Creating Learning Environments
Chapter 11
Professor Bauer
Copyright 2001 by Allyn and Bacon
Overview
The Need for Organization
 Creating a Positive Learning Environment
 Creating a Learning Community
 Maintaining a Good Environment for
Learning
 The Need for Communication

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Concept Map for
Chapter 12
The Need for
Communication
Need for
Organization
Creating Learning
Environments
Maintaining a
Good Environment
for Learning
Copyright 2001 by Allyn and Bacon
Creating a
Learning
Community
Creating a
Positive Learning
Environment
The Need for Organization
Copyright 2001 by Allyn and Bacon
Ecology of Classrooms

Characteristics of Classrooms:
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Multidimensional
Simultaneous
Immediate
Unpredictable
Public
Histories
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Basic Management Task
Gain & maintain
cooperation
 Motivate & engage
 Adjust management
to ages of students

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Age Related Needs
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Early elementary: teach rules & procedures
Middle elementary: monitor & maintain
Late elementary & beginning high school:
– Diplomatically deal with defiance
– Motivate those immersed in social life

Senior high school:
– Manage curriculum
– Adapt academics to student needs & interests
– Teach self-management
Copyright 2001 by Allyn and Bacon
Goals for Classroom
Management
 Time
for learning
– Allocated time
– Engaged time or time on task
– Academic learning time
 Access
to learning
 Participation structures
 Self-management
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Where Does the Time Go?
Academic Learning Time
Engaged Time
Actual Academic Time
Attended Time
Total Time
0
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200 400 600 800 1000 1200
Hours
Creating a Positive Learning
Environment
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Strategies from Research

Rules and procedures are required

Plan spaces for learning

Plan for effective classroom management

Get off to a good start
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Classroom Procedures
Administrative routines
 Student movement
 Housekeeping
 Lesson routines
 Teacher-student interactions
 Student-student interactions

See Guidelines, Woolfolk, p. 441
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Rules for Making Rules
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Do’s and don’ts
Often written down and
posted
Set the atmosphere
Consistent with school
rules
Consistent with
principles of learning
Make a few, good rules
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Rules for Elementary School
 Be
polite and helpful
 Respect other’s property
 Listen when others are speaking
 Do not hit, shove, or hurt others
 Obey school rules
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Rules for Secondary School
 Bring
required materials to class
 Seated and ready at the bell
 Respect and be polite to everyone
 Respect other people’s property
 Sit and listen while others speak
 Obey all school rules
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Consequences of Breaking Rules
 Plan
ahead
 “Bill of Rights”
 Reasons for
appropriate behavior
 Self-management
 Penalties
See Table 12.1, Woolfolk, p. 443, and Table 12.2, p. 444
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Categories of Penalties
Express disappointment
Lose privileges
Exclude from group
Write a reflection
Detention
Visit the principal’s office
Contact parents
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Planning Spaces for Learning
Interest areas
 Personal territories
 Action zone
 Seating
arrangements
 See Guidelines,
Woolfolk, p. 446

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Room Arrangements
Be aware of the action zone
 Horizontal rows: whole group presentations
 Clusters or circle: student interaction
 Fishbowl or stack: close up demonstrations

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Getting Started : Elementary
 First
day well planned & organized
 Deal with student’s main concerns
 Teach rules & procedures
 Whole group focus
 Appeal to student interests
 Monitor the whole group
 Stop misbehavior quickly
Copyright 2001 by Allyn and Bacon
Getting Started : Secondary
Establish rules, procedures, and standards
 Clearly communicate standards for work
 Consistently enforce expectations
 Monitor students closely
 Deal with rule infractions quickly
 Shorter work cycles for lower ability
students
 Monitor student progress carefully

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Creating a Learning Community
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Three ‘C’s’ of Classroom
Management
Cooperative community
 Constructive conflict resolution
 Civic values

See Table 12.3, Woolfolk, p. 450
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Maintaining a Good Environment
for Learning
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Maintaining a Good Environment
for Learning
 Busy
students are better behaved
 Supervise students closely
 Include cues for desired behaviors
 Clear steps for activities
 Provide necessary materials
 Engage students in authentic tasks
 Employ curiosity, interest
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Prevention Is the Best Medicine
 Withitness
 Overlapping
 Group
focus
 Movement
management
 Monitor!!!
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Dealing with
Discipline Problems
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Make eye contact
Verbal hints : name dropping
Ask students if they are aware of the consequences of
their behavior
Remind students of the relative rule or procedure
Ask the student to state the correct rule or procedure and
follow it
Assertively tell the student to stop the misbehavior
Offer a choice
Copyright 2001 by Allyn and Bacon
Special Problems with
Secondary Students

Work not completed:
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Teach students how to use a daily planner
Keep accurate records
Enforce established consequences
Do not grade on ‘the benefit of the doubt’
Continue to break rules:
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Seat student away from other students
Catch them before they break the rules
Enforce established consequences
Don’t accept promises
Copyright 2001 by Allyn and Bacon
Special Problems:
Hostile Behaviors
Get out of the situation as soon as possible
 Give the student the choice to cooperate
 Allow a short cool down period
 Talk privately in the hall
 Send another student for the assistant
principal
 Conference with a counselor, parents, other
teachers
 Keep a record of the incident

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Special Problems: Violence or
Destruction of Property
Send for help
 Get the names of all participants
 Disperse any crowd
 Do NOT try to break up a fight without help
 Inform the school office of the incident
 Follow the school policy

