Mentoring Matters:
Establishing a Supportive
Culture for Learning
Classroom Management, part 2
Alabama Teacher Mentoring
Program
Learning Outcomes
Mentors will be able to:
Talk about the importance of classroom management—in
particular, “mental set” and “withitness”—and help beginning
teachers understand and learn these skills.
Understand the relationship between positive teacher-student
relationships, student behavior, and student achievement
Consider ways to help a beginning teacher reflect on the extent
to which he or she creates a community of learners, in which
students are motivated to learn
Talk with colleagues in confidence about successes and
challenges of mentoring a beginning teacher
Agenda
Review/Learn
– Review four components of classroom management; think about the
value of an appropriate “mental set.”
Sharing
– Think about positive teacher-student relationships and what they look
like.
Learning
– Classroom management, part 2: research about teacher-student
relationships and teacher mental set; strategies to accomplish these
Committing
– What ideas can I use? What have I learned? What will I use with my
mentee?
Three Major Roles of Effective
Teachers (Marzano)
1. Selecting effective
and appropriate instructional
strategies
2. Designing curriculum
with appropriate pacing and
sequence
3. Managing the classroom to promote
efficient and effective learning
Marzano’s Meta-Analysis
Reported in Classroom Management that Works:
Research-Based Strategies for Every Teacher.
Included the findings from more than 100 different
studies
Addressed four general components of classroom
management, each of which has a positive
relationship to student engagement and student
achievement.
Four Components of Classroom
Management (Marzano)
Rules and procedures
Disciplinary interventions
Teacher-student relationships
Mental set
Summary of Marzano Findings
“Students in classes where effective
management techniques are employed have
achievement scores that are 20 percentile
points higher than students in classes where
effective management techniques are not
employed.”
Students in these classes have a 23 percent
higher engagement rate.
Marzano, p. 10
Appropriate Mental Set
Of Marzano’s four components,
mental set has the largest effect on
student behavior, engagement, and
achievement.
Mental Set = Frame of Mind
The Mental Set of Effective
Classroom Managers
Incorporates two Constructs:
1. Withitness (with-it-ness)
2. Emotional Objectivity
What is the “Mental Set” of
Effective Teachers?
They are “mindful” of what’s happening.
– They pay attention
– They don’t get absorbed in what they’re doing to
the exclusion of what’s going on around them
– They stay tuned in to the students
“Mindfulness involves a heightened sense of
situational awareness and a conscious control
over one’s thoughts and behavior relative to
that situation.”
(Marzano, CMTW, p. 65)
Withitness
Kounin discovered the difference
between effective and ineffective
teachers was “not in how they
handled the disruptive behavior of
students, but in the disposition of
the teacher to quickly and
accurately identify problem
behavior or potential problem
behavior and to act on it
immediately.”
Marzano, p. 66-67
Techniques of “With-it” Teachers
Position themselves to be able to see all
students…and move around the classroom,
getting to all sections
Periodically scan the classroom
Pay attention to potential problems
Make eye contact
If eye contact doesn’t work, move closer
If moving closer doesn’t work, say something
privately to the student
--Marzano, p. 70
“With-it” Teachers Forecast Problems
What might go
wrong?
Anticipate
problems—
particularly with special
needs students
To Learn With-it-ness, Observe
Master Teachers
Teachers develop
withitness over
time—it’s a subtle
and situational quality
Another Component of the Mental
Set of Effective Teachers
Emotional Objectivity = reacting
to student misbehavior in a calm,
unemotional, objective fashion—not
personalizing student behavior
More typical human reaction to
disobedience is to feel hurt or
angry; this undermines classroom
management
Consciously Reframe—
Look for Reasons Why
Don’t personalize
student
misbehavior
Monitor One’s Own Thoughts
Mentally review students before
class each day—particularly the
potential problems
Try to imagine these “problem”
students engaging in positive
behavior
Keep positive expectations in mind
when interacting with these students
Take Care of One’s Self!
Address One’s Own Emotional State
“…it is critical for you not to carry
anger, resentment, and other hostile
feelings once a discipline situation is
over. If you are angry with a student
from an incident that happened the day
before, you might enter a power struggle
just to flex your muscles and show who
is boss. Don’t. Start fresh each day.”
--Curwin and Mendler cited in Marzano, p. 74
Strategies to Enhance
Emotional Objectivity
Guided imagery
Deep breathing
Maintaining a sense of humor
Laughter—going to movies or watching t.v.
shows that one finds funny
Treating oneself to a reward on especially
hard days
Emotional Objectivity
Rate your beginning teacher on the extent to
which he is able to stay objective when dealing
with problem students.
What feedback would you like to give him about
this?
– Remember, to be effective, praise should be specific,
contingent, believable, and varied. How might you
phrase the feedback?
