The first few weeks of term can be frantic so I have created this BLOG as a starting point and a place where you will be able to find some useful resources to assist you through your teaching journey.
You will benefit from having your own personal philosophy about teaching and some tips on classroom management up your sleeve. I find that I benefit from personal reflection as well as thinking about the kind of teacher you really want to be. The start of the school year is the time for “establishing a balance with your students” (Mcgrann). Setting clear and consistent boundaries will enable students to understand what types of behaviour you will accept and will not accept. The process of gaining students trust will be progressive, as learnt from my teaching practicum, students love to test boundaries and see how far we will go.
Students expect teachers to be fair and consistent, if we always ignore certain behaviours just because you cannot be bothered dealing with them will in turn make your students believe that they can do whatever they can and get away with it. Obviously you need to be realistic when setting your boundaries and think about what things you just aren’t going to tolerate eg chewing gum, swearing, racist remarks etc.
You will also be faced with many challenges and factors that influence student behaviour, these include environmental factors (home), divorce, custody issues, illness, bullying, family values and culture, learning disabilities and factors such as Asperger’s, ADHD and Autism to name a few, the key is to be aware of these factors, plan for behaviour and able to distinguish students needs.
During the first few days all eyes will be on you and students will form opinions of you and pick up on your actions, reactions and the way that you present yourself (Slee). Whatever you do NEVER bring your problems into the classroom, you are the role model and students will look up to you for appropriate behaviour. You respect them then they will respect you and trust you!There are many theories about classroom management it’s up to you how you are going to approach it.
THE VIT, Victorian Institute of Teaching provide graduating students with a set of eight standards. The institute regard these standards as the essential elements of teaching, therefore in order to obtain your registration as a graduating teacher you must demonstrate competency, development and practice through your professional learning. All eight elements in each of the standards is important for classroom management and for the day to day running of your classroom! (please refer to the link for a more closer look at these standards, know them like the back of your hand).
There are a myriad of resources both online in terms of websites and journals as well as books that give teachers support and ideas to work with, these are obviously not set in stone or say that you HAVE to do things a certain way, you will find that when you begin teaching that we can adapt these strategies and ideas to cater to the needs of our students and experiment with what works and doesn’t work and remember it is all about balance.
The Importance of Creating a Safe, Inclusive and Engaging Environment
The ultimate goal is to create a classroom environment so that each and every child is able to reach their full potential. It is essential that students feel safe to take educational risks.
In order to create a safe, inclusive and engaging classroom environment it is essential to consider these factors:
- The layout and aesthetics of the room, each and every child must feel comfortable. There must be adequate heating and cooling and a place where students can think.
- Allowing your students to drink water throughout the day.
- According to Slee, alienation of students can result resistance and violence (pg 186).
- Glasser states that students choose to behave in certain ways to achieve desired goals and to satisfy their needs. As teachers we need to be aware of these needs, they can include attention, power, boredom. That’s why creating a challenging and engaging learning environment is important as well as making effective use of time.
- Creating a classroom motto and involving students
- Having a task board
- Creating positive student teacher relationships, taking control rather than letting the class take over you!
- Gain student trust
ICE BREAKER ACTIVITIES
Be fair
Use sense of humour not being too uptight
Model appropriate behaviour
Use appropriate voice
Don’t get too close and ‘invade’ personal space
Take an interest in what your students like, hobbies etc
Speak to them by their name and greet them as they enter/ leave
Apologise if you are wrong
Discuss with students if you are ever in a bad mood, don’t get into detail but let them be aware that something is bothering you
Praise and encourage students
If you are going to punish, follow through on consequences.
(Rogers, 1997).
Rules, Procedures, Values and Responsibility
Rules and Procedures…
According to Marzano et al, the most obvious aspect of effective classroom management is classroom rules and procedures. They give students the structure they require to feel safe in their environment. A rule identifies general expectations or standards; a procedure communicates expectations for specific behaviours (Marzano, et al pg5). An example of a rule can be “respect other students and their property” a procedure about respect can involve “returning books to their appropriate place in the classroom”. Many schools have a whole school approach in terms of anti-bulling and discrimination.
