Classroom_Management_Related_to_Student_Developmental_Levels

Classroom Management Related to Student Developmental Levels Classroom Management Related to Student Developmental Levels Shannon Fouchard Grand Canyon University: TCH-536 September 14, 2011 Classroom Management Related to Student Developmental Levels Teachers have many roles in the classroom, but one of the most important is being a classroom manager. In order for teachers to effectively teach and for students to learn, the classroom must be suitable and well managed. When procedures, protocols, and rules are not put in place to help guide the students behavior then a chaotic situation could arise that lends itself to students being disrespectful and conduct themselves in a disorderly way. In these situations, teachers have a hard time presenting the curriculum, and students do not absorb as much knowledge about the subject matter as they should. A well-managed classroom put in place by the teacher with appropriate strategies for the accepted developmental levels of the students can help combat unwarranted and unacceptable behaviors. This paper will describe five such strategies, the appropriate developmental levels of the students to which they should be applied, ways in which they encourage critical thinking, and how these strategies influence active participation in the learning process (Lesson Plans Inc., 2007-2011). The First Classroom Management Strategy: Keep Students on Task Making sure that your students are staying on task can be a big challenge for teachers. Students who are not actively engaged will more than likely become management problems and disrupt the learning environment of others (Canter, 2006). Teachers have the ability to provide a curriculum in any subject matter that is both engaging and academically rigorous. If a classroom is set up with procedures and routines from bell to bell, it is less likely that there will be disruptions. This particular strategy can be applied to all developmental levels from Pre-K to adult education. A teacher can stand outside the classroom, greet the students, with the expectation that they start on their warm-up or anticipatory set that gets them focused on the lesson for the day. As the class progresses and each minute of the day have been planned out, students are staying on task, and are engaged in a purposeful directive. This is true for all levels in that they are being directed to participate, follow instructions, and in the end seek understanding of the material presented. As a teacher I would make sure that students knew exactly what was expected of them in class, taught them the organizational aspects of the room, read the rules together for understanding, taught bell to bell instruction, and built a curriculum that was engaging, which was easy with high school science students. This can also be applied to pre-K to adult education as it is a very inquiry based hands-on subject matter. The Second Classroom Management Strategy: Create Consistency It is always important to keep students on task with bell to bell work that is engaging to avoid disruptions. In order to be able to accomplish the bell to bell instructional time, proper procedures need to be put in place to combat all those little nuisances that happen when we least expect them: bathroom breaks, tardies, handing back papers, and turning in homework are examples of why it is important to put procedures in place to help provide students with consistency to reduce problems that might arise. This particular strategy could be used for all developmental levels from Pre-K to adult education, but more so in the upper grades like middle and high school. When students come into class and have been given homework assignments, they will more than likely not remember to turn them in unless prompted to do so. Putting a period bin in a particular spot titled “homework bin” and having a prompt on the overhead of things to remember along with the warm-up can help direct students. Having a tardy sign in sheet by the door to write your name down and time in for the period can cut back on disruptions and avoid every student focusing on who walked in rather than the lesson. Having a TA pass back papers while the students are working on the lab, activity, or assignment will prevent boredom and unused time of students who should be focused on their education not menial work. These procedures are just a few examples that help students see the value of order, and using systematic approaches to make something happen or problem solve if working on a particular assignment. These procedures help focus students on what really is important and helps them see that procedures can give direction and purpose, and help middle and high school students with organization and management of their time and belongings. The Third Classroom Management Strategy: Safe Classroom Environment using Respect The safety of a classroom has many aspects from rules, procedures, consequences, student treatment of others, and how the teacher addresses the students. This particular strategy could be used for all developmental levels from Pre-K to adult education, but I have found that it is not an easy task to get middle and high school students to be respectful. The best way to promote safety through respect is to model how this works in your classroom. If the teacher dresses appropriately, speaks in an even tone and uses words like please and thank you, students will start to catch on and use their powers of deductive reasoning to come to a conclusion that they are being shown respect and then show respect for others in turn (Wikipedia, 2011). When students feel that they are important, valued, and acknowledged they tend to take their education more serious and show a higher rate of participation and enthusiasm for the educational experience. I chose to represent a tougher group of middle and high school students because