Teach a Book: Classroom Management for Middle and High School Teachers Chapter 1: Organizing Your Classroom and Materials • Room arrangement: ‣ Consistent with instructional goals and activities - Teacher-led vs small groups - Mix of both? ‣ High-traffic areas free of congestion ‣ Students easily seen by teacher ‣ Frequently used materials/supplies easily accessible ‣ Students easily see board Chapter 1: Organizing Your Classroom and Materials • Suggestions for arranging your classroom: ‣ Bulletin boards/walls - Daily assignments on decorative display (colored paper or borders) - 9th grade and below post rules of classroom - Reward “class of the month” ‣ Floor space - starting point: where is whole-class instruction? ‣ Student desks - avoid students w/backs to instructional area ‣ Teacher’s desk and other equipment ‣ Storage space and supplies Chapter 1: Organizing Your Classroom and Materials • If you have to float: ‣ Familiarize yourself with the room ‣ Try to arrange a projector for daily use - Prepare transparencies for lessons/hw assignments, and notices ‣ A regular space on the board for assignments ‣ Storage space for materials that cannot be carried with you everyday ‣ Try to get a cart ‣ Assign early arriving students the task of preparing the room - Erase boards, set up projector, arrange chairs Chapter 2: Choosing Rules and Procedures • Why rules and procedures are needed ‣ Rules identify general expectations or standards - best when positively stated (You may talk when given permission) ‣ Procedures communicate expectations for behavior - apply to a specific activity • Planning classroom rules and procedures (consequences?) ‣ Identify school rules and procedures ‣ Around 5 sufficient to cover most behavior (student participation?) - Bring all needed materials to class - Be in your seat and ready to work when the bell rings - Respect and be polite to all people - Respect other people’s property - Obey all school rules Chapter 2: Choosing Rules and Procedures • General Procedures ‣ Beginning of period - Attendance: use seating chart, keep track of missing work - Absences: write name and date on handouts and keep in absentee folder; daily assignments on calendar; student volunteers to assist returning students - Tardy students: be consistent; sign in sheet - Expected behavior: Warm up questions at beginning of period, copy outline of class activities - Leaving the room: emergencies only; keeping a record; reduced credit for work not brought to class ‣ Use of materials and equipment: teachers and student materials ‣ End of period: clean up of materials and reminders of upcoming work Chapter 2: Choosing Rules and Procedures • Procedures during seatwork and instruction ‣ Student attention during presentations: respect and note-taking ‣ Participation: raise hands, student call? ‣ Seatwork - Talk among students (no student talk vs quiet talk) - Raised hands for help - Out-of-seat procedures: sharpen pencil, get paper; one-at-a-time - When work is completed (enrichment activities folder, work on hw) Chapter 2: Choosing Rules and Procedures • Procedures for group work ‣ Distribution of material stations/helpers ‣ Assigning students to groups: well-balanced, separate clashing personalities, save time, efficient ‣ Outline goals and participation roles (recorder, reader, etc.) ‣ Cooperative learning • Miscellaneous ‣ Signals: obtain student attention, transitions (turn off lights, bell) ‣ Announcements, special equipment, fire drills, and split lunch periods (what to do with work and personal belongings) Chapter 3: Managing Student Work • Your grading system and record keeping ‣ Achievement, effort, hw, improvement, participation, and percentages ‣ Accurate assessment: frequent evaluation ‣ Record all student info in grade book rather than separate lists • Feedback and monitoring procedures ‣ Students check own work (different ink and model how to check) ‣ Students keep own record of grades ‣ Long-term/group projects: divide into smaller goals and deadlines ‣ Peer review (must teach) ‣ Guided beginning for group seatwork then work the room ‣ Long-range monitoring - keep track of missing assignments Chapter 3: Managing Student Work • Communicating assignments and work requirements ‣ Instructions for assignments - Oral explanation of requirements/rubric as well as visual aid on board - Routine of copying down assignment ‣ Standards for form, neatness, and due dates ‣ Procedures for absent students - Post weekly assignments or keep absentee folder - Length for make-up - Place for late work turn in and graded pick up - Missed group work - assist groups in inclusion of absent members Chapter 4: Getting Off to a Good Start • Perspectives on the beginning of the year ‣ Resolve student