Week Seven- Classroom Management

  This week's topic is classroom management.   I can say with complete sincerity that classroom management is the key to a successful educational environment.  There must be quality teaching, there must be technology, there must be an aesthetically pleasing room, there must be a positive relationship between the students and the teacher, but overall a system of behavior management must be in place to keep a classroom running smoothly.  In the past three years, I have learned from and experienced moments of struggle with classroom management.  In teaching students who are four years old, I have come to accept that their attention span lasts only seconds.  It is because of their varied personalities and busy nature that I must adjust my teaching to constantly "be on the move."  The biggest struggle that I have learned to overcome is involving all 22 students during whole group instruction.  In the Slavin text, Educational Psychology: Theory and Practice, the author focuses on strategies for maintaining attention during whole group instruction, "The idea behind these tactics is to maintain the involvement of all students in all parts of the lesson. You should be concerned not only about drawing all students into class activities but also about avoiding activities that relegate most students to the role of spectator for long periods. For example, a very common teaching error is where teachers ask one or two students to work out a lengthy problem on the chalkboard or electronic whiteboard or read an extended passage while the rest of the class has nothing to do" (Slavin, 276).
  I have personally implemented this idea during my morning message instruction.  After Christmas about 80% of the students in my Pre-K class are able to recognize more than half of their letters in isolation, the days of the week, and the numbers 1-22.  For this reason, I implement writing boards during morning message.  The instruction becomes more interactive for the students who are already retaining the letter and number recognition skills, while adding writing practice as well.  I will often appoint two or three students to lead the class in the instruction of the calendar, weather, and days of school counting.  Meanwhile, every other student on the carpet is given a writing board to write down the letters, words, and numbers we discuss.  I believe having the interactive portion of the message board, allows all students to participate and focus on the skills being taught.  Students need structure in order to be successful.  According to their article, Exploring the Complexity of Classroom Management: 8 Components of Managing a Highly Productive, Save, and Respectful Urban Environment, authors K. A. Jones, J. L. Jones, and P.J. Vermette discuss successful management, "In highly effective classrooms, students are not well-behaved because of teacher threats or coercion but rather because they are held to high expectations and given clear, direct scaffolds for reaching them" (Jones, Jones, & Vermette, 24).  By creating a more structured environment during morning message, in which every student was given something to do, the students were better behaved.
  I would say overall, that the best way to address behavior management issues is to have an engaging classroom environment.  When the students are involved and interested in the instruction there is a smaller possibility for distraction and disruption. In our text the author discusses the importance of student-centered instruction on behavior, "If students in student-centered classrooms are deeply involved and motivated by the variety, activity, and social nature of classroom activities, then disciplinary actions will be less necessary (Weinstein & Mignano, 2003)" (Slavin, 277).  In my opinion the ideas presented in the above-mentioned quote are what prompts me to utilize so much technology and collaborative activities in my classroom.  Students can learn many things from a teacher, but some of the best learning comes from interacting with each other in new and innovative ways.  If the students are interested and engaged they are more inclined to follow classroom expectations.

References

Jones, K. A., Jones, J. L., & Vermette, P. J., E.D.D. (2013). Exploring the complexity of classroom management: 8 components of managing a highly productive, safe, and respectful urban environment. American Secondary Education, 41(3), 21-33. Retrieved from http://library.valdosta.edu:2048/login?url=http://search.proquest.com/docview/1431533420?accountid=14800

Slavin, R. E. (2015) Educational Psychology: Theory and practice. New Jersey: Pearson.