Classroom Management
Hi Everybody,
We've been enjoying reading all your journal entries, and hope that you are appreciating all the feedback Cori has been giving you. Chris apologizes for her busy dancing these days, but still reads all the journals. They both look forward to spending time with you in your classroom starting next week!
A common theme with all student teachers mid-way through student teaching is classroom management and finding yourself as a teacher. With that in mind, here is your next prompt. Please give it some thought, and comment by the 15th to the blog, and be ready to talk to Chris and Cori about it when they see you.
Remember to post a response and respond to at least one other person's comments. Classroom management is often a struggle as you are establishing yourself as the teacher. What have been your challenges and successes? What have you learned about yourself and the management style you are developing?
Enjoy the rest of your week!
Heidi
posted by Heidi @ 3:15 PM
9 comments
9 Comments:
As I am sure we all know by now, classroom management is such an important thing. Without it a classroom is usually chaotic and is not an environment where learning can take place. I really didn’t come into this experience with a set plan for my classroom management. Instead, I thought I would talk to my cooperating teacher and find out what has worked for her and decide if it is something I think would work for me. The management plan she had been using involves rewarding good behavior first and foremost, and when necessary taking away the reward for those who are misbehaving. We have certificates, which are small pieces of paper that say “thanks for doing a great job,” that we randomly give out for good behavior, acts of kindness, on task behavior, and so on. Every now and then, when the kids have saved enough certificates, they have the opportunity to go ‘shopping’ at our little store. They can buy pencils and other little toys (no food). The certificate system also works in reverse. If a student is misbehaving or is off task they loose either one or all of their certificates. We also have a reward system that is on a whole-class level. If the entire class is on task and working hard they earn a smiley face. They can also earn them if they are collectively good at specials (music, art, etc.). If one person is misbehaving, a smiley face is taken away. Once they earn 15 smiley faces they earn a party. We have already had a waffle party and are about to earn a baking party. The kids take this very seriously, so it has been nice that they help each other stay on task as well!
Overall this system has been very successful! The kids work hard for the certificates and if they are misbehaving and have one taken away they immediately get back on task. It has also been really nice that the kids help regulate each other. They remind each other to stay on task and I quite often hear words of encouragement and helpful reminders to stay on task. There really haven’t been any unsuccessful parts of this management system. The only thing I can think of is that some days a kid is just off task and will loose several certificates. Even that, however, I would say is a success because you can tell that the kids don’t want to loose them and that it matters to them.
Something I have learned about this management style and myself is that I really prefer to reward the good behavior, as opposed to punishing bad behavior. I tend to try and reward good behaviors first, such as recognizing the kids who are on task by handing out certificates. By doing that, the other kids usually get on task because they want certificates too. I really like this management system and I think I will try to implement it in my classroom. Of course its success will depend on the kids in my class. Right now I have a class of kids who are fairly well behaved and want to succeed. In my future classroom it may be a different story.
Personally, I know that classroom management has been one of my biggest struggles. My mentor teacher and I talk quite a bit about what I can be doing to improve on that. She and some of the other teachers we socialize with are often reassuring me that my challenges are normal and I really am doing ok. Most of the commentary my mentor teacher gives me after a lesson is on the classroom management piece about different things I can improve on.
I personally have the philosophy that each and every student needs to take responsibility for their own actions. It is my goal to be clear about my expectations and groundrules, but ultimately, their behavior is their decision. If it gets out of line, there will be repercussions for that. My mentor and I have similar viewpoints but somewhat implement it differently. However, these days the struggle keeps getting better. It is a daily goal to try to get the students to focus and pay attention. Many days, their behavior can be attributed the the fact that they are freshman in high school and still are in an transitional phase both developmentally and socially.
Some things that I have been working to implement in the classroom are techniques to grab their attention. The lastest one is the "Go" -- "Lions" trick. The school mascot is the "Lions" so that is why we choose that. The students have three groundrules for this activity. It is still in the trial phases, but if the students do not get the rules down, then we'll try something new. The rules are as follows: 1. There is only ONE appropriate response for the code word.
2. They must not say anything after the word "Lions" exits their mouths.
3. They much only respond to the "code-word" at appropriate times.
Right now, the students are still breaking all three rules. However, it gets their attention back on me.
Another trick that I have been using is that I just wait for the students to quit talking before we can move on. Eventually the students figure it out and snap back. Two of my classes are continually being held into their lunches because we don't get through their lesson in time. I just tell them "I have all the time in the world". That usually gets them to snap back and start holding their peers accountable. It isn't fool proof because sometimes it takes longer than it should.
