For October 11
Describe your cooperating teacher’s management
strategies. Do you feel they are
effective? Give examples of what your teacher does to recognize positive
adherence and negative adherence. What
do you plan to do differently in your own class?
Starting off the school year, my teachers spent a deal of time talking about classroom management strategies and how they were going to implement it. One teacher wanted to go along the lines of "Have you filled a bucket today?" and give each child a bucket that they filled with cotton balls or tickets. The other teacher was worried that certain student would get their buckets filled fast. and others, who do well all the time, would never "earn" a token. I have to say that I agree with the second teacher. Finally, after the first week of school, they agreed on a marble jar. The children could earn marbles for positive behavior. A behavior had to be very negative to loose a marble. One day the teacher took out a marble because an individual student had to be reminded to stop the same negative behavior repeatedly. She came in the next day worried about what she had done and worried about the whole class loosing out for one child. Another teacher stated that it was the right thing because it teaches the child, and other children that they are a team, a group and they have to figure out how to work together to complete a task or get a desired reward.
ReplyDeleteWhen a child is negative or needs reminders, both the teachers do so in a quiet and individual way. They do not single out children in group settings other then a gentle reminder. I agree with the aspect of not singling out a child completely. I have also noticed that both the teachers work hard to solve and handle problems themselves without sending children to the principal or calling in other adults. I think this deepens the sense of community and responsibility.
For Ruthie
ReplyDeleteWe have a little boy in our class who displays a lot of defiant behaviors. He’ll ask to go to the bathroom and we’ll get reports that he is in there wetting the floor and waiting to see if other kids will come in slip on the wet floor. He thinks this is funny. He asks to go to the bathroom a lot, which his mother was not happy to find out about, so to limit the amount of times he is able to use the bathroom in one day my supervising teacher created a bathroom chart for him. She made this with the help of the assistant principal and school counselor, as we have learned that he has a trauma history…this information would’ve been very helpful to have had before the school year actually began. Due to his trauma history, it is best for him to feel in control without actually giving him all the control. With the bathroom chart, he is allowed to go to the bathroom 5 times each day but he can pick when to go.
He has trust issues and although he is developing a healthy relationship with my supervising teacher he is taking a while to warm up to me. The day I subbed for my teacher he gave me a note that read- “you’re a stupid teacher but face.” I told him the note made me very sad because I really liked him and would never call him mean names. I told him an apology letter would make me feel better. I got one the next day, only because my supervising teacher got on him about writing it. Believe it or not, he has been warming up to me more since this incident, but I am constantly looking for ways to build a relationship with him.
I think the classroom teacher's comment about trying to not take thia student's behavior toward you personally is important. I have had to try to not a particular student's behavior toward me personally this year as well. I am going to blog about my work with him. It's SO hard though because of course we want all of our students to like us.
for Emily
ReplyDeleteOne of the boys in our classroom struggles a lot with the math concepts we are working on (multiplication with larger numbers and division). Both the classroom teacher and I spend time each week working with him in small groups and 1:1 to help support his learning. I've shown and walked through a number of strategies to solve a problem but none seem to be sticking. Although he is not on an IEP both this year and last year's teacher suspect he does have difficulty processing information.
It's difficult to see this kid feel discouraged and frustrated that he comes up with an answer that is way off base and I'm not sure what his thinking is. I've asked the lead teacher what to do and we will likely be consulting one of the special education teachers to get some pointers for helping our little man. He has a pretty good grasp of addition, subtraction, and his multiplication tables but without a firm foundation in multiplication and division he'll definitely struggle through the rest of 5th grade.
I'll keep you posted as to how we (and he) progress!
Try asking him to tslk to you while he is attempting the times problem. Thie might help to understand where his thinking is off.
DeleteThe management strategies that my cooperating teacher exhibits are very helpful and I agree so far with what she does. One thing I really like that she does that I haven't seen done from other teachers in my school occurs when the kids line up. If there are some kids "having a hard time" in line they go back to their seat and try again. It is not a long drawn out process but just a quick reminder that if they enter the line putting their hands on other kids, or talking to the kids in front or behind them, they must "try again". This happened a lot at the beginning of the year, but it has lessened quite a bit. The kids respond well because they are not in trouble, but they know that they were not acting appropriate. They usually get their bodies in control immediately and re-enter the line calmly without losing any classroom time or taking any time away from the other students.