the idea of respect gets lost in the transitional period from 6th grade to 7th and from 8th to 9th that is quite confounding. I wanted to represent a story that happened to me two days ago with a female student that was told her clothing was inappropriate and asked if she had a means to cover herself up or come to my office to call home. She was very offended and said to me, “you don’t have any right to disrespect me like that.” This student was fifteen years old and claimed that she felt disrespected, which is the attitude that presents itself from secondary level students more often than not. I had a conversation with her and used an even tone, showed respect even in the face of her disrespectful attitude, and treated her with kindness to de-escalate what could potentially be a bad situation. She eventually calmed down, donned a shirt over her top, and apologized that she had been rude. The hopes are that this gets transferred to others and makes her think about her behavior should this happen again. The Fourth Classroom Management Strategy: Correcting Wrong Student Behavior There will always be a time no matter what procedures, rules, and routines have been put in place where students will need to be corrected for poor behavior. Setting up a classroom with consequences if the rules are broken is an important part of letting students know that breaking the rules is not going to be tolerated. This particular strategy could be used for all developmental levels from Pre-K to adult education, but has to be tailored to fit the crowd. As the school year begins and with all rules in place, it is just as important to have students be a part of coming up with consequences to their actions by building a set of consequences for breaking the rules. At the middle and high school level it is customary to use options like: write your name on the board, get a referral, after school detention, in-house suspension, parent phone calls, and standing outside the room. However, it would be more productive to catch students doing things right, calling parents to say positive things about a student that might exhibit tendencies towards poor behavior, talking over the actions of the student one on one to avoid negative input from other students, don’t corner the student by exerting authority or power but expressing what they could be doing differently to be more productive in the class, and get to know your students to understand the triggers for poor behavior (Canter, 2006). This strategy if used in a positive way can help students be more reflective in their thinking, less defensive in their actions or reactions, and help them change their behaviors to be more academically inclined to want to be successful in the classroom. I can understand in a primary school coming up with consequences to actions, but in high school there are many behaviors that if not de-escalated can turn into a hazard zone. A way that I have used this strategy in a positive way is to find the student that is the loudest, most obnoxious, has the potential to disrupt my class the most, and ask them to be my classroom manager. I tell them that they have such leadership ability that I was drawn to them and need their expertise in helping manage my class. This has worked for me every single year and in every single classroom. Doing this not only gives them a sense of power and meaning, but makes them want to be an active participant in their academics as well. The Fifth Classroom Management Strategy: Collaborative learning Collaborative learning has the potential to not only get students to participate in their education, but it makes the students the owners of their education. This particular strategy can be used for all developmental levels from Pre-K to adult education, but again I will focus on middle and high school. Collaborative learning at the secondary level is a very powerful strategy that gets students to overcome social issues, gives students a voice on decisions being made, takes pressure off of the student when others are giving input, helps students increase their inquiry skills, and allows for observations of how others might perceive an issue so others can decipher what they thought was important. I like to put students in cooperative groups to perform a group activity or project in my science classroom at least twice a week. Students when being allowed to work with others feel a sense of relief and tend to show a more impassioned side toward their education when they are not alone in their thinking. A well-managed classroom put in place by the teacher with appropriate strategies for the accepted developmental levels of the students can help combat unwarranted and unacceptable behaviors and showcase students’ academic abilities. When students are on task they have the ability to work on and successfully complete the intended goal. When a teacher creates a consistent environment it can lower students anxiety and provide structure. When teachers model respect and make students feel valued and important the students reflect this back in their behavior. When consequences are put in place that fit the unwanted behavior in a positive approach, then students tend to want to behave more suitably and take more of an interest in the productive side of their academics. Lastly, having students work collaboratively can produce a meaningful team atmosphere of learning and positive socialization that allows students to take ownership in their education and rely on each for answers and conclusions. References Canter, L. (2006). Classroom Management for Academic Success. Bloomington, IN: Solution Tree Critical Thinking. (2011). Retrieved September 13, 2011, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Critical_thinking Lesson Plans Inc. (20007-2011). Classroom Management Strategies. Retrieved, September 12, 2011, from http://www.lessonplansinc.com/classroom_management_student_engagement.php