Classroom Management

Chapter 13: Summary

Authoritarian, Permissive, and Authoritative Approaches to Classroom Management
3 styles approaches to classroom management

1. Authoritarian- parents establish rules for their children's behavior and expect them to be blindly obeyed; explanations are not always given; rewards and punishments are given; "Do what I say because I said so"
2. Permissive- parents represent the other extreme; they impose few controls; allow their children to make many basic decisions and provide advice or assistance only when asked; "Do what I say because you are like me and respect my judgment"
3. Authoritative- parents provide rules but discuss the reasons for them, teach their children how to meet them and reward children for exhibiting self-control; cede more responsibility for self-governance to their children as the children demonstrate increased self-regulation skills; this style leads to children's internalizing the parent's norms and maintaining intrinsic motivation for following them in the future; "Do what I say because doing so will help you learn more"

The students of authoritative teachers better understand the need for classroom rules and tend to operate within them most of the time.

Preventing Problems: Techniques of Classroom Management

Kounin's Observations on Group Management

1. Show your students that you are "with it"- withitness (teachers that prove to their students that they know what is going on in a classroom usually have fewer behavior problems than teachers who appear to be unaware of incipient disruptions)
2. Learn to cope with overlapping situations- being able to handle overlapping activities helps maintain classroom control
3. Strive to maintain smoothness and momentum in class activities- some teachers caused problems for themselves by constantly interrupting activities without thinking about what they were doing
4. Try to keep the whole class involved, even when you are dealing with individual students- call on students in an unpredictable order
5. Introduce variety and be enthusiastic, particularly with younger students
6. Be aware of the ripple effect- when criticizing student behavior, be clear and firm, focus on behavior rather than on personalities, and try to avoid angry outbursts

University of Texas Studies on Group Management (well-managed classroom)

1. Students know what they are expected to do and generally experience the feeling that they are successful doing it
2. Students are kept busy engaging in teacher-led instructional activities
3. There is little wasted time, confusion, or disruption
4. A no-nonsense, work-oriented tone prevails, but at the same time there is a relazed and pleasant atmosphere

The first point can be interpreted as supporting the use of instructional objectives. The next three points stress productivity under teacher guidance.

Effective teachers plan how to handle classroom routines.

During first weeks, have students complete clear assignments under the teachers direction.

Middle, Junior High and High school classroom management:

1. classroom management has to be approached differently because of the segmented nature of the education for these grades

Emmer suggestions for classroom environments:

1. the arrangement of the seating, materials, and equipment is consistent with the kinds of instructional activities the teacher favors
2. high traffic areas, such as the teachers desk and the pencil sharpener are kept free of congestion
3. the teacher can easily see all students
4. frequently used teaching material and student supplies are readily available
5. students can easily see instructional presentations and displays

Manage behavior of adolescents by making and communicating clear rules and procedures.

Technology Tools for Classroom Management

1. Integrated Learning Systems- curriculum courseware and management systems that provide a type of individualized instruction; adjust for difficulty levels and content lessons to each person's progress rate; provide continuous assessment reports
2. New classroom roles for teachers

Techniques for Dealing with Behavior Problems

Influence Techniques

1. Planned Ignoring
2. Signals
3. Proximity and Touch Control
4. Interest Boosting
5. Humor
6. Helping ouver Hurdles
7. Program Restructing
8. Antiseptic Bouncing
9. Physical Restraint
10. Direct Appeals
11. Criticism and Encouragement
12. Defining Limits
13. Postsituational Follow-up
14. Marginal Use of Interpretation

I-Messages- tell how you feel about an unacceptable situation

Problem-Ownership- determine who owns a problem before deciding on a course of action

Violence in American Schools

Incidents of crime and serious violence occur relatively infrequently in public schools and have been decreasing in recent years.

Male aggressiveness due to biological and cultural factors.

Middle school and junior high boys with low grades may feel trapped

Misbavior of high school students may reveal lack of positive identity.

Classroom disruptions can be significantly reduced by various approaches:

1. classroom rules
2. teacher movement
3. reinforcement
4. token economy
5. response cost
6. group contigency

Judicious Discipline- this program teaches students that they have both rights and responsibilities with respect to their behavior (teachers and students discuss problems that have occurred and how they can be addressed)

Unified Discipline- teachers, administrators, and other school personnel create a uniform approach to managing disruptive behavior.

Life Experiences:

Every teacher that I have had has had a different idea or style regarding classroom management. Some have worked and some did not. This is a topic in education that is just not discussed enough in college. I never feel that I have a good grasp of different techniques that might work. This chapter has given me many ideas and the understanding of why they might work. But I feel that it is a topic that you just have to gain from experience too.

EDU Perspective

I have gained so much insight into education and working with children from this class this semester than any other elementary education class that I have taken. I was supposed to take it at West Plains but I am so glad that I did not. I have seen their book and it did not have half the information that this book did. I have also really enjoyed Ms. Graff, she is always there giving such great advice and so many different ideas that really make you think. She is a great teacher and I have truly learned alot from this class.

BLOG: http://mspappas.preknow.org/

Wow, what a great site. It is really enjoyable to read. I found a lot of great articles that I have saved so that I can go back and read them better and more intently when I have more time. I have said this blog in my favorites because it is full of some really important information for becoming teachers and certified teachers. I loved the article about "Eric Carle". His books are some of my favorites for young children. I use them with my students quite often. I can't wait until I can really go through this site and see exactly what all it has to over because I have already seen some ideas that I can't wait to try.