Classroom Management

Before you can teach anything you must be able to manage the behavior in your classroom. This section will give you ideas and concepts of classroom management.

So you have great ideas, great lesson plans, variance in delivery methods and still you spend everyday "putting out fires" so to speak. You have told Sally to get back in her seat at least 200 times by 10am. Billy and Jim keep picking on Suzie the special education student and the rest won't stop talking. You've already taken away recess , you can't send 32 children to the office and you keep imagining yourself_______________!

Classroom management is by far, the most important thing teachers must master. This being said, it is also the most difficult part of teaching. I love to watch and observe other teachers. The most painful thing to observe is a teacher with a great lesson and a classroom full students whose behavior interrupts so often that the lesson extends far beyond its intended time frame with no tangible learning having occurred. For that teacher it is like being a stand up comedian performing in front of a packed room and hearing only silence.

Whatever program you completed or are working toward completion in, has no doubt discussed this issue. I've developed sort of a combination of different discipline models to ensure my classroom is a "secure, safe environment in which the teacher is free to teach, students are free to learn". The book our credential program uses to teach teachers the different discipline models is Building Classroom Discipline by C.M. Charles. I have referred to the book numerous times as different types of problems arose and it, along with my experiences both with the current group of students and those of the past, has brought about a unique classroom management system easily adaptable to different age groups including adults.

I recommend that if you are able, you exercise with your students daily, before starting any instruction. Not only is it healthy but it will help you students learn better and you to teach better. If you can't really go out side you can have students stand up and move. One of my favorites with younger elementary students is to play follow the leader about the room incorporating all the motor skills these students are developing. Older students are encourage by your participation believe it or not! After even a week of this the groans will go away and your students and you will look forward to your morning exercises. Try it!

This seems like a simple concept but it really can become quite complex. One thing you must remember is it isn't just about your students respecting you, it is also about you respecting them. Between teacher and student there should never be tug of war over R-E-S-P-E-C-T ( can't you give me just a little...). You must model the behavior you want you students to follow. If you treat every student in the class with respect always you manage the behavior. For those of you who teach any grade higher than 3rd I know that children can be very rude but it is imperative that you don't take it personally (keep modeling appropriate behavior.) Not only will you stop the behavior by not responding to it thus leaving the child looking kind of, well, silly in front of his or her peers, but it helps the entire class see how this type of situation can be handled. Many of your students come from neighborhoods in which RESPECT is the rule. If you can teach your students that in the classroom we all get RESPECT you'll eliminate the word exchanges that students get into that can often escalate into a physical confrontation in seconds. Figure out something your students like. Movies are often a good choice but if it doesn't fit into the curriculum correctly you might have trouble. Set a time period to earn the reward you've chosen and go with it. If students fail to meet the criteria they fail to get the reward. Don't waver! This is how you earn their respect! Consequences and rewards must be handed out as prescribed in your discipline plan. A general rule of thumb is allow students a buffer zone--a pre-decided amount of time or number of reminders you'll give them to modify their behavior. If they don't comply after the buffer zone has ended follow through with the consequence.

This goes hand in hand with respect and extends far beyond PE but PE is the place I like to teach it. I'm not a natural born athlete but I've always wanted to play. In my experience, by the time 8th grade came around missing the volleyball had become something 8 other people yelled an assortment of names at you for doing. Many times the teacher's voice was right in there with the others only hers saying some stupid thing like "try harder". I'm thinking if I'd tried any harder I would have dove into the blacktop. The point is in order to make students feel "safe and secure" they must also be safe and secure to try new things or to practice things they aren't so good at. Most students like to go outside and play a game. I like to use this as a reward. You can really use any type of game to illustrate sportsmanlike conduct. I tend to use PE because it works well and I believe in the integration of PE and Health into the curriculum. The average elementary student only gets two hour of structured PE per week. Most Districts actually call for an hour a day but few students receive. Try not to look at physical exercise as wasted school time. Integrate math and science easily into your hour of outdoor time. Concepts like geometry, velocity, gravity, averages, statistics, percents and well almost every math concept can be woven into outdoor time. Biology is a natural companion and Earth Science well outside is it right? Be creative in the ways you help them learn how to be part of a team.

