Friday, January 8, 2010
Involving Parents/ Guardians
It seems my colleagues share the same sentiments. Many of them have expressed similar frustrations. I feel like no one cares at home. Remember how it used to be? Parents used to care about their children.
Education used to be the number one priority. My students come to school sick, unfed and tired. How can I teach under these circumstances? I need parent involvement, but I don't know how to reach them. There's only so much I can do. I need the help of my (students') parents. The frustration shared was certainly felt by all, along with their professional goals and their main objectives.
Many parents have illusions about their children, the importance of grades versus learning, and the need to shelter children from consequences. By examining these illusions and practicing how to talk to parents beyond affective listening, teachers can build a bridge of understanding with parents that benefits students and language programs. Home-school relations are a growing concern for both teachers and parents. Time constraints sometimes prevent the timely, helpful contacts that enhance the mutual home and school awareness of children's academic and personal progress, and as children grow older, the connection between school and home becomes more difficult, although equally important to maintain. Two studies were conducted that explored the satisfaction of both parents and teachers with their accessibility to each other. Two common threads that were evident throughout was,
• How do you connect the professional background of the school with the home?
• How do you introduce a consistent approach to behavior management across a whole school, and mirror this within the home?
I now have the resources to go back and address old problems.
Education used to be the number one priority. My students come to school sick, unfed and tired. How can I teach under these circumstances? I need parent involvement, but I don't know how to reach them. There's only so much I can do. I need the help of my (students') parents. The frustration shared was certainly felt by all, along with their professional goals and their main objectives.
Many parents have illusions about their children, the importance of grades versus learning, and the need to shelter children from consequences. By examining these illusions and practicing how to talk to parents beyond affective listening, teachers can build a bridge of understanding with parents that benefits students and language programs. Home-school relations are a growing concern for both teachers and parents. Time constraints sometimes prevent the timely, helpful contacts that enhance the mutual home and school awareness of children's academic and personal progress, and as children grow older, the connection between school and home becomes more difficult, although equally important to maintain. Two studies were conducted that explored the satisfaction of both parents and teachers with their accessibility to each other. Two common threads that were evident throughout was,
• How do you connect the professional background of the school with the home?
• How do you introduce a consistent approach to behavior management across a whole school, and mirror this within the home?
I now have the resources to go back and address old problems.
Responding Effectively to Disruptive Student Behavior
When responding successfully to troublesome behavior in the classroom, for me it begins well before the behavior becomes disrupting. As the guiding force/teacher in the classroom it is my obligation to provide a safe, controlled, and organized environment in which all of my student can mature academically as well as socially. As a teacher/director it is my profession to insure that certain procedures are taken to prevent these behaviors from even happening. It is inevitable that no matter how much planning we do, we cannot account for all things that can and will happen in a classroom on a daily basis. Due to these unexpected behaviors I have compiled four strategies that will assist me in handling the trivial distractions prior to, and during the disruptive behavior. These strategies are: scanning the class frequently, clear and concise expectations, walk-bys and verbal cues.
In scanning the class frequently it gives me the ability to “notice and respond to a potential problem or minor disruption”, before it happens. (Jones and Jones, p. 336) As acknowledged previously by using this method it allows me to try and decelerate the situation before it gets out of hand. I was blessed with the ability to not stay in one place, so I am always making my way all around the classroom; I am unable to spend the period in one location. It is imperative to me that my students feel that I am trying to connect with each of them on a personal level. By doing this it creates a much more engaging setting for my students, which in turn cut down on “unwanted behaviors.” According to Jones and Jones, “when teachers responded immediately to a disruptive student behavior, students respond positively and immediately 76 percent of the time.” Being a math teacher you would think that I would sit down and do the calculations myself but that is not the case. However, in my opinion this strategy is effective in the fact that the students know that I am everywhere at all times, “I have eyes in the back of my head,” and also each and every student is important to me.
In addition to scanning, I like to use walk by’s. I use this method repeatedly in my classroom, since I meander around my classroom observing frequently. If I observe a student or students beginning to shift off task, or start to become disruptive, I find it effective to walk by the student or students without saying a word. Usually this type of strategy works the first time without a follow up. On rare occasions I may have to gently touch a shoulder to let the student know that I care about them and I want them to get back to the lesson at hand. “Interestingly, studies indicate that teachers who are willing to use a more personal, instructional approach to working with an inappropriate student behavior are rated more highly by their principals.” (Jones and Jones p. 325) “One way to demonstrate to students that you are capable and care about them in your ability to respond effectively to student disruptions of the learning environment, fewer behavior problems occur in schools where teachers take responsibility for helping students develop responsible behavior rather than making immediate referrals to administrator.”(Jones and Jones p.326)
The third strategy I like to use is the nonverbal cue. The nonverbal cue can be a number of different things, such as a face (look), a pointing of the finger or a particular gesture. Nonverbal communication is the most powerful form of communication. Nonverbal communication ranges from facial expression to body language. As long as my students and I are on the same page these cues should, and do, work in my classroom. Sometimes I use a face of surprise; this indicates to the student that I am surprised at the way he or she is behaving and that their behavior should be rectified. Of course in a no utopian environment things don’t always turn out the way you like. So I will also on occasion have a student who is disrupting other students, and with a quick point of the finger I will point at the rule poster. It can bring that student back into the lesson without a word, a nonverbal cue.
The last strategy I chose was the use of proximity control. This is a strategy that fits in nicely with my style of teaching. As I teach I am never in one spot I am always moving, so this strategy is very easy for me to employ. Using this strategy my student may be misbehaving and I can move closer and closer to him, the closeness depends on the behavior. The closer I become to the student, who is misbehaving, the more uncomfortable he becomes and normally the behavior stops.
It is my job as the educator/teacher/director/actor to keep my lessons flowing and to create a safe and successful learning surroundings. It is important to me to be able to use the strategies I spoke of in eliminating unnecessary distractions and behaviors. These strategies are tried and tested and are known to be successful and easy to use. These strategies usually meet with the least amount of conflict and are the least disturbing for my students. My lessons rarely miss a beat by using the above strategies which in turn lead to minimal distractions.
Now that we have acknowledged the disrupting behaviors and/or distractions, it is a whole new issue to implement problem solving into the classroom. It appears that “several studies have shown that, when combined with teaching students classroom and school behavior expectations, the use of problem solving can have a positive effect on student behavior.” (Jones and Jones p.366) After this week’s reading, Jones and Jones have presented many great ideas for problem solving in the classroom. For those trivial distractions they can be handled with the strategies that we spoke of already. But however those behaviors are not the only behaviors as teachers we encounter. What do we do if we have behaviors that need to be addressed and the student be shown how to appropriately handle the situation? It is our job to teach them to be problem solvers. I found, “Glasser’s Seven Steps to Effective Problem Solving” (Jones and Jones p.358), to be the most conducive to my teaching style. We must teach our students to adapt and literally teach themselves. Teach them to be problem solvers, innovators and creative entrepreneurs We must all be life long learners and not rely on archaic instructional models for learning and teaching.
I have an incident in mind that took place in my classroom this year, student A threw a calculator and hit student B in the side of the head while we were finishing up an activity. I immediately went over to student A and asked, “A, what happened just now?’ He replied, “nothing!” I said, A, could you please tell me what just happened to student B? He then said, “Salerno, I threw the calculator at B; I didn’t think it would really hit him.” I than asked student A if he thought that was an appropriate thing to do, he answered with a no. I than spoke to the other student and wrote a referral for student A. Hindsight, of course, is always twenty-twenty, but after reading this week’s text I feel that I could have and should have handled things differently.
According to the seven steps, I feel I followed the first three, but did not go any further. I stopped just short of working out a plan with my student. I feel that I just addressed the problem, not solved it. I did not teach my student how to handle this problem, work out a solution and then follow-up on the situation. Now looking back at the situation I believe that I was more focused on the fact that all the students were moving around at once, and the time that I would have taken to discuss the situation with my students and complete the rest of the seven steps would leave more opportunities for the rest of the class to be disruptive.
As educators’ in today’s society we are not only accountable for educating our students the content, but also social aspects and problem solving. These are just a few aspects that we as educators are responsible for. I would like to take Glasser’s seven steps back to my classroom this year and try to help my students become the problem solvers that I know they can be. This will not only help them in school, but in every aspect of their life. We all know how to make choices, but we all do not know how to problem solve.
As an educator, my ambition is to present my students with a encouraging and protected educational atmosphere in which all students are able to be successful. Victorious in life means being able to problem solve, not only in school, but in life. I believe by using Glasser’s seven steps, it will be an successful way for me to construct a plan to help my students become problem solvers.
I already have a warm personal relationship with my students so step one will be easy. I have a “positive relationship bank account”, with my students (Jones and Jones p.358) which will assist in step one of the problem solving. Step two I already adhere to, where I deal with the problem immediately. I than try to, “help the students consider their own behavior.” (Jones and Jones p.358) I feel that in my own classroom I need to include step three more thoroughly in which my students will become clear as to the procedure of problem solving. Step four and five go hand and hand, “work out a plan” and “make a commitment”. (Jones and Jones p.358) I need to practice these steps not only for myself, but for my students to make us all better problem solvers. The follow up can be as simple as me walking over to the student to see if the plan we came up with helped.
There are numerous new ideas that are in my mind for the new school year, but this by far is the most significant for my students. Problem solving will make it into every part of our student’s life, if I can be that educator that helps them to become better problem solvers than I feel as if I have done my job.
References
Jones, V., & Jones, L. (2007). Comprehensive classroom management: Creating communities of support and solving problems (Laureate Education, Inc., custom ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson.
In scanning the class frequently it gives me the ability to “notice and respond to a potential problem or minor disruption”, before it happens. (Jones and Jones, p. 336) As acknowledged previously by using this method it allows me to try and decelerate the situation before it gets out of hand. I was blessed with the ability to not stay in one place, so I am always making my way all around the classroom; I am unable to spend the period in one location. It is imperative to me that my students feel that I am trying to connect with each of them on a personal level. By doing this it creates a much more engaging setting for my students, which in turn cut down on “unwanted behaviors.” According to Jones and Jones, “when teachers responded immediately to a disruptive student behavior, students respond positively and immediately 76 percent of the time.” Being a math teacher you would think that I would sit down and do the calculations myself but that is not the case. However, in my opinion this strategy is effective in the fact that the students know that I am everywhere at all times, “I have eyes in the back of my head,” and also each and every student is important to me.
In addition to scanning, I like to use walk by’s. I use this method repeatedly in my classroom, since I meander around my classroom observing frequently. If I observe a student or students beginning to shift off task, or start to become disruptive, I find it effective to walk by the student or students without saying a word. Usually this type of strategy works the first time without a follow up. On rare occasions I may have to gently touch a shoulder to let the student know that I care about them and I want them to get back to the lesson at hand. “Interestingly, studies indicate that teachers who are willing to use a more personal, instructional approach to working with an inappropriate student behavior are rated more highly by their principals.” (Jones and Jones p. 325) “One way to demonstrate to students that you are capable and care about them in your ability to respond effectively to student disruptions of the learning environment, fewer behavior problems occur in schools where teachers take responsibility for helping students develop responsible behavior rather than making immediate referrals to administrator.”(Jones and Jones p.326)
The third strategy I like to use is the nonverbal cue. The nonverbal cue can be a number of different things, such as a face (look), a pointing of the finger or a particular gesture. Nonverbal communication is the most powerful form of communication. Nonverbal communication ranges from facial expression to body language. As long as my students and I are on the same page these cues should, and do, work in my classroom. Sometimes I use a face of surprise; this indicates to the student that I am surprised at the way he or she is behaving and that their behavior should be rectified. Of course in a no utopian environment things don’t always turn out the way you like. So I will also on occasion have a student who is disrupting other students, and with a quick point of the finger I will point at the rule poster. It can bring that student back into the lesson without a word, a nonverbal cue.
The last strategy I chose was the use of proximity control. This is a strategy that fits in nicely with my style of teaching. As I teach I am never in one spot I am always moving, so this strategy is very easy for me to employ. Using this strategy my student may be misbehaving and I can move closer and closer to him, the closeness depends on the behavior. The closer I become to the student, who is misbehaving, the more uncomfortable he becomes and normally the behavior stops.
It is my job as the educator/teacher/director/actor to keep my lessons flowing and to create a safe and successful learning surroundings. It is important to me to be able to use the strategies I spoke of in eliminating unnecessary distractions and behaviors. These strategies are tried and tested and are known to be successful and easy to use. These strategies usually meet with the least amount of conflict and are the least disturbing for my students. My lessons rarely miss a beat by using the above strategies which in turn lead to minimal distractions.
Now that we have acknowledged the disrupting behaviors and/or distractions, it is a whole new issue to implement problem solving into the classroom. It appears that “several studies have shown that, when combined with teaching students classroom and school behavior expectations, the use of problem solving can have a positive effect on student behavior.” (Jones and Jones p.366) After this week’s reading, Jones and Jones have presented many great ideas for problem solving in the classroom. For those trivial distractions they can be handled with the strategies that we spoke of already. But however those behaviors are not the only behaviors as teachers we encounter. What do we do if we have behaviors that need to be addressed and the student be shown how to appropriately handle the situation? It is our job to teach them to be problem solvers. I found, “Glasser’s Seven Steps to Effective Problem Solving” (Jones and Jones p.358), to be the most conducive to my teaching style. We must teach our students to adapt and literally teach themselves. Teach them to be problem solvers, innovators and creative entrepreneurs We must all be life long learners and not rely on archaic instructional models for learning and teaching.
I have an incident in mind that took place in my classroom this year, student A threw a calculator and hit student B in the side of the head while we were finishing up an activity. I immediately went over to student A and asked, “A, what happened just now?’ He replied, “nothing!” I said, A, could you please tell me what just happened to student B? He then said, “Salerno, I threw the calculator at B; I didn’t think it would really hit him.” I than asked student A if he thought that was an appropriate thing to do, he answered with a no. I than spoke to the other student and wrote a referral for student A. Hindsight, of course, is always twenty-twenty, but after reading this week’s text I feel that I could have and should have handled things differently.
According to the seven steps, I feel I followed the first three, but did not go any further. I stopped just short of working out a plan with my student. I feel that I just addressed the problem, not solved it. I did not teach my student how to handle this problem, work out a solution and then follow-up on the situation. Now looking back at the situation I believe that I was more focused on the fact that all the students were moving around at once, and the time that I would have taken to discuss the situation with my students and complete the rest of the seven steps would leave more opportunities for the rest of the class to be disruptive.
