Classroom+Management


 * [|Great new resource from the Teaching Channel- a playlist of videos on classroom management]**


 * Click here for an Edutopia resource, including a video, on positive behavior management strategies **

[|Here's another Edutopia set of classroom management resources.]
by Melanie Quinn on http://www.choiceliteracy.com/public/1381.cfm
 * Coaching Beyond the Curriculum: Reframing Our Talk and Attitude Toward Difficult Students **

"Can Darren spend some time with you? He needs to take a break from our classroom right now." Translation: Darren is driving me crazy and I need a break from //him// so I can work to meet the needs of twenty plus other children.

This is how my morning began today - the last day of school before the holiday break. Our town had gotten a rare sprinkling of snow, we were heading into a long break and students, especially the challenging ones, were losing it throughout the building. I'm an instructional coach, so my plan was to take advantage of the holiday activities in classrooms and analyze some district assessment data in my office. Instead, I found myself trying to figure out Darren. I soon learned why his teacher Trisha had hit a wall with him.

I asked Darren why he was having trouble. He told me he could not remember because he had trouble with his short-term memory. Darren is in third grade and does not have short-term memory loss. I tried another tack. I asked him what would make him feel better. He replied not having to read or write or go to school at all. He much preferred to stay at home, watch television, play video games and not read or write. Another dead end, so I tried again. I asked him what kinds of books he likes. He enjoys science as well as search and rescue stories. An opportunity emerged when he began sharing elaborate ideas he had about a possible story he might write. But he caught himself and was quick to add he could not write stories because writing made his hand hurt. This child had an excuse and answer for every suggestion or solution I offered.

Deanna came to me recently and was distraught about three students. "I am just not connecting with them. I tutor them, I buy books for them, but they are still so difficult." Deanna was in a rut and blaming the kids. She works really hard, and was frustrated. To top it off, these three students were wrecking havoc on her entire classroom culture.
 * Moving from Irritation to Inquiry **

I asked teachers recently to reconsider their relationship with their most difficult students. What if instead of seeing them as the pains in the rears they rightfully are at times, we viewed them as research questions? I urged teachers to consider what would happen if their most difficult students were part of a teacher research question, and they systematically worked at building relationships with these children. Deanna's research question became: "What do we do with our barometer kids to engage them?" The term "barometer children" has been made popular by Gail Boushey and Joan Moser in their book [|The Daily Five]. Simply put, barometer children are those who determine the "weather" in the classroom. If they are having a bad day, it's a stormy one for the entire classroom community.

A recent journal entry and talk with Deanna revealed how she is reframing her talk and attitude with those difficult children. This change has profoundly changed her view of them. She writes: //I keep thinking about the barometer kids. Am I getting older, losing patience, have I lost my touch? Perhaps all three of these are part of the problem I am having. I have always prided myself on working with difficult and challenging children, but don't feel that way this year.// //I know relationships are important, At a staff meeting, Melanie asked us to think of an inquiry question. Just writing the question down on chart paper caused a shift to happen. I asked myself, was it me, or them, or both of us? The next day was like many of the others, but all of a sudden Nate was reading. I mean really reading. He was making predictions and asking questions, retelling what he had read, talking about his reading target goal. And not just Nate, but Andrea too. We had talked about what she had to do to become a better reader. They were so motivated. I wonder if it was a subtle or perhaps not so subtle change in me. I just know that I felt differently about these kids. I felt like we really had a relationship. When I see a kid try, I will do anything to help them. So now I am totally involved, which must mean that I wasn't before. I thought I had a relationship with them but apparently I didn't, because these kids are talking, writing me notes and READING!//

Deanna recently popped her head into my office. Her face lit up as she talked about her budding relationship with Andrea. Once an annoyance and frustration, Andrea is now writing and reading constantly. A lot of the writing is in the form of sweet notes she writes to her favorite teacher throughout the day.

Gail and Joan are right. Barometer kids absolutely dictate the weather and climate of your room. We can do a lot to prepare for the weather if we change our attitude about the storm.

Teacher Competence by Dr. Douglas Brooks on newteacherhelp.com

How is it that the same students can be disruptive with one teacher and then walk across the hall and sit quietly showing complete respect for a different teacher? Some teachers have enormous influence with students and others do not. In the early 1990’s I found myself trying to explain all the factors associated with student perceptions of teacher competence. The list is endless and confusing to the novice. So, I organized the variables into a model that I felt would help organize all the behaviors that effective teachers exhibit. They exhibit these behaviors to increase student achievement gains, produce engagement, gain cooperation and enjoy influence from students and their caregivers.

