CLASSROOM MANAGEMENT:

A PHILOSOPHICAL APPROACHwith a smidgen of pragmatic

strategies

WE TEACH WHO WE ARE.

• OUR TEACHING PHILOSOPHY IS LINKED TO HOW WE TREAT

STUDENTS.• THAT, IN TURN, IS LINKED TO THE MANAGEMENT STYLE WE USE,• AND THAT TO THE ENVIRONMENT

WE FOSTER.

THAT’S WHY A PHILOSOPHICAL APPROACH TOCLASSROOM MANAGEMENT IS

THE FIRST STEP.

Lao-Tsu, 604 B.C., spoke of things that I think Piaget echoed

later.Read this, then

substitute “teacher” for “leader” (put ‘her’ for him as

desired too): …reflect on what it says about a philosophy of

education.

"A LEADER IS BEST WHEN PEOPLE BARELY KNOW THAT HE EXISTS;

NOT SO GOOD WHEN PEOPLE OBEY HIM OR ACCLAIM HIM;…..

WORSE WHEN THEY DESPISE OR DON'T RESPECT HIM.

FAIL TO HONOR PEOPLE YOU LEAD, THEY FAIL TO HONOR YOU….

BUT OF A GOOD LEADER, WHO TALKS

LITTLE, WHEN HIS WORK IS DONE, HIS AIM

FULFILLED, THEY WILL ALL SAY:

in the spirit of full disclosure MY PHILOSOPHY OF

EDUCATION

………BUT FIRST:WHAT’S YOURS?

ON YOUR OWN PAPER:WRITE 5 short “GIVENS”

THAT WILL GUIDE YOUR TEACHING….

E.g.: “I will never…”“I will always try to…”

“There is no teaching unless learning occurs.”

NOW…FOR TWO MINUTES:

• SHARE WITH ONE NEIGHBORING PERSON AND COMPARE…

__________________

» After you’re done, HERE’S MINE….

– ALL PEOPLE CONSTRUCT AND RETAIN MEANING BY RELATING NEW KNOWLEDGE TO PRIOR KNOWLEDGE AT THE CONCEPTUAL LEVEL.

– FACTS WITHOUT A CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK ARE LIKE TREE ORNAMENTS WITH NO TREE.

– TEACHER-GENERATED METAPHORS & ANALOGIES ARE A CONDUIT TO PRIOR CONCEPTUAL KNOWLEDGE;

• STUDENT-GENERATED ONES CONFIRM THE CONNECTION.

– PLANNING ON A UNIT BASIS IS BEST:• FIRST- DESIRED OUTCOMES, NEXT- WAYS TO

MEASURE, THEN - SELECTING ACTIVITIES TO ASSIST DIVERSE LEARNERS TO REACH THEM.

– ALL STUDENTS HAVE BASIC EDUCATIONAL NEEDS;

• WHEN MET BY TEACHER DESIGN, STUDENTS ARE MORE APT TO ENGAGE AND LEARN.

– OFTEN, STUDENT MISBEHAVIOR IS TEACHER-CAUSED AND CAN BE PREVENTED PROACTIVELY.

– TEACHERS MUST MODEL LIFELONG LEARNING AND ENJOYMENT OF IT TOO.

– THE TEACHER SHOULD BE ONE IN A COMMUNITY OF TEACHERS AND LEARNERS.

NOW A KINESTHETIC (or bladder) BREAK:….TAKE 5 MINUTE BREAK; WHEN YOU RETURN,

FORM INTO THE FOLLOWING GROUPS

NOW, FORM GROUPSACCORDING TO THIS LIST:

Anderson Stacee

Beamish Danielle

Becker Justin

Bishop Rachel

Cahill Robert

Clement Jennifer

Coker Richard

Dill Kacie

Elm Matthew

Ennett Jeffrey

Fredrickson Mikki

Hargrave Eric

Kamrar Jennifer

Kilner Joyce

Koepp Jerad

Lasso Richard

Lloyd Monica

Locke Lauren

McGreevy Sarah

Montange Leah

Norwood Joyce

Ortis Jana

Pokaka’a Kellee

Preston Robert

Preston-Mortinson Angela

Resinhoover (Lynn)

Robertson Caitlin

Saunders Gregory

Schuiling Heather

Shea William

Hull Chelsea

Siegel Zachary

Stockmann Christopher

Valenzuela Heather

Vandersnick Leia

Vanzant Seth

Wright Christina

CAVEAT:Ideas today will/should

address most students, but not the chronic or organic

misbehaviors.

Ok, now your taskwrite these down please:-->

Brainstorm answersto these questions:

1. What have you seen in business as a customer that makes you feel:

a) welcome and valued as a customer?

b) interested enough to linger or return as a customer?

Question 2) How can we apply what you just

described in question 1 to ‘students as customers?

