Solutions for life
Solutions for life
HelpfulLeigh
HelpfulLeigh
Leigh Kennedy
Leigh Kennedy
Contents
Forward 2
Environment 3
From the start 4
Assessment 6
Class participation 7
Leadership 7
Bringing back the joy 9
Dictatorship 16
Classroom discipline 17
Choosing the rules 21
Instruction 22
Classroom management 23
Behaviour management in detail 25
Restorative practice 30
Routines 35
Planning 38
Reviewing practice 40
Action verbs 42
Additional Resources 44
References 47
Forward
Teaching is a wonderful profession, full of challenges and rewards. It requires leadership, communication, mediation, negotiation, patience, organisation, persistence, dedication and so much more. What if however, like so many others, we are lacking in one or more of these areas. How can we teach people successfully if we cannot be 100% proficient at all of these key aspects? The fact is that no one can be expected to have all of these qualities on display at all times.
This self-help guide to better classroom management has been written with this issue in mind. It aims to make your important teaching role much easier than it already is. Emergency situations aside, there is no reason you should feel stress in your teaching practice. Like many teachers I have seen colleagues burn out, flip out and freak out in various situations in and out of the classroom. It can be easy to fall behind, to relax rules and to confuse confidence in the classroom with ‘just winging it’. I wanted to help these people but I could only do so much face to face. So I got to work.
I have spent years conducting research into better teaching practice. The Teacher’s Bible is a product of my own personal experience as a teacher, over 50 interviews with experts in education and hours of research online and in classrooms. A number of truly great world leaders in education have contributed to this resource. They are noted throughout this text and in my resource list. I strongly encourage you to follow the links to their writings and gain an even greater insight into any aspect of teaching that could help better your skills. This resource includes the original writings of a number of professional educators and that of my own.
With key sections such as assessment, leadership, classroom management, discipline, behaviour management, planning and reviewing practice this essential guide is just what you need to get on top of your class and really start enjoying your job.
This guide is the first volume in the HelpfulLeigh education series and is intended to be used as an overall guide to get your role as a teacher on track.
Volume 2, Teacher’s learning: the e-learning train, get on board before you get left behind is due for release shortly. Through HelpfulLeigh I also offer a number of other help guides in the areas of parenting and life development. As you are now an owner of Classroom Management you are entitled to a discount on future purchases. If you see anything else that you believe may be of assistance to your life please feel free to take advantage of this offer.
Environment
It is typical for classrooms to be set up in rows or in groups of 3-4 tables (which allow for easier cooperative learning). However, there are fundamental problems for each:
In rows, studies have shown that the further back you go, the more discipline problems you will encounter. The physical, auditory and visual stimulation from the teacher is increasingly diminished as you move further back. This allows boredom to set in, and as a result, likely disruption.
In groups, the opposite is true. Students are over stimulated by students that are now not only next to them, but across the table! There are now more unwanted stimuli to distract the student, leaving it harder for the teacher to keep the student engaged in any frontal instruction.
A proven alternative is to arrange the chairs/tables into a three-sided "box" shape, (with an occasional second row if room demands) see figure 1. In this fashion, EVERY STUDENT IS IN THE FIRST ROW! The teacher can freely move around the room while talking, and therefore giving "personal" contact with each student. The result: greater attention and fewer discipline problems. Desks/tables can be moved into cooperative learning groups as needed usually within a few minutes! This was recommended to me by a number of industry professionals and has been one of the most successful classroom management techniques I have implemented.
Fig 1. Ideal classroom desk configuration
From the start
Maintaining good order in classrooms is one of the most difficult tasks facing young, inexperienced teachers. As the younger generations of learners are becoming more resilient and resistant particularly to authority, maintaining classroom order is becoming increasingly difficult even for the most experienced of teachers. More evolutionary changes in the youth of our world have led to greater self-confidence in students. Others such as the acceptance of violence to achieve ends, attitudes to substance abuse and an increasing lack of respect for authority have made classroom management and life in school generally more difficult, and more demanding, on those who are charged with maintaining a positive learning environment.
Many disruptive behaviours in the classroom can be alleviated before they become serious discipline problems. Such behaviours can be reduced by the teacher's ability to employ effective organisational practices. Such practices are at the heart of the teaching process and are essential to establishing and maintaining classroom control.
