Classroom Management

Classroom Management Jonathan Brinkerhoff

Controlling a classroom is like plucking a strand of a spider web – everything impacts everything else in the complex array of strands and intersections. Making it all come together is challenging, and to a degree, related to a teacher’s personality and strengths and the particulars of the students and the situation. Consequently, simplistic bromides guaranteed to be effective aren’t possible.

That being the case, how can we help student teachers get a handle on classroom management? Let’s share some ideas.

Classroom Management • The best way to handle class control is to never let things get out of hand in the first place. • Want to know where to look to find one possible cause of behavior problems in your classroom? The mirror!

Classroom Management • Two Parts • Instructional Strategies • Behavior Management Strategies

Instructional Strategies: Student Perspectives Students are frequently bored in school. Students feel teachers constantly talk at them. KIPP Charter Schools Teacher Evaluation.

Effective Instruction • Keep kids meaningfully occupied • Daily oral language while taking roll / lunch count • Be prepared: no teaching off the top of your head • Incorporate active engagement in all lessons (overt / covert) • Overhead vs. writing on the board

Effective Instruction • Provide meaningful, quality instruction • Start with what they know • Question-based • Active engagement / participation • Telling isn’t teaching • Never tell students what they already know • Never ask students what they don’t know • Example – it’s / its lesson

Effective Instruction • Make learning concrete • Don’t lose students in the first 15 seconds of a lesson • Example: earthquakes lesson • Today we’re going to learn about earthquakes Vs. • Video of shaking room with falling objects • Images of land displacements • Map showing earthquake activity over the past seven days

Effective Instruction • Don’t lose students • Pace • Instructional steps too large • Instructional steps missing • Instructional steps not in logical order • Provide appropriate scaffolds

Effective Instruction • Don’t lose students • Check for understanding • Individual vs. whole class • Poor – Do you understand? / Any questions? • Good – specific content question

Effective Instruction • Don’t lose students • Provide clear directions • Don’t try to be understood. Try to be so clear you can’t be misunderstood. • Write directions on board / question students • Model • If I were… • Concrete examples – finished products

Behavior Management

Dog Whisperer – Caesar Milan • Calm assertive energy • Punishment vs. discipline • Need for boundaries and limitations • Immediate, consistent correction at the first sign of a problem • No feeling sorry about the past or present

Behaviorist-Based Management • Two basic approaches • Behaviorist: rewards / punishments • Psychological: motivations / feelings

Behaviorist-Based Management • Catch them being good.

Behaviorist-Based Management • Catch them being good. • Rewards must be desired by students • State the desired behavior as you praise a child to model your expectations • Reward immediately • Reward all positive behaviors initially – then intermittently: slot machine • Can use desired activities as a reinforcer for a less desired activity: Premack Principle

Behaviorist-Based Management • Catch them being good. • Promote internal rather than external motivation • Juan is sitting quietly. • I like the way Juan is sitting quietly. • Juan has his listening ears on. • I appreciate how well Juan is listening • Shaping: reinforcing small successive steps toward a desired goal or behavior, i.e. rewarding successive approximations. Turning pigeons

Behaviorist-Based Management • Catch them being good. • NEVER reward what you don’t want • Calling on a student who is yelling out / waving arm • Asking for quiet then continuing while it’s still noisy • Not imposing a consequence when rules are broken

Behaviorist-Based Management

Behaviorist-Based Management • Punishments – Behaviorist term: negative vibe • Corrections – Caesar Milan: neutral vibe • Correct immediately • Correct consistently • Don’t get drawn into student manipulations / negotiations/ arguments: the broken record. • Follow through with what you say: empty threats • Don’t punish yourself as well

Behaviorist-Based Management • Use the least disruptive intervention that works: don’t stop the learning • Proximity • Eye contact • Eye contact with shh gesture / slight shake of the head / frown • Directed question • Direct statement to student of what you want • Be prepared with the next option if the first one doesn’t work

Behaviorist-Based Management • Punishment can be effective in many situations (R.V. Hall et al., 1971) • Andrea • Billy • High school French students

Psych-Based Management • Between Parent / Teacher and Child: Haim Ginott • Children have difficulty moving forward or talking when their emotions are flowing powerfully • Acknowledging or identifying their emotions first generally has a calming effect and can lead to a more effective discussion • A child runs up to you on the playground clearly upset; a child is crying; a child shoves another. In all these instances, a good first thing to say is, “I can see you’re really upset / angry / sad. Tell me what happened.”

Psych-Based Management • Between Parent / Teacher and Child: Haim Ginott • Addressing students’ emotions defuses resistance • 4 step sequence • Recognize the child’s desire • State the limit • Point out a way to meet or partially meet the desire • Help the child express some of the resentment / frustration that’s likely to arise when restrictions are imposed

Psych-Based Management Example 4 step sequence: • Recognize child’s desire • State the limit • Point out a way to meet or partially meet the desire • Help the child express resentment / frustration You’d like to bounce the ball in the classroom, but the rule is the ball can only be played with on the playground. Recess is an half an hour and you can play with the ball on the playground then. It’s obvious you don’t like the rule very much, do you?

