Many of us tend to equate classroom management with discipline (and for that matter, to equate discipline with punishment, but that's another story). I see classroom management as the processes and procedures that are in place to mitigate the need for punishment, leaving discipline to cleave to its roots of "to follow." Anything else is not classroom management. It’s damage control.
Classroom management starts, for me, with very clear expectations, and firmly established procedures. I begin the year (or semester) with a more formal, regulated tone, and have so far been able to end each year and semester with an atmosphere of relaxed mutual respect. I value students’ self-control over my being in control.
Room Arrangement
One of the goals of my room set-up is to minimize non-instructional interaction. This sounds a bit impersonal and harsh, but its intent is to keep students on task, give them consistency in behavioral expectations, and to minimize their attempts to derail my teaching. Everyone benefits.
There are clear procedures written on the whiteboard behind my desk for absentees, make up work, and getting extra help. There areFAQ signs about work being for a grade, the temperature, whatever all around the room. I try to maintain a predictable schedule so students know what's expected of them during each part of the 98 minutes we spend together each day -- and don't have to ask. The agenda and objectives are on the board behind my desk. (I balked at this requirement during summer school, but have found that it allows students to know what's expected of them. They do look at it, and are quick to ask questions about the items I post that are intentionally ambiguous.)
I have a peninsula table at the entry where ...
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...Toddlers and teens have more in common than not: They're at a transitional stage in which they are testing limits, learning boundaries, and trying on personalities. Once they learn the specific boundaries and consequences of my classroom, most are grateful for the atmosphere of safety and respect in my classroom. It’s still a daily struggle, but the amount of time I’ve spent focusing on damage control has been minimal during the school term.
Does all this mean my room is a sweat shop where students feel repressed, dragged down and not able to express themselves? No. It means that the students who are there to learn have an environment where they feel safe and able to be themselves. We have running inside jokes. And peach cobbler. I do loads of group work, peer teaching, and self-guided activities that can only be effective in a class with seamless management.
Students spend a huge chunk of their lives in classrooms; the type of classroom helps or hinders them in life. Each student and teacher have reciprocal power; "reciprocal power enables teachers and students to undermine any attempt at domination by a single person in the classroom" (Pauly, 57). Students often use reciprocal power when they want to disrupt the class, screaming that they do not want to be in the class or do not want to learn. It is the teachers ' job to take that power back and show the class who is in charge of the classroom before all mayhem breaks
According to Burden (2003), classroom management involves teacher actions to create a learning environment that encourages active engagement in learning, positive social interaction, and self-motivation. Burden (2003) describes an effective classroom manager to follow the seven (7) areas of responsibility in a classroom management:
In chapter 4 of From Discipline to Culturally Responsive Engagement, the importance of the physical classroom environment and routines are discussed. Several proactive management strategies are also included such as layout, decorations, and ways to establish routines. These strategies encourage students to be on task and engaged in learning. The physical environment of any room can have an impression on anyone in that room and this is especially true for students who spend several hours a day in a school. “As a teacher, you may, sometimes unknowingly, influence student’s behavior in negative ways through the arrangement of classroom furniture” (Pinto, 2013). Teachers should be aware of how an environment can affect the way a student learns to avoid isolating them. Establishing routines allow students to feel a sense of security and comfort. I agree that a classroom environment can send positive or negative messages to students and that routines are an effective proactive management strategy. Additional things that I believe
Manning, M. L., & Bucher, K. T. (2007). Classroom management: Models, applications, and cases. Upper
In my twelve years of teaching experience, one thing that most of my colleagues have struggled with at some point in their career has been classroom management. Classroom management is one many keys to instructional success. Unfortunately, many have left the teaching field due to lack of knowledge of classroom management best practices.
time for student misbehavior. By meeting the basic needs of my students mutual respect will
Classroom management is essential in order to provide an effective learning environment. A well-run classroom has expectations and procedures where learning is always taking place. When
I try imparting into them the importance of an education and how they contribute to the growth of our society. In my classroom, I am in control. I draw a clear line between what and how much my students are allowed to do in the classroom. In the first week of school, I establish my authority and I clearly and explicitly express my classroom and outside the classroom procedures that will be followed and the rights that every student has in the classroom. Some examples, all students have the right to learn, all students have a right to be heard, and all students have a right to be respected. There are consequences for those that chose not to abide. This set the tone for my classroom environment for the entire year so, that learning may take
Classroom management has the largest effect on student achievement, so students cannot learn in poorly managed classroom. Additionally, research has pointed out that the quality of teacher-student relationships is the main aspect of classroom management.(…2). Furthermore, when teachers set classroom management plan, the plan will give structure to everything from seating to lessons to grading to the relationship between students. Teachers should incorporate strategies for addressing student behavior into classroom
This I Believe Philosophy statement will include my thoughts and beliefs about classroom management with comparison to other theorists’ models. The major theorists that will be mentioned are Barbara Coloroso, Linda Albert, and Lee & Marlene Canter. I highly agree with the Canter’s and Coloroso’s models of classroom management because it best fits my personality as an individual teacher. I believe that an affective classroom management plan is first practiced and then modeled for improvements. My ultimate goal for my Classroom Management Plan is to model self-discipline by teaching it through my daily actions so that students may be able to self-manage themselves accordingly.
Predominant goal is having a classroom management and creating a safe learning environment. Learning how to manage a classroom successfully is a difficult task for teachers. The everyday concern of beginner teachers is classroom management. Beginners teachers report the weak classroom management skills and disruptive students are the most significance barriers to being a good teacher (Fideler & Haskelhorn, 1999). Teachers have blamed their lesson plans, preparation in their first years of teaching (Ladd, 2000; Monroe, Blackwell, & Pepper 2010). As a teacher, it is my desire to have my students to have a safe learning environment.
Classroom management is a necessary component to every classroom. It includes creating a set of rules and clear expectations that all students follow. This helps unify the classroom for both the teacher and students allowing for a smooth, effective, and educational environment. When the students are aware of what is expected, they are motivated in order to attain the goals dispensed by the teacher. Some students are naturally motivated and want nothing more than to surpass goals for the sake of triumph and pleasing the teacher. Other students need extrinsic motivation in order for them to become engaged in
I believe Classroom Management is the main component in the educational setting. I believe if students are in a safe environment, then learning can take place. This doesn’t mean punishing behavior problems but rather a combination of setting the tone in a class, preventing behavior problems with interesting and engaging curriculums and effectively including all students in the classroom so that their needs are met. Having the right environment for all students to learn is my major goal of implementing good classroom management--without it the students would not be able to learn.
Of course, classroom management also includes discipline and corrective methods. In my situation, I feel that giving students behavioral boundaries and setting high behavioral
My personal classroom management style revolves around student rapport and relationship. I went into my classroom the first day with a clear vision of my rules and management, but quickly adjusted to the needs and wants of the students. I allowed them to help formulate rules and consequences for actions. By allowing them input, there was more buy-in and respect build. I had a very strict format for rules and turning in of coursework, but I realized quickly that I needed to be flexible in a high school setting versus