As educators’ in today’s society we are not only accountable for educating our students the content, but also social aspects and problem solving. These are just a few aspects that we as educators are responsible for. I would like to take Glasser’s seven steps back to my classroom this year and try to help my students become the problem solvers that I know they can be. This will not only help them in school, but in every aspect of their life. We all know how to make choices, but we all do not know how to problem solve.
As an educator, my ambition is to present my students with a encouraging and protected educational atmosphere in which all students are able to be successful. Victorious in life means being able to problem solve, not only in school, but in life. I believe by using Glasser’s seven steps, it will be an successful way for me to construct a plan to help my students become problem solvers.
I already have a warm personal relationship with my students so step one will be easy. I have a “positive relationship bank account”, with my students (Jones and Jones p.358) which will assist in step one of the problem solving. Step two I already adhere to, where I deal with the problem immediately. I than try to, “help the students consider their own behavior.” (Jones and Jones p.358) I feel that in my own classroom I need to include step three more thoroughly in which my students will become clear as to the procedure of problem solving. Step four and five go hand and hand, “work out a plan” and “make a commitment”. (Jones and Jones p.358) I need to practice these steps not only for myself, but for my students to make us all better problem solvers. The follow up can be as simple as me walking over to the student to see if the plan we came up with helped.
There are numerous new ideas that are in my mind for the new school year, but this by far is the most significant for my students. Problem solving will make it into every part of our student’s life, if I can be that educator that helps them to become better problem solvers than I feel as if I have done my job.
References
Jones, V., & Jones, L. (2007). Comprehensive classroom management: Creating communities of support and solving problems (Laureate Education, Inc., custom ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson.
Friday, January 8, 2010
PBIS : Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports.
This year I had the chance to be apart of a small groups of teachers and councilors to go for training so that we could implement PBIS at our school.
Numerous products are available for school personnel, parents, and care-providers, all with the promise of erasing targeted behaviors. Unfortunately, no magic wand single-handedly works to remove the barriers to learning that occur when behaviors are disrupting the learning community. The climate of each learning community is different; therefore, a one size fits all approach is less effective than interventions based on the needs of each school.
One of the foremost advances in school-wide discipline is the emphasis on school-wide systems of support that include proactive strategies for defining, teaching, and supporting appropriate student behaviors to create positive school environments. Instead of using a piecemeal approach of individual behavioral management plans, a continuum of positive behavior support for all students within a school is implemented in areas including the classroom and non-classroom settings (such as hallways, buses, and restrooms). Positive behavior support is an application of a behaviorally-based systems approach to enhance the capacity of schools, families, and communities to design effective environments that improve the link between research-validated practices and the environments in which teaching and learning occurs. Attention is focused on creating and sustaining primary (school-wide), secondary (classroom), and tertiary (individual) systems of support that improve lifestyle results (personal, health, social, family, work, recreation) for all children and youth by making targeted behaviors less effective, efficient, and relevant, and desired behavior more functional.
THIS WAS THE PRESENTATION THAT WAS GIVEN TO THE BOARD AT THE BEGINNING OF THE YEAR.
Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports is an educational philosophy that emphasizes proactive, preventative, positive strategies for dealing with challenging behaviors and improving the school climate. It is being used in the Hudson schools.
PBIS
Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports
Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS) is a
• Proactive school-wide approach to address challenging behaviors and improve the school climate
• Where socially-accepted behavioral guidelines are identified, taught, regularly practiced and positively reinforced in a consistent manner throughout classroom and non-classroom settings.
The discipline strategies used most often are the least effective:
• Punishment
• Exclusion
• counseling
Negative Reinforcement Paradigm
• Students’ disruptive behavior is negatively reinforced by removal of the academic task (or removal of student).
• Teachers are negatively reinforced by removal of the disruptive behaviors (changing task or removing student).
Four Challenges Facing Schools Today
1. Doing more with less
2. Educating increasing numbers of students who are more different from each other than similar to each other
3. Educating students with severe problem behavior
4. Creating “host environments” or systems that enable adoption and sustained use of effective practices
Context of the Problem
• High rates of problem behavior in schools
• Inconsistent approach to problem solving
• Data is seldom used when making decisions
• Lack of positive support for students, staff and parents
• Failure to adopt, adapts, & sustains research validated practices
• Failure to include entire school community (families, students, staff/faculty) in planning and Implementation
Proactive Responses
Effective approaches include:
* PRO- Social skills training
* Academic/curricular restructuring
* Positive behavioral interventions
-----create expectations
-----define
-----instruct
-----practice
-----reinforce, reinforce, reinforce
(Gottfredson, 1997; Lipsey, 1991; 1992; Lipsey & Wilson, 1993; Tolan & Guerra,
1994)
What does this mean? Putting systems in place that are:
1. Proactive vs. Reactive
2. Based on Prevention not Intervention
3. Positive not Punitive
4. Effective not just preferred
5. Efficient not Complicated
Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports “PBIS” is a research-based systems approach designed to enhance the capacity of schools to…
(Lewis & Sugai, 1999; Sugai et al., 1999 Sugai & Horner, 1994, 1999;)
* effectively educate all students, including students with challenging social behaviors
* adopt and sustain the use of effective instructional practices
School-wide Positive Behavior Support: Current Implementation
• School-wide Positive Behavior Support
• 7500 schools in 44 states
• Team
• Coach
• Curriculum emphasizing prevention: Define and teach appropriate social behavior to all students
• Formal system for rewarding appropriate behavior
• Intensive, individual interventions based on behavioral function
• On-going data collection and use of data for active decision-making
PBIS is…
• It’s a data-based systems-approach to preventing problem behavior… Not specific practice or curriculum.
• It’s for all students… Not limited to any particular group of students.
• It’s based on long history of behavioral practices, effective instructional design and strategies…Not new.
• It’s individualized to the unique features of the school; culturally relevant ….Not prescriptive.
Summary of PBIS “BIG IDEAS”
1. Systems (How things are done)
- Team based problem solving
- Data-based decision making
- Long term sustainability
2. Data (How decisions are made)
- On going data collection & use
- ODR’s (# per day per month, location, behavior, student)
- Suspension/expulsion, attendance, tardiness
3. Practices (How staff interacts with students)
- Direct teaching of behavioral expectations
- On-going reinforcement of expected behaviors
- Functional behavioral assessment
What does PBIS look like in a school building?
• Expectations directly taught to students, practiced and reinforced
• Shared decision making, open communication w/ staff, students, families and community agencies
• Consistency in student - adult interactions
• School-wide focus on prevention
• Efficient and effective responses to problem behaviors
• School-wide data collection, analysis and use
Keys to Successful PBIS Implementation
• Active Administrative Support
• 80% Staff Buy-in
• Data-driven Decisions
• Staff Input
• Feedback to Staff
• Family and Community Involvement
School teams and key players
• 1st year- establish a universal team
• 2nd year-establish a targeted team (some schools use CST/IST)
• 3rd year-establish an intensive team involving collaboration with community agencies
• Each team needs two family representatives
• Administrative involvement and leadership is essential
• Internal PBIS Coach (at least one per school)
• External PBIS Coach (BOCES)
Steps of Data Collection, Analysis, and Use
1. Identify sources of information and data
– Office discipline referrals
– Attendance, tardiness
– Detentions, in‐school‐suspensions, out‐of‐school suspensions, expulsions
– Academic performance (class work, homework, grades, classroom tests)
– EBS/PBIS survey
– TIC Team Implementation Checklist
– SET Systems‐wide Evaluation Tool
Steps of Data Collection, Analysis, and Use
2. Summarize/Organize Data
The Big 5 Graphs to be collected and reviewed monthly at the Universal Team Meeting:
---Average # of referrals per day by month
---Referrals by Problem behavior
---Referrals by Location
---Referrals by Time of day
---Referrals by Individual student
---Steps of Data Collection, Analysis, and Use
3. Continual Data Analysis
4. Build action plan based on data trends
PBIS Commitment Agreement
• PBIS 1 of top 3 school improvement goals
• Active administrative leadership
• Representative PBIS team
• Team meets 1-3 times per month
• PBIS Team Coach
• Team attends all trainings
• Team uses and submits TIC and other tools/data to consultant
• Team collects and uses building data for decision making
Long Term Goals of PBIS
Increase academic achievement
Increase high school completion rates
Decrease classification rates for special education
Decrease out of school and out of district placements
PBIS
Commitment Agreement
• PBIS 1 of top 3 school improvement goals
• Active administrative leadership
• Representative PBIS team
• Team meets 1-3 times per month
• PBIS Team Coach
• Team attends all trainings
• Team uses and submits TIC and other tools/data to consultant
• Team collects and uses building data for decision making
Online Resources
• www.pbis.org
• www.partnershipschools.org
• www.swis.org
• www.pbisillinois.org
• www.beachcenter.org
• www.pbismaryland.org
• www.interventioncentral.org
• www.behavioradvisor.com
• www.ed.gov
Right now we are in the data collection data so we haven’t gotten that far, but thus far I am seeing positive behavior in our students.
Numerous products are available for school personnel, parents, and care-providers, all with the promise of erasing targeted behaviors. Unfortunately, no magic wand single-handedly works to remove the barriers to learning that occur when behaviors are disrupting the learning community. The climate of each learning community is different; therefore, a one size fits all approach is less effective than interventions based on the needs of each school.
One of the foremost advances in school-wide discipline is the emphasis on school-wide systems of support that include proactive strategies for defining, teaching, and supporting appropriate student behaviors to create positive school environments. Instead of using a piecemeal approach of individual behavioral management plans, a continuum of positive behavior support for all students within a school is implemented in areas including the classroom and non-classroom settings (such as hallways, buses, and restrooms). Positive behavior support is an application of a behaviorally-based systems approach to enhance the capacity of schools, families, and communities to design effective environments that improve the link between research-validated practices and the environments in which teaching and learning occurs. Attention is focused on creating and sustaining primary (school-wide), secondary (classroom), and tertiary (individual) systems of support that improve lifestyle results (personal, health, social, family, work, recreation) for all children and youth by making targeted behaviors less effective, efficient, and relevant, and desired behavior more functional.
THIS WAS THE PRESENTATION THAT WAS GIVEN TO THE BOARD AT THE BEGINNING OF THE YEAR.
Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports is an educational philosophy that emphasizes proactive, preventative, positive strategies for dealing with challenging behaviors and improving the school climate. It is being used in the Hudson schools.
PBIS
Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports
Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS) is a
• Proactive school-wide approach to address challenging behaviors and improve the school climate
• Where socially-accepted behavioral guidelines are identified, taught, regularly practiced and positively reinforced in a consistent manner throughout classroom and non-classroom settings.
The discipline strategies used most often are the least effective:
• Punishment
• Exclusion
• counseling
Negative Reinforcement Paradigm
• Students’ disruptive behavior is negatively reinforced by removal of the academic task (or removal of student).
• Teachers are negatively reinforced by removal of the disruptive behaviors (changing task or removing student).
Four Challenges Facing Schools Today
1. Doing more with less
2. Educating increasing numbers of students who are more different from each other than similar to each other
3. Educating students with severe problem behavior
4. Creating “host environments” or systems that enable adoption and sustained use of effective practices
Context of the Problem
• High rates of problem behavior in schools
• Inconsistent approach to problem solving
• Data is seldom used when making decisions
• Lack of positive support for students, staff and parents
• Failure to adopt, adapts, & sustains research validated practices
• Failure to include entire school community (families, students, staff/faculty) in planning and Implementation
Proactive Responses
Effective approaches include:
* PRO- Social skills training
* Academic/curricular restructuring
* Positive behavioral interventions
-----create expectations
-----define
-----instruct
-----practice
-----reinforce, reinforce, reinforce
(Gottfredson, 1997; Lipsey, 1991; 1992; Lipsey & Wilson, 1993; Tolan & Guerra,
1994)
What does this mean? Putting systems in place that are:
1. Proactive vs. Reactive
2. Based on Prevention not Intervention
3. Positive not Punitive
4. Effective not just preferred
5. Efficient not Complicated
Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports “PBIS” is a research-based systems approach designed to enhance the capacity of schools to…
(Lewis & Sugai, 1999; Sugai et al., 1999 Sugai & Horner, 1994, 1999;)
* effectively educate all students, including students with challenging social behaviors
* adopt and sustain the use of effective instructional practices
School-wide Positive Behavior Support: Current Implementation
• School-wide Positive Behavior Support
• 7500 schools in 44 states
• Team
• Coach
• Curriculum emphasizing prevention: Define and teach appropriate social behavior to all students
• Formal system for rewarding appropriate behavior
• Intensive, individual interventions based on behavioral function
• On-going data collection and use of data for active decision-making
PBIS is…
• It’s a data-based systems-approach to preventing problem behavior… Not specific practice or curriculum.
• It’s for all students… Not limited to any particular group of students.
• It’s based on long history of behavioral practices, effective instructional design and strategies…Not new.
• It’s individualized to the unique features of the school; culturally relevant ….Not prescriptive.
Summary of PBIS “BIG IDEAS”
1. Systems (How things are done)
- Team based problem solving
- Data-based decision making
- Long term sustainability
2. Data (How decisions are made)
- On going data collection & use
- ODR’s (# per day per month, location, behavior, student)
- Suspension/expulsion, attendance, tardiness
3. Practices (How staff interacts with students)
- Direct teaching of behavioral expectations
- On-going reinforcement of expected behaviors
- Functional behavioral assessment
What does PBIS look like in a school building?