The following set of organizational practices will help to establish effective control of the classroom by the teacher:
1. Get off to a good start.
The first "honeymoon" encounter between the teacher and the students is when they formulate their impressions of the teacher. Students sit quietly, raise their hands to respond and are generally well behaved. The teacher is easily misled into thinking that this is an ideal class and may relax their vigilance. Within a week students will begin to test the waters to see what they can "get away with". It is during this period that the effective teacher will establish the expected ground-rules for classroom behaviour.
2. Learning school policies.
Prior to meeting the class for the first time, the teacher should become familiar with school policies concerning acceptable student behaviour and disciplinary procedures. As a teacher you must fully understand what the school expects from both student and teacher in regard to discipline.
3. Establishing rules.
Establish a set of classroom rules to guide the behaviour of students during your first session. Discuss the rationale of these rules with the students to ensure they understand and see the need for each rule. Keep the list of rules short. The rules most often involve paying attention, respect for others, excessive noise, securing materials and completion of homework assignments. Let the students have a say in the rule making process. If they make and agree to the rules they are more likely to follow them.
4. Over planning lessons.
"Over plan" the lessons for the first week or two. It is important for the teacher to impress on the students from the outset that he or she is organized and confident of their ability to get through the syllabus. Always have a ‘plan b’ activity handy. These can be light games that have educational value but will engage and entertain your students in the event they start to lose focus. See resource list for resource links.
5. Learning names.
You will find that students are creatures of habit. They will sit in the same seat for a short period of time until they are fully comfortable with each other. During this time you can draw a crude version of the seating arrangements and write down student names as you go. Calling a student by his or her name early in the year gives the student an increased sense of wellbeing. It also gives a teacher greater control of situations. "Jenny, stop talking and finish your work" is more effective than "Let us stop talking and finish our work".
6. Be Firm and consistent.
A teacher can be firm yet still be supportive and friendly with students. A firm teacher can provide an environment where the students feel safe and secure. Many teachers report that it is easier to begin the year in a firm manner and relax later, than to begin in a lax manner and then try to become firm.
Assessment
Promoting positive self-esteem through marking papers
Surprisingly enough many of the things teachers do to promote or inhibit positive self-esteem, come from unintended actions. There are obvious things teachers do, such as who is called on in the class, which student’s work is displayed as an example but there are less obvious things that are done. There are actions which directly affect the positive self-esteem of many students. The most frequent area where this is the case is with marking student papers.
The following are some quick tips which any teacher can immediately use in improving the positive self-esteem in the classroom:
It is ill advised for you as a teacher to mark students work in red ink. Red is a "negative" colour that promotes anger. Think of stop signs and lights, warning labels, poison, etc. Our society has conditioned us to immediately view red as something negative. Subconsciously, (and often conscientiously), a paper that is handed back full of red marks tells the student that he or she is "worthless". A "self-fulfilling prophesy" often results with these students!
It is recommended that you always use green or blue ink. Green, on the other hand, is a "positive" colour, as is blue to a lesser extent. When green is used, corrections or markings become more of a "constructive criticism" than a finite statement. Black ink is not strongly recommended as it does not stand out positively or negatively.
Try to use a slash / as against an X. Again, for the same reasons one does not use red ink, the "X" is a negative symbol.
Write down the number of correct answers earned by a student as against the number of wrong answers. Do you accentuate the positive, or the negative? 2/20 still looks better than -18. Try to offer extra assistance and constructive criticism to individual students where needed.
Also be aware of cultural differences. For instance, never write a Korean student's name using red ink (even if it's a friendly note to the child). In the Korean culture, writing someone's name in red is a sign of death! Korean parents are often horrified when papers come home with their child's name written in red! If you have a culturally diverse group spend some time researching basic cultural practices.
Class participation
A large number of teachers often make suggestions on grading students on class participation. I give this warning. This practice can be extremely hazardous to a learner’s self-esteem and confidence. For most of you, your student demographic will be a diverse group of learners, many of which hail from situations of disadvantage and adversity. Many students are not academically gifted or can be “circumstantially poor”. Such students gain pride from simply attending classes and cannot afford negative hits to their fragile states of mind. Once again a “self-fulfilling prophesy” can play out here.
