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Responses to Merrill
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Responses to Merrill
Wordle Response to Classroom Managment 3
I think physical arrangement has a big impact on classroom management. When I taught my first level II lesson, I had an activity with rulers. Before the students even sat down at their seat I had the rulers laid out at the table. As the students piled in they began to play with the rulers right away and as soon as they had an idea of what they were doing they were out of their seats and I had lost most of their attention. From this first lesson, I learned that it was easier to manage the lesson and keep students attention if I waited to hand out the supplies until after I had fully explained the activity. Students can be easily distracted by the physical environment around them, such as windows, noises, computers, and different things around the room that you may not think about. I think adapting assignments can have an impact on classroom management because it allows for all students to be involved to the point that they do not become frustrated and then give up and distract others if they can not participate because of a disability or because the task is too hard and so that children who need enrichment do not get bored with what is going on and also distract others. Assignments need to challenge students enough that they are learning and pushing themselves, but not to the point of frustration so that the student becomes a problem with classroom management.
ReplyDeleteI think the physical arrangement has a big impact on classroom management. I think the way you arrange the desks has a big part on how engaged the students are going to be. It's important to have all the students in a spot where they can see and be able to participate in class. I also think the display throughout the room should be colorful and presentable but not something that will be distracting to the students. If students are not too distracted they will be more engaged to the lesson. I think it's important to adapt student assignments to students who need it because if you don't adapt to fit their needs, the student may get frustrated if the assignment is too difficult and lose their engagement to the lesson. If the student is not engaged it could cause misbehavior from that student and may increase behavior throughout the classroom.
ReplyDeleteI agree with what Brittany said about waiting to pass out materials until you actually need them. In my Level I experience, I was teaching a fun art lesson that included many materials. I thought by passing them out before the kids came to the room that it would be less time consuming. In reality, it would have been more beneficial for me to wait and pass out materials because many of the students were occupied while I was trying to explain the directions.
ReplyDeleteI think that the physical arrangement of the room plays a huge part in the classroom management. I am a big fan of moving around the room while giving instruction. I think that I prefer a classroom with the tables spread apart and easy to walk through. I also noticed that the environment in the room can change how well the students pay attention. In my Level II experience, there are opportunities to see the same class in two different classroom set-ups. The first has individual desks and they do a lot of individual work in this classroom. This is the ideal setting for having students working on their own things. In the other room there are group tables where the students can sit to work on small group activities. This is ideal for the science section and other times when they are working together. I noticed though, that the students are very prone to wanting to work together regardless of the directions in the group table setting. This is interesting for me to think about as I prepare to become a teacher. If I want a lot of group work in my class, I will know to put the tables like that. However, if I want the students to try to do individual work, I would use the other set up. I don't think I'll be as fortunate as to have both setups in the same room, but the idea is still the same.
ReplyDeleteI feel that Physical Arrangement is key in Classroom Management. I feel that three main aspects take part which were also discussed in my Learning and Instruction course. The three main points are visibility, accessibility and distractibility. If you have these three points in mind when setting your classroom up then you will have a well organized classroom. You will be able to reach every desk, see every students as well as them seeing you, and you are able to limit the distractions from their learning.
ReplyDeleteI believe that the physical arrangement of the classroom is a big part of classroom management. In my Learning and Instruction class, we learned about accessibility, visibility, and distractibility as key things to consider for classroom management and the physical environment. Desk arrangement is important in that students need to be able to see the instructor as she/he teaches, have easy access to other areas of the room, and be able to focus without being distracted by things such as overly bright and eye catching displays, computers, and other material. The physical environment should also be inviting for students, age appropriate and conducive to learning
ReplyDeleteAdapting assignments also has an impact on classroom management. Students with learning disabilities will need to have attainable goals so that they will succeed in their tasks and learn. If an assignment is to challenging for them they will often get of task or refuse to complete the assignment. I experienced this with a student during my second lesson in my Level 2 classroom. This student has difficulties in reading. Since he struggles in reading he is often unable to get to the content. I attempted to provide him with accessible material, but he still need a lot of help in order to complete the task. Changing assignments for students who need enrichment is also important in that they can also easily become bored if the task is too easy. Making tasks more challenging, while keeping the same learning goal can help enhance their learning rather than force them to stay behind when they are clearly capable of more.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Sarah in that the arrangement of the desks either encourage or discourage group work and cooperation. If desks are not well arranged for one or the other then tasks may not work well. Though most of us probably won't have the opportunity to have a class for group work and one for individual work, as Sarah mentioned, rearranging desks into groups is a good way to encourage students to work together.