• Expectations directly taught to students, practiced and reinforced
• Shared decision making, open communication w/ staff, students, families and community agencies
• Consistency in student - adult interactions
• School-wide focus on prevention
• Efficient and effective responses to problem behaviors
• School-wide data collection, analysis and use
Keys to Successful PBIS Implementation
• Active Administrative Support
• 80% Staff Buy-in
• Data-driven Decisions
• Staff Input
• Feedback to Staff
• Family and Community Involvement
School teams and key players
• 1st year- establish a universal team
• 2nd year-establish a targeted team (some schools use CST/IST)
• 3rd year-establish an intensive team involving collaboration with community agencies
• Each team needs two family representatives
• Administrative involvement and leadership is essential
• Internal PBIS Coach (at least one per school)
• External PBIS Coach (BOCES)
Steps of Data Collection, Analysis, and Use
1. Identify sources of information and data
– Office discipline referrals
– Attendance, tardiness
– Detentions, in‐school‐suspensions, out‐of‐school suspensions, expulsions
– Academic performance (class work, homework, grades, classroom tests)
– EBS/PBIS survey
– TIC Team Implementation Checklist
– SET Systems‐wide Evaluation Tool
Steps of Data Collection, Analysis, and Use
2. Summarize/Organize Data
The Big 5 Graphs to be collected and reviewed monthly at the Universal Team Meeting:
---Average # of referrals per day by month
---Referrals by Problem behavior
---Referrals by Location
---Referrals by Time of day
---Referrals by Individual student
---Steps of Data Collection, Analysis, and Use
3. Continual Data Analysis
4. Build action plan based on data trends
PBIS Commitment Agreement
• PBIS 1 of top 3 school improvement goals
• Active administrative leadership
• Representative PBIS team
• Team meets 1-3 times per month
• PBIS Team Coach
• Team attends all trainings
• Team uses and submits TIC and other tools/data to consultant
• Team collects and uses building data for decision making
Long Term Goals of PBIS
Increase academic achievement
Increase high school completion rates
Decrease classification rates for special education
Decrease out of school and out of district placements
PBIS
Commitment Agreement
• PBIS 1 of top 3 school improvement goals
• Active administrative leadership
• Representative PBIS team
• Team meets 1-3 times per month
• PBIS Team Coach
• Team attends all trainings
• Team uses and submits TIC and other tools/data to consultant
• Team collects and uses building data for decision making
Online Resources
• www.pbis.org
• www.partnershipschools.org
• www.swis.org
• www.pbisillinois.org
• www.beachcenter.org
• www.pbismaryland.org
• www.interventioncentral.org
• www.behavioradvisor.com
• www.ed.gov
Right now we are in the data collection data so we haven’t gotten that far, but thus far I am seeing positive behavior in our students.
Friday, January 8, 2010
Individual Behavior Change Plans
I have been a teacher for the past six year and I have not had a difficult time with any student. At times, it is challenging but I have a grab bag of ideas to deal with behavior students that will benefit the class, the student and the teacher.
Behavior Plans for Students
Give them a variety of situations to help in the classroom. Have them run errands in the middle of class even if they are not necessary such as returning library books. Behavior students want to help and often have a great deal of restless energy. You may also have them assist in telling students to get ready for a new task. Behavior students seem to love to have some authority.
Work on a points system and give behavior students something they would appreciate. Pencils and candies become old quite quickly. If the misbehaving student is the class clown allow them five minutes before the end of the day to entertain the class. Students will appreciate it and they are more willing to follow the rule. Jim Carey was the class clown who was given time at the end of the day to entertain his classmates.
Allow all students to work with a variety of mediums in all classes. Allow math manipulatives to be used or for students to create an experiment. Often students who misbehave are bored, do not understand the directions, or the task is too difficult. Also, allow the students to work in pairs or small groups. If a student is unable to work well with someone have them partner with you so you are able to demonstrate how to work well with other students. Peers have enormous influence and many students work well with each other.
Create an environment that is respectful of all. If the classroom is rigid and errors are not acceptable, a poor student is more willing to be the class clown because they do not want to be ridiculed about their education level. It is vital to create a safe environment for all and have consequences and incentives laid out for all students. It is best for the class to problem solve the best consequences and incentives for showing or not showing respect.
Misbehaving students are great students one on one, in groups they become uncomfortable and are trying to show their strength and there only avenue is by demonstrating unacceptable behavior. Teach the student how to shift the unacceptable behavior to acceptable behavior. It is worth the time.
It isn’t until I try all of these ideas that I sit down and create a individual behavior plan for a particular student, as we create our check list of requirements then I have the students sign a contract so that both the student and I are aware of what is expected then the contract and the IBP is mailed home for the parent or guardian can sign and return.
A few years ago I wanted to create a rubric that I could follow, I located one that had some things that I would have liked to have in the rubric I was creating, after altering a few that I located I created this one. Hope it helps a little bit.
Reference:
Laureate Education, Inc. (Executive Producer). (2008). Creating an effective classroom learning environment [Educational video]. Baltimore: Author.
Jones V., & Jones L. (2007) Comprehensive Classroom Management: Creating Communities of Support and Solving Problems. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson.
Behavior Plans for Students
Give them a variety of situations to help in the classroom. Have them run errands in the middle of class even if they are not necessary such as returning library books. Behavior students want to help and often have a great deal of restless energy. You may also have them assist in telling students to get ready for a new task. Behavior students seem to love to have some authority.
Work on a points system and give behavior students something they would appreciate. Pencils and candies become old quite quickly. If the misbehaving student is the class clown allow them five minutes before the end of the day to entertain the class. Students will appreciate it and they are more willing to follow the rule. Jim Carey was the class clown who was given time at the end of the day to entertain his classmates.
Allow all students to work with a variety of mediums in all classes. Allow math manipulatives to be used or for students to create an experiment. Often students who misbehave are bored, do not understand the directions, or the task is too difficult. Also, allow the students to work in pairs or small groups. If a student is unable to work well with someone have them partner with you so you are able to demonstrate how to work well with other students. Peers have enormous influence and many students work well with each other.
Create an environment that is respectful of all. If the classroom is rigid and errors are not acceptable, a poor student is more willing to be the class clown because they do not want to be ridiculed about their education level. It is vital to create a safe environment for all and have consequences and incentives laid out for all students. It is best for the class to problem solve the best consequences and incentives for showing or not showing respect.
Misbehaving students are great students one on one, in groups they become uncomfortable and are trying to show their strength and there only avenue is by demonstrating unacceptable behavior. Teach the student how to shift the unacceptable behavior to acceptable behavior. It is worth the time.
It isn’t until I try all of these ideas that I sit down and create a individual behavior plan for a particular student, as we create our check list of requirements then I have the students sign a contract so that both the student and I are aware of what is expected then the contract and the IBP is mailed home for the parent or guardian can sign and return.
A few years ago I wanted to create a rubric that I could follow, I located one that had some things that I would have liked to have in the rubric I was creating, after altering a few that I located I created this one. Hope it helps a little bit.
Reference:
Laureate Education, Inc. (Executive Producer). (2008). Creating an effective classroom learning environment [Educational video]. Baltimore: Author.
Jones V., & Jones L. (2007) Comprehensive Classroom Management: Creating Communities of Support and Solving Problems. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson.
Friday, January 8, 2010
Models of Discipline
In the "Models of Discipline" video program, Dr. Charles Wolfgang advises that teacher's use a discipline approach in which they respond to rule violations with different "faces". These faces range from a low-level demonstration of teacher power (the Responding-Listening face) to a high-level demonstration of teacher power (the Rules-Consequences face). Dr. Wolfgang suggests that when teachers select a "face that corresponds to the students" level of misbehavior, students are more likely to respond positively to that intervention and future teacher interactions. Even though I believe that I where both hats I would have to say that I am more of the Responding-Listening face. I feel that before I jump off the handle I would like to give my students the benefit of the doubt. I much rather sit down and discuss the situation without there be any negative confrontations. I expect my students to be responsible for their own actions and give them the opportunity to rectify the situation on their own without there being a large disruption in the middle of class.
There was a time this year where there was a student that I have had over the last three years and I have never had problems with him in the past. But this particular time this student was unprepared for class, talkative, and confrontational with fellow students. It got to the point that I had to kick the student out and called the office and told them I would be down to talk to the student by the end of the period. By time I got down to the office I was informed that this student received 4 referrals already that day, so in lieu of writing another I wanted to sit down and discuss the situation. It turned out that his mother was in the hospital with Preeclampsia and that he was worried about his mother. I find it hard to believe that none of his other teachers did talk to him about his behavior in lieu of writing a referral. In the end his mother was fine and he became a big brother. I am glad that I took the time to talk to him about his behavior instead of making an assumption.
Resources:
Laureate Education, Inc. (Executive Producer). (2008). Creating an effective classroom learning environment. Models of Discipline. Baltimore: Author.
There was a time this year where there was a student that I have had over the last three years and I have never had problems with him in the past. But this particular time this student was unprepared for class, talkative, and confrontational with fellow students. It got to the point that I had to kick the student out and called the office and told them I would be down to talk to the student by the end of the period. By time I got down to the office I was informed that this student received 4 referrals already that day, so in lieu of writing another I wanted to sit down and discuss the situation. It turned out that his mother was in the hospital with Preeclampsia and that he was worried about his mother. I find it hard to believe that none of his other teachers did talk to him about his behavior in lieu of writing a referral. In the end his mother was fine and he became a big brother. I am glad that I took the time to talk to him about his behavior instead of making an assumption.
Resources:
Laureate Education, Inc. (Executive Producer). (2008). Creating an effective classroom learning environment. Models of Discipline. Baltimore: Author.
Classroom Management Through Engaging Instruction
Engagement is an important subject in teaching because it effects how much our students learn from day to day. Superiority learning depends very much on a student’s interest and a teacher’s knack to create a motivating environment. As a teacher I can say that it is a major struggle to hold the attention of students, therefore it is essential to devise strategies that encourage student engagement. Jones and Jones (2007) describe 12 “student academic needs that, when met, enhance student motivation and achievement” (p. 249). I have chosen six academic needs that I would like to focus on for my students, so that I can make their learning experience more engaging. By addressing instructional strategies that support our students academic needs I believe that student’s motivation will increase, and in lieu their overall achievements will be more astronomical.
Academic Need #1: Be actively involved in the learning process.
“Although we cannot always meet our student’s academic needs, student motivation and achievements will be enhanced by actively involving them in the learning process,” (Jones & Jones, p. 256) on a daily bases. An instructional strategy that I would like to implement to more actively involve students is the co-teaching strategy. I could do this as a review activity by giving students a topic or concept that we already covered. First, students would be broken in to small groups, four students at the most. Once the groups are given their topic they will decide in which manor they would like to re-teach/review the concept. Students will as a group review/re-teach in a co-teaching format in front of the class. Sometimes it takes a fellow student to break down a concept or topic for them to grasp the idea. I think this would work out well, as I am always telling my students that there is more than one way to introduce or even solve a problem. This strategy would allow students to see how to teach a concept themselves and hopefully they will be more likely to participate in the future.
Academic Need #2: Have learning goals related to their own interests and choices.
“While we have come a long way in allowing students academic freedom, many students still find that the content of their schoolwork provides them with little opportunity to examine issues important to them or to study content related to and respectful of their cultural heritage” (Jones & Jones, p. 257). When instructional methods supportive of students’ special interests and needs are implemented, “students who have a history of somewhat low achievement can be very successful” (Jones & Jones, p. 257). One strategy that I would like to is make my students actually part of the math. One thing that I lucked out on is the fact that you can bring any real life situations into the classroom and create a math problem around it. For example candy bars, every student loves some form of candy. As a class we can create a list of students that like a particular type of candy, and the use the list to create lessons that relate to these interests. Something as simple as graphing information collected and showing the results for their favorite candy. Using the same data they can not only graph the information but find the mean, median, and mode of the data or comparing the ratios of chocolate candy to hard candy. It doesn’t matter exactly what the data is just that it relates to the students’ lives in some form or another. Using a personal connection might stimulate student interest in completing the task.
Academic Need #3: Receive instruction matched to their learning styles and strengths.
“Teachers can increase students’ motivation and success by responding effectively to students’ learning styles” (Jones & Jones, p. 268). Not all people learn the same way. Some learn best by seeing, others by hearing, and many by using the hands on approach. Employing individual goal setting, self-monitoring, and contract would be a great addition to my classroom. I just went to a workshop on Project Based Learning, Project Based learning is a dynamic approach to teaching in which students explore real-world problems and challenges. With this type of dynamic and engaged learning, students are encouraged to achieve a deeper knowledge of the subjects they're studying. Over the course of the project the students are requires to monitor their own progress, they need to ask themselves what they are doing well, why it is working, and what still needs to be done. When the students are finished with the project they once again evaluate their performance. In the end they need to ask themselves what they learned, what parts they did well and how they can improve for the next project. The students always are their worst critic and when they are in control of their own learning they are very critical of their own work. Since I restructured some of my units I found that they general setup of my classroom has changed, it wasn’t a teacher centered class but a student centered one. They were exploring on their own when learning different math concepts and when I introduced the project based learning, the students will take control of their group members and their own learning. This is great for students that need structure and concrete proof to improve motivation. This is how we create leaders instead of followers, they are responsible for their own actions and learning and that is worth more to them then any material things. They "value their goals" (Jones & Jones, 2007)
Academic Need #4: Experience success
“Success experiences are instrumental in developing feelings of self-worth and confidence in attempting new activities“ (Jones & Jones, p. 280). “It is through achievement that academic self-confidence grows, and increased confidence in turn promotes achievement through inspiring further learning” (Covington & Beery, 1976, p. 5). I believe that it is critical that all students experience success in the classroom, students need to be able to walk into the room and feel nothing but positivity and encouragement. Teaching math, I encounter students that walk into my room already feeling like they can not do it. Once the student connects the topic with bad memories it is my job to address that before we can even move onto the math concepts. One strategy I would like to put into practice in my classroom is to differentiate the way that students demonstrate their understanding of a topic by using learning logs and journals. Allowing students to demonstrate their understanding through means other than text and quizzes we are taking away the pressure that goes along with taking formal tests. Just taking that pressure off the students will go a long way in helping these students gain self-confidence. Students would still be expected to apply the knowledge of the content, only in a format that is beneficial to their success.
Academic Need #5: Be involved in self-evaluating their learning and effort.
“Involving students in self-evaluation provides students with opportunities to understand their academic performance better and to experience a sense of personal responsibility” (Jones & Jones, p. 289). In an effort to help students in this area, I would like to have each student establish a list of personal learning goals and track their progress. At the beginning of every year an Principal that is no longer with us would call the students one by one down to his office so that they could create a goal sheet. Since these lists would be individualized, students can maintain focus on their own goals which may be different than the goals of their peers. Students will be able to see their progress, which according to Jones and Jones, is the “most effective and honest motivational strategy” (p. 289). Also now that I am implementing Project Based Learning the students will be taking control of their own actions and learning at the onset of the year, and each unit.
Academic Need #6: Experience a supportive, safe, well-organized learning environment.
“Given the number of students who come from home environments characterized by a lack of support, safety, and consistency, it is imperative that teachers develop classroom environments characterized by supportive relationships and clear structure” (Jones & Jones, p. 292). When our students feel safe and comfortable in our room they are more likely to do well, their judgments have improved and their choices are more conducive to learning. I believe that a key component in creating a safe and comfortable environment for students is developing positive student-teacher relationships. Just like the good book says, treat others like you would be treated, to receive respect from our students we must give it in return. I am not saying let them walk all over you but you need to for a relationship that is built on respect, and appropriate behavior.
By implementing strategies such as these that support students’ academic needs, I hope to engage students more fully in the learning process. By addressing instructional strategies that support our students academic needs I believe that student’s motivation will increase, and in lieu their overall achievements will be more astronomical.
References
Covington, M., & Beery, R. (1976). Self-worth and school learning. New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston.