Now:• now rotate ONE of you from each group to

another group….mix up the chemistry, enlarge your comfort zones

• Move if your first initial is the one nearest to letter Z.

Your experience as fertile ground for concrete

learning.

STORY TIME NOW:

In groups, SHARE the following;choose a reporter person;

be sure all get a chance to share:

1. want to be gone from class?2. distracted from learning or being on task? (e.g.: pacing and twisting ear or erasing board right away)3. resentful? (e.g.: always late to class, lack of planning, losing student work…etc.)

Now, report out one behavior per group

– What BEHAVIORS of some k-12 teachers you had in school DROVE YOU NUTS, specifically what teacher behaviors made you::….

3 minutes:

Now,Describe BEHAVIORS of some teachers

that you had in school that made youwant to be there,….

specifically,what teacher behaviors, attitudes made you:

feel your time was well spent?feel welcome?feel valued?

Report out….

10 minute breakBack to seats when you return;

On to specifics of management theory;

Assessment piece at the end!

COMPONENTS of management– GOOD MANAGEMENT OF A CLASSROOMis that which precludes undesirable behaviors

(misbehavior, off-task behavior, and downtime) by addressing the students’ needs of:

• personal efficacy (“I’m capable”)• worth (“I’m lovable”)• safety• organization and predictability:

– (student need for such a teacher behavior & atmosphere)

• fairness

Now, reconsidering behaviors related to:1. want to be gone from class?2. distracted from learning3. resentful?

***How many of the behaviors you named above eroded one or more of the basic needs of students, namely personal efficacy worth

safetysystem organization and predictability:

fairness ???????

Now, BY YOURSELF FIRST FOR 2 MINUTES, list all the teacher

behaviors you can think of that:instill or enhancea feeling of

“loveable, …capable, ….safe.”Consider teacher behaviors

and/or qualities outside the classroom as well as inside.

NOW, SHARE WITH A NEIGHBOR

A word about student needs of efficacy, worth, safety, predictability, fairness:

– We all want to feel capable (I can & I did) with a sense of achievement and to feel safe.

– Rules fairly and consistently applied connote safety and care to kids.

– What is the likely perception of a student in terms of these components when you interrupt her “on task” efforts to give directions, announcements or even praise?

– What message is conveyed by “extra” credit work that allows students to circumvent rules or deadlines? Does this enhance or detract from some of the needs above?

– What need is neglected by not being able to explain the “why” of a lesson to students?

Now, SOLO for 1 minute, list all the teacher behaviors you can think of that:*** convey a message of organization and reliability.

(Consider behaviors and/or qualities outside !!! the classroom as well as inside.)

Then, share with a different neighbor

A word about organization and routine– Organization promotes/allows routines.

• These convey and model personal accountability and reliability on the teacher’s part.

– Reliability connotes safety to children and teacher accountability prevents resentment from a double standard.

– Students gain a sense of efficacy when they have routines that give them control over selves or the environment.

– Organization isn’t just to make you more efficient. It is also to help you better serve your clients’ needs, e.g.:

• “materials ready and familiar to teacher & transitions planned and efficient = more learning time = less time to misbehave = teacher cares about us/me.”

• “Plans done for a week or a unit = can answer questions about what I missed or will have to do = we have a direction and purpose = teacher cares and my time’s valuable.”

• “Routines for grades, graded work, absent work, etc. = you can keep them apprised of status

and progress and papers are not lost or forgotten = teacher respects me and can help me.”

HOWEVER: Emerson warned that “a foolish

consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds.” Too

much routine is as a bad as too little;

variety is still allowed under organization.

Can you recall a teacher who was too rooted in

routine?

Now, mentally list all the teacher behaviors you can think of

that would instill in students a sense of fairness on your part

or an environment of same.

Consider behaviors outside the classroom as well as

inside…..then share after a minute

Thoughts on FAIRNESS:– Is “fair”ness = “same”ness?

– What teacher behaviors related to need of “fairness” can breed resentment, thus causing misbehavior? …. Examples---->

•class petsarbitrary grading

deadlines that always bend on due dateassignments that preclude a chance

for quality or successdouble standards for some

always calling on the same people (hands, correct answer kids, etc.?)

reading grades aloud or posting with namesetc.

A little advice to consider ----->

Suggestions to consider: 1. When you make

pedagogical decisions, teach students where they are, not where you were.

2. Congruence is important too; avoid mixed messages

between your words and body language, your words and

tone, etc.Can you think of other teacher incongruencies?

STRETCH BREAK!THINKING IS HARD WORK…

THEN, on to specific strategies, including:

How to respond to questions and answers in a way that addresses student needs.

Strategies in general for good management:

What about chorus responses. (what impact on sense of “I can”?)