uncertainties: expectations, procedures, and rules opportunity for students to learn appropriate behavior ‣ Plan uncomplicated lessons to ensure student success ‣ Keep whole-class focus (group work should maintain this); prepare extra credit or enrichment assignments; later introduce complex activities ‣ Be available, visible, and in charge: work the room; praise, prompt, leave ‣ Teacher authority: rights to set standards for behavior and performance - Traditional, bureaucratic, expert/professional, charismatic - Most teachers derive authority from several sources - Authoritarian (control through threats and punishment) vs authoritative (provide basis for actions/discipline, give students independence for maturity, and Chapter 4: Getting Off to a Good Start • Planning for a good beginning ‣ Checking books out to students (wait until lockers have been assigned): record book numbers, name stamp, cover ‣ Paperwork (hall pass, emergency forms, etc): all forms on hand and separated in folders ‣ Rosters organized by period, noting accommodations for seating/medication, 3x5: name, book #, attendance, grades until class stabilized - useful for calling on students ‣ Seating assignments: learn names/attendance faster, class management ‣ First-week bell schedule, tardiness leniency for first few days, administrative tasks, rules ‣ Course requirements: tests, quizzes, hw contributions - parents sign? ‣ Beginning routine and alternative activities (wkst, puzzles, logic Chapter 4: Getting Off to a Good Start • The first day of class ‣ Stand near door (sign w/name outside), make eye contact and smile, correct any students that enter with unacceptable behavior, and make sure students are in the correct room ‣ Administrative tasks (forms on hand), check attendance by raised hands (not call-outs), teacher/student/course introductions ‣ Discussion of class rules and rationale/penalties, emphasizing benefits to all, and presentation of course requirements ‣ Interesting initial content activity: should require little or no assistance, which allows time for teaching procedures - Explain what students are expected to do, list steps on board if complex, demonstrate when possible, give corrective feedback ‣ Avoid pre-tests, small groups, projects, and individualized instruction ‣ Establish end-of-period routine Chapter 4: Getting Off to a Good Start • The second day of classes ‣ If 1st day was short, review class procedures and follow 1st day plan ‣ Identify new students and get them seated, re-state beginning-ofclass routine, review major rules and procedures ‣ Present content activity ‣ Close period with procedure introduced on day 1 • After the second day ‣ Continue using procedures, adding new ones as needed ‣ Monitor student behavior and give students feedback when their behavior does not meet expectations ‣ Should start giving regular assignments for in-class and at home and check work promptly using grading procedures Chapter 5: Planning and Conducting Instruction • Planning classroom activities: types ‣ Openers to transition into the classroom (Do Now’s) and Closers ‣ Checking work: must teach appropriate procedures (different ink color) ‣ Recitation: oral check of student understanding, distribute questions to all members of class, watch for too slow or too rapid pacing ‣ Content development: intro/extension of material, concepts, or skills; teacher questions/collect work for understanding ‣ Discussion: encourage evaluation, awareness of other points of view, sharing of opinions; requires planning prompting questions and management of activity ‣ Seatwork on previously presented material, start as class then independent work ‣ Test administration (plan work for early finishers) ‣ Student presentations and demos - give guidelines in advance, audience behavior ‣ Small-group work: lab work, promote greater comprehension, cooperative learning, reciprocal teaching ‣ Tests and presentations/demonstrations Chapter 5: Planning and Conducting Instruction • Organizing activities - depends on number of different topics covered in class; focus on seesay-do • Kounin: managing group instruction - activity flow ‣ Preventing misbehavior - ‣ withitness and overlapping Managing lesson movement - ‣ momentum (pacing) and smoothness (continuity; ex. dangle, thrust) Maintaining group focus - group alerting (tell students they might be called on next) - encouraging accountability (performance observed and evaluated) - higher participation formats: write answers, read along during instruction Chapter 5: Planning and Conducting Instruction • Transition management (see problems/solutions) • Instructional management ‣ Planning ‣ anticipate problems (new terms and examples, demos) ‣ do homework to find difficulties - build hints