Jones, V., & Jones, L. (2007). Comprehensive classroom management: Creating communities of support and solving problems (Laureate Education, Inc., custom ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson.
Academic Need #1: Be actively involved in the learning process.
“Although we cannot always meet our student’s academic needs, student motivation and achievements will be enhanced by actively involving them in the learning process,” (Jones & Jones, p. 256) on a daily bases. An instructional strategy that I would like to implement to more actively involve students is the co-teaching strategy. I could do this as a review activity by giving students a topic or concept that we already covered. First, students would be broken in to small groups, four students at the most. Once the groups are given their topic they will decide in which manor they would like to re-teach/review the concept. Students will as a group review/re-teach in a co-teaching format in front of the class. Sometimes it takes a fellow student to break down a concept or topic for them to grasp the idea. I think this would work out well, as I am always telling my students that there is more than one way to introduce or even solve a problem. This strategy would allow students to see how to teach a concept themselves and hopefully they will be more likely to participate in the future.
Academic Need #2: Have learning goals related to their own interests and choices.
“While we have come a long way in allowing students academic freedom, many students still find that the content of their schoolwork provides them with little opportunity to examine issues important to them or to study content related to and respectful of their cultural heritage” (Jones & Jones, p. 257). When instructional methods supportive of students’ special interests and needs are implemented, “students who have a history of somewhat low achievement can be very successful” (Jones & Jones, p. 257). One strategy that I would like to is make my students actually part of the math. One thing that I lucked out on is the fact that you can bring any real life situations into the classroom and create a math problem around it. For example candy bars, every student loves some form of candy. As a class we can create a list of students that like a particular type of candy, and the use the list to create lessons that relate to these interests. Something as simple as graphing information collected and showing the results for their favorite candy. Using the same data they can not only graph the information but find the mean, median, and mode of the data or comparing the ratios of chocolate candy to hard candy. It doesn’t matter exactly what the data is just that it relates to the students’ lives in some form or another. Using a personal connection might stimulate student interest in completing the task.
Academic Need #3: Receive instruction matched to their learning styles and strengths.
“Teachers can increase students’ motivation and success by responding effectively to students’ learning styles” (Jones & Jones, p. 268). Not all people learn the same way. Some learn best by seeing, others by hearing, and many by using the hands on approach. Employing individual goal setting, self-monitoring, and contract would be a great addition to my classroom. I just went to a workshop on Project Based Learning, Project Based learning is a dynamic approach to teaching in which students explore real-world problems and challenges. With this type of dynamic and engaged learning, students are encouraged to achieve a deeper knowledge of the subjects they're studying. Over the course of the project the students are requires to monitor their own progress, they need to ask themselves what they are doing well, why it is working, and what still needs to be done. When the students are finished with the project they once again evaluate their performance. In the end they need to ask themselves what they learned, what parts they did well and how they can improve for the next project. The students always are their worst critic and when they are in control of their own learning they are very critical of their own work. Since I restructured some of my units I found that they general setup of my classroom has changed, it wasn’t a teacher centered class but a student centered one. They were exploring on their own when learning different math concepts and when I introduced the project based learning, the students will take control of their group members and their own learning. This is great for students that need structure and concrete proof to improve motivation. This is how we create leaders instead of followers, they are responsible for their own actions and learning and that is worth more to them then any material things. They "value their goals" (Jones & Jones, 2007)
Academic Need #4: Experience success
“Success experiences are instrumental in developing feelings of self-worth and confidence in attempting new activities“ (Jones & Jones, p. 280). “It is through achievement that academic self-confidence grows, and increased confidence in turn promotes achievement through inspiring further learning” (Covington & Beery, 1976, p. 5). I believe that it is critical that all students experience success in the classroom, students need to be able to walk into the room and feel nothing but positivity and encouragement. Teaching math, I encounter students that walk into my room already feeling like they can not do it. Once the student connects the topic with bad memories it is my job to address that before we can even move onto the math concepts. One strategy I would like to put into practice in my classroom is to differentiate the way that students demonstrate their understanding of a topic by using learning logs and journals. Allowing students to demonstrate their understanding through means other than text and quizzes we are taking away the pressure that goes along with taking formal tests. Just taking that pressure off the students will go a long way in helping these students gain self-confidence. Students would still be expected to apply the knowledge of the content, only in a format that is beneficial to their success.
Academic Need #5: Be involved in self-evaluating their learning and effort.
“Involving students in self-evaluation provides students with opportunities to understand their academic performance better and to experience a sense of personal responsibility” (Jones & Jones, p. 289). In an effort to help students in this area, I would like to have each student establish a list of personal learning goals and track their progress. At the beginning of every year an Principal that is no longer with us would call the students one by one down to his office so that they could create a goal sheet. Since these lists would be individualized, students can maintain focus on their own goals which may be different than the goals of their peers. Students will be able to see their progress, which according to Jones and Jones, is the “most effective and honest motivational strategy” (p. 289). Also now that I am implementing Project Based Learning the students will be taking control of their own actions and learning at the onset of the year, and each unit.
Academic Need #6: Experience a supportive, safe, well-organized learning environment.
“Given the number of students who come from home environments characterized by a lack of support, safety, and consistency, it is imperative that teachers develop classroom environments characterized by supportive relationships and clear structure” (Jones & Jones, p. 292). When our students feel safe and comfortable in our room they are more likely to do well, their judgments have improved and their choices are more conducive to learning. I believe that a key component in creating a safe and comfortable environment for students is developing positive student-teacher relationships. Just like the good book says, treat others like you would be treated, to receive respect from our students we must give it in return. I am not saying let them walk all over you but you need to for a relationship that is built on respect, and appropriate behavior.
By implementing strategies such as these that support students’ academic needs, I hope to engage students more fully in the learning process. By addressing instructional strategies that support our students academic needs I believe that student’s motivation will increase, and in lieu their overall achievements will be more astronomical.
References
Covington, M., & Beery, R. (1976). Self-worth and school learning. New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston.
Jones, V., & Jones, L. (2007). Comprehensive classroom management: Creating communities of support and solving problems (Laureate Education, Inc., custom ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson.
Intrinsic and Extrinsic Motivation
When we were in our education classes all our professors would say the same thing. Be clear with expected outcomes; make it known what we want as far as direction over all for the year. When our students are offered incentives for things that we would normal expect from them they think they already won. If we reward our students for spending time on homework or activity they become bored with the work / project. But if we reward them for learning a new math concept they are more likely going to be more interested. This lets us show the importance or the significance of the symbolic outcomes of the reward. As a teacher we have a mindset that there are students out there who need our help. When it all comes down to it the students are thinking, “we do what we want, and when we want, and how we want. ” In the back of their minds there is always some kind of motivation or perk for the choices that they make.
There are two different ways to motivate out students, extrinsic and intrinsic. Extrinsic motivation is when there is motivation that is outside of us, or in our student’s case, outside them as individuals. Like if we are going to throw a pizza party for our students if their behavior is good during an assembly. In a way I guess you could say that we are using intimidation as extrinsic motivation. Think of fundraisers and prizes for the top seller, we make it into a competition so that it will motivate the students to be on top. We just had a fundraiser and after the fundraiser was completed there was a raffle of the names of all the top sellers and the winner would win a 40 inch flat screen TV.
Now intrinsic motivation is when the student has a more personal connection with the reward. Like winning a competition where the prize might just be verbal bragging rights. Once we understand how our students are motivated, and what motivators to use in each case or situation.
I find that there are different cases where both motivations would be relevant. When you think about it external rewards may motivate middle school students however they rarely help students keep trying when put into an academic situation. Giving the students the ability to think about their own thinking gives them the skills to use when facing different challenges. I just when to a two day workshop on PBL Project Based learning, Over the course of the project the students are requires to monitor their own progress, they need to ask themselves what they are doing well, why it is working, and what still needs to be done. When the students are finished with the project they once again evaluate their performance. In the end they need to ask themselves what they learned, what parts they did well and how they can improve for the next project. The students always are their worst critic and when they are in control of their own learning. Since I restructured some of my units I found that they general setup of my classroom has changed, it wasn’t a teacher centered class but a student centered one. They were exploring on their own when learning different math concepts and when I introduced the project based learning, the students took control of their group member and their own learning. This is how we create leaders instead of followers, they are responsible for their own actions and learning and that is worth more to them then any material things. They "value their goals" (Jones & Jones, 2007)
Jones, V., & Jones, L. (2007). Comprehensive classroom management: Creating communities of support and solving problems. (Laureate custom edition). Boston: Pearson.
There are two different ways to motivate out students, extrinsic and intrinsic. Extrinsic motivation is when there is motivation that is outside of us, or in our student’s case, outside them as individuals. Like if we are going to throw a pizza party for our students if their behavior is good during an assembly. In a way I guess you could say that we are using intimidation as extrinsic motivation. Think of fundraisers and prizes for the top seller, we make it into a competition so that it will motivate the students to be on top. We just had a fundraiser and after the fundraiser was completed there was a raffle of the names of all the top sellers and the winner would win a 40 inch flat screen TV.
Now intrinsic motivation is when the student has a more personal connection with the reward. Like winning a competition where the prize might just be verbal bragging rights. Once we understand how our students are motivated, and what motivators to use in each case or situation.
I find that there are different cases where both motivations would be relevant. When you think about it external rewards may motivate middle school students however they rarely help students keep trying when put into an academic situation. Giving the students the ability to think about their own thinking gives them the skills to use when facing different challenges. I just when to a two day workshop on PBL Project Based learning, Over the course of the project the students are requires to monitor their own progress, they need to ask themselves what they are doing well, why it is working, and what still needs to be done. When the students are finished with the project they once again evaluate their performance. In the end they need to ask themselves what they learned, what parts they did well and how they can improve for the next project. The students always are their worst critic and when they are in control of their own learning. Since I restructured some of my units I found that they general setup of my classroom has changed, it wasn’t a teacher centered class but a student centered one. They were exploring on their own when learning different math concepts and when I introduced the project based learning, the students took control of their group member and their own learning. This is how we create leaders instead of followers, they are responsible for their own actions and learning and that is worth more to them then any material things. They "value their goals" (Jones & Jones, 2007)
Jones, V., & Jones, L. (2007). Comprehensive classroom management: Creating communities of support and solving problems. (Laureate custom edition). Boston: Pearson.
Rules and Prevention
Schools are expected to provide safe, orderly environments that are conducive to learning. Positive school environment contributes significantly to managing student behavior. A positive school environment is a caring environment where every student feels he or she belongs. Establishing that sense of belonging and security can be created by specifying expected behavior. School wide rules that should be posted in each classroom, as well as classroom rules. Classroom rules and procedures establish appropriate expectations for student and teacher behavior in the classroom. Rules frequently focus on the way students interact with each other and with the teacher. Classroom rules should not conflict with school-wide.
When school begins we as a class developing classroom rules
• Establish Rules Early
• Involve Students in making the rules, even though I choose which ones are ultimately posted they feel like they had hand in creating the rules. These rules are posted on the wall in two locations
• I try to have no more that 10 rules, too many leave the student with the opportunity to interpret the rules as they choose.
• Identify Rewards and Consequences. When the rules are posted there is a poster that shows all the consequences that will happen if they don’t follow the rules. Children need opportunities to model appropriate classroom behavior
• Inform Parents of the rules at the beginning of the school year. I send the rules created by the students home and have both parent/guardian as well as the students sign the form and return it back to school and I keep them in a file. Jones and Jones (2007) discuss the importance of having a conversation with students not only about why rules and procedures are important, but also what rules and procedures students feel that they are able to realistically comply with.
-------------------------------------------------
Like the usually Middle School rules I tend to alter them to apply to each class on an individual level:
• Bring paper, pencil, notebook, book.
• Be in our seats when the bell rings.
• Accept group role and responsibility
• Speak without using any negative comments.
• Follow directions.
“in a middle school, nearly half of the students indicated their teachers had not developed clear classroom rules and did not clearly explain how the teacher would respond when a student disrupted the classroom” (Jones & Jones, 2007, p. 197). While the meaning of many rules might appear to be obvious, that may not be the case for some of your students. It stinks that we live in a society where many children may not have been taught what it means to "be respectful of yourself and others."
Management plans should also specify what the consequences are when students do not adhere to the rules. Experienced teachers know that rules are pointless if they are not backed up by reasonable consequences. Although management systems should emphasize consistency, they should also allow for some flexibility. Not all classes are alike and working with several special education teachers, working with students that have individual behavior plans so I have had to use catchy phrases for the students to remember rules, not only rules for the classroom but also part of the subject matter. Jones and Jones (2007) mention to “use this letter as the basis for developing a set of standards to which the group agrees to adhere”. Another suggestion from Jones and Jones (2007) that I liked was to use a catchy phrase to grab students' attentions when beginning a lesson. In math we tend to use the use of letters as the basic for introducing math concepts According to extensive research, Schools where expectations are taught and guidelines are made clear, there is a significant reduction in student misbehavior (Jones, V., & Jones, L. (2007).
Resources:
Jones, V., & Jones, L. (2007). Comprehensive classroom management: Creating communities of support and solving problems (Laureate Education, Inc., custom ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson.
When school begins we as a class developing classroom rules
• Establish Rules Early
• Involve Students in making the rules, even though I choose which ones are ultimately posted they feel like they had hand in creating the rules. These rules are posted on the wall in two locations
• I try to have no more that 10 rules, too many leave the student with the opportunity to interpret the rules as they choose.
• Identify Rewards and Consequences. When the rules are posted there is a poster that shows all the consequences that will happen if they don’t follow the rules. Children need opportunities to model appropriate classroom behavior
• Inform Parents of the rules at the beginning of the school year. I send the rules created by the students home and have both parent/guardian as well as the students sign the form and return it back to school and I keep them in a file. Jones and Jones (2007) discuss the importance of having a conversation with students not only about why rules and procedures are important, but also what rules and procedures students feel that they are able to realistically comply with.
-------------------------------------------------
Like the usually Middle School rules I tend to alter them to apply to each class on an individual level:
• Bring paper, pencil, notebook, book.
• Be in our seats when the bell rings.
• Accept group role and responsibility
• Speak without using any negative comments.
• Follow directions.
“in a middle school, nearly half of the students indicated their teachers had not developed clear classroom rules and did not clearly explain how the teacher would respond when a student disrupted the classroom” (Jones & Jones, 2007, p. 197). While the meaning of many rules might appear to be obvious, that may not be the case for some of your students. It stinks that we live in a society where many children may not have been taught what it means to "be respectful of yourself and others."