Students participate as a result of their leadership personality traits. Think about your class. Students who have a strong leadership personality enjoy raising their hand (even if they consistently have the incorrect answer). Those who have a weak leadership personality trait are extremely reluctant to raise their hand, even if they know the correct answer. This does not mean that these students are less on-task than those who continually raise their hand. Therefore, if you give points for classroom participation, you are really rewarding those with a strong leadership personality style and punishing those with a weak one.
Leadership
Leadership is a personality trait. All of us are on a "leadership" continuum. At one end, there are those who thoroughly enjoy and seek out leadership roles. At the other end, there are those that actively seek a non-participatory status when forcibly involved with a group. Think back to your group work situations in university, or your association with committees in your own school. Did you naturally "take over" the leadership of the group? Did you take an active, but participatory role? Did you sit back and take an absolute minimal role in the discussions of the group? It was your personal leadership style that served as the greatest determining factor as to the amount of your group participation.
Each of your students can be classified by predetermined criteria as either a "Leader," a "Follower" or a "Non-participant." The following are an explanation of the categories of leadership and leadership roles:
STUDENTS SHOW FOUR TYPES OF LEADERSHIP:
TASK LEADERSHIP - The student is concerned with the process, keeping others on task, getting supplies, etc.
INTELLECTUAL LEADERSHIP - The student offers a new idea to the group (versus simply answering someone's question with a research result).
SOCIAL/EMOTIONAL LEADERSHIP - The student gives praise or encouragement to another member of the group.
COERCIVE LEADERSHIP - A student gives negative feedback, or creates “off the topic” humour to disrupt the process, even momentarily.
STUDENTS TAKE THREE DIFFERENT LEADERSHIP ROLES:
LEADERS - These students "run" all facets of the group, and initiate virtually all dialogue between members.
FOLLOWERS - These students readily answer questions and participate, but usually only at the instigation of one of the leaders.
NON-PARTICIPANTS - These students never offer information unless asked; they never volunteer for anything. However, they normally will do whatever task is assigned to them.
“As educators, we have the responsibility to educate and inspire the whole child—mind, heart, and soul. By focusing on the following essentials, we can put more joy into students' experience of going to school and get more joy out of working inside one.” (Wolk, Steven Joy in School, 2008)
Steven Wolk is Assistant Professor of Teacher Education at Northeastern Illinois University and has such a wonderful approach to modern education. Take a look at his 11 steps to creating a joyous classroom:
Bringing back the joy
JOY 1: Find the Pleasure in Learning
Why do people learn? I don't mean inside school—I mean learning as a part of life. Surely a large part of our learning is necessary for survival and a basic quality of life.
But there is another, entirely different, reason to learn. Learning gives us pleasure. This kind of learning is often (but not always) motivated from within, and no outside forces or coercions are needed. We also don't mind the possible difficulties in this learning. We often expect the challenges we encounter; we tend to see them as a natural part of the learning process, so we are far more open to taking risks. Some love to learn about cars, others love to learn about history, and some find great joy in learning how to dance. According to Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi (1990), such learning is an example of flow, which he defines as the state in which people are so involved in an activity that nothing else seems to matter; the experience itself is so enjoyable that people will do it at even great cost, for the sheer sake of doing it. (p. 4)
If we want students to experience more flow in school—if we want them to see school and learning as joyful—we need to rethink how and what we teach. No longer can schooling be primarily about creating workers and test takers, but rather about nurturing human beings (Wolk, 2007). By helping students find the pleasure in learning, we can make that learning infinitely more successful.
JOY 2: Give Students Choice
Outside of school, children are free to pursue their interests, and they do so with gusto. They learn how to play baseball or the drums; they learn how to ice skate or play video games; they read comic books, graphic novels, skateboard magazines, and Harry Potter.
But during a typical six-hour school day, how much ownership do students have of their learning? Practically none. It's not surprising that their interest in learning dissipates and that teachers complain of unmotivated students.
Joy in learning usually requires some ownership on the part of the learner. Students can own some of their school learning in several ways. They can choose the books they want to read through independent reading. In writing workshop, we can inspire them to be real writers and choose for themselves what genres to write in. During units in math, science, art, and social studies, they can choose specific subtopics to study; then, as "experts," they can share their learning with the class. Students can also choose which products they want to create to demonstrate their learning. What brings more joy—studying the civil rights movement in the United States through a textbook and lectures or creating comic books, writing and performing plays, interviewing people to create podcasts, and proposing your own ideas? Which would you rather do?