According to Dr Mac, it is a good idea to set up rules during the first day and to devise no more than 6 rules. He recommends not reinstating rules that are already school wide as students will already be expected to know them. State rules in a positive manner, if the rules sound silly then they probably are and students will never follow them. Respect your students and get them involved in the decision making. The key is to clearly explain the reasons behind each rule so that students are able to understand what consequences will go with each rule and their importance. It’s a good idea to display the rules in the room clearly visible to everyone in the class, that way if students forget the rules from time to time you are able to POINT to the poster and say “what should you be doing at the moment” (McIntyre, 2008).
WHAT IS IMPORTANT TO YOU AND YOUR STUDENTS?
Values and Responsibility...
Values are central to effective behaviour and discipline management. Values are core beliefs that guide our actions and are reflected in our behaviour (Mackay, pg7). In Australian Schools today, values education is of great importance with particular emphasis on civics and citizenship education – creating informed and responsible citizens for the future as well as an emphasis on personal learning and interpersonal development in the Victorian Essential Learning Standards.
http://vels.vcaa.vic.edu.au/
It is important to help students understand what responsibility is and isn’t. As teachers we must embrace diversity, our response to everything that occurs in the classroom is affected by our values and ideologies (Rowan, et al). Students walk into our classrooms with their own ‘virtual schoolbag and funds of knowledge’ this concept is derived from Luis Moll as the “Historically accumulated and culturally developed bodies of knowledge and skills essential for household or individual functioning and well-being” (learn nc p. 133). In your first few months of teaching you will be a learner as well, getting to know students and their families and using these funds of knowledge (culture etc) to plan lessons that ‘tap into students prior knowledge’ and interests. At the same time it is also important to be equitable in your interactions with students.
YOU CAN DO IT PROGRAM (link provided in resource list)
This program is becoming very common in schools; it promotes a whole school culture as well as social and emotional wellbeing. The framework has 5 keys that ‘drive’ positive behaviour, relationships and emotional wellbeing. I have also seen these 5 keys displayed on large key shaped posters in the classroom. They include:
- Getting along
- Organisation
- Persistence
- Confidence
- Resilience
There are also 12 ‘habits of mind’ that are also commonly used in Australian Schools and integrated throughout the curriculum they also include:
-Accepting Myself
-Taking Risks
-Being Independent
-I Can Do It
-Giving Effort
-Working Tough
-Setting Goals
-Planning My Time
-Being Tolerant of Others
-Thinking First
-Playing by the Rules
-Social Responsibility
Below are some useful resources on values education:
The Issue Of Rewards & Consequences
One of the most controversial topics for teachers is the use of rewards and punishments in the classroom. There are many teachers who regard extrinsic rewards as an appropriate and effective way to manage behaviour as it motivates students. At the other end of the spectrum some teachers feel that they don’t’ want to ‘bribe’ their students and that they should be intrinsically motivated to do it on their own rather than behaving just to get the reward. The idea of using rewards should be considered at the beginning of the school year. There are many rewards systems that teachers use and it also depends on the level you are teaching. I have seen teachers use stickers, giving extra house points, extra ‘free time’. Marzano et al state that if you decide to use ‘tangible’ rewards then it is a good idea to monitor your use of them, making sure that your students don’t see them as a bribe (Marzano, et al, pg43). I have been into classrooms were the teacher had spent quite a bit of money on toys, pens, trinkets etc as a reward once students filled their star chart. I believe that if you start off showering students with rewards, they are going to expect it all the time and are most likely to only work for the rewards and behave just get the reward once they have received the reward and are back to zero stars I found that some students did not care about their behaviour or their work.
In terms of consequences, you must follow through whatever you have said to your students otherwise they are never going to take you seriously. Make sure you focus on the actual behaviour rather than the child and avoid getting into a power struggle with them.