Psych-Based Management • Between Parent / Teacher and Child: Haim Ginott • Never deny or ignore a child's feelings. • Only behavior is treated as unacceptable, not the child. • Depersonalize negative interactions by mentioning only the problem. "I see a messy room." • Attach rules to things, e.g., "Little sisters are not for hitting,“ “Balls are for the playground.”

Psych-Based Management • Between Parent / Teacher and Child: Haim Ginott • Dependence breeds hostility. Let children do for themselves what they can. • Children need to learn to choose, but within the safety of limits. "Would you like to go to bed now or in ten minutes?"

Psych-Based Management • Between Parent / Teacher and Child: Haim Ginott • Limit criticism to a specific event—don't say "never“ or "always" as in: "You never listen," "You always manage to spill things," etc. • Refrain from using words you would not want the child to repeat.

Between Parent / Teacher and Child: Haim Ginott • At some point in our careers, students will make us angry. Promises not to feel anger will only bottle things up and lead to a larger explosion or teacher burnout. • Accept that kids will make you angry at times • We are entitled to our anger without guilt or shame • Provided we don’t attack the child’s personality or character, we are entitled to express what we feel in private to the students: • I feel frustrated when I’ve asked you to stop calling out and you continue to do so.

Between Parent / Teacher and Child: Haim Ginott I have come to a frightening conclusion. I am the decisive element in the classroom. It is my personal approach that creates the climate. It is my daily mood that makes the weather. As a teacher I possess tremendous power to make a child's life miserable or joyous. I can be a tool of torture or an instrument of inspiration. I can humiliate or humor, hurt or heal. In all situations, it is my response that decides whether a crisis will be escalated or de-escalated, and a child humanized or de-humanized.

Psych-Based Management • Nonviolent Communication: Marshall Rosenberg • Four components • Observation: what actually happened without judgment or evaluation. Simply say what we observe. • Feeling: identifying / naming our feeling when we observe this action or occurrence • Needs: state what needs are associated with the feelings we identified. • Request: Statement of what you feel you need.

Psych-Based Management • Four components • Observation: simply say what we observe. • Feeling: identifying / naming our feeling about what we observe • Needs: state the need associated with the feeling. • Request: statement of what you feel you need. When I see papers all over the floor I feel irritated because I need more order in our classroom. Would you be willing to pick up the papers and either throw them away or put them in your desks?

Final Thoughts • Don’t be the bad guy – keep the responsibility where it belongs • Effective: I’m sorry you chose to loose your recess by ignoring our class rule about disrupting. • Less Effective: How many times will I have to tell you to stop talking? Now you’ve lost your recess. • Include students in rule generation to support buy-in

Final Thoughts • Don’t get angry – give yourself a time out if needed before dealing with the situation • Appeal to students’ desire to be mature / grown up. • Actively work to develop esprit de corps within your classroom. (I understand the other class is being very noisy, but that’s not how we behave in our class.)

Final Thoughts • Document • Accept feelings, then state the sad truth • I can see you’re upset, but hitting another child is never acceptable. Stand on the fence until the end of recess. • I can see you’re unhappy with your grade. I’m sorry you made the choice not to study. If you’re not happy with your grade, what could you choose to do differently next time?

Group Final Thoughts • Student takes responsibility – ask them to verbalize their perception of the incident. Example: Did you hear what I said? (No) Can you think of a reason why you didn‘t hear? (I was talking.) • Harry Wong – search Google videos • Have student write a letter to parents / call parents describing / explaining their behavior.

Group Final Thoughts • Have student write a letter / email to aggrieved party. • Help students, through self-reflection, identify and consider their behavior and its consequences. • Cognitive coaching – questions for students to ID why they’re having troubles.

Group Final Thoughts • Unhappy face: As kids, “Do you know why I just made an unhappy face? What do you think you can do to see a happy face again?” • An apology includes several steps: • Saying sorry • Identifying / describing what you did • Stating what will be different in the future. • The recipient of the apology says, “I accept your apology,” and not “It’s OK,” as the behavior was not OK.

Group Final Thoughts • For kids having difficulty keeping still in class: • Soccer ball under active kid’s feet. • Gum (it can’t been seen or heard) • Students acknowledged as Stars Of The Week look for acts of kindness which they report at the end of the day. Others are then allowed to share what they saw.

Group Final Thoughts • Novelty – no talking lessons. Everyone must communicate nonverbally. • Never talk over the noise. Talking in a quiet voice will make students get quiet so they can hear you. • 3 to 1 ratio – three positive interactions to balance one negative. • Hand on head / nose when done – visual cue to teacher and something to do when finished.

Group Final Thoughts • Issue book: kid writes what’s wrong; other kid responds. Makes kids think through and express their feelings. Also provides written record for parents. • As punishment, take away student’s time; sit silently at their desk. No writing or math as punishment, as you don’t want negative associations with subject matter.

Classroom Management