ReplyDeleteI think that the physical arrangement of a classroom impacts how your students work because certain aspects such as desk placement and computers can either hurt or help your teaching methods. If you face students towards halls or windows, their attention can become drawn away from class time and can result in a decline in class participation.
ReplyDeleteAlso, I think that when we adapt childrens lesson to accomodate for disabilities or enrichment, they should be done with a sense that these children will be included with all the other students, except that their lessons will be just a little bit different.
Inclusion is important and I can remember in both of my class experiences that some of the students have needed enrichment and they have been accomodated so that the other students do not feel left out but instead just adapt and realize that those students will be doing just a little different homework.
The classroom that I am in has two sections. One section is used for Instructions, seat work, and small groups with the teacher. The other side of the room is usually used if the teacher is breaking up the whole class into groups because that side has round tables, while the other side has desks. The side with desks is in a horseshoe shape with a couple tables in the back. This set up is effective during instruction. The kids are surrounding the teacher so they are all engaged and participate. I noticed that some students that seem to need some extra help are either in the very front of the classroom or in the back tables. I am concluding that this is because those spots in the room are where the teacher is present the most. This set up also gives the teacher great vision of the whole classroom, so she can keep an eye on all the students without having to constantly circulate.
ReplyDeleteI also agree with sarah that arrangements of desks have an effect on collaboration, whether it is wanted or unwanted. The horseshoe set up I think is very inviting for class collaboration due to the fact that everyone can see each other when it is there turn to talk. Although this is a great aspect of the classroom, sitting so close to one another, sometimes is too much of an invitation to talk to their neighbor.
ReplyDeleteI believe that the arrangement of the desks in the classroom is an important factor when it comes to teaching. I noticed on my first day of Level II field experience I noticed that the desks were arranged in a horseshoe shape. I think this would help with the student-teacher communication. I realized that many of the students who needed more attention were placed in the front of the room. This will allow the teacher to keep a better eye on them as well as give them individual attention as needed.
ReplyDeleteWhen arranging your classroom, you must realize that not all children learn at the same pace. It is important to be inclusive with each of your students and make sure they have lessons that are fitting to their needs.
I agree with Sarah when she talks about the encouraging and discouraging behaviors when he comes to the classroom arrangement. This can be a challenging technique because we need to be supportive of group worthy activities. It is a great way to encourage students to work together.
ReplyDeleteI think that the physical arrangement of the classroom is an extremely important aspect of teaching. Depending on how things are set up, students either may or may not have enough space to move around freely without creating distractions to others. Also, students who are easily distracted should not be placed in areas that may enhance that, such as near a window or near another student whom they tend to chat with constantly. Students who have difficulty viewing the whiteboard or projection screen should always be seated toward the front of the classroom; this also goes for students who may be hard of hearing. The closer they are to the teacher, the better they will understand things and the more they will get out of instruction time. As for students who may have disabilities, specifically learning or behavioral, they would also benefit from being seated toward the front of the class because these are students who may need more attention than others when it comes to certain tasks. They will feel better knowing the teacher is at a closer proximity to them should they need assistance, and the teacher will feel better knowing those students are in an area where they can focus better and where the teacher can keep a close eye on them. I have noticed these characteristics in my level II currently, and they seem to be working just fine.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Jarod about inclusion being an important aspect of teaching. I have noticed in my level II that there are a few students who are extremely intelligent and are above the level of their classmates. For example, they may be asked to solve math problems that are a little more challenging. The students are familiar with this idea and have no problem accepting that they all have the same assignment, but there may be a few students with assignments that are slightly different.