Author: Taalim

Guidelines for good classroom management practice

Editor’s note: There are many different practices that are used for good classroom management. Here is one teacher’s opinion. As with all classroom management practices, adapt what you like to your classroom, taking account the age, ethnicity, and personality of the class as a group, and of you as a teacher.S.M.

Maintaining good order in classrooms is one of the most difficult tasks facing young inexperienced teachers. The task has become more difficult over the past few decades as young people’s attitudes to people in authority have changed dramatically. Some of the changes have led to greater self-confidence in students. Others–such as the acceptance of violence to achieve ends, attitudes to substance abuse and an increasing lack of respect for authority–have made classroom management and life in school generally more difficult, and more demanding, on those who are charged with maintaining a positive learning environment.

Many disruptive behaviors in the classroom can be alleviated before they become serious discipline problems. Such behaviors can be reduced by the teacher’s ability to employ effective organizational practices. Such practices are at the heart of the teaching process and are essential to establishing and maintaining classroom control.

The following set of organizational practices should help to establish effective control of the classroom by the teacher:

1. Get off to a good start.

The first “honeymoon” encounter between the teacher and the students is when they formulate their impressions of the teacher. Students sit quietly, raise their hands to respond and are generally well behaved. The teacher is easily misled into thinking that this is an ideal class and may relax their vigilance. Students within a week will begin to test the waters to see what they can “get away with”. It is during this period that the effective teacher will establish the expected ground-rules for classroom behavior.

2. Learning School Policies.

Prior to meeting the class for the first time, the teacher should become familiar with school policies concerning acceptable student behavior and disciplinary procedures. The teacher should definitely know what the school expects from both student and teacher in regard to discipline.

3. Establishing Rules.

Establish a set of classroom rules to guide the behavior of students at once. Discuss the rationale of these rules with the students to ensure they understand and see the need for each rule. Keep the list of rules short. The rules most often involve paying attention, respect for others, excessive noise, securing materials and completion of homework assignments.

4. Overplaning Lessons.

“Overplan” the lessons for the first week or two. It is important for the teacher to impress on the students from the outset that he or she is organized and confident of their ability to get through the syllabus.

5. Learning Names.

Devise a seating arrangement whereby students’ names are quickly learned. Calling a student by his or her name early in the year gives the student an increased sense of well being. It also gives a teacher greater control of situations. “JOHN, stop talking and finish your work” is more effective than “Let us stop talking and finish our work”.

6. Be Firm and Consistant.

A teacher can be firm yet still be supportive and friendly with students. A firm teacher can provide an environment where the students feel safe and secure. Many teachers report that it is easier to begin the year in a firm manner and relax later, than to begin in a lax manner and then try to become firm.

CLASSROOM SET-UP

It is typical for classrooms to be set up in rows, or lately, in groups of 3-4 tables (which allow for easier cooperative learning). However, there are fundamental problems for each:

In rows, studies have shown that the further back you go, the more discipline problems there are. The visual, aural and physical stimulation from the teacher is increasingly diminished as you move further back. This allows boredom to set in, and as a result, potential disruption.

In groups, the opposite is true. Students are over stimulated–by the peers that are now not only next to him/her, but across the table! There is now MORE to distract the student, leaving it harder for the teacher to keep the student focused on any frontal instruction.

An alternative is to arrange the chairs/tables into a three-sided “box”shape (|_|), (with an occasional second row if room demands). In this fashion, EVERY STUDENT IS IN THE FIRST ROW! The teacher can freely move around the room while talking, and therefore giving “personal”contact with each student. The result: greater attention and fewer discipline problems. Desks/tables can be moved into cooperative learning groups as needed usually within two-three minutes!

Standards and Benchmarks and The Classroom Teacher

First of all, you need an up-to-date copy of the curriculum for your grade or course

Standards, benchmarks, and indicators are becoming common in the world of educational jargon, but are we as teachers dealing well with the changes we are expected to make in the classroom. Many states are requiring state assessments based on the state curriculum. Here are six helpful hints in dealing with the new curriculum.

1. Look at the curriculum you must teach. Group like benchmarks by looking for a common topic where such a group could be taught. For example map skills might include learning the vocabulary, creating and using of a variety of maps, and identification of symbols on a map. (Concept: There is a place for everything.)

2. Next it would be beneficial to see if there is an overlapping with another subject. There is no need to teach the same concept twice. For instance, math might be covering scale drawing. Figuring the distance between two places might easily be taught at this time. (Concept: Kill two birds with one stone.)

3. Remember your activities MUST FIT INTO THE CURRICULUM. It is not effective to have a pet project that does not fit. One of the major obstacles to successful teaching is doing this backwards. (i.e., choosing an area of study and trying to “stick” the benchmarks into it). Be willing to let go of units that no longer fit the curriculum. (Concept: Only if the shoe fits, wear it.)

4. Understand the depth that is to be taught at your grade level and teach for mastery of that level. Some teachers cannot find middle ground. If it is introductory, then teach for mastery of the introductory concepts. If it mastery, then teach for mastery of the entire concept. (Concept: Water seeks its own level.)

5. Teach to the curriculum; do not teach to the test. If the testing genuinely tests the curriculum, then teaching the curriculum will make your students successful. Teaching the test gives limited understanding and is not responsible teaching. (Concept: Don’t miss the boat.)

6. Incorporate fun activities. Just because the curriculum is well defined does not mean it will not fit into fun units. I teach how to buy cars when I teach economic concepts–think about it–when you buy a car you pay all kinds of taxes; it requires licensing and fees; understanding of supply/demand is necessary, acquiring savings, obtaining loans,etc. Can you think of anything an 8th grader would love to study more? Well, there are a few. But the point is the fun unit fits the curriculum. It also put the level of understanding into immersion because we pretend to buy the car at the lot (salesmen meet with the students and fill out a contract), loan officers actually review loan applications, etc. (Concept: Learning is fun.)

Okay, so are you tired of the cliches yet? Well, I stuck them in as reminders of the main points. If you work to do these things, teaching to standards and benchmarks won’t be so bad. If fact, you know exactly what your responsibility is and that can make teaching easier.