– Corrective feedback sometimes is more effective as the
result of self-assessment and reflection. What questions
might you pose to your beginning teacher on this topic?
How Well is Your Mentee Taking
Care of Himself?
Find a partner with whom to talk.
What evidence do you have that the beginning
teacher with whom you work is taking care of
herself…or failing to do so? (Remember the
typical emotional phases of beginning teachers.
See your Mentor Manual.)
How could you help? Could you find time to do
“deep breathing” together? Or go to a funny
movie together?
Alabama Quality Teaching
Standards
Standard 2: Teaching and Learning
– Organization and Management of
Learning
– Using Instructional Strategies to Engage
Learners
– Assessment of Learning
Standard 2:
Teaching and Learning
Organization and Management of Learning
2.1 Designs a classroom organization and management
system built upon sound, age-appropriate
expectations and research-based strategies for
promoting positive behavior
2.2 Creates a climate that promotes fairness and
respect
2.3 Creates a safe, orderly, and stimulating learning
environment that nurtures motivation and
engagement of learners
What Does It Mean To You?
Imagine a classroom with a climate of fairness
and respect…that is safe, orderly and
stimulating…and that nurtures student
motivation and engagement (2.2 and 2.3)
In such a classroom, what would the teacher be
doing? What would students be doing? What
would it feel like? Sound like? Look like?
Is this classroom more like…
A forest?
A garden?
A lake?
A beach?
Teacher-Student Relationships:
The Keystone for Effective Classroom
Management
Study of over 10,000 adolescents found that
“positive connections” to parents and
teachers was the strongest factor to protect
teens from destructive and risky behavior.
by Resnick et al. (1997)
Teacher-Student Relationships:
The Keystone for Effective Classroom
Management
“When students feel
connected at school, they
are less likely to engage in
violence, drugs, alcohol,
sex, or other harmful
behaviors.”
(Vitto, page 8)
Teacher-Student Relationships:
The Keystone for Effective Classroom
Management
Resnick also found that positive
relationships with teachers was more
important than
– class size, amount of teacher training,
classroom rules, school policy
…in protecting students from destructive
behaviors.
Teacher-student Relationship
“The teacher-student relationship is easily
lost in a confusing web of rules, limits, and
required objectives.”
Rogers and Frieberg (1994, p. 33)
What Do Students Say About Teachers To
Whom They Feel Connected?
“She listens to me”
“He thinks I’m important”
“She talks with me”
“Learning is fun with him”
Vitto, page 65
In a study of high school students,
“…84 percent said that disciplinary
problems that occurred could have
been avoided by better teacherstudent relationships.”
Marzano citing Sheets, p. 42
Positive Relationship
A balance of firmness, fairness, and
friendship
--Vitto
Firmness
Consistent: predictable outcomes to
behavior; same consequence to the same
misbehavior; monitor for follow-through
Assertive: back up words with actions
Clear expectations: students have been
clearly taught what is expected
Fairness
Impartial…not favoring some students over
others
No assumptions of wrongdoing (based on
past behavior without getting facts)
Respect and fair treatment to all
Friendliness
Speak calmly
Do not take misbehavior personally
Show interest in the student
Be courteous and respectful
Have a sense of humor
Demonstrate care and concern for students
Relationship Barriers and Builders
Barriers
 Making assumptions
 Rescuing/explaining
 Directing/telling
 Criticizing
 “Should-isms”
Builders
Questioning; being open
Exploring
Encouraging/Inviting
Celebrating
Respecting
Adapted from Vitto, pp. 67-70
2 Defining Dimensions of TeacherStudent Relationships
Cooperation
Dominance
vs.
Submission
vs.
Opposition
Dominance vs.
Submission
High dominance —
“characterized by clarity of
purpose and strong
guidance”—both academic
and behavioral
Marzano, p. 42
High submission —
“characterized by lack of
clarity and purpose” p. 43
Cooperation vs. Opposition
High opposition —
High cooperation —
“characterized by active
antagonism toward others and a
desire to thwart their goals and
desires”
p. 43
characterized by “concern for the
needs and opinions of others and
a desire to function as a member
of a team”
Marzano, p. 43
High Dominance
High
Opposition
Optimal
TeacherStudent
Relationship
High Submission
High
Cooperation
New Teachers
…often exhibit “highly cooperative”
behaviors, but are not good at “dominant”
behavior since they have not been in
leadership positions
Over time (6-10 years), they become
competent in dominant behaviors; but they
also become less cooperative
“Teachers appear to decline in
cooperative behavior and increase in
oppositional behavior, a change that
negatively affects student attitudes.”
(Wubbels et al., 1999, p.166)
How might you present this information to your
beginning teachers to prompt reflection and selfawareness?
