The Ides of March
Classroom management, as you have all indicated, can be a struggle as you are finding yourself as a teacher. What are the challenges you are facing? What are your successes? What are you learning aout yourself and the management style you are developing?
Don't forget to share the highlights of your last two weeks and respond to each other!
posted by Chris @ 5:19 PM
47 comments
47 Comments:
I think my main struggle with classroom management is finding the fine balance between caring teacher and respectable mentor. The kids are always testing me and I've had some issues with students hitting on me. For these reasons, I've felt that I need to be deliberately more stern... And my cooperating teacher also says I need to be more stern. She says I've gotten better, but that especially in the beginning, I was "too sweet." For the most part it doesn't bother me if students are upset with me for being strict, but I still want students to know that I care about them and that I'm not being strict PURELY for the sake of being strict.
To whomever decides to respond to my post, riddle me this: How should I show students who are only a few years younger than me that I care about their educational career and am strict for that reason?
My classroom management successes have come from upholding daily routines and being more explicit with directions. The more explicit I am, the more on task the students are. I am learning that I don't enjoy being unrelenting, but I don't know how else to have a commanding presence.
The biggest success this last week was figuring out how to lead discussions successfully in class! I literally had an epiphany! I finally just understood better who my students are and where they are academically. Before, I would lead discussions very broadly. I would ask relatively vague questions and students would easily get off task. My questions just weren't very good or specific, mainly because the students are still having some issues comprehending the text. I finally came to class extremely prepared with specific questions. Afterwards, my cooperating teacher even commented on how much better the discussion went. She said she was really proud of my growth which was music to my ears! :)
Hope you are all having marvelous experiences!
Hello everyone,
Let me respond to Amy first. Your job is to set up boundaries. Their job is to constantly look for a loose brick in the wall. They won't tell you, and may not realize it themselves, but the students need and want the rules and boundaries. Some students don't have them at home--and are looking for anyone who cares enough to establish them. They have many different motives, but stick to your guns.
As for students hitting on you, deal with that decisively and swiftly per the district policy with witnesses. The age difference seems wider to them than it does to you, so again, stick to your guns.
In my management style, I try to treat the students as adults. I don't lecture them or brow beat them when they are disciplined. I try to reinforce their successes, etc. and try to start each day fresh.
Three girls in guitar sometimes confuse my niceness with being a pushover. I don't know what they were up to, but two of them wanted to go to the bathroom simultaneously. I told them I could only send them one at a time. The more vocal student protested, but not for long. She didn't bring it up again, and the next day it was like it didn't happen.
As for the highlights for the last two weeks, I got to teach for four days due to my supervising teacher being gone. I felt like I connected with more of the band students during that time. We had a successful fundraiser concert, but it made for a 17 hour day. We started out at 4:30 am being on the local tv morning show to advertise. I also got to conduct a number with the jazz band and with the symphonic band on the concert. the only bummer was I was home sick the next two days.
I do need to spend more time doing some score preparation for rehearsals, which will be my new stretch. My last stretch of smiling really helped. I also started greeting students at the door as they come in. A smile and a handshake can go far . . .
Talk to you all soon.
Eric
Amy,
I forgot to add that by having the boundaries, they will know you care--but few if any will tell you. Good luck.
Eric
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My comment to Amy and Eric:
Eric, I especially like the comment you made about how students don't always say they appreciate boundaries when it's a huge stabilizer in their life and I can especially relate to that with most of my students. I also think greeting students is a wonderful idea. With primary I've noticed the beginning of the day sets the tone for the rest of it. Cultivating a good sense of understanding of each student (emotional/academic/motivators/limitations/fears/goals) is also a useful tool in management, but time is of the essence. I learned at our faculty meeting today about the different approaches you take to difficult kids. Such as, if they're anxious then be supportive, if their defensive or diffident then be directive, etc. but it's easier said than done.
