Proactive Classroom Management Guiding Principals
· Before the students even come into my classroom I want to be proactive about managing my classroom. To do this, I will first have my classroom set up to limit distractions. The students will be set in traditional rows until I can judge their maturity levels and their ability to transfer concrete ideas to abstract ideas on their own or in a group setting. (DLT & SLT) I will slowly allow my social learning in the first quarter, as we establish expectations, and eventually leave my room in groups to allow students to discuss their learning in their own words. (SLT) This scaffolding will allow my students to slowly accept responsibility for their constructing their own learning. (CLT)
· I will greet my students at the door each day as they enter my classroom. I believe this will help set an appropriate tone for the day and also will assist with curbing any problems before they escalate. (My 11th grade English teacher did this daily. Not only did it help us get to know him, but he taught us proper grammar along the way. Never again did I respond with “I’m good when asked how I am.”) Also, by building a rapport with my students, they will be less likely to act out. This goes along with BLT as I can learn from my students’ responses. If they choose to brush me off or avoid the greeting, this will tell me a lot about how that student is feeling and assist me with getting the involved in the day’s lesson.
Classroom Management and Motivation
· A great way to manage one’s classroom is to be an effective teacher. If students are engaged, motivated, and involved in constructing their own learning (CLT) than they are less likely to be off task. According to John Keller, there are four steps (ARCS) for promoting and sustaining motivation in the learning process:
o Attention- Keeping the students’ attention is vital for classroom management AND motivation. To do this, I will provide concrete examples of the content to grab my students’ attention and motivate them to learn more about it (DLT). By getting this attention, and piquing their interest, they will be more likely to later transfer their new knowledge to more abstract ideas, therefore participate in a deeper level of thinking about the concept/material.
§ Variety- I will vary my instruction to keep my students’ guessing and engaged. Whether we are discussing our new knowledge in groups amongst their peers (SLT) or using video to introduce new concepts, each lesson will be different.
§ Constructing Learning- I will pose questions and problems to my students for them to solve and work through. They will need to explain their thinking and outcome (CLT). This will keep them involved in their own learning and allow them to think about things differently as I take an opposing viewpoint to question their thinking. (Incongruity and Conflict)
o Relevance- Building on a students’ past experience or background knowledge provides scaffolding to assist the student with accepting the new knowledge or concept into their existing schema (CLT). To do this, I will use concrete language and examples that are familiar to the students.
§ I will demonstrate for the student how the new concept/material can benefit them NOW and in their future. Making this connection for the student is imperative to keep their attention and keep them on task. If they are interested in learning something that will benefit them in the future, they will stay motivated.
o Confidence- Assisting the student with realizing they can succeed can go a long way. (Intrinsic Motivation) They are less likely to give up if they are able to see their effort will pay off.
§ Providing clear expectations will assist the students with confidence
§ I give constructive and selective coaching to give students positive feedback and assist with improvements.
o Satisfaction and Rewards- I hope my lessons will be entertaining and engaging, a reward in own their right (intrinsic motivation) but I know this naïve! When they are not or simply cannot be, I will provide positive reinforcement and praise to keep the learner motivated. (BLT)
§ Providing real life examples as how the material is beneficial would help motivate the students to learn said skill (intrinsic motivation). If possible, it is even better to allow the student to demonstrate their new knowledge in a new real life setting.
§ Providing praise to the students will affect their motivation and provide necessary encouragement when a student struggles.
§ Grades are an example of extrinsic motivation each student will encounter as well. However, it will be stressed in my classroom to learn the material effectively for future application rather than for a grade.
Keller, John. "ARCS Model of Motivational Design (Keller) ." Motivational Design. Learning Theories, 2011. Web. 21 Jul 2011. <http://www.learning-theories.com/kellers-arcs-model-of-motivational-design.html>.
Your thoughts here make a lot of sense and I like how you tied your decision making regarding classroom management to learning theory. Also, you hint at the notion that if kids are motivated/engaged, classroom problems will decrease. This is yet another reason active mental engagement is so important.
ReplyDeleteYou tweeted me asking about more classroom management resources. I don't have any specifics available online, but can maybe recommend some books in our next class meeting.
In case it wasn't clear, I am "checking off" the classroom management standard.
ReplyDelete