Classroom Management

ECI 423

Learning from “Natural” Teachers

• Have good instincts

• Remain calm and relaxed

• Be emotionally “warm”

• Students do the work (meaning, they are actively engaged)

• Keep your sense of humor

• Show that you mean business from Day 1

Steps to Successful Classroom Management

• Focus on Prevention• Working the Crowd• Arrange the Classroom• Create Independent Learners• Raise Expectations• Build Classroom Structure• Set Limits• Produce Responsible Behavior

Focus on Prevention

• Positive Classroom Management– Instruction– Motivation– Discipline

• Classroom Mgmt. System– Be specific– Simple procedures– Prevent problems

Prevention…

• Instruction– Mobility and Proximity– Learned Helplessness (“Praise, Prompt,

Leave”)– Visual Modality (have lots of visuals to aid

with understanding)– Say, See, Do Teaching (Explain,

Demonstrate, Students Do)

Prevention…

• Motivation– Why Should I? (short term goals, preferred

activities as rewards)– Excellence and Accountability (reward quality)

• Discipline– Rules and Routines– Meaning Business (eye contact, body

language, voice control

Working the Crowd

• Goofing off is directly related to the teacher’s physical distance from the student

• Effective teachers make an art of “working the crowd” (eye contact, energy, movement)

• Mobility and proximity are key tools to classroom management

• “Disrupt” the impulse to be disruptive

Red Zone – Close by (8 ft radius), students stop behavior

Yellow Zone – About 14 ft. radius; coast is clear when teacher turns his/her back

Green Zone –Go! Teacher not near.

The longer the students are in the Green Zone, the more likely they are

to get off task.

Arranging the Classroom

• Remove obstacles to avoid tripping

• Include walkways

• Allow for teacher to get to students in the fewest possible steps

• Rows make for easy cleaning but create barriers for teachers

• Teacher’s Desk – get it out of the way!

Creating Independent Learners

• Wean the “Helpless Handraiser”– S: “I don’t know what to do here.”– T: “What part don’t you understand?”– S: “All of it.”

Helpless Handraiser

Be clear, Be brief, Be gone.

Raise Expectations

• Focus on Motivation

• Manage Productivity (diligence, excellence)

• Focus on the things you can control (quantity and quality of work)

• Choose appropriate incentives (be proactive, not reactive)

Incentives for Diligence

• A task – things you have to do

• A preferred activity – things you want to do

• Criterion of Mastery – how well it is done

Build Classroom Structure

• Students can assess the absence of structure very quickly

• Students know if teachers are proactive or reactive, whether they are “pros” or “rookies”

• Rules are defined by REALITY (what students can actually get away with)

• Down time is detrimental to a lesson plan

Build Classroom Structure

• Structure begins the moment students walk in

• Well developed routines create positive work environments

• Classroom routines train students to carry out procedures with minimal wasted time

• Routines must be taught and practiced

• Communicate with parents

A note about “Rules”

• Be careful to avoid too many “Don’ts”

• Be clear about what are general rules or specific procedures/routines

• Teach these procedures (pay now or pay later)

• Establish standards

• Reinforce positive behavior

Setting Limits

• Brat Behavior – saying No to children, then giving them what they want if they act out builds brat behavior

• “No means No”

• Be consistent

Kind of Consistent?

There are no degrees of consistency. Consistency has only two conditions:–You are consistent

–You are Inconsistent

Setting Limits…

• Keep it positive

• Stay calm, stay strong (Calm is strength, Upset is weakness)

• Mean business

• Follow through

• Adjust as you go

Recognizing Backtalk

The way to recognize backtalk is by the fact that the student’s mouth is open

• Whiny backtalk– Denial– Blame a neighbor– Blame a teacher– Compliment

Recognizing Backtalk…

• Non Verbal Backtalk– Cry– Push you aside– Sidetrack

• Curve Balls– The Last Hurrah– The Cheap Shot

Producing Responsible Behavior

• Build Cooperation

• Teach Responsibility

• Turn Problem Students Around

• Initiate Preferred Activity Time

• “Family” approach

Game Plan

• Focus on Small Disruptions (they are more costly and big disruptions can grow from small ones)

• Learn to use Body Language

• Keep it cheap (the “look”)

• Commit to putting discipline on the front burner

• Mountains or Mole Hills?

The Game Plan

• Commitment and Follow-Through

• Weenie or Consistent?

• Signal Clarity

• Monitor your Physical Response – No mixed messages

• Eliminate Backtalk

• Smile

Resource

• Jones, Fred. Tools for Teaching. 1st. Fredric H Jones & Associates, 2000. Print.