As far as classroom management goes, I feel like it’s still the thing that’s holding me back the most from being more successful all-around. It’s clear that you can’t teach efficiently without a good system in place and now I’m realizing that it depends on the style of the teacher to figure out what kind of system would suit the classroom best, in addition to the type of kids. I struggle in 2nd grade because some kids can handle being more autonomous, whereas other kids are more needy so it’s hard to find a balance on how far you can let them be independent. My teacher is firmer and I’m looking to find the right tone in my voice when I really mean business. I don’t want to be taken advantage of but I also don’t want to scare the kids. I’m also working on being more consistent and fair. It’s hard for me to make small quick judgments sometimes when the students ask if they can use the bathroom, because I want to be fair for letting so-and-so do go, but sometimes it’s just an excuse to get out of doing work so you have to read between the lines and sometimes it hard. It’s also tricky because I want to be in agreement to what my cooperating teaching thinks is appropriate and what the students decided on as a class at the beginning of the year as boundaries. There is difficulty with being directive at times, but I’ve learned to use “I” statements or say that “I’m disappointed” instead of angry, and that seems to get to them more often.
My highlight was getting to see them progress in their understanding of our water unit! We read a book, watched a video, wrote about the topic of the water cycle and finally today when I did a simulation of a mini water cycle with soil, water and an empty cup acting as a lake, all covered with the plastic wrap (the sky), they were interested and very engaged. I had them write a prediction for what would happen over the next couple of days to the water in the cup and explained the water cycle it in their own words. I read them over and it clicked for most of them. The other highlight was seeing their creative side in a cool lesson where they had to describe a seashell and then draw a picture where they turned it into something else. I liked seeing what they all came up with and which students really excelled that I didn’t necessarily expect to.
If I understood correctly, we're supposed to comment on this blog again re: classroom mananagement.
I have three students that sit together in guitar, one of which is very vocal in expressing her opinions--often speaking out harslhy before engaging her brain. She is intelligent and talented, but always pushes the envelope.
I introduced finger picking to the guitar class. I required that one of their playing tests be performed with finger picking as opposed to using a pick. she expressed her frustration with the requirement for the entire week. She played the test with a pick and I marked her down 2 points (only 10 points are possible). I wasn't mean and I did not lecture her. Before the bell rang, she decided to re-take the test (that is allowable in that class)and passed with flying colors. As I told Amy, you just need to stick to your guns.
Managing the symphonic band is becoming a bit of an issue. they are the last period of the day and they get really chatty--not just for me but for the supervising teacher as well. I think I have a way to help which I will reveal next week with the results.
Eric
Hello all,
I’m so sorry that I have been MIA from the blog; I got a little caught up in everything. My challenges for classroom management include regulating noise levels and keeping the same group of students on task. I have a group of boys who tattle, get off task, forget what they should be doing, talk while I’m talking, you know typical behaviors. It’s the same four or five boys’ every time. I feel like I say their names 20 to 30 times a day. I am giving constant reminders and they are always the ones to flip their cards to the warning (yellow). I try to be proactive; I have small discussions with them every morning about my expectations. I review the class standards, I separate them from one another and usually by lunch time they are back to their typical behavior.
I did receive a suggestion from Chris while she was here, she suggested for noise control to use a small, quiet voice instead of trying to talk over the noise level. I have been focusing on that lately, and it does seem to work. I might have to wait a little longer but I am realizing that it is more beneficial. Sometimes however, it feels like it is taking forever to get their attention. I’m going to continue to work on using a quieter voice though because I do see some results with some students and I think the others are starting to catch on.
As for the boys, I continue to look for strategies to be proactive; any way to prevent the issues would be helpful. I have small conversations with them, it was suggested that I start a contract with them; I would read it and go through it with them. This is suppose to help them be more accountable for their actions. I haven’t done that yet, maybe after I send this TPA off I will create an individual contract with each student.
