(EDF 310) Organizing and Managing Classroom Environments
Syllabus of Record
Course Description: Current theory and methodology involved in establishing order
and facilitating learning is emphasized. Emphasis is on understanding
personal/psychological/learning needs, establishing positive relationships, using
instructional methods that meet student needs and maximize on-task behavior.
Applications to educational settings are required. Three credits.
Unit Mission, Philosophy, Values:
Our Mission:
“Teaching, Leading and Learning in a Democratic Society”
The College of Education prepares candidates who enhance the individual growth of
their students while working to establish policies and practices that promote the
principles of democratic education. The College articulates this mission as Teaching,
Leading, and Learning in a Democratic Society.
Philosophy:
Student Potential, Ethical Implications
Believing that schools function as social and political entities as well as for the
growth of individuals, the College of Education prepares teachers and leaders
a) to enhance the academic and personal potential of their students
b) to evaluate the social and ethical implications of educational policies and
practices.
Values:
“Expertise, Equity, Liberal Education, Social Responsibility”
The College of Education values expertise to guide our practice, equity to guide our
interactions, liberal education to guide our perspectives, and social responsibility to
guide our commitment to democratic education. We value these ideals in our
preparation of candidates, our development of faculty, and our relationships with the
larger community we serve.
Unit and Program Standards:
Unit Standards: Michigan Department of Education (MDE), National Council for the
Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE)
Standards for Initial Programs Preparing Teachers: Interstate New Teacher
Assessment and Support Consortium (INTASC); Council for the Social Foundations of
Education (CSFE).
Standard #1: Learner Development. The teacher understands how learners grow
and develop, recognizing that patterns of learning and development vary individually
within and across the cognitive, linguistic, social, emotional, and physical areas, and
designs and implements developmentally appropriate and challenging learning
experiences.
Standard #3: Learning Environments. The teacher works with others to create
environments that support individual and collaborative learning, and that encourage
positive social interaction, active engagement in learning, and self-motivation.
Course Standards and Assessments:
Performance:
The teacher creates a smoothly functioning learning community in which students
assume responsibility for themselves and one another, participate in decision
making, work collaboratively and independently, and engage in purposeful learning
activities.
The teacher engages students in individual and cooperative learning activities that
help them develop the motivation to achieve, by, for example, relating lessons to
students' personal interests, allowing students to have choices in their learning, and
leading students to ask questions and pursue problems that are meaningful to them.
The teacher organizes, allocates, and manages the resources of time, space,
activities, and attention to provide active and equitable engagement of students in
productive tasks.
The teacher maximizes the amount of class time spent in learning by creating
expectations and processes for communication and behavior along with a physical
setting conducive to classroom goals.
The teacher helps the group to develop shared values and expectations for student
interactions, academic discussions, and individual and group responsibility that
create a positive classroom climate of openness, mutual respect, support, and
inquiry.
The teacher analyzes the classroom environment and makes decisions and
adjustments to enhance social relationships, student motivation and engagement,
and productive work.
The teacher organizes, prepares students for, and monitors independent and group
work that allows for full and varied participation of all individuals.
Common Assessment: Classroom Management Plan
Major Topics:
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Basic elements of classroom management
Theory into practice
Inviting students to learn
Cooperative learning strategies
Classroom organization
Rules and consequences
Classroom procedures
Building classroom community
Character education
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Conflict resolution
Assertive Discipline
Love and Logic
Capturing Kids Hearts
Course Objectives:
The teacher can use knowledge about human motivation and behavior drawn from
the foundational sciences of psychology, anthropology, and sociology to develop
strategies for organizing and supporting individual and group work.
The teacher understands how social groups function and influence people, and how
people influence groups.
The teacher knows how to help people work productively and cooperatively with each
other in complex social settings.
The teacher understands the principles of effective classroom management and can
use a range of strategies to promote positive relationships, cooperation, and
purposeful learning in the classroom.
The teacher recognizes factors and situations that are likely to promote or diminish
intrinsic motivation, and knows how to help students become self-motivated.
DISPOSITIONS
The teacher takes responsibility for establishing a positive climate in the classroom
and participates in maintaining such a climate in the school as whole.
The teacher understands how participation supports commitment, and is committed
to the expression and use of democratic values in the classroom.
The teacher values the role of students in promoting each other's learning and
recognizes the importance of peer relationships in establishing a climate of learning.
The teacher recognizes the value of intrinsic motivation to students' life-long growth
and learning.
The teacher is committed to the continuous development of individual students'
abilities and considers how different motivational strategies are likely to encourage
this development for each student.
Course Knowledge Base:
Intelligences in the Classroom. Association for Supervision and Curriculum
Development.
Brandt, Ron. (1995). “Punished by Rewards? A Conversation with Alfie Kohn,”
Educational Leadership, (September).
Canter, Lee & Marlene Canter. (1997). Assertive Discipline Positive Behavior. Santa
Monica: Lee Canter and Associates.
Fay, Jim & David Funk. (1999). Teaching With Love and Logic. Boulder, Colorado:
The Love and Logic Press.
Froyen, Len A. (1993). Classroom Management: The Reflective Teacher-Leader.
The Macmillan Publishing Company.
Glasser, William. (1998). The Quality School; Managing Students Without Coercion.
Revised Edition. Harper Perennial.
Glasser, William. (1998). Choice Theory in the Classroom. Revised Edition. Harper
Perennial.
Jones, Vernon F. & Louise S. Jones. (1998). Comprehensive Classroom Management:
Creating Communities of Support and Solving Problems, Fifth Edition. Needham
Heights,
Massachusetts: Simon and Schuster Company.
Kohn, Alfie. (1996). “What to Look for in a Classroom,” Educational Leadership
(54)1: 54-55. (September).
Lickona, Thomas. (1991). Educating for Character: How Our Schools Can Teach for
Respect and Responsibility. New York: Bantam Books.
Freiberg, H. Jerome. (1996), “From Tourists to Citizens in the Classroom,”
Educational Leadership (54)1: 32-36. (September).
Schneider, Evelyn. (1996), “Giving Students a Voice in the Classroom,” in
Educational Leadership (54)1: 22-26. (September).
Willis, Scott. (1996). “Managing Today’s Classroom: Finding Alternatives to Control
and Compliance,” Education Update (Newsletter of the Association for Supervision
and Curriculum Development), (38)6: 1, 3-7. (September).
Wong, Harry K. & Rosemary Tripi Wong. (1991). The First Days of School: How to be
an Effective Teacher. Sunnyvale, California: Wong Publications.