This is a motto. This is what we all will do. Students must learn that they have to do solid work all the time. The point is the student who misses the ball must be trying his/her best just like I, as the teacher, must be trying my best to model the behavior I want my students to engage in. As I said earlier I am no athlete but I try hard and I have fun. Soon all the students were trying and the students who once were certain little Amy had not tried her best re-thought their conclusion began trying to help Amy learn how. With practice everyone gets better I tell them. I also don't allow great players to hog the game. This breaks the unsportsmanlike conduct rule.

Basically this is a count to 10 rule. I have students figure out two things 1-Would they get in trouble if they spoke to their parent that way? If yes, rephrase in a respectful manner and 2-Are you going to break the basic rules saying it? If so don't say it. I begin this process by taking whatever it was that was said and rephrasing it without the attitude attached to what the student originally said. I often don't consequence rudely worded questions or responses but simply stop the student and ask them to rephrase in a polite manner. Soon they just say it nice the first time hence meeting the objective of thinking before speaking.

It is imperative that you don't belittle your students. Consequences have to be fair and appropriate to the offense and individual enough to include SED and EDD students. Other students will already know the student is in trouble when you give the consequence. You must take great care to discuss the behavior with the student privately and develop a plan for helping the student modify or change the target behavior.

Generally I like to simply remove rewards not delve out consequences. I set the consequences and usually after one or two students tests me to see if I mean if, find that I do, others observe and decide not to chance it. I really can say this plan works. I taught in a lock down facility for the past 4 years and had the make-up of my class rotate daily and completely turn over every other month or so. I also had the best of the best at disrupting classroom learning and these strategies really worked. PE was the vehicle I used to teach and model and give them a chance to practice the skills required to meet the basic tenants of my classroom. If this isn't an option for you, make sure you find some thing that will easily incorporate these skills.

Proximity Control-When a student's behavior begins to be disruptive or distracting, the staff member should move close to the student while carrying on the activity with the whole group. No punishment or undue attention needs be given the student at this time. Generally the adult's presence at close range is enough to subdue mild inappropriate behaviors.

Hurdle Help-The staff should provide immediate instruction at the very moment that the student gets into trouble. This will help them over the hurdle of dealing appropriately with others. A timely comment at the onset of the problem helps the student to follow the correct course of action. For example, a student who has just bunched up a piece of paper and raised his arm to throw it is seen by the staff member, who reminds the student to walk to the trash can to throws it away. Timing is essential to intervene before misbehavior occurs.

Antiseptic Bounce-When a student behavior indicates a buildup of stress or restlessness, it is a good idea to remove the student in such a way that attention is not focused on the negative behavior. Try to find something for the student to do that will allow them a few minutes away from the problem area. This should allow the student to return to the program in a new frame of mind.

Distraction or stimulus change-When a confrontation or a negative behavior is creating a disturbance, focusing the group's attention and/or individual's attention on something different can reduce or eliminate the problem. A student who is screaming may stop to listen if a staff members begins discussing a topic of interest to the student (what's for lunch?,special events coning up, etc.) or if the staff begins an activity with other students that the misbehaving student will enjoy. This helps the student to give up the negative behavior by making his/her own choice to do so, and prevents the staff from having to use more restrictive intervention methods.

...Do	...Don't
Appear calm and relaxed	Appear afraid or unsure
present a cooperative, helping attitude	Appear bossy, arrogant or assume an "I don't care about you" attitude
Feel comfortable with the fact that you are in control	appear to expect an attack
project a calm, assured feeling that you will see the situation through to a peaceful end no matter what happens	project uncertainty or impatience
Talk with the student, avoid power struggles, set limits	Give commands or make demands unless the situation/circumstance warrants such a response.
Be matter of fact if the student becomes agitated	Make threats
Stay close to the student and attend to him/her.	Turn your back or leave
Be patient and don't give up.	Act or speak impulsively
Acknowledge the student's feelings	Conner student physically or psychologically
Learn to relax your muscles and keep them under control	Accidentally escalate a situation by using physical responses to verbal