– Call on struggling students too vs not calling on them. (“worth” and “fairness”). Tailor the question to increase the chance of success. Give as much time to these students to respond. Many teachers short these students on time?

– Use procedures that distribute practice (answering questions)

democratically and avoid the “T” effect, “dominant side” effect,

“gender” effect“, the puzzled look” effect, the “low ability” effect.

(accent on consistency; fairness)

– After your question, allow a cognitive-gestation pause, then call a name. (increases the number and rate of student practice). Rule: count 5-10.

– Try to respond with some emotion when student responds; that addresses the human dimension of components 1 and 2.

QUESTION STRATEGIES that honor the 5 components

of proactive classroom management and preclude some common discipline

causes.

Avoid using the “gotcha’” technique of classroom management using

questions.!!!!!

If a student isn’t paying attention, alert her that you are about to ask her a

question on the subject of ...Goal is still high rate of success.Protect students who give wrong

answers (safety component).Or you could call a neighbor

(proximity)

Responses to correct student responses for ?s with correct

answers– Affirm the correctness of the response

(Why? in terms of the components???)– Acknowledge appropriate performance,

including the effort to respond.– If you praise, use specificity for the praise,

relating it to the learning goal. (E.g.: That’s correct because...; I’m pleased that you took the risk to...; That helped us all by the way you ....)

Responses to incorrect student responses…

Don’t just move on.Accept responsibility for the confusion– (a) “Your answer shows me I didn’t ask that very

well; let me try to phrase the question differently.” You can also ask another student to rephrase your question for you! OR

– (b)“Could you tell me what question you think I asked? Maybe I confused you.”)

– Metacognitive response: (“I want to follow your thought process. What were you thinking that lead you to that observation?”)

– “Would you like more time?”– Identify for the student any part of the response

that is correct.

Provide the question that the student’s incorrect response answers, then give

the original question in an altered format. (“John, that answers who founded

geometry; now, what people or part of the world do you think first used

algebra?)Provide clues, partial answer, proceed from what student DOES know; “stay

with” the student.

• If the question is clear, move on with “I’ll be back to you in a few minutes for the answer.”

(You can just give time OR elicit the correct response from another, then come back to first for the answer again.)

• Provide a choice of answers. (“Is it ___ or ___?”). If still incorrect, give the right answer and have student repeat it. (“The I color in the rainbow is __”)

• Provide a resource for the answer (book, student) and then come back for the answer.

SOME responses toNON-response or “I don’t know.”

– Accept responsibility for the confusion and rephrase question, ask a student to do so, or ask student to tell what she thought the question was.

– “Would you like more time?”– Provide a resource for the answer (book, student)

and then come back for the answer.– This of course is not applicable in all cases, as

there may be a cultural reason for the non response; know your students.

– Give permission to not answer IF it just doesn’t work

Formative Check time!Back to groups of 4-5;

bring your notes

Number off in your group

Use your notes if needed,But try not to !!

Each one in the group take a turn;

if it’s a multipart answer, each add one part, in turn;

Answer each as completely as you can as a group;

5 minutes to complete these questions thoughtfully, fully.

When done, I have one more piece to this

‘management thing’

• What does Gery consider to be the 5 basic needs of all students?

• Identify a teacher behavior that can inadvertently negate a student need; do one for each need.

• What is the connection between student needs, teacher behaviors, and classroom management?

• If a student gives an incorrect answer, what can you do to turn that into a chance to meet her/his need/s?

BONUS ROUND:What does Kounin have to say

about all this??

KOUNIN’S PROACTIVE

MANAGEMENT IDEAS:

Good classroom management depends

on effective lesson management.

KEY STRATEGIES:

• WITH-IT-NESS• OVERLAPPING• SMOOTHNESS• MOMENTUM• GROUP ALERTING

WITH-IT-NESS

Aware and alert, cognizant, “eye in the back of the head” sense...and letting students

KNOW it

OVERLAPPING

Simultaneous accommodations;

multitasking; attending and

juggling.

SMOOTHNESS

Staying with the lesson; avoiding

reversing and random course

changes.

MOMENTUM

Pacing!…relates to organization and

delivery;not dwelling too long, not

holding all students hostage; having smooth transitions.

GROUP ALERTING

• Keeping students “on their toes” and accountable for being engaged.

• “EUstress” as opposed to “DIStress.”

The Ripple Effect

The "ripple effect" occurs when the teacher corrects

a misbehavior (or the opposite) in one student,

and this positively influences the behavior of

other nearby students.

Kounin, J.S.Discipline and Group Management in Classrooms. Holt, Reinhardt and Winston, NY, NY. 1970

True: an oldie, but still a goodie!

Finally: thank you for learning,

andPlease fill out a card with your feedback

for this presentation:

• What worked for you or will be useful?

• What would you suggest be done differently or included?

• Were any of your needs met? Not met?