Classroom Management

by Jennifer Matson

April 17, 2013

Classroom management starts with trust.

A teacher takes a hand, opens a mind, and touches a heart. (unknown author)
Iviewmyclassroomasacollaborative environment:everyonehashisorher place.Iholdthepositionofleadershipin theclassroomandmyauthorityisnot forcedonmystudents,butinsteadthe studentswillinglygivemetheplaceof authority.Authority,ifclaimedonyour ownterms,isdictatorial,butgivenbyyour students,iscollaborativeanddemocratic. Everyonedesirestobeleadbysome higherpower,butonlyiftheleaderisfair, trustworthy,andworksforthebetterof thepeople.Istrivetoestablishthis trustingrelationshipwithmystudents.In myclassroom,thestudentsholdaplaceof responsibilitytothemselves,totheir classmates,andtotheirteacher.Theyhold anactiveroleintheireducation,both contentandbehavior. HowdoIbuildtrustingrelationshipswith mystudent?SomespeciBicexamplesof whatthislookslikeintheclassroomareas follows.IconstantlyseektoBindthe strengthsandinterestsofmystudents,in ordertocreatemeaningful,interesting lessons.Itakethetimetoknoweach individualstudentandletthemknowme onapersonallevel.Idothisbyspending timebeforeschool,afterschool,and
1

duringbreaksengaginginconversations withthestudents.Onewaytobeginto buildtrustingrelationshipsonthevery Birstdayistoengagetheclassinanice breaker.Thisallowseveryonetolearn eachothersnamesandafewfactsabout eachotherrightaway.Ialsoholdhigh expectationsformystudentsandrefuseto allowanynegativelabelsfromthepast hindermyperceptionofwhattheyare capableof.AllofthewaysthatIbuild trustingrelationshipsenhancestudent motivationaswell.Oncerelationshipsare establishedandstudentsareheldtohigh expectations,theyaremotivatedtodo theirbestwork.

Nicaragua
I studied abroad in Nicaragua for 4 months and while I was there, I worked at an after-school program for street kids. In addition to assisting in a classroom with students between the ages of 6 and 12, I taught English classes to high school students. When I began to teach the classes, many of the students would not listen to me. As the weeks progressed, I learned the students names, their interests, and began to build trusting relationships with them. I could see the notable change as they began to be more engaged in my lessons and willing to learn. What is classroom management? Idonotbelievethatclassroom managementissynonymouswith punishment.Classroommanagement shouldbeamajorityproactivemeasures tominimizeinappropriatebehaviors,such asalteringteachingstyle,seating arrangement,establishedrules,and buildingtrustandhonestywithstudents. Whenallproactivemeasuresareinplace andtheinappropriatelybehavior continues,thenotherproceduresneedto betaken.Ioftenseeineffective punishmenttechniquesusedinthe classroomseparatingachildfromthe class,makingthemstayinforrecess, makingthemputtheirfaceontheirdesk, etc.Ibelievethesetacticsdonotteachthe studentskillstobetteractappropriately andIwouldliketopresentadifferentstyle ofclassroommanagement.
2

Inappropriatebehaviordoesnotformina vacuum,butiscausedbycircumstances andlackofskills.Ifachildisconstantly punishedovertheyearsforbadbehavior, butnevertaughttheskillstoact appropriatelythenhowaretheyexpected toimprovetheirbehavior?InRoss GreenesbookLostatSchool,heproposes alistoflaggingskillsseeninBigure1.Once theselaggingskillsareidentiBied,the by Jennifer Matson March 27, 2013 studentandteachercanworktogetherto developthatskill.Whenachildcan indicateexactlywhytheyaremisbehaving andhasmeasurestotaketochangetheir behavior,theyhavemuchmoremotivation andhopetoriseabovethecircumstances. FIGURE 1 (Greene)

Johns Story
In one of my field placements in a kindergarten classroom, there was a boy named John. He was constantly singled out by my mentor teacher. He would be moving around in the back of the carpet during readers workshop and my mentor teacher would send him to the back table. Each day, over and over, he was sent back there and missed a large portion of the lesson. He once told me, Mr. Smith doesnt like me. It got to the point that my mentor teacher misinterpreted Johns behavior and would resort to sending him to the back, even when he was not misbehaving. John was stuck in the back and was missing out on learning because of it. (Names in this story have been changed.) Interaction with Parents Myphilosophyonbehaviormanagement provideshopeforparentsaswell.WhenI presenta behavior concernto parents,itisin theformof laggingskills theirchildcan decouplingblog.com developand circumstancesthatIcanchange.Iwork collaborativelywithparentstoensurethe successoftheirchildanddonotplaceall theburdenonthem. SomespeciBicwaysIwouldworkwith parentsincludecontactingthemwithin theBirstweekofschoolviaphonecalls, classnewsletter,openhouseand/oremail. Iwouldbesuretobuildconnectionswith themfromthestart,sothatwecanwork togetherfortheirchildsprosperitybothat schoolandbeyond.Iwouldcontinueto keepthemupdatedontheirchilds performanceinschool,bothacademically andbehaviorally.Iwouldnotjust communicatewiththemabouttheirsonor daughtersmisbehavior,butIwouldshare withthemthemanypositivesIseeinthe classroom.Iwouldalsobecertainthe
3

updatesareclearandapplicabletothem withnontechnicallanguage. Buildingrelationshipswiththeparentsof mystudentshelpsmetounderstandmy studentsbetter.ItensuresamoreuniBied supportsystemforthechildandtrusting relationshipsbetweenallinvolvedinthe studentslife. Atrustingcommunityisthestartto behaviormanagement,buttherealsomust by Jennifer Matson March 27, 2013 berulesandproceduresestablishedinmy classroom,sothateveryoneiscertainof theirplaceandwhatisexpectedofthem.

