Classroom Management

Classroom Management Classroom Survival Disclaimer "In order to discover the rules of society best suited to nations, a superior intelligence beholding all the passions of men without experiencing any of them would be needed.” ~ Rousseau  A Nightmare Language Teaching Classroom Management Classroom Dynamic    Foreign Teachers managing in English. Korean teachers using Korean to manage in the English classroom Teachers working in strict English Only environments Management    Must be comprehensible for students Must be effective when delivered in English Must be reasonable for the language classroom Rules And consequences Rules in the classroom    All classrooms have some rules. Make sure rules are clear, appropriate and necessary for your classroom. Creative positive rules. Rules  Ms. Sara’s Rules Respect yourself and others  Keep the school safe for all students  Listen when others are talking  Keep your area clean  Be prepared for class  Involve the students     Publishing rules is a first step Create activities using the rules Ask students to provide feedback on rules Allow students to create and add rules to the classroom. Sample Activity   Rules reviewed with students Students play a board game On the game students see positive and negative examples of the rules  Students state what the example represents  Positive and Negative Examples Consequences    Consequences should be consistent with rules Consequences should encourage better behavior next time. Consequences do not have to be disciplinary measures. Ms. Sara’s Consequences  Respect  Others will not respect you.  “You called your friend a name. Your friend called you a name. You need to have respect.  Safe  The classroom is dangerous  “You rolled on the wheels and fell out of the chair. That’s not safe. You need to be safe.” Rules and Consequences    Encourage good behaviors Help students understand the effects of negative behaviors Teach students to care about their actions and the actions of others Student Centered Classroom Management Let the student manage    Identify the basic procedures of each classroom. For each procedure determine possibilities for student managers or officers to mediate Promotes student responsibility Procedures and Officers  Attendance  Attendance keepers Hands Up Student Officers  Announcements   Behavior  When possible…  Public School Teachers Many public schools promote some form of student responsibility  Try to find out what roles students are taking in your school  Use these roles in the classroom  Points and Rewards Additional Strategies The problem with rewards    Students come to expect compensation for performance Students only use positive behaviors when being observed Students demand rewards for certain performances Can you use rewards?  Yes, but consider Don’t provide consistent rewards  Don’t reward performance  Be fair with rewards, reward all  Rewards should be earned by everyone together  Points systems    Students earn point in team Establish clear guidelines for earning points Guidelines are not behaviors students can “fake” to get points     Examples Help others be successful Explain difficult words to your friends Show students how to do it The “why” or “what” question with points   Teacher what are points for? Teacher what do I get? Students earn the points.  At the end of the year every team that earned points will receive recognition.  All teams have received some points.  Discipline And Punish? Discipline   Many classrooms do use some kind of disciplinary measure. First try to avoid moving towards discipline “Withitness”   A teachers withitness can dramatically reduce problems in the classroom that might call for discipline Withitness refers to how well a teacher knows what is happening in the classroom. Using Withitness  When teachers notice things happening that could lead to discipline consider      Proximity (move towards students) Removal (take away distracters) Remind touch (place a hand on shoulder or elbow of student Eye contact (let the student know you see them) Non-verbal indication (a shake of the head, or a hand signal to stop behavior) When it is necessary     There are times when it is necessary to use a disciplinary measure in the classroom. As with rules, make sure your discipline policy is clear and appropriate for students. Publish discipline policies. When using discipline be consistent Ms. Sara’s Discipline Policy       Verbal Warning Five minute standing time out (standing at desk with students) Second verbal warning Five minute out of group time out (away from group or outside of class) Third verbal warning Removal from class Other strategies For student management Know your students  Your students know you  There is a great deal of power in being able to use student names. Find a way to know your students to you can encourage good behavior or discourage bad behaviors. Ms. Sara’s Chart  Seating charts are excellent Other tips and strategies for students management  Model good behaviors We all have bad days, when this happens model for students how you deal with anger, frustration, sleepiness, anxiety etc.  Show students how to handle these same issues to help students learn to manage behaviors  State it and forget it  Don’t address rules once a year. Incorporate rules and good behavior practices into regular class activities  This helps to remind students and encourage them to practice good behaviors in your classroom  Work Shop Group and Share Consider the following situations. What can you do?   Students have just entered class. They are playing superman with the chairs with wheels. Inappropriate Questions  Everything is running smoothly. You are talking about health and body issues. A student ask you how many times a day you go to the bathroom. Everyone in class starts laughing. Inappropriate behaviors   You have to reach down to get the chalk you dropped off the floor. One of your students goes for the Korean “똥침” (ttong chim) Inappropriate Language  Students are working on classroom tasks and activities. Everything is going very well when suddenly one of the students yells out very loudly a Korean vulgarity. Open Discussion For more information  You can download this presentation at www.saradavila.com/english