Response to April Article: Effective Classroom Management
April 5, 2010
I think a big cause for concern for first year teachers is implementing effective classroom management practices. We have been advised/warned that implementing effective behavior management strategies into our classroom within the first three weeks of school is critical to maintaining a positive learning environment for the class. This is a relatively small window of opportunity to ensure that everyone has a positive experience in the classroom for the rest of the year. That is why I read this article on effective classroom management; I want to go into my first year of teaching as prepared as possible so to eliminate as much of the stresses and worries that comes with being a teacher.
Recommendation #1: Provide students with effective and meaningful instruction.
This seemed like a no brainer to me. If we teach students effectively and the students find the information we are teaching to be meaningful and engaging, the students cannot be both on-task and off-task at the same time. If students are engaged and on-task, they will not be engaging in disruptive behaviors simply because they will be focused on the learning taking place.
Recommendation #2: Address challenges facing new teachers in creating a positive classroom context.
This includes effective transitions, effective use of classroom space, ensuring positive interactions between students, clear communications and expectations for various activities (individual work, group work, test taking, etc.)
Classroom rules; they should be aligned with school wide behavior plan, they should be clear and concise (to the point), they should be meaningful (the students should know the reasons WHY these rules are put in place), and rules should be stated in a positive manner.
Recommendation #3: Provide professional development on classroom management linked to schoolwide behavioral support.
Schools need to address a few school wide positively stated behavioral expectations that apply to all students and staff in all settings (i.e. -”Be respectful”); this sets up the framework for the individual classroom settings
Monitor these expectations using data (How well is it working?)
Conclusion: These three recommendations provided by this article set up a whole school and individual classrooms with the tools to create a positive learning environment for both students and faculty. Most of the information I read in this article has been set up at the school where I student teach, but it helped a lot to read written concretely and be able to relate it to my school and classroom experiences.