Marzano et al relate to consequential learning as the “course of action taken when students go too far or push the limits or boundaries, it teaches students that their behaviour has resulting consequences and that these consequences can change for them if they choose to act differently” (pg 77). Every student in your class has a choice to alter their behaviour, the consequences of breaking the rules and acting inappropriately should be discussed at the beginning when rules and procedures are being created as a whole class. Jenny Mackay refers to the 5R’s in regards to consequences (pg 78).
RELATE the consequences to the behaviour not the person
REASONABLE consequences that are fair even though your students may not like the consequence.
RESPONSIBILITY- consequences need to teach students about responsibility. The choice of behaviour was the students and is therefore responsible for their consequences.
REPARATION is the opportunity to make things right. It enables the student to experience ‘doing it right’.
RESPECT- consequences convey respect for the person and maintain their dignity. A student can’t change who they are but they can alter their behaviour.
Furthermore teachers have found that students are becoming less accepting to an authoritarian style of teaching and teachers who cannot cope refer to the school’s disciplinary policies and procedures (Mackay, pg 1. ) it’s a good idea to become familiar with these polices and procedures but don’t become reliant on them. This authoritarian style of teaching and punishment is normally used if students have gone too far and have crossed the line, personally I have rarely seen this happen and the teacher is able to control the behaviour or situation.
Below is some links to resources on rewards in the classroom and teacher opinions on the use of rewards via you tube.
DEALING WITH PARENTS
Interactions with the parents of your students wont always be a positive experience,before you are going to meet with the parents be prepared by having some tips ready of what you are going to say. Try to stay positive and c
The interactions and relationships with parents is one of the fundamental and daunting components of teaching that new teachers must learn to manage. I have heard of many situations were teachers end up in power struggles with parents.
Below is some good advice that I found from Lee Canter (Parents on your side, 1991).
- Make sure you have contacted the parents regularly about problems before you call them in for a meeting.
- Be flexible when setting up a time for the meeting
- Bring out all documentation
- Greet the parent/s warmly
- Maintain eye contact and call the parent/s by their name
- Be sensitive to the parent's feelings
- Say something complimentary about their child early on
- Allow parent/s to raise their concerns as well
- Don't dredge up old incidences from the past, which have already been dealt with.
- Don't overwhelm parents with too many issues
- Do not discuss any other student
- Make detailed notes of what was discussed. NOTE: If possible, have another teacher or someone from the staff be present as your witness.
- Consider giving parents some concrete ideas for behavior management at home.
YOUR WELLBEING!
In spite of all the overwhelming feelings and stress you may experience, try not to let your work consume you by taking everything personally. Keeping fit, eating well and going out to socialise is all part of maintaining a healthy balance between work and home. Yoga, walking and Pilates is proven to be a good reliever of stress. Whatever you do don’t take your issues and frustrations from the classroom into the home, if you need help and can’t cope, speak to your support network, colleagues and Principal. I find that reflecting on each day helps. Below I have found some links to some health and wellbeing websites for your reference hope they come in handy!
Parting Words...
If we as teachers focus on our positive behaviour and do our best to establish a trusting and respectful relationship with our students, then we are contributing to an enjoyable learning experience for our students and of course for ourselves. We are giving our students the opportunity to succeed in an environment that is safe, inclusive, engaging and equitable and assisting them to reach their full potential.
In addition it is always a good idea to take advantage of PD’s (Professional Development) opportunities that arise as this will contribute to your VIT registration. Whenever you have free time it’s a good idea to begin research and reading on your own on topics such as ADHD, Asperger’s, Autism and strategies to apply in your classroom. Networking with teachers in the field I find to be a great help, there are many teachers out there who are more than happy to share their expertise (you never know, you might be giving them some great ideas too!).
If you are ever in doubt about anything don’t feel embarrassed to speak to other teachers in your year level or even the Principal. Have a note book handy and document any incidents that occur with regards to your students and especially throughout your dealings with Parents. Good luck and best wishes on your future endeavors, I hope this BLOG has given you some ‘food for thought’ to assist you on your teaching journey. Remember classroom management is an ongoing process and will take time. Begin each day afresh and do not dwell on events which happened in the previous day and your classroom will be a happy one!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)