Classroom Management: Help for the Beginning Secondary School Teacher

            The article started off to say that classroom management is not everything in teaching but it has a lot do with everything else you do in your classroom.  The author states that without classroom management the education and knowledge given to the students will not have a chance to settle in.  The author also talked about the public school system.  In this system, there is a wide spectrum of students.  Some of the students are brilliant and then others that struggle with the basics.  Classroom management and careful planning will allow a teacher to address all students in the spectrum.  The article states that there is not perfect way to manage a classroom; there is no “cure-all”.  Each teacher needs to find what works best for them by having knowledge of how classroom management works, and then applying it to their own lives/career.

            A new understanding I grasped was that sometimes saying something one way and then saying it another can have a big effect on classroom management.  The example given in the article was a student was absent.  The first teacher said, “Who doesn’t have a worksheet?” The second teacher said, “If you don’t have yesterday’s material, please raise your hand.”  The teachers are essentially saying the same thing but in a different way.

            Another new piece of information I grasped was that there isn’t a one-size-fits-all in reference to classroom management.  The article touched on how beginning teachers should observe other teachers seeing how they related to their students.  Also, the type of management depends on the class and the students.  Consistency, however, is important in certain behaviors performed in the classroom.

Questions

1.                  How would you relate love and logic to your article?

2.                  What types of classroom management techniques would have to be adapted to fit into the Physical Educational setting?

A connection that I found interesting was that rules and procedures have a lot to do with how smoothly your teaching goes.  When the students know what is expected of them they can go and do whatever the activity is.  The point of rules and procedures is to direct students’ learning in a beneficial way.  Being consistent in the rules and procedures is important.  As well as the discipline aspect that goes along with the rules and procedures.  This is the same information that we have been learning in class. 

Palumbo, Anthony; Sanacore, Joseph, (2007).  Classroom Management: Help for the Beginnning Secondary School Teacher.Clearing House, 2, 67-70.

No More Quiz Cheats, No More Backtalk

The article that I read was dealing with the issue of classroom control.  The article dealt with issues like cheating, absenteeism, hurtful remarks, refusal of participation, and group chatter.  With each of these categories a problem was proposed, then an immediate solution was given, and last, there was a long term plan that could be instituted in the classroom.  Some of the problems could realistically happen, while some of the other ones seemed a little bit ridiculous.  The article was written for teachers between the sixth and eighth grades.  The article was written in a way to guide thinking towards classroom management.

I thought that the section about hurtful remarks was interesting.  I feel that in today’s culture there is much hatred that goes on.  I have yet to see it in my classroom experience but I know that it does exist, whether at the surface or below.  The way they discussed dealing with the situation was a simple statement saying that it does not belong in the classroom.  I do not know how this will work.  I know that their needs to be a change in belief and I doubt that a simple statement will cause a reduction in the hateful remarks for the future.  Another thing I enjoyed was how they handled group work.  The problem described was that when the students had trouble getting into and out of group work quietly and on topic.  They talked about how the teacher was to circulate around the room.  The idea is nothing new but a key understanding.  This gives the teacher more overall control and gives the students the availability of asking questions.

1.      How would some of these situations be handled at an elementary level or at the high school level?

2.      What do you do with the student who has troubles learning, so they continue to act out and display the discussed actions?  You want them to succeed, but at the same time you want the environment to promote learning for the other students.  How would you handle this situation?

I feel like the whole class could connect to the article, but if I had to pick one thing I would say that cheating relates most to classroom management and what we have been learning.  The cheating discussion deals with school policies and teacher policies.  I feel that each situation in classroom management needs to be handled individually.  When it conflicts with school policy, then I feel like you need to go more “by the book”.   It is important to be consistent in classroom discipline and the consequences, but you must abide by the school rules, failure to do so could cost you a job.

Rosevear, Jessica (2008).  No More Quiz Cheats, No More Backtalk.  Instructor.  117, 4, p.65

Article Review #1

Article Review #1

The article I read was titled Accountability and Discipline in Classroom Management: Case Study: Jarash—Jordan.  I thought that the article was going to be more about how to deal with students but it ended up being an article about the different kinds of management and their effectiveness.  It was a study that was conducted to see what kind of management was best.  The two different types of models were Discipline and Reality Therapy.  These two models contrast each other because on is the more authoritarian while the other is more of the laise affair attitude.  One focuses around the teacher, Discipline, and the other focuses around the student, Reality Therapy.  The study was done and both were effective and it depended on the student of which one worked.

            One principle that I learned was that you can use more than one type of classroom management styles depending on the student and/or the situation.  The other was that these types of styles are used all over the world in all different kinds of situations.  It opened my eyes to how connected the world of teaching really is.

Two Questions:           

1. Have any of the interviewed or observed teachers have changed the way they do classroom management because of the study?
2. What did you feel was the most effective form of classroom management, and why?

The entire article was concerning the different styles of classroom management.  The author used different words for the different styles of management but they had the same concepts as the styles that we have gone over.  I found this connection interesting.

Basim Ali; Magableh, Atef; Yusuf, Hawamdeh (2007).  Accountability and Discipline in Classroom Management: Case Study: Jarash—Jordan.  College Student Journal. 4, 901-908

The Xanga Kid (this is for all the faithful xangaers)

Its time to get my journal on,

            So I hit the button to log-on.

I live my life off your e-prop,

            Once I start I just can’t stop.

I look to my comments to see who’s my friend,

            There’s only 2 and my world is coming to an end.

I don’t know what’s gone wrong,

            When you get on my site it even plays a song.

Xanga continues as the highlight of my life,

            More than 5 comments and I spare the knife.

My profile picture is oh so sweet,

            The girls say I’m someone they’d like to meet.

I finish my post, now comments are my quest,

            Tonight I end here, sign off and hope for the best.

Enjoy.