Classroom Management
I believe that the purpose of education is not to fill a vessel, but to develop an intellectually, emotionally, and socially intelligent individual. As Progressivist philosopher Francis Parker puts it, “The end and aim of all education is the development of character.”
1. Creating a Classroom Community Learning occurs best when students take charge. Because we are working with a large classroom of individuals with different interests and needs, it is essential that we establish a community.
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2. Recovering Student Engagement
Sometimes things go wrong, and students get off task. This is not the end of the world, but it does need to corrected in order to ensure that learning can resume.
Some techniques to accomplish this:
As John Dewey once said, “The self is not something ready-made, but something in continuous formation through choice of action.” The true purpose of education is to help students develop skills that will actually support them in the real world. This includes the ability to communicate clearly in speaking and writing, to listen effectively, to work collaboratively, to give constructive feedback, to self-reflect and analyze, to think critically, and more. Some of the strategies we practice in class include:
4. Somewhere Else Plan
Sometimes people just need a little space and a little time. Maybe a discussion got too heated. Maybe you have some personal problems that you are dealing with, and it is affecting your ability to cope today. Whatever the case, we have some strategies to help you until you are ready to come back and join the rest of the group.
Because education is a life-long process and should not be limited to the classroom, I believe it is important to unite the important people in your life with your classroom experiences.
Sometimes things go wrong, and students get off task. This is not the end of the world, but it does need to corrected in order to ensure that learning can resume.
Some techniques to accomplish this:
- Enforcing the class-constructed consequences for breaking rules or failing to meet expectations (Nelson & Lott).
- Prevention is always the best medicine. Students should come prepared and keep themselves busy to minimize opportunities to get off task in the first place.
- Students have different needs for attention. Sometimes students may seek it in the wrong ways. To try to circumvent that, we should all strive to catch one another doing something good. That way, we fulfill each other’s needs for attention in positive ways (Fred Jones.)
- Sometimes it can be difficult to express exactly what we are feeling, especially for those who may be struggling with English or who have special needs that effect their ability to communicate. A mood meter is available when needed to help provide a visual representation for our emotions so that they can be addressed (Brackett & Kremenitzer, Creating Emotionally Literate Classrooms).
- Sometimes all it takes is a little reminder. Whenever possible, I will try to use small signals—“usual constructive reminders” to be exact—to avoid putting students on the spot and avoid taking up our valuable class time (Claassen and Claassen). If you see me making eye contact with you, standing nearby, tapping on your desk, or signaling you in some other way, quickly assess what you might be doing wrong and make the necessary corrections.
- If these don’t work, I may need to pull you aside to have a chat after class. I promise to listen to what you have to say and try my best to understand (Claassen and Claassen). Once we have a handle on what the real problem is, we can work together to determine a solution.
As John Dewey once said, “The self is not something ready-made, but something in continuous formation through choice of action.” The true purpose of education is to help students develop skills that will actually support them in the real world. This includes the ability to communicate clearly in speaking and writing, to listen effectively, to work collaboratively, to give constructive feedback, to self-reflect and analyze, to think critically, and more. Some of the strategies we practice in class include:
- We practice active listening, or listening to understand. During our class discussions, students are expected to listen actively to the speaker. When responding to these comments, the next speaker should restate at least part of what was said before them—to build on it (Claassen and Claassen.)
- When disagreements arise—as they will in any intellectually challenging environment—we are careful and purposeful about the language we use to express these disagreements. Blame free discussions are modeled by the teacher and encouraged for all. Instead of saying, “You . . .” try saying, “I feel . . .” This way we can ensure that it is the behavior or the words being addressed, and not the person.
- When necessary, we will spend time learning to recognize, understand, label, and appropriately express and regulate our emotional responses (Brackett and Kremenitzer).
- Students need to take some accountability for their own learning. To achieve these ends, students will all learn about their individual learning styles and multiple intelligences (Olson). This will help you not only in this class, but in all future learning environments—in and out of school.
- Students are expected to develop intrinsic motivation over the course of the semester or year. That means that you should be motivated to complete your work not just for a grade or for praise, but because it gives you a personal sense of accomplishment (Olson).
- Along the same lines, students also must learn to take responsibility for themselves and their own learning (Wong and Wong). Self discipline is one of the most important life skills that a person can acquire.
4. Somewhere Else Plan
Sometimes people just need a little space and a little time. Maybe a discussion got too heated. Maybe you have some personal problems that you are dealing with, and it is affecting your ability to cope today. Whatever the case, we have some strategies to help you until you are ready to come back and join the rest of the group.
- Student can be paired with a self-management help buddy. This is a peer resource that students can use when they need help analyzing their feelings, expressing their feelings constructively, or figuring out what went wrong (Wong and Wong).
- Students who are actively engaged in disruptive behavior may be removed from the classroom and sent instead to another class or to the office. Take with you an Emotional Literacy Blueprint. You will complete this activity and bring it back when you are ready to rejoin us (Brackett and Kremenitzer).
- Alternatively, you may be given a “Thinkery” worksheet to complete that walks us through what happened, why it happened, and how we can fix it (Claassen and Claassen).
Because education is a life-long process and should not be limited to the classroom, I believe it is important to unite the important people in your life with your classroom experiences.
- Your parents/caregivers will be able to track your progress through the class online. Through this web portal, you and they will all be able to see past and present project guides, your current grade, and any missing assignments.
- When and if needed, parent teacher conferences can be held at a time that is convenient for your caregivers. I believe that you the student should be in attendance for these meetings. In fact, the student should lead them. This can help us customize the learning experience at home and in the classroom to best fit your individual needs.
- When additional support is needed, we can hold a Student Success Team meeting. Similar to a parent-student-teacher conference, this meeting can involve your other teachers as well as the school principal and counselors. Together, we will work as a team to assess your strengths, determine how and why you are struggling, and to come up with a plan to help you succeed.