My highlight for last week was my videotaping. I didn’t tell the students until that day that I would be videotaping them. I was afraid that I would have to film for three or four days in a row for the students to get comfortable. I was concerned that the lesson would blow up in my face while I was being videotaped. However, they all did excellent. I only had to talk to the kids once that morning and I reminded them that if they see a camera they should pretend like it wasn’t there. That is exactly what they did, well except for one, but she said some very funny things so I think I can forgive her. Also, my lesson went along smoothly and the students were engaged the entire time. I am actually using this video for the TPA, it was the only lesson I videotaped, and I am happy that it wasn’t stressful. My stretch, well it was a long week, I’m deep into the TPA, we had Chris here, we were busy all week and by Friday, I didn’t have much patience. Also, we were on a crazy schedule for Terra Nova, we couldn’t use the computer lab like we were suppose to. Further, we didn’t have any parent volunteers for the week so there were a lot of extra housekeeping things on the agenda and then we threw art into the mix. By the end of the day I was exhausted and my head was spinning. Luckily all the first graders were still smiling and happy! But, I was so thankful when 2:35PM rolled around; YIKES it was a hairy day!
This past week was a lot better with classroom management. The talk that my cooperating teacher and I had with the students before I taped my video for the TPA went over well and all of the students were able to take the lessons more seriously. It carried over throughout the day and for the rest of the week. Some of the issues that I had at the beginning with management, I think we due to the fact that the students didn’t completely understand I’m not just a “helper” but another teacher who is learning how to teach. After watching the video of the lesson I taped, I saw how important it is for students to know you’re role and what you expect from them. It needed to come from me and not just my cooperating teacher.
Highlight: The TPA videoing went well and I have a great start to the written portions. I almost there!
Stretch: I have made it my goal to say at least three really sincere positive comments to students every day (hopefully I’ll be able to say more eventually). I’ve been so focused on getting the classroom in gear, putting the emphasis on what they should be doing, instead of what they are doing well too. I realized over the week that it was been difficult to balance out the two.
Eric- I like the way you handled that tricky situation with the girl in the guitar class. I can apply that same principal to the younger kids that have attitude problems- one in particular. This week I’ll try to let them experience the natural consequence of their choices without giving them what they want (most likely a reaction out of the teacher).
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Sorry I’ve been bad about posting. I’ve been struggling to keep up with the immense amount of planning and grading. I think it’s getting better though. Last week I especially struggled due to being sick. I know it’s a reality that I’ll have to deal with being a teacher, but it was difficult to try and come up with lesson plans and to have the energy to stay on top of things when I just didn’t have any energy.
Overall I’ve been sort of hit or miss with classroom management. When I’m on my game, things run fairly smoothly. I know where problems are likely to arise and I am getting better at putting out small fires before they turn into something major. There’s still a lot of room for improvement, but I think I’m coming along in that regard.
On the other hand when I’m off my game, my classroom is a little bit more chaotic. Last week was especially troublesome because while I was sick I just couldn’t think one step ahead so many problems that should’ve been resolved without too much trouble got out of control. When this happens I know that it is much more difficult for my students to learn. I have been working on becoming more consistent with my organization and it definitely helps.
Also in the classroom, I have been working/get better at giving explicit directions. I feel like I am getting to a point where students know what they are supposed to be doing most of the time and it helps keep the classroom in much better order. I’ve been working at trying different methods of doing this but the one that I am using now is typing up the instructions and having them on the smart-board. I begin each section of the lesson by reading/summarizing the directions and then I leave them up there so that they have something to reference. In the same vein though, I am trying to get better about letting the students know why we are doing something. Since I’ve constructed the lesson, it is always apparent to me and I know that each activity they do works towards a goal/objective that I’ve set, but it is not always apparent to them. So I am trying to get better about stating why we are doing something because I know that when the students have a better sense of where we are going, it makes it easier to learn.
Kaylynn,
I really like Chris’s suggestion about using the quiet voice for directions. I read something similar in a classroom management book. It just suggested that you start off slightly above the classroom volume and then when you have their attention you immediately quiet down to a whisper. In essence it is the same thing. I like combining it with incomplete sentences. The same book suggested that for some classes, if you just stop talking midsentence it does a great job of getting the class’s attention. So I’ll just start talking above the class, pause midsentence, and then once I have their attention I’ll continue at a significantly reduced volume level. It works pretty well when I remember to use it.
Congratulations to all of you! I have enjoyed reading your comments and how you have responded to each other. As you know, classroom management makes a huge difference on whether you are able to get to what you want to teach. I saw successes in the classrooms I observed a little over a week ago and from your comments Eric, I think you are experiencing success too. The postings have been informative and I hope helpful.
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