Management plans should also specify what the consequences are when students do not adhere to the rules. Experienced teachers know that rules are pointless if they are not backed up by reasonable consequences. Although management systems should emphasize consistency, they should also allow for some flexibility. Not all classes are alike and working with several special education teachers, working with students that have individual behavior plans so I have had to use catchy phrases for the students to remember rules, not only rules for the classroom but also part of the subject matter. Jones and Jones (2007) mention to “use this letter as the basis for developing a set of standards to which the group agrees to adhere”. Another suggestion from Jones and Jones (2007) that I liked was to use a catchy phrase to grab students' attentions when beginning a lesson. In math we tend to use the use of letters as the basic for introducing math concepts According to extensive research, Schools where expectations are taught and guidelines are made clear, there is a significant reduction in student misbehavior (Jones, V., & Jones, L. (2007).
Resources:
Jones, V., & Jones, L. (2007). Comprehensive classroom management: Creating communities of support and solving problems (Laureate Education, Inc., custom ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson.
Community Building
Every classroom, like every society, has its own individual customs, morals, and set of laws. Students belong to many diverse communities. By constructing a community in the classroom, teachers create a familiar and expected educational experience that helps students feel associated to others. As part of a community you contribute to familiar morals, goals, and actions. It is a situation where each associate takes on roles to contribute adequate services so that the community’s goals are met. In communities, everyone does not do the same thing at the same time, but groups work together to attain common goals. When you fabricate thoughts of belonging and security in your classroom, you enhance your capability to engage students' minds. This environment supports the well-organized and successful delivery of curriculum content to students.
Community building is perhaps by far one of the most significant components in building a successful classroom. It is necessity to start on the first day students cross the threshold of your classroom and continue until the last day of the year. Students want to feel protected, respected and the feel the sense of belonging. These are essential elements for any flourishing classroom. Throughout vigilant inspection of this week’s resources’, I was able to draw out four strategies that I believe would work the greatest in my classroom: “getting to know them and expressing interest in them as individuals, giving specific, descriptive feedback, listening to students and sharing responsibilities with students.” (Jones & Jones, pg87) These strategies directly support some of the practices I already have in place, and some I would like to introduce; such as sharing responsibilities with my students.
Day after day that my students arrive into my classroom, after our opening salutation, it is the occupation of one student to hand out our do now journals, so they can attempt the problem of the day. I would like it to be a continuing responsibility, as it goes now it is typically the first student that enters the room. I need to get the entire class involved to help foster a sense of community. Something as small as assisting another student become prepared for class, is an immense accomplishment. This was hard for me at first for the reason that I wanted to be in all places all the time, I felt this would authorize me to get to know my students better, but I was wrong. Children both need assistants from adults to supply organization in their lives and liberty to make their own choices. Students must take accountability for their choices as part of their maturity and education. I created many ways to give my students logical choices on a day by day basis. Often I present options to the complete group and permit students to decide by a democratic show of hands. It is also very vital for children to believe the class is theirs and not just the teachers. This adds to a sense of accountability and helps children gain knowledge of how to take care of their belongings. When I begin at the start of the year, I keep in mind that first impressions, for teachers as well as students, can be long-term ones. I try to find from the opening school to set the attitude and construct a society of shared responsibility in our class. One tradition I support early on is to decide as a group how the room will be set up, what the bulletin boards should be for, and what the classroom rules should be. With little direction, students often come up with the same ideas I would have chosen through class discussion. Sometimes they surprise me and come up with better ones.
It is especially essential for my students to get to know each other and see each other as individual people. They can gain knowledge of to how respect and be grateful for differences and take pleasure in things that are the same. This adds an immense agreement to the emotion that we are a family unit of people here to learn together. One of the most gratifying aspects of my job is getting to know each and every one of my students, discovering out things about them and showing interest in them as absolute individuals. The first day of school after we take care of some housekeeping I will usually play a get to know you game, I start. I ask them if they want to know the coolest thing I have ever did, or the most embarrassing thing I have ever done; it never fails they all want to hear the most embarrassing thing, so I share. It breaks the ice and the students start opening up and sharing, it’s insane. I will carry on until each student has shared something no matter how small. I want them to know that I am interested in each and every single student, not just the ones that have the greatest stories. Another strategy I will use to community build is listening to my students.
Krista Manchuck, a middle school ELA teacher from my school did a wonderful job depicting community building through the listening medium. She allowed her students to share, pair and talk aloud, giving each group a chance to display their ideas, which allows for ownership and engagement of the topic or concept. I do that with my students at least once a week. On Fridays we do a thing called, Bring It Back, which is a review of what we did the particular week. First as individuals they do a journal entry of what they remember and maybe a particular topic they need more time on, than as pairs discuss their entries, than we share our ideas as a group. This gives my students the opportunity to have a discussion about their findings and it gives me the opportunity to not only listen, but to hear how they are problem solving. Working together raises the level of capability from what children can do without assistants on their own. Create structures that permits students to work together in any subject, whether through reading buddies, editing partners, or clock partners in math. Create projects that require students to work together, but have jobs at different levels of proficiency. This enables every student to have a job that others depend upon but at their own level. In these structures, they learn that they can depend on others for help and they learn that different people bring different strengths to a partnership.
The final strategy I chose was detailed and expressive feedback. Descriptive feedback is neither in-the-moment constructivist information get-together nor is it a official data gathering process. It is, to a certain extent, a insightful conversation between teacher and students in which students illustrate their experiences as learners, with the goals of civilizing learning, deepen confidence between teacher and student, and establishing a animated, imaginative community on a daily basis. It is also diverse from student self-assessment because it is, by character, expressive rather than evaluative. I am very vigilant about getting students work back to them in a timely manner, with lots of positive reinforcements. I allow students to make corrections on any and all tests and quizzes. I feel that if students take the time to read and make the changes than they deserve the chance to make the corrections.
It is my job as an educator to not only teach my curriculum, but to manage my class. This can only come together if there is a sense of community. There is no better way to get students to feel protected and significant than by the strategies presented earlier. The beginning of the year is always full of knowledge and getting to know each other which are amazing, but by the end of the year it is bittersweet when the students move on. The next year brings an entirely new set of students which means a new year of community building. I am up for the challenge. Because a community is built around the shared happiness, principles, and goals of its members, the background of your classroom community changes each year as children change and as you change. You can’t tell from one year to the next what dominant interests or events will emerge and how they will define your classroom community and the content for studies.
Resources
Laureate Education, Inc. (Executive Producer). (2008). Creating an effective classroom learning environment [Educational video]. Baltimore.
Jones, V., & Jones, L. (2007). Comprehensive classroom management: Creating communities of support and solving problems (Laureate Education, Inc., custom ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson.
Mawhinney, T., & Sagan, L. (2007). The power of personal relationships. Phi Delta Kappan, 86(6), 460–464. Use the Education Research Complete database, and search using the article's Accession Number: 23940805.
Community building is perhaps by far one of the most significant components in building a successful classroom. It is necessity to start on the first day students cross the threshold of your classroom and continue until the last day of the year. Students want to feel protected, respected and the feel the sense of belonging. These are essential elements for any flourishing classroom. Throughout vigilant inspection of this week’s resources’, I was able to draw out four strategies that I believe would work the greatest in my classroom: “getting to know them and expressing interest in them as individuals, giving specific, descriptive feedback, listening to students and sharing responsibilities with students.” (Jones & Jones, pg87) These strategies directly support some of the practices I already have in place, and some I would like to introduce; such as sharing responsibilities with my students.
Day after day that my students arrive into my classroom, after our opening salutation, it is the occupation of one student to hand out our do now journals, so they can attempt the problem of the day. I would like it to be a continuing responsibility, as it goes now it is typically the first student that enters the room. I need to get the entire class involved to help foster a sense of community. Something as small as assisting another student become prepared for class, is an immense accomplishment. This was hard for me at first for the reason that I wanted to be in all places all the time, I felt this would authorize me to get to know my students better, but I was wrong. Children both need assistants from adults to supply organization in their lives and liberty to make their own choices. Students must take accountability for their choices as part of their maturity and education. I created many ways to give my students logical choices on a day by day basis. Often I present options to the complete group and permit students to decide by a democratic show of hands. It is also very vital for children to believe the class is theirs and not just the teachers. This adds to a sense of accountability and helps children gain knowledge of how to take care of their belongings. When I begin at the start of the year, I keep in mind that first impressions, for teachers as well as students, can be long-term ones. I try to find from the opening school to set the attitude and construct a society of shared responsibility in our class. One tradition I support early on is to decide as a group how the room will be set up, what the bulletin boards should be for, and what the classroom rules should be. With little direction, students often come up with the same ideas I would have chosen through class discussion. Sometimes they surprise me and come up with better ones.
It is especially essential for my students to get to know each other and see each other as individual people. They can gain knowledge of to how respect and be grateful for differences and take pleasure in things that are the same. This adds an immense agreement to the emotion that we are a family unit of people here to learn together. One of the most gratifying aspects of my job is getting to know each and every one of my students, discovering out things about them and showing interest in them as absolute individuals. The first day of school after we take care of some housekeeping I will usually play a get to know you game, I start. I ask them if they want to know the coolest thing I have ever did, or the most embarrassing thing I have ever done; it never fails they all want to hear the most embarrassing thing, so I share. It breaks the ice and the students start opening up and sharing, it’s insane. I will carry on until each student has shared something no matter how small. I want them to know that I am interested in each and every single student, not just the ones that have the greatest stories. Another strategy I will use to community build is listening to my students.
Krista Manchuck, a middle school ELA teacher from my school did a wonderful job depicting community building through the listening medium. She allowed her students to share, pair and talk aloud, giving each group a chance to display their ideas, which allows for ownership and engagement of the topic or concept. I do that with my students at least once a week. On Fridays we do a thing called, Bring It Back, which is a review of what we did the particular week. First as individuals they do a journal entry of what they remember and maybe a particular topic they need more time on, than as pairs discuss their entries, than we share our ideas as a group. This gives my students the opportunity to have a discussion about their findings and it gives me the opportunity to not only listen, but to hear how they are problem solving. Working together raises the level of capability from what children can do without assistants on their own. Create structures that permits students to work together in any subject, whether through reading buddies, editing partners, or clock partners in math. Create projects that require students to work together, but have jobs at different levels of proficiency. This enables every student to have a job that others depend upon but at their own level. In these structures, they learn that they can depend on others for help and they learn that different people bring different strengths to a partnership.
The final strategy I chose was detailed and expressive feedback. Descriptive feedback is neither in-the-moment constructivist information get-together nor is it a official data gathering process. It is, to a certain extent, a insightful conversation between teacher and students in which students illustrate their experiences as learners, with the goals of civilizing learning, deepen confidence between teacher and student, and establishing a animated, imaginative community on a daily basis. It is also diverse from student self-assessment because it is, by character, expressive rather than evaluative. I am very vigilant about getting students work back to them in a timely manner, with lots of positive reinforcements. I allow students to make corrections on any and all tests and quizzes. I feel that if students take the time to read and make the changes than they deserve the chance to make the corrections.
It is my job as an educator to not only teach my curriculum, but to manage my class. This can only come together if there is a sense of community. There is no better way to get students to feel protected and significant than by the strategies presented earlier. The beginning of the year is always full of knowledge and getting to know each other which are amazing, but by the end of the year it is bittersweet when the students move on. The next year brings an entirely new set of students which means a new year of community building. I am up for the challenge. Because a community is built around the shared happiness, principles, and goals of its members, the background of your classroom community changes each year as children change and as you change. You can’t tell from one year to the next what dominant interests or events will emerge and how they will define your classroom community and the content for studies.
Resources
Laureate Education, Inc. (Executive Producer). (2008). Creating an effective classroom learning environment [Educational video]. Baltimore.
Jones, V., & Jones, L. (2007). Comprehensive classroom management: Creating communities of support and solving problems (Laureate Education, Inc., custom ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson.
Mawhinney, T., & Sagan, L. (2007). The power of personal relationships. Phi Delta Kappan, 86(6), 460–464. Use the Education Research Complete database, and search using the article's Accession Number: 23940805.
0 comments:
Fostering Positive Relationships
Social skills instruction is a proven strategy that can be used with the entire class. Activities on promoting politeness, cooperation, honesty, and other values are great to introduce to the class altogether as a group. By teaching these skills to the whole class, teachers can subliminally encourage peer acceptance of a classmate. Teachers can also reinforce that children are more similar than they are different. An example, an activity is when you design a chart with the names of the students in the class in a grid pattern, listing each child's favorite foods, movies, etc. This allows children to see what they have in common with each of their classmates, including their classmates. “By implementing activities to enhance positive peer relationships, we increase the likelihood that a wider range of peers will be accepted and supported and we decrease the likelihood that bullying, intimidation, and isolation will be experiences by students” (Jones & Jones, 2007, pg. 129).
Peer problem-solving groups can also be effective; such groups, facilitated by adults, involve students sharing their concerns about the nature of a classmate's or any behavior problems that have arisen in the classroom. Less formal strategies to build peer support include pairing a student and several typically developing peers for an activity in a kind of buddy system or creating instructional or recreational activities where students can establish reciprocal relationships. Other instructional methods that can enhance peer support are cooperative learning and activity-based instruction. Teachers can create mixed-ability groups for cooperative activities and plan carefully with special education teachers to make the necessary adaptations for students with disabilities. At the conclusion of the activity, general and special education teachers should meet to evaluate it and recommend changes for the future.
I have the students write me a journal entry where they share their opinions on how we can create a better learning environment. By “encourage students to write ideas for making the class a better place in which to learn.” (Jones & Jones, 2007, pg. 89)
Peer acceptance represents social status or popularity within a large group, whereas friendships represent relationships based on mutual respect, appreciation, and liking. Early adolescence is a time characterized by friendships that share more common feelings and are more supportive than when children are younger. At the same time, youth who have more mutual friends (i.e., individuals with a similar degree of affection for one another) are more likely to be accepted by their larger peer group.
Peer acceptance and friendships are distinct constructs and contribute to youth development. Peer acceptance has been shown to be associated with greater feelings of belonging and fewer behavioral problems in youth, whereas, friendships have been shown to directly influence feelings of loneliness. However, both peer acceptance and friendships similarly provide youth with self-esteem and improved psychological adjustment. The ability to develop healthy friendships and peer relationships depends on a teen's self-identity, self-esteem, and self-reliance. At its best, peer pressure can mobilize your teen's energy, motivate for success, and encourage your teen to conform to healthy behavior. Peers can and do act as positive role models. Peers can and do demonstrate appropriate social behaviors. Peers often listen to, accept, and understand the frustrations, challenges, and concerns associated with being a teenager.
Peer relationships and friendships become more important as children grow into early adolescents. Research indicates that older youth interact with peers more frequently and longer than do younger youth, both within school and out of school. Developing high quality peer relationships and friendships are important because young people who have difficulties in developing or maintaining friendships are more likely to—
• Engage in aggressive behavior.