I advocate giving students one hour each day to study topics of their choice in what I call "Exploratory" (Wolk, 2001). In Exploratory, teachers collaborate with students to help shape student-initiated ideas into purposeful, inquiry-based investigations. During this time, students are scattered around the room, absorbed in an endless variety of topics that matter to them. While one student is studying the life of ants, a second is researching the workings of the FBI, and a third is exploring the life of Leonardo Di Vinci. While two students work together to investigate the history of soccer, another is engrossed in surveying adults on their opinions of video games. Exploratory can teach students that school can be a place that nurtures curiosity, inspires them to ask questions, and helps them find the joy in learning. Of course, I don’t recommend you call this time exploratory, call it something a little more edgy and have your students use ‘Prezi’ to present information.
JOY 3: Let Students Create Things
People like to make stuff. Having control of our work and using our minds and hands to create something original give us a tremendous sense of agency. There is a special pride in bringing an original idea to fruition. It empowers us and encourages us; it helps us appreciate the demanding process of creating something from nothing.
The list of what students can create across the curriculum is virtually limitless: newspapers and magazines, brochures, stories, picture books, posters, murals, Web sites, podcasts, PowerPoint presentations, interviews, oral histories, models, diagrams, blueprints and floor plans, plays and role-plays, mock trials, photographs, paintings, songs, surveys, graphs, documentary videos—the list goes on and on. At its best, school should help and inspire students to bring their own ideas and creations to life.
JOY 4: Show Off Student Work
Our schools and classrooms should be brimming with wonderful, original student work. School spaces that are devoid of student work perpetuate a sterile and joyless environment. I tell my teacher education students that the walls of their classrooms should speak to people; they should say exactly what goes on in that space throughout the school day. I can tell what teachers value by simply walking into their classrooms and looking at the walls.
The same is true for a school building. My son, Max, is in 4th grade, and his school, Augustus H. Burley School in Chicago, is a joyous place to visit. The hallways and classrooms are filled with remarkable student work, and there is rarely a worksheet in sight. The teachers also show off the students themselves. There are photographs of students next to their favorite books, above their posted work from writing workshop, and next to the doors of some classrooms.
JOY 5: Take Time to Tinker
Gever Tulley has started a unique summer school in California called the Tinkering School. His blog describes it this way:
“The Tinkering School offers an exploratory curriculum designed to help kids—ages 7 to 17—learn how to build things. By providing a collaborative environment in which to explore basic and advanced building techniques and principles, we strive to create a school where we all learn by fooling around. All activities are hands-on, supervised, and at least partly improvisational. Grand schemes, wild ideas, crazy notions, and intuitive leaps of imagination are, of course, encouraged and fertilized.” (Tulley, 2005)
At Tinkering School, students are allowed to dream. They come up with their own ideas for an object, and the faculty and staff help them sketch, design, and build it. When have you seen a public school that encouraged students to come up with "grand schemes, wild ideas, crazy notions, and intuitive leaps of imagination"? In fact, schools actually work to prevent this from happening.
Our school days are too planned, leaving no room for spontaneity and happenstance. Kindergarten is the last refuge in school for letting kids tinker. Once they enter 1st grade, students must banish the joy of "fooling around" with objects and ideas and, instead, sit at their desks most of the day listening to lectures, reading textbooks, and filling out worksheets.
Sometimes the best ideas come from tinkering—and teachers, not just students, should be doing more of it. We must push beyond the teacher-proof curriculum the textbook industry has created, which tries to plan every subject for every hour of the day. Far from being think tanks or workshops, our schools continue to be assembly lines. We need to free teachers to take risks, experiment, play with the art of pedagogy, and feel the joy that comes from tinkering with their teaching.
JOY 6: Make School Spaces Inviting
Why do classrooms need to look so much like, well, classrooms, with desks in rows or arranged in groups, with a chalkboard or whiteboard at the front? When I walk into a classroom in my son's school, I usually see a space that looks a lot like a family room. There's a large rug, a class library with the best in children's and young adult literature, bean bags, couches, comfortable chairs, pillows, colorful curtains, fabric hung over the ceiling lights, and lamps scattered about the classroom. In fact, sometimes the ceiling lights are off, and the lamps warmly light the room.