Lastly, I think I remember hearing in classroom management that one of the best things you can develop is the "look". This has definitely been helpful because I just give some of the students the "look" and they know what they're doing wrong. If they don't, then we move to a backup option. However, it works pretty effectively.
Ultimately, I think I'm starting to get a handle on it. The last few days, I've been proud of new techniques I've developed and have really become much more comfortable with the ability to work with the classroom. I have begun taking away distractors from kids - like if they're not using their calculators appropriately, passing notes, playing with things. I take them until the end of the period. It usually only takes one or two people to have something taken from them. :)
In thinking about what I've just posted, it does sound like a lot of negative feedback. However, it isn't as negative as it seems. I don't make a public scene about taking a student's item of distraction, nor do I humiliate students. However, if they're not paying attention and I notice, I'll call on them and put them on the spot. It snaps them back into paying attention for a while.
Fiona,
You are right about positive reinforcement. That also needs to be done as well. This is something that my mentor has suggested for me. I know that I've done some postive verbal feedback for my kids. When I am waiting for them to settle back in, I'll start pointing out the students who are doing well for me. However, it is a little bit harder to hand out "rewards" in class beyond extra credit/candy just because of the age group of students in my classes.
I am so glad though that you have a group that is well behaved! I wish that I could say that of all my students. :( Oh well. Not every class is going to be well behaved and not every class is going to be off the walls.
It sounds like you're doing good work! Keep it up!
Talitha,
It sounds like you have some good ideas in the works. I have had experience with the "code word" approach and have almost always seen it succeed...maybe with a little more time you will see success as well! Something else that has worked very well in my classroom is for me to say "hands" lound enough for everyone to hear. That is the cue for everyone to stop what they are doing, put everything down and fold thier hands on thier desks. This is the cue that they need to be focusing on whomever is talking. So far it has worked great. It is a good way of making sure there are no distractions and that each child is focused. Sometimes the kids need a couple of warnings and/or reminders of where thier hands should be but so far it has been a great attention getter.
Classroom management has been a struggle for me as I have taken over the role as full time teacher. Right off the bat Sandy, my mentor teacher, told me not to be nice. I followed her advice and I was very strict about behavior. Students acting out of line pulled cards, no questions asked. The next three weeks were hell. The students' behaviors were terrible and only seemed to get worse and worse. Acting tough did not work for me. I felt like the classroom had become a negative place and more attention had been given to negative behavior than to positive behavior. This experience made me really dislike the card pulling system and look for another way to manage behavior. After a particularly bad day with behavior, I brainstormed ways I could encourage positive behavior by giving positive attention. The next day I gave out as many compliments as I could. The classroom felt like a completely different place. I did the same today and this method seems to be working. One of my students who often contributes to the behavior issues has been absent these days, but I hope this method continues working when he comes back. I like the idea of the ticket system Fiona mentioned. I feel like this would work much better than the card pulling system because there is more emphasis on rewarding positive behavior. I also like that it is more individualized and not every student in the class knows how many tickets the other has.
My biggest classroom management challenge was in commanding their attention at the beginning of class and during transitional times within the period or lesson. The primary reason for this is that I pretty much refuse to yell. I don’t feel good about myself when I yell and I don’t think it would make me a good role model to do so. I also don’t like the idea of talking down to students and I feel that yelling falls into this category. If I act like a big loud mouth, the only thing they will learn is that being a loud mouth gets you your way…and I just don’t want to communicate that. In the beginning, I found it very disorienting when they were all talking at once because I could never pin-point one particular person for an answer (in the case of class discussion) or a reprimand (in the case of student’s talking over my teaching). This situation would happen a lot when I would ask a question to the class, expecting a single response from a single student.
I became a more successful classroom manager when my mentor teacher and I brainstormed ways to get their attention rather than simply “okay, guys, focus!” She thought I should use a bell or something, but I knew that wasn’t really my style and I also envisioned students messing with it before and after class. I also felt that this, like yelling, is disrespectful to the students and really just doesn’t feel right to me. And then, all of a sudden, it came to me—Namaste. Namaste is the phrase yoga masters say to their students at the end of a session and it can be translated as “the inner light in me acknowledges the inner light in you.” So, when I introduced it to the students and defined it for them, I explained that when I say Namaste they are supposed to say it back in unison so that they can demonstrate to me that they are now focusing on me. I talked to them about how it is about mutual respect--that I don’t think it is fair or respectful to yell at them but that it is also unfair and disrespectful for them to speak over me and that I won’t tolerate it. Overall, I think that it is successful. I also think that I am best at classroom management when my teacher leaves me alone in the classroom because when she’s there, they still view her as the primary authority figure, even if I am the one doing the instruction.
