Transcript First, You Get Their Attention A crash course in classroom management

First, You Get Their
Attention
A crash course in classroom
management
Classroom Management
• Jo Hartmann
• 394-1876-ext 140
• [email protected]
•
•
April, 2007
TIE Conference, Rapid City, SD
• Kids! You
just can’t
beat them.
• Wherever groups of people live
and work together, there are
issues of organization that have
to be solved or there is chaos.
• John Locke, the English
philosopher, theorized about
how society evolved.
• Survival of the
fittest
• That is how government began, from its
most primitive behavioral roots
• To groups banding together to protect their
rights
• To rule of law
• In modern society, we need to
understand that identical
principles do apply. When there is
no organization, the survival of
the fittest, of the strong
dominating the weak re-emerges.
• Every organized society is governed by
rules and procedures…
• Some are for our own safety
• Some are to protect our rights
• And some are for reasons we forgot a long
time ago.
• Research tells us that good
classroom management is the
one commonality among all
effective instructors.
• If you don’t have that, you’re
sunk!
• With good classroom management
(and with any organizational
structure,) there are three basic and
necessary components:
•
Rules and procedures
•
Consequences
•
Relationships
• All three components: rules and
procedures, consequences and
relationships, must be present in order
for good classroom management to
occur.
• Relationships are the most important
component but sometimes we forget
that the other two components, rules
and procedures and their logical
consequences are also vital.
• Love alone doth not good classroom
management make!
RULES AND PROCEDURES
• The two main things we have to
remember about rules are
• FIRST: that they have to
protect student and teacher safety and
SECOND: they have to facilitate the best
conditions for learning.
• The importance of establishing classroom
rules during the first day and the first week
can’t be emphasized enough.
• If we treat classroom rules and standard
procedures lightly and don’t understand
their importance at the beginning of the
year …
• We exhaust ourselves
trying to mend fences
later on during the
year ! ! ! !
• People who knit tell us that if you don’t get
the very first row right, later in the pattern,
you have to go back, rip out all the yarn,
and start over again…
• Classroom management is the same way.
• Classroom rules should be set
cooperatively. Establish a few general
rules of classroom conduct.
• Rules need to be established as a result of
a meaningful classroom discussion.
• It’s an invitation for students to describe
the class they would like to be part of and
make suggestions for rules.
• Students know you respect
and care for them when they
are consulted and involved in
decision making.
• The discussion is meaningful
and relevant.
• We often shoot ourselves in the foot by
having too many rules and failing to
enforce them.
• Minimum rules with maximum consistency
is the BEST guideline.
• A key factor is consistency. Rules and
consequences should be consistent in
the classroom, across the grade level,
and throughout the school.
• Rules are one thing, procedures are
another. Procedures are usually
unwritten, but have been practiced enough
so students know them. It provides
security to students to know what’s
expected.
• Practice makes …… ?
• Many of our students come from chaotic
backgrounds. They don’t know how to
organize themselves or their environment.
• Procedures need to be clearly stated,
modeled, and practiced until ALL the
students know them.
• We have to establish the
environment for learning.
• We do that by teaching procedures and
practicing them with students until they are
automatic.
• The football coach tells us his team must
practice the plays for the game.
• The music teacher tells us the choir and
band must practice the music for concerts.
• Effective teachers tell us the students
must practice procedures!
• What are some activities for which we
need procedures for the students?
• Desk arrangements can minimize
problems.
• Assign the students to their desks initially.
• As trust and cooperation develop students
may request changes.
• Good behavior agreement from students
requesting other seats is needed.
Teacher, I’m Finished. Now What
Do I Do?
• The best-laid management plan can go
astray during transition times when
students who have completed class
assignments butt in, asking for directions
or begin playing around, disrupting others.
Quiet Choices
• Post a list of activities.
• Students can select a card from three
suggested choices.
• Magazine rack selection, book shelf
choice, art bucket, puzzle place, quick
draw station, computer site to visit, cut
pictures and letters for the bulletin board,
free time writing activity.
CONSEQUENCES
• When students break the rules, they must
know ahead of time that there are
consequences. In society, we know that if
we choose to break the law, we had better
be prepared to go to court and perhaps do
some jail time!
• Have you ever noticed how all the traffic
on the Interstate slows down when a
Highway Patrolman is spotted?
• Hmm! There’s a lesson there somewhere.
• Therein lies the value of having
consequences. When one chooses to flout
the law, there should be NO surprises.
• Research proves that
hyperactive kids are NEVER
absent.
• (Just kidding … checking to see if you’re
still awake!)
• The most effective deterrent of
inappropriate behavior is good instruction!
• After that comes physical presence.
• A friendly reminder.
• A firm reminder – in private.
• And then the student handbook kicks in.
• “Go to the office!!!!” should not be the first
response unless the offense is totally
reprehensible, dangerous, thoroughly
disruptive and against a hard and fast
school rule.