When Kids Cooperate by Rae Pica

Given a choice, preschoolers prefer cooperative activities to competitive ones. Indeed, Scott Scheer, an associate professor at Ohio State University, contends humans actually have a "cooperative imperative" – a desire to work with others toward mutual goals that can run the spectrum from conceiving a child to sending a rocket to
the moon. In fact, using MRI technology to determine the effects of both competition and cooperation, scientists at Emory University recently found that when people collaborate, the brain sends out pleasure responses.

Alfie Kohn, in No Contest: The Case Against Competition, identifies a great deal of research demonstrating cooperation's positive effects on both social and emotional development. He says cooperation:
* is more conducive to psychological health.
* leads to friendlier feelings among participants.
* promotes a feeling of being in control of one's life.
* increases self-esteem.
* results in greater sensitivity and trust toward others.* increases motivation.

When children are given the chance to work together toward a solution or common goal – whether creating a game or building a human pyramid – they know they each contribute to the success of the venture. Each child realizes he or she plays a vital role in the outcome, and each accepts the responsibility of fulfilling that role. They also learn to become tolerant of others' ideas and to accept the similarities and differences of other children. Furthermore, cooperative activities seldom cause the feelings of inferiority that can result from the comparisons made during competition. On the contrary, because cooperative and noncompetitive activities lead to a greater chance for success, they generate greater confidence in children.

Unlike competition, which research shows can foster antisocial behavior, cooperation has been determined to promote prosocial behaviors. Steve Grineski, author of Cooperative Learning in Physical Education, says the social skills needed for cooperative learning include:
* listening to others;
* resolving conflict;
* supporting and encouraging others;
* taking turns;
* expressing enjoyment in the success of others; and
* demonstrating the ability to criticize ideas, not individuals.

Nature or Nurture?

Is the drive to compete human nature, as is commonly believed; or is it learned?

One study indicates gender identify, which is typically established by the age of 3, plays a role in whether children are naturally cooperative or competitive. Preschool girls, according to the study, are cooperative, caring, and supportive of one another when learning new movement skills. They aren't interested in competing or succeeding at someone else's expense and actually seem to learn less efficiently when competition is introduced.

Preschool boys, on the other hand, are interested in how well they perform and in how their abilities compare to those of their classmates. However, the study further indicates the differences in the boys' and girls' behavior may indeed be dictated by society and culture, as Asian preschoolers of both genders tended to be cooperative and supportive.

An essay by Nicholas Kristof in the New York Times supports this latter contention. Kristof tells a hilarious story about trying to teach the game of musical chairs to a group of five-year-old Japanese children, who kept politely stepping out of the way so
others could sit in their chairs. This would certainly seem to indicate that "dog-eat-dog" is taught in some societies — and not taught in others.

About Cooperative Games

Terry Orlick, author of The Second Cooperative Sports and Games Book, has long been a proponent of cooperative games. He writes that games can be "a beautiful way to bring people together. However, if you distort children's play by rewarding excessive
competition, physical aggression against others, cheating, and unfair play, you distort children's lives." On the other hand, about cooperative games, he says the concept is simple: "People play with one another rather than against one another; they play to
overcome challenges, not to overcome other people; and they are freed by the very structure of the games to enjoy the play experience itself. No player need find himself or herself a bench warmer nursing a bruised self-image. Since the games are designed so that cooperation among payers is necessary to achieve the objective(s) of the game, children play together for common ends rather than against one another for mutually exclusive ends. In the process, they learn in a fun way how to become more considerate of one another, more aware of how other people are feeling, and more
willing to operate in one another's best interests."

Rae Pica is a children's movement specialist and the author of Your Active Child: How to Boost Physical, Emotional, and Cognitive Development through Age-Appropriate Activity (McGraw-Hill, 2003). Rae speaks to parent and educational groups throughout North America. You can visit her and read more articles at
www.movingandlearning.com.