Classroom Management Resources-secondary Education

[tinytherese]

Some of you remember me describing the nightmare experience I had in the past with an internship where I taught middle school kids CCD for part of a summer and I couldn't control the classroom.

 

I've thought of going into teaching theology to high school kids, but I'd like help on classroom management. I've looked up various education philosophies and can't find any books that describe how to do this that are helpful.

 

I studied programs such as Love and Logic, but that's geared towards elementary school students.

 

I also keep finding a bunch of books on theories of managing a classroom, but not specific concrete examples on how to do it. The book The Educational Philosophy of St. John Bosco is one such theoretical work.

 

The biggest problem I had at my internship was that my students kept making really random comments. They'd raise their hands and say something like "I saw a dog today" or they'd just say that without raising their hands.The only advice that I got from others was to transition them back on topic, but I was never told how to specifically do that.

[Autumn Dusk]

It's the tough love sort of thing.  Assign extra homework, detention, etc.  CCD is kinda a joke as the kids don't want to be there and are being forced to listen with someone who they don't see has having much authority.  Their whole lives the focus was on fun.  As a traditional teacher you will have much more authority.  You may loose a few classes, but when a student has to write a 5 page cited paper about the theology of animals because they spoke about a dog, then zip it.

[add]

What about parent/teacher conferences

Here are some ideas:
http://pinterest.com/luv2teach/parent-teacher-communication-ideas/

[Lilllabettt]

I teach 6 year olds. Title 1. They have cussed me out, sent me hate mail with perfectly spelled obscenities, steal money, destroyed classroom equipment, thrown chairs, shoes, etc. About half of them are seeing the in-school therapist, some have an "emotionally disturbed" diagnosis. The entire first grade is horrible this year, but my class is the worst of them. The music teacher tells me she prays for me (this is a public school.)  

 

But ... my classroom is in  "good order" (code for non-mutinous) and receives highly effective (above typical) ratings from the state, which is unusal for a 2nd year teacher.   

 

I have achieved this by being a nazi. The dictionary definition of the word "fascist" has my picture next to it. A teacher on recess duty told me she overheard my students telling each other that Miss is "scary."   My principal complains that my room feels "rigid."  I am friendly with the students when I have them one-on-one, afterschool, for example. There are a couple power struggle types who respond to Love and Logic. But generally during class time I am nobody's buddy. It is unpleasant - for me and the students. Last year I was able to ease up sometime around Thanksgiving. This year, with this group, I will not be doing that. At this moment I do not really enjoy teaching. There are relaxing moments but they are few and far between. But I know I would be a lot unhappier if I was not so on top of them, because it would mean they would not be learning and I would have administration in my room all the time.   

 

If you teach in Catholic school you will earn peanuts but you will probably have fewer behavior problems.

The key is to intimidate while using your voice as little as possible. If they hear your voice too often they will begin to tune it out. E.g. - I can "yell" without raising my voice.

For distractors - you can try interrupting yourself mid sentence.  As you are speaking and you notice people talking out/ not paying attention, stop midword. The resulting silence is extremely uncomfortable for those who are playing. Fold your arms and stare at them with an irritated look on your face.

For talkers out - I use a clip chart - a yardstick with different colors painted on it and their names on a clothespin. I silently clip them down a color on the stick when they are off task or disrespectful. They see me do it and quit messing around. The clip chart though is geared towards younger kids. I also use classdojo.com  (which is geared towards upper grades) the same way - silently subtracting and adding points. Those with 10 points at the end of the week come for Fun Friday (eat lunch with the teacher while watching a movie.) It's a positive thing - and a lot of kids respond best to positive reinforcement instead of negative all the time.

 

[Sister Marie]

One of the difficult things about classroom management is that no one way works for everyone.  You kind of have to find what works for you and unfortunately sometimes that has to come by trial and error.  A small example would be that, according to my students, I have an incredibly intimidating stare - other people might not be able to do that - I'm sure they have something scary they can do as well :)! (I teach middle school by the way!) 

 

Lillabettt is right...Silence is almost universally regarded as a good tactic though.  Students so rarely hear silence from an adult that they don't know what to do when you stop speaking.  The same is true for the fact that positive reinforcement is more effective than negative.

 

There are other mitigating factors though that affect how you manage your classroom; school discipline policy, location/culture of school (urban, rural, suburban), parent involvement (minimal or maximum), socioeconomic status, the cause of behavior problems, age of students, number of students in the classroom, the physical layout of your school/classroom, and your personal educational philosophy.  Your decisions and responses will all change in some way due to those factors and many more. 

 

Try to envision what your classroom environment will look like; how will it feel as you are teaching, how will the students be engaged (not just in instruction but in the very community/environment you desire to create), what do you want them to learn (not from instruction but about socialization, professionalism, morality), and who do you want to be to your students.  When you have a vision of that reality, start to plan how you will implement it.  What consequences and rewards will reinforce the general classroom environment you are envisioning.  For example, part of my vision of a classroom community is that students feel able to appropriately express their views on varying subjects.  How do I make sure they can do that?  I plan that when discussions occur; they are graded for social appropriateness, one person speaks at a time using a talking piece, points are deducted from classroom teams when non-constructive criticism is expressed, students are encouraged to intellectually and appropriately challenge one another using prompts that teach appropriate conversation skills and respectful dialogue.  I try to start with the big picture of what I want to see in my classroom and then I plan in detail how I will implement that.