• Pro-active teaching is the best approach.
• Focus on what other students are doing
RIGHT instead of what the culprit is doing
wrong.
• “Janet, thank you for putting your books
away so quickly.”
• Not “Fred, How many times have I told you
to put your books away!”
• Misbehavior is frequently a call for
attention – ours or the other students’
• If we focus on good behavior, the
misbehavior often ceases.
• We should not, however, overlook the
student who would prefer to be labeled a
“troublemaker” rather than “stupid.”
• Misbehavior can be a sign of a struggling
student.
RELATIONSHIPS
• We should consider the following:
To Consider
• how relationships are developed and maintained
• the importance of establishing positive relationships
with all children
• how to promote positive relationships between
children
Remember that there are students (and adults, too,)
who can start a fight even if they’re locked in a room
all alone by themself.
Underlying principles
• Positive relationships with children are
key to positive behavior and regular
attendance
• Positive relationships may just happen,
but they can also be developed
• Positive recognition and reinforcement
develop positive behavior and build the
relationship
• Behavior is contextual and interactive:
the way adults manage their own
emotional responses has an important
influence on children’s behavior
The Fifth R
The 4Rs
Responsibilities
Rights
Choices
Rules
Positive
consequences
Negative
consequences
Routines
Inevitability
Potential barriers to establishing
positive relationships
• Large numbers of children with whom
teacher needs to develop relationships
• Lack of time to spend with individuals
• We find it easier to develop positive
relationships with some. (Why is that?)
• Some children are actively suspicious of,
and unfamiliar with, positive relationships.
(Particularly students who come from the
culture of poverty.)
• Do SOMETHING! If it works, do
more;
• If it doesn’t, try something else.
Never treat a child in a way you wouldn’t
treat an adult.
Try to see things through the child’s eyes.
• The importance of positive behavior in a
role model can’t be emphasized enough.
Kindness and humor shown in a businesslike, task-oriented atmosphere is pivotal.
When students feel cared about, they want
to cooperate, not misbehave.
Think about
• the importance of establishing positive
relationships with all pupils
• how relationships are developed and
maintained
• looking for exceptions in a ‘difficult’
relationship
• how to promote positive relationships
between children in a classroom
community
• Marzano’s research states:
• If a teacher has a good relationship
with students, then students more
readily accept the rules and
procedures and the disciplinary
actions that follow their violations.
• Without the foundation of a good
relationship, students commonly
resist rules and procedures along
with the consequent disciplinary
action.
• Marzano states that rules and
procedures and disciplinary
actions that follow violations are
also necessary components of
effective classroom management.
Action steps
• Assertive body language
• Appropriate tone of voice
• Persisting until the appropriate
behavior occurs
• Establishing clear learning goals
• Providing flexible learning goals
Taking a Personal Interest
• Talking informally with students before,
during and after class about their interests
• Greeting students outside of school
• Singling out a few students each day in
the lunchroom and talking to them
• Being aware of and commenting on
important events in students’ lives
• Complimenting students on important
achievements in and out of school
• Meeting students at the door as they come
into class and saying hello to each child,
making sure to use his or her name first.
• Effective classroom
management begins
OUTSIDE
the classroom door.
• Make eye contact by scanning the entire
room as you speak
• Freely move about all sections of the room
• Deliberately move toward and be close to
each student in the room
• Attribute ownership of ideas to the student
who originated them “Dennis has just added
to Mary’s idea by saying that…”
• Allow and encourage ALL students to be part of
classroom discussions
• Provide appropriate “wait time.”
• Emphasize right parts of wrong answers
• Encourage collaboration
• Restate or rephrase the question
• Give hints or clues
• Provide the answer and ask for elaboration
Conclusion
• Teacher-student relationships are critical
to the success of the two other aspects of
classroom management – rules and
procedures and disciplinary interventions
• To build good relationships, communicate
appropriate levels of dominance and let
students know you are in control of the
class and are willing and able to lead
• Communicate appropriate levels of
cooperation and convey the message that
you are interested in the concerns of
students as individuals and as a class
• Make a special effort to build positive
relationships with high need students
• Remember that ALL THREE
COMPONENTS of effective
classroom management need
to be present before learning
can truly happen.
• Start planning NOW for actions you will
take tomorrow.
• Think about what you wish you had done
differently before.
• How will you start your first minute of
class?
• Good teaching is like gardening. The most
important part of the activity is preparation
of the soil so that plants can grow.
• The rest is about providing daily nutrients
(lessons) and removing the weeds
(incorrect information or behavior).
• We should structure our classroom management
to reflect the world in which we live.
• We are preparing our students for that world.
• How are we helping them to fit in?
• Remember that good classroom
management teaches skills students will
need in the adult world.
• The role model we provide is the most
powerful instruction they will ever receive.
• Never forget the power of one
person to make a difference in
the life of a child.
• Believe it!