in lesson ‣ infuse enthusiasm into lesson ‣ Presenting new content clearly: Learning objectives at beginning and provide an outline for a complex lesson or video ‣ Checking for understanding: formative and summative assessments - ask review questions - discuss and solve problems as a group; recitation - indicators (multiple choice question, “hands” to indicate response Chapter 6: Managing Cooperative Learning Groups • Research on cooperative learning - Equal or greater learning than individualistic or competitive teaching methods with effective cooperative groups due to increased engagement with content; NEED feedback/instruction on how to collaborate • Strategies and routines that support cooperative learning - Room arrangement - line up desks to marks on floor for quick transitions Talk and movement procedures: 6-inch voices, materials manager, state timed movement expectation w/verbal reminders Group attention signals: MS raised hands, HS turn on projector and ask for eyes at the front; avoid interruptions/present info ahead of time Promoting interdependence within groups: individual tasks (vary skills, research different topic for report), group grades Individual accountability - id contributions, peer evaluation, individual Chapter 6: Managing Cooperative Learning Groups • Monitoring student work and behavior ‣ Work the room w/clipboard to write notes about all students about satisfactory group functioning - note degree of explanation/demonstration and use for feedback ‣ group and individual performance -self-monitor to identify difficulties • Interventions ‣ Non/verbal redirect, time out/work alone, conference w/individual students, conference w/entire group • Effective group work skills: ‣ Social skills: teach active listening/sharing/support before group work ‣ Explaining skills: Rotate summarizer role, explain something to partner and explain back, work as group to answer a question and present to class ‣ Leadership skills: assign presenter/discussion leader roles to build skills Chapter 6: Managing Cooperative Learning Groups • Beginning the use of cooperative learning groups ‣ Room arrangement, procedures, and routines ‣ Forming groups: star with pairs, working up to larger groups that have a range of achievement levels, match extremes w/middle to motivate lower achiever ‣ Initial group tasks to build skills: turn to your partner and explain/compare answers, drill partner, reading buddy, checking, reviewers ‣ Teaching group skills: listening, explaining, asking for help, encouraging, and sharing - introduce one/week and give feedback; assign and rotate roles (keep on index cards w/behaviors) so everyone gains experience ‣ Using group and individual rewards to practice/improve skills - tickets for good behavior for toy raffle/points for fun activities Chapter 7: Maintaining Appropriate Student Behavior • Monitoring student behavior ‣ Student involvement in learning activities: “active eyes,” work the room and don’t spend more than 1-2 min/student, start whole-group activity ‣ Student compliance with classroom rules and procedures: clear expectations that have been communicated to the class • Consistency ‣ Inconsistency from unreasonable/inappropriate rules, no detection of inappropriate behavior, not willing to enforce every time ‣ What to do if you are inconsistent - Re-teach procedure (discuss problem) and enforce it - Modify and reintroduce it - Or, abandon it and substitute another in its place Chapter 7: Maintaining Appropriate Student Behavior • Prompt management of inappropriate behavior ‣ Eye contact/move closer and prompt appropriate behavior ‣ Reminder of procedure by stating correct one or note students who are doing what is expected ‣ Redirect attention to task and monitor shortly thereafter ‣ Ask/tell student to stop inappropriate behavior ‣ Make it private: call to desk, whisper, nonverbal cues ‣ Briefly talk to student/assess penalties ‣ Time out at desk or another room Chapter 7: Maintaining Appropriate Student Behavior • Building a positive climate ‣ Communicate positive expectations to students: convey confidence in students’ ability to do well, can do attitude, maintain high expectations ‣ Appropriate teacher praise (public vs private): both informative feedback and genuine teacher approval that focuses on accomplishment, not effort • Improving class climate through incentives or rewards ‣ Grades (tie as many facets of work as possible) and recognition (display work, certificate, verbal, stickers, improvement/conduct) ‣ Activities (PAT) and material incentives (food, games, books): relate to behaviors most important to you (attendance, hw), everyone can achieve it ‣ Caution of effect of rewards: enhance or hurt? - imperfect conditions Chapter 8: