Classroom management refers
to the ways in which student behaviour, movement and interaction during a
lesson are organized and controlled by the teacher” Richards (1990, 10).
Class Rules
- At
the beginning of the school year, establish the class rules.
- Discuss
Classroom rules with the students and consequences of misbehaviour.
- Post
room rules and consequences of misbehaviour.
Students’ Seating
The way the students are seated in the classroom will
often determine the dynamics of the lesson. Indeed, a simple change in the
seating pattern can make an incredible difference to group coherence and
student satisfaction.
In many cases the seating has been a crucial element in
the success or failure of the lesson.
In some cases, the desks are fixed to the ground or the school has strict rules about not moving the furniture.
In some cases, the desks are fixed to the ground or the school has strict rules about not moving the furniture.
Student numbers are also going to be an issue.
Teachers have different preferences for seating
arrangements – each group is seated round small tables is often one choice.
This is probably the best option for the larger classes.
For smaller numbers and with adult or teenage students I
think the horseshoe shape, which I find has all of the advantages of groups,
and none of the disadvantages. A horseshoe may be desks in a U-shape with a
hollow centre, students in a semicircle on chairs with arm-rests and no desks,
or students seated around three sides of a large table, with the teacher at one
end.
In any case, whatever seating pattern you choose or is
imposed on you, the class is likely to be more successful if you keep the
following principles in mind:
Try and maximize eye contact.
Make sure students are seated at a comfortable distance
from each other.
Think in advance about how you will organize changing
partners or changing groups.
Students’ Names
- Make
two sets of name tags – one for the child's table space or desk, and one
for the child to wear around the neck to special classes.
- Hang
name tags on a hook by the door.
- Make
it private: call to desk, whisper, nonverbal cues.
- Briefly
talk to student/assess penalties.
- Time
out at desk or another room.
- Communicate
positive expectations to students: convey confidence in students’ ability
to do well and maintain high expectations.
Teacher Talk & Drawing Attention
- Don't
speak when children aren't listening and ready. Wait.
- Establish
a signal for getting the group's attention:
- turn
off the lights
- clap
a pattern with your hands
- Say
“Freeze!” and everyone halts right where they are, like a statue. Then say
“Melt!” when you are ready for them to move again.
- Practice
numbers, in the beginning, even when children are doing well, just so they
get the idea of how to respond to your signals. Then praise them.
Example: “One, two, three
eyes on me”
- Establish
good listening habits for story time. Sometimes we read and listen, and
sometimes we read and discuss, but we always listen.
Giving Instruction
- It
is better to make your instructions for primary students precise and
concise.
- Use
puppets to help with classroom management. Puppets can whisper in the
teacher's ear, and they can write messages to the class.
- Compliment
leadership in students. "Oh, I like the way Antonio is ready!"
will cause everyone to turn to look at the ready student and to get ready
also.
- Use
the same standards for everyone – no favorites!
Using Pair and Groupwork
- One
of the successful ways, if the teacher is resourceful and skilful enough,
to motivate his/her students to participate in the lesson is to use “pair
work” or “Group work” appropriately.
Language is best learned through the close collaboration
and communication among students. This type of collaboration results in
benefits for all or both learners. In fact, learners can help each other while
working on different types of tasks such as writing dialogues, interviews,
drawing pictures and making comments about them, play roles, etc…
Setting Time Limits
1) You should set time to each activity when you are
planning your lesson so that you would know if you would be able to finish your
objectives or not.
2) You should tell your students about the time assigned
for each activity when you give them a task to do in class.
3) Your students should gradually be aware of the
importance of the time issue and respect it.
Role Play
- This
is a technique to vary the pace of the lesson and to respond to the
fundamental notion of variety in teaching. Teachers are advised to use the
role- play activity in order to motivate their students and to help the
less motivated learners take part in the lesson. Besides, certain tasks in
the student’s book are followed by a role- play activity where it becomes
a necessity to undergo such an activity. As good examples of that we can
state: the hide (item) and guessing game, dramatizing an interview of
customer and shop assistant, doctor and patient conversation, etc…
Tasks for Early Finishers
- This
especially happens when students finish an assignment while other students
are still working on it. That’s why you need to include an “early
finisher” activity with every assignment.
- Think
in advance for possible activities, options including extension activities
related to the current topic, journal writing, silent reading, and
educational games
Whole Class Feedback
- Take
a look at the following classroom exchange:
Whole class: He bought a sandwich. (Sea of noise
in which the teacher hears the answer)
Teacher: And number 4?
Whole class: He drank orange juice. (Sea of noise in which the teacher hears the answer)
Teacher: And number 4?
Whole class: He drank orange juice. (Sea of noise in which the teacher hears the answer)
- Sound
familiar? How many times have you done feedback like this? Probably many.
Why do we fall into the pattern of getting feedback in this way? Is it the
easiest way? The quickest?
- I
began to realize that generally it was only the stronger or the more
confident students who would shout out the answers. When I looked at
individual student’s work, I saw that they didn’t always have the correct
answer and, more importantly, they didn’t know what the correct answer
was.
- Feedback
is better checked through each student’s response on a written form paper.
Using Whiteboard
Make sure students easily see the board.
Have your lesson objectives clear for your students.
Write them on the board or get the kids to know them at the beginning – by the
end of this lesson I will have learned……
These clear objectives provide a guide to what you want
to achieve and can be the basis of the lesson structure. A map on the board can
help to show the kids where you are going with the lesson.
References
Elementary Classroom Management Survival Tips
http://www.teachervision.fen.com/pro-dev/classroom-management/6752.html
http://www.teachervision.fen.com/pro-dev/classroom-management/6752.html
Emmer, Edmund & Evertson, Carolyn, Teach
a Book: Classroom Management forMiddle and High School Teachers, PowerPoint
presentation. http://www.google.com/search?q=tasks+for+early+finishers+for+classroom+management&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&aq=t&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a
Greenwood and Parkay (1989), cited by Gary
Sturt http://www.garysturt.free-online.co.uk/classman.htm
Richards (1990, 10), cited in Encyclopedic Dictionary of Applied Linguistics,
edited by Keith Johnson and Helen Johnson. http://www.blackwellreference.com/public/tocnode?id=g9780631214823_chunk_g97806312148237_ss1-12
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