Small Classroom Management Strategies session 5.pptx

Small Classroom Management Strategies session 5.pptx

• 1.
  Small Classroom Management Strategies
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  Successful classroom managementrelies on a handful of fundamental strategies and a larger number of quick interventions.
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  • Not CommunicatingExpectations Clearly • Being Inconsistent • Not Creating an Action Plan • Waiting Too Long to Intervene • Going Big Too Quickly Not Following Through • Not Establishing Relationships Common Mistakes Teachers Make
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  FUNDAMENTAL PRINCIPLES OFCLASSROOM MANAGEMENT Teachers, like hypnotists, can string along a series of requests by asking students to do something most are already doing, then waiting for 100 percent compliance, and finally issuing another directive, etc. It’s better for teachers to say, “Point your eyes toward me” and wait for compliance, instead of saying, “Stop talking, turn around, turn to page 237, take out a pencil, and head your paper with ‘Geology Frame.’”
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  Keep your consequencesas minimal as possible When a rule is broken, assign the smallest consequence possible and see if that gets the job done. Don’t use up big consequences too fast.
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  Appropriate curriculum isa classroom management strategy For some students, being thrown out of the room for backtalk has a lower social cost than appearing dumb in front of peers. Assigning appropriately difficult work (which often means differentiating) eliminates that risk.
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  Rehearse transitions Most disruptionsoccur before the bell rings and between activities. “Silent 30” is a signal for all students to clear their desks and sit silently within half a minute. A class reward occurred after 30 transitions were completed successfully. Kids will love how visitors witnessing the routine would drop their jaws in surprise.
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  Make positive phone callshome and send letters Another important classroom management technique is the positive phone call home. Many teachers fall into the trap of only calling home when there is an issue to report. While these calls are necessary and worthwhile, calls for celebration are equally, if not more, important. Every parent wants to hear positive news about their child, and this reinforcement almost always makes its way back to the student. Try to make one positive call to a different student’s home every single day, even if it’s simply to report on a nice comment a kid made in class. This means so much to parents and students and usually translates to positive classroom behavior as well.
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  Anticipate problems andbe creative At the beginning of one year, my middle-grade students would charge into class like Mel Gibson and a thousand Scottish warriors. To solve the problem, I asked my kids to line up for class outside my door with their left arm against the wall and a foot of space between them and the person in front of them. To enter class, each child had to answer either a content-related question or a random dumb question like, “What type of weapon would you use to battle Aqua man?” The dumb questions kept the line entertained. After answering, students were directed to take a seat, quiet as moonlight, and follow instructions on the board. Students talking or violating any part of the protocol were sent to the back of the line
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  Celebrate your students’hard work. Show students that you value the work they put into learning. Identify milestones in the work everyone accomplishes each day. Once a week, choose one particularly hardworking team or student to share their story. Let the class ask them how they accomplished the work. What a valuable lesson kids learn when they hear peers talking about what hard work means to them. Kids who know their work will be celebrated instead of just their grades will pay more attention and stay focused.
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  Never punish anentire class Even when you feel like the entire class is misbehaving, there are always some kids following directions. Punishing the class as a group only incites further resistance.
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  Make sure thatstudents understand the why and how behind your rules. Just because you’ve stated, shared, and posted your classroom rules doesn’t mean students know what they mean. Your version of no talking might be different from theirs. Human beings talk for lots of reasons, so keep appropriate expectations. It might even be OK to joke around a bit as long as a student is staying focused on the task at hand. Some teachers find great success with acting out ways of talking that are effective
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  Have an actualplan for behavior issues. When you get your driver’s license, you are taught all the consequences of poor driving behavior. This helps put you in control of how things go down. Make a plan for what will happen if a student does something outside the norm or breaks a classroom rule. Try to come up with very specific things that might happen and what you will do. In the heat of the moment, it can be tough to hand out a consequence. Enforce the consequence without any emotion. “You did this, and the consequence is this.” This helps students see that the behavior is unacceptable, but the kid is still valuable
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  Keep track ofwhat you know about your students Let’s end where we started. Building relationships with kids is necessary, but be realistic about how much information you can hold in your head. Keep a chart or notebook about things you learn from your students. Who swims on Wednesdays? Who lives with their grandmother? What kid loves to pick strawberries? Review this chart regularly before you meet with your students so you can ask them personal questions that show you care.
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  Notice the goodthings happening in your classroom Classroom management techniques that focus on positive reinforcement are very effective. All too often we spend our days telling students (and ourselves!) what went wrong. Just as it takes practice to notice things that aren’t going well in our classroom so that you can course-correct, you might need to work on noticing things that are going well. Why will this work? We don’t always need to be problem-solving. Instead, we can be building on the positives, which will then push out the negatives. For example, if you see kids working together to solve something, notice it out loud. “Nice teamwork, you two. Can you share why you decided to do this together instead of on your own?” This way you’ll get to hear their thinking, and other students will get to learn that it’s OK (and encouraged) to do things differently.
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  Accommodate All TypesOf Learners Design lessons that take into account a wide range of different learners. Some students learn best with lectures, others with graphs and visual presentations, others with hands-on assignment, and others in groups or in individual learning time. Creating lessons that include a wide range of learning methods allows every student the chance to engage with the material in the best way for them.
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  Be Enthusiastic Students cantell when their teachers are excited about the material, and it is more likely for students to be engaged and interested when the teacher is enthusiastic. Students naturally feel the emotions of the teacher, whether they are excited or bored, and they are likely to follow these cues and be more engaged when they sense excitement or interest.
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  Give Tangible Incentives Thiscan include rewarding individual students for good behavior or rewarding the whole class with a party or special activity for good behavior or reaching a milestone in learning.