Classroom Management, some thoughts

Classroom Management 1. Describe the management strategies and techniques you use to maintain an effective classroom environment.

The simple answer to this is that most of what I do is proactive in nature and operates “under the water”, so to speak. The students for the most part are completely unaware of how it all works, but for me, classroom management is kind of an overall paradigm that includes the environment itself, the procedures, messages/communications, and my overall framework for teaching. I don’t think of it so much as something I do, but rather something that I create that kind of takes on a life of its own. It becomes more obvious in the things that I say and do (the techniques), but the entire premise behind it is that I know exactly what I want to happen in the room (self-directed learning), and I’ve set up the environment to foster more of that. I maintain that environment by weeding out things I don’t want: distractions, drama, disrespectful behavior, and by fertilizing (or encouraging) the things I do want: productivity, effort, and self-management. I acknowledge the good (“You did it!”), redirect the ugly (“You guys can talk later, now you need to finish your work.”), mediate the conflicts that inevitably arise (“Yes, he was using the computer first, but in 5 minutes, it will be your turn.”), and debrief (“What worked? What didn’t work?).

2. In what ways do you keep students on task and well behaved during collaborative group activities?

The primary way I ensure things go well is to be very clear from the beginning what it is that we’re doing, and what I’m expecting to see while we’re doing it. I remind them that this is an attractive alternative to other kinds of work that we could be doing instead (collaborative work is way more attractive than Plan B). Once the students know what to do, and how to do it, I turn them loose, but I do a lot of circulating/monitoring to make sure they stay on task until they’re finished, and not getting bored/distracted/off-track. If for some reason it’s not working, I stop everyone, ask if they think they can continue, and if so, what needs to change. If it’s not looking like it’s going to work out (Sorry guys, it doesn’t look like you guys can handle this today, maybe next time), we move into an alternative activity (I usually have those—and they’re usually sufficiently boring to drive the message home). Later we discuss what wasn’t working and what will need to improve for the future.

3. Describe your expectations for student behavior? In other words, if I were to enter your class on an average day, what should I expect to see with regard to student behavior?

I expect students to come in, get settled, and be ready to work diligently. I set up the whole class along those lines. I don’t expect uniformity in the execution however, as long as it’s clear to me that people are working productively, they are free to do it in a variety of ways, so it won’t necessarily look like students sitting silently by themselves at a desk. My normal way of doing things is to have a set routine that teaches students to be fairly self-directed and work at their own pace and in their own way. I do a little bit of logistical talk in the beginning, but otherwise, students are expected to work in their own way and accomplish as much as they can. I circulate the room and make sure everyone is working, but students are free to work alone, or with others, and sometimes on individualized tasks.

4. Keith is your busy seventh-grader. He is constantly moving in your class and always ready to throw spitballs. Although his behavior is not seriously disruptive, it is annoying. He is especially active when he believes that you cannot see him. How would you deal with this situation?

I seem to always have a least one student like this, if not a couple. I usually equate “busy” with ADHD, so assume that the kids that I have that are like this have a higher need to move around than the other kids, and are often very tactile/hands-on learners.

I would deal with the overt behavior (throwing spitballs) by cracking down on it early—“My classroom is not an optimal place for throwing spitballs,” and have Keith clean up the mess (logical consequence), with the warning that future incidents would result in some more extensive restitution cleaning activities after school (kids rarely take me up on this threat).

Then with that out of the way, I would look at the other side of the coin—how’s the work going. After all, students who are working, rarely have time to cause trouble. One thing that would probably be needed is breaking longer assignments down into manageable chunks. I would focus on how he’s using his time in class, and where some natural opportunities for a movement break could occur. Usually students who have trouble sitting still are great at doing errands/chores for you, so if you redirect their energy, it can actually be a positive thing. The way I usually do that is intersperse work with breaks. Have the kid work for 15-20 minutes (or any interval that they can be successful at), then have them take a break at a specified time and do something for you. I have my students sharpen pencils, take out the recycling, make half-sheets, return papers, whatever…then they go and do more work. Then try to increase the intervals if you can. I like to do this by having the student work for some privilege they’d like to have.

The beauty of this, is that the most obnoxious behaviors usually disappear. Instead of having verbal exchanges about behavior in class, the focus moves to work, and how it’s getting done. The student won’t be causing major disruptions in order to get their needs met, and you’ll probably get way more work out of them. Students like this tend to be less hostile/defensive once they realize that you’re willing to work with them (instead of just yelling at them to sit down/be quiet/whatever), and will often end up being your most helpful students. The idea is that you train them to look at class as a pleasant place to be where they can get what they want some of the time, as long as you get what you want first.