However, an unruly classroom can begin with just one unengaged student and escalate into total classroom disruption. I believe that keeping students active and engaged makes managing a classroom much easier. I have found that it is those students who are acting out and disrupting the lesson that are yearning for attention the most. These students are the ones that teachers so easily decide to give up on but are the ones who need the attention. For a teacher, this can be extremely frustrating. Often times, it is the students that are unmotivated and disruptive that are given the most attention during a lesson. Unfortunately, the rest of the class has to suffer from the time that the teacher spends of dealing with these students instead of instructing.
From the first day of school, I present my classroom expectation; be respectful, responsible, and have a positive attitude. Once students know what my expectations are, I will have the class come up with specific examples how ways that students can meet these expectations. They will come up with three to four examples for being respectful, responsible and having a positive attitude. I believe that it is important for students to know have access to consequences for classroom disruptions. This will be done by having a consequence chart posted at the front of the room. This will not get negotiated and will already be created by the teacher. As a class, we will go over what happens after each step. I want to remind disruptive students that “every day is a new day!” The consequence chart will list: 1- Verbal Warning 2- Pep talk 3- To the Office.
There are a wide variety of practical strategies that I plan to keep in my classroom management toolbox for unmotivated and disruptive students. First, I think that it is important to create win-win authority relationships. Also, I aim to make success possible for ALL students. I will do this by accommodating a large range of acceptable learning behaviors for a wide range of academic behaviors. All students need to make authentic connections with their teachers. So for the students that are disruptive and unmotivated, I will do my best to find a connection. Maybe this is playing soccer at recess, having them be helpers in another classroom, or finding an activity that will make them feel successful. My classroom management revolves around positivity. This means that non-traditional learners' needs must be supported through a variety of creative solutions. After all, learning and teaching should be fun! Disruptive students need to be taught how to follow the discipline code that is rigorously and fairly enforced. Classroom management is about procedures becoming routines. Routines give structure to the instructional environment. According to Tomlinson, (2001) differentiation addresses variance in content, process, and product. Tomlinson states that this approach is “responsive” teaching rather than planning instruction that reflects “one-size-fits-all” students. Differentiation is delivered to help all students, no matter what age, learn efficiently as possible. Improved achievement is promoted when teachers are attentive to students’ preferences of learning. Tomlinson reports that student motivation and student attention to tasks increase when the topics of study reflect personal interests of students. So for unmotivated and disruptive students, it is important for the teacher to differentiate. This allows teachers to focus on essential skills in each content area, be responsive to individual differences, incorporate assessment into instruction, and provide students with multiple avenues to learning.
References:
Tomlinson, C.A. (2001). How to differentiate instruction in mixed-ability classroom. ASCD
Publications, Inc.: Alexandria, VA.
I agree that classroom management is established on day one. On the first day of school is when each class at the school where I student-teaching establishes classroom agreements. These agreements are discussed as a whole class, everyone is able to state their input, thoughts, and ideas. When all the (rules)agreements are agreed upon by the class, each student signs the paper signifying that they will follow the agreements throughout the school year. The agreements are then posted on a wall in the classroom and the educator strictly adheres to each. Additionally, each class also has a morning meeting each day. These morning meetings are able to set the tone for the day to come. While in my first grade classroom the educator lead the meeting with help from the LOTD (Leader of the day), in third grade the students run the entire meeting. There is a leader that heads the meeting and they are given the responsibility to make sure that everyone stays on task. If there are students who choose to take away from the morning meeting, the leader has the power to ask the student to leave the group.
ReplyDeleteMeghann great post! I completely agree establishing a rules and procedures are essential for introducing student expectations for the rest of the year. Remember you can't start loose and try and tighten up rules and procedures, always start strict! With that said I believe many students whether we like it or not will break rules throughout the year. Good teachers need to use a multitude of best practice strategies to effectively manage the class and allow for more student academic success. As we know strategies like differentiating instruction, SADIE scaffolding strategies, cooperative learning activities, assistive technologies, etc are good ways to support the diverse learning needs of our students. More importantly these best practice strategies can be used to effectively manage the classroom by sparking student interest and keeping student actively engaged in the learning process. Most management issues arise students lack interest and engagement in teacher lessons and units.
ReplyDelete-Shane
Hi Meghann,
ReplyDeleteI agreed with you on your statement that the students who are acting out are yearning for attention. I find that instead of constantly giving those students attention for their negative behavior, I try to constantly praise for positive behavior. I love the consequence chart. It is perfect for primary grades. It is simple to understand. I also like that you gave the students an opportunity to share ways in which they can meet the expectations. It is such a great way to put them in charge of their own behavior. Thanks for sharing!
Meghann, great points here it is vital for all teachers to have a plan when it comes to classroom management and that plan starts the first day of school. In my experience as a teacher I find that 99% of the time when students are continually disruptive in the classroom then it is a strong indicator that something is going on at home. I would encourage you to also be sure to document all incidents so that you have a running record of classroom disruptions and create a form that will allow you to quickly communicate the problem with the parents.
ReplyDeleteWhat is your plan of communication with parents when a students is disruptive or defiant?