I called my organization the “Total Quality Learning Management Model.” Students are more likely to learn when they are engaged in instruction. Students are more likely to be engaged in instruction when they are cooperating. They are more likely to cooperate when the classroom teacher has influence over them. This influence is gained when students and caregivers perceive the teacher as providing quality service and being competent. Classroom teachers use three domains to appear competent and gain influence with students and caregivers: 1) classroom management; 2) instructional design and 3) interpersonal behavior. Teacher influence can be gained with parents starting weeks before the first day of school, and with students on the first day of school as they enter the classroom. My Total Quality Learning Management Model can be seen at the following website: [|http://performancepyramid.muohio.edu]. Open the site. Open the Performance Pyramid. Go to the “Shared Best Practices” section of the pyramid. Open the “Classroom Management” section and then open the “Building Management Plan” PowerPoint.

I was hired as an entry-year social studies teacher in a suburban middle school. I was a history major with no certification coursework. I did not have any methods coursework and had not student taught. My assignment was eighth grade social studies, remedial reading and one speech and drama class. I also agreed to coach three sports. I was tossed the room keys and told I would be observed in eight weeks. Good luck Mr. Brooks! There was no formal mentoring program. There was no research on the first days of school. I figured I had about a week to prove I was competent in a task I had never done. One week, or I would suffer the same fate as the teacher I was replacing. He was fired because he could not manage students!

On the first day of class, I asked my students who they thought was the best teacher in the building. Mr. Bender and Mr. Weller became my role models. I decided to use my planning period during the first week to watch them. When I saw how effective they were, I made the decision to mimic them. At school, I behaved just like them.


 * 1) They were accessible to students before and after school and class.
 * 2) They had a routine to start every class. Everybody was expected to be in his or her seats when the bell rang.
 * 3) They insisted on quiet when they were talking.
 * 4) They required students to raise their hands to ask or answer questions.
 * 5) They learned student names very quickly.
 * 6) They used extra-curricular activities like coaching to establish rapport with students outside the classroom.
 * 7) If there were problems, they used a firm, businesslike tone of voice.
 * 8) Justice was swift and appropriate. They handled everything themselves.
 * 9) They were quick to call home and discuss problems with parents.
 * 10) They were skillful instructional planners with lessons that featured student engagement.
 * 11) If a student became a day-to-day problem, they spent time with the student outside of class.
 * 12) Their tests were fair and they graded to motivate students.
 * 13) They ended their classes with a routine.
 * 14) The bell did not dismiss the class, they did.
 * 15) They genuinely liked the age level of students they were teaching.

In 1983, I received funding for a study to videotape and compare the behaviors of entry-year teachers with experienced, effective middle school teachers. I videotaped four novice and four experienced teachers on their first, second, tenth and twenty-eighth days of school. These tapes were the first video records ever made of teachers on the first days of school. This study was published in the May, 1985 issue of //Educational Leadership// and was entitled “The First Days of School.” David Berliner in his 1986 AERA Presidential Address “In Pursuit of the Expert Pedagogue” referenced this research. Harry Wong noticed my work and has included it in his book “The First Days of School.” If you have ever heard Harry Wong speak, you have probably heard him reference my research. I have taught and continue to teach classroom management courses in the Middle School and Adolescent certification programs at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio.

Fifteen years later, my “first day of school” tapes confirmed the behavior of Mr. Bender and Mr. Weller. These behaviors still work. I would invite you to read the blog on my website at [|http://performancepyramid.muohio.edu]. It includes over 100 cases of students describing the behaviors of their most outstanding teachers.

Dr. Douglas Brooks is a Professor in the School of Education, Health and Society at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio. He teaches undergraduate and graduate courses in classroom management.

Other Resources
[|Click here] for a link to a website with many ideas for classroom management. [|Click here] for a link to ideas for routines and procedures that can prevent off-task behavior and maximize learning time. [|Click here] for a Top Ten of classroom management strategies- a great list! [|Click here] for the National Education Association's (NEA) classroom management resource guide. [|Click here] for an interesting way to use classroom webpages and blogs to assist with classroom organization and management.