• Report low academic achievement and high unemployment later in life.
• Exhibit higher degrees of loneliness and depression.
Youth friendships —
• Are associated with self-esteem and contribute to forming self-image
• Are related to social competence and enhanced leadership skills
• Can buffer youth from the negative impact of family troubles
• Lesson the likelihood of experiencing peer victimization
• Influence academic achievement
• Some concrete ways to promote a high quality of peer relationships/friendships in youth include—
• Nurturing social skills including anger management, fairness, and sensitivity.
• Allowing youth to develop companionship skills through literature, sports, games, and music
• Letting youth know and practice how to express their thoughts and emotions in socially acceptable ways.
• Encourage young people to take the perspective of others.
• Teaching youth the importance of self-disclosure and responsive listening skills.
• Giving opportunities for youths to develop empathy.
• Helping youth develop the skills to resolve conflict and disagreements effectively.
• Providing youth with opportunities for peer tutoring.
• Being prepared to talk with youth about their peers/friends whenever they have trouble with their peers/friends.
Jones, V., & Jones, L. (2007). Comprehensive classroom management: Creating communities of support and solving problems (Laureate Education, Inc., custom ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson.
Peer problem-solving groups can also be effective; such groups, facilitated by adults, involve students sharing their concerns about the nature of a classmate's or any behavior problems that have arisen in the classroom. Less formal strategies to build peer support include pairing a student and several typically developing peers for an activity in a kind of buddy system or creating instructional or recreational activities where students can establish reciprocal relationships. Other instructional methods that can enhance peer support are cooperative learning and activity-based instruction. Teachers can create mixed-ability groups for cooperative activities and plan carefully with special education teachers to make the necessary adaptations for students with disabilities. At the conclusion of the activity, general and special education teachers should meet to evaluate it and recommend changes for the future.
I have the students write me a journal entry where they share their opinions on how we can create a better learning environment. By “encourage students to write ideas for making the class a better place in which to learn.” (Jones & Jones, 2007, pg. 89)
Peer acceptance represents social status or popularity within a large group, whereas friendships represent relationships based on mutual respect, appreciation, and liking. Early adolescence is a time characterized by friendships that share more common feelings and are more supportive than when children are younger. At the same time, youth who have more mutual friends (i.e., individuals with a similar degree of affection for one another) are more likely to be accepted by their larger peer group.
Peer acceptance and friendships are distinct constructs and contribute to youth development. Peer acceptance has been shown to be associated with greater feelings of belonging and fewer behavioral problems in youth, whereas, friendships have been shown to directly influence feelings of loneliness. However, both peer acceptance and friendships similarly provide youth with self-esteem and improved psychological adjustment. The ability to develop healthy friendships and peer relationships depends on a teen's self-identity, self-esteem, and self-reliance. At its best, peer pressure can mobilize your teen's energy, motivate for success, and encourage your teen to conform to healthy behavior. Peers can and do act as positive role models. Peers can and do demonstrate appropriate social behaviors. Peers often listen to, accept, and understand the frustrations, challenges, and concerns associated with being a teenager.
Peer relationships and friendships become more important as children grow into early adolescents. Research indicates that older youth interact with peers more frequently and longer than do younger youth, both within school and out of school. Developing high quality peer relationships and friendships are important because young people who have difficulties in developing or maintaining friendships are more likely to—
• Engage in aggressive behavior.
• Report low academic achievement and high unemployment later in life.
• Exhibit higher degrees of loneliness and depression.
Youth friendships —
• Are associated with self-esteem and contribute to forming self-image
• Are related to social competence and enhanced leadership skills
• Can buffer youth from the negative impact of family troubles
• Lesson the likelihood of experiencing peer victimization
• Influence academic achievement
• Some concrete ways to promote a high quality of peer relationships/friendships in youth include—
• Nurturing social skills including anger management, fairness, and sensitivity.
• Allowing youth to develop companionship skills through literature, sports, games, and music
• Letting youth know and practice how to express their thoughts and emotions in socially acceptable ways.
• Encourage young people to take the perspective of others.
• Teaching youth the importance of self-disclosure and responsive listening skills.
• Giving opportunities for youths to develop empathy.
• Helping youth develop the skills to resolve conflict and disagreements effectively.
• Providing youth with opportunities for peer tutoring.
• Being prepared to talk with youth about their peers/friends whenever they have trouble with their peers/friends.
Jones, V., & Jones, L. (2007). Comprehensive classroom management: Creating communities of support and solving problems (Laureate Education, Inc., custom ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson.
Classroom Management Plan
In creating an effective learning environment for students, it is important to provide students with instruction in classroom rules and procedures in the beginning of the school year. By ensuring that students “understand and can demonstrate rules and procedures” (Jones and Jones, p. 195), teachers significantly reduce the incidences of classroom disruptions and misbehaviors and there is an increase in the amount of time that students spend engaged in instructional activities, which in turn, leads to greater student achievement. I have selected three components of classroom management that I feel will have the greatest impact in my classroom. These components are planning rules and procedures, consequences, and teaching rules and procedures.
In planning rules and procedures, teachers must consider what “procedures students must follow to function effectively in your classroom and in the school environment; decide what behaviors are acceptable or unacceptable; and develop a list of procedures and rules” (Jones and Jones, p. 218). It is important that these rules and procedures coincide with teaching strategies that enhance learning and are respectful to students’ needs. I believe that it is important for students to have clear expectations regarding their behavior in the classroom. I also believe that it is important for students to be involved in developing behavior standards for the classroom. After all, students are more likely to remember the rules, as well as follow them, if they have a sense of ownership. With this in mind, on the first day of school, I discuss the value of having rules and how following rules benefit each student and the class as a whole. Then, as a class, we decide what behavior standards are important to the functioning of the class and will provide a productive learning environment.
In addition to developing rules and expectations, students must understand the consequences associated with appropriate, as well as inappropriate behavior in the classroom. Again, I discuss with my students fair and reasonable consequences for inappropriate behavior and we decide together how each misbehavior in the classroom will be handled. In this way, students become part of the decision making process and know exactly what will happen if they choose to break a certain rule. We also decide on consequences for appropriate behavior. These consequences can be for individual student behavior, or for the class as a whole. Students enjoy the positive reinforcement of their behavior, especially when it is pointed out by another student. I make a point of giving out a lot of positive reinforcement when students make good behavior choices within the classroom or in the school.
The third component that I feel will have the greatest impact on my classroom environment is teaching rules and procedures. It does not do the student or the class any good to have a list of rules and consequences if students do not have a clear understanding of these rules. During the first week of school, I instruct students about specific expectations and give examples for each rule. I also go over the rules on a regular basis for at least the first week or two of school as a reminder to the students of their expectations. I also instruct my students in specific procedures that help the class run more smoothly, such as what to do when entering the classroom, movement within the classroom (sharpening pencils, throwing something in the garbage, etc), cleaning up, and dismissal. I give students explicit instructions regarding these classroom procedures and we practice during the first week of school. According to Jones and Jones, when “behavior expectations are taught, practiced, and retaught when students fail to follow these clear guidelines, there is a significant reduction in classroom disruptions” (p.194).
As an educator, my goal is to provide my students with a positive and productive learning environment in which all students are able to be successful. I believe planning rules and procedures, developing consequences, and teaching students the rules and procedures in the beginning of the school year will help prevent potential problems in the classroom. Students thrive in a structured environment where they are provided with a clear set of expectations. When these expectations are designed to meet students’ personal and academic needs, students become more actively engaged in the learning process, develop higher level thinking, and learn self-regulatory skills (Jones and Jones, p.195).
References
Jones, V., & Jones, L. (2007). Comprehensive classroom management: Creating communities of support and solving problems (Laureate Education, Inc., custom ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson.
In planning rules and procedures, teachers must consider what “procedures students must follow to function effectively in your classroom and in the school environment; decide what behaviors are acceptable or unacceptable; and develop a list of procedures and rules” (Jones and Jones, p. 218). It is important that these rules and procedures coincide with teaching strategies that enhance learning and are respectful to students’ needs. I believe that it is important for students to have clear expectations regarding their behavior in the classroom. I also believe that it is important for students to be involved in developing behavior standards for the classroom. After all, students are more likely to remember the rules, as well as follow them, if they have a sense of ownership. With this in mind, on the first day of school, I discuss the value of having rules and how following rules benefit each student and the class as a whole. Then, as a class, we decide what behavior standards are important to the functioning of the class and will provide a productive learning environment.
In addition to developing rules and expectations, students must understand the consequences associated with appropriate, as well as inappropriate behavior in the classroom. Again, I discuss with my students fair and reasonable consequences for inappropriate behavior and we decide together how each misbehavior in the classroom will be handled. In this way, students become part of the decision making process and know exactly what will happen if they choose to break a certain rule. We also decide on consequences for appropriate behavior. These consequences can be for individual student behavior, or for the class as a whole. Students enjoy the positive reinforcement of their behavior, especially when it is pointed out by another student. I make a point of giving out a lot of positive reinforcement when students make good behavior choices within the classroom or in the school.
The third component that I feel will have the greatest impact on my classroom environment is teaching rules and procedures. It does not do the student or the class any good to have a list of rules and consequences if students do not have a clear understanding of these rules. During the first week of school, I instruct students about specific expectations and give examples for each rule. I also go over the rules on a regular basis for at least the first week or two of school as a reminder to the students of their expectations. I also instruct my students in specific procedures that help the class run more smoothly, such as what to do when entering the classroom, movement within the classroom (sharpening pencils, throwing something in the garbage, etc), cleaning up, and dismissal. I give students explicit instructions regarding these classroom procedures and we practice during the first week of school. According to Jones and Jones, when “behavior expectations are taught, practiced, and retaught when students fail to follow these clear guidelines, there is a significant reduction in classroom disruptions” (p.194).
As an educator, my goal is to provide my students with a positive and productive learning environment in which all students are able to be successful. I believe planning rules and procedures, developing consequences, and teaching students the rules and procedures in the beginning of the school year will help prevent potential problems in the classroom. Students thrive in a structured environment where they are provided with a clear set of expectations. When these expectations are designed to meet students’ personal and academic needs, students become more actively engaged in the learning process, develop higher level thinking, and learn self-regulatory skills (Jones and Jones, p.195).
References
Jones, V., & Jones, L. (2007). Comprehensive classroom management: Creating communities of support and solving problems (Laureate Education, Inc., custom ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson.
Developing Classroom Rules
Schools are expected to provide safe, orderly environments that are conducive to learning. Positive school climate contributes significantly to managing student behavior. A positive school climate is a caring environment where every student feels he or she belongs. Establishing that sense of belonging and security can be facilitated by specifying expected behavior. School rules that apply throughout the building should be posted in each classroom, as well as classroom rules.
Classroom rules and procedures establish appropriate expectations for student and teacher behavior in the classroom. Rules frequently focus on the way students interact with each other and with the teacher. Classroom rules should not conflict with school-wide or school district-wide rules.
Guidelines for Developing Classroom Rules
1. Establish Rules Early
2. Involve Students in making the rules, even though I choose which ones are ultimately posted they feel like they had hand in creating the rules. These rules are posted on the wall in two locations
3. I try to have no more that 10 rules, too many leave the student with the opportunity to interpret the rules as they choose.
4. Identify Rewards and Consequences. When the rules are posted there is a poster that shows all the consequences that will happen if they don’t follow the rules. Children need opportunities to model appropriate classroom behavior
5. Inform Parents of the rules at the beginning of the school year. I send the rules created by the students home and have both parent/guardian as well as the students sign the form and return it back to school and I keep them in a file. Jones and Jones (2007) discuss the importance of having a conversation with students not only about why rules and procedures are important, but also what rules and procedures students feel that they are able to realistically comply with.
Like the usually Middle School rules I tend to alter them to apply to each class on an individual level:
• Be in our seats when the bell rings.
• Bring paper, pencil, notebook, book.
• Follow directions.
• Speak without using any negative comments.
• Accept group role and responsibility
“in a middle school, nearly half of the students indicated their teachers had not developed clear classroom rules and did not clearly explain how the teacher would respond when a student disrupted the classroom” (Jones & Jones, 2007, p. 197). While the meaning of many rules might appear to be obvious, that may not be the case for some of your students. It stinks that we live in a society where many children may not have been taught what it means to "be respectful of yourself and others."
Management plans should also specify what the consequences are when students do not adhere to the rules. Experienced teachers know that rules are pointless if they are not backed up by reasonable consequences. Although management systems should emphasize consistency, they should also allow for some flexibility. Not all classes are alike and working with several special education teachers, working with students that have individual behavior plans so I have had to use catchy phrases for the students to remember rules, not only rules for the classroom but also part of the subject matter. Jones and Jones (2007) mention to “use this letter as the basis for developing a set of standards to which the group agrees to adhere”. Another suggestion from Jones and Jones (2007) that I liked was to use a catchy phrase to grab students' attentions when beginning a lesson. In math we tend to use the use of letters as the basic for introducing math concepts According to extensive research, Schools where expectations are taught and guidelines are made clear, there is a significant reduction in student misbehavior (Jones, V., & Jones, L. (2007).
Resources:
Jones, V., & Jones, L. (2007). Comprehensive classroom management: Creating communities of support and solving problems (Laureate Education, Inc., custom ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson.
Classroom rules and procedures establish appropriate expectations for student and teacher behavior in the classroom. Rules frequently focus on the way students interact with each other and with the teacher. Classroom rules should not conflict with school-wide or school district-wide rules.
Guidelines for Developing Classroom Rules
1. Establish Rules Early
2. Involve Students in making the rules, even though I choose which ones are ultimately posted they feel like they had hand in creating the rules. These rules are posted on the wall in two locations
3. I try to have no more that 10 rules, too many leave the student with the opportunity to interpret the rules as they choose.
4. Identify Rewards and Consequences. When the rules are posted there is a poster that shows all the consequences that will happen if they don’t follow the rules. Children need opportunities to model appropriate classroom behavior
5. Inform Parents of the rules at the beginning of the school year. I send the rules created by the students home and have both parent/guardian as well as the students sign the form and return it back to school and I keep them in a file. Jones and Jones (2007) discuss the importance of having a conversation with students not only about why rules and procedures are important, but also what rules and procedures students feel that they are able to realistically comply with.
Like the usually Middle School rules I tend to alter them to apply to each class on an individual level:
• Be in our seats when the bell rings.
• Bring paper, pencil, notebook, book.
• Follow directions.
• Speak without using any negative comments.