ReplyDeleteAnother strategy that I think is effective is allowing the kids to be in charge at times such as calling the students back to their chairs, or calling the students to line up. The reason this is effective is they rotate (so everyone gets a turn), and they are feeling a sense of leadership- everyone is respecting them and waiting to hear their name or their table color. It is also helpful to the teacher because she (or I) can begin to set up the next activity, or have a conversation with another student.
I will implement these things in my classroom. So far I really like all of her classroom management techniques!
It is helpful to read about these management techniques because I feel as if you can never have enough!
ReplyDeleteMy supervising teacher has wonderful techniques to support a positive learning environment. Like Abbey's class, we, too, have a marble jar. Anyone can earn a marble for 'smart thinking', 'teamwork' and 'bravery'. A marble is never taken out of the jar for bad behavior, the focus in our class is on the positive. When it is filled to the top, a 'marble party' is held. Students can vote on what the party will entail, but the teacher has the final say.
In our classroom, we also have 'social skills' of the week. Each skill is taught at the beginning of the week and immediately implemented, once explicitly taught. These skills have included QRS (question, response, and statement), bubble thoughts versus spoken thoughts, and glass half full versus half empty. The QRS skill was taught to remind students to ask questions, rather than stating their needs, like a toddler. For example, "I need a pencil" is now "Can you help me find a pencil?" Bubble thoughts and spoken thoughts are to remind students that they can think about whatever they want inside their brains, but some thoughts should not always be spoken (bubble thoughts). The glass half full was a skill on seeing the good in all things and focusing on what you have. These skills have all been taught, acted out and enforced, making the classroom a positive work place.
Walking in the hallways is sometimes hard to manage. We just started having a 'mystery walker' on some of our walks in the hall. A mystery walker is secretly chosen by the teacher before leaving the class. If the mystery walker demonstrates appropriate behavior and silently walks through the hall, he or she can put a marble in the jar. The whole class responds well to this strategy because they want to earn a marble and at any time, it could be one them. If the chosen mystery walker does not successfully walk down the hall, I do not give away the name, but I remind the students that the walker did not display appropriate behavior. We have acted out what is expected and what is not expected of them when walking down the hall.
For Julie:
ReplyDeleteI have really enjoyed reading the various posts above, because I feel like there are never enough classroom management techniques you can have up your sleeve.
Abbey, I'm wondering what will happen in your class when the marble jar is full? The first class I ever observed years ago had a marble jar and it was a great tactic for teaching the class about the importance of good behavior - though I can't remember what the reward was for filling the jar.
Ruthie, I love what you said about not taking the difficult behaviors of students, or their insults, personally. As teachers, I think an important rule to remember is that teachers should try very hard to show unconditional compassion, love and support to all students, regardless of their behaviors.
In our class, we have a jar with cotton balls that is labeled "Moments of Greatness" and when someone in the class does something of honorable mention, a cotton ball is added. I have to say though, I am a bit disappointed in the management style sometimes. Our class seems to have a great deal of unpredictability and a lack of solid rules. The classroom rules seem somewhat weak, and rarely ever are they enforced. My supervising teacher is a seasoned, well meaning teacher, but I think that so many things could be improved upon. We have no class signal, clap, or hand sign that gets the whole class' attention; the rules are out of sight, and barely visible to students (taped up high above the door and minimal time was spent creating them and discussing the rules); my ST is constantly complaining about the poor behavior of students in our class, yet she doesn't implement any changes, or consequences for students. I've only seen the "Moments of Greatness Jar" utilized twice since the first day of school. I'm a bit overwhelmed because sometimes our class works well together - and sometimes it is complete chaos. I'm hoping to incorporate something to help with behavior for my inquiry item, but want to do so without stepping on any toes.
Julie, would you feel comfortable referring to the rules when they are broken - or asking a child which rule he/she is not following? Don't do anything that would antagonize your teacher! Doing something for your inquiry question is a great idea!
ReplyDeleteClassroom management seems to be a bit difficult at times in my class. My supporting teacher's main classroom management strategy is ticket buckets. There are five different buckets, an orange, a red, a blue, a green and a yellow. There are two table per bucket (a total of four students for most and five for two). She randomly gives tickets when she notices them doing positive things. Such as doing their work without having to be reminded; listening the her the first time; following the rules; paying attention, etc. The last thing we do on Friday afternoon is count the tickets and all the students at the winning table are allowed to pick a prize from the prize bucket. None of the prizes are expensive. Unfortunately, I am not sure it has worked as well as she wanted or has in the past. We have yet to take a ticket out, but I hear she has in the past.