In managing class discussions, I try my hardest everyday only to acknowledge people who raise their hands and to make it a special point to say “thank you for raising your hand” or “I’m sorry ___ but I can’t call on you if you don’t raise your hand.” This is my way of rewarding good behavior and making a small example out of bad behavior and it helps me maintain my status as the discussion leader.
Fiona: I’m happy to hear that your rewards system is working well for you. In my life and in my teaching, I am pretty stingy with extrinsic rewards. My belief is that it will only teach the students to work for things or to behave sensibly so that they may receive praise or something tangible. In the real world, often people do a wonderful thing without receiving thanks or gifts in return—and this is natural. I don’t really like the idea of a world where we only do things to receive something in return—but I accept that in some ways our world is like that. However, I don’t want that part of humanity (tangible incentives) housed in my classroom. I believe that people are naturally good and that if you are firm in your expectations of good behavior and good work in your classroom, the children will behave accordingly. Children, and people in our society in general, behave badly when they think they are “above it” or “out of it”—meaning some people think they are above the classroom or societal system and others think they are not included or valued in those systems (think white collar and street criminals—they fall in these two categories, respectively). Rather than offer extrinsic rewards, I would encourage more teachers to get their students to “buy into” a classroom based on equality and mutual respect. I believe that this makes for an intrinsically rewarding classroom life for students and teachers. No prizes and no praise necessary.
This is worth mentioning again. Classroom management can be a struggle. I teach 3 algebra classes and each one is so different. My second period students are little saints. They do what I tell them to and they usually do it well. They behave better enabling me to push them further in class; consequentially their class does the best on tests. While my 4th and 6th period classes are a little more challenging. Around a quarter to a third of these classes are comprised of students with IEPs’. This makes the pace of class a lot more difficult. I can not spend too much time on one topic because then I would cheat them out of a lot of information. Additionally, if I go to slow the students that get the material quickly will start getting bored and misbehaving. It’s a giant balancing game.
Another thing I find frustrating is in 4th period I have two seniors in Algebra 1. This is their fourth time taking it. One of them tells me every day that he is just going to drop out, never does his homework, and talks down to the other students when they get something wrong. Its frustrating you can work with a student so much, but at the end of the day they are the ones who decide success or failure. I feel my biggest struggle has been with a few students who take away from the learning of the others. They have made a personal choice that they are content with failure and then they try and disrupt the learning of others.
On the positive side of things my toughest class in the beginning was 6th period. They were fans of chaos and anarchy, the first two or three weeks they where causing me to go insane. The way I solved the problem was with patience and finite tweaking of the seating chart. Every day I would move one or two people until the classroom became quite and docile. Now learning takes place and they are a joy to teach, I am very proud.
I have been learning a lot about classroom management. It’s the little things that make the biggest difference. The way you hold yourself in front of the class, to the way you ask them to do something makes a huge impact. I have discovered I am not the type to yell, instead I use patience. I have not really punished or bribed the students to behave. I have just worked at gaining their respect and creating an atmosphere of respect. The class room prepares someone for the real world, I want my students to learn self respect and self discipline. There are a few students I have taken aside to talk to individually; I think this is more effective than singling them out and yelling. Overall the students behave fairly well in my class, we have are ups and downs, but that’s life.
I think I was very lucky to have been placed with my teacher who gave me the classroom from day one. She started with her own ideas of how to get the students attention; she counted down from five. If she ever got down to one the students would owe her time at lunch, which is something I learned that they really don’t want to give up. When she introduced this to the class I felt that it wasn’t quite my style, but I also struggled with how to find my own style without stepping on her feet. Without being really conscious of what I was doing one day I introduced a way of getting the students attention that I learned at a summer camp. I say, “If you can hear me clap once, if you can hear me clap twice.” The kids like this because it is engaging and allows them to clap. Pam (my mentor teacher) told me that she liked this and that she thought that I should continue to use it as a way to get my students attention. Once we had this established I informed all of the students what I expected of them when I asked them to clap once/twice. I explained that I wanted their undivided attention, which means looking at me, dropping everything in their hand, and turning their body to face me. This has worked very well in my classroom so far.