• Accept group role and responsibility
“in a middle school, nearly half of the students indicated their teachers had not developed clear classroom rules and did not clearly explain how the teacher would respond when a student disrupted the classroom” (Jones & Jones, 2007, p. 197). While the meaning of many rules might appear to be obvious, that may not be the case for some of your students. It stinks that we live in a society where many children may not have been taught what it means to "be respectful of yourself and others."
Management plans should also specify what the consequences are when students do not adhere to the rules. Experienced teachers know that rules are pointless if they are not backed up by reasonable consequences. Although management systems should emphasize consistency, they should also allow for some flexibility. Not all classes are alike and working with several special education teachers, working with students that have individual behavior plans so I have had to use catchy phrases for the students to remember rules, not only rules for the classroom but also part of the subject matter. Jones and Jones (2007) mention to “use this letter as the basis for developing a set of standards to which the group agrees to adhere”. Another suggestion from Jones and Jones (2007) that I liked was to use a catchy phrase to grab students' attentions when beginning a lesson. In math we tend to use the use of letters as the basic for introducing math concepts According to extensive research, Schools where expectations are taught and guidelines are made clear, there is a significant reduction in student misbehavior (Jones, V., & Jones, L. (2007).
Resources:
Jones, V., & Jones, L. (2007). Comprehensive classroom management: Creating communities of support and solving problems (Laureate Education, Inc., custom ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson.
Self-Evaluation
In my quest for a self evaluation is has become clear to me that as an educator I subscribe to many different approaches. I do not fit neatly into one category. I found many parts of the behavioristic method that fit nicely with the way I do things, but then when reading the counseling approach I found there are also components in which I subscribe to. It is my belief that I take the best of both and use them in my classroom. My classroom is always changing and evolving and I must too.
In this week’s reading, Jones&Jones discuss the counseling approach and how teacher effectiveness is paramount in this equation. In my classroom my number one goal is to establish “teacher-student relationships”, (Jones&Jones,pg.19) I find that when that relationship is present from day one everything else falls into place. I teach 7th grade math and I have found using an array of hands on activities allows students a better understanding of the concepts in which I need to present, allowing my students to engage in these structured activities allows for greater student success and engagement. I try to make my curriculum challenging, but achievable for all of my students. My classroom is one that is safe, as we community build all year long, which is important to all of us. My classroom is also very structured; students are always aware of their expectations and are usually up for the challenge.
There are also components in the Behavioristic Methods that I use such as, “reinforcement of desired behaviors”.(Jones&Jones pg. 23) I do this often as a way to let my students know they are doing a great job. There seems to be many similarities between the two different approaches that I have read about. Simply put, “the creation of a positive classroom environment characterized by effective teaching and organizational skills will go a long way in reducing behavioral problems and increasing student achievements.” (Jones & Jones pg 25)
After reviewing all of the text and DVDs for this week I have come away with a lot of things to think over. I feel like I know and use a lot of these approaches, but did not completely understand them. I now come away with a strong sense of understanding of each of the different views. In fact I may try to hone in my teaching style and incorporate strategies learned.
Resources
Laureate Education, Inc. (Producer). (2008). Creating an Effective Classroom Learning Environment. [Motion Picture]. Understanding Influences on the Learning Environment. Baltimore:
Jones, V., & Jones, L. (2007). Comprehensive classroom management: Creating communities of support and solving problems (Laureate Education, Inc., custom ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson.
In this week’s reading, Jones&Jones discuss the counseling approach and how teacher effectiveness is paramount in this equation. In my classroom my number one goal is to establish “teacher-student relationships”, (Jones&Jones,pg.19) I find that when that relationship is present from day one everything else falls into place. I teach 7th grade math and I have found using an array of hands on activities allows students a better understanding of the concepts in which I need to present, allowing my students to engage in these structured activities allows for greater student success and engagement. I try to make my curriculum challenging, but achievable for all of my students. My classroom is one that is safe, as we community build all year long, which is important to all of us. My classroom is also very structured; students are always aware of their expectations and are usually up for the challenge.
There are also components in the Behavioristic Methods that I use such as, “reinforcement of desired behaviors”.(Jones&Jones pg. 23) I do this often as a way to let my students know they are doing a great job. There seems to be many similarities between the two different approaches that I have read about. Simply put, “the creation of a positive classroom environment characterized by effective teaching and organizational skills will go a long way in reducing behavioral problems and increasing student achievements.” (Jones & Jones pg 25)
After reviewing all of the text and DVDs for this week I have come away with a lot of things to think over. I feel like I know and use a lot of these approaches, but did not completely understand them. I now come away with a strong sense of understanding of each of the different views. In fact I may try to hone in my teaching style and incorporate strategies learned.
Resources
Laureate Education, Inc. (Producer). (2008). Creating an Effective Classroom Learning Environment. [Motion Picture]. Understanding Influences on the Learning Environment. Baltimore:
Jones, V., & Jones, L. (2007). Comprehensive classroom management: Creating communities of support and solving problems (Laureate Education, Inc., custom ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson.
Approach to Classroom Management
Every beginning teacher struggles with issues of "classroom management". I put the term in quotes, because I don't really like it. My philosophy, built up through various workshops, books, and experiences, is that what we are actually doing is building classroom relationships. When we build productive relationships (notice that I did not say positive relationships, because I fear that will be interpreted to mean that we must make sure our students like us), learning occurs in the classroom. And, that's what it is all about, isn't it ... the learning?
Definitions and expectations of appropriate behavior are culturally influenced, and conflicts are likely to occur when teachers and students come from different cultural backgrounds (Weinstein, Tomlinson-Clarke and Curran, 2004). It is a natural extension of culturally responsive teaching which uses students’ backgrounds, rendering of social experiences, prior knowledge, and learning styles in daily lessons. Teachers, as culturally responsive classroom managers, recognize their biases and values and reflect on how these influence their expectations for behavior and their interactions with students as well as what learning looks like. They recognize that the goal of classroom management is not to achieve compliance or control but to provide all students with equitable opportunities for learning and they understand that CRCM is “classroom management in the service of social justice” (Weinstein, Tomlinson-Clarke and Curran 2004, p.27).
Classroom management is the orchestration of the learning environment of a group of individuals within a classroom setting. In the early 1970s classroom management was seen as separate from classroom instruction. Teachers' management decisions were viewed as precursors to instruction, and were treated in the literature as if they were content-free. The image was of a teacher first attending to classroom management, and then beginning instruction without further reference to management decisions. Research in the 1980s, however, demonstrated that management and instruction are not separate, but are inextricably interwoven and complex.
A teacher's classroom-management system communicates information about the teacher's beliefs on content and the learning process. It also circumscribes the kinds of instruction that will take place in a particular classroom. A classroom in which the teacher takes complete responsibility for guiding students' actions constitutes a different learning environment than one in which students are encouraged and taught to assume responsibility for their own behaviors. Content will be approached and understood differently in each of these settings. Furthermore, more intellectually demanding academic work and activities in which students create products or encounter novel problems require complex management decisions. This correlation between instructional activity and management complexity further reinforces the interrelated nature of classroom management and curriculum.
The interwoven nature of classroom management and classroom instruction is especially easy to see from a student perspective. Students have at least two cognitive demands on them at all times: academic task demands (understanding and working with content) and social task demands (interacting with others concerning that content). This means that students must simultaneously work at understanding the content and finding appropriate and effective ways to participate in order to demonstrate that understanding. The teacher must facilitate the learning of these academic and social tasks. Thus from the perspective of what students need to know in order to be successful, management and instruction cannot be separated.
As a result of this broadened definition of classroom management, research has moved away from a focus on controlling behavior and looks instead at teacher actions to create, implement, and maintain a learning environment within the classroom. Everything a teacher does has implications for classroom management, including creating the setting, decorating the room, arranging the chairs, speaking to children and handling their responses, putting routines in place (and then executing, modifying, and reinstituting them), developing rules, and communicating those rules to the students. These are all aspects of classroom management.
Creating and implementing a learning environment means careful planning for the start of the school year. The learning environment must be envisioned in both a physical space and a cognitive space. The physical space of the classroom is managed as the teacher prepares the classroom for the students. Is the space warm and inviting? Does the room arrangement match the teacher's philosophy of learning? Do the students have access to necessary materials? Are the distracting features of a room eliminated? Attending to these and similar questions aids a teacher in managing the physical space of the classroom.
Teachers must also consider the cognitive space necessary for a learning environment. This cognitive space is based upon the expectations teachers set for students in the classroom and the process of creating a motivational climate. Effective teachers create and implement classroom management practices that cultivate an engaging classroom environment for their students. Two specific areas of cognitive space that teachers include in their plans are setting expectations (i.e., rules and procedures) and creating a motivational climate.
In both elementary and secondary classrooms, the start of the school year is crucial to effective management. A significant aspect of this beginning is the teacher's establishment of expectations for student behavior, which are expressed through rules and procedures. Rules indicate the expectations for behavior in the classroom, and for how one interacts with one's peers and the teacher. Procedures have to do with how things get done. Rules can be, and frequently are, developed with the students' help, which increases the likelihood of compliance.
An essential part of organizing the classroom involves developing a climate in which teachers encourage students to do their best and to be excited about what they are learning. There are two factors that are critical in creating such a motivational climate: value and effort. To be motivated, students must see the worth of the work that they are doing and the work others do. A teacher's demonstration of value shows students how their work is worthwhile and is connected to things that are important for them, including other learning and interests. Effort ties the time, energy, and creativity a student uses to develop the "work," to the value that the work holds. One way that teachers encourage effort is through specific praise, telling students specifically what it is that they are doing that is worthwhile and good. In combination an understanding of the value of academic tasks and the effort necessary to complete these tasks motivate students to learn. It is possible to create a setting that appears to be well managed, where room arrangement, rules, and procedures are operating well, but where little actual learning takes place. However, when a teacher creates structure and order, as well as a learning environment in which students feel the excitement of learning and success, then the classroom can truly be said to be well managed. At the beginning of the year, teachers must set expectations and create a motivational climate for learning and combine this with orchestrating the physical space in order to both create and implement a successful classroom management system.
While effective managers work with groups of students, they also are attentive to students' individual behaviors and learning needs. Maintaining a learning environment requires teachers to actively monitor their students. According to classroom management research, active monitoring includes watching student behavior closely, intervening to correct inappropriate behavior before it escalates, dealing consistently with misbehavior, and attending to student learning. In terms of monitoring both student behavior and learning, effective managers regularly survey their class or group and watch for signs of student confusion or inattention. Maintaining effective management involves keeping an eye out for when students appear to be stuck, when they need help, when they need redirection, when they need correction, and when they need encouragement. Teachers must also check for understanding, both publicly and privately. Maintaining a classroom management system requires the teacher to anticipate student actions and responses in order to be preventive rather than reactive. Excellent classroom managers mentally walk through classroom activities, anticipating areas where students are likely to have difficulty and planning to minimize confusion and maximize the likelihood of success.
When students have misunderstandings about academic content or instruction, effective managers look for ways to re-teach content and to improve the clarity of their communication. In research studies teachers in classrooms that run smoothly score high on measures of instructional clarity. That is, they describe their objectives clearly, give precise instructions for assignments, and respond to student questions with understandable explanations.
Classroom communication, teachers' clarity of instructions and understanding of students' needs, is particularly important in maintaining the interconnectedness of management and instruction. This communication is central as teacher and students make visible all of the aspects of the classroom that build a community. Maintenance of a learning environment combines a teacher's careful attention to group dynamics, individual student needs, and clear communication.
In order to create and support a learning-centered environment where teaching for understanding and the construction of meaning are valued, students must be very comfortable and feel that their contributions are valued. In addition, students must value the contributions of others, value the diversity within the classroom, and give their best effort because they see it as the right thing to do or something that they want to do. The uniqueness of each classroom and the variety and complexity of tasks that teachers face make it impossible to prescribe specific techniques for every situation. In each classroom there will be a variety of skills, backgrounds, languages, and inclinations to cooperate. Teachers, particularly beginning teachers who may not have the repertoire of experiences and skills they need to be able to teach diverse classes, require administrative support to identify and nurture the interconnectedness of instruction and classroom management. A close look at how class activities evolve reveals the need for a classroom management system that is visible, established, monitored, modified, refined, and reestablished. While teachers work with students who have different dispositions and abilities, they must be prepared to create, implement, and maintain an environment in which learning is the center.
Many people associate respect with discipline as given by the teacher, but that is not always the case. Frequently, a respectful classroom environment comes from the students’ response to how the teacher sets the tone of the classroom. Positive learning environments such as these come from involving students, providing clear expectations and rigorous curriculum. Involving students in the classroom provides the sense of ownership in their learning. It is easier to keep most students engaged in a lesson when they are participating through discussions, labs, projects and other student centered activities. Once engaged, students create their own respectful classroom environment through their interactions with the teacher and other students. When the teacher models respectful behavior as well then students further their understanding of how to show respect.
Another way to involve students is through classroom meetings. In a class meeting students should feel comfortable asking questions, providing their opinions and also supporting their classmates. The meetings should also provide students with the opportunity to make decisions about some classroom rules and expectations, such as seating charts. Whether provided by the teacher or created by the class, classroom expectations or rules should support a positive and respectful environment. One way to achieve this is to word the expectations positively; for example, instead of “Don’t Run in the Lab” use “Be Safe.” Another is to have students do a written or visual activity to explain what these expectations mean so that they can make a connection between the rules and themselves. Also, be consistent in the enforcement of the expectations. Make sure to apply each rule fairly to each student. Deciding part way through the course to not enforce one gives students the impression that other expectations are optional and will negatively impact the respectful environment of the classroom. Rigor is a curriculum goal meant to improve students’ ability to understand complex content. How this impacts the classroom is how it is applied to different lessons. The inclusion of rigorous content inherently means the teacher is providing lessons that involve difficult ideas, engage students in discussing dilemmas, or promotes research into complex topics. These all encourage student interaction with their learning and increase their developing understanding of the need to respect the thoughts and ideas of others.
When searching for ways to improve the classroom environment, respectful students and positive learning experiences are ideal. Students need a teacher who models the respect expected by involving students in the learning, being clear about expectations and providing rigorous curriculum
Jones, V., & Jones, L. (2007). Comprehensive classroom management: Creating communities of support and solving problems (Laureate Education, Inc., custom ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson.
Weinstein, C., Tomlinson-Clarke, S., & Curran, M. (2004). Toward a conception of culturally responsive classroom management. Journal of Teacher Education, 55(1), 25–38.
Laureate Education, Inc. (Executive Producer). (2008). Creating an effective classroom learning environment [Educational video]. Baltimore: Author.
(“Understanding Influences on the Learning Environment” Dr. Vern Jones and four classroom teachers discuss factors that influence how teachers and students interact within the learning environment.)