ReplyDeleteI love Kristen's strategy of a mystery walker. The hallways seem to be one of our biggest weakness' and the school seems to have a quiet in the hallways and bathrooms policy. I think that would be a great way to start. I also love the fact that you acted out the expected behavior. I think that would be very helpful.
Julie, sometimes our class works well together and sometimes it doesn't. I also think it depends on your threshold for chaos. Some teachers run a much more rigid classroom than others. It is all what you can handle.
The classroom management technique that my cooperating teacher uses is based on a whole-school respect core. The idea behind it is that when students act respectfully toward their peers and teachers they get to partake in the respect core party at the end of the term. Determination of who can attend the party is based on the number of “zeros” a student receives in a given term. A total of three terms make up the school year.
ReplyDeleteIn the classroom, my cooperating teacher has a “color chart” set up with each child’s name on it and three color cards in front of each child’s name. Every day students start on green. Students are asked to change their color to yellow if a teacher has to talk to them more than once to remind them to stop calling out etc… If students are already on a yellow card and continue to display behaviors that are disrespectful then they are asked to change their color to red, which means they get a slip that says, “I got a red card today. I feel _______.” They fill in the blank using an emotion to describe how they feel about the fact that they received a red card for the day, bring the slip home to have it signed by a parent, and then return it back to the teacher on the following day. When a student receives a red card they also get a zero on the “respect core chart” for that day. Violence and not completing homework are automatic red cards. If a student receives eight or more zeros in one term they can’t attend the respect core party at the end of the term. Unfortunately, there is already one student in our class who has eight zeros…all for hitting.
The color chart is effective with most children, but some students are unable to be successful in the classroom when a system that is so cut and dry is used without exceptions being made. For example, the student I referred to who already has eight zeros is very anxious and acts out on impulse constantly in the form of hitting classmates, particularly those whom he feels competition with. I’m not sure it will be possible for him to refrain from acting impulsively and hitting his classmates in order to not receive zeros on the respect core and be able to attend the party. I think maybe an alternative behavior management approach needs to be taken with him.
The one thing I would change about the color system is that I would make it possible for children to earn a green card back after getting on yellow. I would do this because oftentimes after they receive a yellow card, students get back on track with their behavior. However, if they make another bad decision throughout the entire course of the rest of the day then the next step is the red card and zero. I think that if students begin exhibiting more self-control after being put on yellow they should have the opportunity to redeem themselves.
I like your thoughts about giving back a better color! What else would you do differently?
DeleteThe teacher I am working with has said this years class is the most challenging one she has had yet. We are constantly working on new idea to keep them focused and not so chatty. It seems once we get a new idea it works great for a bit then stops working. We have a point system, similar to the marbles others are talking about. In the beginning of the year we add up each subject of the day including morning work and specials and then added how many days of school we had until Halloween. We decided that 100 points would be a good goal. If they reach 100 points the class will get a Halloween party which they really want since they don't normally get to dress up. They get points for each subject based on if they were good listeners, worked with with others, followed directions, etc. If the class as a whole is behaved well they get a point, when a couple people have to be asked multiple times the class does not get the point. This system is working okay, I think they get points to easily sometimes. When walking in the hall, we do Secret Star. One person is picked by the teacher before we leave our location. We keep this person in our head. If the class does not walk quietly then the Secret Star does not get their choice of cleaning up early, being the line leader something else special. So the whole class must work together to be quiet because they do not know who the secret star is and it might be them! We also carry tickets with us, this is a 3rd grade thing. If students are not behaving properly in the halls they get a ticket which must go home and be signed by a parent so they know that they were not behaving as expected.
ReplyDeleteI like these tactics that my teacher uses, but at times I do not think they are enforced or reinforced. For example very often the class walks through the halls well and then no secret star is announced so kids at times forget about the opportunity that they could get something special if walk down the hall quietly.
To quiet the class, we do "high 5". The teacher says give me a high 5, the students clap their hands and then raise one as if they are giving someone a high 5. Normally when they are chatty they need it to be done again and they all listen then. Recently since it is halloween time, we have been saying hocus pocus and the students respond back with we need focus. They like saying it and then afterwards they quiet down a bit and it just refocuses them and calms them down.
All of these tactics I think are great, I also really like the idea of having the green, yellow and red cards. It is something I might try. It is always good to have an arsenal of management tricks that you can try, no class will be the same and what works one year might not work another or even with in one year things could change and you need a new fresh strategy.
You certainly will need a host of strategies. You might keep a classroom management notebook, write them down with what works, why and what could be changed!
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