Classroom management strategies Peter Lucantoni

1. Classroom management strategiesPeter Lucantoni

2. Peter Lucantoni • Started teaching in 1979 in UK, MA TESOL University of Edinburgh, lived and worked in Europe and Middle East, now based in Cyprus • Author, Educational Consultant & Teacher Trainer for Cambridge University Press • Cambridge TKT, CELTYL, CELTA & DELTA trainer and Cambridge CELTYL assessor • Examiner for Cambridge ESOL speaking examinations

3. Workshop aims • To establish a classroom definition for classroom management • To establish what factors are involved in managing learners positively • To brainstorm practical techniques for managing learners positively • To consider the stages required in successfully setting up tasks and activities

4. What does “managing” mean? people controlling and organising different situations that happen in their lives or their work

5. Definition • What is classroom management? Work with your colleagues and produce a definition. • Use these words for help: • techniques / ensures / behave /allows / • lesson / smoothly / learning

6. Definition Classroom management is a set of techniques which ensures that the learners behave in a way which allows the lesson to run smoothly and for learning to take place.

7. Discipline Learners, Activities & L2 Time & Ourselves Space & Dynamics

8. Factors • There are various factors involved in managing learners – those which you can control or improve, and those which you can’t • Complete the table:

9. Lesson content Motivation Classroom rules Involving learners in decisions Fairness Mutual respect Group dynamics Previous experience Classroom size, furniture Outside noise Home environment Imposed coursebook Length of lesson

10. Setting up • What are the stages in setting up tasks and activities? • For example, you could start with: Prepare the language you are going to use to set up the task, before going to class • Think of 5-6 stages for teachers to consider

11. Setting up • Look at Handout 1 with the suggested stages, which have been mixed up • Put them into a logical order. There is more than one possible answer

12. Setting up groups • Classroom groups move through various stages (Tuckmen & Jensen, 1977). What do you think each stage involves? • Forming • Storming • Norming • Performing • In 1987, Tuckmen added a fifth and final stage – what do you think he called it?

13. Adjourning Performing • Conflict – minor arguments may arise • Completion – moving on • Socialising – not much actually gets done • Cohesion – listening to each other • Task-orientation – getting the job done Norming Storming Forming

14. Managing space and dynamics • “Most authentic communication requires the teacher to adapt classroom space.” Vale & Feunteun, 1996 • “Newer approaches to teaching … offer us different possibilities of classroom dynamics which make class activities much more communicative and efficient.” House, 1997

15. Managing space and dynamics • Where students sit can determine many things. Try to think of three aspects of classroom management which could be affected by where students sit • their attitude to each other • their attitude to you • your attitude to them • how they interact with each other • how they interact with you • the types of activity they can do

16. Why is group work important? • Communicative language teaching (CLT) encourages the use of pair and group work activities in the classroom. • Why?

17. Why is group work important? • Interaction is the means and the goal • Learning is task-based • Communication of message is more important than exact grammar • Authentic materials are used • Multi-answers are possible • Mistakes are part of learning

18. What are the problems with group work? • Students only speak in Arabic • Students make too much noise • Students get bored • Some students finish early • ... • For each difficulty, think of possible solutions

19. 1. Students only speak in Arabic • Give learners the language they need • Close monitoring • Provide feedback • Give incentives • Assign English monitors

20. 2. Students make too much noise • Consider productive vs. disruptive noise • Use ‘quiet signal’ to maintain control • Set clear guidelines about noise levels • Assign ‘English’ monitors

21. 3. Students get bored • Know your learners and what interests them (not you!) and motivates them (not you!) • Match tasks to learners’ levels • Give each student a role/job in the group • Do follow-up feedback, reports

22. 4. Some students finish early • Prepare back-up activities for early finishers • Use stronger students as teaching assistants (‘learn by teaching’) • Give feedback and encourage students to start extension activities

23. Management tips • Ask yourself ‘How can I help my students to learn?’ • Give handouts, use visuals, realia, etc • Insert pauses into the lesson for students to ‘catch up’ with regular changes of pace / activity / skill • Use students as teaching assistants

24. Management tips • Encourage students to prepare questions and quizzes in groups of 2-3 • Get other students to answer these questions and encourage competition • Use: Dictogloss, Jigsaw Texts, Moving Dictation

25. Any questions?

26. peter@cup-training.org