Communication Skills for Teaching • Constructive assertiveness ‣ Clear statement of problem or concern and describing effects - reduces student defensiveness, avoids labeling students/behavior, use statements ‣ Unambiguous body language: eye contact, posture, facial expression matches tone of statements ‣ Obtaining appropriate behavior and resolving the problem: student needs to accept responsibility for behavior, dramatic emphasis for evasive students • Empathic responding ‣ Keeps lines of communication open between you and the student and aids problem solving process ‣ Two components: listening skills and processing skills Chapter 8: Communication Skills for Teaching • Problem solving ‣ Identify the problem: state purpose of meeting, get students point of view/describe problem, ask students reaction; evaluate: help/hurt? ‣ Identify and select the solution: student suggestion, multiple teacher alternatives; positive focus with plan for improvement ‣ Obtain a commitment: student acceptance for period of time followed by evaluation (sometimes in a contract) with consequences if not followed • Talking with parents ‣ Constructive assertiveness, empathetic responding, problem solving ‣ Express appreciation for parents’ efforts to meet,work w/them as a team ‣ Focus on choices student is making and how to encourage better decisions ‣ Document concerns: student work and notes of behaviors Chapter 9: Managing Problem Behaviors • What is problem behavior? ‣ Nonproblem: brief inattention, transition talk ‣ Minor problem: students calling out, leaving seats, talk during group work ‣ Major problem, but limited in scope/effects: chronically off-task, failure to pass in hw assignments, vandalism, cheating ‣ Escalating or spreading problem: unabated social talking, back talk • Goals for managing problem behavior ‣ Judge short-term (bad behaviors cease) and long-term effects (prevention) of any management strategy chosen ‣ Optimal: Maintain/restore order w/out adversely affecting learning environment; should prevent repetition of problem Chapter 9: Managing Problem Behaviors • Management strategies ‣ Minor interventions - Nonverbal cues: finger to lips, head shake, hand signal, light touch to arm - Get activity moving: quick transitions, all materials ready - Proximity: zones of proximity, combine w/nonverbal cues - Group focus: group alerting, accountability, higher participation format - Redirect behavior: state what should be done, “everybody should be writing answers to the practice problems” - Provide needed instruction: check student work, whole-class instruction - Brief desist: direct eye contact and assertiveness, combine w/redirection - Give student a choice: behave appropriately or continue behavior w/consequence, “choose to clean up now or say after class until area is clean” - I-message: “it’s distracting to me and the class when you get out of your seat,” learn awareness of effects of behavior on others Chapter 9: Managing Problem Behaviors • Management strategies ‣ Moderate interventions - Withhold privilege and earn back w/appropriate behavior (sit near friends, work together on project) - Isolate/remove problem students: desk at back of room, time out, switch if rewarding to student, time out or walk to principal’s office, labels student as excludable - Fine or penalty: extra work, but defined as punishment - quick to administer, but content negatively affected, non-content (look up and copy 10 definitions) - Detention best for behaviors that involve time (tardiness, time-wasting behavior) or repeated rule violations; adv: disliked, administered away from classroom; disadv: takes teacher time, student skipping, additional records - Referral to office for fighting, vandalism, rudeness and disrespect; adv: effective limit, short-circuit escalating situation; disadv: depends on others for effectiveness, potential for discrimination; use sparingly Chapter 9: Managing Problem Behaviors • Management strategies ‣ More extensive interventions - Design individual contract with student - problem solving - Conference w/parent: describe situation and appreciate support that parent gives to help understand and resolve problem, have grade book handy - require time and energy - Check (name on board)/demerit (record that student signs to accept responsibility) system; adv: set/maintain limits, consequences are clear; disadv: catch bad behaviors, hard to detect behaviors - Problem solving - “Think time” strategy - remove student to another teacher’s classroom, debriefing form: what was behavior? what behavior do you need to display upon return? - Reality therapy: establish caring relationship, focus on behavior, accept responsibility, evaluate behavior, make plan, commitment to follow plan, following