And what about the public spaces inside and outside the school—the hallways, foyers, meeting areas, and school grounds? Anyone who has spent time at a university knows how integral these spaces are to the learning and social dynamics of the campus. The same can be true for a school. Why not transform these often unused and sterile spots into places for small groups of students to work or cozy nooks for kids to read or write? How about filling a foyer with plants and flowers? Why not give a large wall to the students to create and paint a mural? One colorful mural can transform a barren hallway or entrance into a vibrant and joyful sight. And schools can turn outdoor spaces into gardens, sculpture parks, walking paths, and quiet reading areas.
JOY 7: Get Outside
I am bewildered by how much time students spend inside schools. I don't mean that the school day should be shorter; I mean that more of the school day should be outside. We adults know all too well how much we like to get outside for a respite during the workday, and the same applies to students and teachers in school. They need a break from being confined inside a classroom all day. Fresh air, trees, and a sunny day can do miracles for the human spirit.
Interacting with nature brings a unique joy. Gavin Pretor-Pinney (2006) writes, "I have always loved looking at clouds. Nothing in nature rivals their variety and drama; nothing matches their sublime, ephemeral beauty" (p. 9). Naturalist and artist David Carroll (2004) describes his childhood enthrallment of seeking out turtles as he walked the ponds and marshes:
The sheer joy of being there, of simply bearing witness, continued to be paramount. I went out neither to heal my heartbreaks nor to celebrate my happiness, but to be in nature and outside myself. Turtles, spotted turtles most significantly, were a living text moving upon an endless turning of the pages of the natural world. (p. 27)
The easiest way to get students outside is simply to have recess. There is a special joy in standing amidst the students as they burst from the school and spread out like a swarm of hungry ants. Kids say that recess is their favorite time in school. Recess was also one of my favorite times of the day as a teacher because I was outside and surrounded by children having fun. Tragically, recess has become a rare sight, which may say more about our schools today than anything else. Why do so many schools find it so difficult to allow children 20 minutes each day to play?
As a teacher, I would often take my students outside to read, write, or have a class meeting. It is delightful for a student to sit under a tree and read or for a class to sit in a circle on the grass and talk. Much of our science curriculums could directly include the outdoors. A school does not have to be near a forest or the ocean for students and teachers to explore nature. Ecosystems are all around us. Have students dig a hole in a patch of dirt, and they will witness the flourishing life in the soil beneath their feet. Don't underestimate the power of sheer joy that children—and adults—can experience from tipping over a large rock and seeing the ground teeming with life.
JOY 8: Read Good Books
Everyone loves a good story. We all know that if you have a 5-year-old sitting on your lap and a good book in your hands, you will soon experience the magic of stories. And what amazing stories there are! We are living in an astonishing time of children's and young adult literature. Immerse students in a culture of good books, and you surround them with joy.
For the past few years, I've been working on a grant with a Chicago public school, in part to help teachers make literature an important feature of their classrooms. I have brought loads of good books into the school. As I did book talks in 4th and 8th grade classrooms about dozens of new titles we ordered, the room was abuzz with students who could not wait to get their hands on the books. When I walk into a classroom now, I am met with the excited voices of the students telling me what books they're reading.
Of course, if we want joy in schools, then sometimes students should read books that aren't so "serious." I believe that books with important themes can make a better world, but we must also sometimes allow—even encourage—students to experience books for sheer pleasure. Have 3rd graders read Dav Pilkey's Captain Underpants and the Perilous Plot of Professor Poopypants (Scholastic, 2000). Have 5th graders read Jeff Kinney's Diary of a Wimpy Kid (Amulet, 2007). Have young adults read Sherman Alexie's very funny (and serious) The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian (Little Brown, 2007). Encourage students to read thrillers; romance novels; action-adventure books; stories about sports, animals, and pop culture; graphic novels and manga; and nonfiction on topics they love. You will see plenty of joy.
JOY 9: Offer More Gym and Arts Classes
In recent years, with our zeal for increasing test scores, "specials" in school have become nearly as rare as recess. It is not uncommon, especially in more impoverished schools, for students to have no art, music, and drama at all, and gym only once or twice a week. In my son's previous school in Chicago, he did not have gym until January.
With his work on multiple intelligences, Howard Gardner has helped us better appreciate the uniqueness of children and