 

Classroom management is difficult and takes a lot of planning and practice and constant monitoring/tweaking.  I hope some of this was helpful.

[add]

What about parental involvement? Is there a lot of empathy?

[Sister Marie]

What about parental involvement? Is there a lot of empathy?

 

I just meant that the level and type of parental involvement changes how you discipline or manage your room or an individual student.  It can help or make things more difficult and each situation is different and usually complex.  There are a million different types of parents, a million different types of student, a million different types of schools, teachers...  It takes a lot of flexibility and patience to find what works in different situations. 

 

Empathy isn't a word I would use.  The parent-teacher-student relationship is a professional one and that term seems more personal.  Parental involvement influences classroom management in that the level of communication and cooperation varies.

[Sister Marie]

Oh and here are two practical suggestions for the random comment thing:

 

1. Stand there and stare at them until they are extremely uncomfortable.  You'll know when to continue.

2. Pretend you didn't hear him or her (and be really serious) and then ask him or her to repeat the comment.  Do that about 15 times and their comment won't be funny anymore, in fact, they will be quite embarrassed by it.  You'll be able to tell its working when they start to stare at the floor and get quieter in their responses to your question "What did you say?"

 

While writing things can be good, some school districts do not allow you to use written punishments.  Check your handbook before you make students do a written assignment as a punishment.

[add]

I attended catholic (old) schools as a child, taught by nuns.
If I misbehaved my dad was notified and I was got the belt
I behaved for the most part, as a rule

[Sister Marie]

I attended catholic (old) schools as a child, taught by nuns.
If I misbehaved my dad was notified and I was got the belt
I behaved for the most part, as a rule

 

The days of "Sister is always right." are definitely over, haha.  Some of the interactions I have had would really surprise a lot of people!  Thankfully, God always works through each of them for good.

[Lilllabettt]

Sister Marie  -  middle school?  God bless you.

 

One time they were utterly rude to a guest in our classroom. The next day I gave them the silent treatment from 7:30 to 3.  I also had them copy down "I will use kind words and kind hands" 30 times - but they actually enjoyed that and asked to do it again!

Edited February 2, 2013 by Lilllabettt

[Sister Marie]

Lillabett... I say the same to you... those little people are cute but scary...

 

At least I can remember the kind of stuff that is probably going through middle school minds... I have no idea what happens in the minds of the little guys! haha.

[tinytherese]

What would be examples of rewards for high school kids? I've been told to be cautious about rewards because kids can be fickle.

Edited February 3, 2013 by tinytherese

[Sister Marie]

What would be examples of rewards for high school kids? I've been told to be cautious about rewards because kids can be fickle.

 

Big kids are just little kids in bigger bodies, no offense to any high schoolers out there (all of us are kinda big kids on the inside anyway!).  You know the saying "they can smell fear" which is usually applied to dangerous animals.  Kids are a lot like that!  They pick up on injustice, unassertiveness, indecisiveness and they may not be able to put it into words but they can tell when the teacher is unsure.  The most important thing is to have a plan and to stick to it.  New teachers often have to just "fake it till they make it" as far as those qualities are concerned.

 

Fairness is the other big thing - that doesn't mean that you do the same for each child but that you commit yourself to giving each child what he or she needs.  Kids can recognize that.  If children feel respected, loved, and cared for by you many, not all, will respect your decisions even when they don't agree with you.

 

There is a really delicate balance that has to happen, especially with older students, where they feel the support of the discipline structure but at the same time are able to freely express themselves at the same time and have a good relationship with you.

 

Do you know anyone who is a high school teacher you respect that you could observe or at least talk to about this stuff?  I don't teach high school.  I teach middle school but we are departmental so I see about 120 students a day.  I have a chart in my room and each month students earn points for their "teams" by doing good things and not doing bad things.  At the end of the month the team who has won receives a "classroom coupon."  It entitles them to one of the following; an extra night to complete a homework assignment, three extra points on a test, an opportunity to work with a partner when I specify independent work, or ten minutes of free computer time.  They can redeem their coupon whenever they want and they get to decide what they want to use it for.  It's pretty effective.  It would be great if you were able to observe someone in high school though.

 

I'm surprised that anyone has told you to be careful of rewards because all the educational research suggests that positive reinforcement, rewards, are much more effective than negative disciplines like detentions and demerits (they are necessary at times but not as a first response.)  I'd be interested to hear more about that reasoning because I haven't found that to be true at all in my own experience but maybe I am misunderstanding.

[Brother Adam]

I require that all of my catechism teachers use the ecclesial method for lesson planning which naturally builds in transitions from the outside world into their religion class. Catechesis of the Good Shepherd also uses normalization to help children stay on task and look forward to their experience. If CCD is a joke or is a bore, then something has gone wrong and techniques need to be re-evaluated. That doesn't mean the there are not excellent administrators or catechists - just that a different approach is needed. I have heard too though that teaching high school theology and teaching catechism are very different.