. In a Health course I took the professor taught us a technique similar to that. The teacher would say "1,2,3 eyes on me" and the students would respond "1,2, eyes on you". I think its a fun yet effective way of getting the students attention.
ReplyDeleteThroughout elementary, middle and high school I could remember several teachers holding students in the classroom until they were quiet and doing what they were supposed to be doing. For example, when it was time for lunch if students just jumped out their seats, were noisy, or doing other things the teacher would have everyone come back to their seats and dismiss us one by one, most of the time, based on who was displaying appropriate behavior. I believe I would use this technique in my future classroom because it teaches the students patience, in a sense, and it allows them to practice self-control. Although it make take several times for the students to naturally display patience and self control I believe by continuously forcing the students to stay longer will help them gain those skills.
ReplyDeleteThe technique that I remeber one of my teachers doing was when she was trying to get our attention she would turn the lights off and then she would wait for a little while and wait for us to be quiet. Then she would also clap and we would have to do the clap back. I thought the technique was really fun and we were always making sure that we were paying attention to make sure that we got the clap right and we also liked it when she would turn the lights off. I would use the same techniques because I think that they are really interesting and the students really enjoy them because it keeps them on their toes and makes sure that they are doing what they are suppose to be doing.
ReplyDeleteA technique I remember in elementary school is using the green, yellow and red card system. Each student had their name with the cards behind them. They all starting out green, but when someone miss behaved, they had to change their card. I think if it was yellow, you missed out on recess, and if it was red, you had a letter sent home and maybe a trip to the principles office. At the end of the week, on Friday, the teacher would take all the people who had green cards all week and put them in a pile. He would choose three people at random and they got to eat lunch with the teacher in the classroom. This technique helped the student behave well, they wanted to be able to eat with the teacher. I think I will incorporate this technique in my classroom someday. It lets the students know that if they behave and do as they're told, there will be a positive outcome.
ReplyDeleteI remember doing the technique Jenna commented as well. I was in fourth grade and we had to fill out our assignment notebook and then she went around signing her name to make sure we understood what we had to do for the day. Then at home, only after we finished our homework, our parents signed it as well. This I thought was a good tool, it helped the teacher know if the parents were involved in the child's school life and that they made sure the child was getting their homework done. And it let the parent be able to let the teacher know of any problems they were seeing.
ReplyDeleteOne classroom management technique that was used when I was in third grade was a behavior chart. There was a chart on a board that had all of the students' names and each day of the week at the top. Whenever a student would have good behavior, the student would get a sticker next to their name. If a student had a sticker next to his/her name every day, they would get to pick out of the "prize box" at the end of the week. I felt that this was a good classroom management technique because by that age, we all knew the rules and knew what was expected of us, so if we were responsible enough to follow this expectations then we were later rewarded for our good behavior. I also believe that it helped students stay on task because they wanted to get the sticker at the end of each day so they could earn a prize at the end of the week. Respecting the rules rewarded the students at the end of the week.
ReplyDeleteI remember using an assignment notebook as well like what Jenna said. Although I was a little less organized back then and I had a hard time keeping my things in order. It was really good for me. I think that it made become more organized and I think that it had made me become more organized and I am way more organized today.
ReplyDeleteI really like the technique that Andrew's teacher used. Extra credit tickets is an awesome idea. It would get the students excited about doing their work and have them know that if they go beyond the requirment then extra credit will be recived. It also helps the teacher realize which students are willing to go beyond the minimum.
ReplyDeleteThe technique that I remember being used in Elementary was "Give Me Five". The teacher used this technique when we needed to transition from one activity to another. If it was time to go back to our desks so we can move on to another activity, the teacher would say "Give Me Five" and then count down from five to zero or until we were all sitting in our seats quietly. I would try this technique in hopes that it would work as well as it did when I was in school. If it didn't, then I would find something else to try.
ReplyDeleteI remember in my Level 1 classroom, they used the same technique that Emily R. described. I thought it was a good technique and the students made sure to keep track of what color their card was so that they would stay on green and get a treat the next day.
ReplyDeleteI can relate with what Lindsey was talking about. I had a couple teachers that used to turn off the lights and clap to make sure that we were clapping the same as her. I remember that it used to really get the attention of the students because they wanted to make sure they were clapping right. I think it's a fun and effective way to get the students focused.
ReplyDeleteI can remember many of my teachers using the light technique. It really worked because it was a good way of getting everyones attention without making a lot of noise. Another technique have seen is raising your hand. The teacher would raise their hand and once the students saw her raise her hand it was the sign to be quiet and the students would raise their hand as well. This also worked well because as a teacher, you could see who was paying attention, ready to listen, and it would make the kids stop what they were doing because they wouldn't be able to use their hands if one was raised. As a future teacher, I think I would use both of these techniques.
ReplyDeleteI dont know what the name of the technique was exactly, but my third grade teacher would threaten us with writing sentences. Whenever the class was being loud and unruly he would make us write the same sentence over and over again. Some would write during recess or take it home to finish for the next day. I would never use this technique, and he is the only teacher that I have ever seen continue to use this technique. It adds so much pressure to the student and does not fix or manage the classroom any better after assigning this task to the students.
ReplyDeleteI had one teacher that had a set of chimes in her room that she would ring whenever she wanted our attention, it was quieter but it worked because it calmed us down and we knew exactly what the teacher wanted when the bells rang.
When I was in 4th grade, my teacher used different management strategies to keep us in line, but the one I remember most is the cards on our desks that were numbered from 1-5. When you got a 5 it meant that you turned in your homework on time and had very good behavior throughout the day. If you got a one it meant that you had very bad behavior throughout the day and perhaps forgot to turn in your homework as well. Everyday your points went into the computer and if you got over a certain number at the end of each month you got a prize or reward, but if you didn't get over the number you didn't get to participate. I felt this was a good technique for 4th graders because it would help them want to have good behavior throughout the day. I would consider using this same strategy because it seemed to work well for my class and, I feel that it could also work for me as a teacher.
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