I also get my students attention by looking at my watch. I explained to them what I want them to do if I do this. If I keep track of time for more than 5 minutes, then I keep them in at lunch. This hasn’t actually happened where it has taken my students that long to get quiet. I think this is because I clearly explained to them what I expected of them and what their consequences would be if they didn’t follow directions. I made it clear to them that they need to be responsible for getting themselves on task, and that it is not their responsibility to get their neighbors on task. I want them to learn to be responsible for their own actions at a young age, which is the overall goal I am trying to achieve.
The challenges that I have faced are when the students seem to be extra chatty some days. I usually stand behind students, or depending on the students comfort with physical contact; I put my hand on their shoulder to show that I would appreciate their attention. I also noticed that I tend to insert their names into lessons I am teaching or directions that I am giving. This grabs their attention and lets them know that I want their attention. In most cases this is unwanted attention and the student usually quickly snaps out of it. I remember teachers using this same strategy with me when I was in school. I remember being extremely embarrassed, and in most cases this would cause me to get back on task.
I don’t really have a reward system in place in my classroom at this time. If students do a really good job completing a task, I will sometimes reward them with candy. However, I realized that I need to reward the whole class with candy and not just certain students. My students love competition in the classroom, and if anything is a competition they seem to come to life. I have to be careful of this as well too, and I try not to make them complete a task when they know they will receive candy at the end. I try to use the candy as an extra bonus, and not as a way to get them to complete their assignments. I am still trying to decide how I feel about my own reward system when I have my own classroom in the future.
Fiona,
I was wondering if you were going to use this reward system when you get out of your teachers classroom. It seems to me that you like this system, but I was wondering if you have found any drawbacks with using it as well. For my own personal state of mind, I was also wondering what grade level you teach? I knew a teacher who used this in a middle school special education classroom, but I was a little skeptic of the idea. I think often rewarding your students can lead to problems further down the line, what happens when the rewards aren’t there? From my teaching so far, I have learned that students become reliant on these rewards and seem to do whatever possible to get them. I have had students try to hurry through assignments for a reward to be the first one done, but then they just lose sight of the original purpose of the assignment.
Classroom management can make or break a lesson, in fact, in the elementary school it can make or break a whole day's worth of teaching. I believe that I have learned to look at classroom management as a whole and on a daily basis. It is important for students to see why their behavior does affect learning and to address any issues in a firm manner, but to continuously ensure them that you are always in their best interest.
In our classroom we use something called "The List". If a student misbehaves, calls out of turn, forgets to bring in materials, etc., they get their name on The List. Further disruptive behavior results in check marks- two check marks means no recess and three check marks is a call home.
We don't really have a set rewards system except for Student of the Week. In order to get the student of the week you must have not had your name on The List with a check mark and have all of your work done. The student of the week picks a friend and the two of them get to sit in antique desks at the front of the classroom.
Although I sometimes struggle to keep noise level down during group work and keeping students focused when I am teaching, I really think that I am improving overall. I often use clapping and counting down seconds for children to be ready to transition into the next subject. I have learned that I can set the tone for my expectations of students when they walk in the door every morning. My teacher has the motto:
"Be Fair, Firm, and Consistent"
If you follow this motto you are guaranteed success.
I also think that because we are student teachers, the children see us more as a friend than an adult they need to respect and obey. It is important to remain professional around the students so that they will respond to us when we are in front of the classroom.
In response to Fionna and Melissa....
As I said above, I believe student behavior is set as soon as your students walk in the door. Whether you have a rewards/punishment system or not, your students are going to adapt to the learning atmosphere on a daily basis. For the children coming into the classroom it is like someone going to their job every day. Expectations are always the same and sometimes you are rewarded for completing assigned tasks and if those tasks aren't completed you may be punished. However, in that job the main focus is never on the reward or punishment. So theses types of systems in the classroom can be related to the real world but should not ever take time away from teaching.
I agree with Melissa, that I refuse to yell as well. Even in at the 4th grade level, my students know that they deserve the same respect that I do. Students are more likely to respond to classroom management techniques if they respect you. Yelling at students creates a barrier in your relationship with students and you are less likely to get the behavior you want.
Yellow Bird,
I agree that the mean approach is not the most affective. It definitely would not have worked for me. Students are people and they understand when you are not being yourself. They take this to mean that you are uncomfortable and then come after you. I have been working a lot on this trying to develop a style where I am the authority figure and at the same time myself.
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