Definitions and expectations of appropriate behavior are culturally influenced, and conflicts are likely to occur when teachers and students come from different cultural backgrounds (Weinstein, Tomlinson-Clarke and Curran, 2004). It is a natural extension of culturally responsive teaching which uses students’ backgrounds, rendering of social experiences, prior knowledge, and learning styles in daily lessons. Teachers, as culturally responsive classroom managers, recognize their biases and values and reflect on how these influence their expectations for behavior and their interactions with students as well as what learning looks like. They recognize that the goal of classroom management is not to achieve compliance or control but to provide all students with equitable opportunities for learning and they understand that CRCM is “classroom management in the service of social justice” (Weinstein, Tomlinson-Clarke and Curran 2004, p.27).
Classroom management is the orchestration of the learning environment of a group of individuals within a classroom setting. In the early 1970s classroom management was seen as separate from classroom instruction. Teachers' management decisions were viewed as precursors to instruction, and were treated in the literature as if they were content-free. The image was of a teacher first attending to classroom management, and then beginning instruction without further reference to management decisions. Research in the 1980s, however, demonstrated that management and instruction are not separate, but are inextricably interwoven and complex.
A teacher's classroom-management system communicates information about the teacher's beliefs on content and the learning process. It also circumscribes the kinds of instruction that will take place in a particular classroom. A classroom in which the teacher takes complete responsibility for guiding students' actions constitutes a different learning environment than one in which students are encouraged and taught to assume responsibility for their own behaviors. Content will be approached and understood differently in each of these settings. Furthermore, more intellectually demanding academic work and activities in which students create products or encounter novel problems require complex management decisions. This correlation between instructional activity and management complexity further reinforces the interrelated nature of classroom management and curriculum.
The interwoven nature of classroom management and classroom instruction is especially easy to see from a student perspective. Students have at least two cognitive demands on them at all times: academic task demands (understanding and working with content) and social task demands (interacting with others concerning that content). This means that students must simultaneously work at understanding the content and finding appropriate and effective ways to participate in order to demonstrate that understanding. The teacher must facilitate the learning of these academic and social tasks. Thus from the perspective of what students need to know in order to be successful, management and instruction cannot be separated.
As a result of this broadened definition of classroom management, research has moved away from a focus on controlling behavior and looks instead at teacher actions to create, implement, and maintain a learning environment within the classroom. Everything a teacher does has implications for classroom management, including creating the setting, decorating the room, arranging the chairs, speaking to children and handling their responses, putting routines in place (and then executing, modifying, and reinstituting them), developing rules, and communicating those rules to the students. These are all aspects of classroom management.
Creating and implementing a learning environment means careful planning for the start of the school year. The learning environment must be envisioned in both a physical space and a cognitive space. The physical space of the classroom is managed as the teacher prepares the classroom for the students. Is the space warm and inviting? Does the room arrangement match the teacher's philosophy of learning? Do the students have access to necessary materials? Are the distracting features of a room eliminated? Attending to these and similar questions aids a teacher in managing the physical space of the classroom.
Teachers must also consider the cognitive space necessary for a learning environment. This cognitive space is based upon the expectations teachers set for students in the classroom and the process of creating a motivational climate. Effective teachers create and implement classroom management practices that cultivate an engaging classroom environment for their students. Two specific areas of cognitive space that teachers include in their plans are setting expectations (i.e., rules and procedures) and creating a motivational climate.
In both elementary and secondary classrooms, the start of the school year is crucial to effective management. A significant aspect of this beginning is the teacher's establishment of expectations for student behavior, which are expressed through rules and procedures. Rules indicate the expectations for behavior in the classroom, and for how one interacts with one's peers and the teacher. Procedures have to do with how things get done. Rules can be, and frequently are, developed with the students' help, which increases the likelihood of compliance.
An essential part of organizing the classroom involves developing a climate in which teachers encourage students to do their best and to be excited about what they are learning. There are two factors that are critical in creating such a motivational climate: value and effort. To be motivated, students must see the worth of the work that they are doing and the work others do. A teacher's demonstration of value shows students how their work is worthwhile and is connected to things that are important for them, including other learning and interests. Effort ties the time, energy, and creativity a student uses to develop the "work," to the value that the work holds. One way that teachers encourage effort is through specific praise, telling students specifically what it is that they are doing that is worthwhile and good. In combination an understanding of the value of academic tasks and the effort necessary to complete these tasks motivate students to learn. It is possible to create a setting that appears to be well managed, where room arrangement, rules, and procedures are operating well, but where little actual learning takes place. However, when a teacher creates structure and order, as well as a learning environment in which students feel the excitement of learning and success, then the classroom can truly be said to be well managed. At the beginning of the year, teachers must set expectations and create a motivational climate for learning and combine this with orchestrating the physical space in order to both create and implement a successful classroom management system.
While effective managers work with groups of students, they also are attentive to students' individual behaviors and learning needs. Maintaining a learning environment requires teachers to actively monitor their students. According to classroom management research, active monitoring includes watching student behavior closely, intervening to correct inappropriate behavior before it escalates, dealing consistently with misbehavior, and attending to student learning. In terms of monitoring both student behavior and learning, effective managers regularly survey their class or group and watch for signs of student confusion or inattention. Maintaining effective management involves keeping an eye out for when students appear to be stuck, when they need help, when they need redirection, when they need correction, and when they need encouragement. Teachers must also check for understanding, both publicly and privately. Maintaining a classroom management system requires the teacher to anticipate student actions and responses in order to be preventive rather than reactive. Excellent classroom managers mentally walk through classroom activities, anticipating areas where students are likely to have difficulty and planning to minimize confusion and maximize the likelihood of success.
When students have misunderstandings about academic content or instruction, effective managers look for ways to re-teach content and to improve the clarity of their communication. In research studies teachers in classrooms that run smoothly score high on measures of instructional clarity. That is, they describe their objectives clearly, give precise instructions for assignments, and respond to student questions with understandable explanations.
Classroom communication, teachers' clarity of instructions and understanding of students' needs, is particularly important in maintaining the interconnectedness of management and instruction. This communication is central as teacher and students make visible all of the aspects of the classroom that build a community. Maintenance of a learning environment combines a teacher's careful attention to group dynamics, individual student needs, and clear communication.
In order to create and support a learning-centered environment where teaching for understanding and the construction of meaning are valued, students must be very comfortable and feel that their contributions are valued. In addition, students must value the contributions of others, value the diversity within the classroom, and give their best effort because they see it as the right thing to do or something that they want to do. The uniqueness of each classroom and the variety and complexity of tasks that teachers face make it impossible to prescribe specific techniques for every situation. In each classroom there will be a variety of skills, backgrounds, languages, and inclinations to cooperate. Teachers, particularly beginning teachers who may not have the repertoire of experiences and skills they need to be able to teach diverse classes, require administrative support to identify and nurture the interconnectedness of instruction and classroom management. A close look at how class activities evolve reveals the need for a classroom management system that is visible, established, monitored, modified, refined, and reestablished. While teachers work with students who have different dispositions and abilities, they must be prepared to create, implement, and maintain an environment in which learning is the center.
Many people associate respect with discipline as given by the teacher, but that is not always the case. Frequently, a respectful classroom environment comes from the students’ response to how the teacher sets the tone of the classroom. Positive learning environments such as these come from involving students, providing clear expectations and rigorous curriculum. Involving students in the classroom provides the sense of ownership in their learning. It is easier to keep most students engaged in a lesson when they are participating through discussions, labs, projects and other student centered activities. Once engaged, students create their own respectful classroom environment through their interactions with the teacher and other students. When the teacher models respectful behavior as well then students further their understanding of how to show respect.
Another way to involve students is through classroom meetings. In a class meeting students should feel comfortable asking questions, providing their opinions and also supporting their classmates. The meetings should also provide students with the opportunity to make decisions about some classroom rules and expectations, such as seating charts. Whether provided by the teacher or created by the class, classroom expectations or rules should support a positive and respectful environment. One way to achieve this is to word the expectations positively; for example, instead of “Don’t Run in the Lab” use “Be Safe.” Another is to have students do a written or visual activity to explain what these expectations mean so that they can make a connection between the rules and themselves. Also, be consistent in the enforcement of the expectations. Make sure to apply each rule fairly to each student. Deciding part way through the course to not enforce one gives students the impression that other expectations are optional and will negatively impact the respectful environment of the classroom. Rigor is a curriculum goal meant to improve students’ ability to understand complex content. How this impacts the classroom is how it is applied to different lessons. The inclusion of rigorous content inherently means the teacher is providing lessons that involve difficult ideas, engage students in discussing dilemmas, or promotes research into complex topics. These all encourage student interaction with their learning and increase their developing understanding of the need to respect the thoughts and ideas of others.
When searching for ways to improve the classroom environment, respectful students and positive learning experiences are ideal. Students need a teacher who models the respect expected by involving students in the learning, being clear about expectations and providing rigorous curriculum
Jones, V., & Jones, L. (2007). Comprehensive classroom management: Creating communities of support and solving problems (Laureate Education, Inc., custom ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson.
Weinstein, C., Tomlinson-Clarke, S., & Curran, M. (2004). Toward a conception of culturally responsive classroom management. Journal of Teacher Education, 55(1), 25–38.
Laureate Education, Inc. (Executive Producer). (2008). Creating an effective classroom learning environment [Educational video]. Baltimore: Author.
(“Understanding Influences on the Learning Environment” Dr. Vern Jones and four classroom teachers discuss factors that influence how teachers and students interact within the learning environment.)
Order, Power, and Caring in the Classroom
Creating a caring classroom community provides a warm, safe environment for young children to learn and grow. Abraham Maslow’s “Hierarchy of Needs” states that having one’s basic needs met are the foundation for building “higher levels” of understanding. In order for young children to become successful learners, their basic needs for “safety” and “belonging” must be met.
In a caring classroom setting, children will be able to experience a positive and productive sense of their own power and abilities – a feeling that some children may not have in other life settings. Young children thrive in a classroom that models a caring community. Children are able to experience a positive and productive sense of their power to learn, grow, and contribute to the lives of others. The classroom community enables children to maintain positive interactions, which promotes resilience as well as cognitive learning.
In a Caring Classroom Community students learn how to speak so others will listen respectfully. They also learn how to listen when others are speaking, how to solve problems, and contribute to the group. Children have opportunities to participate actively, to belong, and to exercise some control over their lives. They feel empowered when they are able to make choices during the day, to establish goals for themselves, to make decisions about their classroom, and to participate in work that is meaningful and engaging. Collaborative learning is encouraged as children learn from each other. Children have multiple opportunities to work with partners and in small groups. Children learn to share ideas, take turns, solve problems, listen to others, and receive and offer help. Young children thrive in a classroom that models a caring community. It is more important that students understand the material, even if it takes a long time for that to happen, than for a great deal of material to be covered that is not understood.(Jones & Jones, 2007)
Teachers know from their training and experience that questioning plays an important role in today’s instruction. Modern lessons are fast-paced and interactive, with teachers asking a lot of questions. Borich (1992) found that questions account for 80 percent of classroom talk and that some teachers ask more than 100 of them per hour! Because this instructional strategy dominates class time and because students are active during the lesson, there are more chances for management problems to arise if teachers do not follow good questioning techniques. This article explores some questioning strategies that minimize classroom management problems.
Classroom management problems occur under two circumstances during question-and-answer sessions. First, if students are dissatisfied or bored, they may exhibit off task behavior as a way to let the teacher know that the instruction is failing to meet their needs. Generally, students are not asked whether they like a lesson, so misbehavior is their only recourse for providing immediate feedback to the teacher. Second, students may misbehave if they are unclear about the expected behavior. Exchanges between teachers and students occur quickly during a question and-answer session, and teachers seldom make explicit the way they want the class to respond. Thus, students act out because they are unable to “read the teacher’s mind.”
Though the educational literature provides some global advice for asking questions, it often omits specific strategies that teachers can follow when employing this instructional approach with their students. This article highlights some of the techniques that are mentioned in the literature and then offers additional strategies to minimize classroommanagement problems.
Jones, V., & Jones, L. (2007). Comprehensive classroom management: Creating communities of support and solving problems (Laureate Education, Inc., custom ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson
In a caring classroom setting, children will be able to experience a positive and productive sense of their own power and abilities – a feeling that some children may not have in other life settings. Young children thrive in a classroom that models a caring community. Children are able to experience a positive and productive sense of their power to learn, grow, and contribute to the lives of others. The classroom community enables children to maintain positive interactions, which promotes resilience as well as cognitive learning.
In a Caring Classroom Community students learn how to speak so others will listen respectfully. They also learn how to listen when others are speaking, how to solve problems, and contribute to the group. Children have opportunities to participate actively, to belong, and to exercise some control over their lives. They feel empowered when they are able to make choices during the day, to establish goals for themselves, to make decisions about their classroom, and to participate in work that is meaningful and engaging. Collaborative learning is encouraged as children learn from each other. Children have multiple opportunities to work with partners and in small groups. Children learn to share ideas, take turns, solve problems, listen to others, and receive and offer help. Young children thrive in a classroom that models a caring community. It is more important that students understand the material, even if it takes a long time for that to happen, than for a great deal of material to be covered that is not understood.(Jones & Jones, 2007)
Teachers know from their training and experience that questioning plays an important role in today’s instruction. Modern lessons are fast-paced and interactive, with teachers asking a lot of questions. Borich (1992) found that questions account for 80 percent of classroom talk and that some teachers ask more than 100 of them per hour! Because this instructional strategy dominates class time and because students are active during the lesson, there are more chances for management problems to arise if teachers do not follow good questioning techniques. This article explores some questioning strategies that minimize classroom management problems.
Classroom management problems occur under two circumstances during question-and-answer sessions. First, if students are dissatisfied or bored, they may exhibit off task behavior as a way to let the teacher know that the instruction is failing to meet their needs. Generally, students are not asked whether they like a lesson, so misbehavior is their only recourse for providing immediate feedback to the teacher. Second, students may misbehave if they are unclear about the expected behavior. Exchanges between teachers and students occur quickly during a question and-answer session, and teachers seldom make explicit the way they want the class to respond. Thus, students act out because they are unable to “read the teacher’s mind.”
Though the educational literature provides some global advice for asking questions, it often omits specific strategies that teachers can follow when employing this instructional approach with their students. This article highlights some of the techniques that are mentioned in the literature and then offers additional strategies to minimize classroommanagement problems.
Jones, V., & Jones, L. (2007). Comprehensive classroom management: Creating communities of support and solving problems (Laureate Education, Inc., custom ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson
0 comments:
Post a Comment