up - Peer mediation: students trained to listen/clarify issues, help negotiate, write Chapter 9: Managing Problem Behaviors • Special problems ‣ Chronic avoidance of work: good records a must - Ability: break assignment into parts/modify assignment - Parent phone call, reach out to coaches, no grade leniency ‣ Fighting: injury if intervene? disperse crowd, get help ‣ Other aggressive behavior: all behavior, even if playful, is unacceptable; respect others; one warning; separate students; conference w/student ‣ Bullying: bullying prevention programs, monitor student behavior, talk with class about behavior and effects, bully and victim problem solving, involve school counselor, incorporate social skills training in class ‣ Disrespect/hostility towards teacher: don’t go brainstem - Best to defuse: keep it private and individual conference with student - Depersonalize: “This is taking time away from class. I will discuss it with you in Chapter 10: Managing Special Groups • Teaching heterogeneous classes ‣ Assessing entering achievement: previous tests, pre-tests, monitor initial classwork (class notes, summary from book) Modifying whole group instruction: participation (pacing), procedures for managing student work, thoughtful seating arrangement, assignments: EC and enrichment, peer tutoring (expectations and management skills) Cooperative work groups Small (homogeneous) group instruction: location of group/seating, materials/storage/accessibility, student movement/transitions, out-ofgroup procedures and expectations Mastery learning: re-take tests until proficient by providing increased feedback ‣ ‣ ‣ ‣ - Labor intensive: managerial skills, alt. forms of tests, extra grading, scheduling, enrichment activities, recordkeeping Develop/introduce incrementally, due dates, specified days for test re-takes Chapter 10: Managing Special Groups • Teaching remedial classes ‣ Learner characteristics: high absence/tardies, arbitrary grades, frequent failure, poor study skills, low attention span ‣ Establishing your management system: continually reinforce procedures and routines, question class, practice, feedback ‣ Monitoring behavior and prompt responses ‣ Managing student work of daily/weekly grades for frequent feedback, grade for effort/performance, incorporate participation (involvement, learning, attendance) ‣ Planning and presenting instruction - Short activity segments w/frequent assessment of understanding (see, say, do) - Extra attention to presenting directions and instruction clearly - Build teaching of study skills in lesson (note taking, identifying main ideas) Chapter 10: Managing Special Groups • Students with special needs ‣ Content mastery classroom: provide extra help, extra time for tests, staffed w/special education teachers who can provide suggestions for adapting teaching/management ‣ Inclusion - special education students in general education classrooms: IEPs, regular planned meetings for progress and support, assignment modifications ‣ Emotional/behavioral problems - communication with all, overlook minor inappropriate behavior, reinforce acceptable behavior, identify/reduce/prevent stressors, temporary lowered expectation on bad days, offer structured choices, allow leaving classroom - remember you are convenient target, but not cause of anger ‣ Serious social deficits (ASD) - odd social skills with poor communication skills, extreme anxiety to change/unmet expectations, acute sensitivity to sounds, poor motor skills, stereotyped movement - use visual prompts, brief instructions (write down), social stories, strengths and Chapter 10: Managing Special Groups • Students with special needs ‣ ADHD: - distractible, impulsive, disorganized - predictability and structure, ask others what works best for them, make sure you have their attention when giving clear/brief instructions, observe as they work, remind/reinforce effort and accuracy over speed, finger card/marker for reading ‣ Deaf/hard-of-hearing: auditory devices, center of room seat, projector not chalkboard, repeat/rephrase info, restate responses, close monitoring, note takers ‣ Bind/visually-impaired: board work - read aloud, tape recorders, hands-on work, change in activity to prevent tiring, seat w/back to window, move as needed ‣ Extreme poverty: increased communication and relationship building, presentation of non-weak image/insolence, extra materials/supplies, bracket anxieties, peer buddy, provide underlying assumptions for behavior, + self-talk, help another student ‣ Limited English proficiency: understanding of English, learn key words in native lanuage, body language/gestures, visual aids, long receptive period before confident in classroom, consult counselor if language barrier prevents benefit from