Positive Climate for Learning
Encourages students to be excited about their
learning
Challenges students
Provides safety for exploration and risk-taking
Supports students and facilitates their supporting
one another
Demonstrates respect of differences in learners
Promote Positive Climate
“Speak courteously and calmly…
“Share information…
“Use positive statements as often as
possible….
“Establish a feeling of community.”
Evertson, p. 63
Ratio of Positive to Negative
Interactions
Data collection related to relationships: record
rates of positive and negative teacher-student
interactions. (Recommend 3-5 positives for each
negative.)
“A teacher can inadvertently increase negative
behavior by paying attention to students more
when they are misbehaving than when they are
behaving appropriately.”
Vitto, p. 63
Praise
Contingent
Specific
Sincere
Varied
Positive Attention Other Than Praise
Referring to student answers or
comments—later in the day or the week
Showing interest in student comments, e.g.,
–
–
–
–
Can you tell me more?
Can you give an example?
Show me how you came up with that answer.
That’s a creative answer. Can you tell me how
you thought of that?
Creating Community
“In saying that a classroom … is a ‘community,’
then, I mean that it is a place in which students
feel cared about and are encouraged to care about
each other. They experience a sense of being
valued and respected; the children matter to one
another and to the teacher. They have come to
think in the plural: they feel connected to each
other; they are part of an ‘us.’ And, as a result of
all this, they feel safe in their classes, not only
physically, but emotionally.” --Kohn, p. 101
“To say that a classroom is a community…is
to say that it is a place where
“care and trust are emphasized above restrictions
and threats, where unity and pride (of
accomplishment and in purpose) replace winning
and losing, and where each person is asked,
helped, and inspired to live up to such ideals and
values as kindness, fairness and responsibility.
[Such] a classroom community seeks to meet each
student’s need to feel competent, connected to
others, and autonomous.”
(From the Child Development Project cited by Kohn, p. 102)
Building a Community
Ask the students.
– “It’s really important to me that you feel free to
say things, to come up with ideas that may
sound weird, to make mistakes—and not to be
afraid that other people are going to laugh at
you. What do you think we can do to make
sure that happens?”
Kohn, p. 111
Building a Community
Relationship with Adults
Sample behaviors that let students know they are
respected and cared about
–
–
–
–
–
–
Remembering details about a student’s life
“Knowing my sister’s name”
Writing notes to students
Visiting their homes
Holding private conversations
Asking students what they think—and listening to the
answers
Building a Community
Relationship between and among Students
Interdependence and cooperation
– Respect for different points of view
– Listening to what others say; reflecting back
what they hear
– Learning about one another
– Understanding and accepting how others feel
Building a Community
Students’ relationship to the what and how of
their learning
– Class meetings can be context for generation of
questions to pursue in the next unit of study.
– Cooperative learning processes help build positive
relationships between different groups of students.
– Real-life, everyday problems serve to connect students
to the curriculum.
Reflections on
Classroom Climate
All of us can improve our classroom
climate.
Suggest your beginning teacher complete
the self-assessment.
Model reflection by completing this selfassessment for your own classroom—or for
your relationship with your mentee.
Share the results together.
Committing
Think back over what we have reviewed during this
session, related to Mental Set and Positive TeacherStudent Relationship.
In your Mentor Manual, look at Chart 9, which
presents ideas about topics of interest/need related to
the school calendar.
– On what do you want to focus with your beginning
teacher?
– What do you want to accomplish in the next week?
Month?
– How will you keep the administration and other
teaching staff involved and informed?
Commitment Circle
References
Cotton, Kathleen. Schoolwide and Classroom Discipline. School Improvement
Research Series, #9. Portland, OR: Northwest Regional Educational Lab.
(Available www.nwrel.orgt/scpd/sirs/5/cu9.html
Evertson, Carolyn M. and Emmer, Edmund T. Classroom Management for
Elementary Teachers. Eighth edition. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson. 2009
Kohn, Alfie. Beyond Discipline: From Compliance to Community. Alexandria,
VA: ASCD. 1996.
Marzano, Robert J. Classroom Management that Works: Research-Based Strategies
for Every Teacher. Alexandria, VA: ASCD. 2003.
Resnick, M., Bearman, P., Blum, R., Bauman, K., Harris, K., Jones, R., et al.
Protecting adolescents from harm: Findings from the national longitudinal study on
adolescent health. Journal of the American Medical Association, 278, 823-832.
Rogers, C. and and Frieberg, H. J. Freedom to Learn (3rd ed.) New York: Merrill.
1994.
Sprick, Randy, Knight, Jim, Reinke, Wendy, and McKale, Tricia. Coaching
Classroom Management: Strategies and Tools for Administrators and Coaches.
Eugene, OR: Pacific Northwest Publishing. 2006.
Vitto, John M. Relationsip-Driven Classroom Management: strategies that
Promote student Motivation. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press. 2003.