Parent Conferences
I attended parent conferences for my field placement in a kindergarten class and it was a great opportunity to connect and collaborate with parents. Many parents were eager for resources and ideas to use at home to assist their child. One of the students had been acting sassy in class and her dad was able to discuss with my mentor teacher where the behavior stemmed from at home and how they both could work to improve the situation.

Rules Therulesofmyclassroomarecreated collaborativelywiththestudents.Ibelieve ifthestudentsformtherules(withmy guiding),theywillowntherules,agree thattheyarefair,andbemoreaptto complywiththem.Forexample,wemay createrulessimilartothese: Readyrule:Cometoclassreadytolearn. Respectrule:Respecttherightsand propertyofothers. Requestrule:Askforhelpwhenneeded. Offerrule:Offerhelptoothers. Responsibilityrule:Strivetoactresponsibly atalltimes. (Charles)

Theserulesbuildatrustingcommunity, becausetheyfosterrespectingandhelping relationshipsandresponsibilityforones ownactions.Wewouldcreatesimply wordedrulestogetherwithnomorethan Biverulesintotal.Iwouldposttherulesin theclassroomwhereeveryonecansee themandwewouldreviewthemasaclass periodicallythroughouttheyear.Ialso wouldmodeleachoftherulesandprovide examples,sothestudentsunderstand clearlywhatisexpectedofthem.Itis importantthatotheradultsandIconduct ourselvesinamannerthatisconsistent withtherulesandmodelgoodbehavioras well.WhenthestudentsseethatIholdthe sameexpectationsformyselfandcan complywiththerules,theyaremorelikely totrustmeandfollowtherulestoo. Procedures Despiteestablishedrules,trusting relationshipswiththestudents,andall otherpreventiveprocedures, inappropriatebehaviorwillstilloccurat times.Tomanagesuchbehaviorinmy classroom,Iwillhaveestablished proceduresforrespondingtomisbehavior. Theseprocedureswillbeadaptedfrom KagansWinWinDisciplinestrategy.They includeinthemomentprocedures,follow upprocedures,andlongtermprocedures. Torespondtorecentlydeveloped disruptions,Iwoulduseproximity,brief statementssuchasmakeabetterchoice, andotherredirectingstrategiestoattempt toeliminatethebehaviorinthemomentit occurs.Ifthebehaviorcontinues,Iwould carryonwithfollowupprocedures.These includetryingnewpreventiveprocedures, suchaschangingtheseatingarrangement, changeofteachingstyleoractivitytype, etc.Anotherpossiblefollowupprocedure isapersonalimprovementplan,wherethe studentconstructsaplanofspeciBic behaviorsthatneedtochangeandhow theywillcarryoutthosechanges.Below,I provideanexampleofhowthese procedureswouldoccurinsequence:
4

1. Thestudentisgivenawarninginthe momentprocedure. 2. Ifthatdoesntwork,thestudentis givenreKlectiontimetositaloneand thinkaboutthedisruptivebehavior andhowtoimproveit. 3. Ifthatdoesntwork,apersonal improvementplanisformulatedbythe disruptivestudenttohelpdevelop responsiblewaysofmeetingneedsin theclassroom. by Jennifer Matson March 27, 2013 4. Ifthatdoesntwork,thestudents parentorguardianiscontacted. 5. Ifthatdoesntwork,thestudentis assignedtomakeavisittothe principalsofKice.(Charles) If the inappropriate behavior is frequent andnot improving, Iwoulduse longterm procedures. These procedures include identifying lagging skills in a student and workingto developtheseskills.Oneway I would do that is through a oneonone meeting. Inthesemeetings, Iwouldgetto know the student better, and learn how they perceive their own misbehavior. I wouldlistentothestudentsretellingofthe behavior, encourage them to reBlect on t h e i r b e h a v i o r, a n d r e e s t a b l i s h expectations. We would then together create a replacement behavior, agree to how they are expected to carry out appropriate behavior, and establish consequences if they fail to meet the establishedexpectations.

Give me ve!
An example of an in the moment redirecting strategy that I have seen in my field placement is give me five. This is where my mentor teacher holds up his hand, says give me five, and the students hold up their hands in response. This technique immediately gets the attention of the students and redirects them to the appropriate task at hand.

Classroom Layout Shownbelowisasampleclassroomlayout thatIhavecreated.Ichosetoplacemy studentsingroupstoencourage collaborativelearning.Whenstudentsare abletosharetheirideasandworkwith others,theyhaveaccesstomore informationandbuildcommunication skills.Allstudentscanseethefrontofthe roomclearlyandthereforefeelapartof theclassandknowtheyhavearesponsible roleinthecommunity. Theteachersdeskisinplacethatallows foroneononeconferencesawayfromthe restoftheclass.Ialsoincludedareading areaforstudentstogotoasaplacetocool downandreBlectontheirbehavior.Itisa nonthreateningenvironmentwith couchesandbeanbagsandisawayfrom therestoftheclasstocreateasafeplaceto by Jennifer Matson March 27, 2013 thinkandrecuperate.

Resources Charles,C.M."SpencerKaganonWorking ontheSameSidewithStudents."Building ClassroomDiscipline.NewYork:Longman, 1989.209.Print. Greene,RossW.LostatSchool:WhyOur KidswithBehavioralChallengesAre FallingthroughtheCracksandHowWe CanHelpThem.NewYork:Scribner,2008. Print.

by Jennifer Matson

March 27, 2013