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The Need for Communication
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Message Sent = Message
Received?
 Hidden
messages
 Body language
 Choice of words
 Paraphrase rule
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Who’s Problem Is It?
 Does
this affect my role as
teacher?
 Student owned: actively listen
 Teacher owned: problem solve
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Counseling:
The Student’s Problem

Empathetic listening
– Block out external stimuli
– Listen carefully
– Differentiate between
intellectual and emotional
messages
– Make inferences about the
speaker’s feelings
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Confrontation and Assertive
Discipline
Use of “I” messages
 Passive or hostile responses
 Care enough to confront
 Clearly stated expectations with eye contact
 Do not debate ‘fairness’ of the rules
 Expect changes - not promises or excuses
 See Point▼Counterpoint, Woolfolk, p. 461

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Confrontation and Negotiation
Teacher imposes a solution
 Teacher gives in to student demands
 Gordon’s “no-lose method”
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Define the problem
Generate many possible solutions
Evaluate each solution
Make a decision on a solution
Determine how to implement the solution
Evaluate the success of the solution
Remember IDEAL? See Woolfolk, pp. 290-296.
Copyright 2001 by Allyn and Bacon
Student Conflicts and
Confrontations
Conflicts: goals and needs clash
 Violence
– Prevention is the best cure
– High academic expectations
– Genuine care for students
 Mentoring, peer mediation, conflict
resolution, social skills, relevance,
community involvement programs
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Steps in Peer Mediation
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Jointly define conflict
Exchange positions
and interests
Reverse perspectives
Invent 3 arguments
that allow mutual gain
Reach an integrative
agreement
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Respect & Protect Program
Respect & protect the rights of others
 Violence is not acceptable
 Target violence-enabling behaviors
 Clearly define violence
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– Bully/victim violence
– Normal conflict violence
Adult-centered and student-centered
interventions
 See Table 12.5, Woolfolk, p. 465

Copyright 2001 by Allyn and Bacon
Families and Classroom
Management
Parents as partners
 Clear classroom
expectations
 Communicate
 See Family &
Community
Partnerships, Woolfolk,
p. 466

Copyright 2001 by Allyn and Bacon
Management Scenarios
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Reflection Questions
Consider the following scenarios. Decide
what you would do in each situation. Don’t
stop with an initial response to the situation.
Come up with a ‘Plan B’ just in case ‘Plan A’
would not work. Consider multiple
perspectives for each scenario.
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Elementary: Art
Kent, Kari, and Krista are working together
on an art project. Kent needs the tangerine
crayon to finish the trim on an Indian blanket.
Kari really needs the tangerine crayon to
touch up the sunset. Krista really REALLY
needs the tangerine crayon to do the tree
leaves. A major conflict is about to erupt!
How will you use this as a learning
opportunity to teach the concept ‘sharing’?
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Elementary: Cheating
It is achievement test time, and you have
consistently encouraged your students to do
their own best work. However, during the
reading comprehension test, you notice that
Melissa is exhibiting ‘severe diagonal vision
disorder’ (cheating). At least two other
students have noticed, also! What
prescription would you recommend to treat
her malady?
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Secondary: Defiance
You have just handed back the exam results. Sean is
NOT one of your outstanding students, and is not
happy with his grade. You ask, “Sean, do you have
any questions on the exam?” His retort challenges
the validity of your test, compares your IQ to your
shoe size, states his opinion about your heritage, and
suggests a place for you to take an extended
vacation.
Sean uses descriptive language and explicit
adjectives. Your response?
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Secondary: Vandalism
On a crisp, September morning, you go to
school early. As you enter the building, you
notice a white haze in the halls, but no smell
of smoke. Suddenly you hear glass breaking
and see three students with fire extinguishers
burst out of the chemistry lab, spraying white
every where, running toward you. Next?
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Back Stage

It is after school on a nice day in May. You
have to make copies of a test for your class
tomorrow morning. You decide to take a
shortcut to the teachers’ workroom through
the back of the stage. You hear unusual but
intriguing sounds coming from a dim corner
of the stage and decide to investigate. You
discover two students engaged in active and
intimate physical contact. Now what?
Copyright 2001 by Allyn and Bacon
Reflection Time
Copyright 2001 by Allyn and Bacon
Summary
The Need for Organization
 Creating a Positive Learning Environment
 Creating a Learning Community
 Maintaining a Good Environment for
Learning
 The Need for Communication

Copyright 2001 by Allyn and Bacon
Review Questions
What are the challenges of classroom
management?
 What are the goals of good classroom
management?
 Distinguish between rule and procedures.
 Distinguish between personal territories and
interest-area spatial arrangements.

Copyright 2001 by Allyn and Bacon
Review Questions
Contrast the first school week of effective
and ineffective managers.
 What are Johnson and Johnson’s three C’s
of establishing a classroom community?
 How can teachers encourage engagement?
 Explain the factors identified by Kounin
that prevent management problems in the
classroom.

Copyright 2001 by Allyn and Bacon
Review Questions
Describe seven levels of intervention in
misbehavior.
 What is meant by “empathetic listening”?
 Distinguish among assertive, passive, and
hostile response styles.
 What are some options for dealing with
student-student and student-teacher
conflicts?

Copyright 2001 by Allyn and Bacon
End Chapter 12
Copyright 2001 by Allyn and Bacon